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Cross-Platform Issues in Creating Siebel Image Directories

This topic is part of Preparing to Create a Siebel Installation Image.

Each network image you create will contain directories representing specified operating system platforms you will support, such as Windows, AIX, and so on. The image itself can reside on any supported platform. Image Creator can run natively on Windows, AIX, HP-UX, Linux, and Solaris.

Many customers support multiple platforms. For example, any customer who will install server products on UNIX may still need to install client or server products that run only on Windows, such as Siebel Web Client (Mobile Web Client), Siebel Tools, Siebel Management Server, and so on. For more information, see Siebel Installation Media Contents.

If you support multiple platforms (such as Windows and one of the supported UNIX platforms), use one or more of the following strategies in creating your Siebel images:

• Create a single multi-platform Siebel image on one of your platforms. Use a cross-platform networking tool, such as Samba, to make the Siebel image accessible from platforms other than the one where the image was created.

  For example, run Image Creator on Windows, and include all Windows and applicable UNIX platforms and all products for applicable platforms. Before you run Image Creator, make sure you have all the JAR files in one location. In order to install products on UNIX machines (in this example), you must be able to access the Windows-based Siebel image files.

  This approach is generally recommended, because it consolidates all products and platforms in a single image.

• Create a separate Siebel image for each platform that includes the products that will be installed on that platform.

  For example, run Image Creator on Windows, and include only the Windows platform and the products that will be installed on Windows; separately run Image Creator on Solaris, and include only the Solaris platform and the products that will be installed on Solaris.

  Before you run Image Creator, make sure you have all the JAR files for the applicable platform in one location. In order to install products (in this example), cross-platform tools would not be necessary to access the Siebel image files, because they already reside on the platform on which you are installing each product.