Siebel Installation Guide for UNIX: Servers, Mobile Web Clients, Tools > Creating the Siebel Installation Image on the Network >

Preparing to Create a Siebel Installation Image

Before you create a Siebel installation image on your network, review the issues presented in this section.

Determine Location for Siebel Media Files and Siebel Images

You download or copy all Siebel media files to a central location on your network where you have sufficient disk space. This may be the same location where you will create your Siebel image, or a subdirectory of this location.

For example, if you will create Siebel images on a Windows system, you might create a directory D:\Siebel_Install_Image, in which to store all of your Siebel images and all Siebel media files. You might then create a subdirectory JAR_7.8.2.0, in which you will place all Siebel media (JAR) files you will use to create a Siebel image for version 7.8.2.

In this scenario, if you run Image Creator, specify D:\Siebel_Install_Image as the top-level directory. The utility will automatically create another subdirectory, 7.8.2.0, to contain the installable Siebel products (by platform) you choose to include in the image. So, your applicable directories would be:

• D:\Siebel_Install_Image\JAR_7.8.2.0 (you create directory and subdirectory)
• D:\Siebel_Install_Image\7.8.2.0 (Image Creator creates subdirectory)

The default top-level names for Siebel image directory are C:\Siebel_Install_Image (on Windows) and /Siebel_Install_Image (on UNIX).

NOTE:  Siebel Business Applications (formerly Siebel eBusiness Applications) and Siebel Industry Applications cannot both reside in the same Siebel image. If you will create network images for both of these sets of applications, you should specify a top-level directory name that indicates the image type—for example, by appending SEA or SIA at the end of the top-level directory name. You also specify the type while you run Image Creator, which stores this information internally.

Requirements for Siebel Image Directories

The directory in which you will create a Siebel image, or the directory that you will specify as the location for Siebel media files, must meet the following requirements:

• The user creating the network image must have write permission in the Siebel image directory.

  Users who need to access the Siebel image directory in order to perform installations must have read and execute permissions. Users who need to modify siebel.ini files to support console or unattended installation modes, or use other installation features requiring modification to siebel.ini files, must also have write permission.

  See also Preparing for Installation and Installing in Unattended and Console Modes.

• Any directory you specify for creating the Siebel image must contain sufficient disk space for all Siebel products and languages you will include in the Siebel image. Each DVD uses up to 5 GB of storage.
• Any directory you specify for adding products or languages must contain an existing Siebel image. For example, if you are adding products or languages to a version 7.8.2 Siebel image, the directory you specify, such as /export/home/Siebel_Install_Image, must contain a subdirectory 7.8.2.0, which must contain an existing Siebel image.
• Any directory you specify for creating the Siebel image should follow the conventions described in File and Directory Naming Conventions. For example, on Windows, a directory name must not contain spaces or number (pound, or hash) signs.
• If a Siebel image will include any client component, such as Siebel Mobile Web Client or Siebel Tools installation files, the target directory structure must not include the word disk1 anywhere in the directory path.
• Do not copy or move any Siebel image subdirectories. Create each Siebel image and all of its directories by running Image Creator. It is acceptable to move or rename the top-level directory in which the Siebel image was created.

Cross-Platform Issues in Creating Siebel Image Directories

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, Solaris, and HP-UX.

If you support multiple platforms, you must use a cross-platform networking tool, such as Samba, to make a Siebel image accessible from multiple platforms. This issue does not apply, however, if you create a separate Siebel image for each platform, where the image is created on the same platform.

Requirements for Running Image Creator Utility

Before you run Image Creator for your chosen platform, consider the following requirements:

• Make sure the following files are in the same directory: imagecreator.jar, media.inf, and siebel.ini. Do not modify these files.
• At least one JAR file representing a Siebel product must also exist in the same directory in order for Image Creator to determine the Siebel version of the image to be created. All other product JAR files for the same version may also exist in the same directory or in one or more other directories you specify while running Image Creator.
• You can run Image Creator in either GUI mode or console mode.
• If you click Cancel while running Image Creator, you may need to rerun Image Creator. For more information, see Troubleshooting Siebel Image Creation.
• An Image Creator session may take a long time to complete. While files are being extracted or copied, you cannot click Cancel to cancel an Image Creator session. You should be sure of your selections before you begin creating the Siebel image.
• If necessary, you can force overwriting existing image files during an Image Creator session, such as if you are recovering from a failed image creation. For more information, see Troubleshooting Siebel Image Creation.