Software Installation

These following things are what you need to prepare before installation:

• Disk space.
  • How much disk space is needed to install this application?
  • How much disk space is available on the system?
  • Pick the file system on which this application will be installed.
  • Make sure that nothing is put on the root file system, we want to keep root filesystem as small as possible for optimum performance.
• Memory
  • How much memory is this application going to need?
  • How many users are going to run this application at the same time on your system?
  • Is current swap space enough for this new application? if not increase swap.
• Hardware
  • Is any hardware needed to run this application, i.e. Modems, etc?
  • Is Memory, Disk space is enough or need to buy more?
• Other effects
  • Will this application once installed, affect other applications running on system?

To install software, first we need to copy the files from media to a temporary directory in the chosen disk.

• Insert media (tape, cd-rom, disk) in drive.
  • mount if it is a cd-rom devicename dirname
• cd dirname , and then run cpio, tar or uncompress command, check instructions that came with media.
  • cd dirname
  • cpio -ictvb devicename
  • This will copies the files from device into the directory which is dirname
• After files are unarchived, run install script, usually supplied with software.
• Make sure that license information and strings, etc supplied with software are handy.
• Once installed, remove the temporary files.

Testing application to make sure that it is working is a crucial step. Many administrators ignore it, but if you know how to use the application it is always good to test it before it is too late.

• Is application doing what it is suppose to do?
• Run three-four invocations of this application and check memory, CPU load, etc
• Are other normal applications, hardware, etc working fine?

The major part of software is its maintenance by Sytems Administrator. To make sure that application is running fine and is not causing any problems.

• Any log files, core files, temp files that this application creates to be deleted, regularly.
• Security trouble, i.e. SUID permissions or SGID permissions on the files.
• Other hardware and software problems.

To install or to upgrade an operating system: do following.

• Schedule the maintenance with the department that uses this system.
• Read the instructions, etc supplied with upgrade. Look for following.
  • What software is needed to deinstall before upgrade, make a list.
  • If any hardware is needed.
  • Media type, etc.
• Get all the software, media etc ready on your desk.
• Make sure that tape drive, Cd-ROM is working (or which ever you are gong to use), test it.
• On the upgrade day, Make sure nobody is logged on to system. enter who and if you see more than one user enter wall command, as follows:
  • wall Please log out of system, system going down for maintenance <cntl D>
  • Run ps -fu username to see what that user is doing, kill the process, if you think it is not important.
  • repeat who command and check if there are less users, keep on killing processes until only root is left.
• From the console of your system enter init 1, this will transfer the system down to single user mode.
• Deinstall the software which is recommended in upgrade package using system administrator's utility, sam for hp-ux, menu for sequent, smit for aix, scoadmin for sco.
• Insert media and mount it, using mount command.
• Launch a System administrator's utility, sam for hp-ux, menu for sequent, smit for aix, scoadmin for sco and go to the section under software and pick install.
• Follow instructions until done.