Questions about installing Informix

• What are the system requirements and prerequisites for my operating system?
• Can I create a server instance after installation is complete?
• Can I install client tools in a different directory from the one in which I installed Informix?
• Must I install different versions of client tools in different directories?
• Which .Net provider should I install?
• What are non-root installations and where can I find information about them?
• What is the HCL OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) for Informix and how do I install it?

What are the system requirements and prerequisites for my operating system?

For details about the requirements for different operating systems, see the following IBM® Technote:

http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?mynp=OCSSGU8G&mync=E&uid=swg27013343&myns=swgimgmt

Additionally, the HCL Informix Machine Notes® for your specific operating system contain information about system requirements and prerequisites. The Machine Notes, which are in the ids_machine_notes_<version>.txt file on the installation media, are also posted in the HCL Informix Information Center.

Can I create a server instance after installation is complete?

You can create a server instance by manually creating or editing the required configuration files. However, it is faster and much easier to create and configure an instance during installation. See Installing Informix and client products quickly with defaults (UNIX and Linux) or Installing with the GUI typical setup (Windows).

Can I install client tools in a different directory from the one in which I installed Informix?

Yes, if you set the INFORMIXDIR environment variable to point to the directory in which you installed HCL Informix Client Software Development Kit, IBMInformix 4GL, or the other client tools. To access the Informix database, the INFORMIXDIR, INFORMIXSERVER, INFORMIXSQLHOSTS, and PATH environment variables must be set on the client application. Depending on your application, you might need to set more variables. For information about the environment variables that you might need to set for IBM Informix 4GL and other client applications, see information about Informix environment variables in the IBM Informix 4GL Installation Guide.

Must I install different versions of client tools in different directories?

If your applications are built with different versions of HCL Informix Client Software Development Kit, you should install the separate versions in separate directories. For more information, including tips about how to work with client tools in separate directories, see the "Informix Tools and Server Compatibility" IBM developerWorks® article: https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/blogs/idsteam/entry/informix_tools_and_server_compatibility2?lang=en

Which .Net provider should I install?

Starting with HCL Informix Version 11.70.xC5, use the IBM DB2® .NET Provider with your Informix installation. The IBM DB2 .NET Provider is part of the IBM Data Server Driver. You can download the IBM Data Server Driver from http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=4020&uid=swg27016878.

What are non-root installations and where can I find information about them?

A non-root installation on UNIX or Linux does not require system administration privileges or user and group informix accounts. This can simplify the installation and deployment of Informix as an embedded solution, but the absence of root privileges limits the availability of product features. For more information, see Non-root installations.

Also see the IBM developerWorks article http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/data/library/techarticle/dm-1211informixprivateinst/index.html for information about non-root installation and usage with the HCL Informix JDBC, ODBC, and ESQL/C drivers.

What is the HCL OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) for Informix and how do I install it?

OAT is a web application for administering and analyzing the performance of HCL Informix database servers. For more information about OAT, see the following topic in the Informix Information Center: HCL OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) for Informix.

You can install OAT when you install the HCL Informix Client Software Development Kit (Client SDK) or when you install the HCL Informix software bundle and select Client SDKor HCL Informix Connect. For information about installing OAT, see the following topic in the Informix Information Center: Installing the OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) for Informix with the Client SDK.