iManager 2.6 install scenarios with NetWare 6.5 SP6

What are the iManager 2.6 installation/upgrade scenarios when installing NetWare 6.5 Support Pack 6?

"Do you want to install iManager plugins now?" message comes up while applying Support Pack 6 for NetWare 6.5.

NetWare 6.5 Support Pack 6 includes iManager 2.6. Earlier versions of NetWare 6.5 included either iManager 2.0.2 or iManager 2.5. The following scenarios illustrate what will happen with an existing iManager installation when Support Pack 6 is applied to a NetWare 6.5 server or when an inplace upgrade is performed using the NetWare 6.5 Support Pack 6 Overlay CDs.

Scenario #1- Fresh Install

If you select iManager during a fresh install of NetWare 6.5 Support Pack 6, iManager 2.6 with Support Pack 2 will be installed.

Scenario #2- Inplace Upgrade

Regardless of the previous version of iManager installed (2.0.2, 2.5 or 2.6), if iManager is selected, the existing SYS:\TOMCAT\4\WEBAPPS\NPS directory is backed up and iManager 2.6 will install as if it were a fresh install creating a brand new NPS directory. None of the plug-ins in the backed-up NPS directory will be installed. If you have custom content that existed in iManager 2.5, you will need to re-install the custom plug-ins after the installation of iManager 2.6 completes. Please see TID #3447396 - How to replicate custom plug-ins created with the iManager Plug-in Studio.

Scenario #3 -iManager 2.0.2 currently installed

iManager 2.0.2 is left as is. If you want to install iManager 2.6, you will need to use the standalone installer available at www.novell.com/downloads.

Scenario #4- iManager 2.5 currently installed

After the Support Pack install is initiated through NWCONFIG, one of the screens you will see is the following:

NOTE: At this point there is NO way to keep iManager 2.5 from being upgraded to iManager 2.6. If you DO NOT want to upgrade to iManager 2.6, DO NOT apply the Support Pack.

If YES is selected:

The current SYS:\TOMCAT\4\WEBAPPS\NPS directory is backed up and a new one is created for iManager 2.6. All plug-ins that ship on the NetWare 6.5 Support Pack 6 CD are installed. Noneof the plug-ins from the previous iManager 2.5 backed-up NPS directory are installed into iManager 2.6. If you had any custom plug-ins installed in iManager 2.5, you will need to manually re-install them into iManager 2.6 (see the TID listed above). If there were any plug-ins installed in iManager 2.5 that are not included on the NetWare 6.5 Support Pack 6 CDs (i.e. IDM 3 plug-ins), the best option is to download the latest plug-ins using iManager 2.6 to ensure you are running the latest version of the plug-in.

If NO is selected:

The current SYS:TOMCAT\4\WEBAPPS\NPS directory is backed up and a new one is created for iManager 2.6. Only the core plug-ins for iManager 2.6 are installed (i.e. Directory Administration, Groups, Help Desk, Partition and Replicas, Rights, Schema, and Users). However, all of the plug-ins that ship on the NetWare 6.5 Support Pack 6 CD are copied to the SYS:\TOMCAT\4\WEBAPPS\NPS\PACKAGES directory for easier installation at a later time. All other plug-ins outside NetWare 6.5 Support Pack 6 will need to be re-installed manually.

Scenario #5- iManager 2.6 currently installed

If iManager 2.6 is currently installed, applying the support pack does not touch iManager 2.6 at all. None of the plug-ins are installed and the above message from Scenario #4 is not presented during the installation of the support pack.

You can easily install the SP6 plugins yourself by unpacking the file nw65sp6\products\imanager\plugin26.zip to the root of your SYS volume while preserving the directory structure of the ZIP file. After this, you log into iManager and you will see the new plugins ready to be installed.