The Four Hundred

While many people install Client Access Express for Windows from a CD, then download and install the most recent service pack from the Internet, there are other options for administering Express desktops directly from an iSeries or AS/400. These options all begin with the basics of installing Express client from an iSeries server to a Windows-based PC. Here's a look at the process of installing Express from your OS/400 box.

[Note: This article deals with Express client V5R1 installation techniques using an OS/400 V5R1 server. Though many of these techniques may also work with the older Client Access for Windows 95/NT V3R2M0 product or with the newer iSeries Access for Windows V5R2M0 product, there may be some differences. Please check IBM documentation before you jump in.]

The first thing you need to know about an OS/400-based installation of Express client is where IBM hides the installation files. When IBM loads the Client Access Express for Windows licensed program (5722XE1) on your server, it also creates an install image of the Windows client software under the Integrated File System, or IFS, root directory on that server. So if you're looking for the same Express installation software that IBM ships on CD-ROM, you can find it in the /QIBM/ProdData/CA400/Express/Install/Image IFS directory.

In addition to storing the Express installation image in the IFS, Express service packs are automatically stored to the /QIBM/ProdData/CA400/Install/Image IFS directory when they are loaded and applied to your OS/400 server, via PTF. Service pack PTFs automatically update the IFS Express installation image directory, so that any client installation from that image will contain your latest iSeries service pack fixes.

Once you know which IFS directory contains your install image and service pack fixes, your Windows PC can access the install image by mapping a network drive to the IFS, through NetServer. As you may already know, NetServer allows an iSeries or AS/400 box to provide network file- and print-serving services in a Windows environment. To use NetServer to map to the Express install image, the NetServer TCP/IP server must be running and you must have a NetServer file share configured so that a client PC can access the install image directory. (Learn how to perform these tasks by reviewing the IBM Redbook The AS/400 NetServer Advantage, SG24-5196-00 (view pdf file.)

There are two tricks to setting up a NetServer file share for Express client installation. The first trick lies in knowing which IFS directory to have your NetServer file share point to. Be sure to set up your file share to access the /QIBM IFS directory, rather than the /QIBM/ProdData/Ca400/Express/Install/Image directory, where your install image actually resides. This is because different Express installation components reside in different subdirectories of the /QIBM/ProdData directory, not the install image directory. If you set up your NetServer file share to use the /QIBM/ProdData/Ca400/Express/Install/Image share point and then mapped a network drive to that directory on your Windows PC, the setup program would not be able to find the other IFS directories it needs in order to install certain Express components. This is because NetServer mapped drives can't search directories that occur before its share point, which is why IBM specifies the lower /QIBM/ProdData path for Express installs. (For more information on mapping NetServer drives for Express installation, see the IBM Web page Path discovery for Client Access Express installations.

The second NetServer file-share trick is, when you map a Windows network drive to the Express client install file share, check the Reconnect on logon checkbox on the Map Network drive screen you used to create the share. This box tells Windows to reconnect your new network drive every time the machine reboots. By doing this, you'll ensure that, if the installation program needs to find additional files after a reboot, the network drive pointing to your Express client installation files will still be attached to your PC.

Once you have a Windows PC network drive mapped to the /QIBM/ProdData IFS directory, it's a simple matter to install Express on the host Windows PC, by executing the following command:

And the Setup program will run you through a Client Access install. Choose whatever options are correct for your shop, and the program will be installed on your target Windows box, complete with any Express service packs that were loaded on your OS/400 host server. If, after installation, you have no further need for the mapped Express installation network drive, you can delete the drive mapping from your Windows desktop.

As I noted, knowing how to install Client Access Express for Windows from your iSeries or AS/400 box is the first step in performing more valuable administrative tasks from your OS/400 box. In addition to a straight installation, you can create a tailored installation file for Client Access Express; the tailored file controls which components your users can install and which components should be excluded. For more information on this feature, as well as more automated Express install options, go to IBM's Web page Installing or migrating on multiple PCs.