T41.1: Installs and Upgrades Instances

Overview

InterSystems IRIS provides four distinct instance deployment types to match different operational scenarios.

Instance Types

• Development: Includes all tools and features needed for application development, testing, and debugging. Ideal for developer workstations and testing environments.
• Client: Provides a lightweight runtime environment suitable for applications that connect to remote IRIS servers, omitting heavyweight server components.
• Server: Production-ready deployments with full database capabilities, transaction processing, and all server features enabled.
• Custom: Allows administrators to select specific components and features based on precise requirements, optimizing disk space and system resources.

Selection Guidelines

The choice of instance type should align with the intended use case, security requirements, and resource availability.

Security Levels Overview

InterSystems IRIS installations support security-focused configurations through the INITIALSECURITY parameter, offering three levels:

• None: Minimal security for development environments
• Normal: Standard security with password-protected predefined accounts
• LockedDown: Maximum security with restricted services and limited access (default and recommended for production)

Account Configuration

During installation, administrators configure passwords for critical predefined accounts including _SYSTEM, Admin, SuperUser, and CSPSystem.

Service Account Considerations

• The default SYSTEM account is suitable for many scenarios
• Specific network configurations or security policies may require a defined Windows user account with appropriate privileges
• When using Kerberos authentication, a dedicated Windows account is mandatory
• Security-focused installations involve configuring the SELockMemory privilege for defined user accounts to enable large page support, which is critical for performance in production environments

Default Installation Path

By default, instances install to `C:\InterSystems\IRIS` with subsequent instances numbered sequentially (IRIS1, IRIS2, up to IRIS127).

Key Directories

• bin: Contains executable files including the IRIS server executable, command-line utilities, and management tools
• mgr: The manager directory housing system databases (IRISLIB, IRISSYS, IRISAUDIT, etc.), the configuration parameter file (iris.cpf), and journal files
• dev: Contains development libraries, include files, and programming interfaces for languages like C++ and Java
• csp: Stores CSP applications, web assets, and the web gateway configuration

Administrative Importance

Understanding this directory organization is essential for backup procedures, configuration management, file system security, and troubleshooting. Administrators should be familiar with which directories contain critical data requiring backup and which directories contain replaceable binaries.

Unattended Installation

Command-line instance management enables automated deployment and lifecycle operations essential for enterprise environments. Unattended installations use Windows Installer (msiexec) with IRIS-specific properties.

Key Command-Line Properties

• INSTALLDIR: Installation location
• INITIALSECURITY: Security level
• IRISUSERPASSWORD: Predefined account passwords
• ADDLOCAL: Custom feature selection
• SERVICECREDENTIALS: Service account configuration
• ISCSTARTIRIS: Controls whether IRIS starts immediately after installation
• ISCSTARTLAUNCHER: Controls system tray launcher addition

Service Management

After installation, instances run as Windows services named "InterSystems IRIS Controller for ", manageable through standard Windows service controls or the Management Portal. The autostart behavior can be configured to control whether instances start automatically when the system boots.

Advanced Operations

Command-line management also supports instance upgrades using the REINSTALL property and removal using the REMOVE property. This capability is crucial for scripting deployments, implementing infrastructure-as-code, and maintaining consistent configurations across multiple servers.

Upgrade Process Overview

InterSystems IRIS supports in-place version upgrades that preserve existing configurations, databases, and applications while updating the software binaries and system databases. The upgrade process uses the REINSTALL=ALL command-line property combined with the new version installer.

Pre-Upgrade Validation

Before upgrading, the system performs automatic pre-upgrade checks to validate compatibility, sufficient disk space, and system requirements. This checking can be bypassed with SKIPUPGRADECHECK=1, but this is not recommended.

What Gets Preserved

During upgrades, the installation preserves:

• The iris.cpf configuration file
• User databases
• Application code and customizations

System databases (IRISSYS, IRISLIB) are upgraded to the new version. The INSTALLERMANIFEST property can execute custom manifest classes during installation to perform configuration changes or data migrations.

Post-Upgrade Best Practices

After upgrade, administrators should:

• Verify system functionality
• Test critical applications
• Review error logs
• Confirm that all services start correctly

Best practices include backing up the entire installation before upgrading, testing the upgrade in non-production environments first, and maintaining rollback procedures. The upgrade process can also change the feature set using REINSTALL with specific feature names rather than ALL.