Fileset installation packages

The installation packaging of each fileset in a product can be divided into three parts.

These parts include the usr, root, and share parts. Although this can add further complexity to the understanding of the packaging, this parceling of a software product is necessary for the product to be used by diskless and dataless clients in AIX®.

Because they are parceled, a product can be installed on one machine (called the server) and then be used remotely by other machines on a network (called the clients).

Note: The usr and root parts of a product are packaged in the same installable package.

Item	Description
usr part	The usr part of a software product contains the part of the product that can be shared by machines that have the same hardware architecture. Most of the software that is part of a product usually falls into this category. In a standard system, the usr parts of products are stored in the /usr file tree. For example, the ls command would be in the /usr/bin/ls file.
root part	Every product has a usr part. The root part of a software product contains the part of the product that cannot be shared. The root part of a product is optional because many products may not have any files that need to be specific to each individual machine. In a client/server environment, these are the files for which there must be a unique copy for each client of a server. Most of the root software is associated with the configuration of the machine or product. In a standard system, the root parts of a product are stored in the root (/) file tree. The /etc/objrepos directory contains the root part of an installable software product's vital product data (VPD).
share part	The share part of a software product contains the part of the product that can be shared among machines, even if they have different hardware architectures, which can include nonexecutable text or data files. For example, the share part of a product might contain documentation written in ASCII text or data files containing special fonts. The share part of a product is optional because many products might not have any files that can be shared among different hardware platforms. The share part of a product is always packaged in a separately installable package. In a standard system, the share parts of products are usually stored in the /usr/share file tree. For example, a dictionary database might be stored in the /usr/share/dict/words file.

Item

Description

usr part

The usr part of a software product contains the part of the product that can be shared by machines that have the same hardware architecture. Most of the software that is part of a product usually falls into this category.

In a standard system, the usr parts of products are stored in the /usr file tree. For example, the ls command would be in the /usr/bin/ls file.

root part

Every product has a usr part. The root part of a software product contains the part of the product that cannot be shared. The root part of a product is optional because many products may not have any files that need to be specific to each individual machine.

In a client/server environment, these are the files for which there must be a unique copy for each client of a server. Most of the root software is associated with the configuration of the machine or product.

In a standard system, the root parts of a product are stored in the root (/) file tree. The /etc/objrepos directory contains the root part of an installable software product's vital product data (VPD).

share part

The share part of a software product contains the part of the product that can be shared among machines, even if they have different hardware architectures, which can include nonexecutable text or data files. For example, the share part of a product might contain documentation written in ASCII text or data files containing special fonts.

The share part of a product is optional because many products might not have any files that can be shared among different hardware platforms. The share part of a product is always packaged in a separately installable package.

In a standard system, the share parts of products are usually stored in the /usr/share file tree. For example, a dictionary database might be stored in the /usr/share/dict/words file.