Populating the Installation Manager repository
This article explains how to setup the local software repository for products that are based on the IBM WebSphere Application Server family of products. The Installation Manager (IM) repository is served by the content runtime software repository container.
Overview
There are three ways you can populate the Installation Manager repository with the proper WebSphere Application Server offerings.
IBM Installation Manager live repositories
The Installation Manager live repositories enable you to directly install the product and supplemental software over the internet. All fix packs levels are available. Access to the initial release requires the proper entitlement. For a list of Installation
Manager repositories, see Online product repositories for WebSphere Application Server offerings 
.
This method will require you to use the IBM Package Utility to build a local Installation Manager repository.
IBM Fix Central
IBM Fix Central contains all fix packs and interim fixes for the product parts. For example, you can download the latest fix pack for WebSphere Application Server or an earlier level according to your needs. Applicable parts for each version of
WebSphere Application Server are listed in the download documents. For a list of updates, see Recommended updates for WebSphere Application Server 
.
This method allows you to use download the fix packs from IBM Fix Central and copy them to the Advanced Content Runtime software repository. This is a good choice if you already have the fix packs downloaded.
IBM Passport Advantage Online
Passport Advantage customers can download the initial release of the product parts from Passport Advantage Online. To obtain current code levels, these downloads must be supplemented with fix pack repositories from IBM Fix Central. For parts available
from Passport Advantage Online, see Download WebSphere Application Server from Passport Advantage Online .
Which method you choose depends on what you are most familiar with.
When working with IBM Installation Manager, you should be familiar with the following terminology:
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Installation Manager repository
A repository that Installation Manager uses to locate the files for installing, modifying, rolling back, updating, or uninstalling WebSphere Application Server products. You specify these repositories in the Installation Manager preferences. When you download a product from IBM Passport Advantage or IBM Fix Central, the extracted installation files contain the repository for the product.
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Composite repository
A repository that references one or more other Installation Manager repositories. By editing this single file, you can quickly and easily change which products and versions the repository includes.
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External repository
A user-created repository that typically exists behind a firewall and can be accessed only by systems within your enterprise's intranet. The external repository can be a composite repository that consists of multiple WebSphere Application Server versions, fix packs, or interim fixes. An external repository is also known as a enterprise repository.
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IBM Packaging Utility
A no-cost companion tool to Installation Manager that you can use to create new repositories that contain one or more WebSphere Application Server product offerings. The tool can accept web repositories or local repositories as input, and it produces a local repository as output. This option is needed if you are using the IBM Installation Manager live repositories.
Procedure
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Download the Installation Manager toolkit to a local machine and transfer the file to the proper location in the software repository. For more information, see Installation Manager Toolkit
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Build the Installation Manager repository for the WebSphere Application Server products. For more information, see one of the following:
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Setup the composite repository. For more information, see Setting up a composite repository
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Verify that the Installation Manager is setup correctly. For more information, see Validating the Installation Manager repository