21 Jun 12 When swinstall will not install: What to check

I’ve just been through another frustrating battle with swinstall and wanted a complete what to check list in the event that it won’t install software:

1. Check that system ip address (ifconfig lan#) is the same as defined in /etc/hosts . If this is not consistent, swinstall will not work and the error message is far from meaningful.
2. Check that /etc/nsswitch.conf exists. After a clean install it does not exist and needs to be put in place.
3. Check that nfs is working correctly for nfs based install. Bounce nfs.client,nfs.server,nfs.core in that order to stop reverse order to start ex /sbin/init.d/nfs.core <start/stop>
4. Use showmount -e <remotehost> to insure connectivity to remote depots.
5. swlist -l depot -s <remote host depot>
6. swreg -d depot $PWD on remote host after cd to depot. Remember in many scenarios remote depots in tape format will not install.
7. /usr/sbin/swagentd -r (Should be taken after any of the above corrective steps).

Tags: /etc/hosts, hpux, swinstall