IBM GC23-7753-05 manual Creating a Snapshot for Deployment, Database Server Aliases

+	On Windows, the INFORMIXSQLHOSTS environment variable is used only if
+	you want to capture the connectivity settings stored in the registry of another
+	computer.
+	If the ONCONFIG environment variable is not set, the utility creates one from a
+	combination of whatever parameter settings you provide in the configuration file
+	and onconfig.std. The file name format of the autogenerated ONCONFIG file is
+	onconfig.server_name.
+	Database Server Aliases
+	With the ifxdeploy.conf file, you can set up multiple database server aliases that
+	are equivalent to setting the DBSERVERALIASES configuration parameter in the
+	onconfig file. The ″ALIAS″ section of the file consists of fields in which you can
+	provide the SQLHOSTS connection information for each alias. The ″ALIAS″ setting
+	can expedite your deployment if you plan to use database server aliases because
+	you enter the connection information as part of the configuration file setup and do
+	not need to configure SQLHOSTS information separately.
Creating a Snapshot for Deployment
	Create a snapshot of IBM Informix Dynamic Server that you can use with the
	deployment utility to place pre-configured instances on multiple computers.
	Before you create a snapshot, you must meet the following prerequisites:
+	v Windows administrator privileges on the computer.
	v Sufficient disk space to save the snapshot in a file. If space is limited, you might
	want to store the snapshot in a compressed file.
	To create a snapshot, complete the following steps on the computer where you
	installed the IDS instance:
	1. Shut down the instance in a consistent state with onmode -kuy.
	2. Create a snapshot of the following items:
	v	IDS installation directory
		Tip: Ensure you include the IDSFILES.txt file, which is in the installation
		directory. That file is required if you want to use the deployment utility to
		remove the snapshot from the target computer after you deploy it.
	v	Configuration settings
	v Optional: Data spaces associated with the instance
		Tip: Store the components of the snapshot in a compressed file if you want
		to save space. If you compress the snapshot with Gzip tar on UNIX or
		Linux® or into a zip file on Windows, the utility can be automatically
		decompressed by the deployment utility.
	3. Optional: After you create the snapshot, you can restart the instance.
Deploying a Snapshot with the Deployment Utility
	Deploy a snapshot of an instance by using the ifxdeploy command on the target
	computer.
	Before you deploy a snapshot, you must meet the following prerequisites:
	v Windows administrator privileges on the target computer.

5-4IBM Informix Dynamic Server Installation Guide for Windows