VMware VCENTER CONFIGURATION MANAGER 5.3 - SOFTWARE CONTENT REPOSITORY TOOL... User manual

vCenter Configuration Manager
Software Content Repository Tool Guide
vCenter Configuration Manager 5.3
This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all
subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To
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EN-000437-00

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Contents
About This Book 5
About the Software Content Repository Tool 7
How It Works 7
What to Do First 8
Prerequisites for the SCR Tool 9
Host Machine andSoftware 9
User Credentials for Downloads 10
Supported Agent Machines 10
Installing the SCR Tool 11
Install the Repository Software 11
Download the Java Runtime Environment 11
Test the Java Runtime Environment Installation 11
Download and Install the Java Cryptography Extension (optional) 12
Preparing the Host Machine for Use with the SCR Tool 13
Review the Directory Structure 13
Change the Working Directory 13
Update the Replication Scripts 13
Connect the VCM-Managed Machines to the SCRTool 16
Set Logging Levels and Output File Names 16
Using the SCR Tool 19
Download the Patch Content 19
How to Schedule Downloads 19
Maintaining the Software Content Repository 20
Troubleshooting 21
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About This Book
About This Book This guide, VMware vCenter Configuration Manager Software Content Repository Tool Guide, provides
procedures for:
nPreparing for the installation of all components and tools
nInstalling all components and tools
nGetting started with all components and tools
Intended Audience
This document contains information intended for system administration personnel tasked with managing
users and resources within their network, and performing system maintenance.
To use the information in this book effectively, you need to have a basic understanding of how to
configure network resources. You also need to fully understand your network’s topology and resource
naming conventions.
Document Feedback
VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation. If you have comments, send
your feedback to [e-mail].
Software Content Repository Tool Documentation
The Software Content Repository Tool documentation consists of this document. Related documents
include the VCMHardware and Software Requirements Guide, online Help, and Release Notes.
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Technical Support and Education Resources
The following technical support resources are available to you. To access the current version of this book
and other books, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
Online and Telephone
Support
To use online support to submit technical support requests, view your product
and contract information, and register your products, go to
http://www.vmware.com/support.
Customers with appropriate support contracts should use telephone support for
priority 1 issues. Go to http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html.
Support Offerings To find out how VMware support offerings can help meet your business needs,
go to http://www.vmware.com/support/services.
VMware Professional
Services
VMware Education Services courses offer extensive hands-on labs, case study
examples, and course materials designed to be used as on-the-job reference tools.
Courses are available onsite, in the classroom, and live online. For onsite pilot
programs and implementation best practices, VMware Consulting Services
provides offerings to help you assess, plan, build, and manage your virtual
environment. To access information about education classes, certification
programs, and consulting services, go to http://www.vmware.com/services.
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About the Software Content Repository
Tool 1
About the Software Content Repository Tool The Software Content Repository (SCR) Tool is a standalone Java client software application that builds a
software content repository of UNIX/Linux patches, and then provides automated downloading of
operating system (OS) vendor patch content to the repository.
How It Works
The SCR Tool client downloads content used to patch your UNIX/Linux machines. These files include the
patch signature files (.pls), deploy package files (.plp) (not currently used), and OS vendor patch content
files (.rpm, .gz, .tar, .zip) used in the patching background processes.
As shown in the following diagram, the SCR Tool downloads the UNIX/Linux patch content. Using VCM
on another Collector machine, you can then update the VCM-managed (Agent) machines using the VCM
Patching UNIX/Linux patching capability.
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After downloading patches, you will use the VMware vCenter Configuration Manager (VCM) to assess
your UNIXmachines. To deploy the patches, you will need to use the alternate source mapping in VCM
Patching, and then deploy the patches to the UNIXmachines. For additional information,see the VCM
online Help.
NOTE The SCR Tool is not required for UNIX patch assessments or deployments, nor does it assess the
configuration or downloaded patch content used by VCM Patching. To deploy the patches, you will use
VCM Patching.
What to Do First
Before installing the SCR Tool, you must complete the following prerequisites.
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Prerequisites for the SCR Tool 2
Prerequisites for the SCR Tool The prerequisites for installing the SCR Tool include the following machines, software, and user
credentials.
Host Machine andSoftware
The machine used to host the SCR Tool must be a Red HatEnterprise Linux AS/ES machine (32-bit). For
further detail, see the VCM Hardware and Software Requirements Guide. If all of the requirements are met,
this machine can also run as a guest in a virtualized environment.
IMPORTANT The host machine must be used solely for the SCR Tool execution and repository storage.
Before installing the SCR Tool, it is highly recommended that any non-Sun Java versions be removed from
the machine that will be hosting the SCR Tool.
The host machine must be equipped with the following:
nInternet access
n500 GB of storage (recommended, depending on the platforms for which you will require patches). The
estimated storage requirements to store the patch content files and patch payload for the supported
platforms are as follows. You must allow sufficient disk space to download the content for each
platform being supported.
Supported Platform Minimum Storage Required for Patch Content Files and Payload
AIX 90 GB
HP-UX 6 GB
Mac OSX 70 GB
Red Hat 250 GB
SUSE 40 GB
Solaris 12 GB
Table 2-1. Platforms and Storage
NOTE The patch content will grow as vendors release additional patches. Ensure that you monitor the
disk space available on the host machine to avoid any problems in continuing to download and store the
patch content files and payload.
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nSun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 1.5 or later, 32-bit only. JRE nstallation is described in the
following section, Installing the SCR Tool.
nSun Java Cryptography Extension (JCE) Unlimited Strength Jurisdiction Policy Files corresponding to
the JRE version installed (required only for Red Hat and Solaris patch content). JCEinstallation is
described in the following section, Installing the SCR Tool.
User Credentials for Downloads
To download OS-vendor subscription-only content for Red Hat and Solaris machines, you must have user
credentials to the OS vendor sites.
Supported Agent Machines
The VCM-managed (Agent) machines that are supported for connecting to the machine hosting the SCR
Tool include: Solaris, Red Hat, HP-UX, AIX, SUSE, and Mac OSX. These Agent machines must be running
the VMware vCenter Configuration Manager.
For a list of supported machine/OS versions, see the VCM Hardware and Software Requirements Guide.
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