Novell Doc: Novell ZENworks 7.2 Linux Management Administration Guide - Mirroring Dell Update Packages to Your ZENworks Server

25.5 Mirroring Dell Update Packages to Your ZENworks Server

You can mirror Dell Update Packages from the Dell FTP site or from a CD obtained from Dell to your ZENworks server. Dell Update Packages let you update and configure hardware and system settings (including BIOS, DRAC, RAID, BMC, and FRMW configurations) on Dell PowerEdge servers.

IMPORTANT:Before you can use Dell Update Packages on your Dell servers, you must complete the steps in Enabling Dell PowerEdge Support in the Novell ZENworks 7.2 Linux Management Installation Guide.

If you plan to update Dell PowerEdge servers using Dell Update Packages, we recommend that you mirror the packages from the Dell FTP site before installing the ZENworks Agent on the managed PowerEdge servers. You can also mirror the packages after installing the ZENworks Agent on the managed PowerEdge servers but before registering them in the ZENworks Management Zone. Mirroring the Dell Update Packages prior to installing the ZENworks Agent or registering the servers in the Management Zone ensures that all Dell model numbers are loaded into the database, the standard reports are run as the servers register, and the Dell Update Packages exist in the ZENworks package repository. For more information, see Section 23.0, Using Dell Update Package Bundles.

To mirror Dell Update Packages from a remote server or from a CD to your ZENworks server:

Run the following command to generate an empty configuration file:

/opt/novell/zenworks/bin/zlmmirror conf-generate filename.xml

This command generates a template configuration file in the current directory.

For more information, see Section 25.3.1, Creating the Configuration Files by using the Command Line Utility.
Open the empty configuration file in a text editor.

In the <RemoteServer> section, edit the following configuration elements:

Configuration Element	Setting
<Base></Base>	Path to the server you want to mirror: <Base>http://ftp.dell.com</Base> or Path to the mountpoint of the CD you want to mirror: <Base>file:///path/to/cd</Base>
<Type></Type>	Type of server you want to mirror: <Type>dell</Type>

Configuration Element

Setting

Path to the server you want to mirror:

Path to the mountpoint of the CD you want to mirror:

Type of server you want to mirror:

In the <LocalServer> section, edit the following configuration elements:

Configuration Element	Setting
<Type></Type>	Type of mirroring you want performed: <Type>zlm</Type> Specifying zlm mirrors the Dell Update Packages directly to your ZENworks Linux Management server. After mirroring, the Dell Update Packages are displayed in the ZENworks Control Center.
<User></User>	Name to use when connecting to your ZENworks Linux Management (local) server: <User>Administrator</User> The Administrator user should be specified if you want to use the default administrator account.
<Password></Password>	Password for the account provided in User: <Password>password</Password> If you are using the Administrator account, this is the password you specified during the server installation. For information about encoding your password, see Section 25.8, Encoding the ZENworks Server Password.

Configuration Element

Setting

Type of mirroring you want performed:

Specifying zlm mirrors the Dell Update Packages directly to your ZENworks Linux Management server. After mirroring, the Dell Update Packages are displayed in the ZENworks Control Center.

Name to use when connecting to your ZENworks Linux Management (local) server:

<User>Administrator</User>

The Administrator user should be specified if you want to use the default administrator account.

Password for the account provided in User:

<Password>password</Password>

If you are using the Administrator account, this is the password you specified during the server installation. For information about encoding your password, see Section 25.8, Encoding the ZENworks Server Password.

To list all catalogs and bundles available on the remote ftp site, execute the zlmmirror server-list-bundles -c filename.xml command. For more information, view help for zlmmirror by executing the following command: zlmmirror --help.

In the <Catalog> section, edit the following configuration elements:

Configuration Element	Setting
<Name></Name>	Name of the catalog you want to mirror from this remote server: <Name>catalog_name</Name>
<Folder></Folder>	Name of the folder where the Dell Update Packages are created and updated: <Folder>/folder_name</Folder> Specifies the eDirectory folder (for example, /Dell) where bundles and catalogs are created and updated. If not specified, the catalogs and bundles are created and updated in the /zlmmirror folder.

Configuration Element

Setting

Name of the catalog you want to mirror from this remote server:

<Name>catalog_name</Name>

Name of the folder where the Dell Update Packages are created and updated:

<Folder>/folder_name</Folder>

Specifies the eDirectory folder (for example, /Dell) where bundles and catalogs are created and updated. If not specified, the catalogs and bundles are created and updated in the /zlmmirror folder.

Your edited zlmmirror configuration file should look similar to the following example. If your configuration file is set up to mirror a CD, the <Base></Base> configuration element in the <RemoteServer> section contains <Base>file:///path/to/cd</Base> instead of <Base>http://ftp.dell.com</Base>.

<ZLMMirrorConf>

     <Session>

         <RemoteServer>

              <Base>http://ftp.dell.com</Base>

              <Proxy></Proxy>

              <Type>dell</Type>

              <User></User>

              <Password></Password>

         </RemoteServer>

         <LocalServer>

              <Type>zlm</Type>

              <Base></Base>

              <User>Administrator</User>

              <Password>password</Password>

              </LocalServer>

                                  <Catalog>

                  <Name>catalog_name</Name>

                  <LocalName></LocalName>

                  <Folder>/folder_name</Folder>

                  <Target></Target>

                  <ExcludeTarget></ExcludeTarget>

                  <Bundle></Bundle>

                  <ExcludeBundle></ExcludeBundle>

               </Catalog>

      </Session>

</ZLMMirrorConf>

Save the file.

This downloads all the bundles available in the specified catalog. If you want to download a specific bundle, specify the bundle name as shown below:
```
<Bundle> Bundle_Name </Bundle>
```
Mirror the Dell Update Packages by running the following command:

zlmmirror m -c=filename.xml

where filename.xml is the name of the zlmmirror configuration file you created in Step 1.

Depending on the speed of your connection, the Dell Update Packages take approximately 30 minutes to mirror from the Dell FTP site. After the mirroring operation is complete, the Dell Update Packages are automatically bundled and display in the ZENworks Control Center on the Bundles page. The first time you mirror Dell Update Packages, all available packages are mirrored; subsequent mirror sessions obtain upgraded packages only.

To determine if there are updated Dell Update Package bundles available for the servers in your system, in the ZENworks Control Center, click the Devices tab, then click Servers. A link in the Dell Updates column indicates whether there is a Dell Update Package bundle available in the ZENworks package repository for each Dell PowerEdge server in the list. You can click the link to view the name of the Dell Update Package bundle appropriate for the device.

If the Dell Update Package bundle is already installed on the device, but a newer version of the bundle is available, you can deploy the newer version. For more information, see Section 23.4, Deploying an Updated Version of a Dell Update Package Bundle.

If the Dell Update Package bundle is not assigned to the device, you assign devices as you would for any bundle. For more information, see Section 23.2, Assigning Dell Update Package Bundles.

If you assign the Dell Update Packages to devices using bundles, the packages are always installed. For this reason, it is possible to downrev your firmware using Dell Update Packages distributed via bundles.

If you assign the Dell Update Packages to devices using catalogs, the packages are installed only in an upgrade situation. It is not possible to downrev firmware using Dell Update Packages distributed via catalogs.

To create catalogs and assign devices, continue with Section 22.1, Understanding Catalogs.

During installation of the Dell Update Packages, if you get an error message stating that your system needs more contiguous RAM, reboot the system and retry the installation.

You should periodically run the zlmmirror utility to obtain updated Dell Update Packages. You can automate the process by creating a cron job to perform the mirror session as often as needed (monthly, for example).