Chapter 2 Hardware and Software Requirements (Reference)

This chapter describes the hardware and software requirements for the following:

• Change Manager Server

• Master System

• Managed Hosts

The systems must meet these hardware and software requirements prior to installation of the Change Manager product.

Requirements are for the Change Manager server and the master systems only. Managed hosts should match the configuration of the master system as much as possible. The software stack built on the master system is later installed on the managed hosts.

Change Manager Server

The server runs the Change Manager software. The server stores information about managed hosts. The server also stores files that are used for Change Manager operations.

Deployment files, such as Solaris Flash archives and shared profiles, are used as input for deployment tasks. Audit files, such as audit rules files and manifests, are used as input and output for audit tasks. These files must be stored in the Change Manager repository to be used for deployment tasks and audit tasks. See Chapter 5, Installing Solaris Flash Archives on Managed Hosts (Tasks) and Chapter 6, Auditing Software Configurations (Tasks).

From the server, you can deploy software to one or more managed hosts. You can also audit one or more managed hosts.

You can access the server through the browser interface or through the command-line interface. The command-line interface must be run on the Change Manager server.

For instructions on installing the Change Manager server, see Chapter 3, Installing, Configuring, and Accessing the Change Manager Server (Tasks).

Change Manager Server Requirements

The Change Manager server must run Sun Management Center 3.0 Update 4, Patch 6 (or later) software as well as Change Manager software.

The following requirements must be met before you install the Change Manager software on the Change Manager server:

• Operating environment:

  • Solaris 8 2/02, at least the Developer Software Group.

  • Solaris 9, at least the Developer Software Group.

• Memory: 512 Mbytes of RAM available to run the Sun Management Center software

• Disk space:

  • 770 Mbytes for the Sun Management Center software in /var/opt/SUNWsymon.

  • 480 Mbytes for Sun Management Center patches in /var/sadm/pkg.

  • A local disk slice to hold the Change Manager database and repository. The repository holds objects, such as Solaris Flash archives, Solaris boot images, and managed host data. The space required depends on the application, but typically, a minimum of several gigabytes is needed.

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    Caution -

    The Change Manager database and repository must be stored on a local disk of the Change Manager server.

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• Software:

  • Sun Management Center 3.0 Server and Agent Layers.

  • Sun Management Center 3.0 Premiere Management Applications.

  • Patch 110938, Sun Management Center 3.0 Update 4 (version 6 or later).

    Download the patch from SunSolve^SM Web site.

Master System

This system is used to build a software stack. The master system's hardware configuration should represent the hardware configuration of the managed hosts. The software stack is to be deployed to the managed hosts. The software stack is encapsulated in the form of a Solaris Flash archive.

The master system must include some of the Change Manager packages. These packages include the agent software and the audit tools. This software enables the systems that are installed with the archive to be managed by the Change Manager server.

The software stack creator can make the stack customizable by embedding a description of the software parameters and deployment finish scripts in the archive. At deployment time, the finish scripts process the parameter values provided by the deployment user, customizing the software as required.

The deployment user specifies values for these software parameters as a shared profile or as being associated with the managed host itself, in which case the parameters are referred to as host properties.

For instructions on installing the master system, see Chapter 4, Creating a Deployable Solaris Flash Archive (Tasks).

Master System Requirements

The following requirements must be met before you install the Change Manager software on the master system:

• Operating environment: Solaris 8 2/02 or Solaris 9.

• Disk space: 18 Mbytes.

• Software:

  • Sun Management Center 3.0 Agent Layer.

  • Sun Management Center 3.0 Premier Management Applications.

  • Patch 110938, Sun Management Center 3.0 Update 4 (version 6 or later).

    Download the patch from SunSolve Web site.

Managed Hosts

Managed hosts are controlled by Change Manager operations, such as initial installation, update, and audit. Managed hosts must be added to the Change Manager server to act as Change Manager targets. Managed hosts also must be visible to the server through the appropriate naming service scheme.

For instructions on deploying software to managed hosts, see Chapter 5, Installing Solaris Flash Archives on Managed Hosts (Tasks).

Managed Host Requirements

To simplify replicated system management, ensure that the hardware configuration of the master system and managed hosts match as closely as possible. The best match is an identical hardware configuration.

Each replicated managed host must have the following data registered in the appropriate naming service databases:

• Host name

• IP address

For example, if the network uses the NIS naming service, update the hosts database. Add the host name and IP address to the hosts database.