Change Manager Deployment File Types

The Change Manager uses deployment files as input for jobs.

You can use folders to create a hierarchy in which to organize these Change Manager files. These files and folders are stored in the repository. You can organize the folders and files in any way that you want.

Access the repository in the browser user interface by clicking the Files tab. Access the repository with the command-line interface by using the file management subcommands of the changemgr command.

You might organize the folders and files in the following ways:

Group like file types - For example, store all the Solaris Flash archives in a single folder. Do the same for Solaris boot images, shared profiles, and manifests.
Group files related to a particular set of managed hosts - Create a folder to hold all the files associated with a particular service's servers.

For example, a server farm provides web services. Therefore, create a folder named WebServer. In the WebServer folder, store the files used by the web server, such as the archives, boot images, shared profiles, and manifests. Create a separate folder to hold files associated with a mail server.
Group by user name - Store all files in folders owned by specific users. For example, store all of Joe's files in a folder named joe. Then, Joe can organize his folders and files in the way he wants.
Group all files associated with a particular archive - Store all files associated with each archive in folders. For example, the archive and associated files for the Apache web server are stored in a folder named apache-web-server. Store the archive, boot image, and shared profile in the same folder.

Files stored in the Change Manager repository have a standard set of properties associated with them. The following properties are shared by all files:

Description: User-supplied string that describes the file.
Owner: Read-only property that names the owner of the file.
State: Read-only property that indicates the state of the file.

Note -

When using the browser interface, you must perform the operations on the File Actions drop-down menu while in the appropriate folder.

For example, to create a folder inside an existing folder, go to that folder before choosing New Folder from the File Actions menu.

When using the browser interface, you can select items from a list. To select an item from a list, click the checkbox next to the item name. Then, choose the action to perform from the File Actions drop-down menu.

Shared Profile

A shared profile is a set of Solaris system configuration parameters that are used to install managed hosts in a consistent, repeatable manner. Once created, a shared profile becomes a template that can be applied to one or more managed hosts. A shared profile specifies customizations such as disk slicing, root password, network interfaces, naming service, time zone, and locale. Each profile can specify the Solaris Flash archive to be deployed to the managed host. Every managed host must have a shared profile associated with it.

Once applied to a specific managed host, the shared profile data becomes part of the host properties for that managed host.

Use the changemgr fileset command to change property values for a shared profile in the repository. You can also change property values by making changes to property values on the shared profile's property page. However, when the shared profile is outside of the repository, you manipulate properties by editing the properties and property values contained in the file. See the cmsp(4CM) man page.

The shared profile file name must use the .cmsp suffix.

To create or import shared profiles, see How to Create a Shared Profile (Web Browser) and How to Import a Shared Profile to the Change Manager Repository (Web Browser) or How to Import Shared Profiles to the Change Manager Repository (Command Line).

To deploy software to a managed host, you must import the shared profile to the Change Manager repository. See How to Reinstall, Update, Fall Back, and Reboot Managed Hosts (Web Browser), or How to Perform an Initial Installation (Command Line) and How to Update Managed Hosts (Command Line).

Understanding Shared Profiles and Host Properties

Shared profiles and host properties are used by the Change Manager to describe how one or more managed hosts are to be configured with a software stack. Much of the information specified by shared profiles and host properties is the same as described in a custom JumpStart installation profile.

A shared profile can be used by one or more managed hosts to describe the way managed hosts are configured with the software stack.

Host properties describe exactly one managed host. These properties describe the exact configuration of the software stack on the particular managed host. The host properties point to the shared profile. You can further customize the managed host by doing the following:

Overriding archive parameter values in the shared profile by providing new values for the same archive parameters
Overriding parameter values in the shared profile by providing new values for the same parameters
Providing values not already specified in the shared profile

Solaris Boot Image

A Solaris boot image is a set of files that is used with a matching archive to install and update managed hosts. The Solaris version of the boot image and the archive must be identical for installation tasks and update tasks to succeed. The Solaris boot image is used as input for an installation or an update action and is associated with an archive. A Solaris boot image is also known as a miniroot.

For installations, the boot image boots the Solaris operating environment on the managed host and runs the Solaris Flash installation program. For updates, the boot image runs the Solaris Flash installation program.

A single boot image can support several archives. The Solaris version of the boot image and the archive must match. For example, a Solaris 8 2/02 boot image must be used to deploy archives based on the Solaris 8 2/02 release.

The Solaris boot image file name must use the .miniroot suffix.

In addition to the general file properties, a Solaris boot image is associated with the following property:

OSVersion: User-supplied string that describes the version of the Solaris operating system associated with the boot image.

To deploy software to a managed host, see How to Perform an Initial Installation (Web Browser) and How to Reinstall, Update, Fall Back, and Reboot Managed Hosts (Web Browser), or How to Perform an Initial Installation (Command Line), How to Reinstall Managed Hosts (Command Line), and How to Update Managed Hosts (Command Line).

Solaris Flash Archive

A Solaris Flash archive is a file that contains a software stack. This stack can be deployed to hosts managed by the Change Manager. The Solaris version of the archive must match that of the boot image used for deployment. The archive is used as input for an installation, reinstallation, or update action. The managed host or a shared profile specifies the archive to use.

To deploy an archive, a matching Solaris boot image must already exist in the Change Manager repository.

The Solaris Flash archive file name must use the .flar suffix.

In addition to the general file properties, a Solaris Flash archive is associated with the following property:

BootImage: User-supplied string that describes the Solaris boot image associated with this Solaris Flash archive.

For a description of the archive keywords, see flash_archive(4).

Folder

A folder is a container that can hold files and other folders. Click a folder name to go into that folder. Then, view the folder's contents. Change Manager files can be the following:

Solaris Flash archive
Solaris boot image
Shared profile
Manifest
Audit rules file
Report

Perform the following actions from the folder page:

Create folders, shared profiles, and audit rules files.
Import Solaris Flash archives, Solaris boot images, shared profiles, audit rules files, and manifests to the Change Manager repository.
Rename folders and files.
Export files.
Create a copy of a shared profile or an audit rules file in the current folder.
Move folders and files to another folder.
Delete folders and files.

To create folders, see How to Create a Folder (Web Browser) or How to Create a Folder (Command Line).