Change Manager Audit File Types

The Change Manager uses files as input and output for audit 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.

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.

Audit Rules File

An audit rules file determines what files and file attributes to audit on a managed host. The audit rules file serves two purposes:

• To specify which files and directories to catalog when building a manifest for a managed host

• To specify which files, directories, and file attributes in the manifests to compare when auditing managed hosts

For example, you might want to ignore the directory modification time for files. The modification time changes each time a file is created or deleted in the directory. You might also want to ignore core files or .o files.

The format of the audit rules file is described in Audit Rules File Format. The audit rules file name must use the .brul suffix.

To create or import a rules file from another system, see How to Create an Audit Rules File (Web Browser) and How to Import an Audit Rules File to the Change Manager Repository (Web Browser) or How to Import Audit Rules Files to the Change Manager Repository (Command Line).

To build manifests of managed hosts, see How to Build Manifests for Managed Hosts (Web Browser) or How to Build Manifests for Managed Hosts (Command Line).

To audit managed hosts, see How to Audit Managed Hosts (Web Browser) or How to Audit Managed Hosts (Command Line).

To import a manifest to the repository, see How to Import a Manifest to the Change Manager Repository (Web Browser) or How to Import Manifests to the Change Manager Repository (Command Line).

Manifest

A manifest is a file that describes all the files on the managed host and the file attributes for each file. The audit feature uses this manifest to determine how the managed host's software has changed over time. The files described in the manifest are based on the audit rules.

The format of a manifest is described in the Manifest File Format. The manifest is output for the Build Manifests action or the changemgr manifest command. The manifest can be used as input for the Audit action or changemgr audit command. The manifest file name must use the .bmft suffix.

In addition to the general file properties, a manifest is associated with the following property:

RulesFile

Read-only property that names the audit rules file used to build the manifest.

To import an existing manifest to the Change Manager repository, see How to Import a Manifest to the Change Manager Repository (Web Browser) or How to Import Manifests to the Change Manager Repository (Command Line).

To build manifests of managed hosts, see How to Build Manifests for Managed Hosts (Web Browser) or How to Build Manifests for Managed Hosts (Command Line).

To audit managed hosts, see How to Audit Managed Hosts (Web Browser) or How to Audit Managed Hosts (Command Line).

Report

A report is a file that is created by two jobs: Audit and Get Software Status. See How to Audit Managed Hosts (Web Browser) or How to Audit Managed Hosts (Command Line) and How to Get the Software Status of Managed Hosts (Web Browser) or How to Get the Software Status of Managed Hosts (Command Line).

See a description of the Comparison Report Format.

The report file name must use the .txt suffix.

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).