Chapter 1 Sun Management Center Change Manager (Overview)

The Sun^TM Management Center Change Manager, henceforth referred to as Change Manager, is a system management application that enables system administrators to quickly and efficiently install and manage Solaris^TM Flash archives across a large number of managed hosts. System administrators can create consistent software configurations that are easier to manage. System administrators can also improve their ability to know exactly what is running on their managed hosts by using Change Manager.

Change Manager is based on the Sun Management Center service and agent infrastructure. The Sun Management Center 3.5 Console component does not support Change Manager 1.0.1. Instead, Change Manager is supported by the web-based Sun Management Center Web Console.

• Perform Sun Management Center tasks from the Sun Management Center Console.

• Perform Change Manager tasks from the Sun Management Center Web Console.

The primary difference between Change Manager 1.0.1 and Change Manager 1.0 is that Change Manager 1.0.1 is based on Sun Management Center 3.5, while Change Manager 1.0 is based on Sun Management Center 3.0.

The following topics are covered in this chapter:

• Change Manager Features

• Change Manager Deployment Concepts

• Change Manager Overview (Task Map)

Change Manager Features

Change Manager enables system administrators to quickly and easily install, configure, update, and audit software running on large groups of replicated systems.

Key to accomplishing these tasks is the software stack. A software stack is a set of one or more software elements installed as a Solaris Flash archive on managed hosts. The stack is a well-defined set of files, which must include, at a minimum, the Solaris operating environment. For example, a software stack might include the Solaris 9 operating environment, with the Apache web server, and the Oracle® database.

Following are the main features of Change Manager:

• Quick and easy deployment of integrated software stacks, which are in the form of Solaris Flash archives, to managed hosts

• Rapid reprovisioning of systems to adapt to changes in the computing needs of your business

• Installation of software on a cloned group of managed hosts while they continue to run, by using the Solaris Live Upgrade feature

• Easy creation and maintenance of reference software configurations for the managed hosts

• Scheduling and automation of software installations or reprovisioning of services

• Audit of a software stack that is running on any managed host or on one or more groups of managed hosts

• Easy-to-use browser-based interface (see Appendix A, Change Manager Browser Interface Navigation (Reference)) as well as a command-line interface for scripting and for use by expert users (see the changemgr(1MCM) man page)

Change Manager Deployment Concepts

Change Manager is a tool that deploys software, in the form of a Solaris Flash archive, to a group of managed hosts. Change Manager 1.0.1 does not support traditional package-based installation or patch installation directly to managed hosts.

This section introduces these key concepts that relate to the Change Manager product and its usage:

• Solaris Flash Archive

• Solaris Boot Image

• Managed Hosts

• Deployment Operations

Solaris Flash Archive

Solaris Flash is a standard Solaris installation mechanism that installs a Solaris Flash archive on a system. The archive is a single file that encapsulates the entire software contents of a previously installed and configured Solaris system. Change Manager also refers to this file as an integrated software stack. The Solaris Flash archive is currently the only software object that can be deployed by Change Manager.

Change Manager cannot create a Solaris Flash archive itself. A Solaris Flash archive must be created from a master system that contains the software you want in the archive. The master system is typical of the systems on which you deploy the archive. The master system can be installed by using one of the standard Solaris installation methods:

• Solaris Web Start installation

• Interactive installation

• Custom JumpStart installation

• Solaris Flash installation

After the Solaris software is installed, you can customize the master system by applying patches and installing and configuring software applications.

For a Solaris Flash archive to be deployable by Change Manager, the archive must include the Sun Management Center agent and the Change Manager agent module. This software must be installed on the master system prior to creating the archive.

The Solaris Flash archive can be customized by defining a set of archive parameters and by writing deployment finish scripts to process these parameters. Archive customization on a per-host basis is achieved by modifying the archive parameter values in the shared profile or in the host properties.

For example, by creating an archive parameter to specify the software license key, you can specify a different key for each managed host that you install.

After a master system is installed and configured, use the flar create command to create the Solaris Flash archive. When the archive is ready, you must import it to the Change Manager repository before you can deploy it to managed hosts.

Solaris Boot Image

Each Solaris Flash archive is associated with a Solaris boot image. The boot image, also known as the miniroot, is a minimal Solaris bootstrap environment that supports the initial installation process. The Solaris version of the boot image and the archive must match. For example, a Solaris 9 archive requires a Solaris 9 boot image.

You must import the Solaris boot image to the Change Manager repository before you can deploy related Solaris Flash archives to managed hosts.

You can obtain a Solaris boot image from a Solaris installation CD.

Managed Hosts

After a Solaris Flash archive and matching Solaris boot image have been imported to the repository, you can set up managed hosts to be installed by using Change Manager. A managed host is a target system that can have software deployed to it by Change Manager. Managed hosts are added to the Sun Management Center topology. Managed hosts can be organized into administrative domains and host groups. You can perform a Change Manager operation on individual managed hosts or on host groups, which causes that action to be performed on each managed host in the host group.

Shared Profiles

When you add a managed host to the Sun Management Center topology, you must associate the host with a shared profile. The shared profile describes the configuration characteristics to be used for the installation of that managed host.

A shared profile can be used by one or more managed hosts. For example, if you have 100 managed hosts running search engine software and the hardware configurations of these managed hosts are the same, the same shared profile can be used by each managed host. Any per-host differences must be specified in the host properties.

A shared profile must specify the Solaris Flash archive you want to deploy. In addition to specifying the archive, the shared profile specifies configuration data that is used to install and configure the software on managed hosts. This configuration data (sometimes called sysidcfg data or custom JumpStart data) includes information about the network interface, naming service, security protocols, and disk layout.

Host Properties

When you add a managed host to the Sun Management Center topology, you must specify the following information:

• Ethernet (MAC) address

• Platform group (for example, sun4u)

• Shared profile

After you specify the shared profile, you can view and modify any archive parameters that are part of the Solaris Flash archive you specified. These archive parameter values, plus the configuration parameters specified in the shared profile, constitute the host properties for the particular host being added.

Deployment Operations

Change Manager supports three automated software deployment operations. Each of the following operations deploy software in the form of a Solaris Flash archive to managed hosts:

• Initial installation

• Reinstallation

• Live update

Initial Installation

After the managed host is added, you must create custom JumpStart data prior to performing the initial installation. The custom JumpStart data is based on the host properties for each specified managed host.

For initial installation, the Change Manager server acts as an installation server to deploy a Solaris Flash archive to managed hosts. The Solaris boot image and the custom JumpStart data are used to install the Solaris Flash archive on the managed host.

An initial installation must be initiated directly on the managed host by typing the following command at the OpenBoot^TM prompt:

ok> boot net - install

This boot command cannot be initiated by Change Manager because the Sun Management Center agent and the Change Manager agent module are not yet available on the managed host.

The first time you use Change Manager to install a Solaris Flash archive on a managed host, you must use the initial installation operation. The Solaris Flash archive must include the Sun Management Center agent and the Change Manager agent module, which enable the managed host and the Change Manager server to communicate.

Reinstallation

A reinstallation is equivalent to an initial installation except that the operation is initiated by Change Manager rather than by you typing boot net - install at the OpenBoot prompt. A reinstallation can be initiated by Change Manager because the Sun Management Center agent and the Change Manager agent module are now available on the managed host. The system software on the managed host is overwritten by the software in the Solaris Flash archive.

Live Update

To perform a live update operation (also called update), the managed host must be running the Sun Management Center agent and the Change Manager agent module. The update uses the Solaris Live Upgrade feature to install the Solaris Flash archive on the inactive boot environment of a running managed host. When the installation completes, the inactive boot environment is marked as active and the system reboots to run the new software stack. The other boot environment is unchanged.

You can fall back to the previous boot environment to ``undo'' the update operation. This fallback operation marks the previously running boot environment as the active boot environment, then reboots the system to run the previous software stack.

You can monitor the setup for installation, update, and reinstallation operations by viewing the Change Manager job queue. See Chapter 7, Monitoring Jobs (Tasks).

Example—Getting Started With Change Manager

The following example outlines the process you might follow to use Change Manager to deploy software to managed hosts.

1. Install and configure the Change Manager server.

   The Change Manager server is used as a repository for installation files and audit files and to manage hosts.

   See Chapter 2, Hardware and Software Requirements (Planning) for server requirements. See Chapter 3, Installing, Configuring, and Accessing the Change Manager Server (Tasks) for the server installation procedures.

2. Create a Solaris Flash archive on a master system that you can deploy to the hosts you manage with Change Manager.

   Note that the Sun Management Center agent and the Change Manager agent module must be installed on the master system before you create the Solaris Flash archive.

   See Chapter 4, Creating a Deployable Solaris Flash Archive (Tasks) for information about creating the Solaris Flash archive.

3. Log in to the Change Manager browser interface at the following URL:

   https://cm01:6789

   In this example, cm01 is the host name of the Change Manager server.

   At the login page, provide the user name and password of a valid Sun Management Center user.

   See Authorizing Users to Access Change Manager for information about creating Sun Management Center users for Change Manager.

4. Import a Solaris boot image to the Change Manager repository.

   This boot image is required to perform the initial installation of managed hosts. The boot image must also match the version of the Solaris Flash archive that you want to install.

   The boot image must be completely imported to the repository before you can use it to deploy an archive to managed hosts. You can determine the status of the import job by monitoring the job queue.

   • See Solaris Boot Image for information about Solaris boot images.

   • See How to Import Solaris Boot Images to the Change Manager Repository (Web Browser) or How to Import Solaris Boot Images to the Change Manager Repository (Command Line) for the procedure that shows how to import the boot images to the Change Manager repository.

   • See Chapter 7, Monitoring Jobs (Tasks) for information about monitoring jobs.

5. Import the Solaris Flash archive you created to the repository.

   The archive and the matching boot image must be stored in the repository for you to perform deployments of the archive to managed hosts.

   The archive must be completely imported to the repository before you can use it to deploy managed hosts. You can determine the status of the import job by monitoring the job queue.

   • See Solaris Flash Archive for information about Solaris Flash archives.

   • See How to Import Solaris Flash Archives to the Change Manager Repository (Web Browser) or How to Import Solaris Flash Archives to the Change Manager Repository (Command Line) for the procedure that shows how to import the archives to the Change Manager repository.

   • See Chapter 7, Monitoring Jobs (Tasks) for information about monitoring jobs.

6. Create a shared profile to describe the configuration of your managed hosts.

   When specifying the disk layout in this shared profile, you might want to specify a second boot environment to enable subsequent update operations.

   See Chapter 5, Installing Solaris Flash Archives on Managed Hosts (Tasks) for procedures that show how to create shared profiles. See Chapter 10, Parameters for Shared Profiles and Host Properties (Reference) for information about the host properties.

7. Add managed hosts to the Sun Management Center topology.

   These managed hosts are the target systems that are to be installed with the Solaris Flash archive you create. You must specify the shared profile you want to use to configure the managed hosts.

   You can organize the topology by creating a hierarchy of host groups. You can add managed hosts to the host groups.

   • See How to Add a Managed Host (Web Browser) or How to Add Managed Hosts (Command Line) for the procedure that shows how to add managed hosts.

   • See Chapter 9, Maintaining the Sun Management Center Topology (Tasks) for procedures that show how to organize and maintain the Sun Management Center topology.

8. Set up hosts for initial installation.

   Set up the custom JumpStart installation files by running the setup operation.

   The setup operation must complete before you can deploy managed hosts. You can determine the status of the setup job by monitoring the job queue.

   • See How to Perform an Initial Installation (Web Browser) or How to Perform an Initial Installation (Command Line) for information about the setup operation.

   • See Chapter 7, Monitoring Jobs (Tasks) for information about monitoring jobs.

9. Perform initial installations of the managed hosts that you added.

   Manually start the initial installation operation on each managed host that you want to install by typing the following on each host's console:

   ok> boot net - install

   • See How to Perform an Initial Installation (Web Browser) or How to Perform an Initial Installation (Command Line) for the procedure that shows how to install managed hosts.

   • See Chapter 7, Monitoring Jobs (Tasks) for procedures that show how to monitor jobs in the job queue.

10. After the managed hosts are successfully installed, you can issue other Change Manager commands to the managed hosts.

    By issuing these commands, you can verify whether the Change Manager server can successfully communicate with the managed hosts. For example, you can submit a get software status request to your managed hosts.

    When this operation succeeds, you can perform further deployment tasks and audit tasks on your managed hosts.

Change Manager Overview (Task Map)

The following task map provides an overview of the Change Manager workflow.

Typically, Change Manager operations can be performed by three classes of administrator: server administrator, deployment user, and software stack creator. Sometimes the duties performed by each user might overlap.