Install Software from the CommCell Console (Remote Install)

Table of Contents

Overview

What can be Installed

What cannot be Installed

Prerequisites

Space Requirement

Firewall and Network Port Requirement

User Permissions

General

Configuration

Configure the CommServe Cache Directory

Configure Download Software

Install Software

View Job Details

Verify Installation on Clients

Overview

Agents and package distribution can now be installed - both scheduled and on-demand - from the CommCell Console. With the CommCell Console-based install capability, software can now be quickly and efficiently rolled out in large data centers and distributed WAN environments.

What can be Installed

Computers inside a domain, outside a domain or in multiple domains that are not yet part of the CommCell, can be selected for installation.

To see which agents are supported for Install Software from the CommCell Console, see Installation - Support.

Note that following agents are supported along with the list of agents listed in the Installation - Support.

• MediaAgent

What cannot be Installed

• Install Software from the CommCell Console does not support the installation of 64-bit binaries to UNIX clients.

  When you try to install software from the CommCell Console on 64-bit UNIX clients, only 32-bit binaries will be installed.

• Install Software from the CommCell Console is not supported for the following:
  • CommServe
  • CommNet Server
  • SRM Server
  • Web Search Server
  • Cluster Environment

Prerequisites

Space Requirement

• On the CommServe you must have adequate space in the CommServe cache directory to host the following:
  • Software Installation Discs
  • Latest Service Pack

  The total amount of space can be estimated by adding the size of each of the Software Installation Discs and the latest Service Pack that you plan to host.

• On client computers you will need the temporary disk space to install the software. See System Requirement for more information on temporary space requirement.

Firewall and Network Port Requirement

Prior to installing software from CommCell Console, make sure to configure your Calypso firewall environment. For information on all available firewall scenarios, see Firewall.

To install software from CommCell Console, the following ports need to be opened:

• If you have firewall enabled on the CommServe, ensure that the client computer is able to reach the CommServe using port 8400. This port must be open towards the CommServe to receive incoming connections from the client.

  When Calypso proxy is in use, you can use Save As Script (.xml) file generated during the push install to configure firewall settings while performing remote installation on a new client. For more information, see Install Software on Client Using Save As Script.

• For Unix client computers, you must enable SSH (Secure Shell) and open port 22.

  In addition, if you have Solaris 11 client computers, make sure to do the following:

  1. Run the following command to stop SSH on the Solaris 11 client:

     svcadm disable ssh

  2. Open the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file and add the following line at the end of the file:

     Ciphers 3des-cbc

     If you already have other ciphers declared, add 3des-cbc at the end of the list after a comma (',').
  3. Run the following command to start SSH.

     svcadm enable ssh

• For Windows client computers, you must open the following ports:
  • 445 port (SMB)
  • Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) port
  • 135 port for Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM)

  If you are using legacy Windows computers (Windows NT and below), you may also need to open port 139.

• The following sections describe the steps to set up a fixed port for WMI. These steps are applicable for Windows Vista and above.

  Set up a fixed port for WMI through command line

  • At the command prompt, type winmgmt -standalonehost
  • Stop the WMI service by typing the command net stop "Windows Management Instrumentation"
  • Restart the WMI service again in a new service host by typing net start "Windows Management Instrumentation"
  • Establish a new port number for the WMI service by typing netsh firewall add portopening TCP 24158 WMIFixedPort

  Set up a fixed port for WMI through Control Panel

  • On the taskbar, click Start and then click Control Panel.
  • Click Windows Firewall.
  • Click Allow a program or feature through Windows Firewall.
  • Click Change setting button.
  • In the Allowed programs and features list, select Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).

If you chose not to open port 22, 445, 135, 139 and WMI port on your network, you can setup and use a remote cache that is located in the same network in which the client computer resides. Port 8400 must be opened temporarily in order to allow the client computer to communicate with the CommServe and download Calypso firewall configuration.

User Permissions

• For the CommServe and Client computers, specific permissions must be granted to the user group(s) whose user members will be administering this feature. For more information, see Capabilities and Permitted Actions.

  For the CommCell, if Authentication for Agent Installs is enabled, users must belong to a user group with Installation capabilities for the CommCell. The users can also belong to a user group with Administrative Management capabilities for the CommCell or an existing client computer. However, it is not recommended to add non-administrators to this user group.

• For install software on clients running Unix operating systems, the client computer must have SSH (secure shell) enabled, and the PermitRootLogins must be set to yes in the sshd_config file.

General

• Verify that the computers in which you wish to install the software satisfies the minimum requirements specified in System Requirements.
• Install Software from the CommCell Console does not support downloading packages from HTTP Proxy.

Configuration

Install from CommCell Console is configured in the following sequences:

1. Configure the CommServe Cache Directory to copy or download the required software packages in the CommServe Cache directory. The directory is configured to serve as a holding area for software and update packages.
2. Configure Download Software to download the software packages to the CommServe Cache directory using an FTP source site.

The following sections provide step-by-step instructions for configuring Install from CommCell Console.

Configure The CommServe Cache Directory

1.	Verify that you have adequate space in the CommServe cache directory for the latest service pack.
2.	From the CommCell Browser, click Control Panel and then click the Add/Remove Software Configuration.
3.	Select the CommServe Software Cache tab and select Use Local Drive to specify the local drive to use as a cache directory to store software packages in the Cache Directory field.
4.	Click OK.

Configure Download Software

1.	Verify that you have adequate space for the packages.
2.	From the CommCell Browser, right-click on the CommServe computer node, and click All Tasks -> Add/Remove Software -> Download Software.
3.	From the General tab, select the Download Packages option which automatically selects both Windows and Unix options. Select Windows to download Windows packages for clients running Windows based operating systems. Select Unix to download Unix packages for clients running Unix based operating systems.
4.	Click Job Initiation tab. Select Immediate to run the job now. Click OK.
5.	Once initiated, you can track the progress of the job from the Job Controller window.

Install Software

Use the following steps to install software on Windows Clients:

1.	Verify that your client computer cache directories have adequate space for the software packages.
2.	From the CommCell Browser, click Tools, point to Add/Remove Software and then click Install Software.
3.	Install Wizard Welcome screen is launched. Click Next.
4.	Select Windows and then click Next.
5.	Select Manually Select Computers and then click Next.
6.	Type the host names of the computers in the window pane manually to which you want to install the software. Computer names must be entered in the following format: <computer.domain.company.com> Click Next.
7.	In the Select Software Cache dialog box, Software Cache field displays the default software cache directory in which the software packages are downloaded. This Software Cache is the cache directory from which the software packages will be obtained for the client computers selected for install. If you wish to use the default, then do not select any options, and click Next.
8.	In the User Name and Password box, specify the user account information and then click Next. This user account must have administrative rights to the computer to which the software will be installed, and read-access to the computer from which the software will be retrieved. Click Next.
9.	Select the software Package(s) to Install on the selected computers and then click Next. If the computer meets the requirements for the agent software, the agent software will be installed, it if does not meet the requirements, the software will not be installed on the computer, but skipped. For example, if you selected Exchange Database iDataAgent as a component for installation, this will only be installed on systems where the Exchange database is present. For an explanation of the options and their possible values, refer to each component's interactive installation procedure in Deployment.
10.	Select Client Group from Available and click Add. Select Configure For Laptop Backups option to install Backup Monitor utility. This utility allows you to view the backup job summary of your client computer. See Monitor - Laptop User for more information. Select Storage Policy from Storage Policy to use drop-down list. Click Next.
11.	Select and configure the Additional Install Options associated with the software packages that will be installed or leave the Additional Install Options at their default values and click Next.
12.	Select Immediate to run the job now and then click OK.
13.	The summary of install operation will be displayed. Click Finish.   Review the Post-Install Considerations specific to the components that were installed using this procedure. The software packages that are pushed to the selected client computer(s) to run the install operations are automatically deleted from the client computer(s) after the install operations have completed.

View Job Details

To view the job details:

1.	From the CommCell Console, from the Tools menu select the Job Controller icon. The Job Controller window appears.
2.	Right-click the job and then click Detail from the shortcut menu. The details of the job you selected are displayed in the Install Software Job Details For Job ID dialog.
3.	Click OK. If viewing the details of a job with a pending or failed status, the Reason for Job Delay field will contain an Error Code, which, if clicked, will launch the customer support website displaying troubleshooting article(s) related to the specific issue. Additionally, if cache corruption has been found, the field will also contain the information pertaining to the missing updates or service packs. Multiple installation jobs (or uninstall jobs) can be scheduled to occur in parallel as long as the selected client computers are not scheduled for both jobs, i.e., the same client computer can not be selected for both scheduled jobs. The ability to schedule jobs in parallel can drastically reduce installation periods for your environment.

Verify Installation on Clients

1.	From the CommCell Browser, right-click the icon of a client computer, and click View --> Installed Software.
2.	View the installed software packages from the Installed Software window. Click OK.