Upgrading the common components

The following information leads you through the upgrade process for the common components of BMC Client Management - the console and the predefined (out-of-the-box) objects for all supported platforms. This topic includes:

Upgrading the console

To upgrade a console to the current version you have the following possibilities:

If you applied a master hotfix, the console is upgraded by this process as well; therefore, you can skip the following sections.

Automatically upgrading via the console parameters

Before upgrading the console, you need to have already upgraded the master. The upgrade process for the console is then configured so that it is executed automatically when the console is launched for the first time after the master upgrade.

Manually upgrading via the console Download page

The Console Download Page is available on the master server and provides the links to download the different versions of the BMC Client Management console. This page is only accessible via a browser through the following address: http://<master name>:<master port>/console; it cannot be accessed through the regular agent interface.

The BMC Client Management console exists for the different operating systems as well as Java Web Start. To download and install a specific console version, click the link of the desired version under the respective section. To install the console as Java Web Start with the master, click the respective icon on the page.

Notes

This installs a link on your desktop to the master and enables you to launch the console, which is not installed on the local device. The files required to launch the console are stored in the local cache memory and are updated every time a console update is available.
Do not empty or delete the Java cache memory, because this deletes the files required for the console Web Start. If this happens, the Web Start Console must be reinstalled.

The download page also provides the current version of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) that is required by the console as well as the master.

Upgrading the predefined objects

If you imported the out-of-the-box objects, you also need to upgrade them to the new version, if you chose to deactivate the automatic upgrade option. Proceed as follows:

Open the console and log on.
Select Tools > Import Out-of-the-Box Objects .
The Out-of-the-Box Object Import window appears.
Select the language of the predefined objects from the list box.
If you already imported a previous version of this file, the Import Results window appears. It lists all predefined objects that are contained in this new file with their object type.
Select all objects that are to be added or updated by marking the respective check box in the Update column.
To update all objects, select the following Select All Objects button.
Click OK to confirm the import and close the window.

The selected predefined objects are now imported: the selected new objects are added and those that already exist are updated. All selected predefined objects are now available in the console for use.

Performing an automatic upgrade of the client agent on all platforms

BMC Client Management agents can be upgraded automatically or manually. If you want to manually upgrade your agents, see the sections under the respective platforms.

Automatic upgrade of agents is specified during the master upgrade. To verify that you have defined automatic upgrade, proceed as follows (by default the automatic upgrade is deactivated):

In the console, open the Global Settings > System Variables node.
Select the Connection Management tab.
Check that the Automatic Agent Version Upgrade parameter is set to Yes .
If this is not the case, double-click the respective line in the table.
The Properties window opens.
Check the box for the parameter.
Click OK to confirm and close the window.

The automatic agent upgrade is instantly activated. The next time the agents upload their identity to their parent, they are upgraded immediately, if an upgrade is available.