Creating upgrade packages

The installed CM agents can be upgraded very easily via an automatic upgrade which is executed through an operational rule from any earlier version to the most recent version. When the master agent is upgraded to the newest version, the required files for all supported operating systems will be automatically stored in a specific directory on the master, <InstallDir>/Master/upgrade/packages/ , in .zip format. At master agent startup, the upgrade packages will automatically be created and thus published on the master, associated with the respective operational rule in a new directory called Client Management Upgrade . The only remaining manual operation during the upgrade process is the assignment of the target devices to the upgrade package. This upgrade process can be used to directly upgrade from any previous agent version to the most recent version.

If you are using the standard upgrade packages you do not need to use this option, all packages for all operating systems are automatically created. However, if you want to create and use your own upgrade packages you need to proceed as follows:

1. Copy your customized upgrade files to the <InstallDir>/Master/upgrade/packages/ directory.
2. Log on to the console with a super administrator login or equivalent rights.
3. In the console window select Tools > Create Upgrade Packages .

One custom package (.cst) per .zip file will be created in the same location together with its respective operational rule and placed in Client Management Upgrade directory under the Packages / Operational Rules top nodes.

The operational rule created to install the upgrade package contains in its comment box the version to which the agent will be upgraded. The operational rule will automatically contain as its first step the Check Operating System step, to ensure that the packages are distributed to the right target devices, and the necessary steps for package installation and to restart the agent after the install.

After the package is created, the .zip files will be deleted from their directory, thus making sure that the upgrade procedure will only be repeated when upgrading to the next version.

To upgrade the agents, the only remaining task to be done is to assign the devices or device groups to the respective packages and activate the rules.