Creating a system package in BMC Server Automation
In order to perform an unattended installation of an operating system, you must create a system package in BMC Server Automation for each server configuration you want to install.
- Overview of system packages
- Before you begin
- To create a system package
- Special considerations for Linux system packages and Windows 2008 system packages
- After you create the system package
- Where to go from here
Overview of system packages
A system package not only contains all the instructions needed to install an operating system over the network, it can also run jobs that install software and configure a machine for a particular purpose. Consequently, you may want to create a different system package for each type of server you want to provision rather than just creating one system package for each type of operating system you want to install. For example, you might want to create a system package for a web server running Microsoft Windows 2008 and IIS. You could create another system package for a database server running Linux 8.0 and Oracle.
A system package type uses installation files for a specific operating system. Consequently, system packages for the various types of Windows, Linux, ESX, Solaris, AIX, and HP-UX operating systems are not interchangeable. Create separate system packages for servers running different operating systems.
Tip
When you define a system package, you must provide many categories of information. If you are creating multiple system packages with similar settings, you may want to create one system package and copy and paste that package to create another system package, adjusting settings as necessary.
Before you begin
To enable successful publishing of system packages for BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management, you must store them in the CSM_OS_Packages subfolder of the Depot folder in the navigation tree of the BMC Server Automation Console (Depot > CSM_OS_Packages):
To create and define a system package
- Using BMC Server Automation, perform the initial steps necessary to create a system package.
The system package is created and opens in the content editor. - Define the system package by specifying all of its settings.
- See Defining system package settings for detailed instructions about supported operating systems.
Review special considerations when defining system packagesto determine if these instructions apply to your system package.
Note
When defining a system package, note the presence of the Select Property icon next to various input fields. Whenever you see this icon next to an input field, it indicates that you can insert a parameter that refers to a local property to supply the value for the field.
- When entering or modifying parameters for the system packages, keep in mind these guidelines for BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management (Windows or Linux operating system):
- Under the Basic Config tab, enter ??NAME?? in the Computer name field. When the system package is selected at provisioning time, BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management supplies the hostname of the server to be provisioned or the IP address (if configured to do so).
- In the Local Properties tab, specify the name of the PXE datastore instance for the DATASTORE variable. Use the same format convention: CSM Datastore - name of pod.
- When you finish defining the system package, select File > Save.
Special considerations when defining system packages
Review the following sections when defining system packages.
For Linux system packages
For Windows 2008 system packages
For SUSE Linux Enterprise System (SLES) 11
For Oracle Enterprise Linux (OEL) 6.0
After you create the system package
After you create a system package, add a Network Shell (NSH) script called "CSM_Delayed_Reboot" to the Depot subfolder CSM_Scripts.
The script should look similar to the following example:
Type 1 (Execute the script separately against each target host.) |
Script: |
Parameter: hostname, default value TARGET.NAME |
Where to go from here
Creating a BMC Server Automation Deploy Job or an application component template
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