Upgrading using the unified product installer

This topic describes how to use the unified product installer to interactively upgrade BMC Server Automation on 64-bit Linux and Windows platforms. It includes the following sections:

List of components that are upgraded by the unified product installer

List of components that are not upgraded by the unified product installer

Before you begin

Ensure that your environment meets the requirements discussed in Preparing for a Windows upgrade and Preparing for a Linux or UNIX upgrade.

To upgrade BMC Server Automation using the unified product installer

1. Download and extract the installation package appropriate for the operating system level and hardware platform in a <temporary location>. The package follows the naming convention BBSA<version>-<platform>.zip, and contains the unified product installation program files.
   Download this package to the host computer of the Application Server that was set up as a configuration server (for more about this type of Application Server setup, see Application Server types).
   
   

2. Extract the RSCDAgent.zip file and copy the rscd folder to one of the following locations before running the unified product installer (The unified product installer uses the RSCD installers while installing or upgrading BMC Server Automation in your environment):

   • (Windows) <temporary location>/files/installer/

   • (Linux): 
     

     • Version 8.6.01 and later <temporary location>/Disk1/files/installers

3. If you are on a Linux machine, assign executable permission to the temporary directory by entering the following command:

   chmod +x -R <temporary directory> 

   In addition, if the temporary directory is at the end of a path (that is, has at least one parent directory), assign read permission to the others class for all directories in the path. To do this, execute the following command on the top-level directory in the path:

   chmod o+r -R <top-level directory>

4. Run the installation file for BMC Server Automation (setup.exe for Windows or setup.bin for Linux).
   

   Note

   For Linux, BMC recommends that you execute the installation from a root shell. Do not execute the installation file from a non-root account.

5. Follow the instructions in the installation wizard and click Next. Enter your Authentication profile credentials to proceed with the upgrade procedure. The profile that you specify must be associated with the same Application Server where you are performing the upgrade. Note that only secure remote password (SRP), LDAP, or Domain Authentication type profiles can be used with the unified product installer. For more information, on Authentication profile credentials, see Setting up an authentication profile and Implementing authentication.

6. The unified product installer program displays the different types of servers that are present in the BMC Server Automation environment and their count.
   If  the unified product installer was successful in connecting with all servers, you can proceed with the installation. Skip to step 8.
   Otherwise, click Next to continue to step 7.
   
7. If any of the remote servers do not have an RSCD Agent installed, the wizard displays a list of those servers. You can choose from the following options:
   • Manually install an RSCD Agent on each of the listed remote servers, and then resume the installation through the unified product installer.
   • Authorize the unified product installer to install an RSCD Agent on each of the listed remote servers by providing the following information:
     

     • The name of a local super user (root or root-equivalent user on Linux, local Administrator or Administrator-equivalent local user on Windows) to which the RSCD Agent should map incoming connections during the installation.
       The default is root on Linux and Administrator on Windows.

     • Host name or IP address of the PSExec host computer.
     • User credentials (user name and password) for establishing an SSH connection to the remote hosts.
       If user credentials are the same on all remote servers, select the Use Common Credentials check box, and enter credentials in the fields below the check box. Otherwise, clear the check box and enter credentials for each of the servers directly into the table that lists the servers.
     After entering the required information, click Next.

8. Click Install to proceed with the upgrade of all BMC Server Automation components that are present in your environment.

   Notes

   If product components are detected during the upgrade on remote Windows machines in the BMC Server Automation environment, installers are automatically copied to the C:\BBSAInstallerDumpDir directory on the remote machines. These installers are used to automatically upgrade product components on those machines.
   

   If problems arise during the upgrade, the on-screen error messages contain instructions and guidance to help you troubleshoot the problems, and further information is available in the log files. For a list of log files written during the upgrade process, see the Troubleshooting section.
   

   After performing the recommended troubleshooting steps, you can return to the installer and safely resume the upgrade from the point where you left off. You might do this in one of the following ways:

   • If the installation wizard is still open, click the Previous button. This takes you to a new Summary window, which now lists only those components and servers that have not yet been successfully upgraded. Click Accept to re-attempt the upgrade of those components.
   • If you were forced to close the installation wizard (typically the case for longer troubleshooting procedures), you can re-launch the installer. After several initial windows, an updated Summary window lists only those components and servers that have not yet been successfully upgraded. Click Accept to re-attempt the upgrade of those components.

   During the upgrade, the original Application Server deployments are backed up. The backup files are stored in <installation directory>/br.

Where to go from here

1. (For BMC Server Automation 8.6 SP1 and later) The unified product installer automatically installs agent installer jobs and depot objects such as agent installers and agent bundles that can be used for installing or upgrading agents on servers in the environment. The agent installers, agent bundles, and agent installer jobs are present in the following locations:

   Object	Depot Path	Can be used for
   Installers	/Depot/BMC Maintenance/Agent Installers/	Agent install and upgrade
   Bundles	/Depot/BMC Maintenance/Agent Bundles/	Agent upgrade
   Jobs	/BMC Maintenance/Agent Installer Jobs/	Agent upgrade

   For more information about using these objects, see Installing one or more agents using the BMC Server Automation Console and Upgrading RSCD agents.

   Warning

   Modifying the name or path of these depot objects may cause errors in the agent installation process.

2. Upgrade any remaining product components that were not upgraded by the unified product installer. 
3. If you adjusted security settings before the upgrade (as described in the troubleshooting instructions for security settings), remember to re-adjust your security settings, based on your unique needs and the IT security policies at your organization.
4. For Windows patching, you may still be using the PD5.cab, or HF7b.cab configuration files for Windows patching. However, BMC Server Automation 8.6 and later versions do not support the PD5.cab, or HF7b.cab configuration files, and you must use the PD5.xml, or HF7b.xml files instead. The Windows catalog update job fails if you use the .cab configuration files. To update the configuration files used for Windows patching see, Global configuration parameters.
5. On SuSE 11, the Application Server does not start automatically at the end of the upgrade. You must start the Application Server manually at the end of the upgrade using the following command:
   /etc/init.d/blappserv start

6. You may still be using the PD5.cab, or HF7b.cab configuration files for Windows patching. However, BMC Server Automation 8.6 and later versions do not support the PD5.cab, or HF7b.cab configuration files, and you must use the PD5.xml, or HF7b.xml files instead. The Windows catalog update job fails, if you use the .cab configuration files.
   Update the configuration files used for Windows patching, see Global configuration parameters.