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Working with Advanced Repeaters

The Advanced Repeater is the combination of an advanced file server and an Advanced Repeater server. Both the Advanced Repeater server and advanced file server are built on BMC Client Automation technology. The three key components are:

  • Content Replicator (used to publish the content from the existing file server to the Transmitter on the advanced file server, and to pull the content down to the file system on the Advanced Repeater, using the BMC Client Automation proxy)
  • Transmitter (used by the advanced file server)
  • BMC Client Automation Proxy (used by the Advanced Repeater server)

See the following sections for more information about Advanced Repeaters and advanced file servers:

Benefits of using Advanced Repeater servers

An Advanced Repeater server provides scalable transport of data over wide-area networks, and is an alternate option when configuring file servers or repeater servers. If you are using deploy jobs in a large-scale environment, consider setting up advanced file servers and using Advanced Repeater servers. 

 Using advanced file servers and Advanced Repeater servers can help you improve the bandwidth utilization between the central file server and the repeaters. With the standard BMC Server Automation file server and repeater, the Depot objects are sent to the repeater in their entirety whenever they are required for a deployment. However, using an advanced file server on the existing file server with one or more Advanced Repeater servers uses a more efficient protocol to ensure that only changes to the content are downloaded across the network. You can also configure bandwidth throttling on links between the advanced file server and the Advanced Repeater server. When a Deploy Job is run and is set for indirect staging, any targets which have been configured through Routing Rules to use an Advanced Repeater server make use of the Advanced Repeater. Any targets which have been configured to use a standard repeater continue to do so. Any targets which are not configured to use a repeater stage the data directly on the target.

Note

Advanced Repeater servers are capable of staging any content securely (using SSL) that resides under File Server management using features such as File Compression, Byte Level Differencing, and Bandwidth and Network Throttling. You can use Advanced Repeater servers for BLPackage-based Deploy Jobs and Software Deploy Jobs if the payloads are stored under the File Server management. Other jobs, such as File Deploy Jobs or Patch Deploy Jobs should use only the traditional repeater server for staging. Payloads that are not stored under the File Server — such as 'NSH_COPY_AT_STAGING' or 'AGENT_MOUNT' payload types — cannot be replicated using the Advanced Repeater Server.

BMC recommends you to use Advanced Repeaters and advanced file servers if your environment meets one or more of the following conditions:

  • The environment has a large number of target servers and you want to avoid duplicate data transfer across the network.
  • You must control the bandwidth between the target servers and the Application Server or file server.
  • You want to increase the security of data on the file server by hiding it from external networks.
  • The network requires improved deploy job performance and execution times.
  • Target servers are connected to the Application Server or file server by a Wide Area Network (WAN)

Overview of the installation and configuration process

To employ advanced file servers and Advanced Repeater servers in your environment, complete the following steps:

  1. Run the BMC BladeLogic Advanced Repeater installation program on the following servers:
    1. File server which will be configured as an advanced file server
    2. Any server which will be configured as an Advanced Repeater server (the Advanced Repeater server and advanced file server are both installed from the same installation file)
  2. Configure the advanced file server.
  3. Configure the Advanced Repeater server.
  4. Optionally, secure the communication between the advanced file server and the Advanced Repeater server.

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Requirements for using Advanced Repeater servers

The following table provides requirements and resource recommendations for allocating system resources for Advanced Repeaters.

Before you begin the installation, review the following installation requirements.

Item 

Requirement or recommendation 

Installer /tmp space requirements

Prior to running the installation program, ensure that you have at least 800 MB of /tmp space available for the installer.

Requirements for UNIX X11 libraries

If you are installing the BMC Server Automation Advanced Repeater on a Linux system, note the following requirements for UNIX X11 libraries. 

If you are using Channel Manager, Application Packager, or any other channel that has a user interface, the X11 32-bit libraries are required. If the required UNIX X11 libraries are missing, the tuner does not run. You must have the binutils package, including the strings utility, installed. (This is already installed in most normal Linux installations.) You also must have glibc 2.1 or above installed. These packages must be installed before installing BMC Server Automation Advanced Repeater.

The XFree86-libs package contains the following required UNIX X11 libraries:

  • libXp.so.6
  • libXext.so.6
  • libXt.so.6
  • libX11.so.6
  • libSM.so.6
  • libICE.so.6

The total package size is approximately 21 MB.

Note: On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, you must install the libXp.i686, libXi.i686, and libXtst.i686 RPM packages, before installing the BMC Server Automation Advanced Repeater.

Disk space

Disk space recommendation for Advanced Repeater servers and advanced file servers

If you are implementing an advanced file server, the file server must have a minimum of 72 GB of available, nonredundant, disk space. BMC Server Automation recommends that the file server have 200 GB or more of available RAID 5 disk space.

When the BMC BladeLogic Advanced Repeater has enough disk space, it maintains three times the size of the data as cache, and attempts to maintain at least 10 percent free disk space. The Advanced Repeater transmitter component uses the additional space for optimizations that improve the efficiency of data replication, such as diffing, caching, and compressing.

It is possible to run the transmitter with less than optimal disk space, but efficiency degrades. If the transmitter does not have enough disk space to maintain the optimal storage size ratio, it runs in limited disk space mode. In limited disk space mode, the transmitter stops maintaining storage size ratio, and starts maintaining free disk space instead, by removing cache files to reduce the amount of storage.

CPU

CPU utilization recommendation for advanced file servers

The advanced file server does not make intensive usage of the CPU, but the CPU usage spikes when new content is published as this needs to be compressed. In addition, using SSL also increases the CPU usage by about 40 percent due to the encryption and decryption of the content.

Memory

Memory utilization recommendation for advanced file servers

The default Java heap size is configured for a maximum of 512 MB in the advanced file server. This setting means that about 1 GB RAM should be allowed to run the advanced file server.

Ports

The following ports are required when you implement Advanced Repeaters in your environment:

  • 5282 - HTTP (TCP) - From the Advanced Repeater server to the Advanced file server.
  • 7717 - TCP - From the File server to the Advanced file server. This port is used for Marimba publishing, if the file server and advanced file server are not co-located.
  • 7717 - TCP - From the Transmitter Administrator to the Advanced file server. Usually used for local traffic only.
  • 7717 - TCP - From the Proxy Administrator to the Advanced Repeater server. Usually used for local traffic only.
  • 7717 - TCP - From the Certificate Manager to the BMCCM Tuner. Usually used for local traffic only.
  • 8080 - HTTP (TCP) - From the Advanced Repeater server to the Advanced Repeater server. Usually used for local traffic only.

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Installing the Advanced Repeater

You can install the Advanced Repeater using the installation program or through a silent install.

Before you install

Note the following prior to installing the Advanced Repeater:

  • BSA Application Server and Advanced File Servers are required to resolve all Advanced Repeater host names. This is true even if Advanced Repeaters are in local network or in WAN. 
  • The Advanced Repeaters are required to resolve the hostname of the Application Servers and patching repositories (in case any patch repositories are configured outside of the Application Servers).  
  • Ensure that the required ports are open and that the hostnames of all core infrastructure can be resolved by the Advanced Repeater hosts.  
Checking ports (an example)

To check the Transmitter Port status on the Advanced File Server, run one of the following commands:

  • Unix: $ “netstat –anp | grep 5282”
  • Windows: C:\Users\IMATTA>netstat -A | find "5282"

Note: 5282 is the default Transmitter port. 

To check RPC Listener Port status on the Advanced Repeaters, run one of the following commands:

  • Unix: $ “netstat –anp | grep 7717”
  • Windows: C:\Users\IMATTA>netstat -A | find "7717" 

Note: 7717 is the default RPC Listener port.

  • During the stage phase of deploy job execution, the Advanced Repeater must be able to contact the Advanced File Server (which is usually implemented on or near the Application Server infrastructure).  
Checking communication

To ensure that there are no communication issues, perform the following steps:

  1. To ensure the channel exists on the Advanced File Server (transmitter) and is available for Adv Repeater to download, open a web browser and enter the following URL: http://AdvancedFileServerHostname:5282/
  2. Browse through one of the folders (blpackages, depotfiles,or imported) and ensure that the channel name exists. 

Note: The channel name is not the same name as the depot object name, it is converted to a checksum based on the file content size.

  • Check your host servers for the correct configurations. 
Checking configurations

To make sure the hosts are configured properly, run the following steps from the Infrastructure window for the properties screens of the Advanced File Server and each Advanced repeater: 

  1. Right click each Advanced Repeater host, select Update Repeater Server Status, and ensure there are no errors reported.
  2. Right click the Advanced File Server host, select Update FileServer Status, and ensure there are no error reports.

To install the Advanced Repeater using the installation program

Note

You must install the BMC Server Automation Advanced Repeater (file name BBAR85-<operatingSystemType>) on the following servers:

  • The file server to be configured as the advanced file server
  • One or more servers to be used as Advanced Repeater servers

You can install the BMC Server Automation Advanced Repeater using the installation program or by performing an unattended (silent) installation. You cannot use console mode.

  1. Download the BMC BladeLogic Advanced Repeater installation file according to the download instructions in provided in Downloading-the-installation-files. Those download instructions provide a standard method for downloading the product files from the BMC Electronic Product Download (EPD) website. The installer files applicable to the Advanced Repeater are labeled BMC BladeLogic Advanced Repeater for <hostPlatform> on the EPD site. The file names for each platform are:

  2. Do one of the following:
    • In Microsoft Windows environments, copy the installation file to a directory on the server you want to configure as an advanced file server or Advanced Repeater server.
    • In Linux Environments, upload the installer bin to the file server or repeater server.

  3. Start the installation program for your platform.
    Different installers are provided for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows.

    Note

    If the installation program fails to start on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, you can use the LAX_VM flag to force the system to use the native JRE instead of the JRE in the installer. See the following example:

    ./BBAR-85-LIN32.bin LAX_VM /usr/bin/java

  4. On the BMC Server Automation Advanced Repeater Installation screen, click OK.
  5. On the Welcome screen, click Next.
  6. Accept the license agreement and click Next.

  7. Specify the destination directory, or accept the default. Click Next.

    Note

    The default installation folder (AdvancedRepeater ) is the same for both advanced file server and Advanced Repeater server.

    The Workspace Directory window opens.

  8. Specify the workspace directory (where the Advanced Repeater stores its channels), or accept the default. Click Next.
    The Advanced Repeater Credentials window opens.
  9. Specify the credentials for the Advanced Repeater administrator, or accept the default credentials by selecting Use default tuner credential settings. Click Next.
    The Advanced Repeater Service Port window opens.
  10. Specify the following:

    • Transmitter RPC Port: If the server is using remote procedure calls (RPC), enter the port number used to establish a new connection for each RPC client connecting to the RPC server.

      Note

      You must use the RPC port number that was set during installation.port number to be used by the Advanced Repeater server. The default port is 7717.

    • Transmitter Listener Port: Specify the TCP port for the Transmitter service listener. Specify an integer between 0 and 65535. You can use any port, as long as the port number is not already in use. The default port is 5282.
    • Proxy Listener Port: Specify the TCP port for the Proxy Service listener. Specify an integer between 0 and 65535. Specify this TCP port if you are installing the Advanced Repeater server behind a firewall. The default port is 8081.
    • Click Next.
      A notification panel window appears if the installation program detects an existing installation. Click Next to upgrade the installation.
  11. Review the current settings to confirm that you have specified the correct installation configuration, and then click Install.
  12. When the installation completes, click Finish.

To uninstall the BMC BladeLogic Advanced Repeater

Do one of the following:

  • On Microsoft Windows, select Start > All Programs > BMC BladeLogic Server Automation Suite > Uninstall Advanced Repeater and follow the prompts on the uninstall wizard.
  • On Linux, enter the following command and follow the prompts on the uninstall wizard:
    :/opt/bmc/bladelogic/advancedrepeater/UninstallAdvancedRepeater # ./uninstall

To install the Advanced Repeater using silent mode

You can perform an unattended (silent) installation of the BMC Server Automation Advanced Repeater. Certain Terminal Server configuration options that pertain to temporary folders must be turned off, to enable running the installation wizard through a Terminal Services connection or a remote desktop session.

  1. Create an options file using a text editor. 
  2. Change directory to the location where the installer resides.

  3. Run the installation program with the -i silent option by using the following command: 

    <AdvancedRepeaterInstallerName> -i silent -DOPTIONS_FILE=<silentOptionsFilePath>

    You must use an absolute path to the options file. 
    (Windows) 

    BBAR85-WIN32.exe -i silent -DOPTIONS_FILE=/opt/bmc/BladeLogic/silent_install.txt

    (Linux) 

    ./BBAR85-LIN32.bin -i silent -DOPTIONS_FILE=/opt/bmc/bladeLogic/silent_install.txt

    Note

    If the temporary directory does not have enough space, you must redirect the installation process to another temporary directory. Set the InstallAnywhere variable IATEMPDIR, as follow:

    • Windows operating systems:
      set IATEMPDIR=<new_temp_dir>

    • Linux and UNIX operating systems:
      $ IATEMPDIR=<new_temp_dir>

      $ export IATEMPDIR

To create the options file

To install the Advanced Repeater server in silent mode, create an options file using a text editor and add the options for the installation that you want to run. For example:

where:

Option

Description

-P installLocation= installationDirectory

Sets the installation directory for the product.
(Windows): -P installLocation=C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\AdvancedRepeater
(UNIX):-P installLocation= /opt/bmc/bladelogic/advancedrepeater

-A featureAdvancedRepeater

Specifies installation of the Advanced Repeater server.

-J WORKSPACE_DIRECTORY=<pathToWorkspace>

Specifies the workspace directory (where the Advanced Repeater server stores its channels).
(Windows): -J WORKSPACE_DIRECTORY=C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\AdvancedRepeater\tuner
(UNIX): -J WORKSPACE_DIRECTORY=/opt/bmc/bladelogic/advancedrepeater/tuner

-J TUNER_ADMINISTRATION_USER_ NAME=
-J TUNER_ADMINISTRATION_ PASSWORD=

Sets the user name and password for Advanced Repeater server administrator.

-J TUNER_ADMINISTRATION_PORT_ NUMBER=

Specifies the TCP port to be used by the Advanced Repeater server. Specify an integer between 0 and 65535. The default is 7177.

-J PROXY_PORT_NUMBER=

Specifies the TCP port for the Proxy Service listener. Specify an integer between 0 and 65535. Specify this TCP port if you are installing the BMC Server Automation Advanced Repeater server behind a firewall. The default is 8081.

-J XMITTER_PORT_NUMBER=

Specifies the TCP port for the Transmitter service listener. Specify an integer between 0 and 65535. You can use any port, as long as the port number is not already in use. The default is 5282.

Use the following guidelines to create the options file:

  • Each option must be on a single line.
  • Values for options can contain spaces.

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Configuring advanced file servers and Advanced Repeater servers

Note

Configuring an Advanced Repeater server behind a SOCKS proxy server is not supported.

The following sections provide information and instructions for setting or adjusting the configuration for an advanced file server or Advanced Repeater server:

If you have not already done so, create an automation principal which contains the user-defined Administrator credential used to configure the advanced file server. An automation principal defines a user credential that can be used for accessing external systems. See the Creating-automation-principals for information about creating automation principals.

Note

Note the following requirements when configuring advanced file servers and Advanced Repeater servers:

  • An Advanced Repeater server cannot be enabled unless an advanced file server is installed and configured.
  • An advanced file server cannot be disabled if there are existing Advanced Repeater servers.

To configure an advanced file server

  1. Create a file server as described in Setting-up-the-file-server.
  2. Install the Advanced Repeater on the file server.
  3. On the BMC Server Automation Console, select Configuration > Infrastructure Management.
  4. Right-click the file server and select Properties to open the Modify File Server dialog box.
  5. On the General tab, click Enable Advanced File Server.
  6. Specify the following:

    1. If necessary, change the advanced file server root directory path to point to the Advanced Repeater installation directory. If you do not specify the install directory, the Transmitter and Performance tabs are not accessible.

      Note

      The Advanced File Server Root Directory path is different than the File Server Root Path. The Advanced File Server Root Directory points to the BMC BladeLogic Advanced Repeater installation directory, while the File Server Root Path points to the directory on the file server where data is stored.

    2. Choose where to store the state of the Content Replicator.
      • Store repository state in file server — Choose this option to store the local state of the Content Replicator on the file server.

      • Store repository state in specified directory — To store the Content Replicator state on the Application Server, instead of on the file server, enter a NSH path to a directory that exists on each Application Server that is hosting the advanced file server.

        Recommendation

        This option is recommended, particularly in complex environments such as multiple Application Server environments, multiple Advanced Repeater servers, and multiple Deploy Jobs running at the same time. For more information about this recommendation, click here to link to a knowledge article on the BMC Customer Support web site.

  7. On the Security tab, specify the following:

  8. On the Transmitter tab, specify the following:

  9. On the Performance tab, specify the following:

  10. On the Network tab, you can specify options that help you control the amount of network resources used during deployment. Specify the following:

  11. Click OK.

To configure an Advanced Repeater server

You must have first configured an advanced file server before you can configure an Advanced Repeater server.

  1. Install the Advanced Repeater component on the system that you use as an Advanced Repeater server, as described in Installing the BMC Server Automation Advanced Repeater.
  2. On the BMC Server Automation Console, select Configuration > Infrastructure Management.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • Right-click Repeater Servers and select New Repeater Server to start the New Repeater Wizard.

    • Right-click an existing repeater server select Properties to open the Modify Repeater Server dialog box.

      Note

      The Advanced Repeater server must be able to access the advanced file server directly using the user name defined in the exports file on the file server. For more information, see the Exports File section.

  4. On the General panel, click Enable Advanced Repeater.
    If necessary, change the Advanced Repeater root directory path.

  5. On the Security tab, specify the following:

  6. On the Cache and Port panel, specify the following:

    Category

    Description

    Cache management options

    Cache maximum size — Specifies the total size (in MB) for the Advanced Repeater server cache. The cache does not exceed this disk-space limit. After the cache reaches the maximum cache size, the Advanced Repeater server starts garbage collection to delete older channel files from the cache.
    Cache low watermark — Specifies the percentage that represents the lower limit (cache low watermark) for the Advanced Repeater server cache size. When the Advanced Repeater server starts cache garbage collection, it takes a snapshot of the cache and then determines the number of files it must delete to reach the low watermark. BMC recommends that you set the cache low watermark to a value between 75 and 80 (indicating that it is 75% to 80% of the maximum cache size).

    Port management options

    Listener port — Specifies the port on which the Advanced Repeater server listens for requests. You can use any port as the listener port, as long as the port number is not already in use.
    RPC port — Specifies the RPC port number that was set during installation. The RPC port is used to administer the Advanced Repeater components.
    For more information about the ports used by BMC Server Automation, see BMC-Server-Automation-ports.

  7. On the Network panel, you can specify options that help you control the amount of network resources used during deployment. Specify the following:

  8. Click OK.

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Securing communication between advanced file servers and Advanced Repeater servers (optional)

Optionally, all communication between the advanced file server and Advanced Repeater servers using the Advanced Repeater technology can be encrypted using SSL. You can secure the link between the Advanced Repeater server and the transmitter located on the advanced file server. All other traffic is all local and does not require encryption.

Note

The following instructions assume you have a valid certificate authority (using OpenSSL, for example) that is able to issue credentials used for PKI authentication.

The following sections describe how to secure communication between advanced file servers and Advanced Repeater servers.

To set up the advanced file server for secure communication

  1. Start the Advanced Repeater server, using one of the following methods:
    • (UNIX and Linux) Use the following command: /etc/init.d/advancedrepeater start

    • (Windows) From the Start menu, click Programs > BMC Software > BladeLogic Server Automation Suite > Advanced Repeater.

      Tip

      If you do not see any channels listed in the Channels list, select Channel > Show internal channels to populate the list.

  2. Right-click the Certificate Manager option and select Start.
    The Certificate Manager dialog box is displayed.
  3. In the left pane, select Root.
  4. Click Import to display the Import Certificate dialog box.
  5. Browse to the location of the root certificate and select it.
  6. When prompted for a password or nickname, leave the entry field blank.
  7. On the Root Certificates dialog box, select the root certificate you just imported and select SSL from the Trust Type group box.

The root certificate is now configured on the advanced file server.

To configure the Advanced Repeater server for secure communication

  1. Copy the root certificate you created to the Advanced Repeater server. 
  2. On the Advanced Repeater server, start the Advanced Repeater using one of the following methods:
    • (UNIX and Linux) Use the following command: /etc/init.d/advancedrepeater start
    • (Windows) From the Start menu, click Programs > BMC Software > BladeLogic Server Automation Suite > Advanced Repeater.
  3. Right-click the Certificate Manager option and select Start.
    The Certificate Manager dialog box is displayed.
  4. In the left pane, select Root.
  5. Click Import to display the Import Certificate dialog box.
  6. Browse to the location of the root certificate and select it.
  7. Click OK to bypass the Enter Password and Enter Nickname dialog boxes. Do not enter a password or a nickname.
  8. On the Root Certificates dialog box, select the root certificate you just imported and select SSL from the Trust Type group box.

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Upgrading the Advanced Repeater servers

To upgrade the Advanced Repeater server from an earlier version, you can use the installation program or silent mode. You cannot use console mode.

Notes

  • If you are upgrading from a version earlier than 8.1, you will need to uninstall and reinstall the Advanced Repeater server to upgrade the installed channels to the latest version.
  • If you are using a version 8.1 of later, you do not need to upgrade the installed channels as the CAR files have not been changed since that release.

To upgrade the Advanced Repeater server using the installation program

To upgrade the Advanced Repeater server, run the installation program for the version to which you want to upgrade.

The upgrade uses the installation settings from the previous installation.

Note

To use the automation principal feature to access the tuner with credentials other than the default ones, after you upgrade the Advanced Repeater server you can modify the tuner credentials (user name and password). See Changing the administrator user and password for Advanced Repeater Servers.

  1. Navigate to the directory containing installation files and run the installation program for the Advanced Repeater server. (Installation program names follow the convention: BBAR<version>-<platform>.bin)
  2. To begin the upgrade, click Next.
  3. To complete the upgrade, click Finish.

To upgrade the Advanced Repeater server using silent mode

You can perform an unattended (silent) upgrade of the Advanced Repeater server.

  1. In a text editor, create an options file that contains this option: 

    -A featureAdvancedRepeater
  2. Change directory to the location where the installer resides.

  3. Run the installation program with the -i silent option.
    <AdvancedRepeaterInstallerName> -i silent -DOPTIONS_FILE= <silentOptionsFilePath>
    You must use an absolute path to the options file.
    (Windows) 

    BBAR82-WIN32.exe -i silent -DOPTIONS_FILE=C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\silent_upgrade.txt

    (Linux) 

    ./BBAR82-LIN32.bin -i silent -DOPTIONS_FILE=/opt/bmc/bladeLogic/silent_upgrade.txt

     

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Troubleshooting Advanced Repeaters

The following sections might be useful if you are experiencing issues with advanced file servers and Advanced Repeater servers.

To configure bandwidth throttling between advanced file servers and Advanced Repeater servers

Both the advanced file server and Advanced Repeater server include options that you can use to control the use of network resources during file staging and deployment. The Network tab on the advanced file server or Advanced Repeater server Properties include options for controlling the number of network connections and the amount of network bandwidth. The options are

  • Network connections
  • Network bandwidth (Percentage of bandwidth and Maximum throughput)

These options enable you to enter a maximum amount of available bandwidth that the advanced file server or Advanced Repeater server can use, as well as the number of kilobits per second that the advanced file server or repeater can use as throughput. The options are particularly useful in large scale environments, where data is being pushed out to a large number of servers.

Note

The bandwidth setting on an advanced file server is different from the bandwidth setting on an Advanced Repeater server. The bandwidth setting on advanced file server limits the total traffic leaving the transmitter, across all parallel connections, while the bandwidth setting in Advanced Repeater server is a per connection setting (for each repeater to file server link).

For more information about these options, see Configuring advanced file servers and Advanced Repeaters.

Location of Advanced Repeater log files

Log files specific to the Advanced Repeater are listed in the following table. 

Log files for Advanced Repeater

Log file

Default location

Tuner log files

history--<n>.log

The tuner log file is located in: (Windows)C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\AdvancedRepeater\tuner\.marimba\BCAC* (UNIX)/opt/bmc/bladelogic/advancedrepeater/tuner/.marimba/ws3/*

Proxy log files

access-y <yyyy> -- w<w>.log

The proxy access log is located in: (Windows) *C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\AdvancedRepeater\tuner\.marimba\proxyroot\logs* (UNIX) */opt/bmc/bladelogic/advancedrepeater/tuner/.marimba/proxyroot/logs/*

admin-y <yyyy> - w<w>.log

The proxy admin log is located in: (Windows) *C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\AdvancedRepeater\tuner\.marimba\proxyroot\logs* (UNIX) */opt/bmc/bladelogic/advancedrepeater/tuner/.marimba/proxyroot/logs/*

Location of Advanced Repeater configuration files

Configuration files specific to the Advanced Repeater are listed in the following table. 

In general these configuration files should not be modified. However, if you are experiencing problems on Linux or UNIX systems that are not running X-Windows, perform the following steps:

  1. Add the following property to the properties.txt file (see the following table for location of file): 

    marimba.tuner.display.nodisplay=true
  2. Restart the advanced file server.

Configuration files for Advanced Repeater servers

Configuration file

Default location

Properties file

properties.txt

The main configuration file for the tuner is located in: (Windows) C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\AdvancedRepeater\tuner\lib\tuner\properties.txt (UNIX) /opt/bmc/bladelogic/advancedrepeater/tuner/lib/tuner/properties.txt

Preferences file

prefs.txt

The preferences file is located in: (Windows) C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\AdvancedRepeater\tuner\.marimba\BCAC\prefs.txt (UNIX) /opt/bmc/bladelogic/advancedrepeater/tuner/.marimba/ws3/prefs.txt

To start and stop the Advanced Repeater server

Use the following procedures to start and stop the Advanced Repeater server:

  • (Windows) Use one of the following procedures:
    • From the Start menu, click Programs > BMC Software > BladeLogic Server Automation Suite > Advanced Repeater.
    • From the Services dialog box, start or stop the BMC BladeLogic Advanced Repeater Service.

  • (UNIX) Use the following command: 

    /etc/init.d/advancedrepeater \start\|stop\

(Windows) Advanced Repeater UI not visible on console

On some Windows platforms, the Advanced Repeater user interface is not available on the remote desktop console if the remote desktop is not configured appropriately. Use the following configuration:

  • Use mstsc /admin for all RDP connections to Windows machines where the BMC BladeLogic Advanced Repeater is installed.
  • Connect using the following syntax:
    mstsc -v:< remote host > /f -console

Advanced Repeater installation is not successful

During installation of the BMC Server Automation Advanced Repeater on some Windows 2003 x64 systems, the installation process might seem to stop processing after issuing the following message:   

Waiting for Transmitter channel startup to complete 

The process times out after five minutes, and the installation is not successful. To avoid the unsuccessful result:

  1. While the Waiting for Transmitter channel startup to complete message is displayed, navigate to the installation directory.
  2. Manually launch Tuner.exe. The Advanced Repeater user interface is displayed and, after a few moments, the installer continues, completing successfully.

To change the administrator user and password for Advanced Repeater servers

You can change the administrator user and password for Advanced Repeater servers in any of the following ways:

  • In the installation wizard, when running the installation program.
  • If you know the administrator user/password combination, you can change it using a runchannel command.
    • Navigate to the Advanced Repeater server installation directory. (On Windows, the default directory is C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\AdvancedRepeater\tuner ).

    • From a command prompt, execute the following command: 

      runchannel http://localhost:5282/Marimba/Current/TunerAdministrator 
      -tuner localhost:7717 -username <oldAdminUser> 
      -password <oldAdminPwd> -set -property "marimba.tuner.admin" 
      -value "<newAdminUser>,plain:<newAdminPwd>"
  • If you do not know the administrator user/password combination (for example, if you are using the built-in default user/password), you can use the Tuner program to override the current user/password combination. (Note that the Tuner program can only be run locally.)
    • Navigate to the Advanced Repeater server installation directory. (On Windows, the default directory is C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\AdvancedRepeater\tuner ).

    • From a command prompt, execute the following command: 

      tuner.exe -admin "newAdminUser,plain:newAdminPwd"

To change the advanced file server

BMC Server Automation supports the use of only one file server at a time, and you install your advanced file server on that one file server. (If you need to check to make sure you have just one file server, run the file_server_check script, as described in Checking file server references.) In certain cases, you might need to change the location of the file server and the advanced file server.

For example, you might decide to move the file server from a single application server (with a typical //myfileserver/ path) to a virtualized or centralized file server (with a path such as //localhost/ or //blfs/). After changing the location of the file server using blasadmin, new file server objects are created in the new file server path. However, all references to older objects still refer to the old file server path. A special script helps you correct these references to point to the location on the new file server. Before running the script, ensure that the contents of the old file server get replicated to the same relative path under the new file server.

The following instructions guide you through the special tasks that you must perform when you change the location of the file server and advanced file server. In this scenario, the existing file server has the host name FileServerA, and the machine that you want to move to has the host name FileServerB.

To change an advanced file server from one location to another

  1. Prepare the new machine (FileServerB) as described in File-server-requirements.
  2. Install the advanced file server on FileServerB, as described in Installing the BMC Server Automation Advanced Repeater.
  3. Copy all files from FileServerA to FileServerB, as described in Moving files from one machine to another.
  4. Run the following blasadmin commands:
    set fileserver name <hostname>
    where <hostname> is the name of the new file server to which you just moved the files (in this scenario, FileServerB).
    set fileserver location <directory>
    where <directory> is the directory on the new file server where data is stored. Use a Network Shell path to a directory, such as /c/FileServer, as opposed to a Windows path, such as C:\FileServer.
  5. On the BMC Server Automation Console, select Configuration > Infrastructure Management.
  6. Right-click the file server (in this case FileServerB) and select Properties to open the Modify File Server dialog box.
  7. On the General tab, make sure Enable Advanced File Server is checked.
    Change the advanced file server root directory path to point to the Advanced Repeater installation directory where you just installed the advanced file server on this new machine.
  8. Click the Transmitter tab and examine the Transmitter Host Name and Transmitter Root Directory fields:
    • By default, the transmitter uses the same host as the file server. So, if you were using the defaults on the old file server, Transmitter Host Name shows the host name of the old file server, FileServerA. If you want to continue using default behavior (transmitter on same host as file server), set the Transmitter Host Name field to FileServerB (the name of the new file server).
    • Set Transmitter Root Directory to the Advanced Repeater installation directory (the directory where you just installed the advanced file server).
    • As an alternative to the default, you might be using a standalone machine for the transmitter. In this case the Transmitter Host Name field shows the name of the standalone host, for example, TransmitterHostC. Similarly, the Transmitter Root Directory field shows the directory on TransmitterHostC where you installed the advanced file server.
    • If you want to continue using a standalone host, you do not need to change anything here. Simply click OK to resave the settings.
  9. Run the file_server_change script so the database now references files at their new locations on the new advanced file server. (For information about how to do this, see Updating-file-server-references.)

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Additional resources on BMC Communities

For related information, check out the BMC Communities blog,The Pulse: Troubleshooting issues with Advanced Repeater Servers in BSA Deploy Jobs. 

 

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