Requirements for installing on Microsoft Windows

Firewall

Ensure that your firewall allows communication on all ports used by various components of BMC Server Automation. For more information on ports, see BMC-Server-Automation-ports.

Separate file server

If you plan to install a separate file server, ensure that you have performed the following prerequisite tasks:

• The unified product installer automatically installs the RSCD agent on the separate file server during installation. However, you can manually install the RSCD agent on your separate file server, as described in Installing-an-RSCD-agent-Windows or Installing-only-the-RSCD-agent-Linux-and-UNIX.
• If you want the unified product installer to automatically install the RSCD agent on your Windows file server, you need to download the Microsoft Sysinternals Suite from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897553 and copy the psexec file path (typically C:\Windows\System32\) to the %PATH% variable of the default Application Server, before running the unified product installer. Psexec is not required if you choose to manually install the RSCD agent on your Windows file server.

Security

The unified product installer needs to be run by a local Administrator or Administrator-equivalent local user. This enables the installer to install components on the Application Server and File Server.

In a domain environment, this can be a domain user who is part of the local Administrators group. In such a case, ensure that you prepare the same local Administrator user on the computer that will host the Application Server and on the computer that will host the separate file server (if applicable).

During installation, default security settings are applied to the Application Server and file server. BMC recommends that you adjust the security level on the Application Server host computer and the file server host computer after completing the installation, based on your unique needs and the IT security policies at your organization.

By default, the unified product installer configures the RSCD agent on the file server to map incoming connections to the Administrator or root user. The following mapping is added to the exports file:

If you do not want to map the connections to the Administrator user, you can manually modify the exports file to suit your needs. The exports file is located at the following path, BBSA<version_number>-<platform>\files\installers\other_files\maintenance_scripts.zip\windows\. For more information, see Configuring the exports file. Alternatively, you can manually install the RSCD agent on the separate file server, see Installing-an-RSCD-agent-Windows.

Software and hardware

• Ensure that your machine meets the minimum software and hardware requirements as described in Minimum-software-requirements and Minimum-hardware-requirements.
• Ensure that you have set up a database for use by BMC Server Automation, as discussed in Setting-up-an-Oracle-database-for-BMC-Server-Automation and Setting-up-a-SQL-Server-database-and-user-for-BMC-Server-Automation.

UAC mode

Ensure that the UAC (User Account Control) mode is disabled, as described on the Microsoft.com Windows site, Turn User Account Control on or off.

Agent

• The RSCD agent for Microsoft Windows requires that the Server service is running in order to function correctly.
• For a server to provide information about Windows Group Policy objects, the file secedit.exe must be installed on the server, and it must be included in the server's executable path.
• If the server is a domain member or domain controller, confirm that the Net Logon service is enabled and running before installing the RSCD agent. The agent uses the Net Logon service to determine the domain and obtain information about the machine. If the server is not part of a Windows domain, the agent uses a different method for determining machine information. Additionally, the automation principal feature uses the Net Logon service to access domain user information so the automation principal can act as a domain user. Note: If you subsequently remove the agent computer from the domain, you must also remove the Net Logon dependency (via the registry) and restart the agent. Otherwise, the agent will not start.
• The patch analysis function of BMC Server Automation requires the Microsoft XML (MSXML) parser version 6.0 SP2 or later to be installed on the server on which the RSCD agent is installed. You can install the RSCD agent on a computer on which MSXML is not installed, but patch analysis does not function correctly until MSXML 6.0 SP2 or later is installed.
• If you are using Windows Terminal Services or Citrix Presentation Server to install or if you are installing on a Windows operating system, use one of the following methods to install:
  • Install in Install mode rather than Execute mode. For information, see Using-Install-mode-instead-of-Execute-mode.
  • Install using the Windows Add or Remove Programs utility.

Application Server (and NSH)

• To perform this installation, you must have local administrator privileges.
• The BMC Server Automation Application Server installation program needs a certificate password to generate a self-signed X.509 certificate. Communication between BMC Server Automation and servers being provisioned and between the Application Server and the process spawner uses the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol and X.509 certificates. The password must be at least 6 characters. For more information about certificates and the TLS protocol, see Authentication.
• The Application Server installation does not install the BMC Server Automation Console. To view the console, you must install it. For information, see Installing-the-BMC-Server-Automation-Console-and-Network-Shell-Windows. 
• To use provisioning with the Application Server, select the option to enable provisioning.
• If you are using Windows Terminal Services or Citrix Presentation Server to install or if you are installing on a Windows operating system, use one of the following methods to install:
  • Install in Install mode rather than Execute mode. For information, see Using-Install-mode-instead-of-Execute-mode.
  • Install using the Windows Add or Remove Programs utility.
• You must set up your database schema. See Setting-up-an-Oracle-database-for-BMC-Server-Automation and Setting-up-a-SQL-Server-database-and-user-for-BMC-Server-Automation .
• On 64-bit Windows systems, confirm that the <WINDIR>\SysWOW64 directory contains a copy of the chcp.com file. The installer uses this file to set the code page of standard output (stdout). You can obtain the file from a 32-bit version of Windows.
• If you plan to use the bljython utility, install the Jython utility before installing the Application Server.
• If the host computer on which you are installing the Network Shell has:
  • A supported version of Perl installed--The Network Shell installation automatically installs the Network Shell Perl module. (For information about the Perl versions that BMC Server Automation supports, see Perl support.)
  • An unsupported version of Perl installed--The installation copies files that allow you to install the Perl module after you have installed the supported version of Perl.

Console (and NSH)

• BMC recommends that you do not install the console on the same system as the Application Server.
• Before you install the BMC Server Automation Console, ensure that port 12333 (TCP) is not being used. Installation of the console requires use of this port; if it is already in use, the installation fails.

• Update the Windows Terminal Services Server Settings for temporary folders. (In Windows Server 2008 R2 and later versions, Terminal Services is renamed to Remote Desktop Services).

  Click here for steps about updating the Windows Terminal Services

  To update the Windows Terminal Services (or Remote Desktop Services) configuration perform either of the following steps:

  Server settings method

  1. On the computer where you are installing the BMC Server Automation Console, select Start > Run.
  2. For Open, enter tscc.msc. Then click OK. (If you are using Windows 2008 R2 or later, you must enter TSConfig.msc)
  3. Navigate to Server Settings and do the following:
     • Set Delete temporary folders on exit to No.
     • Set Use temporary folders per session to No.
  4. Restart the computer.
      If the settings do not take effect, use the Registry Editor (regedit):

  Registry editor method

  1. Click Start > Run and enter regedit.
  2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server.
  3. Set the DeleteTempDirsOnExit and the PerSessionTempDir values to 0.
  4. Restart the computer.

  Note: The installation program uses temporary folders to preserve the install log. Usually, you can perform this update only one time; you do not need to update the configuration every time you install. However, if your Server Settings are different from those needed for installation, after you finish installing the console you can change the settings back to their previous settings.
  

NSH only

• To perform the Network Shell installation, you must have local administrator privileges.
• If you are using Windows Terminal Services or Citrix Presentation Server to install or if you are installing on a Windows operating system, use one of the following methods to install:
  • Install in Install mode rather than Execute mode. For information, see Using-Install-mode-instead-of-Execute-mode.
  • Install using the Windows Add or Remove Programs utility.
• On 64-bit Windows systems, confirm that the <WINDIR>\SysWOW64 directory contains a copy of the chcp.com file. The installer uses this file to set the code page of standard output (stdout). You can obtain the file from a 32-bit version of Windows.