Walkthrough: Installing on Linux using the unified installer

This topic walks you through the process of installing TrueSight Server Automation on Linux, using the unified product installer and component installers . 

Introduction

This topic is intended for system administrators preparing to install the TrueSight Server Automation product. The goal of this topic is to demonstrate how to use the unified product installer to install all essential components of the TrueSight Server Automation product in a Linux environment.

What is the unified product installer?

The unified product installer simplifies and improves the installation experience by providing a centralized UI for installing the default Application Server node. It installs a set up that consists of the following components:

  • Oracle Database: The unified product installer creates a TrueSight Server Automation schema on your database server.
  • Default Application Server: This is the primary server that is installed in a TrueSight Server Automation environment. The unified product installer configures the default Application Server to connect to your database server. It also installs an RSCD agent on the default Application server. The default Application Server is also referred to as a default Application server node, because it hosts more than one component.
  • File server: You can choose to install the file server on the same machine as the default Application server (called as the local file server) or install it on a separate machine (called as a separate file server.)  In the case of a separate file server, you can choose to manually install the RSCD agent or have it installed by the unified product installer.
  • Console and PXE/TFTP server: The unified product installer installs the PXE/TFTP server and the optional console on the default Application Server.

What does this walkthrough show?

In this walk through, we will:

  1. Use the unified product installer to install a small TrueSight Server Automation environment (Application Server, console, file server, PXE/TFTP).
  2. Use the quick start page to import servers to the new environment and to add agents to those servers.
  3. Use individual component installers to manually install additional components such as additional Application Servers, a separate PXE/TFTP server, and a separate console server, to complete a production-level environment.

The TrueSight Server Automation environment will have the following characteristics:

Component

Number of components

Description

Application Server

2

This TrueSight Server Automation environment consists of two Application Servers:

  • A default Application server installed by the unified product installer on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (x64) system.
  • An additional Application Server installed on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (x64) system to improve the performance of TrueSight Server Automation.

PXE/TFTP server

2

This TrueSight Server Automation environment consists of two PXE/TFTP servers:

  • The PXE/TFTP server installed by the unified product installer on the default Application Server node
  • A PXE/TFTP server that is manually installed on a separate machine (recommended for high performance environments).

Database

1

The default Application Server connects to an existing Oracle database server.

Note: Although the TrueSight Server Automation schema is created by the unified product installer, you must have access to an existing database that has been set up on an Oracle Server. For a description of that process, see Walkthrough-Creating-the-TrueSight-Server-Automation-Database-for-Oracle .  

 Console

 2

This TrueSight Server Automation environment consists of two instances of the TrueSight Server Automation console:

  • Optional console that you can install by the unified product installer on the default Application Server node.
  • Optional console that you can manually installed on a separate machine (recommended for high performance environments)

File server

1

This TrueSight Server Automation environment uses a separate Linux file server machine that is installed by the unified product installer.

What do I need to do before I get started?

Perform the following prerequisite steps before executing this walkthrough scenario:  

  • Ensure that your environment complies with the installation requirements discussed in Requirements-for-installing-individual-components-on-UNIX-and-Linux. 
  • Create the Oracle table space to hold the the TrueSight Server Automation schema, database user, and database permissions required to create the TrueSight Server Automation schema. For detailed instructions, see  Walkthrough-Creating-the-TrueSight-Server-Automation-Database-for-Oracle .  
  • If you use the unified product installer, you no longer have to use the DB scripts that are shipped with the product. However, before you run the unified product installer, you must ensure that you have a SQL database server, with an empty tablespace that the unified product installer uses to create the TrueSight Server Automation schema. You also need to create a database user to allow the unified product installer to set up your TrueSight Server Automation schema. For a step-by-step procedure on setting up the Oracle database, see Walkthrough-Creating-the-TrueSight-Server-Automation-Database-for-Oracle  .

  • RSCD agents can be automatically installed on servers that are added as additional Application Servers or as target servers. However, if the server being added runs on Windows, you will need to first set up a PsExec server to install the agents automatically. To set up a PsExec server, download the Microsoft Sysinternals Suite from the Microsoft tech support site and copy the PsExec file to the %PATH% variable (typically C:\Windows\System32\) on any Windows Server. The Windows server is now configured as a PsExec server and can be used to install agents. For more information, see Setting-up-a-PsExec-server.

    Note

    A PsExec server is not required if you choose to manually install the RSCD agent on the Windows server that is being added.    

  • Bash UNIX shell must be the default shell on all machines on which TrueSight Server Automation is being installed. 
    The unified product installer needs to be run by a super user — root or a root-equivalent user on Linux. This enables the installer to install components on the Application Servers. 
    Linux platforms on which you plan to install the Application Server, Console, or Network Shell must have the appropriate version of libtermcap.so.2 and libtermcap.so.6 shared library installed. Install the shared library before installing these components. For more information, click the following link:  

    Expand steps for installing prerequisite libraries

    Requirement for RHEL 6

    In RHEL 6 the package name has changed to compat-libtermcap. To install compat-libtermcap on Red Hat version 6, you can use one of the following commands:

    • If you have YUM installed and configured: yum install compat-libtermcap
    • If you have the RPM package (available from the installation CD): rpm -Uvh compat-libtermcap-2.0.8-49.el6.x86_64.rpm

    Requirement for RHEL 7

    In RHEL 7, libtermcap is no longer available, and you must create a link to libtinfo instead. Use the following command:

    ln -s /lib64/libtinfo.so.5 /lib64/libtermcap.so.2

    If libtinfo is not available on your system, obtain it by installing the ncurses-libs package.

     

  • You must have an X Window display system installed and configured on your Linux machine.
  • You must have 4 GB on disk with temp space and 4 GB on disk with installation directory.

How to install the default Application Server and separate file server using the unified installer

We start the installation process by using the unified product installer to:

  • Install the default Application Server node
  • Install the separate file server
  • Configure the database
  • Install the console and the PXE/TFTP on the default Application Server

Do the following:

  1. Extract the  TSSA<version>-LIN4.zip  and TS SA<version>- RSCDAgents.zip  files that you downloaded from the EPD website to obtain the  TSSA<version> -LIN64  and the rscd  folder.
    • unzip TSSA<version>-LIN64.zip -d<path_to_extracted_packages>
             unzip TSSA<version>-LIN64.zip -d /tmp/TSSA<version>-LIN64 
    • unzip TSSA<version>-RSCDAgents.zip -d<path_to_extracted_packages>
             unzip TSSA<version>-RSCDAgents.zip -d /tmp/TSSA<version>-RSCDAgents
  2. Ensure that you have permission or assign an executable permission to the directory in which you have extracted the packages.
     chmod +x -R  <path_to_extracted_packages>
  3. Copy the  rscd  folder from within the T SSA<version> - RSCDAgents.zip extracted package to the  TSSA<version> - LIN64/Disk1/files/installers  folder.
  4. Run the  setup.bin  file that is   in the T SSA<version> - LIN64/Disk1  folder.  
  5. Select the language in which you want to run the installer and click OK .
  6. Read through the basic information about the unified product installer and the types of nodes that are installed in the environment, and click Next.
  7. Read the End User License Agreement (EULA) and select I agree to the terms of the license agreement, and click Next.
  8. Read the TrueSight Server Automation copyright information and select I agree to the terms of the license agreement, and click Next.

  9. Enter the database server details.

    TIP: You may need the help of the database administrator who set up the Oracle database server you want to connect to.


      1. Enter the Host name or IPv4 address of the server that runs the database. Note that if your server is on an IPv6 address system you can only enter the host name of the server.
      2. Enter the Port that the database listens on. The default port is 1521 for an Oracle Database.
      3. Enter the SID of your database instance that runs on the Linux database server.
      1. Enter the database user name that you created while setting up the database. Ensure that you have assigned the required permissions to the user, see Walkthrough-Creating-the-TrueSight-Server-Automation-Database-for-Oracle.
      2. Enter the password of the database user that you created while setting up the database, see Walkthrough-Creating-the-TrueSight-Server-Automation-Database-for-Oracle.
      3. Enter the names of the TrueSight Server Automation table space and TrueSight Server Automation index table space that you created while setting up the Oracle database, see Walkthrough-Creating-the-TrueSight-Server-Automation-Database-for-Oracle.
      4. (optional) Select the option to the Oracle Express database for evaluation purposes.
      5. Click Next.
    Click here if you want to use a connection string to connect to the database server

    The Advanced option is only selected if you want to provide a custom connection string to your database. Note that all other fields are disabled when this option is selected.

    Type the database connection string in the field adjacent to the Advanced check box. An example of a connection string for an Oracle database server is as follows:

    jdbc:oracle:thin:@<DBSERVER>:<PORT>:<SID >

    Replace the variables in the above connection string, as follows:

    <DBSERVER> is the name or IP address of the database server
    <PORT> is the port used to communicate with the database
    <SID> is the database ID used to identify the Oracle database

  10. A summary of the database parameters, default installation location, Application Server base port, and file server parameters is displayed. 
    The name of the local super user for RSCD Agent mapping is also listed.
  11. Click Customize Configuration. 
    The Installation Directory tab displays the path where TrueSight Server Automation is installed. The default path is /opt/bmc/bladeLogic/ for Linux. You can customize the Installation Directory based on your requirements, as shown in the screenshot. Make sure that you select a directory with sufficient space for installation.

  12. Click the File Server tab and enter the file server details.

    1. To install the file server on a separate machine, select the Install file server on a separate host option.
    2. Enter the Host name or IPv4 address of the file server. Note that if your server is on an IPv6 address system, you can only enter the host name of the server.
    3. Enter the directory on the file server where data is stored.
    4. (Applicable if you haven't selected the option in step 1) Enter the name of the local super user to which the RSCD Agent should map incoming connections during the installation. The super user should be root or root-equivalent user. The default super user on the first node is root.
    5. (Applicable if you have selected the option in step 1) On the Application Server Agent Mapping, enter the name of the local super user to which the RSCD Agent should map incoming connections during the installation. The super user should be root or root-equivalent user. The default super user on the first node is root.

    Note

    If the file server is on a separate machine and if it runs on Windows, ensure that you have configured the default Application Server as a PsExec server.


  13. Click the Ports tab at the top of the screen. Enter the Application Server Base port. Application Server ports are normally configured from a base port, with 9800 being the default base port. Arbitrary port assignments can be made in all cases. For more information, see TrueSight-Server-Automation-ports.

  14. Click the Passwords tab at the top of the screen.

    Enter new passwords in each for the fields based on the guidelines given below.

    Note: The default password for each entry is password. However, BMC does not recommend using the default passwords provided by the system.

    • Certificate Password
      The Application Server installation program needs a certificate password to generate a self-signed X.509 certificate.

      Click here for more information.

      Communication between TrueSight Server Automation and servers being provisioned 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. 

    • BLAdmin Password
      TrueSight Server Automation creates a built-in user called BLAdmin during the installation process.

      Click here for more information.

      The BLAdmin user is only assigned the BLAdmins role.
      To activate the default user, it must be assigned a password and granted access to servers in your network. You can use the RBAC Manager folder to perform these actions, but to start the console the first time, you must define a password for the BLAdmin user. Make sure that the password does not contain a comma ",".
      For more information, see RBACAdmin-and-BLAdmin-users.

    • RBACAdmin Password
      TrueSight Server Automation creates a built-in user called RBACAdmin during the installation process.

      Click here for more information.

      The RBACAdmin user is only assigned the RBACAdmins role.
      To activate the default user, it must be assigned a password and granted access to servers in your network. You can use the RBAC Manager folder to perform these actions, but to start the console the first time, you must define a password for the RBACAdmin user. Make sure that the password does not contain a comma ",".
      For more information, see RBACAdmin-and-BLAdmin-users.

  15. As an option, click the Console tab.
    Select Install TrueSight Server Automation Console.

    Note

    BMC does not recommend installing the console on the same machine as the Application Server. When you upgrade the Application Server, the console is not automatically upgraded. You must manually upgrade it yourself.

  16. Click Update Configuration to apply all the configuration changes that you entered on the various tabs.
  17. Click Install to proceed with the installation.
    The unified product installer performs the following setup operations:
    • Creates a TrueSight Server Automation schema in the database
    • Installs the default application server
    • Installs the optional console, if you selected it.
    • Installs a PXE/TFTP server
    • Installs the Network Shell
    • Connects the default Application Server machine to the database
    • Installs the separate file server and the RSCD agent
    • Installs out-of-the-box compliance content
    • Installs pre-packaged sample content (blcontent) and imports various zipkits with pre-defined content for specific tasks

  18. If you encountered any errors while installing, click View Log to view a detailed report of the installation.

    Tip: BMC recommends that you save a copy of the log, before you contact technical support for further assistance.

    If all operations are completed successfully, click Done to exit the wizard.

How to add additional Application Servers

To meet the demands of a larger data center, you can deploy additional Application Servers. The additional Application Server is used for improving the performance of TrueSight Server Automation. The method described here for adding additional Application Servers is relevant only if you installed your default Application Server node using the unified product installer.

Note

Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3 is installed automatically for all Microsoft Windows RSCD agent versions, provided the platform on which you are trying to install the product is supported.


Step

Example screen

1

Start the TrueSight Server Automation Console and log on using your BL Admin credentials that you created here. For more information, see Starting-the-TrueSight-Server-Automation-Console.


1_AddAppServerLin.png

2

Perform the following:

  1. Minimize the quick start page
  2. Right-click Servers, and click Add Server to add a PsExec server to the TrueSight Server Automation environment.
    Note: If you did not copy the  PsExec  file to  %PATH%   (typically C:\Windows\System32\) of the PsExec server, you see an error in this step.
  3. Enter the host name or IP address of the PsExec server 
  4. Click Finish.

The PsExec Server is added to the TrueSight Server Automation environment.


2015-09-15 18_56_27-clm-pun-016802 - Remote Desktop Connection.png

2015-09-15 18_57_49-clm-pun-016802 - Remote Desktop Connection.png

3

Select the Configuration menu and then click Add TSSA Application Server Machine.

4_AddAppServerLin.png


4

Enter the following details.

  • Host name or IPv4 address of the Application Server. Note that if your Application Server is on an !Pv6 address system you can only enter the host name of the server.
  • User name of an account with Administrator privileges on the additional Application Server machine.
  • Password of the account with Administrator privileges on the additional Application Server machine.
  • Confirm the password of the account with Administrator privileges on the additional Application Server machine.
  • Select the PsExec server from your environment.


5_AddAppServerLin.png


5

Click the Advanced Options tab at the top and enter the following details.

  • Path to the location where you want to install the additional Application Server. The default path used is C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\
  • Application Server ports are normally configured from a base port, with 9800 being the default base port. Arbitrary port assignments can be made in all cases. For more information, see Application Server ports.
  • Enter the location you want to use as the temporary staging directory during the installation.


6_AddAppServerLin.png


6

New in 8.9.02

  • Click the Validation tab at the top.
    • Checks whether the platform on which you are trying to install the product is supported. If the platform check is successful, Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3 is installed automatically.
    • If the platform check fails, the installation program aborts installation with an error message displayed in the Status field. Also, an error message is added to the log file.
  • Click Add node.

AddNode_MSVC.png

7

The additional Application Server is installed. Click OK.

7_AddAppServerLin.png

8_AddAppServerLin.png

How to add servers and install agents from the quick start page

The next step in setting up the TrueSight Server Automation environment is to import servers and add agents to those servers. An easy way to this is by using the quick start page.

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How to complete the install for a production environment  

The unified product installer installs the console and the PXE/TFTP server on the default application server node to provide you with a ready-to-use test environment.  However, for high-performance production environments, BMC recommends that you install and use additional instances of the console and the PXE/TFTP server on separate machines.

Operating System

Component

Path

Installer file name

  Windows

Console

/TSSA<version>-LIN64/Disk 1/files/installers/rcp

 TSSACONSOLE<version>-LIN64 

PXE/TFTP

/TSSA<version>-LIN64/Disk 1/files/installers/pxe_64

PXE<version>-LIN32

Note: Although you have different installers for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows for most components, for installing a a PXE/TFTP server you only have a 32-bit installer that you must use in both cases.

  Linux

Console

/TSSA<version> -LIN64/Disk1/files/installers/rcp

TSSACONSOLE<version>-LIN64

PXE/TFTP

 /TSSA<version> -LIN64/Disk1/files/installers/appserver_64

TSSA<version>-LIN64.sh

In this walkthrough we will install additional instances of the console on a Windows server and the PXE/TFTP on a Linux server.

Manually installing an additional instance of the console

Note that in this walkthrough we are installing the console on a Windows operating system and not a Linux operating system. However, if you need to install the console on a Linux or UNIX operating system, see Installing-the-TrueSight-Server-Automation-Console-Linux-and-UNIX.

Manually installing an additional instance of the PXE/TFTP server

 
Step
Example screen
1
Copy the installer to the machine where you want to install the PXE/TFTP server.Extract the TSSA<version>-LIN64.zip  file that you downloaded from the EPD website to obtain the TSSA<version>-LIN64  folder.
unzip TSSA<version>-LIN64.zip -d <path_to_extracted_packages>
2
Navigate to the directory that contains the installation file (for example, TSSA<version>-LIN64.sh). You use this same file to install a standalone version of PXE/TFTP. 
cd<path_to_extracted_packages>/TSSA<version>-LIN64/Disk1/files/installers/appserver_64/
3
Run the installation script for TrueSight Server Automation, which in this case is TSSA<version>-LIN64.sh. Script names typically follow the convention: TSSA<version>-platform.shNote: Do not execute the installation script from a non-root account.
./TSSA<version>-LIN64.sh
4
To install TrueSight Server Automation in /opt/bmc/bladelogic, press Enter, or enter another directory path.
2015-05-29_13h49_40.png
5
A message prompts you to choose a language for the installation program. Enter the number representing the language that you want to use for the installation.
1.png
6
Read through the acknowledgments, third-party software license agreements, and terms and conditions, as follows:
  1. A welcome message is displayed, followed by a prompt to read the third-party software license agreements. Press Enter.
  2. An acknowledgment is displayed, listing the third-party software that TrueSight Server Automation uses. Press Enter.
  3. A message prompts you to scroll through and review the terms and conditions for using this software. Press Enter.
  4. The following message is displayed:
     Do you agree to the terms of the license agreement (y for Yes)?
    Enter y.
2015-05-29_13h52_49.png
7
Perform the following:
  1. For successful provisioning, the RSCD agent must be installed on the same host computer as the PXE server and TFTP server. Therefore, in this step, enter 1PT.A plus sign (+) appears next to RSCD agent, PXE server, and TFTP server, indicating that you have chosen to install them.
  2. Enter 9 to start the installation.
  3. A message lists the components that you have chosen to install and asks if you want to continue. Enter y.
2015-05-29_13h54_04.png
8
Enter a password for a self-signed certificate, so that the Application Server can use the TLS protocol. The password must be 6 characters.Confirm the password by entering it again.
2015-05-29_13h54_22.png
9
Specify the max heap size for the Application Server JVM. Specify a size between 512 - 2048 megabytes.
A series of messages indicate the progress of the installation.Note: If you are installing on Linux and one of the following conditions is not satisfied, the installer warns that some TrueSight Server Automation components do not function until the appropriate RPM is installed.
  • On Red Hat Linux, the compat-libstdc++-33 RPMs must be installed. Also, the XFree86-libs or xorg-x11-libs RPMs must be installed.
  • On SUSE 9.x, either the compat or compat-32bit RPM must be installed and the xf86 RPM must be installed.
  • On SUSE 10.x, either the compat or compat-32bit RPM must be installed and the xorg-x11 RPM must be installed.
2015-05-29_14h31_19.png
10
Enter y (yes) or n (no) for the following series of questions:
  1. A message lists the host name and IP address of this server. This information is needed to configure a connection with the TFTP server and the data store. If the information identifies the server correctly, press y.
  2. Specify whether your DHCP server is located on this server or a separate machine.

    Click here for more information ...
    If the DHCP server is located on another server, the installation program automatically configures this server to function as a DHCP proxy. You must configure the DHCP server differently, depending on whether it is installed on the same host computer as the PXE Server. For more information on configuring the DHCP server, see Configuring-a-DHCP-server-on-Windows and Configuring-a-DHCP-server-on-Linux.
  3. Specify whether you want to use digitally signed logs for RSCD agents.
  4. Specify whether you want use keystroke logs for nexec commands.
2015-05-29_14h34_09.png
11
Enter y (yes) or n (no) for the following series of questions:
  1. Specify whether you want to provide root permissions to the root clients on this host (root equivalency). By default, the RSCD agent does not provide root permissions to root clients.
  2. Specify whether you want a particular client associated with a local user on this machine. If you enter y, you must enter the name of the user and the client that you want to map to.
2015-05-29_14h34_04.png
12
Specify whether you want to manually start the RSCD agent or have it  automatically started by the system on reboot.Enter the directories in which you want to save the RSCD log files and the temp files. To accept the default values provided by the system, press enter.
2015-05-29_14h34_28.png
13
Installation of PXE/TFTP server and RSCD agent is now complete. The PXE/TFTP Server Post-Install Configuration wizard automatically starts.
 

Wrapping it up

Congratulations! You have successfully set up a small TrueSight Server Automation environment.

Where to go from here

 

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