Creating a patch catalog for Debian or Ubuntu

The patch catalog is used to maintain and work with the patch repository through the TrueSight Server Automation Console. For both types of repositories, online and offline, you create a patch catalog through the TrueSight Server Automation console. Patches are added to the catalog as depot objects according to filters defined for the catalog.

This topic describes how to set up a patch catalog for Debian or Ubuntu, and includes the following sections:

• Step 1: Review prerequisites for the catalog
• Step 2: Create the patch catalog
• Editing the options
• Where to go from here

Step 1: Review prerequisites for the catalog

Review the following prerequisites for creating patch catalogs for Debian and Ubuntu.

• Ensure that security policies on the repository server do not block the download of the catalog.

• Ensure that the system you will use for the patch repository is supported by TrueSight Server Automation.

  Click here to see the platforms supported for storing your repository

  ¹Support for this platform is deprecated. For the complete list of deprecated platforms, see Deprecated-and-discontinued-features.

Step 2: Create the patch catalog

1. Right-click a folder in the Depot and select New > Patch catalog > Debian Linux Patch Catalog.
   The New Patch Catalog dialog panel opens. This option applies to both Debian and Ubuntu.

2. Provide information for the patch catalog as described in the following table:

   Panel section	Description
   General	Enter a Name for the patch catalog and a Description of its contents. Then, browse to the folder in which you want to store the catalog.
   Catalog options	Define options such as locations (location of the source files, the repository, the signature file, and so on) as well as filters and whether local copies of the files are created on the target server or downloaded directly during deployment. Catalog Mode Select one of two options: Source from Debian (Online Mode): Use this mode if the TrueSight Server Automation Application Server is installed on a server with Internet access. Source from Disk Repository (Offline Mode): Use this mode in a secured environment where download occurs on a server, with Internet access, outside of the environment. Repository Options Enter the following information: Field Description Payload Source Location (NSH path) (Offline Only) location of existing metadata and payload files Metadata files stored in this location are copied to the catalog automatically. Payload files are not copied to the catalog. Repository Location (NSH Path) NSH path of the patch repository This location must be on any of the following platforms: Red Hat SUSE Oracle Enterprise Linux Microsoft Windows BMC recommends that this location have ample free space. Repositories typically contain many files, usually totaling gigabytes of data. Note: (Online Mode) You can copy pre-existing Errata and RPMs manually into this directory. TrueSight Server Automation does not download duplicate files from the Red Hat Network site. Note: When specifying a host within an NSH path, you can use either the host name of the IP address (IPv4 or IPv6). Download  From Vendor (only for Online Mode) If you are creating a patch catalog to analyze which patches are missing on your targets, it is recommended that you leave the Download from Vendor check box unchecked. This ensures that only the metadata of the patches are downloaded at the time of catalog creation. You can then download the required missing patches during remediation. However, if you want to download all patches in the at the time of catalog creation, you can select the Download from Vendor check box. Distributions Tree View This distributions tree view allows you to to expand the nodes and select the Version, Base URL, Distribution, Component, and Architecture of patches that you want to add to the catalog. See the screenshot below for an example of the distribution tree view.

3. In the bottom right corner, select Job options. (You can also edit the catalog at a later time to set these options).

4. Provide information for the patch catalog options as described in the following table:

   Tab	Description
   Schedules	The Schedules panel lets you schedule a job to execute immediately, schedule a job at a specific time in the future, schedule a job on a recurring basis, and define notifications that are issued when a job runs. When scheduling a job, you can perform any of the following tasks: Scheduling a job that executes immediately — To schedule a job that executes immediately, select Execute job now. Scheduling a job — The Schedule tab lets you schedule a job so it can run one time, recur hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly, or recur at some arbitrary interval. For more information, see Patch-catalog-Scheduling. Defining job notifications — The Job Notifications tab lets you set up notifications that are generated when a scheduled job runs. For more information, see Patch-catalog-Scheduled-Job-Notifications.
   Job Run Notifications	The Default Notifications panel provides options for defining default notifications that are generated when a job completes. If you have set up notifications for a particular scheduled job, those notifications are generated instead of default notifications. Default notifications can take the form of emails or SNMP traps. When a job completes, an SNMP trap is sent to a specified server, where it can be read using software that receives and interprets SNMP traps. Default notifications are sent when you run a job immediately (that is, you do not schedule the job) or a scheduled job completes but you have not set up email or SNMP notifications for that scheduled occurrence. Job Run Notifications Field Description Send email to Lists email addresses of the accounts to notify when a job completes with the status that you specify. Separate multiple email addresses with semicolons, such as sysadmin@bmc.com;sysmgr@bmc.com. After entering email address information, select the statuses that cause an email to be generated. The statuses can be Success, Failed, or Aborted. Send SNMP trap to Provides name or IP address of the server to notify when the job completes. After entering server information, select the statuses that should cause an SNMP trap to be generated. The statuses can be Success, Failed, or Aborted. TrueSight Server Automation provides a management information base (MIB) that describes its SNMP trap structure. You can use this MIB to create scripts that integrate traps into your trap collection system. The MIB is located on the Application Server host computer at installDirectory/Share/BladeLogic.mib.
   Depot Object Options	Network URL Type for Payload Deployment (default) Copy to agent at staging: The TrueSight Server Automation Application Server copies patch payloads to a staging directory on the target server during the Deploy Job staging phase. Agent mounts source for direct use at deployment (no local copy): A Deploy Job instructs the agent on a target server to: mount the device specified in the URl and deploy patch payloads directly to the agent. The Deploy Job does not copy patch payloads to a staging area on the agent, so the job does not create any local copies of the patches on target servers. Network URL for Payload Deployment The value entered here depends on your selection in the Network URL Type for Payload Deployment box: If you chose Copy to agent at staging, do not enter a value here. The value is autopopulated based on the repository location. If you chose Agent mounts source for direct use at deployment (no local copy), enter the NFS-accessible path to the location of the payload. If you specify the host in this path as an IPv6 address, enclose the IPv6 address in square brackets. RBAC Policy Browse to and select a predefined ACL Policy. Permissions defined by the ACL Policy are assigned to all Depot objects created in the catalog. Max Deport Object Work Items to Process in Parallel Maximum number of work items that can be performed in parallel.
   Job Properties	The Properties panel provides a list of properties automatically assigned to the job being created. In this list, you can modify the value of any properties that are defined as editable. For any property that has a check in the Editable column, select the property and click in the Value column. To set a property value back to its default value, click Reset to Default Value . The value of the property is reset to the value it inherits from a built-in property class. The Value Source column shows the property class from which the value is inherited. Depending on the type of property you are editing, you can take different actions to set a new value, such as entering an alphanumeric string, choosing from an enumerated list, or selecting a date. To insert a parameter into the value, enter the value, bracketed with double question mark delimiters (for example, ??MYPARAMETER??) or click Select Property .
   Permissions	Using the Permissions panel, you can add individual permissions to an object. You can also set permissions by adding ACL templates or ACL policies. The Permissions list is an access control list (ACL) granting roles access to any objects created in the system, such as depot objects. ACLs control access to all objects, including the sharing of objects between roles. For more information, see the following table: Task Description Adding an authorization An authorization grants permission to a role to perform a certain type of action on this object. To add authorization to this object, click Add Entry  in the Access Control List area. Then use the Add New Entry dialog box to specify the role and authorization you want to add. Adding an ACL template An ACL template is a group of predefined authorizations granted to roles. Using an ACL template, you can add a group of authorizations to the object. To add an ACL template to the object, click Use ACL Template  in the Access Control List area. Then use the Select ACL Template dialog box to specify an ACL template that you want to add to this object. To set the contents of the selected ACL templates so that they replace all entries in the access control list, select Replace ACL with selected templates. If you do not select this option, the contents of the selected ACL templates are appended to existing entries in the access control list. Adding an ACL policy An ACL policy is a group of authorizations that can be applied to this object but can be managed from one location. To add an ACL policy to this object, click Use ACL Policy  in the ACL Policies area. Then use the Select ACL Policy dialog box to specify an ACL policy that you want to add to the object. To set the contents of the selected ACL policies so they replace all entries in the access control list, select Replace ACL with selected policies. If you do not select this option, the contents of the selected ACL policies are appended to existing entries in the access control list.

5. Click Finish. 
   A Patch Catalog is stored in the appropriate Depot folder.

Editing the options

1. In the Depot, right-click the Debian Linux Patch Catalog you just created.
2. Select Open.
3. Set or update any information for the patch catalog options.
4. When finished, save the catalog.

Where to go from here

Downloading-patch-payloads-to-the-catalog