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Managing Software Distribution

Oracle Software Manager is Oracle's management tool for complete software management across the enterprise. Software Manager provides key services that allow all software to be managed from a central location.

This product addresses the fundamental problems faced by application software administrators by offering:

This chapter provides an overview of Oracle Software Manager and a conceptual look at software distribution. It covers the following topics:

For detailed information, see the Software Manager Online Help system.

The Oracle Enterprise Manager/Oracle Software Manager Network

The Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEMGR)/Oracle Software Manager (OSM) network is made up of one or more OEMGR/OSM installations, each administering host servers that contain Oracle Intelligent Agents. The Intelligent Agent executes all tasks scheduled at the console for its particular host. It may have clients that are administered as part of the network.

Figure 15-1: OEMGR/OSM Network
In the figure:

The OEMGR/OSM console on workstation A is aware of hosts B, C, and D and all their clients.

Establishing Communication in the Network

Assuming that all machines have the required software installed and configured, communication is established in the network in two ways:

The OEMGR/OSM console initiates actions and the Intelligent Agent is responsible for executing them.

Figure 15-2: Establishing Communication

Console and Agent

 During installation of the OEMGR/OSM console, configuration information about each host is stored in the OEMGR repository database. The console operator sets OEMGR to regularly query the Intelligent Agents to determine status. The console then registers the host, which appears in the console Navigator window. See the Oracle Enterprise Manager Installation Guide for more information about registering hosts.

Flow of Information

The OEMGR/OSM console initiates actions and the Intelligent Agent is responsible for executing them.

The process works as follows:

1.
The console operator registers software and creates packages and jobs using OEMGR and OSM.
2.
Upon submission, the console sends the jobs to the target hosts through the communications layer.
3.
The hosts receive the jobs, and the Intelligent Agents interpret the instructions contained within, and run the tasks in the job.
4.
The Agents send status reports back to the console.
Oracle Software Manager uses a lightweight store-and-forward messaging system that keeps network traffic to a minimum. In the event of network problems, any message that is waiting to be sent, either from the console or the agent, is held until the network is back online. Communications between the console and agents are not resource intensive; they require only one connection per agent. If a host becomes unavailable, the connection is freed.

The Oracle Software Manager Console

The first time you launch the Oracle Software Manager console, it displays the Navigator window and the Catalog window.

Figure 15-3: Oracle Software Manager Console
You can minimize, resize, or reposition these windows as desired and you can open multiple copies of the same type of window.

Navigator Window

The Navigator window is divided into a left and right pane. It shows all objects currently managed by Oracle Software Manager after you refresh first.

Click on [+] to expand objects to show more detail. Click on [-] to collapse them. You may also right-click on any selected object to display its properties.

The left pane of the Navigator window shows the network tree with expandable contents displayed at the summary level:

The right pane of the Navigator Window displays detailed information about the contents of each object.

Catalog Windows

The Catalog shows all releases and software packages known to Oracle Software Manager.

A release is a collection of Oracle or third-party software products distributed as a unit. Releases may consist of several operating-system-specific collections. For example, the Oracle Workgroup Server CD includes platform-specific versions of OWS and related programs for Netware, OS/2, Windows NT, and Windows 95.

A software package is a user-defined collection of products for a single operating system, intended for distribution across the Oracle Enterprise Manager network.

When Oracle Software Manager is started for the first time in a session, the Catalog window shows Releases.

Use the two icons at the top of the Catalog window to display either the Releases view or the Software Packages view.

Toolbar

Below the menu bar is the toolbar, which can be displayed or hidden through the view menu. The toolbar icons represent items in the menus. Move the mouse cursor over a toolbar icon to display the description of the icon's function in the status bar at the bottom of the console.

Drag and Drop

The Oracle Software Manager supports dragging and dropping of certain window objects into other objects or into other windows. For example, software packages can be dragged from the Catalog window and dropped into windows; host and client objects can be dragged from one part of the Navigator window to another.

The following table shows the effects of drag and drop behavior in the Oracle Software Manager console.
Table 15-1: Drag and Drop Behavior
Objects
Can be dragged and dropped into...
Result
Product

 Create Package dialog box Selected Products list

 Product added to package.

Host icons

 Host Folders in the Navigator windows

 Host Folder containing this host icon.

Package icons

 Host icon

 Package distributed and/or installed on the host.

The Software Distribution Process

You can use Oracle Software Manager (OSM) to distribute software to one or more hosts (and their clients) across the network. Please refer to Figure 15-2: Establishing Communication.

The software distribution process has five steps:

1.
Specifying Distribution Hosts. Using OSM, designate one or more distribution hosts to house software releases and software packages. (The software packages will later be distributed over the network.)
2.
Creating Releases. Using OSM, create software releases on the distribution host(s). These releases will form the basis for the construction of software packages.
3.
Creating Software Packages. Using OSM, select software from releases on a distribution host, creating a software package that can be installed over the network. Note: If a product needs a custom installation, you must modify the response file before incorporating it into the package.
4.
Using OEMGR or OSM to Distribute and Install Software Packages. Using Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEMGR), create jobs that install, deinstall, or distribute the software package, as well as update host information. You could also use OSM's drag and drop feature to distribute and install software packages.

Specify Distribution Hosts

 The first step in the software distribution process is to specify which hosts will be distribution hosts. A distribution host is a machine that runs the Oracle Intelligent Agent on which releases and software packages are created. The Oracle Intelligent Agent, a subset of the Oracle Enterprise Manager, executes all tasks scheduled at the console for its particular host. You can designate any host as a distribution host and add or delete distribution hosts from the console.

The distribution host acts as a clearinghouse for software staging activities, eliminating the need to physically store all the software packages and releases created for the network on the console machine itself. This reduces potential network and system bottlenecks for the distribution of software. Any Windows NT host with adequate storage space can be a distribution host, including the console machine, if the console machine is also running the Oracle Intelligent Agent software.

Create Releases

The second step in the software distribution process is to create releases. A release is an Oracle-defined collection of software whose location is registered with the Oracle Software Manager console. Releases may be created on the same workstation as the console, if the console machine also runs the Oracle Intelligent Agent and has been designated as a distribution host, or on any designated distribution host in the network.

When Oracle Software Manager creates a release, it creates pointers to the location and identifying characteristics of that release. The contents of the release are not copied anywhere on the distribution host's or the console workstation's hard disk. Releases are shown in the Releases view of the Catalog window.

Releases are marked with three types of icons. A normal icon indicates that the release is ready to be used. A green light in the icon indicates that the release is being created. A red light indicates that the release was not created due to some error. You can look at the properties of the release to see the error information.

Create Software Packages

The third step in the software distribution process is to create software packages. A software package is a collection of software products from one or more releases that can be installed on hosts in the network. You create software packages by selecting from the list of all products from created releases for a particular operating system on a particular distribution host. You might combine products from the same or multiple releases (as long as they are from the same distribution host) to form unique software packages. You can then create a job in Oracle Enterprise Manager to distribute or install these packages on any host in the network.

When Oracle Software Manager creates a software package, all the files representing the products in the package are copied to the distribution host, in compressed form. Depending on the number of packages you create on a host, this can require significant disk space, and you should make sure that the host has ample storage space. Software packages are shown in the Software Packages view of the Catalog window and in the Navigator window under the host's packages.

Note: If a product needs a custom installation, you must specify the response file before the installation of the package. A response file is a text file with the extension .RSP that contains the default responses for a product's installation. Oracle Software Manager uses the information in response files to install each product in a software package.

Software packages are marked with three types of icons. A normal icon (package only) indicates that the package is ready to be used. A green light in the icon indicates that the package is being created. A red light indicates that the package was not created due to some error. You can look at the properties of the software package to see the error information.

Use the Oracle Enterprise Manager Job System

The fourth step in the software distribution process is to use the Oracle Enterprise Manager job system to distribute and install software packages on specified hosts. The following tasks can be used to complete the software distribution process: Distribute Package, Install Package, Deinstall Package, and Delete Package.

When a software package is installed on a host, it can be installed as a stand-alone product (if the products it contains are to be run on the host machine), or in shared mode (if the products it contains are to be installed on the host's clients). Shared mode is only available if the product is a Windows 3.1.

Modify File for Custom Configurations

A response file is a text file with the extension .RSP that contains the default responses for a product's installation. If you ever want to modify any of the product's default responses during an interactive installation, you must make the same changes in the response file before you include it in a software package and install it over the network.

Response files can be edited by hand in a text editor, or they can be edited at the distribution host using the Response File Generator. The Response File Generator runs an installation during which you provide the answers you want to the installation questions. They are recorded in a new response file.

To generate an .RSP file

1.
Create the package.
2.
Run the Response File Generator on your agent machine. This will install the package on that host and generate an RSP file.
3.
Move the RSP to your console machine for distribution and installation to other hosts.

Terms used with OSM

 agent
Oracle Intelligent Agent, a subset of the Oracle Enterprise Manager software that resides on a host in the network. The Oracle Intelligent Agent executes all tasks scheduled at the console for its particular host.

Catalog
A window listing all releases and software packages known to Oracle Software Manager. Catalog elements of the same type can be examined through dedicated Catalog windows.

client
A workstation whose software is designed to receive data from, or processing by, dedicated servers. A client machine must run the Oracle Client Software Agent software.

See also client/server.

client/server
A product architecture that splits task processing between a requesting client and a delivering server, taking advantage of the best features of each. For example, if a workstation client queries a remote database server, the server may execute the query itself and then return the answer set to the workstation, which processes it for display.

console(s)
The workstation(s) running Oracle Enterprise Manager/Oracle Software Manager.

configuration
A description of the products that a particular group of clients should have, and the list of clients that are assigned to this configuration.

custom installation
An installation that does not use all the default installation settings for a given product. For example, it may not install the product in the default directory.

If you want to use the Install Package task to perform a custom software installation, you must edit the product's response file to ensure that the custom parameters will be used. See also software package.

distribution host
A host that has been designated as a creation, distribution, and storage center for software packages and releases. This eliminates the need to physically store all the software packages on the console machine itself, and reduces potential network and system bottlenecks for the distribution of software. (The machine that houses the Oracle Enterprise Manager/Oracle Software Manager console can also be a distribution host if the Intelligent Agent software is installed on it as well.)

There must be at least one distribution host designated on each network managed by an Oracle Enterprise ManagerOracle Software Manager console.

host
A workstation or server with an installed Oracle Intelligent Agent, under Oracle Enterprise Manager control.

Navigator window
A Oracle Software Manager console window that displays all hosts currently being managed by Oracle Software Manager, all clients of those hosts, a customized collection of host folders, and a customized collection of client folders. Each item in the Navigator window is represented as an icon. When an item contains other objects (can be expanded further), its handle looks like a [+]. When an item can be expanded no further, its handle looks like a [-]. Double-click an item to expand or close it.

Items you can view for each host include the Installed Products container, the Releases container, the Software Packages container, and the Clients container.

Oracle Enterprise Manager network
All hosts administered by a particular Oracle Enterprise Manager console, or all hosts and Oracle Enterprise Manager consoles administered by one central Oracle Enterprise Manager console.

package
See software package.

release
A collection of Oracle or third-party software products distributed as a unit. Releases consist of several operating-system-specific collections.

For example, the Oracle Workgroup Server CD includes platform-specific versions of OWS and related programs for Netware, OS/2, Windows NT, and Windows 95.

You can choose from the products in a release to create a software package.

response file
A text file with the extension .RSP that contains information about the default installations of all the products in a package. The file supplies parameters that enable the installation program to set up the products as desired. If a package does not have its own response file, you can create one at the distribution host.

.RSP file
See response file.

software package
A user-defined collection of products for a single operating system, intended for distribution across the Oracle Enterprise Manager network.


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