rpath administration guide

rPath Administration Guide

featuring rPath X6 6.0.3

2011.9 v2

rPath Administration Guide : featuring rPath X6 6.0.3: 2011.9 v2Copyright © 2011 rPath, Inc.

rPath, rPath X6, rBuilder, rMake, rPath Appliance Platform, rPath Lifecycle Management Platform, the Software Appliance Company, and Conary are trademarksof rPath, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

rPath welcomes feedback on this and other documentation. Report issues in the Documentation project at the rPath Issue Tracking System (issues.rpath.com).

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Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 51 -- What This Guide Covers ................................................................................................................. 52 -- What This Guide Does Not Cover .................................................................................................... 5

I -- How rPath Works .................................................................................................................................... 61 -- rPath Products in your Organization ................................................................................................. 7

1.1 -- What You Can Do with rPath ................................................................................................ 71.2 -- rPath Products that Make This Possible ................................................................................. 7

2 -- How Data Moves in the Infrastructure .............................................................................................. 92.1 -- Data Between rPath X6 and rPath ......................................................................................... 92.2 -- Data Between rPath X6 and Platform Package Sources ........................................................... 92.3 -- Data Between rPath X6 and Its Users .................................................................................... 92.4 -- Data Between rPath X6 and Deployed Systems .................................................................... 102.5 -- Data Through the rPath Update Service ............................................................................... 10

3 -- Integration with an Existing Virtual Environment ............................................................................ 13II -- rPath X6 and rPath Update Service Administration ................................................................................. 14

4 -- Manage Platforms .......................................................................................................................... 154.1 -- Platform Types in rPath X6 ................................................................................................. 154.2 -- Enabling Platforms ............................................................................................................. 154.3 -- Enabling a Platform for Manual Updates .............................................................................. 164.4 -- Manually Update a Platform using a Preload ........................................................................ 164.5 -- Enabling a Platform for Automatic Updates .......................................................................... 174.6 -- Start Inbound Mirroring ...................................................................................................... 184.7 -- Creating a Unified Mirror for Encapsulated CentOS Platforms ............................................... 18

5 -- Manage Infrastructure .................................................................................................................... 205.1 -- Viewing and Sorting in the Infrastructure Inventory .............................................................. 205.2 -- Working with the Infrastructure System Workspace ............................................................... 205.3 -- Performing Actions on a Selected Infrastructure System ........................................................ 21

6 -- Manage Systems ............................................................................................................................ 236.1 -- Using System Sets .............................................................................................................. 236.2 -- Performing Actions on a System Set .................................................................................... 246.3 -- Creating a System Set ......................................................................................................... 246.4 -- Editing a System Set ........................................................................................................... 256.5 -- Deleting a System Set ......................................................................................................... 266.6 -- Setting an Icon for a System Set .......................................................................................... 276.7 -- Viewing and Sorting in the Inventory ................................................................................... 276.8 -- Working with the System Workspace ................................................................................... 286.9 -- Performing Actions on a Selected System ............................................................................ 296.10 -- Setting the Inventory Polling Interval ................................................................................. 29

7 -- Manage Targets ............................................................................................................................. 317.1 -- Viewing and Sorting in the Inventory ................................................................................... 317.2 -- Working with the Target Workspace ..................................................................................... 317.3 -- Adding an EC2 Target ........................................................................................................ 317.4 -- Adding a Eucalyptus Target ................................................................................................. 327.5 -- Adding an OpenStack Target ............................................................................................... 337.6 -- Adding a VMware Target .................................................................................................... 337.7 -- Adding a Xen Target ........................................................................................................... 34

8 -- Manage rPath X6 Users ................................................................................................................. 358.1 -- Adding a New User ............................................................................................................ 35

rPath Administration Guide

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8.2 -- Deleting a User .................................................................................................................. 358.3 -- Changing a User's Password or Group Membership .............................................................. 358.4 -- Managing Existing Users .................................................................................................... 36

9 -- rPath X6 Administration Page ........................................................................................................ 3710 -- Administration Through the rPath Platform Agent ......................................................................... 38

10.1 -- rPath X6 Administrative Tasks in the rPA ........................................................................... 3810.2 -- rPath Update Service Administrative Tasks in the rPA ......................................................... 39

11 -- Update and Roll Back .................................................................................................................. 4011.1 -- View and Apply System Updates ....................................................................................... 4011.2 -- Use Update Media ............................................................................................................ 4111.3 -- Version-specific Update Considerations .............................................................................. 4211.4 -- How Rollbacks Work ........................................................................................................ 4211.5 -- View and Apply Rollbacks ................................................................................................ 4311.6 -- Migrate rPath X6 to a Newer Version ................................................................................. 4411.7 -- Migrate rPath Update Service to a Newer Version ............................................................... 4511.8 -- Migrate a Deployment to New Hardware ............................................................................ 45

12 -- Back Up and Restore ................................................................................................................... 4612.1 -- What Gets Backed Up ....................................................................................................... 4612.2 -- Configure Backup Locations .............................................................................................. 4712.3 -- Scheduled and On-demand Backups ................................................................................... 4812.4 -- Planning and Troubleshooting Backups .............................................................................. 4912.5 -- Restore from Backup ........................................................................................................ 49

13 -- Monitoring Deployments .............................................................................................................. 5113.1 -- Conary Terminology Reflected in Log Files ........................................................................ 5113.2 -- Monitor the Underlying Linux System ............................................................................... 5113.3 -- Monitor the rPath X6 Build Processes ................................................................................ 5213.4 -- Monitor rPath X6 and rUS Repositories ............................................................................. 53

14 -- Managing rPath X6 Job Processes ................................................................................................ 55III -- Troubleshooting and Support ................................................................................................................ 58

15 -- Command Line Access: Console and SSH .................................................................................... 5915.1 -- Setting the Root Password ................................................................................................. 59

16 -- Collecting Diagnostic Information ................................................................................................ 6017 -- Getting Support ........................................................................................................................... 61

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IntroductionThis guide provides instructions and reference for maintaining rPath products. This information is designed to scalefrom a small LAN setup to a large enterprise roll-out.

People in your organization who might use this guide include some combination of the following:

• The individual or team responsible for the day-to-day health of rPath X6, including managing rPath X6users and controlling rPath X6's access to software resources and deployment targets.

• The individuals or teams responsible for deploying and managing systems based on appliances in rPathX6.

• The individual or team responsible for IT in your organization, including monitoring traffic and main-taining security across the entire infrastructure.

This guide assumes your organization has already deployed rPath X6 and a supporting infrastructure for it. If youhaven't yet deployed rPath X6 and its supporting infrastructure, use the rPath Deployment Guide to plan and deploythat infrastructure. You can find the rPath Deployment Guide at docs.rpath.com.

1 What This Guide CoversThis guide covers the tasks that a system administrator will do to maintain rPath X6 and to manage users, platforms,and targets. It also includes a guide to the log files and other troubleshooting points so that the administrator candiagnose problems and know when and how to call on rPath Support for a resolution.

This document revision includes instructions compatible with rPath X6 and its supporting technologies from rPath.For documentation for other versions of rPath X6, see docs.rpath.com.

2 What This Guide Does Not CoverThis guide does not cover creating and maintaining appliances or deploying systems based on those appliances. Theseare the central features of rPath X6 and the purpose that your organization is using rPath. For a guide to those featuresand functions, see the rPath User Guide at docs.rpath.com.

Also, this guide does not include the information you need to deploy rPath products. For a guide to planning anddeploying rPath X6 and its supporting infrastructure, see the rPath Deployment Guide at docs.rpath.com.

http://docs.rpath.com




Part I. How rPath Works

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1. rPath Products in your OrganizationThis chapter provides an overview of the concepts you'll encounter when working with rPath X6 and other rPathproducts. Use this chapter to familiarize yourself with the parts you'll be responsible for maintaining.

1.1 What You Can Do with rPath

The following are some of the tasks that you and your organization can perform with rPath products. If you have aspecific need that isn't listed here, contact rPath to find out how to customize your deployment to meet that need.

• Build and maintain appliances -- An appliance is like a model or blueprint for a complete computersystem, including the operating system, software, and custom configuration that should run on that sys-tem. Using an appliance, you can deploy and maintain any number of systems based on that model.

• Prepare software to add to an appliance -- rPath wraps existing software in its rich version controlfeatures so it can be managed as part of an appliance. rPath provides platforms that add these features toexisting operating system software, and users can prepare other software to be used in appliances basedon those platforms.

• Create images for new deployments -- rBuilder can use an appliance to create one or more images. Animage can be used to deploy any number of systems in various physical and virtual environments.

• Deploy and manage systems based on appliances -- You can deploy the virtual machine images youcreate directly into your organization's existing virtual environment, and you can manage them in a singleuser interface alongside other rPath-managed systems.

• Make updates available for existing deployments -- Use the same appliance build that rBuilder usesto create images for new deployments to publish updates for existing deployments. Systems based on anappliance can check for updates, compare their contents to the latest published appliance build (revision),and download and apply only the changes they need to update to the new revision.

• Manage an inventory of deployed systems -- You can ensure that physical and virtual systems are partof a system inventory. In a single user interface, you can check the status of the systems and examineand update software.

1.2 rPath Products that Make This Possible

The following are the rPath products that provide the features listed in What You Can Do with rPath:

• rPath X6 -- rPath X6 is a server application and Web interface dedicated to assembling and buildingappliances, creating images based on those appliances, launching and managing systems, and publishingupdates to systems.

• Platforms -- In rPath X6, "platform" refers to the tools that rPath X6 uses to retrieve software from anexisting operating system, use it as the base OS for an appliance, and prepare software for appliancesbased on that OS. All the operating system's original features become part of the final appliance, butwith added tools from the platform that allow the deployed system to be maintained as an appliance andmanaged using rPath X6.

rPath Products in your Organization

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• rPath Development Environment -- The rPath Development Environment is a system image with com-mand-line tools that extend the features of rPath X6. These tools are primarily for preparing the softwarethat will be used on appliances. A single rPath Development Environment deployment can be sharedby remote (SSH) access among any number of users, or it can be used in a virtual machine on a singleuser's desktop.

• rPath Update Service (rUS) -- The rPath Update Service is a stand-alone product extending rPath X6services across network segments. The purpose of rUS is to ensure that rPath X6 has the direct connectionit needs to poll and manage deployed systems. Through rUS, rPath X6 can take an inventory of eachsystem's software and configuration and prompt the system to get the latest software updates.

• Windows Build Service -- The Windows Build Service is an extra build resource required by rPath X6only when using Windows as the platform for appliances. This stand-alone product, available startingwith rBuilder 5.8, must be deployed on the same network segment as rPath X6.

• rPath Tools -- Each system built with rPath X6 includes the rPath Tools, a small group of client softwarethat actively communicates with rPath X6 either directly or through rPath Update Service. rPath Toolsregister the system with rPath X6 and ensure that you can manage the system and its software using therPath X6 user interface.

Systems built with rBuilder 5.6.3 and prior do not include rPath Tools, but you can install rPath Tools onmost of those systems to manage them in the rPath X6 user interface.

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2. How Data Moves in the InfrastructureUse this chapter to familiarize yourself with how data moves between the products in an rPath infrastructure. Thoughyour infrastructure is a unique deployment, it includes some combination of rPath X6, rPath Update Service, rPathTools, and the rPath Development Environment. This chapter covers the important traffic movement between thoseproducts. Since rPath X6 is the central technology in the infrastructure, this chapter starts there and follow the pathof the data.

Already using these ports or protocols?

If your organization already has HTTPS, CIM, and/or XMPP traffic on the ports described in thischapter, you can configure the deployed products to use alternate ports. Contact rPath for help withthis custom configuration.

2.1 Data Between rPath X6 and rPathrPath X6 needs two types of regular updates from rPath: product updates to rPath X6 itself, and platform updates forthe operating system platforms on which rPath X6 users are basing their appliances. Each deployment of the rPathUpdate Service and rPath Development Environment also needs product updates from rPath. All of these updates canbe downloaded directly from rPath over a reliable high-speed Internet connection.

These updates use HTTP/HTTPS over ports 443 (recommended) and port 80 (fall-back). For added security, youcan limit communication to certain DNS hostnames where rPath makes those updates available. These ports andhostnames are listed in upcoming sections covering the network requirements for each product.

Another way rPath X6 can communicate back to rPath is to file support issues directly from the rPath X6 interface.This can be a helpful feature, automatically gathering and sending much of the information rPath Support needs todiagnose a problem. This feature uses port 843 for outbound Internet traffic.

If you need to limit your infrastructure's access to the Internet, or if your Internet connection is not reliable, contactrPath for information about alternate ways to get updates from rPath.

2.2 Data Between rPath X6 and Platform Package SourcesFor certain platforms in rPath X6, users require a connection to a package source, a network-accessible resource forthe software packages associated with the platform's operating system. To determine if any of the platforms you'reusing require configuring a package source, see the corresponding platform guides available at http://docs.rpath.com.The only traffic in the rPath infrastructure for each platform source is responses to HTTP requests from rPath X6.

2.3 Data Between rPath X6 and Its UsersEach rPath X6 user interacts with the Web interface, the rPath X6 API, or both. Some use the tools in the rPathDevelopment Environment as part of that interaction. This access uses HTTPS on rPath X6's port 443 or 8443. Besure users can access rPath X6 on these ports as necessary, even when crossing network segments.


How Data Moves in the Infrastructure

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Occasionally, rPath X6 sends email notices to administrators about its system health. By default rPath X6 uses itsown built-in SMTP server. You can configure rPath X6 to use a different SMTP server instead and to modify the listof email addresses that receive notifications.

2.4 Data Between rPath X6 and Deployed SystemsBy default, a system that was created by rPath X6 calls home to rPath X6 to get its software updates and registeritself with rPath X6. In other words, the system is configured to look for rPath X6 and access specific resources there.You can customize systems to supplement or override this default behavior as needed for your rPath infrastructure.All communications between rPath X6 and a deployed system are over HTTPS with X.509 certificate mutual authen-tication.

In small deployments, rPath X6 and the deployed systems are on the same network segment and there is no rPathUpdate Service, so rPath X6 fulfills each system's request directly. The following are the traffic patterns betweenrPath X6 and a deployed system in these models:

• A deployed system can query, download, and apply software updates initiated from the system itself.These actions use HTTPS traffic on ports 443 or 8443.

• The rPath Tools on a deployed system registers the system with rPath X6, either automatically or by aprompt from an rPath X6 user. This adds the system to the system inventory in rPath X6. Registrationfrom the rPath Tools is sent over REST/HTTPS to rPath X6 on either port 443 or port 8443.

• If the system is in rPath X6's inventory, rPath X6 polls the system at regular intervals to get the latestinformation for that inventory. The polling interval is 12 hours, though an rPath X6 user can also initiateon-demand polling requests. If a system is added to the inventory using the rPath X6, the first requestsent is a request for the system to register so it can be added to the polling schedule. These polling andregistration requests from rPath X6 use WBEM over HTTPS messages sent using standard CIM port5989 from rPath X6 to the deployed system. The response from the deployed system back to rPath X6uses REST/HTTPS on port 443 or 8443.

2.5 Data Through the rPath Update ServiceIn medium and enterprise deployment models, the rPath Update Service connects rPath X6 and deployed systems inother network segments or security domains. Here are the ways using rUS changes the update, registration, and pollingtraffic between rPath X6 and a deployed system, including the port and protocol information needed for configuringfirewalls and proxies:

• rPath X6 pushes published software to each rUS to make it available to deployed systems. This activityuses HTTP/HTTPS traffic from rPath X6 to rUS over port 80 or 443.

Figure 2.1. rPath X6 Pushes Data to an rPath Update Service

rBuilder rUS

repository repository(HTTP/HTTPS)

Published software updates

listening ports: 80 and 443


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• rPath X6 users and/or system administrators configure deployed systems to use an rPath Update Servicedeployment within the same "zone" where the system resides. A zone is a way that rPath X6 and rUScan match deployed systems to their available resources. In terms of your deployment, you should seteverything in the same security domain to be in the same zone. For update activity, this means HTTP/HTTPS traffic over port 80 or 443 between rUS and the deployed system.

Figure 2.2. Deployed System Receives Updates from an rPath Update Service

Deployed system

Are there updates available?

Get the updates

(HTTP/HTTPS)

(HTTP/HTTPS)

rUS

repository

listening ports: 80 and 443

• Using the rPath X6 user interface, system administrators can remotely trigger a system to check for andapply updates. That message is tunneled with XMPP on port 5222 when sent from rPath X6 to rUS, andthen it's sent as a CIM message over port 5989 from rUS to the deployed system.

Figure 2.3. rPath X6 Triggers Deployed System to Update through an rPath UpdateService

Deployed system

Start a system update

(CIM)rUSrBuilder

Tell that system to update

[XMPP tunnel]

listening port: 5989

• As in the small deployment models, the rPath Tools on the deployed system registers the system with rPathX6, either automatically or when prompted by rPath X6. This adds the system to the system inventoryin rPath X6. When using an rPath Update Service, registration from the deployed system is sent overREST/HTTPS to rUS on either port 443 or port 8443, and that information is tunneled with XMPP fromrUS to rPath X6 on port 5222.

Figure 2.4. Deployed System Registers with rPath X6 through an rPath Update Service

Deployed system(REST/HTTPS)

rUSrBuilder[XMPP tunnel]

Registration request Registration request


• As in the small deployment models, rPath X6 polls systems that are in its system inventory at intervalsof 12 hours. If a system is added to the inventory using the rPath X6 user interface, the first request sentis a request that the system register itself with rPath X6 so it can be added to the polling schedule.

When using an rPath Update Service, the polling and registration requests are tunneled with XMPP fromrPath X6 to rUS on port 5222, and then the request is sent as a CIM message from rUS to the deployedsystem over port 5989. The response is sent over REST/HTTPS from the deployed system to rUS on port443 or 8443, and then it's tunneled with XMPP from rUS to rPath X6 on port 5222.


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Figure 2.5. rPath X6 Polls a Deployed System through an rUS

Deployed system

Polling response (REST/HTTPS)

rUSrBuilder [XMPP tunnel]

Polling requestPolling request (CIM)



Polling response

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3. Integration with an Existing VirtualEnvironmentYou can use the rPath X6 user interface to launch and manage systems. Configuring your existing virtual infrastructureas a target in rPath X6 allows rPath X6 to integrate with your virtual infrastructure. Supported virtual infrastructuresinclude VMware, Citrix XenServer, and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).

After deployment, you'll use the Target task in the rPath X6 Web interface to set up its connection with your virtualinfrastructure. For each target, rPath X6 uses the application programming interface (API) of that target's software foruploading "template" images and deploying systems based on those templates.

When you're planning how to connect rPath X6 with a given target, consider the following:

• If you're using Amazon EC2, either rPath X6 or an rPath Update Service will need to access the EC2cloud over an Internet connection.

• If you're deploying rPath X6 on the same network segment as the server powering the virtual environment,you probably don't need any additional network configuration.

• If you're deploying rPath X6 on a different network segment as the server powering the virtual environ-ment, be sure to add any network configuration necessary so the two servers can interact using the virtualenvironment's API.

• If you're deploying systems that need to interact with an rPath Update Service, be sure the rPath X6 userswho are creating and/or deploying those systems are aware of any network configuration those systemsneed for management across network segments.

Figure 3.1. Traffic Between the rPath Infrastructure and a Virtual or Cloud Target

Virtual Host

rBuilder

(1) rBuilder users add a target virtual environment to which it can upload and launch virtual systems.

rUS

(2) rBuilder uploads images as virtual machine templates and launches new virtual systems based on those templates.

Managed virtual system

(3) Each deployed system registers with rBuilder and associates with a "zone." An rBuilder or rUS in that same zone makes resources available for managing that system.

rBuilder-created image



Virtual Environment

(VMware vCenter, Amazon Web Services, etc.)

Part II. rPath X6 and rPathUpdate Service Administration

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4. Manage PlatformsrPath X6 administrators have the permissions needed to add and manage platforms in rPath X6. As introduced inrPath Products that Make This Possible, platforms retrieve software from an existing operating system, use it as thebase OS for an appliance, and prepare software for appliances based on that OS. This chapter presents how platformswork in rPath X6 and how to manage those platforms.

4.1 Platform Types in rPath X6

Platforms in rBuilder are categorized by the two ways a platform might use Conary, the package management tech-nology which gives your appliance its system-level version control:

• Encapsulated platforms are the tools rPath X6 needs to retrieve software from existing operating systemresources and prepare the operating system to be used in appliances in rPath X6.

• Conary-packaged platforms are Linux operating systems whose components have been completelyrepackaged to use Conary, even if the original operating system software uses a different package man-agement technology when used outside of rPath X6.

rPath maintains some Conary-packaged platforms for compatibility with older rPath X6 deployments,but platforms available on new rPath X6 deployments are exclusively encapsulated platforms.

A preload is a snapshot of an rBuilder repository for a particular encapsulated platform, up to the point in time rPathcreated the preload. You can use a preload to perform a manual update of the platform and greatly shorten the timerequired to import content to an enabled platform. Because a preload resets the platform's database, you will usuallyonly apply a preload once.

Preloads are created and provided by rPath at http://docs.rpath.com/platforms/platform_repositories.html

rPath will periodically update preloads and the links on the page will always link to the latest preload provided byrPath. You do not need to download a preload file before manually updating a platform using a preload. If you dodownload a given platform's preload file and use it instead of the latest from rPath, an automatic update of the platformafterward will complete updating the platform.

4.2 Enabling Platforms

For a platform to be available for use in appliances in rPath X6, an administrator must enable that platform and provideany required configuration. The following platforms can be enabled in rPath X6:

• CentOS

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux

• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server

• Windows Foundation Platform

You can enable a platform for either manual or automatic updates.

http://docs.rpath.com/platforms/platform_repositories.html

Manage Platforms

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• To enable a platform to use manual updates, see Enabling a Platform for Manual Updates.

• To enable a platform to use automatic updates, see Enabling a Platform for Automatic Updates.

To speed local updates for encapsulated CentOS platforms, you can set up a local mirror of the CentOS repository.For more information, see Creating a Unified Mirror for Encapsulated CentOS Platforms.

Before enabling a RHEL 5 server platform, the Red Hat Network account to be used must have the following enti-tlements:

• Management (for both x86 and x86_64 architectures)

• Virtualization (for x86_64 architecture)

Before enabling a RHEL 6 server platform, the Red Hat Network account to be used must have the following enti-tlements:

• Management (for both x86 and x86_64 architectures)

• Child channel Optional (for both x86 and x86_64 architectures)

4.3 Enabling a Platform for Manual UpdatesTo enable a platform and configure it to use manual updates, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to rPath X6.

2. In the Navigator left sidebar, click the triangle to the left of Platforms to expand the Platforms group.

3. Below Platforms in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Platforms to open the Platform Browser of allplatforms in the main rPath X6 display area.

4. Double-click on a platform label such as CentOS to open the platform workspace.

5. In the platform workspace, click the Summary tab.

6. Click the Enabled checkbox.

7. Click the Configuration tab.

8. Select to load the platform Manually.

9. Click Save.

To update the enabled platform, perform the steps in Manually Update a Platform using a Preload.

4.4 Manually Update a Platform using a PreloadTo manually update an enabled platform from a preload, perform the following steps:



Manage Platforms

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3. Double-click on the platform label to open the platform workspace.

4. Click the Content Loading tab.

5. Click Which URL should I use? to open the rPath Platform Repositories page in a new browser window.

The rPath Platform Repositories page is at http://docs.rpath.com/platforms/platform_repositories.html.

6. Enter the URL for the preload of the platform.

7. Click Start to download the platform preload to rPath X6.

4.5 Enabling a Platform for Automatic Updates

You need to perform two tasks:

• Enable a platform and configure it to use automatic updates

• Add a package source for rPath X6 to obtain the platform software from

To enable a platform and configure it to use automatic updates, perform the following steps:




4. Double-click on a platform label such as CentOS to open the platform workspace.

5. In the platform workspace, click the Summary tab.

6. Click the Enabled checkbox.

7. Click the Configuration tab.

8. Select to load the platform Automatically.

To add a package source (for this example CentOS is shown), perform the following steps after completing the abovetask:

1. In the Configuration tab of the platform you just enabled, click Add a Package Source.

2. (CentOS only) Enter the repository Name, (optional) a User Name and (optional) Password, and the SourceURL.

http://vault.centos.org/

3. (CentOS only) Click Test Connection. The title of the pane should display Content source 1: validatedsuccessfully.

4. (CentOS only) Click Add Another Package Source, then enter the repository Name, (optional) a UserName and (optional) Password, and a second Source URL.

A second source URL for CentOS would be

http://docs.rpath.com/platforms/platform_repositories.html

Manage Platforms

18

http://mirrors.kernel.org/centos/

5. (CentOS only) Click Test Connection. The title of the pane should display Content source 2: validatedsuccessfully.

6. Enter the repository Name, (optional) a User Name and (optional) Password, and the Source URL.

If you have already entered a repository and login account information for either a Red Hat EnterpriseServer or SuSeE Linux Enterprise Server platform, that repository and login account information will bedisplayed here. To use a different repository or account for this platform, enter the new information.

7. Click Test Connection. The title of the pane should display Content source 1: validated successfully.

8. (Optional) Click Add Another Package Source, then enter the repository Name, (optional) a User Nameand (optional) Password, and the Source URL, and click Test Connection.

9. Click Save.

Inbound mirroring is configured as on by default in rPath X6, so at the default time content from the specified repos-itory will be imported to the enabled platform. To speed up the process of importing content to the enabled platform,you can do either of the following tasks:

• Manually Update a Platform using a Preload

• Start Inbound Mirroring

4.6 Start Inbound Mirroring

To start inbound mirroring for an enabled platform that is configured for automatic updates, perform the followingsteps:

1. Enter the following URL in your Web browser:

https://hostname:8003

Replace hostname with the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the rPath X6 system.

2. Log in to the rPath Platform Agent (rPA) as an administrator.

3. In the left navigation sidebar, click Schedule Inbound Mirroring.

4. Click Mirror Now.

4.7 Creating a Unified Mirror for Encapsulated CentOS Platforms

Customers with platforms built on encapsulated CentOS and who do not run a unified mirror of the CentOS repositorycan no longer update packages due to changes in CentOS as of 20 May 2011. Using a local mirror means rPath X6'sprocesses for assembling the platform are much faster, though you'll also need to allocate local storage for the mirror.To set up a unified mirror of the CentOS repository, perform the following steps:

Manage Platforms

19

1. On your local network, set up an HTTP network file share that you can access with a URL on your localnetwork. This will be similar to the following where centos is both the network file share and the locationof (or HTTP redirect to) your mirror:

http://mirror.example.com/centos

2. Select one of the public mirrors to use from http://www.centos.org/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=30,then right-click and copy the URL for the RSYNC link for that mirror.

3. Use rsync -v locally (on Linux, UNIX, or Mac, or in a Cygwin port on Windows) to list the contents ofthe rsync URL you just copied. An example would be the following:

rsync -v rsync://mirrors.us.kernel.org/CentOS-incdvd

4. Use the instructions at http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/CreateLocalMirror to create your local mirror fromthe RSYNC URL you just copied.

Consider your needed architecture of either or both i386 and x86_64 as presented in the above link.

5. Target the point releases you need from what you just listed; the instructions are written for 5.4, but you willneed to repeat the instructions at http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/CreateLocalMirror for any of the pointreleases you need from 2.1 to 5.5 and later.

Use the HTTP network file share URL as a content source for a CentOS platform in Enabling a Platform for AutomaticUpdates.

http://www.centos.org/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=30

http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/CreateLocalMirror

http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/CreateLocalMirror

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5. Manage InfrastructureThe Infrastructure task in rPath X6 provides several features for monitoring and managing systems that are part ofthe rPath X6 infrastructure, such as Windows Build Service and rPath Update Service.

Infrastructure systems such as Windows Build Service and rPath Update Service are not displayed in Systems. How-ever you can include infrastructure systems in system sets by querying for them.

• Systems shows the systems rPath X6 manages and makes and deploys.• Infrastructure shows the systems that help rPath X6 manage and make and deploy.

You must be logged in to rPath X6 as an administrator to view or work with the Infrastructure task.

You can:• View all systems registered in the rPath X6 Infrastructure inventory, and sort and filter the list of displayed

systems. For more information, see Viewing and Sorting in the Infrastructure Inventory.• Perform actions on a selected system. For more information, see Working with the Infrastructure System

Workspace and Performing Actions on a Selected Infrastructure System.

5.1 Viewing and Sorting in the Infrastructure InventoryTo view systems, and to sort and filter to select systems in the Infrastructure inventory, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to rPath X6.2. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Infrastructure to expand the Infrastructure list.3. Below Infrastructure in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Infrastructure Systems to open the All

Infrastructure Systems browser in the main rPath X6 display area.4. In the lower left of the All Infrastructure Systems browser, you can click Refresh to refresh the list of

displayed systems.5. In the upper left of the All Infrastructure Systems browser, click Grid to switch the All Infrastructure

Systems browser display from Map to Grid.6. In the All Infrastructure Systems browser grid view, click on a column title such as Name or Management

Zone. Drag the column title left or right to arrange the columns.7. Click on a column title such as Name to change the sort order of that column. A triangle displays in the

selected column, pointing either up or down.8. Right-click on an individual system to show actions you can perform on that system. The commands on

this menu are presented in Performing Actions on a Selected Infrastructure System.9. Double-click on an individual system to open the workspace for that system.

5.2 Working with the Infrastructure System WorkspaceWhen you select a system from the list, rPath X6 opens a system workspace to the right of the Infrastructure Systemsbrowser that includes the following tabs:

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• Summary -- Subheadings of the Summary are: Basic Information (including the management zone),Networking information, Software version information for the appliance, and Advanced information in-cluding a UUID.

Click a linked field name to view a brief description of a particular field.

• Configuration -- Values on the managed system you can edit and modify. For more information, seeConfiguring Systems in the rPath User Guide.

• Software -- View and update software for systems associated with appliances.

• Jobs -- Monitor the management jobs that the rPath Tools are currently handling on the system.

• Log -- View or download the log file associated with the system's management through rPath X6, includ-ing registration events.

• Credentials -- Provide any credentials this system requires for access to administrative tasks.

• Deployment -- View the information about the target deployment environment where this system isrunning. This will be one of the targets configured by an rPath X6 administrator from the Targets task inthe Web UI. This tab may be disabled for systems that are not deployed to a configured target.

• Repository Browser -- This is only applicable for systems in the list which have their own repositoriescompatible with rPath X6.

• Refresh -- Click Refresh to refresh the information on the selected system.

5.3 Performing Actions on a Selected Infrastructure SystemRight-clicking on a system, or selecting the system and then clicking Actions, displays a drop-down menu of com-mands. If a command is not performable on the system, that command is grayed out. The menu commands are:

• Add System - Opens the Add a System window.

• Open System - Opens the browser for the selected system.

• Refresh System - Refreshes rPath X6 with the latest information in the rPath X6 Systems inventory.

• Register - Sends a Common Information Model (CIM) message to the system to request information aboutthe system. A registered system appears in Systems. For more information, see Data Between rBuilderand Deployed Systems in the rPath Deployment Guide.

• Synchronize - Immediately polls the system to update the rPath X6's inventory of that system's installedsoftware, and refreshes rPath X6 with the latest information in the rPath X6 Systems inventory..

• Connect to system - Opens a connection to the hostname or IP address of the system over port 80.

• Manage system - Launches the rAPA on that system, if present.

• Shut down system - Shuts down the system.

• Retire system - Stop polling the system for information. Retired systems are displayed in the Inactivesystems filter under Systems.

• Refresh Systems - Refreshes rPath X6 with the most current information in the rPath X6 Systems inven-tory.

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• Remove system - Delete the selected system from the rPath X6 inventory. The deleted system will notbe displayed in Systems.

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6. Manage SystemsThe Systems group in rPath X6 provides several features for monitoring and managing systems deployed in yourorganization's infrastructure.

You can:

• View all systems registered in the rPath X6 Systems inventory, and sort and filter the list of displayedsystems using system sets. For more information, see Using System Sets and Viewing and Sorting in theInventory.

• Perform actions on a selected system. For more information, see Working with the System Workspace andPerforming Actions on a Selected System.

• Create, edit, and delete user-defined system sets following the steps in Creating a System Set, Editing aSystem Set and Deleting a System Set.

• Change the polling interval following the steps in Setting the Inventory Polling Interval.

Infrastructure systems such as Windows Build Service and rPath Update Service are not displayed in Systems. How-ever you can include infrastructure systems in system sets by querying for them. For more information, see Creatinga System Set.

• Systems shows the systems rPath X6 manages and makes and deploys.

• Infrastructure shows the systems that help rPath X6 manage and make and deploy.

6.1 Using System SetsA System Set is a set of the systems in the Systems inventory displayed in rPath X6. There are two kinds of system sets:

• System-defined system sets are created and defined by rPath X6.

• User-defined system sets can be created, edited, and deleted by rPath X6 administrators.

To view system sets, perform the following steps:


2. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Systems to expand the Systems list. The system sets are visible in alist below Systems.

3. Below Systems in the Navigator left sidebar, click Browse System Sets to open the Browse System Setsbrowser of all system sets in the main rPath X6 display area.

4. In Browse System Sets, double-click Active Systems to open that system set as a new tab.

5. Click Child Sets to view the system sets that have been added as subsets of the system set.

Any system set can be added as a child set to any system set by dragging and dropping it from the BrowseSystem Sets browser to the new parent system set. For more information, see Creating a System Set.

6. In Child Sets, right-click on a system set to see commands you can perform on the selected system set:

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• Open System Set - Opens the child system set in a new tab.

• Remove System Set - Deletes the child system set from the system set.

7. Click Chosen Systems to view the system sets that have been added as subsets of the system set.

Any system can be added to any system set by dragging and dropping it from a system set to the new parentsystem set. For more information, see Creating a System Set.

8. In Chosen Systems, right-click on a system to see commands you can perform on the selected system. Formore information, see Performing Actions on a Selected System.

9. Click Queried Systems to view the filters used to dynamically query the Systems inventory and displaythe systems that meet all the filters. For more information on how to create and edit queries, see Creatinga System Set and Editing a System Set.

Filters are ANDed - a system will only be displayed as part of a query result if that system meets theconditions of all of the filters in a query.

10. In Queried Systems, right-click on a system to see commands you can perform on the selected system.For more information, see Performing Actions on a Selected System.

11. Double-click an individual system to open the system's workspace in a separate tab. For more information,see Working with the System Workspace.

6.2 Performing Actions on a System SetIn the Browse System Sets browser, right-click on a system set to show a menu of commands:

• Open System Set - Opens the selected system set.

• Create System Set - Opens a new system set in a tab. For more information, see Creating a System Set.

• Delete System Set - Deletes the selected system set.

• Refresh System Set - Refreshes the list of systems in the selected system set.

• Refresh System Sets - Refreshes the list of system sets in the browser.

6.3 Creating a System SetAn rPath X6 administrator can create, edit, or delete user-defined system sets. System sets created by rPath X6 cannotbe edited or deleted.

To create a user-defined system set, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to rPath X6 as an administrator.

2. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Systems to expand the Systems list.

3. Below Systems in the Navigator left sidebar, click Browse System Sets to open the Browse System Setsbrowser of all system sets.

4. In the lower left of the Browse System Sets browser, click +. The New System Set tab is displayed.

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5. If the New System Set tab is displayed as a tab in the same pane as the Browse System Sets browser, clickand drag the New System Set tab to a different pane.

6. In the New System Set tab, click in the Name field to change the name from the default name New SystemSet number_string.

Once the name of the new system set is defined, the new system set is displayed in the Navigator columnunderneath Systems, and in the Browse System Sets browser.

7. (Optional) Enter a Description.

You can select an icon for a user-defined system set by using keywords in the Description field. For moreinformation see Setting an Icon for a System Set.

8. To add a system set as a child set of the New System Set, click and drag a system set from the BrowseSystem Sets browser to the New System Set tab.

9. Click Child Sets in the New System Set tab to see the newly added child set.

10. To add an individual system to a system set, open the system set containing the system and then click anddrag the individual system to the New System Set tab.

11. Click Chosen Systems in the New System Set tab to see the newly added individual system.

12. Click Queried Systems to display the query filters defined in the system set and the systems that meetthe query conditions.

13. To create a query filter for the system set, perform the following steps:

1. Click Queried Systems, then click + below Chosen Systems.

2. From the left drop-down menu, select a parameter for the filter.

3. From the drop-down menu in the center, select a condition for the filter.

4. Enter a value for the filter in the text field to the right of the condition's drop-down menu.

14. To add a second filter to the query, click + to the right of the text field.

Filters are always ANDed: for example, a system sets queries the Systems inventory for all systems thatmatch a first filter of "Active" AND a second filter of "AWS". If you want to include a system that doesnot match both those criteria, add that system to the system set as a Chosen System.

15. To delete a filter, click - to the right of the filter's text field.

A system set is composed of the union of the sets belonging to its three categories: all systems in Child Sets OR (plus)all systems in Chosen Systems OR (plus) all systems matching the query defined in Queried Systems.

(Systems in a system set) = (systems in Child Sets) + (Chosen Systems) + (Query results)

6.4 Editing a System SetAn rPath X6 administrator can create, edit, or delete user-defined system sets. System sets created by rPath X6 cannotbe edited or deleted.

To edit a user-defined system set, perform the following steps:

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4. In Browse System Sets, double-click the name of a user-defined system set to open it in a new tab.

5. If the system set's tab is displayed as a tab in the same pane as the Browse System Sets browser, click anddrag the system set's tab to a different pane.

6. In the system set's tab, click in the Name field to edit the name.

7. (Optional) Click in the Description field to enter a new description.

You can select an icon for a user-defined system set by using keywords in the Description field. For moreinformation see Setting an Icon for a System Set.

8. Click Child Sets in the system set's tab to see the child sets in the system set.

9. To add a child set, click and drag a system set from the Browse System Sets browser to the system set's tab.

10. To delete a child set, right-click the child set and then select Remove Child System Set.

11. Click Chosen Systems in the system set's tab to see the systems that have been added to the system set.

12. To add an individual system to a system set, open the system set containing the system and then click anddrag the individual system to the system set's tab.

13. To delete a chosen system, right-click the system and then select Remove System From Collection.

14. Click Queried Systems to display the query filters defined in the system set and the systems that meetthe query conditions.

15. To create a query filter for the system set, perform the following steps:

1. Click Queried Systems, then click + below Chosen Systems.

2. From the left drop-down menu, select a parameter for the filter.

3. From the drop-down menu in the center, select a condition for the filter.

4. Enter a value for the filter in the text field to the right of the condition's drop-down menu.

16. To add a second filter to the query, click + to the right of the text field.

Filters are always ANDed: for example, a system sets queries the Systems inventory for all systems thatmatch both a first filter of "Active" AND a second filter of "AWS". If you want to include a system thatdoes not match both those criteria, add that system to the system set as a Chosen System.

17. To delete a filter, click - to the right of the filter's text field.

6.5 Deleting a System SetOnly an rPath X6 administrator can delete a user-defined system set. System sets created by rPath X6 cannot be editedor deleted. To delete a system set, perform the following steps:

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3. Below Systems in the Navigator left sidebar, click Browse System Sets to open the Browse System setsbrowser of all system sets in the main rPath X6 display area.

4. Right-click on the system set and from the menu select Delete System Set.

6.6 Setting an Icon for a System SetUse specific keywords in the Description field to select an icon for a user-defined system set. To select an icon fora system set, perform the following steps:




4. In Browse System Sets, double-click the name of a user-defined system set to open it in a new tab.

5. If the system set's tab is displayed as a tab in the same pane as the Browse System Sets browser, click anddrag the system set's tab to a different pane.

6. In the system set's tab, click in the Name field to edit the name.

7. Enter a new, or edit the existing, Description to include a keyword for the icon you want to display forthe system set.

Keywords are not case-sensitive, and can appear anywhere in the Description field. Use only one keyword in a de-scription. The list of icons and the keywords you can use to select those icons is as follows:

• Default icon - No description, no keyword present in the description, or plainset, facility, unknown.

• VMware icon - vmware, vspherecluster, vcenter.

• Amazon icon - amazon, ec2, ec2cloud, aws.

• Citrix icon - citrix, xencluster, xenserver, xen_enterprise.

• Eucalyptus icon - euca, eucalyptus.

• Microsoft Hyper-V (Windows) icon - hyperv, hypervcluster.

• OpenStack icon - openstack.

• Root icon - root.

6.7 Viewing and Sorting in the InventoryTo view systems, and to sort and filter to select systems in the Systems inventory, perform the following steps:


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3. Below Systems in the Navigator left sidebar, click Active Systems to open the Active Systems browser ofall active systems in the main rPath X6 display area.

Active systems is one of the default filters provided for selecting subgroups in the Systems inventory. Otherdefault filters include Inactive systems and All systems.

4. Below Systems in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Systems to open a new tab on the Active Systemsbrowser, displaying the All Systems browser of all registered systems.

5. In the lower left of the All Systems browser, you can click Refresh to refresh the list of displayed systems.

6. Click the Active Systems browser tab to display the Active Systems browser.

7. In the upper left of the Active Systems browser, click Grid to switch the Active Systems browser displayfrom Map to Grid.

8. In the Active Systems browser grid view, click on a column title such as Name or Management Zone. Dragthe column title left or right to arrange the columns.

9. Click on a column title such as Name to change the sort order of that column. A triangle displays in theselected column, pointing either up or down.

10. Right-click on an individual system to show actions you can perform on that system. The commands onthis menu are presented in Performing Actions on a Selected System.

11. Double-click on an individual system to open the workspace for that system.

6.8 Working with the System WorkspaceWhen you select a system from the list, rPath X6 opens a workspace that includes the following tabs:

• Summary -- Scroll through this list for some of the information rPath X6 was able to retrieve from thissystem, including Basic Information including the management zone, Networking information, Softwareversion information for the appliance, and Advanced information including a UUID.

Click a linked field name to view a brief description of a particular field.

• Configuration -- Values on the managed system you can edit and modify. For more information, seeWorking with rPath Configuration in the rPath User Guide.

• Software -- View and update software for systems associated with appliances. For more information onusing this tab, see Deploy Updates in the rPath User Guide.

• Jobs -- Monitor the management jobs that the rPath Tools are currently handling on the system.

• Log -- View or download the log file associated with the system's management through rPath X6, includ-ing the registration events described in Register an Existing System in the rPath User Guide.

• Credentials -- Provide any credentials this system requires for access to administrative tasks.

• Deployment -- View the information about the target deployment environment where this system isrunning. This will be one of the targets configured by an rPath X6 administrator from the Targets task inthe Web UI. This tab may be disabled for systems that are not deployed to a configured target.

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• Repository Browser -- This is only applicable for systems in the list which have their own repositoriescompatible with rPath X6. For more information, see Browsing and Using the Appliance Repository inthe rPath User Guide.

• Refresh -- Click Refresh to refresh the information on the selected system.

6.9 Performing Actions on a Selected SystemRight-clicking on a system, or selecting the system and then clicking Actions, displays a drop-down menu of com-mands. If a command is not performable on the system, that command is grayed out. The menu commands are:

• Add System - Opens the Add a System window.

• Open System - Opens the browser for the selected system.

• Refresh System - Refreshes rPath X6 with the latest information in the rPath X6 Systems inventory.

• Register - Sends a Common Information Model (CIM) message query to the system to request informationabout the system. For more information, see Data Between rBuilder and Deployed Systems in the rPathDeployment Guide.

• Synchronize - Immediately polls the system to update the rPath X6's inventory of that system's installedsoftware, and refreshes rPath X6 with the latest information in the rPath X6 Systems inventory.

• Connect to system - Opens a connection to the hostname or IP address of the system over port 80.

• Manage system - Launches the rAPA on that system, if it is present on that system.

• Shut down system - Shuts down the system.

• Retire system - Stop polling the system for information. Retired systems are displayed in the Inactivesystems filter under Systems.

• Refresh Systems - Refreshes rPath X6 with the most current information in the rPath X6 Systems inven-tory.

• Remove system - Delete the selected system from the rPath X6 inventory. The deleted system will notbe displayed in Systems.

• Remove System From Collection - Only present when viewing the Chosen Systems sub-tab of a systemset, the Remove System From Collection command deletes the selected system from the system set only.The system is still present in the general Systems inventory.

6.10 Setting the Inventory Polling IntervalrPath X6 polls the systems in the Systems inventory at regular intervals to get the latest information for that inventory.The default polling interval is 12 hours.

To set the polling interval, perform the following steps:

1. Open a command prompt on the system rPath X6 is installed on.

2. Using a text editor, open the following file:

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/srv/rbuilder/config/rbuilder-custom.conf

3. Find the value systemEventsPollDelay. The default value of systemEventsPollDelay is 720 and the unit isone minute. A default entry should look like the following:

systemEventsPollDelay 720

4. Edit the numeric value to set the rBuilder's polling interval. For example, to set the rBuilder to poll everysix hours, edit the line to the following:

systemEventsPollDelay 240

5. Save changes to rbuilder-custom.conf.

If changing the polling interval to more frequently than every 12 hours, consider the potential impact of the changeon the network.

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7. Manage TargetsrPath X6 administrators have the permissions needed to add and manage deployment targets in rPath X6. Use theinformation in this chapter to add, configure, and maintain targets in rPath X6. Targets are defined and described inChapter 3. Integration with an Existing Virtual Environment, and you should be familiar with the material in thatchapter before performing tasks presented in this chapter.

The individual or team that deployed your rPath infrastructure may have already configured these targets in rPath X6,though administrators should monitor and maintain them over time.

7.1 Viewing and Sorting in the InventoryTo view targets, and to sort and filter to select targets, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to rPath X6.2. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Targets to expand the Targets list.3. Below Targets in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Targets. The Target Browser is displayed.4. In the Target Browser, click on a column title such as Name or Credentials. Drag the column title left or

right to arrange the columns.5. Click on a column title such as Name to change the sort order of that column. A triangle displays in the

selected column, pointing either up or down.6. Double-click on an individual target to open the target workspace for that target. For more information,

see Working with the Target Workspace.7. Right-click on an individual target to show actions you can perform on that system. You can delete the

configured target using this menu.

7.2 Working with the Target WorkspaceWhen you select a target from the list, rPath X6 opens a target workspace below the list that includes the following tabs:

• Summary -- Scroll through this list for some of the information rPath X6 stores for this target. Click thelinked field name to view a brief description of a particular field.

• Credentials -- View the information about the user credentials saved for the target, or add user credentialsfor a target.

Although a user must be logged in to rPath X6 as an administrator to add a target, non-administratorslogged in to rPath X6 can add user credentials to an existing target.

• Configuration -- View and edit configuration information associated with this target. You must be loggedin to rPath X6 as an administrator to view Configuration information for a target.

7.3 Adding an EC2 TargetTo add an EC2 target, perform the following steps:

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2. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Targets to expand the Targets list.

3. Below Targets in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Targets. The Target Browser is displayed.

4. In the Target Browser, click + to open the Add a Target window.

5. From the Select a target to configure drop-down menu, select ec2.

6. Enter the AWS Account Number.

7. Enter the Access Key ID.

8. Enter the Secret Access Key.

9. Enter the X.509 Certificate.

Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the X.509 certificate.

10. Enter the X.509 Private Key.

Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the X.509 private key.

11. Enter the S3 Bucket name.

S3 bucket names must be globally unique: you can either reuse an S3 bucket you already have, or you canname a new bucket which rPath X6 will create for you.

12. Click Add.

Your uploads and instances in EC2 from rPath X6 will fall under the same payment schedule as your other AmazonEC2 cloud images and instances.

7.4 Adding a Eucalyptus TargetTo add a Eucalyptus target, perform the following steps:





5. From the Select a target to configure drop-down menu, select eucalyptus.

6. Enter the Eucalyptus Server Address.

7. Enter the Eucalyptus Server Port.

8. Enter the Descriptive Name.

9. Enter the Full Description.

10. Enter the Access Key ID.

11. Enter the Secret Access Key.

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12. Enter the X.509 Certificate.

Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the X.509 certificate.

13. Enter the X.509 Private Key.

Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the X.509 private key.

14. Enter the Cloud X.509 Certificate.

Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the cloud X.509 certificate.

15. Enter the Storage (Walrus) Bucket name.

16. Click Add.

7.5 Adding an OpenStack Target

To add an OpenStack target, perform the following steps:





5. From the Select a target to configure drop-down menu, select openstack.

6. Enter the Nova Server address in FQDN or IP address format.

7. If the Nova Port to use is not the default port number of 8774, enter the port number to use.

8. Enter the Glance Server address in FQDN or IP address format.

9. If the Glance Port to use is not the default port number of 9292, enter the port number to use.

10. Enter the Name.


12. Click Add.

7.6 Adding a VMware Target

To add a VMware target, perform the following steps:





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5. From the Select a target to configure drop-down menu, select vmware.

6. Enter the Server Address. Must be a fully qualified DNS (FQDN).

7. Enter the Name.


9. Click Add.

The user permissions entered in Credentials for the VMware target must have Virtual Machine Administrator role onthe VMware server the target is to be deployed to. For more information, see VMware documentation on managingusers, groups, roles, and permissions.

7.7 Adding a Xen TargetTo add a Xen target, perform the following steps:





5. From the Select a target to configure drop-down menu, select xen-enterprise.

6. Enter the Server Address. Must be a fully qualified DNS (FQDN).

7. Enter the Name.


9. Click Add.

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8. Manage rPath X6 Users

8.1 Adding a New UserAs an administrator, you can create new rPath X6 users and manage existing users. There are two ways to createusers in rPath X6:

• An administrator can create an account by using the Create User Account task on the rPath X6 Admin-istration page.

rPath X6 can be configured to restrict account creation to administrators only. Contact rPath Support formore information.

• An anonymous user can create an account by clicking Create an Account in the main rPath X6 interface,completing the form to create a new account, and confirming the account from a link emailed to theaddress provided.

To add a new user, use the following steps:

1. Log in to the rPath X6 administrative interface using https://hostname:8003 where hostname is the hostname or IP address of the rPath X6.

2. In the left sidebar, click User Management. The User Management pane is displayed.

3. Click Add User to open the Root Password pane.

4. In User name, enter the user name.

5. In Password, enter the password.

6. In Confirm password, enter the password again.

7. In Password for account admin, enter the rPath X6 admin password.

8. Click Save.

8.2 Deleting a UserAs an administrator, you can delete rPath X6 users. To delete a user, use the following steps:



3. In the right column of the user's row in the Appliance Users table, click X in the Delete column. The useris deleted from rPath X6.

8.3 Changing a User's Password or Group MembershipAs an administrator, you can edit the details of an rPath X6 user account. To edit a user account, use the following steps:

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3. In the right column of the user's row in the Appliance Users table, click the Edit button in the Edit column.

4. To set a new password for the selected user account, enter and confirm the new password, then verify youradmin password.

5. To change group membership of the selected user account, click the group names in the Groups list toselect or unselect group membership.

6. Click Save.

8.4 Managing Existing UsersTo manage an existing user, use the following steps:

1. Sign in to the rPath X6 Web interface as an administrator.

2. Click rPath in the upper left of the rPath X6 Web interface to display the drop-down menu.

3. Select User Search from the drop-down menu to open the User Search page.

4. In Search Results: Users, browse to find the user you need to modify. Users are ordered by user name. Usethe arrows in the upper and lower right of the search results list to navigate the list of names.

5. Click the linked user name of the user you want to modify, and use the interface to make the necessarychanges. Your options are as follows:

• Reset Password - Reset the user's password

• Cancel Account - Delete the account

• Grant Administrative Privileges - Promote the user to rPath X6 administrator status

(If the user is currently an administrator, the option displayed is to Revoke AdministrativePrivileges)

• Add or modify the user's role on a given appliance project in rPath X6 (including platforms).Select from the following user roles:

• User -- This user has read access to the repository contents.

• Developer -- This user has read and write access to the repository contents. TheDeveloper role is for users preparing software for the appliance or assemblingthe appliance itself.

• Owner -- This user has read and write access to the repository contents, the per-mission to manage other users' access to the project, and the ability to create andpublish releases.

For more details about the difference between user roles in a project, see the rPath User Guide.

6. When you finish editing users, close the Search Results browser window.

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9. rPath X6 Administration PageThe administrative tasks available on the rPath X6 Administration page focus on software features. (rPath X6 ad-ministration tasks focusing on system administration for both the underlying OS and the services behind rPath X6'sfeatures are performed in the rPath Platform Agent and are presented in the next chapter.)

To access the rPath X6 Administration page:

1. Sign in to the rPath X6 Web interface as an administrator.

2. Click rPath in the upper left of the rPath X6 Web interface to display the drop-down menu.

3. Select Administration from the drop-down menu to open the rPath X6 Administration page.

You can perform the following tasks from the rPath X6 Administration page:

• Create User Account -- Create a new user account. For more details about creating and managing ac-counts, including references to this task, see Chapter 8. Manage rPath X6 Users.

• Externally-Managed Products -- Configure advanced options for accessing the platforms you've enabledin rPath X6, or manually add and manage access to other "upstream" appliance products if your organiza-tion is using a tiered rPath X6 structure. See the platform guide for each platform (from docs.rpath.com)as a reference for the advanced configuration options associated with that platform.

• Configure Update Services -- Add and manage connections to rPath Update Service deployments towhich this rPath X6 publishes data. This task is primarily used during infrastructure deployment, whichis covered in the rPath Deployment Guide from docs.rpath.com.

• Configure Outbound Mirroring -- Do not use this task unless you are still managing an older rPath X6infrastructure which predated the Configure Update Service task. If you need assistance, contact rPathSupport.

• Manage Maintenance Mode -- Toggle whether the rPath X6 is in maintenance mode. Similar to mainte-nance mode in other software, the maintenance mode in rPath X6 turns off user access to key functions inrPath X6 so administrators can perform scheduled maintenance or troubleshoot major issues. While rPathX6 is in maintenance mode, users cannot access the rPath X6 Web interface or interact with applianceproject repositories.

• More Administrative Options -- Open the rPath Platform Agent interface to rPath X6 where you canlog in and perform system administration tasks. For more details about the rPath Platform Agent, seeChapter 10. Administration Through the rPath Platform Agent.



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10. Administration Through the rPathPlatform AgentThe rPath Platform Agent (rPA) is a secure Web interface dedicated to system administration tasks and is customizedto the specific system administration needs of each rPath product. Both rPath X6 and rUS include rPA.

To access the rPA interface, enter the following URL in your Web browser:


Replace hostname with the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the system you're managing.

To perform tasks in rPA, you must be logged in to rPA using an account with administrator status. If you are responsiblefor rPath X6 and rUS administration, you should have received these credentials from the individual or team thatdeployed your rPath infrastructure.

Besides the tasks covered in this guide, there are other tasks down the left side of the product's rPA interface. Use theLearn More links in each task for more information.

If the rPA Web interface is not available, you can use command line access to restart the raa service which powersthe interface. Run the following command as root at a command line to restart the service:

#> service raa restart

See Chapter 15. Command Line Access: Console and SSH for more information on accessing rPath X6 and rPathUpdate Service at the command line, and using secure shell (SSH) access.

10.1 rPath X6 Administrative Tasks in the rPAThe rPath X6 rPA left navigation bar displays the following:

• Appliance Status - Displays information and general status.

• System Information - Displays more detailed system information.

• Appliance Logs - Select a log to view recent entries in that log. Click 'Refresh' to refresh the displayedresults, and click 'Download' to download and view the entire log.

• Back Up and Restore - Configure a backup location to use for both scheduled and on-demand (imme-diate) backups. Specify a number of backups to keep at that location. For regularly scheduled backups,enable and configure a backup schedule.

• Change Password - Change your account's password for this web interface

• Collect Diagnostic Information - Collect diagnostic information from the rPath X6.

• Configuration - Displays a submenu of several configuration-related tasks, including Configure Inter-net Proxy, Configure Networking, Configure Notification, Manage Entitlements, Root Password,System Time, and Upload SSL Certificate.

• Job Control Console - Displays the Job Control Console.

Administration Through the rPath Platform Agent

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• Schedule Inbound Mirroring - Schedule syncing of local mirrors with their external repositories.

• Schedule Outbound Mirroring - Schedule mirroring of local repositories to Update Serviceappliance(s).

• Schedule Reboot - Schedule a one-time reboot of this appliance.

• Updates - Check for available updates for this appliance, and apply updates when they are available.

• User Management - Create new users and manage the settings for existing users.

• View and Apply Rollbacks - Displays available rollbacks for updates.

• rBuilder Setup - Set an external URL for authentication of rPath X6 accounts, or require commits torepositories to be OpenPGP-signed.

• rBuilder Terms of Service - Displays the rBuilder Terms of Service.

• rMake Management - Manage the rMake server.

10.2 rPath Update Service Administrative Tasks in the rPAThe rPath Update Service rPA left navigation bar displays the following:

• Appliance Status - Displays information and general status.

• System Information - Displays more detailed system information.

• Appliance Logs - Select a log to view recent entries in that log. Click 'Refresh' to refresh the displayedresults, and click 'Download' to download and view the entire log.

• Back Up and Restore - Configure a backup location to use for both scheduled and on-demand (imme-diate) backups. Specify a number of backups to keep at that location. For regularly scheduled backups,enable and configure a backup schedule.

• Change Password - Change your account's password for this web interface

• Collect Diagnostic Information - Collect diagnostic information from the Update Service appliance.

• Configuration - Displays a submenu of several configuration-related tasks, including Configure Inter-net Proxy, Configure Networking, Configure Notification, Manage Entitlements, Root Password,System Time, and Upload SSL Certificate.

• Manage Services - Stop, start, and restart services on the underlying system, and select whether a serviceshould start when this appliance boots.

• Proxy / Mirror Setup - Configure the rUS for mirror or proxy (default) mode.

• Schedule Reboot - Schedule a one-time reboot of this appliance.

• Updates - Check for available updates for this appliance, and apply updates when they are available.

• User Management - Create new users and manage the settings for existing users.

• View and Apply Rollbacks - Displays available rollbacks for updates.

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11. Update and Roll BackFor both rPath X6 and rPath Update Service, you can either update or roll back the product's software through therPA interface described in Chapter 10. Administration Through the rPath Platform Agent. Use the sections in thischapter to perform updates and rollbacks.

Windows Build Service May Need to be Updated with rPath X6

Windows Build Service must be the correct version to operate with the version of rPath X6 it isconnected to. When rPath X6 is updated, you may or may not have to update any Windows BuildServices associated with the rPath X6. For more information, see the rPath Platform Guide forWindows.

11.1 View and Apply System Updates

System updates have two stages. Each stage can be performed on-demand or scheduled to occur automatically at agiven interval:

1. Check for Updates -- The system checks for available updates. If there's an update available, the systemdownloads the changes needed to update the current system to that latest available version.

If there was a previous download waiting to be applied, the newer download will replace it; the latestdownload is the only download you'll need to apply to bring the system up to date.

2. Apply Updates -- The system applies the updates it downloaded from rPath.

Use the Updates task in the rPA interface on rPath X6 or rUS to check for and apply updates, and to configure theschedule for each stage.

rPath X6 or rUS not connected to the Internet?

If the rPath X6 or rUS you're updating is not connected to the Internet, see the update procedurein Use Update Media.

To check for an update, view the details of an update, and apply an update, use the following steps:

1. Log in to rPA on the system, and click the Updates task from the left.

2. If the system has been configured to automatically check for updates, there may be an update available.Expand or collapse the display to see what will change when you apply the update.

3. Choose whether you want to check for a newer update (go to the next step) or just apply that update (goto step 6).

4. Click Check for Updates. The system will then:

• Access and authenticate with rPath's repositories across the Internet.

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41

• Compare your deployment with the software available in those repositories.

• Download any changes from those repositories needed to bring your deployed system up-to-date with the latest version from rPath.

5. If an available update is displayed, click the downward-pointing arrow to expand the display and see whatwill change if you apply the update.

6. Perform one of the following two actions:

• Click Apply Now to update the system. When the update is complete, click OK.

• Use the Date and Time fields to set a future time to apply the update, then click Schedule.

If the update does not include an automatic reboot, you can manually reboot the system using the Schedule Reboot task.

To reverse an update that has been performed on a system and return the system to its previous state, apply a rollback.See View and Apply Rollbacks for more information.

11.2 Use Update Media

You can use rPath-provided update media to update rPath X6 or rUS; an Internet connection is not required for updates.This update media can be either an installation CD/DVD for the target version, or it can be special media generatedjust for providing updates.

rPath can provide update media if you have an active support agreement with rPath for the product being updated.

Use the following steps to update a deployment from update media:

1. Obtain the update media for the rPath X6 or rUS from rPath, and insert the disc or attach the file systemfor access by the system you're updating.


3. In the main Updates tab for the task, click Check for Update Media.

4. When rPA indicates that the update media is available, click the button in the Check for Updates columnnext to the media listing to check the system against the update media. This check runs the same type ofcomparison that rPA does if you check for updates over the Internet directly from rPath's repositories.

5. If rPA reports that an update is available, expand the display to see what will change when you apply theupdate.

6. Click Apply Now to update the system.

7. When the update is complete, click the button in the Unmount column next to the media listing to unmountthe file system and safely remove the update media.

As with Internet updates, you can reverse or rollback some updates to return the system to its previous state. See Viewand Apply Rollbacks for more information.


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11.3 Version-specific Update Considerations

Updates from or to certain rPath X6 versions have special considerations that may require you to take additionalsteps before, during, or after the update. These considerations are captured in the subtask items in KB-12 in the rPathKnowledgebase. When planning an update, check KB-12: https://issues.rpath.com/browse/KB-12.

11.4 How Rollbacks Work

rPath X6 or rUS are based on Conary package management and take advantage of Conary's ability to roll back oneor more updates to software on the system.

Roll Back Requires an Internet Connection

By default, the rollback mechanism in rPath products requires that the system have contact withrPath's repositories across an Internet connection. Currently, rollbacks on rPath X6 or rUS are onlysupported for this configuration.

Each time you use the Updates task to update your system, the system also creates a rollback that preserves thechanges made to the system during that update. You can apply the rollback to roll the system software back to itsstate prior to that update.

Figure 11.1. Rollbacks Added to the Stack at Each Update

r.1 r.1 r.1

r.2 r.2

r.3

System Update

performed

Rollback created

System Update

performed

Rollback created

System Update

performed

Rollback created

Order is important with applying rollbacks. Each new rollback goes on the top of a stack of previous rollbacks. Aswith any stack arrangement, the only way to get to a rollback off the stack is to "pop" it off the top of the stack. So,the only way to apply any rollback is to also apply all the rollbacks before it, too, in order from the top of the stack(reversing all the updates to that point).

https://issues.rpath.com/browse/KB-12


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Figure 11.2. Rollbacks Removed from the Stack at Each Rollback Operation

r.1 r.1

r.2r.2

r.3

Previous system updates rolled back

Rollback removed from the stack

Previous system updates rolled back

Rollback removed from the stack

r.1

In Figure 11.3. Example Rollback Sequence for rBuilder, the rPath X6's original deployment was updated to 5.1.1,then to 5.2.5, and then to 5.5.0. If you choose to roll back to rPath X6 5.1.1, it first rolls back 5.5.0 to 5.2.5, and thenrolls back 5.2.5 to 5.1.1. Note that you cannot roll back to a version you never updated to: you cannot roll back 5.2.5to 5.2.4 if you never updated to 5.2.4 specifically. Also note, as shown in the figure, that subsequent updates to newerversions will add newer rollbacks to the stack.

Figure 11.3. Example Rollback Sequence for rBuilder

r.1 r.1

r.2r.2

r.3

Roll back the update to 5.5.0

r.1

Roll back the update to 5.2.5

r.1

r.2

Add new rollback to the stack

Update system to 5.6.0

Created after update to...

5.1.1

5.2.5

5.5.0

11.5 View and Apply RollbacksUse the View and Apply Rollbacks task in the rPA interface to view a list of the most recent rollbacks in the stack, readthe changes that were made during the corresponding update, and apply one or more of the rollbacks from the stack.

If you have updated the system one or more times since its deployment, the View and Apply Rollbacks in the rPAWeb interface lists the corresponding rollbacks for the most recent updates. Rollbacks are numbered r.X where X isan incremented whole number (such as in r.0, r.1, r.2, and so forth). The highest number rollback is the most recent,at the top of the rollback stack. If you roll back r.3 and r.2, then the next update will create a new r.2 rollback that'smost likely different from the first.


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To view the changes associated with a rollback:

1. Click the corresponding arrow to expand the display.

2. Click any package name in the list for more detail about what's changed about that package.

To apply a rollback:

1. Click the button in the Roll Back column for that rollback. As explained in How Rollbacks Work, thismeans you will reverse the update corresponding to that rollback and any updates since, starting with themost recent.

2. Click Roll Back in the dialog box to confirm your choice.

Why are some rollbacks missing?

When rPath releases an update that fixes one or more severe issues, it may invalidate the rollbacksassociated with that update. This means that after such an update, you'll be unable to roll back thesystem to a state that still has those severe issues.

11.6 Migrate rPath X6 to a Newer Version

Back up rPath X6 before migrating to a newer version. For information on enabling and performing backups, seeChapter 12. Back Up and Restore.

Migrating rPath X6 requires an active Internet connection.

To migrate rPath X6 to a newer version, use the following steps:


2. Click the Migrate tab.

3. Enter the trove name in the Trove name field.

4. Enter the trove version in the Trove version field.

5. Click Migrate. The rPA will display the Updates tab.

6. If an available update is displayed, click the downward-pointing arrow to expand the display and see whatwill change if you apply the update.

7. Perform one of the following two actions:

• Click Apply Now to update the system. When the update is complete, click OK.

• Use the Date and Time fields to set a future time to apply the update, then click Schedule.

8. After rPath X6 is updated to the new version, manually reboot the system using the Schedule Reboot task.

9. Update the rPath Development Environment. For more information, see Download, Launch and SetUp Your Development Environment in the rPath Packaging Guide, and https://issues.rpath.com/browse/KB-36.




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If your environment included one or more rPath Update Services, note that after rPath X6 is updated to the newversion, an older version rPath Update Service will no longer be visible in rPath X6 Infrastructure.

Update rPath Update Service to the current version and refresh rPath X6 to restore rPath Update Service to the rPathX6 Infrastructure view. For information on updating a rPath Update Service, see Migrate rPath Update Service toa Newer Version.

11.7 Migrate rPath Update Service to a Newer VersionBecause a rUS serves as a mirror of existing rPath X6 repository contents, rUS backups may be unnecessary: areplacement rUS will automatically receive all published releases from rPath X6 on its outbound mirroring schedule.This will take some time and network traffic when the replacement rUS is deployed, so rPath X6-created systemswon't be able to get updates right away. If rUS failover and fast recovery are concerns, contact rPath to assist indeploying a multiple-rUS solution.

To migrate a rUS from 32-bit to 64-bit, use these steps.

To migrate a rUS to a newer version, use the following steps:

1. (Optional) Back up the current rUS. For information on enabling and performing backups, see Chap-ter 12. Back Up and Restore.

2. Delete the current rUS.

3. Install the new rUS. For information on installing rUS, see the rPath Deployment Guide.

4. (Optional) Restore from the backup to the new rUS. For information on restoring from a backup, seeChapter 12. Back Up and Restore.

11.8 Migrate a Deployment to New HardwareTo move a hardware-based rPath X6 install to new hardware, use the back up and restore functions within the rPAinterface as described in Chapter 12. Back Up and Restore.

To move a hardware-based rUS, use the back up and restore functions in the rPA interface for that rUS. However, thismay be unnecessary because the only backup data for that rUS is the repository contents that were pushed from one ormore rPath X6 systems. If you install a new rUS and configure it to receive repository contents from the same rPathX6 systems, it will automatically receive all the published releases from each rPath X6 without needing to restorefrom backup.

To plan and implement a rPath X6 solution that offers high availability and better failover options, contact rPath.

When migrating to new hardware, be sure to update the current system either before or after the migration. To besure the rPA-powered restore is successful, you should always install the same version of the product from whichthe backups were taken. You can always upgrade to a newer version after you restore. If you're unable to install amatching version, contact rPath support for assistance with obtaining install media for the version you need to backup, or for help migrating the data as part of migrating to your new hardware.

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12. Back Up and RestoreFor both rPath X6 and rPath Update Service, back up and restore the product's software through the rPA interfacedescribed in Chapter 10. Administration Through the rPath Platform Agent. Use this chapter to:

• Configure a backup location• Schedule a backup• Perform an on-demand backup• Restore the system from a backup

12.1 What Gets Backed UpEach backup you perform with rPA is a full backup of only deployment-specific data. The restore process includesinstalling the rPath X6 or the rPath Update Service again, and then performing a restore in rPA to reinstate thatdeployment-specific data from a selected backup.

The following lists what gets backed up in rPath X6 and rPath Update Service:• For rPath X6:

• Entitlements• rPath Platform Agent data• Hardware and network configuration for the system• rPath X6 projects, project repositories, and user accounts

• For rPath Update Service:• Entitlements• rPath Platform Agent data• Hardware and network configuration for the system• The repository data, with updates published from rPath X6

rPath X6 DOES NOT back up the following items:• Images you generate for deploying systems. Best practice for preserving images is to download them to

a separate location on a regular basis.• Externally-managed projects you're referencing from other rPath X6 systems. Contact rPath to add ex-

ternally-managed projects to your backups, and to estimate the increase in space requirements you'll needto back them up.

• Platform capsules that you've loaded for an encapsulated platform. Contact rPath to optionally add theseto your backups and to estimate the increase in space requirements you'll need to back them up.

Virtual Machine Backups

If the rPath X6 or rUS you're backing up is running as a virtual machine, you can use a snapshotsystem in your hypervisor software. If using snapshots is already part of your organization's backup

Back Up and Restore

47

procedures, consider using that instead of the rPA-based backup mechanism, especially when highavailability is important.

rUS Backups Might Not Be Necessary

Because a rUS serves as a mirror of existing rPath X6 repository contents, rUS backups may beunnecessary: a replacement rUS will automatically receive all published releases from rPath X6 onits outbound mirroring schedule. This will take some time and network traffic when the replacementrUS is deployed, so rPath X6-created systems won't be able to get updates right away. If rUS failoverand fast recovery are concerns, contact rPath to assist in deploying a multiple-rUS solution.

12.2 Configure Backup LocationsYou must enable backups and configure a backup location in rUS before performing or scheduling a backup. Backupsare disabled by default.

To enable backups:

1. Log in to rUS as an administrator.2. Go to:

• Back Up and Restore (task) --> Backup Settings (tab)3. Enable backups by selecting the appropriate radio button for the Enable Backups field.

To configure a backup location:

1. With backups enabled, configure one of the following backup location types:• Network File System Share (NFS) -- Select this for backup locations accessible by the ap-

pliance as NFS shares. The Connection Host is the DNS hostname or IP address of the systemproviding the NFS share, and the Connection Path value is the full path of the NFS exportand subdirectories where the backups should be stored. Note that the root user on your systemmust have permission to write to this share. In the following example, the NFS export is /mnt/nfsshare, but the connection path indicates to save all backups in the backups subdirectoryin that export:

Connection Host: sharehost.example.comConnection Path: /mnt/nfsshare/backups

• "Windows" File System Share (CIFS or SMB) -- Select this for backup locations accessibleas Common Internet File System (CIFS), Server Message Block (SMB), or Samba shares. Thetitle indicates that this is the type referred to when people say "Windows shares" in reference tofile systems on Microsoft products. The Connection Host is the DNS hostname or IP addressof the system providing the filesystem share, and the Connection Path is the full path of theshare and subdirectories where the backups should be stored. You must put in user credentialsif they're required for access to the share, but they can be left blank otherwise.

In the following example, the CIFS share is WinShare with a subdirectory of backups, and thecredentials are provided for backupuser. Note that the direction of the slashes in the connection

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48

path are forward ("/") in the style of Web addresses rather than backward ("\") in the style ofWindows file paths:

Connection Host: sharehost.example.comConnection Path: /Winshare/backupsConnection User Name: backupuserConnection Password: ********

• Mountable File System (Label) -- Select this for backup locations that are mounted to thelocal file system. The Disk Label is the "LABEL" value associated with the mounted filesys-tem in Linux. The Connection Path is the directory path relative to the mount point wherethe backups should be stored. In the following example, SAN_FS_LABEL is the disk labelthat refers to the mount point, and backups is a directory at that mount point while the filesystem is mounted:

Disk Label: SAN_FS_LABELConnection Path: /backups

2. You can edit the number of backups (default: 3, minimum: 2) that rPA should store at that location.

3. Click Save to save your backup location configuration.

12.3 Scheduled and On-demand Backups

With backups enabled and your backup location set, you can perform and schedule backups.

To perform a backup:

1. Log in to rUS as an administrator.

2. Go to:

• Back Up and Restore (task) --> Back Up and Restore (tab)

3. Click Back Up Now.

To schedule backups at regular intervals:

1. Log in to rUS as an administrator.

2. Go to:

• Back Up and Restore (task) --> Backup Settings (tab)

3. Use the radio buttons and drop-down lists to select a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule.

When you select the time for each item, the backup will happen sometime in the one-hour period startingat the time. For example, if you select to back up the system at 1 a.m. every Sunday, the backup will occursometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. each Sunday.

By default, rPA uses the same minute within the hour from when you saved the configuration. If you'rebacking up several sytems to the same location within the same hour, this timing feature creates a variationin the backup traffic during that hour.

Back Up and Restore

49

4. Click Save to save your schedule configuration.

Note the following points about scheduled backups:

• A backup that is followed by a scheduled reboot has a one-minute delay between the backup and reboot.

• An on-demand backup will not affect the regular backup schedule.

12.4 Planning and Troubleshooting Backups

Consider the following when planning backups using rPA:

• The backup location (directory and file within it) must be world-readable.

• Credentials might be required for accessing the backup share when configuring backups for CIFS orSMB file shares.

• For backups to locally-visible file systems, specify the disk label. This is the same value that, at a Linuxcommand line, would be passed to the LABEL= argument for the mount command, or specified in the filesystem table (/etc/fstab) as having that LABEL value.

• Perform a test backup to test your configuration, and restore from that test backup. Verify these operationsare successful.

To troubleshoot backups through rPA, use the Appliance Logs task in the rPA Web interface to view the Agent Servicelogs. These retrieve data from the log files in /var/log/raa/ on the system.

12.5 Restore from Backup

To restore from backup in either rPath X6 or rUS, use the Back Up and Restore task in its rPA Web interface.

For each rPath X6 or rUS that you've backed up using rUS, you can use the Web interface to restore from one ofthose backups using the following steps:

1. If the system is corrupted enough to require a reinstall, start with that reinstall using the steps in the de-ployment chapter for the corresponding product. Then, use the remaining steps here to restore the deploy-ment-specific data.

2. Log in to rPA on the reinstalled system, and click Back Up and Restore from the rPA menu.

3. Enable and configure your backups. This is necessary to make the main Back Up and Restore tab availablewith your restore options.

4. With backups successfully reconfigured, go to the main Back Up and Restore tab. Here, you have twochoices for selecting a backup to restore from:

• Restore from a backup at the location you've configured. Click Scan Now to scan for availablebackups at that location. Then, check the Restore column corresponding to an existing backupat the location you've configured.

• Click Choose File and upload a different backup file when prompted.

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5. Click Restore, and confirm in the dialog box that the system will reboot when the restore is complete.

When the restore is complete, and you know the system has rebooted, click OK to refresh the page and continue usingrPA as needed, or log out of the rPA session and close the browser window/tab.

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13. Monitoring DeploymentsThis chapter provides information on monitoring your deployments of rPath products. This includes the services andlogs for the underlying Linux system on each product, plus product-specific features such as Conary repositories andrPath X6 build processes.

13.1 Conary Terminology Reflected in Log FilesConary is the underlying package management technology in rPath's products and in the Linux-based appliancescreated by rPath X6. Conary manages software on the system similar to the way the RPM Package Manager managessoftware on RPM-based Linux systems, but Conary adds reliable version control to managing individual packagesor the whole system.

Log files can display messages that include some Conary terminology. This section briefly defines the words you'llencounter.

Repositories in rPath products are network-accessible databases that contain software packages and the version controldata used to managing software packages. Repositories are a key feature in Conary package management.

A repository hostname identifies a particular Conary repository. This repository hostname looks like something you'dsee in DNS, but is not usually DNS-resolvable. Instead, Conary configuration maps a repository hostname to a validURL to a repository (using HTTPS). This mapping is an essential part of configuration in systems based on Conary,and you might see its impact when managing interconnectivity between rPath products.

Packages and components are the basic units of software in Conary. Each package manages the files associated withone piece of software. When a package is built for Conary, Conary looks at each file that the package installs anddetermines the role that file has in making the software work. The files in each role are saved in a separate componentsuch as a :lib component for libraries and a :doc component for documentation (written example:lib and example:docfor the example package). One or more components make up each package, and file dependencies in Conary areresolved at the component level instead of at the package level. For more information about Conary's package structure(to aid in reading logs and troubleshooting), see docs.rpath.com/conary.

A group designates two or more packages or components you want to manage together instead of separately. rPath X6uses this group concept to designate all the packages or components needed to assemble a single dependency-completesystem.

Trove references management units in Conary, such as packages, components, and groups. Files are not troves, thoughsome components may only contain a single file; Conary manages a file by managing the component associated with it.

For more details about Conary's structure, concepts, and how it all works, see the Conaryopedia pages atdocs.rpath.com/conary.

13.2 Monitor the Underlying Linux SystemrPath X6 and rUS each run on a streamlined Linux operating system that uses Conary package management to maintainthe installed software. You can monitor the logs and services on that operating system as part of monitoring thesystem's health.


http://docs.rpath.com/conary/

Monitoring Deployments

52

Here's how you can use the product's rUS interface tasks for this monitoring:• Manage Services (rUS) lets you view some of the services that are installed on the system, lets you stop,

start, and restart those services, and provides a checkbox to ensure the service is or is not started whenyou boot the system.

• Appliance Logs (rPath X6 and rUS) lets you view or download some of the log files on the system. Forthe Linux OS itself, this includes the following:

• AGENT SERVICE or APPLIANCE AGENT: BACKEND SERVICE (/var/log/raa/raa-service.log) -- rPA log about its back-end, long-running processes; for details on reading thislog, see the Complete Guide to rPA at docs.rpath.com/rpa.

• AGENT WEB SERVICE or APPLIANCE AGENT: WEB SERVICE (/var/log/raa/web) --rPA log about its tasks; for details on reading this log, see the Complete Guide to rPA atdocs.rpath.com/rpa.

• SYSTEM (/var/log/messages) -- ongoing log of system messages; for details on reading thislog, reference a general Linux resource online or in one of many Linux system administrationguides

• CONARY (/var/log/conary) -- ongoing log of software management on the system usingConary package management, including Conary's part of system updates from rPA; for de-tails on reading this log, see Conary resources at docs.rpath.com/conary

• CONARY MIGRATION LOG (/var/log/rbuilder/conary-db-migration.log) -- log of messagesabout schema migrations in rPath X6 repositories, performed when appropriate as part ofa system update; if you see error messages here following an update, contact rPath underyour support agreement

• APACHE ACCESS (/var/log/httpd/access_log) -- Apache Web server access log, for an on-going record of HTTP access; for details on reading this log, see http.apache.org

• APACHE ERRORS (/var/log/httpd/error_log) -- Apache Web server error log, for whenHTTP access goes awry; for details on reading this log, see http.apache.org

• APPLIANCE LOG -- legacy log that is no longer actively maintained in rPath X6 and rUS

rPath X6's Apache error log is the place to start when troubleshooting errors in rPath X6. If you have an issue withrPath X6 or rUS that you cannot solve based on the log file messages, look to the troubleshooting and help resourcesin Chapter 17. Getting Support.

Using SNMP to Monitor rPath Products

You can use SNMP to monitor each rPath X6 and rUS. In rPath X6, SNMP is enabled by default;in rUS, you can use the Manage Services task in the rPA Web interface to start SNMP and en-sure the service is enabled each time the system boots. To drop in your SNMP configuration (/etc/snmpd.conf), though, you will need console or remote command line access to the system (seeChapter 15. Command Line Access: Console and SSH).

13.3 Monitor the rPath X6 Build ProcessesrPath X6 has the following two build systems which do the bulk of its work:

http://docs.rpath.com/rpa

http://docs.rpath.com/rpa

http://docs.rpath.com/conary

http://httpd.apache.org/

http://httpd.apache.org/


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• rMake -- rMake is the build engine that builds the packages and complete systems that users are creatingin rPath X6. For the complete systems, this is the step that takes a system/product definition and turns itinto a binary grouping, referred to as the group build for the system.

• Job Master -- The MCP, Job Master, and Job Slaves are parts of the process rPath X6 uses to generateimages (ISOs and virtual machine images) used for new deployments of the systems built with rBuilder.

You can use the rPath X6's rPA interface tasks to monitor these build processes. For more information about howthese parts and processes work, see Chapter 14. Managing rPath X6 Job Processes:

• rMake Management lets you monitor and manage rMake processes. For each rMake job listed underBuilds, you can see the appliance/system group name (in the Trove Name column), the status, and thecompletion time. You can also download the build log from here, a more detailed profile of what wentwrong during a failed build. Also, use this task to check the status of the rMake server and nodes, as wellas to stop, start, and restart each.

• Job Control Console provides an interface for monitoring the current image generation jobs processingon all of rPath X6, with information about their statuses and the load average numbers for the system.Also, use this task to change the number of jobs that rPath X6 should process simultaneously.

• Appliance Logs lets you view or download some of the log files on the system. For the central featuresof rPath X6, this includes the following:

• CAPSULE INDEXER (/var/log/rbuilder/capsule-indexer.log) -- log with messages about thecapsule indexer, a mechanism used in encapsulated platforms that matches the package in-formation from rPath with actual package data from the platform's native source

• EXTERNAL PACKAGE INDEXER (/var/log/rbuilder/package-index-external.log) -- log as-sociated with the package indexer, which indexes all packages in externally managed projects

• JOBMASTER (/var/log/rbuilder/jobmaster.log) -- log of messages from the job master aboutretrieving job slave images

• MCP (/var/log/rbuilder/mcp.log) -- log of messages about setting up the job slave environ-ment, launching job slaves logs, and posting the finished image when the job is finished

• PACKAGE INDEXER (/var/log/rbuilder/package-index.log) -- log associated with the pack-age indexer, which indexes all packages in projects local to the rPath X6

• RMAKE NODE LOG (/var/log/rmake/rmake-node.log) -- log with messages about setting upand taking down the change roots (chroots) associated with individual rMake jobs; individualrMake jobs also have their own logs for each job, accessible from the rMake Managementtask

• RMAKE SERVER LOG (/var/log/rmake/rmake-server.log) -- log with messages about theconnection between server and client nodes in rMake

If you have an issue with rPath X6 or rUS that you cannot solve based on the log file messages and rPA tasks, lookto the troubleshooting and help resources in Chapter 17. Getting Support.

13.4 Monitor rPath X6 and rUS RepositoriesrPath X6 and rUS use Conary repositories to manage the software for systems built with rPath X6. You can userPath X6's rPA interface tasks for monitoring these repositories and the pushing (mirroring) of data from rPath X6repositories to rUS repositories:


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• Appliance Logs lets you view or download some of the log files on the system. For the interactionsbetween rPath X6 and rUS, this includes the following:

• INBOUND MIRRORING (/var/log/rbuilder/mirror-inbound.log) -- log of status messagesfor repository contents (troves) being mirrored to this rPath X6 system (used in tiered infra-structures with multiple rPath X6s)

• OUTBOUND MIRRORING (/var/log/rbuilder/mirror-outbound.log) -- log of status mes-sages for repository contents (troves) being mirrored out from this rPath X6, typically to oneor more rUS systems (and to other rPath X6s in a tiered infrastructure)

• MIRROR PRELOADING (/var/log/rbuilder/load-mirror.log) -- legacy log that is no longeractively maintained in rPath X6 and rUS

If you have an issue with rPath X6 or rUS that you cannot solve based on the log file messages, look to the trou-bleshooting and help resources in Chapter 17. Getting Support.

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14. Managing rPath X6 Job ProcessesUnder the hood, rPath X6 has two job processes associated with assembling systems. These are briefly defined inMonitor the rPath X6 Build Processes. The following table reiterates those definitions:

Table 14.1. Job Processes in rPath X6

Job Process Role in rPath X6

rMake Building packages, and assembling the platform, selected packages, andconfiguration files into a system "group" representing everything that shouldbe installed on that system

Job Master Generating images, like ISOs and virtual machines, that can be used to de-ploy a system that was built with rMake

The following descriptions and diagrams provide an overview of each of the job processes.

rMake has a client side that receives commands about what to build, and a server side that processes those commands.The server sends processes to a dispatcher that queues the build jobs sent to rMake and determines whether there'san rMake node with sufficient available resources to handle the next job in the queue.

The rMake node sets up one or more rMake slaves, each with a change root (chroot). It's in the chroot where all theConary recipe actions are executed to build the package or system you've asked it to build.

By default, rMake has only one node, though rPath can assist you in setting up rMake to use multiple nodes.

The following figure shows the rMake client and server within rPath X6 that performs package creation and systemor appliance building in the rPath X6 Web interface.

Figure 14.1. rMake for System Builds

Button/Command from the UI

rBuilder front-end

DISPATCHER

rMake node

rMake node

rMake node

rMake Slave (change root)




rMake Client

rMake RPC Server

When you use the rPath Development Environment as described in the rPath Packaging Guide, you can configureany rMake resource to be called by the rBuild command line utility. You could use the rMake in rPath X6 itself, therMake in the development environment, or a separate rMake server.

Managing rPath X6 Job Processes

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A Job Master has a role in its job process similar to an rMake node has in rMake job process: the rPath X6 softwareacts as both client and server for the Job Master, including its own dispatcher called the MCP (a tribute to the "MasterControl Program" in the 1982 film Tron). The MCP handles the job queue and determines whether there's a Job Master(node) with sufficient available resources to handle the next job in the queue. Jobs queued in the MCP are not forbuilding systems as in rMake, but for generating images using existing systems built with rMake.

By default, rPath X6 has only one Job Master node. Contact rPath to assist you in configuring rPath X6 to use multiplenodes.

Each Job Master sets up one or more Job Slaves, each with its own Linux container. A Linux container is aseparate process ID space, unlike the chroots used in rMake. For more information about Linux containers, seelxc.sourceforge.net.

You can control the number of Job Slaves each Job Master should use from the Job Control Console task in rPathX6's rPA. The Job Master does not control a Job Slave after it's created, but it does shut down the Job Slave when it'sfinished. The Job Slave uses your image definition, your rMake-built system, and any installer/media templates (forISO images), and it generates the images used to for new system deployments based on appliances in rPath X6.

The following figure shows a single Job Master configured to handle jobs:

Figure 14.2. Job Master for Image Generation

Button/Command from the UI

rBuilder front-end

MCP (DISPATCHER)

Job Master (node)

Job Master (node)

Job Master (node)

Job Slave

Job Slave

Job Slave

Job Slave

Message Bus Not Pictured Here

The message bus is the means of communication between some of the parts shown in the figure here.The figures here do not show the message bus implementation, or how messages are exchangedbetween processes.

Some of the troubleshooting points you'll encounter with these job processes are presented in the troubleshooting andhelp resources in Chapter 17. Getting Support.

lxc.sourceforge.net

Managing rPath X6 Job Processes

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The following image shows how the Job Control Console in the rPath X6 rPA might look when images are building.The Job Control Console lets you monitor the builds and the load average on the system, and provides the option tostop each job if it's applicable in your troubleshooting scenario:

Figure 14.3. Job Control Console Task in rBuilder's rPA

In this figure, rPath X6 is set to generate only two images at a time. Two jobs are actively pro-cessing while two others wait in the queue. The stop links offer a quick way to kill a job.

Part III. Troubleshooting and Support

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15. Command Line Access: Console and SSHFor monitoring and troubleshooting, you may require command line (shell) access to a deployed rPath product. Thisshould only be necessary if the administrative task is not already available in the product's administrative interfaces.You can use the command line directly from an attached monitor and keyboard (console access), or you can connectfrom a remote shell using the secure shell (ssh) protocol.

Console access -- rPath X6 and rUS each have a console sign-in screen that provides minimal system administrationtasks designed as an alternative to the product's Web interface. From the console, you can switch to a command linelogin prompt by pressing Alt+F2. Return to the default console sign-in later by pressing Alt+F1.

rPath X6 and rUS include two command line text editors you can use: Vi and Nano. To open a file with one of theeditors, use one of the following commands, replacing /etc/example.cfg with the text-based file you want to edit:

#> vi /etc/example.cfg#> nano -w /etc/example.cfg

Remote access with SSH -- Each product has OpenSSH installed and enabled for secure shell access. You must seta root password to connect using SSH. This setting is part of the install steps for each rUS, but is in the AdvancedMode install for rPath X6. To set the root password on any rPath product, see Setting the Root Password.

15.1 Setting the Root PasswordTo connect to an rPath X6 or other rPath system using SSH, you must set a password for the root account of theunderlying system. To set or to change a system root password, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to the product's rPath Platform Agent administrative interface using https://hostname:8003 wherehostname is the host name or IP address of the system.

2. In the left sidebar, click Configuration.

3. Below Configuration, click Root Password to open the Root Password pane.

4. In New password, enter the root password.

5. In Confirm new password, enter the root password again.

6. In Password for account admin, enter the admin password you used to log in to the rPath Platform Agentadministrative interface at https://hostname:8003.

7. Click Save.

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16. Collecting Diagnostic InformationTo create a DataCollection file on an rBuilder, perform the following steps:

1. Enter the following URL in your Web browser:


Replace hostname with the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the system you're man-aging.

2. Log in to rPath Platform Agent (rPA) as an administrator.

3. Go to:

• Collect Diagnostic Information (task)

4. Click Collect Data.

Performing collection will display. When the collection is complete, the message Completed Successfullyis displayed.

5. Click OK.

6. To download the collection, click Download and save the file to your local system.

When filing an rBuilder support issue in the rPath Issue Tracking System at https://issues.rpath.com, attach this archiveto the issue.

https://issues.rpath.com

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17. Getting SupportAs you monitor and manage rPath X6 and rUS, use the resources outlined here when you need help.

For rPath customers with an active support agreement:

• rPath Technical Documentation at docs.rpath.com

Reference documentation for each rPath product.

• rPath Issue Tracking System (rITS) at docs.rpath.com

Search for existing issues to determine if your issue is among them. For an information request that needsa timely response, file that request under the access-controlled Support project in accordance with yoursupport agreement.

If you're a designated contact in your rPath support agreement, file new issues in accordance with thatagreement. (If you're not a designated contact, you can create an account and file issues in any publicproject, but note that these will not fall under your service-level agreement.)

• rPath Knowledge Base at issues.rpath.com/browse/KB

Search for knowledge base entries by accessing the Knowledgebase project in rITS. This covers manycommon questions and known troubleshooting points.

• "Report bug" link in the "About rPath X6" dialog, accessed from the right-click menu in the main rPathX6 interface

Use rITS credentials to file an issue from this feature. You can have one of your organization's desig-nated (according to your support agreement) contacts provide their rITS credentials here so the issue isaddressed in accordance with your service-level agreement.

For those evaluating rPath X6 and don't yet have a support agreement with rPath:

• rPath Technical Documentation at docs.rpath.com

Reference documentation for each rPath product.

• rPath Issue Tracking System (rITS) at docs.rpath.com

Search for existing issues to determine if your issue is among them. If you don't find your issue amongthem, create a rITS account (if you don't have one), sign in, and file a new issue in the appropriatecorresponding public project (such as "rPath X6" for rPath X6 issues).

• rPath Knowledge Base at issues.rpath.com/browse/KB

Search for knowledgebase entries by accessing the Knowledgebase project in rITS. This covers manycommon questions and known troubleshooting points.

• "Report bug" link in the "About rPath X6" dialog, accessed from the right-click menu in the main rPathX6 interface

Use rITS credentials to file an issue from this feature.



https://issues.rpath.com/browse/KB



https://issues.rpath.com/browse/KB

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