Owner's Manual

Software Updates 149
If you select automatic download of updates from ftp.dell.com to the Online
Repository, you could use the repository as a cache to review the contents of
the Online Repository before importing them to the IT Assistant Repository.
Alternatively, you may choose to automatically download and import any new
updates to the IT Assistant repository during each synchronization.
To see the latest updates available at ftp.dell.com, configure the Online
Synchronization task and run it. Synchronization of the Online Repository
causes IT Assistant to check the availability of latest contents at ftp.dell.com.
You may also choose to automatically download only the relevant packages so
that they are ready for import to IT Assistant Repository.
You can then schedule and configure how often you want IT Assistant to
check ftp.dell.com for new updates. You can synchronize the Online
Repository on-demand through the user interface.
IT Assistant verifies the integrity and authenticity of every content
downloaded from ftp.dell.com by verifying its digital signature.
Let us look at how Tom might use this feature in his enterprise.
Tom represents a large enterprise (about 1,000 systems, plus printers, tapes,
and virtual machines). His systems have different operating systems, and
comprise various controllers and storage components. Tom wants to be
notified as soon as new/updated packages are available. This will enable him
to decide if his systems require immediate upgrade or if he can schedule the
upgrade for later.
Tom may want to consider the following before using this feature:
• How do I connect to the Internet through my corporate firewall/proxy?
• Would I want to be notified of updates
every time IT Assistant detects
a new package on the Dell website?
• How do I schedule the update? Would it make a difference when I
schedule updates for download?
• How do I determine which updates would be applicable to the systems on
my network?
• When IT Assistant detects new updates, should it only download the
updates (without importing them into the IT Assistant Repository)
or should it also download
and import them automatically into the
IT Assistant Repository?