Installation guide

Deploying patches to Linux, UNIX, or Windows managed machines requires the use of a patch assessment
template. After you patch Linux, UNIX, or Windows managed machines, VCM runs a delta collection on
the patching data for the managed machines to ensure that the next assessment provides the correct patch
status.
VCM retains the Linux and UNIX patching change actions in the change log. These actions are available in
VCM Compliance and VCM Reports. You can view the patch assessment changes by data type in the
Change Management node of the VCM Console. VCM Change Management reports changes on the
Patch Assessment and Patch Deployment data types.
VCM 5.7 does not include the Patch Administrator role. If you previously assigned the Patch
Administrator role to a user, you must either reassign a different role to the user or let the user know that
the role no longer exists.
IMPORTANT For VCM to assess Windows managed machines, you must collect File System, Hot Fix,
Registry, and Services data. VCM uses the Hot Fix data to determine which patches are installed on the
managed machines. To determine which applications require patches, VCM uses the File System, Registry,
and Services data, which must be installed and running. VCM for Linux and UNIX machines collects this
data when you perform a patch assessment.
Before you patch Windows 2008 servers and Windows 7 machines, you must verify that the Windows
Update service is running. If this service is disabled, the patch deployment fails.
Prerequisite Tasks and Requirements
Before you use VCM to deploy patches to Linux, UNIX, and Windows managed machines, including
Solaris machines in single-user mode, you must understand the patch assessment and deployment actions,
and perform several prerequisite tasks. VCM runs patch assessments of Linux and UNIX machines against
the patches known at the time VCM performs the assessment.
Prerequisites
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To verify whether VCM supports your Linux and UNIX managed machines for patch deployment, see
the VCM Installation Guide.
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Understand the potential effect of deploying selected patches, and back up critical systems.
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Test all patches before you deploy them to managed machines in your production environment.
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Understand how VCM performs automatic patch deployment to Linux and UNIX managed machines.
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Set Administrator privileges. Users who do not have Administrator privileges to use VCM to deploy
patches must have the file-level permissions to the \\collector_name\cmfiles$\SUM Downloads
share. This default share is shared to everyone with full control, but the file permissions are limited, and
the Everyone group has only read permission to the directory. Make sure that the user, or a group to
which the user belongs, has write permission to the download directory.
If you encounter problems during automatic or manual patch deployment, see the VCM Troubleshooting
Guide.
General Requirements
When patching managed machines, be aware of the following requirements.
vCenter Configuration Manager Administration Guide
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