Installation guide

Table Of Contents
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Verify that the machine groups to be used for Linux and UNIX patching are defined in VCM, and add
any new machine groups for VCMto patch specific groups of managed machines. See the VCM online
help.
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(Optional) If your VCM Collector is not configured to use HTTPS, before you add a patch staging
configuration you must allow the Collector to bypass the HTTPS setting. Select Administration >
Settings > General Setting > Collector. Change the value of the setting named Allow HTTP
communication (HTTPS bypass) when entering sensitive parameter values to Yes.
Procedure
1. "Enable the Trust and Patching Status for the Patching Repository Machine" on page 164
You must enable the trust and patching repository status for the Red Hat Linux patching repository
machine, to designate it as a trusted patching machine for security purposes.
2. "Configure How Managed Machines Stage Patches for Deployment" on page 165
For VCM to stage the Linux and UNIX patches and deploy them to managed machines, select a
patching repository machine and an optional geographically distributed alternate location machine.
3. "Configure the Machine Group Mapping to Use the Patch Staging Configuration" on page 167
You must configure the machine group for VCMto use to deploy Linux and UNIX patches to target
managed machines. You can combine Linux and UNIX managed machines into a single machine
group, and have VCMuse a single action to deploy the patches to all of the managed machines in that
group.
4. "Verify the SCR Tool Base Path for the Patching Repository" on page 168
The setting for the Software Content Repository (SCR) Tool base path in VCM must point to the
location where you installed the SCR Tool on the patching repository machine.
What to do next
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Run a patch assessment on the managed machines that are targeted for patch deployment, examine the
results.See the VCM online help.
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Use VCM's automated patch assessment and deployment to deploy patches. See "Deploying Patches
with Automated Patch Assessment and Deployment" on page 169.
Enable the Trust and Patching Status for the Patching Repository Machine
You must enable the trust and patching repository status for the Red Hat Linux patching repository
machine, to designate it as a trusted patching machine for security purposes.
You can use a single patching repository machine. The Red Hat Linux patching repository machine hosts
the Software Content Repository (SCR) Tool that VCM uses to download patches from the vendor Web
sites.
Prerequisites
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Set up a physical or virtual Red Hat Linux machine, running Red Hat version 6 or later, 64-bit, to be
used for the Linux and UNIXpatching repository. See the online Red Hat Customer Portal.
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(Optional) Set up one or more geographically distributed alternate location Red Hat Linux machines,
running Red Hat 6, 64-bit. See the online Red Hat Customer Portal.
vCenter Configuration Manager Administration Guide
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VMware, Inc.