Installation guide

Machine Group Mapping
When you define an alternate patch location for a particular machine group, you must select that machine
group in VCM before you deploy the patches. If you do not select this machine group, VCM Patching will
not acknowledge the alternate patch location and the patches will not be deployed. The alternate patch
location is defined in machine group mapping. Click Administration and select Settings > General
Settings > Patching > Machine Group Mapping.
Default Location for UNIX/Linux Patches
If you do not define an alternate location for the patches using machine group mapping, VCM Patching
uses the default location of /tmp. A temporary expansion of the patches occurs in the /var/tmp directory.
This directory includes the extracted patches and working files that VCM Patching uses for patch
deployment. This location must have enough space for these files.
This location must be available in single user mode because some patches on various operating systems
require single-user mode.
Location for UNIX/Linux Patches
When you patch UNIX and Linux machines, copy the patches to a shared location and then specify the
local patch path location. Click Administration and select Settings > General Settings > Patching >
Machine Group Mapping.
To Deploy Patches in Single-User Mode on UNIX Machines
If you will deploy patches in single-user mode on UNIX machines, you must perform several actions.
1. Store or extract the patches in a local location other than /tmp that will be accessible in single user-
mode.
2. If you did not manually extract the files in step 1, ensure enough disk space exists to extract the patches
in /var/tmp.
3. Set the machine group mapping to the patch path location where you have stored the patches.
4. To successfully deploy UNIX patches in single-user mode, the at daemon must be running on the
machines where patches are being deployed.
To Deploy Patches Without Changing the Run Level on UNIX Machines
If you will deploy patches without changing the run level on UNIX machines, you must perform several
actions.
1. Store or extract the patches in a local location.
Do not use /tmp on Solaris machines because this directory will be cleaned out upon reboots that
might be initiated by the patches.
2. If you did not manually extract the files in step 1, ensure that enough disk space exists to extract the
patches in /tmp, or in /var/tmp on Solaris machines.
3. Set the machine group mapping to the patch path location where you have stored the patches.
4. To successfully deploy UNIX patches where a reboot is required or requested, the at daemon must be
running on the machines where patches are being deployed.
You must set the Machine Group mapping for VCM to the location of the patches during deployment.
Setting the machine group mapping is especially important when patching in single-user mode because
/tmp is not always available, and cannot be relied upon for patching with VCM.
Patching Managed Machines
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