User`s guide

VCM Patching Actions
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Agent Install: VCM Patching installs the Agent component to a machine the first time a patch is
deployed to that machine.
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Agents using HTTP: If VCM Patching detects that the target machine has an VCM Agent using HTTP,
VCM Patching will route the deployment through VCM as a remote command job.
Prerequisites
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Test Patches: Test all patches before you deploy them.
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Back up critical systems: Some patches might adversely affect target systems. Before you deploy
selected patches, you must understand their potential impact and create backups of critical systems.
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Set Administrator Privileges: If users without Administrator privileges will use VCM Patching to
deploy patches, you must modify the File-level permissions of the \\collector_
name\cmfiles$\SUM Downloads share. This default share is shared to Everyone with Full Control,
but the file permissions are more limited and the Everyone group only has read permission on the
directory. Make sure that the user, or a group to which the user belongs, has write permission in the
download directory.
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Set Timing for Multiple Patch Jobs: When one or more patches are deployed, a job is created for each
machine in Patching > VCM Patching Administration > Windows or UNIX > Job Manager > Scheduled .
If a reboot is required, two jobs are created for each machine, each with the same start time. If you
have many machines, or if you selected to download the patches at run time, jobs might exceed the
defined window before they time out. If jobs time out, you can:
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Increase the setting, "How long before a request will be considered stale (minutes)", in
Administration > Settings > General Settings > Collector.
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Increase the setting, "Maximum Concurrent Agent Installs", in Patching > VCM Patching
Administration > Settings and Options > Deployment > Collector Option.
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Reschedule jobs in Patching > VCM Patching Administration > Job Manager > Scheduled.
Acquire the UNIX Patches
After you review the assessment results and determine which patches to deploy, use FTP, HTTP, or
another available method to acquire the UNIX patches from the appropriate vendor.
Store the UNIX Patches
Store the UNIX patches in a location that is available locally to the VCM-managed machine, such as an NFS
mount or a local hard drive. If you store the patches on an NFS mount, you must define the path in
Patching > VCM Patching Administration > Machine Group Mapping. You can use VCM remote
commands or another available method to place the patches on the VCM-managed machines.
Patch Repository Management
You must manage your own patch repository. A temporary expansion of the patches occurs in the /tmp
directory. For single-user mode, patches are extracted to /var/tmp. If you do not use Machine Group
Mapping to define an alternate location for the patches, the default location of /tmp is used.
vCenter Configuration Manager Installation and Getting Started Guide
188 VMware, Inc.