5.8

1. An attempt is made to contact the simple installer on the target Windows machine. If this action is
successful, then this step is complete. If the action is not successful, the process continues.
2. An attempt is made to attach to the share on the target that was specified in the user interface and
using the specified authority.
If this action fails, then the installation fails.
3. If the attach to share action succeeds, the process determines if the Agent has a runtime lock. This lock,
which is not the same as the IsLocked registry entry, is used by the installation process to prevent two
or more Collectors from installing on the same target machine to the same location at the same time.
The lock manifests as a ECMMachineActionLock.dat file on the target machine. This lock file is
located in the root directory of the installation file and contains the type of action being performed.
The types of actions include installing, uninstalling, or collecting. The lock file includes the time stamp
and the request ID of the action doing the work. If the lock file exists on the target machine, and it
contains a valid action with a request ID and a time stamp that has not expired, the target machine is
considered locked and the installation fails.
When the target machine is considered locked, the lock is partially unlocked. To partially unlock the
lock, the time stamp is zeroed and the request ID is purged. These actions allow a subsequent
installation to continue if it was not relocked by another Collector. In all other cases, the lock file is
zeroed and the installation process is allowed to continue.
4. A preinstallation check ensures that the subsequent installation will succeed. If components, for
example, ComSocketServiceListener, the debug event .dll, or the subsystem singleton .dll are
located, they are removed.
5. The directory structure is created and the following components are copied to the target machine.
n
ECMColInstallAgtRegistrationService.exe
This binary file is the bootstrap service that is invoked by the target machine’s Remote Service
Control Manager (SCM).
n
Psapi.dll
This file is a dependency of the Registration Service.
n
ECMTargetShareInfo.dat
This file is generated and contains the share that is used for this installation as well as the relative
path to the Agent.
6. An attempt is made to connect to the SCMusing the same authority as the Collector service.
If this action fails, the installation fails.
7. The ECMColInstallAgtRegistrationService.exe is registered with the SCM on the target
machine.
8. The following loop runs until all the installation infrastructure modules are deployed.
n Copy an installation infrastructure module to the target.
n Start the registration service.
This service runs the module and waits until it is fully expanded.
n If the module reports an error, terminate the installation.
A log file is left on the target machine that specifies the nature of the problem.
n Stop the service.
VCM Windows Agent
VMware, Inc.
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