Updating OES Linux

YaST provides several modules for installing and updating software on a normal SLES server. However, after installing OES, only the Red-Carpet software management system should be used. This is true when installing updates to both OES components and the core operating system.

NOTE

To prevent SLES updates, which may not be aware of OES components, the normal YaST Online Update (YOU) utility is disabled during the OES installation. It is still possible to manually execute the terminal-based YOU. This can potentially cause server corruption and should be avoided.

The Red-Carpet software management system is made up of the following two basic components:

• Red-Carpet daemon (rcd) This daemon receives commands from the Red-Carpet client and follows those instructions to perform tasks such as updating installed software components. If necessary, the startup script /etc/init.d/rcd can be used to stop or restart the rcd daemon.

• Red-Carpet client The client portion of Red-Carpet is the interface administrators use to subscribe to software update services, and to determine which updates will be applied to the local server.

  Two Red-Carpet clients ship with OES:

  • rug Terminal-based client, which is installed by default with OES.

  • red-carpet Graphical client, which is an optional component during an OES installation.

WARNING

In the shipping version of OES, the graphical red-carpet utility was not working as expected. Novell recommends that you use the command-line rug utility to update OES until the fix for red-carpet is made available. When the patch is available, the rug utility will apply it and the red-carpet graphical client can then be used safely.

For the Red-Carpet process to work, a ZENworks Linux Management (ZLM) server must be added as a known service to the rcd configuration. After a successful installation of OES, your server should already have a known service for the Novell Update Server (https://update.novell.com/data). This can be confirmed using the command-line rug utility as in the following example:

 # rug service-list 

This command should display an entry for the Novell Update Service. If no entries are displayed, the Novell Update Service can be manually added to your Red-Carpet configuration using the following command:

 # rug service-add https://update.novell.com/data 

The graphical red-carpet utility can also be used to check for, and, if necessary, add the Novell Update Service. These options are found under the Edit, Services menu item of the red-carpet utility.

Before using Red-Carpet, your OES server must be activated. Activating an OES server requires an activation code you should have received when the product was purchased. The following sections describe activating the Red-Carpet service, and basic usage of both the terminal and graphical Red-Carpet utilities.

Activating and Using red-carpet (Graphical)

The following steps describe the activation process using the graphical Red-Carpet utility red-carpet. Basic usage of red-carpet is also explained.

1.	Launch red-carpet through YaST by accessing the Online Update module found within the Software category of YaST. The red-carpet program can also be started directly from a terminal authorized to write to the local X server or from a run command dialog.
2.	Ensure that the Novell Update Service is registered as a valid update source by accessing Edit, Services. If necessary, add https://update.novell.com/data as a new service.
3.	If your OES server has not already been activated, activate the server by accessing File, Activate. In the activation dialog, enter your email address and the activation code you received with your OES purchase. Click Activate when finished.
4.	Click the Channels button to list available update channels. Locate the OES channel and select the check box in the Subscribed column to subscribe to this channel. NOTE If no channels are listed, no patches are currently available for OES.
5.	Click the Patches tab. Both core SLES and OES component updates are available on this tab. Select the patches you want to install by highlighting the patch and clicking Mark for Installation. WARNING Only install software from the Patches tab! Software updates installed from the Updates tab will not execute required post-install scripts associated with some patches. Failing to execute these scripts can corrupt your server!
6.	Click Run Now to install the selected patches.

Activating and Using rug (Terminal)

The following steps describe the activation process using the command-line Red-Carpet utility rug. Basic usage of rug is also described.

1.	Ensure that the Novell Update Service is registered as a valid update source using the following command: # rug service-list If necessary, add the Novell Update Services using the following command: # rug service-add https://update.novell.com/data
2.	If your OES server has not already been activated, activate the server using the following command: # rug activate -s 1 <activation_code> <email_address>
3.	Subscribe to the OES update channel using the following command: # rug subscribe oes NOTE If the message Warning: Invalid channel: 'oes' is displayed, this means no patches are currently available for OES.
4.	List available patches using the following command: # rug patch-list If necessary, additional information regarding each patch can be obtained using the following command: # rug patch-info <patch_name>
5.	Install individual patches using the following command: # rug patch-install <patch_name> To install all available patches, use: # rug patch-install *

After patches have been applied to your OES server, you may have to restart services, or the server itself, to activate those patches. If this is required, an appropriate message dialog should be displayed during the patch installation. Be sure to follow any instructions displayed in those messages.

NOTE

For more information on updating your server through the Red-Carpet software management system, see the man pages for rcd(8) and rug(1).