rPath User Guide

featuring rPath X6 2011.4 v1

rPath User Guide: featuring rPath X6: 2011.4 v1

Copyright 2011 rPath, Inc.
rPath, rPath X6, rBuilder, rPath Appliance Platform, and Conary are trademarks of rPath, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. rPath welcomes feedback on this and other documentation. Report issues in the Documentation project at the rPath Issue Tracking System (issues.rpath.com).

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 5 1 -- What This Document Covers ........................................................................................................... 5 2 -- What Isn't Covered and Where to Find It ......................................................................................... 5 I -- rPath Concepts ......................................................................................................................................... 6 1 -- What rPath Can Do ......................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 -- What You Can Do with rPath ................................................................................................ 7 1.2 -- The Appliance Concept ......................................................................................................... 7 2 -- How rPath X6 Works ...................................................................................................................... 9 II -- Create and Manage Appliances .............................................................................................................. 11 3 -- Create a New Appliance ................................................................................................................ 12 4 -- Using the Appliance Workspace ..................................................................................................... 14 4.1 -- Creating an Image Definition .............................................................................................. 14 5 -- Browsing and Using the Appliance Repository ................................................................................ 16 III -- Prepare Software for Appliances .......................................................................................................... 17 6 -- Add Existing Software ................................................................................................................... 18 6.1 -- Add Packages from Other Repositories ................................................................................ 19 7 -- Add New Software ........................................................................................................................ 20 IV -- Build Appliances and Create Images .................................................................................................... 22 8 -- Create a New Appliance Build ....................................................................................................... 23 9 -- Create Images for an Appliance ..................................................................................................... 24 10 -- Import Images to an Appliance ..................................................................................................... 26 11 -- Working with Targets ................................................................................................................... 27 11.1 -- Viewing and Sorting in the Inventory ................................................................................. 27 11.2 -- Working with the Target Workspace ................................................................................... 27 11.3 -- Adding an EC2 Target ....................................................................................................... 28 11.4 -- Adding a Eucalyptus Target ............................................................................................... 28 11.5 -- Adding an OpenStack Target ............................................................................................. 29 11.6 -- Adding a VMware Target .................................................................................................. 30 11.7 -- Adding a Xen Target ......................................................................................................... 30 V -- Test and Release Appliances ................................................................................................................. 32 12 -- Move the Appliance Through Stages ............................................................................................ 33 13 -- Create, Publish, and Unpublish a Release ...................................................................................... 35 13.1 -- Create a Release ............................................................................................................... 35 13.2 -- Publish a Release .............................................................................................................. 35 13.3 -- Unpublish a Release .......................................................................................................... 36 VI -- Deploy and Maintain Systems Based on Appliances .............................................................................. 37 14 -- Deploy New Systems ................................................................................................................... 38 15 -- Register an Existing System with rPath X6 ................................................................................... 39 16 -- Manage Systems .......................................................................................................................... 40 16.1 -- Viewing and Sorting in the Inventory ................................................................................. 40 16.2 -- Working with the System Workspace ................................................................................. 40 16.3 -- Performing Actions on a Selected System ........................................................................... 41 16.4 -- Setting the Inventory Polling Interval ................................................................................. 42 17 -- Configuring Systems .................................................................................................................... 43 17.1 -- Viewing a System's Configuration ...................................................................................... 43 17.2 -- Edit a System's Configuration ............................................................................................ 43 17.3 -- View a System's Configuration Jobs ................................................................................... 44 17.4 -- Creating a Configurator ..................................................................................................... 44

rPath User Guide

17.5 -- Configuration File Syntax and Other Information ................................................................ 17.6 -- Configuration Handler Files ............................................................................................... 18 -- Deploy Updates ........................................................................................................................... A -- Setting Up Your Amazon EC2 Account .................................................................................................

44 45 47 48

Introduction
This guide is targeted to those using rPath X6 and related rPath products as part of their day-to-day responsibilities in your organization. The guide is broken into sections: the first section presents the key concepts that all users should be familiar with, and the remaining sections each present how rPath X6 can be used at a certain stage of software provisioning and lifecycle management.

1What This Document Covers

The following topics are presented in this guide: rPath concepts all users should know Creating and managing appliances in the rPath X6 user interface Uploading and preparing software for appliances through the rPath X6 user interface Building appliances from the selected platform and other prepared software Creating images used to deploy systems based on those appliances Testing and releasing appliance images and updates Use rPath X6 to deploy and manage systems based on appliances

2What Isn't Covered and Where to Find It

This guide does not cover the deployment of rPath X6 or other rPath products, or the system and software administration for those deployments. For these topics, see the following additional titles at docs.rpath.com: rPath Deployment Guide rPath Administration Guide Also, this guide does not cover some of the technical aspects of software preparation, such as using the Conary API to package software to be managed by Conary package management or writing scripts to run before or after a system update. These topics are mentioned in the software preparation sections of this guide with a recommendation to use the rPath Packaging Guide for further reference. You can access or download this supplemental document from docs.rpath.com.

PartI.rPath Concepts

1.What rPath Can Do

Before you start using rPath X6, you should know what it can do and how it's different from what you may already be using for software and system provisioning. This chapter starts by listing the types of tasks you can do with rPath, primarily through the rPath X6 interface. Then, it defines the key concept of an appliance and introduces how rPath X6 uses the appliance model for releasing software and launching and managing systems.

1.1What You Can Do with rPath

The following are some of the tasks that you and your organization can perform with rPath products. If you have a specific need that isn't listed here, contact rPath to find out how to customize your deployment to meet that need. Build and maintain appliances -- An appliance is like a model or blueprint for a complete computer system, including the operating system, software, and custom configuration that should run on that system. Using an appliance, you can deploy and maintain any number of systems based on that model. Prepare software to add to an appliance -- rPath wraps existing software in its rich version control features so it can be managed as part of an appliance. rPath provides platforms that add these features to existing operating system software, and users can prepare other software to be used in appliances based on those platforms. Create images for new deployments -- rBuilder can use an appliance to create one or more images. An image can be used to deploy any number of systems in various physical and virtual environments. Deploy and manage systems based on appliances -- You can deploy the virtual machine images you create directly into your organization's existing virtual environment, and you can manage them in a single user interface alongside other rPath-managed systems. Make updates available for existing deployments -- Use the same appliance build that rBuilder uses to create images for new deployments to publish updates for existing deployments. Systems based on an appliance can check for updates, compare their contents to the latest published appliance build (revision), and download and apply only the changes they need to update to the new revision. Manage an inventory of deployed systems -- You can ensure that physical and virtual systems are part of a system inventory. In a single user interface, you can check the status of the systems and examine and update software.

1.2The Appliance Concept

rPath products are aimed at simplifying management of an IT infrastructure with a wide range of hardware and software, including different operating systems and servers running in different states and with different configurations. rPath's products help you manage the complex matrix of software and configuration combinations while maintaining compliance and minimizing risk when deploying changes to production servers. In terms of software and system provisioning, an appliance is a complete system with all the components needed to run a specific piece of software. The appliance is created from some sort of blueprint, model, or manifest outlining the entire software stack as it should be installed and configured on a production server.

What rPath Can Do

What makes an appliance different from static imaging technology is that each deployment is maintained as a complete system throughout its lifecycle. The software is tested and released together, and then it is updated over time as a complete system rather than by its pieces and parts. With this level of control and management over the entire software stack, you can deploy updates with confidence that the production server represents your test environment and rein in production servers when they get out of sync with the appliance model. rPath X6 is rPath's tool for building appliances, creating images based on those appliance models, deploying and managing systems from those images in target virtual and physical environments, and managing the ongoing changes to those running systems which are typical in any IT organization.

2.How rPath X6 Works

The previous chapter covered what you can do with an appliance model along with the list of things you can do with rPath. This chapter describes how rPath X6 is structured and how it works. Though this is not essential to know in order to use rPath X6, it's useful for understanding what's happening as you click through the user interface or work with the application programming interface (API) using information in later chapters. rPath X6 is made up of the following parts. Everything you use in rPath X6 is part of one of these four parts. A Web-based user interface (Web UI) An application programming interface (API) Repositories Build engine The Web interface is a convenient way to use the API from your Web browser, though you can also use the API directly to automate tasks or to integrate those tasks in another interface your organization is using. As you work with software and configuration in rPath X6, you're actually working through the API to interact with a repository. When you use the Web interface or API to prompt rPath X6 to upload software, build appliances, and create images from appliance builds, rPath X6 uses its build engine rBuild to complete the task. The following is a typical workflow of software through rPath X6 as it relates to the parts listed above: 1. Create a new appliance which automatically creates a new product definition defining the important aspects of the appliance from rPath X6's perspective, and stores that product definition in a repository associated with that appliance. For more information, see Chapter 3. Create a New Appliance. 2. Select software packages from your selected platform OS and to use the build engine to build additional packages that can be managed as part of your appliance. rPath X6 uses the product definition from the repository as a guide. The platform software resides in a platform repository, and your additional packages are saved in the appliance's repository. For more information, see Chapter 5. Browsing and Using the Appliance Repository and the rPath Packaging Guide. 3. Create a new group build, which is rPath X6's term for the complete build of the appliance combining your platform OS with your selected and additional packages. rPath X6 uses the build engine for this task behind the scenes, and it uses the product definition from the repository as a guide. The completed group build is saved in the repository. For more information, see Chapter 8. Create a New Appliance Build. 4. Create new images from one of the group builds in the repository. rPath X6 uses the build engine for this task. The images are stored in a consistent location on the rPath X6 file system, and they can be removed or recreated as needed. For more information, see Chapter 9. Create Images for an Appliance. 5. Deploy one or more systems from an image. For more information, see Chapter 14. Deploy New Systems. 6. Manage deployed systems, including tracking system information and deploying updates. For more information, see Chapter 16. Manage Systems. 7. Publish updates from an appliance that can be consumed by deployed systems based on that appliance model. These updates reside in the appliance repository on rPath X6 and can be published to each rPath Update Service (rUS) in your organization. For more information, see Chapter 18. Deploy Updates.

How rPath X6 Works

The remaining sections of this guide in combination with the rPath Administration Guide provide more detail about what's happening behind the scenes at each of the workflow points listed here.

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PartII.Create and Manage Appliances

3.Create a New Appliance

When you create your appliance, you define the operating system and deployment scenarios for that appliance. rPath X6 automatically builds your appliance based on the image types and platform you choose, allowing you to concentrate on your application, middleware, and custom configuration. You can change some of the appliance's configuration later as needed. Before you create the appliance, you should identify the following information about the appliance you are creating: The user-friendly name and description of the appliance A unique shortened name of the appliance that becomes a permanent identifier of its repository contents in rPath X6 The target environments where you will deploy and manage systems based on this appliance Whether anyone with access to this rPath X6 should be able to see this appliance and access its contents Although you can change much of the appliance configuration at a later time, the following two items are not editable after you create the appliance: Unique name Visibility under Advanced Options can be set to either Public for access by all rPath X6 users, or Private for access limited to only you, users you add to the appliance, and rPath X6 administrators. The unique name has the following limits: Must begin with a letter All letters must be lower-case The only permitted characters are alphanumerics (a-z and 0-9) and a hyphen (-) Must be 63 characters or less Use the following steps to create a new appliance: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Log in to rPath X6. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances. In the bottom left of the All Appliances browser, click the plus sign (+). The Create Appliance window is displayed. Complete the Create Appliance window based on the information you determined above: Enter an Appliance name. Enter a Unique name. Select a Platform. Select one or more Image types using the checkboxes. 6. Click Create.

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Create a New Appliance

7.

Monitor the status messages in the window until rPath X6 refreshes to show the list of appliances. Your new appliance should be selected in the list, and the appliance workspace you will use to edit and build the appliance is open below the list.

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4.Using the Appliance Workspace

Managing an appliance can be done through the appliance's workspace in the rPath X6 Web UI. The appliance workspace shows a series of interactive tabs and the platform selected as the base OS for the appliance. The following presents an overview of each of the appliance workspace tabs: Summary -- A quick look at some identifying information about the appliance. Click a linked field name of an item to read its description on the right side. Releases -- Lists the releases for this appliance. Each release for an appliance is a group of images that are published together for new deployments and to designate available updates for existing deployments. See Chapter 13. Create, Publish, and Unpublish a Release for more about how releases work. Images -- Lists the images for this appliance. You can view all images at once, or you can filter the list for a given major version and stage. See Chapter 9. Create Images for an Appliance for more about how images work, and see Chapter 5. Browsing and Using the Appliance Repository for more about major versions and stages. Image Definitions -- Lists the images defined for the selected major version with options for modifying this list. Any changes you make here update the product definition XML in the appliance repository where this configuration is stored. Groups -- Lists the groups that have been built for this appliance. Each group represents a set of software from the platform OS plus selected other packages and configuration that have been built together to represent a system-level revision of the entire appliance. See Chapter 8. Create a New Appliance Build for more about how groups work. Repository Browser -- Browsing the contents of the appliance's repository. See Chapter 5. Browsing and Using the Appliance Repository for more about how the repository is organized and its contents.

4.1Creating an Image Definition

For more information on images, see rBuilder Image Types in the rPath Packaging Guide. Use the following steps to create an image definition: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances. In the All Appliances browser, double-click the appliance you want to work with. The appliance workspace opens to the right of the All Appliances browser. Click the Image Definitions tab. In the lower left of the appliance workspace, click +. The Image definitions editor window is displayed. Click on the text label for each field, menu, or checkbox for help to display in the right of the window. 6. 7. Select the image type from the Image type drop-down menu. The Image definitions editor window will display fields and controls appropriate to the chosen image type. Select the architecture from the Architecture drop-down menu.

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Using the Appliance Workspace

8. 9.

(Optional) If the Flavor drop-down menu is present, select the flavor from the Flavor drop-down menu. Enter an Image name.

10. Complete the additional fields in the Image definitions editor window. 11. Click Done.

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5.Browsing and Using the Appliance Repository

Every appliance in rPath X6 uses a repository to save important data associated with the appliance. This chapter presents how contents are stored in the repository. For an appliance, repository contents are organized by the following two details: Major version identifies the version of the product definition itself. This represents a major branch of development for the appliance. Stage is a part of the release cycle defined within the product definition. rPath X6 recognizes these stages as a sequence of states that the appliance must move through during a development cycle. rPath X6 uses a label to tie together the unique combination of repository, appliance, major version, and stage. The label has a structure that includes the "@" symbol and a colon ":" as shown in the following example labels. These examples are three labels associated with each of two major versions (1 and 2) in the same repository (app.rbuilder.example.com):
app.rbuilder.example.com@corp:app-1-devel app.rbuilder.example.com@corp:app-1-qa app.rbuilder.example.com@corp:app-1 app.rbuilder.example.com@corp:app-2-devel app.rbuilder.example.com@corp:app-2-qa app.rbuilder.example.com@corp:app-2

Together, the major version and stage create the hyphenated portion of the label you'll look for in the first column of the repository browser in rPath X6. The following lists the association between the end of the label and the default stages in major version 1 of an example appliance with unique name app: Development -- has a suffix of -devel, such as in app.rbuilder.example.com@corp:app-1-devel QA -- has a suffix of -qa, such as in app.rbuilder.example.com@corp:app-1-qa Release -- has no stage-specific suffix, such as in app.rbuilder.example.com@corp:app-1 Use the following tips in combination with the information above to browse an appliance repository and find certain types of content: Packages and Groups in the repository represent the software for the appliance, and you can browse to see what packages are in a group and what files make up a particular package. You can even download a specific file to examine it closer. Sources are the files and instructions used when building packages and groups. As when browsing packages, you can find and download a specific file from the source to examine it closer. rPath X6 manages a product definition associated with each major version of the appliance, and you can find that XML file packaged in product-definition:source under Sources on the Release label for that major version. If the appliance is converted into a platform, rPath X6 creates an additional platform definition packaged in platform-definition:source under Sources on the Release label for that major version.

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PartIII.Prepare Software for Appliances

6.Add Existing Software

This chapter presents how to add software packages to an appliance. This could be packages from the platform that aren't automatically added by rPath X6, or it could be packages that your organization has prepared for this or other appliances as described in Chapter 7. Add New Software. To add packaged software to an appliance, you'll be editing the appliance group for your appliance. The appliance group is rPath X6's way of determining what software should go into the appliance and where to find that software when building the appliance. Use the following steps to add existing software packages to an appliance in rPath X6: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Log in to rPath X6 as a developer for the appliance. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances to open the All Appliances browser. In the main pane, double-click the appliance to open that appliance's workspace. Click the Groups tab in the appliance workspace. If necessary, change the Major version and Stage to the combination for which you need to add new software. (Typically, you'll only edit appliance contents in the development stage for each major version.) Click the Edit tab in the appliance workspace. Click the Grid sub-tab in the Edit tab of the appliance workspace. Wait a few seconds for the Available packages list to load.

10. Scroll through the Available packages list to find the package you want to add. Click to select that package.

Can't find what you're looking for?

By default, this list is limited to the packages from your platform plus anything packaged specifically for this appliance. If you need to get a package from another appliance's repository in rPath X6, use the steps in Add Packages from Other Repositories to add the appropriate label to the search path. 11. With the package selected in the list, click the down arrow button below the Available packages list and confirm that the package appears in the Selected packages list in the lower left. The Selected packages list represents everything you want to include in addition to what rPath X6 automatically includes from your platform. 12. Continue to select from the Available packages list until you have all the packages you want to explicitly add to the appliance.

Don't throw in the kitchen sink

rPath X6 automatically includes all the software you need to build a complete system from your selected platform. It also detects certain dependencies and includes any ad-

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Add Existing Software

ditional packages it knows it needs to meet those dependencies. You can select certain packages if you want to guarantee they are added to the appliance, but this may not be necessary. To minimize your selected packages, consider building the appliance first to see what rPath X6 automatically includes in your appliance. 13. Click Save when you're finished making your selections. To implement these changes, you will need to create a new appliance group build as described in Chapter 8. Create a New Appliance Build.

6.1Add Packages from Other Repositories

By default, the Available packages list in the appliance content editor is limited to packages from your platform and from the current appliance you're working with. To get packages from other repositories in rPath X6, you'll need to add to the search path for the appliance, which is an ordered list of labels that rPath X6 searches to find packages. As defined in Chapter 5. Browsing and Using the Appliance Repository, a label includes the repository, appliance, major version, and stage which rPath X6 can use to find packages. Use the following steps to add to the search path for the appliance so that you can add packages from a specific label from another repository: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Log in to rPath X6 as a developer for the appliance. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances to open the All Appliances browser. In the All Appliances browser, find the appliance where the desired packages reside. In the main pane, double-click that appliance to open the appliance workspace. Click the Repository Browser tab in the appliance workspace, and identify the specific label. The label is displayed in the first column of the repository browser when you first begin browsing its contents. In the All Appliances browser, find and double-click the appliance you want to edit to open the appliance workspace for that appliance. Click the Edit tab in the appliance workspace. Click the Grid sub-tab in the Edit tab of the appliance workspace.

10. Click the triangle to the left of Search to display the search path. 11. Enter the label in the Add a search path, then click +. 12. After you add the label, confirm access to the packages on that label from the Available packages list. Refresh the list by clicking the Refresh button above the list.

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7.Add New Software

This chapter presents how to use the rPath X6 Web UI for preparing software for use in appliances in rPath X6. For this task, you will use additional features of the content editor you used in Chapter 6. Add Existing Software. Before adding new software, you should know how to add existing software packages to an appliance as presented in Chapter 6. Add Existing Software. Consult the rPath Platform Guide for the platform on which the appliance is based to determine what types of software you can package and whether there are any special considerations or preparation steps you need to take before performing this procedure in the Web UI. Use the following steps to add new software for use in appliances in rPath X6: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Log in to rPath X6 as a developer for the appliance. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances to open the All Appliances browser. In the main pane, double-click the appliance to open that appliance's workspace. Click the Groups tab in the appliance workspace. If necessary, change the Major version and Stage to the combination for which you need to add new software. (Typically, you'll only edit appliance contents in the development stage for each major version.) Click the Edit tab in the appliance workspace. Click the Import sub-tab in the appliance workspace. Click Browse beside the Archive text box.

10. Select the software archive (such as a zip or RPM package) from your local system that you wish to upload and package for the appliance. Then, click Upload. 11. When the upload is complete, verify that the Details tab displays a form with information from the archive. For RPMs, WIMs, and MSIs, leave this information unchanged. For other types of packages, edit the form contents as appropriate, using the linked form fields and the rPath Platform Guide as a reference for what to put in each field. 12. Click Import and monitor the messages displayed below the import software form. Though this is referred to as an "import" in the Web UI, this is what rPath X6 calls "building the package."

How long will this take?

If this is the first package built for this particular platform, this could take up to an hour if rPath X6 needs to cache information from a remote package source. It will also take longer to build a package for larger software packages than for smaller ones.

Do not navigate away during the import

If you close the content editor or navigate away from rPath X6 in the same browser tab or window, it will build the new package, but will not add the new package to your selected

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Add New Software

packages list. Leave the browser tab or window open. You can use other browser tabs or windows during the Import (build) process. 13. When the import (build) is complete, confirm that the resulting package appears in the Selected packages list.

Build once, use anywhere

The new package is now in your rPath X6 appliance repository, and it can be used both here and in other appliances in rPath X6 based on the same platform. Plus, based on information rPath X6 read from the imported software package, the new package knows some of the additional software it needs to run and will look for those in the Available packages list. 14. Click Done when you're finished adding software. To implement these changes, you will need to create a new appliance group build as described in Chapter 8. Create a New Appliance Build. Sometimes you'll need to make adjustments for the package to build or install correctly. The following are some approaches you can take to making those adjustments: Adjust the files in the original archive you uploaded, then repeat the steps above to add the software. By using the same package name, rPath X6 automatically treats this as an update to the existing package. In the content editor, select the package and click the Recipe tab next to the Details tab. There, add recipe code to customize how rPath X6 builds the package. To learn about recipes and how to write recipe code, see the rPath Packaging Guide. Use an rPath Development Environment to check out the package from the repository and work directly with the code used to build the package. This is covered in the rPath Packaging Guide. The rPath Packaging Guide is a valuable reference for you as you prepare software for use in appliances in rPath X6 that will help you determine how much you can or should do in the Web UI, and introduces the rPath Development Environment for using and automating actions in rPath X6. Note that if you begin maintaining a certain package from a separate development environment, do not return to using the Web UI in rPath X6 to edit that package because you could risk overwriting your work from the development environment.

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PartIV.Build Appliances and Create Images

8.Create a New Appliance Build

Previous chapters covered preparing software and selecting packages to put into your appliance. Changes to the appliance are stored as a new revision of the appliance group source used to build your appliance. rPath X6 uses this source as instructions to build the appliance group. The appliance group build is a binary entity that rPath X6 can use for two purposes: Create images to deploy new systems based on this appliance Provide updates to systems associated with this appliance Use the following steps to create a new appliance group build from the rPath X6 Web UI: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Log in to rPath X6 as a developer for the appliance. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances to open the All Appliances browser. In the main pane, double-click the appliance to open that appliance's workspace. Click the Groups tab in the appliance workspace. If necessary, change the Major version and Stage to the combination for which you need to add new software. (Typically, you'll only edit appliance contents in the development stage for each major version.) Click the plus (+) in the lower left of the appliance workspace, just below the groups list. While the group builds, you have the following two options: You can monitor the details of the group build. To do this, click the Group Actions menu in the lower right and select Show detailed information. From the details dialog, you can view the live messages as things happen, and you can download a copy of the build log when the build is complete. Click Close at any time to close the dialog and return to the main rPath X6 Web UI. You can browse and work on other tasks. When the build is complete, you'll receive a notice on the Home page in rPath X6. You can also return to the Groups tab for the appliance at any time to check the build progress.

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9.Create Images for an Appliance

For any appliance group build created using the steps in Chapter 8. Create a New Appliance Build, you can create the set of images. These images can be used to deploy systems based on that appliance. Before you create images, note these important facts about images in rPath X6: Each image represents a deployment scenario, such as launching a virtual machine in VMware or installing new hardware from an ISO. The product definition for your selected major version of the appliance controls which images you can create. This was originally set when the appliance was created, but you can make changes from the Image Definitions tab. Each time you change image definitions, the product definition is revised, and rPath X6 requires you to build a new appliance group. The new build ensures that the appliance group can be used to produce each of the images defined. When you create images, you can choose any appliance group build, whether it's the latest or an older one. rPath X6 will use the product definition revision that applies to that build. Unlike packages and appliance groups, images are not stored in the appliance repository. Instead, they are stored on the rPath X6 filesystem. You can delete older images to save space over time. Because rPath X6 allows you to build images from older appliance group builds, you can go back and reproduce an older image if you need it. Images can be grouped together in a release so they can be published together. When images are published as part of a release, the appliance repository content associated with those images is automatically published so that existing systems can check in and download updates. This is covered in Chapter 13. Create, Publish, and Unpublish a Release. Use the following steps to create new images from an appliance group build: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Log in to rPath X6 as a developer for the appliance. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances to open the All Appliances browser. In the main pane, double-click the appliance to open that appliance's workspace. Click the Images tab in the appliance workspace. If necessary, change the Major version and Stage to the combination for which you need to add new software. (Typically, you'll only edit appliance contents in the development stage for each major version.) Click the plus (+) in the lower left of the appliance workspace. The Create images window is displayed. In the Create images window, select the group from which you want to create images. The Create images window expands to display a Select the image to create list. In the Select the image to create list, uncheck any of the images that you do not want to create. This list shows only those images associated with the product definition that rPath X6 used in creating that build.

10. Click Create. 11. While rPath X6 creates the images, you have the following two options:

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Create Images for an Appliance

You can monitor the details of the image creation. To do this, click the Image Actions menu in the lower right and select Show detailed information. From the details dialog, you can view the live messages as things happen, and you can download a copy of the image creation log when the process is complete. Click Close at any time to close the dialog and return to the main rPath X6 Web UI. You can browse away and work on other tasks. When the image creation is complete, you'll receive a notice on the Home page in rPath X6. You can also return to the Images tab for the appliance at any time to check the build progress.

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10.Import Images to an Appliance

You can import OVF images into an appliance. rPath X6 delivers an OVF image as a .tar.gz file containing a .VMDK file inside an XML wrapper. OVF format version 0.9 and OVF format version 1.0 are both supported for appliances. Use the following steps to create new images from an appliance group build: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Log in to rPath X6 as the owner of the appliance you want to import an OVF image to, or as an administrator in rPath X6. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances to open the All Appliances browser. In the main pane, select the appliance you want to import the OVF image into. Click the Images tab in the appliance workspace. If necessary, change the Major version and Stage to the combination for which you need to import images. Click the Edit tab. Click the Import sub-tab. In the Import images window, enter the Image name.

10. Enter the Image URL to the .tar.gz file containing the OVF file. 11. Select the Architecture of the appliance the OVF file is being imported to. 12. Select the Location the OVF file is allowed to be deployed to. 13. Click Import. The Import images window will close, and when the OVF file is imported, the new image is displayed in the list of images in the Images tab of the appliance workspace. To deploy the image or download the image, see Chapter 14. Deploy New Systems.

26

11.Working with Targets

The Targets task in rPath X6 provides several features for monitoring and managing targets for use in your organization's infrastructure. You can: View all targets configured in the rPath X6 Targets inventory, and sort and filter the list of displayed targets. For more information, see Viewing and Sorting in the Inventory. View and edit information and credentials for a specific target. For more information, see Working with the Target Workspace. Add a new target. The available targets are: Amazon AWS. For more information, see Adding an EC2 Target. Eucalyptus. For more information, see Adding a Eucalyptus Target. OpenStack. For more information, see Adding an OpenStack Target. VMware. For more information, see Adding a VMware Target. Xen Enterprise. For more information, see Adding a Xen Target.

11.1Viewing and Sorting in the Inventory

To view targets, and to sort and filter to select targets, perform the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Log in to rPath X6 as an administrator. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Targets to expand the Targets list. Below Targets in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Targets. The Target Browser is displayed. In the Target Browser, click on a column title such as Name or Credentials. Drag the column title left or right to arrange the columns. Click on a column title such as Name to change the sort order of that column. A triangle displays in the selected column, pointing either up or down. Double-click on an individual target to open the target workspace for that target. For more information, see Working with the Target Workspace. Right-click on an individual target to show actions you can perform on that system. You can delete the configured target using this menu.

11.2Working with the Target Workspace

When you select a target from the list, rPath X6 opens a target workspace below the list that includes the following tabs: Summary -- Scroll through this list for some of the information rPath X6 stores for this target. Click the linked field name to view a brief description of a particular field.

27

Working with Targets

Credentials -- View the information about the user credentials saved for the target, or add user credentials for a target. Although a user must be logged in to rPath X6 as an administrator to add a target, non-administrators logged in to rPath X6 can add user credentials to an existing target. Configuration -- View and edit configuration information associated with this target.

11.3Adding an EC2 Target

To add an EC2 target, perform the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Log in to rPath X6 as an administrator. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Targets to expand the Targets list. Below Targets in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Targets. The Target Browser is displayed. In the Target Browser, click + to open the Add a Target window. From the Select a target to configure drop-down menu, select ec2. Enter the AWS Account Number. Enter the Access Key ID. Enter the Secret Access Key. Enter the X.509 Certificate. Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the X.509 certificate. 10. Enter the X.509 Private Key. Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the X.509 private key. 11. Enter the S3 Bucket name. S3 bucket names must be globally unique: you can either reuse an S3 bucket you already have, or you can name a new bucket which rPath X6 will create for you. 12. Click Add. Your uploads and instances in EC2 from rPath X6 will fall under the same payment schedule as your other Amazon EC2 cloud images and instances.

11.4Adding a Eucalyptus Target

To add a Eucalyptus target, perform the following steps: 1. 2. Log in to rPath X6 as an administrator. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Targets to expand the Targets list.

28

Working with Targets

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Below Targets in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Targets. The Target Browser is displayed. In the Target Browser, click + to open the Add a Target window. From the Select a target to configure drop-down menu, select eucalyptus. Enter the Eucalyptus Server Address. Enter the Eucalyptus Server Port. Enter the Descriptive Name. Enter the Full Description.

10. Enter the Access Key ID. 11. Enter the Secret Access Key. 12. Enter the X.509 Certificate. Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the X.509 certificate. 13. Enter the X.509 Private Key. Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the X.509 private key. 14. Enter the Cloud X.509 Certificate. Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the cloud X.509 certificate. 15. Enter the Storage (Walrus) Bucket name. 16. Click Add.

11.5Adding an OpenStack Target

To add a OpenStack target, perform the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Log in to rPath X6 as an administrator. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Targets to expand the Targets list. Below Targets in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Targets. The Target Browser is displayed. In the Target Browser, click + to open the Add a Target window. From the Select a target to configure drop-down menu, select openstack. Enter the OpenStack Server Address. Enter the OpenStack Server Port. Enter the Descriptive Name. Enter the Full Description.

10. Enter the Access Key ID. 11. Enter the Secret Access Key.

29

Working with Targets

12. Enter the X.509 Certificate. Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the X.509 certificate. 13. Enter the X.509 Private Key. Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the X.509 private key. 14. Enter the Cloud X.509 Certificate. Click Open... to open a file browser dialog window and select a file containing the cloud X.509 certificate. 15. Enter the Storage Bucket name. 16. Click Add.

11.6Adding a VMware Target

To add a VMware target, perform the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Log in to rPath X6 as an administrator. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Targets to expand the Targets list. Below Targets in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Targets. The Target Browser is displayed. In the Target Browser, click + to open the Add a Target window. From the Select a target to configure drop-down menu, select vmware. Enter the Server Address. Must be a fully qualified DNS (FQDN). Enter the Name. Enter the Full Description. Click Add.

11.7Adding a Xen Target

To add a Xen target, perform the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Log in to rPath X6 as an administrator. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Targets to expand the Targets list. Below Targets in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Targets. The Target Browser is displayed. In the Target Browser, click + to open the Add a Target window. From the Select a target to configure drop-down menu, select xen-enterprise. Enter the Server Address. Must be a fully qualified DNS (FQDN). Enter the Name.

30

Working with Targets

8. 9.

Enter the Full Description. Click Add.

31

PartV.Test and Release Appliances

12.Move the Appliance Through Stages

This guide defined stages for an appliance in Chapter 5. Browsing and Using the Appliance Repository. The default stages in rPath X6 are Development, QA, and Release. All development on a major version of your appliance starts at the Development stage. When development is over, though, you probably want to be able to do both of the following: Isolate a state of the appliance so it can be thoroughly tested. Allow continued development on the appliance without waiting for testing to compelte. You can allow for both of these by cloning the state of the appliance from the Development stage to the QA stage. Then, developers can continue to develop in Development, and testers can begin testing in QA without worrying about the data changing. This cloning action is what rPath X6 calls a promote. Use the following steps to promote an appliance in a selected major version from the Development stage to the QA stage: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Log in to rPath X6 as a developer for the appliance. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances to open the All Appliances browser. In the main pane, double-click the appliance to open that appliance's workspace. Click the Groups tab in the appliance workspace. Change to the Major version you want to work with, and be sure the Stage selected is Development. Select the appliance group build from the list that you wish to promote for testing. Click the Group Actions menu in the lower right and select Promote group. Click the Stage drop-down list and select QA.

10. Confirm that the newly promoted appliance group build is listed in QA stage with the matching Revision value of the build you selected from the Development stage. 11. (Optional) Confirm the repository contents have been cloned from the "-devel" label to the "-qa" label. You can browse the contents of each label from the Repository Browser tab. 12. Inform those who are testing the appliance data is ready on the new label. Testers can work with the data and create images in the QA stage as needed. Fixes to the appliance can be made directly in the Development or QA stages. A common practice is to apply fixes in the Development stage only, build the appliance group to incorporate the fixes, and then promote that new build to become the latest revision at the QA stage. When the data at the QA stage is ready for public consumption, clone that data to the Release stage to isolate data released to the public from the development and testing data. At the Release stage, a release manager can create final images and publish both images and data for consumption outside of rPath X6. Use the following steps to promote an appliance in a selected major version from the QA stage to the Development stage:

33

Move the Appliance Through Stages

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Log in to rPath X6 as a developer for the appliance. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances to open the All Appliances browser. In the main pane, double-click the appliance to open that appliance's workspace. Click the Groups tab in the appliance workspace. Change to the Major version you want to work with, and be sure the Stage selected is QA. Select the appliance group build from the list that you wish to promote for release. Click the Group Actions menu in the lower right and select Promote group. Click the Stage drop-down list and select Release. After a few seconds, confirm that the newly promoted appliance group build is listed there with the matching Revision value of the build you selected from the QA stage.

10. If desired, confirm the repository contents have been cloned from the "-qa" label to the label without the "-devel" or "-qa" suffix. Browse the contents at each label from the Repository Browser tab. 11. If you're not doing the release, inform those who are releasing the appliance that the the appliance data is ready on the new label. Release managers can work with the data and create images in the Release stage as needed. Need more or different stages? You can customize the names of stages and the order they appear to better meet the requirements of your organization's release management cycle. This information is stored in the product definition XML, and you'll need to edit that XML to make your customizations. The rPath Packaging Guide includes information on how to check out and edit the product definition XML directly. This allows you to use the promote features in rPath X6 while meeting the requirements of your organization's release management cycle.

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13.Create, Publish, and Unpublish a Release

A release in rPath X6 groups images together so they can be published at the same time, and also identifies a specific release version of the appliance. When a release is published, rPath X6 also publishes the appliance repository data associated with that release so the data is cloned to the rPath Update Services which provide ongoing updates to systems associated with that appliance. You can: Create a new release. For more information, see Create a Release. Publish a release. For more information, see Publish a Release. Unpublish a published release. For more information, see Unpublish a Release.

13.1Create a Release
Use the following steps to create a release: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Log in to rPath X6 as a owner of the appliance. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances to open the All Appliances browser. In the main pane, double-click the appliance to open that appliance's workspace. Click the Releases tab in the appliance workspace. Click the plus (+) in the lower left of the appliance workspace. The Create a new release window is displayed. Enter a Release Name. Enter a Version Name. (Optional) Enter a Description.

10. Click Create.

13.2Publish a Release
Use the following steps to publish a release: 1. 2. 3. Log in to rPath X6 as a owner of the appliance. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances to open the All Appliances browser.

35

Create, Publish, and Unpublish a Release

4. 5. 6. 7.

In the main pane, double-click the appliance to open that appliance's workspace. Click the Images tab in the appliance workspace. If necessary, change the Major version and Stage to the combination where the images reside that you're adding to the release. For each image you want to add to the new release, do the following: a. b. c. Click to select the image from the images list. Click the Image Actions menu in the lower right. Select Add image to release.

8. 9.

After adding all the desired images to the release, click the Releases tab. Select the new release.

10. Click the Release Actions menu in the lower right and select Publish all images for this release.

13.3Unpublish a Release
You must unpublish a release to make any changes to it. Use the following steps to unpublish a release: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Log in to rPath X6 as a owner of the appliance. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Appliances to expand the Appliances list. Below Appliances in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Appliances to open the All Appliances browser. In the main pane, double-click the appliance to open that appliance's workspace. Click the Releases tab in the appliance workspace. Select the release. Click the Release Actions menu in the lower right and select Unpublish all images for this release.

36

PartVI.Deploy and Maintain Systems Based on Appliances

14.Deploy New Systems

There are two ways you can deploy new systems using images created in rPath X6: Use the Images task in the rPath X6 interface to add a new system based on a selected image. Download the image file and place it on the appropriate media, on a bootable network location, or in a virtual infrastructure. To use rPath X6 to deploy the system, use the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Log in to rPath X6. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Images to expand the Images list. Below Images in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Images to open the All Images browser. Scroll or search the Images list to find the image you want to use for deploying the new system. Click to select the image. Click the Actions menu and select Launch. The Launch System window is displayed. Complete the Launch System window with information specific to the new system. The form fields will vary depending on the deployment targets configured in your rPath X6. For more information about how to complete each field, click the linked field name (such as Instance name or Data Store) and read the help text that rPath X6 displays to the right of the form. Click Launch. If rPath X6 doesn't refresh to the Systems list immediately, click Systems from the tasks at the left and scroll or search to confirm your new system was added to the list. Click to select the system to determine its status and to find its network address when available.

8.

To download an image for deploying a system outside of rPath X6, use the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In the main rPath X6 interface, click Appliances from the tasks on the left. Scroll or search the Appliances list to find the appliance used to produce the image that you want to use for deploying the new system. Click to select the appliance. There, click the Images tab in the appliance workspace, select the image you want to download. Click the Image Actions menu in the lower right and select Download image. Deploy the system using the downloaded file. This process will vary based on the type of image you downloaded. To manage the system using the Systems task in rPath X6, follow the steps in Chapter 15. Register an Existing System with rPath X6.

38

15.Register an Existing System with rPath X6

You can add an existing system on your network to manage it from the Systems list in rPath X6. To do this, add the system using the rPath X6 Web UI, then your rPath infrastructure prompts the system to register with rPath X6. Use the following steps to register an existing system with rPath X6: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Log in to rPath X6. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Systems to expand the Systems list. Below Systems in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Systems to open a new tab on the Active Systems browser, displaying the All Systems browser of all registered systems. Click the plus (+) above the Systems list. Complete the Add a System form as follows: System Name -- Enter a name that rPath X6 will display as the name of the system. Description -- (optional) Enter a description of the system. Network Address -- Enter the IP address or DNS host name of the system. Manage via this Address Only -- By default, rPath uses the Network Address provided to make initial contact with the system, then dynamically discovers the local system-preferred address for ongoing management. Check this box to indicate that rPath X6 should use the provided Network Address as the ongoing management address, even if it finds other interfaces and addresses assigned to the system. Management Zone -- Use the drop-down list to select the management zone where this system should reside. This zone is a way of identifying the rPath product deployments in your organization that should be responsible for interacting with this system while it is managed in rPath X6. If you're not responsible for the management zones in your rPath infrastructure, be sure to find out who is and consult that individual or team about which zone to use. 6. 7. Click Add and confirm the new system appears in the Systems list. Use the Jobs and Logs tabs for the newly added system to monitor its progress registering with rPath X6.

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16.Manage Systems
The Systems group in rPath X6 provides several features for monitoring and managing systems deployed in your organization's infrastructure. You can: View all systems registered in the rPath X6 Systems inventory, and sort and filter the list of displayed systems. For more information, see Viewing and Sorting in the Inventory. Perform actions on a selected system. For more information, see Working with the System Workspace and Performing Actions on a Selected System. Change the polling interval following the steps in Setting the Inventory Polling Interval.

16.1Viewing and Sorting in the Inventory

To view systems, and to sort and filter to select systems in the Systems inventory, perform the following steps: 1. 2. 3. Log in to rPath X6. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Systems to expand the Systems list. Below Systems in the Navigator left sidebar, click Active Systems to open the Active Systems browser of all active systems in the main rPath X6 display area. Active systems is one of the default filters provided for selecting subgroups in the Systems inventory. Others are Inactive systems and All systems. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Below Systems in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Systems to open a new tab on the Active Systems browser, displaying the All Systems browser of all registered systems. In the lower left of the All Systems browser, you can click Refresh to refresh the list of displayed systems. Click the Active Systems browser tab to display the Active Systems browser. In the upper left of the Active Systems browser, click Grid to switch the Active Systems browser display from Map to Grid. In the Active Systems browser grid view, click on a column title such as Name or Management Zone. Drag the column title left or right to arrange the columns. Click on a column title such as Name to change the sort order of that column. A triangle displays in the selected column, pointing either up or down.

10. Right-click on an individual system to show actions you can perform on that system. The commands on this menu are presented in Performing Actions on a Selected System. 11. Double-click on an individual system to open the workspace for that system.

16.2Working with the System Workspace

When you select a system from the list, rPath X6 opens a workspace that includes the following tabs:

40

Manage Systems

Summary -- Scroll through this list for some of the information rPath X6 was able to retrieve from this system, including Basic Information including the management zone, Networking information, Software version information for the appliance, and Advanced information including a UUID. Click a linked field name to view a brief description of a particular field. Configuration -- Values on the managed system you can edit and modify. For more information, see Working with rPath Configuration. Software -- View and update software for systems associated with appliances. For more information on using this tab, see Chapter 18. Deploy Updates. Jobs -- Monitor the management jobs that the rPath Tools are currently handling on the system. Log -- View or download the log file associated with the system's management through rPath X6, including the registration events described in Chapter 15. Register an Existing System with rPath X6. Credentials -- Provide any credentials this system requires for access to administrative tasks. Deployment -- View the information about the target deployment environment where this system is running. This will be one of the targets configured by an rPath X6 administrator from the Targets task in the Web UI. This tab may be disabled for systems that are not deployed to a configured target. Repository Browser -- This is only applicable for systems in the list which have their own repositories compatible with rPath X6. See Chapter 5. Browsing and Using the Appliance Repository for more information. Refresh -- Click Refresh to refresh the information on the selected system.

16.3Performing Actions on a Selected System

Right-clicking on a system, or selecting the system and then clicking Actions, displays a drop-down menu of commands. If a command is not performable on the system, that command is grayed out. The menu commands are: Add System - Opens the Add a System window. Open System - Opens the browser for the selected system. Refresh System - Refreshes rPath X6 with the latest information in the rPath X6 Systems inventory. Register - Sends a Common Information Model (CIM) message to the system to request information about the system. A registered system appears in Systems. For more information, see Data Between rBuilder and Deployed Systems in the rPath Deployment Guide. Synchronize - Immediately polls the system to update the rPath X6's inventory of that system's installed software, and refreshes rPath X6 with the latest information in the rPath X6 Systems inventory. Connect to system - Opens a connection to the hostname or IP address of the system over port 80. Manage system - Launches the rAPA on that system, if present. Shut down system - Shuts down the system. Retire system - Stop polling the system for information. Retired systems are displayed in the Inactive systems filter under Systems.

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Manage Systems

Refresh Systems - Refreshes rPath X6 with the most current information in the rPath X6 Systems inventory. Remove system - Delete the selected system from the rPath X6 inventory. The deleted system will not be displayed in Systems.

16.4Setting the Inventory Polling Interval

rPath X6 polls the systems in the Systems inventory at regular intervals to get the latest information for that inventory. The default polling interval is 12 hours. To set the polling interval, perform the following steps: 1. 2. 3. Open a command prompt on the system rPath X6 is installed on. Using a text editor, open the following file:
/srv/rbuilder/config/rbuilder-custom.conf

Find the value systemEventsPollDelay. The default value of systemEventsPollDelay is 720 and the unit is one minute. A default entry should look like the following:
systemEventsPollDelay 720

4.

Edit the numeric value to set the rBuilder's polling interval. For example, to set the rBuilder to poll every six hours, edit the line to the following:
systemEventsPollDelay 240

5.

Save changes to rbuilder-custom.conf.

If changing the polling interval to more frequently than every 12 hours, consider the potential impact of the change on the network.

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17.Configuring Systems
Using the configuration feature of the Systems group in rPath X6 you can: View a system's configuration. For more information, see Viewing a System's Configuration. Edit a system's configuration. For more information, see Edit a System's Configuration. View a system's configuration job status. For more information, see View a System's Configuration Jobs. Create a configurator to add values to a system's configuration. For more information, see Creating a Configurator. Information on the .iprop and handler files for configuration is presented in the following sections: Configuration File Syntax and Other Information Configuration Handler Files

17.1Viewing a System's Configuration

To view the configuration value for a system, perform the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Log in to rPath X6. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Systems to expand the Systems group. Below Systems in the Navigator left sidebar, click All Systems to open the All Systems browser of all systems in the main rPath X6 display area. In the upper left of the All Systems browser, click Grid to switch the All Systems browser display from Map to Grid. Double-click on an individual system to open the workspace for that system. In the system workspace, click the Configuration tab.

17.2Edit a System's Configuration

You can change the configuration value for a system. To edit a configuration value, perform the following steps: 1. 2. 3. Perform the steps in Viewing a System's Configuration. In the Configuration tab of the system's workspace, change a value in a drop-down menu or a text field. Click Save. rPath X6 overwrites the XML file for that configuration value on the managed system with the new value that you entered in the rPath X6 GUI. For more information on the XML file, see Creating a Configurator and Configuration File Syntax and Other Information.

Clicking Save launches all of the configurators for the managed system, not only the configurator associated with the value you edited. Ideally and for best practices, a configurator should be idempotent and be able to run regardless of current state. For example, a configurator could be designed to run

43

Configuring Systems

service apache reload

17.3View a System's Configuration Jobs

Editing a configuration starts a job on the managed system running the configurators on that managed system. To view the status of a system's configuration jobs, perform the following steps: 1. 2. Perform the steps in Viewing a System's Configuration. In the system workspace, click the Jobs tab.

System configuration jobs will be displayed in the Jobs tab of the system's workspace as System configuration, and be in one of three states: Completed Failed Running

17.4Creating a Configurator
To create a configurator, perform the following steps: 1. 2. 3. Using a text editor, create an XML configuration file with the extension .iprop containing a single namevalue pair. For the syntax of the XML file, see Configuration File Syntax and Other Information. Create a handler file in Genshi template format. For more information on handler files, see Configuration Handler Files. Create a configurator package containing the .iprop file and the handler file. When the package is added to an image, Conary will include the metadata necessary to display the name-value pair on the Configuration tab of the system workspace. For more information on creating packages, see the rPath Packaging Guide.

17.5Configuration File Syntax and Other Information

Editing a configuration starts a job on the managed system running the configurators on that managed system. For one example, here is the file apache_enabled.iprop:
<field> <name>apache_enabled</name> <descriptions> <desc>Apache httpd service enabled</desc> </descriptions> <prompt> <desc>Tells whether httpd should run.</desc> </prompt> <type>bool</type>

44

Configuring Systems

<default>false</default> </field>

This displays on the Configuration tab the text Apache httpd service enabled and a checkbox for the Boolean value. For a second example, here is the file apache_port.iprop:
<field> <name>apache_port</name> <descriptions> <desc>Apache httpd port number</desc> </descriptions> <prompt> <desc>Apache httpd port number </desc> </prompt> <type>int</type> <constraints> <range><min>1</min><max>65535</max><range> </constraints> <required>true</required> <default>80</default> </field>

This displays on the Configuration tab the text Apache httpd port number and a text field that defaults to the numeric value 80. For more information on the configuration utilities, view the man pages for the following commands installed on the managed system: iconfig iconfig-values iconfig-handler

17.6Configuration Handler Files

A handler file is needed for the iconfig command to update the managed system with the changes made in the rPath X6 GUI. Handler files for Linux managed systems use the Genshi file template format. For more information on Genshi, see http://genshi.edgewall.org/. If a variable in an .iprop file as described in Configuration File Syntax and Other Information is named
port_number

prepend config_ to the variable name to refer to that variable in a handler file:
config_port_number

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Configuring Systems

For an example of a handler file for a Linux managed system, here is the ApacheConfigurationModule.handler for the two Apache configuration files shown in Configuration File Syntax and Other Information:
name ignored [genshi] template $path_to_template file /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf [exec] command $run command_to_run_on_managed_system --port $config_port_number

The line
name ignored

is required by iconfig. A handler file for a Windows managed system needs the line
[genshi]

replaced with
[simpleTemplate]

(capitalization exactly as shown). An example of a handler file for a Windows managed system is:
name ignored [simpleTemplate] template C:\Temp\file-t.txt file C:\Temp\file.txt [exec] command C:\Temp\ConsumeFile.bat %config_file_name C:\Temp\log.txt

The line
name ignored

is required by iconfig. Note the config_file_name variable name as mentioned above.

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18.Deploy Updates
Systems listed in the Systems task in rPath X6 include both managed and unmanaged systems. Managed systems are associated with an appliance in rPath X6. For each managed system, use the following steps to view the software that's installed on the system, compare software between the appliance and a selected appliance revision, and update the system to that revision: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Log in to rPath X6 as an administrator. In the Navigator left sidebar, click Systems to expand the Systems list. In the upper left of the Active Systems browser, click Grid to switch the Active Systems browser display from Map to Grid. Double-click on the system you want to manage to open the workspace for that system. The workspace window for that system is displayed. Click the Software tab in the system workspace. Scroll to view the list of packages currently on the system. Note the revision value of the appliance that rPath X6 is associating with the system. Click the Available Updates drop-down list and select another revision of the associated appliance (such as 1-3-1). Usually, this is a newer revision to which you're planning to update the system. Scroll the list of packages shown that will change if you update to the selected revision. To view more details about a package, click the linked revision value for the package itself to jump to the package information in the appliance's repository browser. Study these changes as desired to determine what to expect when you update to the new revision. Click Update to this version, and then click Yes in the confirmation dialog.

9.

10. Monitor the progress of the update: a message indicating an update is in progress appears below the systems list. The system itself should update to show the new version shortly after the update.

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AppendixA.Setting Up Your Amazon EC2 Account

Use these tips to use Amazon EC2 with rBuilder: To create an Amazon Web Services (AWS) account or to enable AWS for an existing Amazon account, visit http:// aws.amazon.com and click Sign Up Now. If you don't have an Amazon.com account, or if you need a different account for professional use, Amazon will prompt you to create one. There is a brief turn-around time that requires you to associate your Amazon.com account with AWS. To add EC2 access to your AWS account, go to http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/, log in with your AWS-enabled Amazon account, and click Sign Up for Amazon EC2. After you set up a form of payment with Amazon, you are ready to give rBuilder your new EC2 information. To find your EC2 credentials to use in rBuilder, go to http://aws.amazon.com/iam/, sign in with your AWS-enabled Amazon account, and click Your Account --> Security Credentials. The credentials you need to configure your target in rBuilder are available from that page.

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