HP Insight Control - Manual (Page 31)

10 Obtaining automatic software updates from HP
This chapter describes the automatic software features that enable you to automatically receive software
updates from HP.
Software version control overview
To update managed servers with the most current software, Systems Insight Manager provides software
update capabilities that use the HP Version Control Repository Manager (VCRM) and the HP Version Control
Agent (VCA).
By using these applications, Systems Insight Manager provides a single view of the software status for
managed ProLiant or Integrity servers, and it can update software and firmware on those servers through its
powerful query and task features. Updates can be scheduled and applied to specific sets of servers based
on predetermined criteria, including applying updates only to systems that require an update.
The VCRM manages the repository that stores the latest HP Support Packs providing the latest software for
your servers. By default, the VCRM is installed on the Systems Insight Manager CMS, however, you can
specify a custom directory or a server location. The VCRM and the repository must be located on the same
server.
The VCRM catalogs system software and firmware that is stored where the VCRM is installed. The software
and firmware can be manually downloaded from
http://www.hp.com/servers/swdrivers directly to the file
system, or you can use the VCRM to automatically download software or manually upload software from
any web client.
Software is organized into groups by function and operating system. You can view detailed information
about each piece of software by clicking the software component name. The VCRM also enables you to
create customized groupings of software, which can then serve as a system software baseline for the entire
managed environment or a subset of your environment.
The VCA is an HP Insight Management Agent that enables you to view the HP software and firmware that
is installed on a system. The VCA can be configured to point to a repository being managed by the VCRM,
allowing easy version comparison and software updates from the repository to the system on which the VCA
is installed.
The VCRM and the VCA are integrated with the System Management Homepage (SMH), which is the
standard single-server management tool. Systems Insight Manager also uses the VCRM and VCA to facilitate
software versioning, updates, and tasks related to it.
Table 10-1 “Launching software version control” lists the software version control features and how to access
them.
Launching software version control features
Table 10-1 Launching software version control
Description From the CMS management console GUI From Windows
After entering your user credentials, the
System Management Homepage provides
links to the HP Version Control Repository
Manager and the HP Version Control Agent. System Management Homepage icon on
the desktop
After entering your user credentials, the
System Management Homepage provides
links to the HP Version Control Repository
Manager and the HP Version Control Agent. Start →All Programs→HP Management
Agents
→HP System Management
Homepage
Enables you to configure the repository on
the server where the VCRM software
installed. Options →Version Control Repository...
Installs and configures the VCA on one or
more target servers. Installing this agent on
the managed systems enables Systems
Insight Manager to collect inventory and
status information from them. Configure
→Configure and Repair
Agents...
Software version control overview 31