This discussion provides an introduction on using the Dell™ Repository Manager tool to build custom Dell Update Packages (DUPs) that can be packaged into an ISO image or deployed using a lightweight deployment script for the Microsoft® Windows® and Linux® operating systems. Using this tool to update VMware® ESX 4 through the console OS is also discussed.

Technical Community - Background Reading

Chat Transcript

Dell-ScottH Thanks for coming on. We'll have roughly 15–20 customers or more—very informal. I'll kick it off and introduce, and then it goes wherever it goes :-)
Dell-JamalB Fun :)
Dell-ScottH Great product you guys have put together, BTW. I was big fan of Content Manager, and this takes it to a much better place
Dell-JamalB We saw the log from one of your other chats on Repository Manager, so I know to expect a bit of the unexpected
Dell-ScottH Yeah, users can take you places sometimes
Dell-JamalB Thanks! That was one of the comments that made us feel good about the chat. We weren't that familiar with Content Manager, but after getting underway, enough of the features overlapped to allow us to mostly replace
Dell-ScottH Hello everyone! Thanks for joining today. The topic is Repository Manager. A few things before we get started. This is an informal chat. Feel free to ask questions at any time. It is not considered rude :-) The chat is recorded, and you can come back tomorrow on the same link and click all the URLs we provide, or read at your leisure
Dell-ScottH Today we have a few folks from the management and development team from Repository Manager. I'd like to introduce them. Travis Z is product marketing manager and always interested in your feedback. Say hello
Dell-Travis Hello everyone; thank you for being interested in Repository Manager
Dell-ScottH And Jamal B is one of the developers on the product, also interested in your feedback and how you use the product. Say hello to Jamal
Dell-ScottH Okay, I'll kick it off with some things to get you started in the right direction and a brief description of Repository Manager. First, we've got this great demo (great because I made it, right :-): www.delltechcenter.com/page/repository+manager
dan_rusek I'll agree, great demo video!
Dell-ScottH Repository Manager allows you to create custom Dell server update repositories and then export them as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) files, or lightweight deployment scripts. It reads information from the ftp.dell.com catalog, and you can compare the repositories you created at a later date to make sure they always have the latest updates. Keeps you from downloading huge DVD ISO files. While Dell OpenManage Server Update Utility (SUU) was great, it was getting a little large and clogging the intranets :-)
dan_rusek I've worked with Repository Manager quite a bit, but to be honest I haven't done much with the exports. I'd be interested in understanding the various options and how they are used in the real world
Dell-ScottH This [Repository Manager] replaces SUU and allows you to just create images with the updates you need
Dell-ScottH Great question, Dan. I'm working on the next demo right now using Repository Manager. I've created a repository with just updates for PowerEdge M710 servers and PowerEdge M610 servers, and then using the PowerEdge M1000e remote file mount option. I've mounted that ISO across all the blades in a single chassis and with a one click Deploy button it mounts the ISO, changes the boot order, and restarts the server. I had to hack the apply_bundle.sh script to not prompt for user input, but that part was pretty easy. I outlined how to do it in the demo, and should have it out and posted by the end of the week
Dan_Rusek Sounds pretty slick! What about using Repository Manager as a target for the Lifecycle Controller Platform Updates?
Dell-ScottH The lightweight deployment export options are pretty easy to work with. Once exported you can edit the .sh or .bat file (Windows or Linux) to see how it simply runs through and deploys all the Dell Update Packages (DUPs) that is coming
Dell-ScottH Travis, any timeframe you can elude to?
Dan_Rusek To clarify for everyone, when booting into System Services and selecting Platform Updates, I can select ftp.dell.com. Can I somehow point that to a system running Repository Manager?
Dell-Travis Lifecycle Controller will support using Repository Manager repository as a source of update starting in the version 1.3 release
Dell-ScottH And I forgot to introduce Roger F. He's in charge of the blade Chassis Management Controller (CMC) and helped me find the location of the apply_bundles.sh to hack. Thanks, Roger
Dan_Rusek Thanks for the feedback
Dell-Roger You're welcome
Dan_Rusek So to get back to the other export options...
Dell-ScottH Here's the location to download Repository Manager: http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/format.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&deviceid=22617&libid=36&releaseid=r238281&vercnt=2&formatcnt=0&systemid=pwe_r710&servicetag=&os=wnet&osl=en&catid=-1&dateid=-1&typeid=-1&formatid=-1&impid=-1
Dell-ScottH And the user's guide: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/smdrm/10/en/index.htm
Dan_Rusek You can create a bootable Linux CD/DVD, as you mentioned, as well as the scripted options...
Dell-Travis Yes. You should be able to do both
Dan_Rusek How do you actually utilize the scripts? I assume just boot the system to the OS and then run the script?
Dan_Rusek How do the bundles come into play?
Dell-ScottH Yes, it's as easy as that
Dell-Travis You can use the script in any regular OS, Windows or Linux
Dell-ScottH Bundles are what you export; bundles consist of components
Dan_Rusek Right, but how does the script get to the bundles?
Dell-ScottH Components are the DUPs
Dan_Rusek Does the script point to the IP address of the Repository Manager system and grab them from there?
Dan_Rusek With the Linux ISO option, everything is within the ISO
Dell-ScottH The bundles and the script are packaged together when you export
Dan_Rusek Ah…In an ISO as well?
Dell-ScottH Typically, you would export to a shared drive, and run the script from there. The scripts point to the relative path, and can exist anywhere. They live together
Dell-Travis You have to distribute the bundle and the script to the target system using your favorite method
Dell-ScottH Yes in ISO as well
Dan_Rusek Thanks, that clarifies things. I will have to play with it
Dell-ScottH In the demo I pointed to earlier, you'll see I did just that at the very end for a Windows lightweight script deployment
Dell-JamalB The ISO actually uses Linux lightweight deployment scripts internally. We just put a menu on it to allow users to select which set of updates they would like to apply
Dell-ScottH Here's a screenshot I just took that shows export options in Repository Manager: www.twitpic.com/o60w1
Dan_Rusek Nice to know...
Dell-ScottH Oh, one more thing to note...you have to right -click in some browsers when clicking links or you exit the chat :-)
Dan_Rusek I just learned that!
Dell-ScottH One of the nice things about Repository Manager is that all the scripts and tools are right there for you to edit...you just have to find them
Dell-ScottH Hey Erson, little late. You at the bar ? :-)
erson Nope, talking to my dad on the phone for 40 minutes to copy one slide from one PowerPoint to another PowerPoint
Dell-ScottH Lol
erson Yeah, kinda frustrating
Dell-ScottH Any other questions or feedback on Repository Manger? Some things I've found, not super clear to save your repositories...click the diskette icon on the upper right
Dan_Rusek Scott, I have been creating a Repository Manager document with screen shots that might be worth posting on this site. Not nearly as slick as your videos, but might be a good reference document
erson What should I use today (and in the future) if I want to find what drivers inside an OS that has updates and to also install those updates? Before, I always used SUU
Dell-ScottH The other thing is that the default is to download all the Optional Components when creating a repository. I recommend that you don't do that option; you get many extra tape and other files that aren't usually relevant for your deployment
Dell-ScottH Travis, what would you recommend to Erson?
Dan_Rusek I have learned that if you select the Optional Components option, you will get numerous errors during the actual download of the packages—drove me nuts!
Dell-ScottH Dan, we always welcome the content on TechCenter. Are you a writer on the site currently?
Dan_Rusek Yes, I am a writer
Dell-ScottH Yeah, I saw some updates from 1999; probably not relevant :-)
erson To use the USB option when updating though the Dell Unified Server Configurator (USC), what should I use to build that repository on the USB? If I remember correctly, Repository Manager doesn't support that yet?
Dell-ScottH Cool, add your content at will :-)
Dan_Rusek Just wondered if I need your review prior to posting
Dell-ScottH We prefer effective over pretty :-) No review necessary
Dan_Rusek Okay
Dell-ScottH @erson, 1.3 is the version that will support USC
Dan_Rusek Erson, I have used SUU in the past
Dell-ScottH Travis didn't give as a time, just a version :-) So will SUU still be around for a while to support checking for updates while in a live system? That's the only reason I see to keep it around
Dell-JamalB Erson, Repository Manager can be used to search the only DUP repository to allow you to create a set of updates that are useful to you. You can then diff that repository with the one on ftp.dell.com to find any updates to those device drivers and then add them to your repository. You can then apply those updates with any of the Repository Manager export formats
Dell-Travis To update drivers for your OS, you can search for drivers for the target OS and filter it with the latest revision. Build a bundle with the search result and export it as the lightweight deployment pack for updating drivers
Dell-Travis Repository Manager will start to export an SUU in version 1.1 in December
Dell-JamalB To clarify, SUU will work off of a repository that you create so that it can be a fraction of the size of the full SUU
erson Scotth, I think you should do a video on how to do that
Dell-ScottH One of the other gotchas that took a minute to get my head around: you export "bundles" and not "components" for the ISO and lightweight deployment. I originally tried to export a single component for a test ISO, but that option didn't show up. You have to create a bundle from the components you want, and then export to the ISO
Dell-ScottH @erson, which part?
erson To update a single server with the latest drivers using Repository Manager
Dell-ScottH Sounds like a good use case and candidate for a quick demo; I'll put it on my plate
erson I mean, I can always export the latest driver bundle for a particular server model as a lightweight deployment script. But do I really want to do that if I just want to make sure that I have the latest drivers on one of my servers?
Dell-ScottH Yeah, I'm with you; that's why I like the SUU to run real quick and just let me know
erson Exactly. I would like something to find out what I have installed and show me what updates that are available. For that probably very common use case SUU is outstanding
Dell-ScottH Sounds like we get that in December, right Travis?
Dell-Travis Yes, in December you can create SUU for the selective server platform you have using Repository Manager
erson Ah, great...so I can create my own SUUs
Dell-JamalB The advantage to the Repository Manager–generated SUU is that it can make customized SUUs prior to the release of a new official SUU release
erson No need to download it painfully slow from ftp.dell.com anymore then ;)
Dell-JamalB Oh, it all comes from the same place. You'll just have less to download :)
Dell-ScottH Yes, 4 GB over anyone's connection is painful. And don't have to wait for quarterly updates to SUU
erson In what format will that Repository Manager–generated SUU be in?
Dell-JamalB We're doing an output directory and a DVD ISO
erson I'm hoping for both ISO and folder with an .exe (basically the same as the content on the ISO)
Dell-ScottH Nice, just run from a share
erson Excellent! Or just mount the ISO with virtual media or magic disk
Dell-JamalB SUU export is your idea :)
Dell-ScottH Really? Erson's idea from the last chat?
Dell-JamalB No, I was just trying to mimic the Windows 7 commercials
Dell-ScottH Lol. Any other questions? Spread the word on Repository Manager—great tool, and thanks to the development team!
Dell-ScottH If you are reading this transcript and have a question, simply ask it below. We'll make Erson answer it :-)
erson What virtual CD mounter do you guys use?
Dell-ScottH I'll keep updating and posting new demos and information on this page: www.delltechcenter.com/page/repository+manager
erson Daemon tools was the de facto standard before, but these days I prefer the very freeware (compared to the current DT): www.magiciso.com/tutorials/miso-magicdisc-overview.htm
Dell-ScottH Using this one right now: www.virtualcd-online.com
Dell-JamalB I'm using Roxio because that's what we've got a license for. I often just take a look around our ISO with 7-zip when developing the ISO export features
erson I use winrar to look inside ISOs
Dell-ScottH Aaarrrggghhh!!!
erson Java trouble?
Dell-ScottH Nah, turned off pop-up blocker and kicked me
erson So, when is Dell releasing any new enterprise hardware? :)
Dell-ScottH Alright, coming up on the end of the hour. I'd like to thank Travis, Jamal, and Roger for joining today. And thanks to everyone for joining
Dell-ScottH When we feel like it :-)
erson Thanks, Repository Manager developers, it's a sleek utility
Dell-JamalB Thank you!
erson Great that you’re improving it to do more
Dell-ScottH Feel free to hang out here as long as you like, and again the transcript will be posted tomorrow to send to your friends and family. I'll have that blade one-click deployment demo out in a few days. Pretty slick
Dell-Roger Always informative. See you next time
erson Scotth, cool, need to watch that
Dell-ScottH Pretty neat. I explained it before you joined, but was able to hack the apply_bundles.sh script that gets built into the ISO so it doesn't prompt and just deploys and reboots. The new firmware on the blades lets you "remote File Share" the image to all 16 blades at once and then click a Deploy button that maps it, changes boot order one time, and power cycles
erson Jeffs, I have an idea for you. Set up Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 with EqualLogic. Show how to configure MPIO to work with iSCSI offload on the Broadcom NICs. I've been having major problems getting MPIO to work consistently
Dell-ScottH I'll tell him to get back on
erson Do a video and little text about the general setup. Configure the NICs on the server and EqualLogic should be included
Dell-ScottH He says to cut and paste problems/errors and e-mail to him
Dell-d_glynn @erson, whose MPIO? Microsoft or EqualLogic?
erson EqualLogic. Going to try Microsoft MPIO tomorrow to see if that is more stable
Dell-d_glynn Scotth, can you send a copy of Erson's e-mail up north?
erson Jeffs, have you tried setting up EqualLogic’s MPIO on Hit 3.3 with Windows Server 2008 R2?
erson Scotth, what is the chat topic for next week?
Dell-ScottH Scalent
erson Kongy was working with them, right?
Dell-ScottH Yup, his baby next week
erson Good stuff. I was expecting a chat on the lower-end servers, but maybe that isn't the target audience of these chats?
Dell-ScottH Yeah, we're supposed to be Le "large Enterprise"; at least that's who funds us
erson PowerEdge 400, 600, 700, 900 series are the only (Intel) servers that fall into that category
Dell-ScottH The lines are a little blurry. Le customers also purchase the lower-end servers, but usually thousands at a time for POs or retail locations
erson I'm guessing a lot of people are interested in the 10GbE EqualLogic (controllers?) being released before Christmas. So that would probably be a chat with lots of participants
Dell-ScottH Good idea. Jeff has an EqualLogic chat upcoming—maybe squeeze that in