Dell Repository Manager Version 1.0 Owner's Manual

Dell™ Repository Manager

Version 1.0

User Guide

Notes

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of

your computer.

____________________

Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.

Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, PowerEdge, and Dell OpenManage are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel, Pentium, and Celeron are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries; Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server, and Windows Vista are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

July 2009 Rev. A00

Contents

1Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Getting Started With Repository Manager

Create a Repository

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Add Bundles and Components

Export and Deploy the Bundles

Overview

Dell™ Repository Manager (referred to as Repository Manager throughout the document) is an application that allows you to create customized bundles and repositories on systems running the Microsoft system. The customized bundles and repositories are made up of Dell Update Packages (DUPs) based on certain specified criteria. DUPs are software utilities provided by Dell to update specific software components on Dell PowerEdge™ systems. Using Repository Manager ensures that your Dell PowerEdge system is equipped with the latest BIOS, driver, firmware, and software updates.

Features

•

Customized repository and bundle management

repositories and bundles using the graphical user interface (GUI) wizard. These customized repositories consist of organized sets of hardware, system drivers, operating systems, and other updates that apply to your system.

•

Extensive search capability

mechanism that allows you to filter components and bundles based on operating systems, platforms, devices, form factor, and criticality while creating repositories and bundles.

•

Automated deployment packs of customized repositories and bundles

Create ISO, raw driver packs, or deployment packs of your customized repository that can be deployed on any Dell system running Microsoft Windows or Linux.

•

Seamless environment management and deployment

Manager on any system (desktop, laptop, server running a supported operating system) to create customized repositories and bundles that can then be used on any supported Dell PowerEdge system. You do not have to install Repository Manager on the platform you want to use it on. You can install Repository Manager on one system, but deploy updates on many other systems that do not have Repository Manager installed.

— Comprehensive search and filter

Windows® operating

— Create customized

— Use Repository

—

Overview 5

Getting Started With Repository Manager

This section lists an overview of the tasks you need to perform to get started with Repository Manager.

Table 1-1. Getting Started

Ta sk Order

1 Create a repository. See "Creating a New Repository".

2 Import bundles to your repository. See "Importing Bundles".

3 Export and save your repository See "Saving the Repository".

4 Search your repository based on filters

Task Where in this Guide

See "Using Filters".

and search criteria you specify.

This section also uses a real-time scenario to describe a general overview in which Repository Manager can typically be used.

Peter is a system administrator and manages the following systems in his network:

• R710 (running Microsoft Windows)

• R610 (running Linux)

• T610 (does not have an operating system installed)

Peter wants to create a repository and customize it to contain only those bundles and components applicable to the update of the systems in his network. To do this, he must perform the tasks listed below in the following order:

Create a Repository

Peter must first create a custom repository by performing the following steps:

Launch Repository Manager.

Peter then clicks Import a Repository.

In the Create/Load Repository dialog, Peter selects Create New Repository and clicks Next.

Peter enters a name and description for the repository and clicks Next.

6 Overview

In the Select Source Repository dialog, Peter selects Empty Repository and clicks Next.

Peter clicks Finish to complete the repository creation.

Peter has now created an empty repository.

Add Bundles and Components

Peter now needs to add bundles and components relevant to the systems in his network into the empty repository.

On the Bundles tab, Peter clicks Add.

In the Import Bundle(s) dialog, Peter clicks Next.

Peter decides to import bundles from ftp.dell.com and selects ftp.dell.com.

Because Peter wants to import bundles relevant only to the systems in his network, he selects Rack mount and Tower in the Select Form Factor dialog. Peter does not have blade chassis systems in his network.

Peter selects Both in the Select Operating System(s) dialog because some systems in his network run on Windows and some on Linux.

In the Select Model(s) dialog, Peter selects PowerEdge R610, PowerEdge R710, and PowerEdge T610 as these are the systems in his network.

In the Select Bundle(s) dialog, Peter selects only those bundles relevant to the update of his systems.

The Import Summary dialog displays the summary of the bundles Peter selects. Peter clicks Finish to complete the import.

The repository Peter created now contains bundles specific to Dell PowerEdge R610, R710, and T610 systems.

Peter clicks the Save icon at the top right corner of the Bundles tab and specifies the location he wants to save the repository. The repository is saved as a catalog.xml file.

Peter now has to export the bundles and deploy it on the systems in his network.

Overview 7

Export and Deploy the Bundles

Using the Deployment Media

Let us assume that Peter wants to update the firmware on the PowerEdge T610 system. As T610 does not have an operating system installed, Peter selects Deployment Media as the method to export the bundles relevant to the firmware update. Deployment Media is used in pre-OS environments to update systems irrespective of the operating system installed on those systems. It can also be used to update systems that do not have an operating system installed.

Peter selects all the bundles relevant to

repository he created.

Peter clicks Export.

In the Export Destination dialog, Peter clicks Deployment Media and specifies a location in which to save the ISOs.

Repository Manager creates a bootable ISO image of the bundles Peter has selected to export. This feature is applicable for the Linux bundles.

NOTE: Bundles containing Windows components are skipped during the

export process.

Peter burns the ISO image to a CD and runs the CD on the T610 system.

The system is updated with all the bundles in the ISO.

PowerEdge T610 from the

Using the Raw Driver Pack

Let us assume that Peter wants to update the drivers in the PowerEdge R710 system and creates a bundle to do the same.

Peter selects the repository into which to add the bundle.

On the Bundles tab, Peter clicks Add.

In the Import Options dialog, Peter selects Manually create a bundle and clicks Next.

Peter specifies a name and version for the bundle he created. He also selects the operating system relevant to the bundle. Because the

PowerEdge R710 system is running on Microsoft Windows, Peter selects Windows.

8 Overview

After creating the bundle, Peter clicks the Components tab and clicks Add to add the components that comprise the bundle.

Peter adds components relevant to driver updates. The components are added to the repository that Peter selected in step 1. Peter now needs to export these components to the bundle he created in step 4.

On the Components tab, Peter clicks Export.

In the Export Destination dialog, Peter selects Export to existing Bundle and selects the properties of the bundle he wants to export to. For information on exporting a bundle, see the "Exporting Bundles" section. This feature is applicable for the Windows bundles.

The components are added to the selected bundle.

Peter now wants to deploy the bundle he created on the

PowerEdge R710

system. On the Bundles tab, he clicks Export.

In the Export Destination dialog, Peter clicks Raw Driver Pack and specifies a location in which to save the driver pack. Repository Manager creates the RawDrivers directory that contains the .bat file which Peter must run on

NOTE: Bundles containing Linux components are skipped during

the export process.

Peter runs the .bat file on

PowerEdge R710

PowerEdge R710.

The PowerEdge R710 system

is updated with the latest drivers contained bundle Peter exported.

Export to Light Weight Deployment Scripts

Let us assume that Peter wants to deploy the bundles relevant to the PowerEdge R710 and R610 systems. Because these systems already have operating systems installed, Peter selects to export the bundles as deployment scripts.

Peter selects all the bundles he wants to export (relevant to both systems)

from the repository he created.

Peter clicks Export.

In the Export Destination dialog, Peter clicks Export to light weight deployment scripts and specifies a location in which to save the scripts.

Repository Manager creates a directory for each bundle Peter has selected to export in the specified location.

Overview 9

For example, let us assume that Peter has created a bundle named PE710 Driver Updates. This bundle contains the components relevant to the update of drivers in the PowerEdge R710 system. When Peter exports this bundle as a light-weight deployment script, Repository Manager creates the PE710 Driver Updates directory which contains the PE710 Driver Updates bundle components.

Peter copies the contents of the PE710 Driver Updates directory to the PowerEdge R710 system and runs the apply_components.bat script in this directory. The PowerEdge R710 system is updated with the relevant bundles.

Similarly, Peter copies the contents of the <bundle_name_for_PER610> directory to PowerEdge R610 and runs the apply_components.sh script in this directory. The PowerEdge R610 system is updated with the relevant bundles.

Peter has updated two systems on his network with the latest bundles using only a single option in the Repository Manager GUI.

Export to Repository

Let us assume that Peter wants to add some bundles into another repository so as to update that repository and customize it as per his requirements.

Peter selects all the bundles he wants to export

from the

repository he created.

Peter selects Export to Repository. If Peter wants to export to an existing repository, he selects Export to existing Repository. Repository Manager displays a list of all the available repositories. Peter selects the repository he wants to add the bundles to and clicks Finish. The bundles are added to the repository Peter selected.

If Peter wants the bundles to be a part of a new repository, he selects Export as NEW Repository. Peter then specifies a name for the new repository. Repository Manager displays all the bundles that Peter selected to be a part of the new repository. Peter clicks Finish and the bundles are added o the repository Peter created.

10 Overview

Dell Repository Manager Version 1.0 Owner's Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Overview

Features

Getting Started With Repository Manager

Create a Repository

Add Bundles and Components

Export and Deploy the Bundles

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