VMware Smart Assurance SMARTS: Cannot install a patch on a base build / cannot upgrade a patch from one version to another

Products

• VMware Smart Assurance

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:


Unable to install a patch as it is giving the following error.

Please choose from the following options:
[ ] 1 - I accept the terms of the license agreement.
[X] 2 - I do not accept the terms of the license agreement.

To select an item enter its number, or 0 when you are finished: [0] 1

[X] 1 - I accept the terms of the license agreement.
[ ] 2 - I do not accept the terms of the license agreement.

To select an item enter its number, or 0 when you are finished: [0] 0

Press 1 for Next, 2 for Previous, 3 to Cancel or 5 to Redisplay [1] 1

The installer can not detect a matching Suite.

Environment

VMware Smart Assurance - SMARTS

Cause

The Installshield uses some configurations file to record install history on the machine for all applications that utilize the Installshield tool. This configuration file can be corrupted (it is not supposed to be edited by users, but somehow can be corrupted if too many install and uninstall had performed against the same directory) and lead to Installshield failing to find the installation history of a particular application.

The Installshield folder by default is created in /opt and it is not advisable to edit the contents of these files

Resolution

The following command can help install the patch:

./<SetupFilename> -silent -G replaceNewerResponse="Yes to All" -P rpProduct.installLocation=<$BASEDIR> -W mergeSummaryPanel.choiceMergeResult=auto -is:javahome <$BASEDIR>/_jvm/
 

In the command, replace the <SetupFilename> with the installer file name and <$BASEDIR> with the product install path. Ex: /opt/InCharge/SAM.

If the above command does not work, remove the product completely and reinstall the base build and then the patch.