Set SD download method as 'Internal - NOS' when the SS is on Windows and Agents are Unix/Linux based
Article ID: 50713
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
When a package is being installed on Windows agents the default Software Delivery download method is 'Internal - NOS' which means the agent connects to the SDLIBRARY$ share on the Scalability Server. When the agent is Unix/Linux based and the scalability server is on Windows, to make the 'Internal - NOS' as default software delivery download method (The default is NOS-less), the steps mentioned in this document should be followed. The 'Internal - NOS' method uses the samba service to share the files between the Windows scalability server and the Unix/Linux agents.
Note: For 'Internal - NOS' delivery, the library on the Scalability Server should be shared. If the library is not shared, the delivery method automatically changes from NOS to NOS-less, which will cause jobs with huge payload to fail if the disk space on the agents is insufficient as NOS-less copies the entire install locally first before the install can begin.
Environment
Client Automation - All Supported versions
Resolution
To set the default software delivery method as 'Internal - NOS' on Unix/Linux agents, there are two different methods. The first method is to run a command on each agent and the second method is to create a policy on the scalability server and apply it to each agent or group of agents.
Either way, in order to use the Internal - NOS option, the "%SDROOT%\ASM\LIBRARY\" folder on the scalability server has to be shared (SDLIBRARY$). Following is the command line syntax to share the SDLIBRARY:
sd_sscmd addshare SDLIBRARY
sd_sscmd libraryaccess user=<> password=<>
Method 1:
To set the delivery method as "Internal - NOS" run the below command on each agent (via a login script or similar)
ccnfcmda -cmd setparametervalue -ps itrm/usd/shared -pn nos -v MS
Method 2:
Step 1:
By default Software delivery has a configuration policy set to fall back to Internal - NOSLESS mode in case the Internal - NOS option fails. However this option can be set to false in the Control panel on the DSM server.
Check the configuration policy in the following hierarchy:
<SERVER> -> Control Panel -> Configuration -> Configuration Policy -> Default Computer Policy -> DSM -> software delivery -> Agent - NOS: NOS-less switch allowed - Value: TRUE
Note: Modifying the 'Default Computer Policy' will change it to a centrally managed policy and the download method used on the agent can be controlled centrally. This is not recommended. It's always best practice to create a new policy and distribute it to the desired agents.
To create a new policy, under the control panel > Configuration > Right click on the Configuration Policy icon and select New Policy. Give it a name, for example: 'Internal NOS with no fallback to NOS-less'.
Step 2:
After the policy is created, to change the settings navigate to <SERVER> -> Control Panel -> Configuration -> Configuration Policy -> Internal NOS with no fallback to NOS-less -> DSM -> software delivery -> Agent in the right hand pane double click on the "NOS: NOS-less switch allowed" setting and set the Value to False.
<SERVER> -> Control Panel -> Configuration -> Configuration Policy -> Internal NOS with no fallback to NOS-less -> DSM -> software delivery -> Shared in the right hand pane double click on "NOS: Network Operation System Used switch allowed" setting and set the Value to "MS".
Right click on the <new policy> in the control panel and seal it.
Note: Steps 1 to 3 are required only once to setup the DSM Server for setting the download method 'Internal NOS with no fallback to NOS-less'
Step 3:
To apply the new policy, copy the policy and paste it on a single machine or a group of machines.
Note: When download method is changed on a group, it applies to all agents in the group CURRENTLY. If more machines are added to the group later, policy needs to be applied on the group again.
Step 4:
To check if the policy applied properly go to DSM Explorer -> Domain -> Computers and Users -> All Computers -> policy applied agent -> Configuration -> Configuration Policy and check Active Policies. The newly applied policy should be in 'Directly Applied Policies' section.
Note: It is also possible to set the download method for a single agent via a right-click of the agent and then selecting 'Software Jobs' -> 'Download method' -> 'Internal - NOS', but that is not easily automated and thus only mentioned for completeness.
Additional Information
If you instead wish you use 'DTS - NOS-less' as the download method, the ITCM DTS agent must be installed on the Linux/Unix box, the policy above must be reverted AND you must perform the manual process on a computer or group to specify the 'DTS - NOS-less' download method as mentioned in the note above.
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