3.3 Configuring Subscription Download Details

  1. Click the Configuration tab in the left panel to display the Configuration page:

    Configuration Page
  2. Click Patch Management to display the four links (Subscription Service Information, Configure HTTP Proxy, Subscription Download and Mandatory Baseline Settings):

    Patch Management Configuration Options
  3. Click the Subscription Download link to display the Subscription Download Options page:

    Subscription Download Options page

    The Subscription Download Options page allows you to configure the subscription download options for the Patch Management Server. You can select the languages that are used within your network to ensure that you only download the patches that are most applicable for your organization. The next time patch replication occurs, only those patches specific to the selected languages are downloaded, thereby saving download time and disk space on your Patch Management Server.

    NOTE:Novell does not recommend selecting all languages because each language can represent hundreds of patches. Downloading unnecessary languages can result in thousands of unused patch definitions within your ZENworks Primary Server database that would then need to be disabled in the Patch Management tab.

    The following table describes each option on the Subscription Download Options page:

    Item

    Description

    Choose your language options

    Enables you to select the language of patches you want to download. For example, if you select the French check box, only French language patches are downloaded.

    Mix Multiple Languages

    Enables you to combine all languages into each Discover Applicable Updates Assignment (not recommended).

    SSL

    Enables you to turn secured downloading of patch list information on or off. The recommended setting is On.

    Cache patch bundles to satellites

    Enables you to cache patch bundles to the servers or workstations that are managed by Primary Servers.

    Cache patch bundles to primary servers

    Enables you to cache patch bundles to Primary Servers only.

    IMPORTANT:Customers with larger network environments should select both Cache Patch Bundles to Satellites and Cache Patch Bundles to Primary Servers for optimal distribution of patches and the daily Discover Applicable Updates task within their environment. Not selecting these options could cause very slow and inefficient delivery of these patch bundles within a highly distributed WAN environment.

    Within an enterprise network environment, the customer usually installs more than one ZENworks 10 Configuration Management Primary Server. Although only one of these servers can be used to download patches, every Primary Server has a cache of patch bundle content for distribution to the agents that are closest to it within the zone. Thus, when an agent wants to get a bundle, it can get the bundle directly from its closest Primary Server rather than the Primary Server where the patches were downloaded.

    In addition, the satellites that are installed within the customer network can also serve as a cache for bundle content. If an agent is at a remote branch office with a satellite, it can get its content directly from the satellite rather than the Primary Server where patches were downloaded.

    The following table describes the action of each button on the page:

    Button

    Action

    OK

    Enables you to go back to the Configuration page.

    Apply

    Enables you to save the changes made to the page.

    Reset

    Enables you to reset the selected options.

    Cancel

    Enables you to cancel the last action performed.

Best practices recommendations for using the patch subscription: