25.3.1 Creating the Configuration Files by using the Command Line Utility

Run the following command to generate an empty configuration file:

zlmmirror conf-generate filename.xml

This command generates a template configuration file named zlmmirror-config.xml in the current directory.

You can also convert the configuration file from an earlier version of ZENworks Linux Management or Red Carpet, or create configuration files manually. Configuration files are specified using the -c flag:

zlmmirror command -c filename.xml

If no configuration file is specified, the default configuration file location is /etc/opt/novell/zenworks/zlmmirror.xml.

You can check the configuration file for errors and display the parsed configuration information by using the conf-validate (cv) filename command.

After you have a base configuration file created, the following tasks walk you through adding the necessary configuration information:

<RemoteServer>
   <Base>http://red-carpet.ximian.com/</Base>
   <Type>rce</Type>
   <User />
   <Password />
</RemoteServer>

<LocalServer>
   <Base></Base>
   <Type>zlm</Type>
   <User>Administrator</User>
   <Password>password</Password>
</LocalServer>

<CatalogConf>
   <Name>Red Carpet 2</Name>
   <LocalName>Red Carpet 2</LocalName>
   <Target>sles-9-i586</Target>
   <Package>lib.*</Package>
</CatalogConf>

25.3.2 Creating a Configuration File by Using the xzlmmirror Utility

The xzlmmirror utility is a graphical user interface that lets you to create or edit the mirror configuration files, and store it in an XML file that is compatible with the existing zlmmirror utility. The file consists of the configuration information for the remote servers, proxy servers, local servers, and catalogs.

Do the following tasks in the order listed to create a configuration file:

You can also edit the configuration file. For more information, see Editing the Configuration File.

Configuring the Catalogs

The xzlmmirror-Catalog Settings window is automatically displayed after the credentials are validated for the servers that you have specified in the xzlmmirror-Server Settings window. You must provide details about the catalogs and bundles you want mirrored to your server in the xzlmmirror-Catalog Settings window.

Review the following sections:

• Adding Catalogs

• Editing Catalog Settings

Adding Catalogs

The Add Catalogs page lets you configure each catalog you want to mirror.

1. In the Catalog drop-down list, select the catalog that you want to configure.

2. In the Local Name field, specify a name for the selected catalog.

   The local name for the catalog should not be same as that reserved for the <catalogname>-patches folder. If the name is not specified, then the name of the catalog selected in the Catalog field is used.

3. In the Folder field, specify the eDirectory folder in which the bundles and catalogs are created and updated.

   If no folder is specified, then the catalogs and bundles are created and updated in the /zlmmirror folder.

4. In the Targets list, click Browse to browse for and select the targets you want to mirror. By default, all the targets in the selected catalog are mirrored.

   To remove a target from the list, select the target, then click Remove.

5. (Conditional) The Category field is displayed only if you have selected the NU type servers of SLES 10, SLED 10, and OES 2 in the xzlmmirror-Server Settings window. Select the categories you want to mirror. The available options are Security, Recommended, and Optional. By default, all the categories are mirrored.

6. In the Bundles pane, specify the bundles you want to mirror by using one of the following ways:

   • Click Browse to browse for and select the bundles you want to mirror. By default, all the bundles in the selected catalog are mirrored.

   • Specify the bundle name you want to mirror, and click Add to add it to the list.

   Deselect the check box next to the bundle to exclude it from the list.

   To remove a bundle from the list, select the bundle, then click Remove.

7. (Conditional) If you are not using the YOU patches, specify the package you want to mirror in the Packages pane by using one of the following ways:

   • Click Browse to browse for and select the packages you want to mirror. By default, all the packages in the selected catalog are mirrored.

   • Specify the package name you want to mirror, and click Add to add it to the list.

   To remove a package from the list, select the package, then click Remove.

8. To restrict the deployment of a new bundle when mirroring packages to an existing bundle, deselect the AutoDeploy check box.

   This option is selected by default.

9. Configure the following additional options in the Options group if you are using YOU patches:

   ServicePackGroups: Automatically creates bundle groups. This option is selected by default.

   FilterPatchRPM: Allows the mirroring operation of the YOU patch bundles to filter all the packages of the .patch.rpm type. Select this check box to restrict the mirroring operation of the YOU patch bundles to filter all the packages of the .patch.rpm type. This option creates an equivalent RPM package bundle in the local server.

   CreateMonolithicBundle: Creates monolithic package bundles consisting of only latest package RPMs. It creates a separate monolithic bundle for each Service Pack release, and a separate monolithic bundle with the updates after the latest Service Pack release. This option is selected by default.

10. (Optional) To set the default values for the catalog, click Reset.

11. To save the catalog settings in the Catalog Summary page, click Save Catalog.

    To save the catalog settings to a file, click File > Save. You can only save those catalog settings that are listed in the Catalog Summary page to a file.

12. (Optional) To configure a different server, or to reset the server settings that you have already configured, click Back.

13. Continue with initiating the mirroring process. For more information, see Section 25.3.5, Testing and Performing the Mirroring Operation by Using the xzlmmirror Utility.

Editing Catalog Settings

1. Click Catalog Summary.

   The page displays the catalog names, the local names, and the category of the catalogs that you configured in the Add Catalogs page.

2. To view or edit the settings for a specific catalog, click the catalog.

   The Catalog Details dialog box is displayed.

3. Click Edit to edit the catalog information displayed in the window.

25.3.3 Mirroring Patch Bundles for SLES 10 / SLED 10 / OES 2 from the NU and RCE Type Repositories

You can mirror patch bundles for SLES 10, SLED 10, and OES 2 from the NU and RCE type repositories such as nu.novell.com and update.novell.com.Review the following sections for more information:

<Catalog>

  <Name>SLED10-Updates</Name> 

  <LocalName>SLED10-Updates</LocalName>

  <Folder></Folder>

  <Target>sled-10-i586</Target>

  <ExcludeTarget></ExcludeTarget>

  <Bundle>SLED10-Updates-bundle</Bundle>

  <ExcludeBundle></ExcludeBundle>

  <Package>Mozilla*</Package>

  <ExcludePackage></ExcludePackage>
</Catalog> 

25.3.4 Testing and Performing the Mirroring Operation by Using zlmmirror

Before starting the mirroring operation, make sure that at least 10 GB of diskspace is available on the device.

After you have created the configuration file for a remote server, run the following command to perform a dry run of the mirroring operation, and optionally add the verbose flag to see detailed messages:

zlmmirror mirror -c filename.xml --dryrun --verbose

If this operation provides the intended results, run the mirror command without the dry run flag to complete the operation:

zlmmirror mirror -c zlmmirror-config.xml

If you mirror a bundle that contains multiple packages with multiple install type/freshen flags set, a unique version of the bundle is created for each install type/freshen combination.

For example, suppose you mirror a bundle that contains four packages assigned to one OS target. Of these four packages, one package has the install type flag set to false, the second package has the install flag set to true, the third package has the freshen flag set to false, and the fourth package has the freshen flag set to true. In this situation, four unique versions of the bundle are created.

The number of unique bundles created also depends on the number of OS targets. In the previous example, suppose the four packages, each with a different install type/freshen combination, have two OS targets. In this situation, a unique bundle is created for each install type/freshen combination and another unique bundle is created for each OS target. In this example, eight unique bundles are created.

The number of unique bundle versions created equals the number of unique install type/freshen combinations times the number of unique OS targets.

25.3.5 Testing and Performing the Mirroring Operation by Using the xzlmmirror Utility

Before you begin the mirroring process, you need to create the mirror configuration file. For more information, see Section 25.3.2, Creating a Configuration File by Using the xzlmmirror Utility.

To mirror the software: