If a package bundle is configured to be installed at a given time but the device refresh or ZMD wakeup event is not triggered, then the installation is not performed at the scheduled time. This can happen if a managed device goes inactive or offline temporarily and later reconnects to the network, so it cannot refresh at the expected time and obtain the scheduled task information. Therefore, bundle installation cannot be processed at the scheduled time.
To avoid this problem, you can configure the allow-pastdue ZMD preference to allow or prevent a package bundle installation after its scheduled time. This automatic or manual device refresh event allows the bundle metadata and schedule information to be available with the agent to initiate the installation for a past-due bundle. By default, the package bundle installation is immediately triggered on the device for any past-due schedules that were unable to execute at a given time in the past.
If the allow-pastdue preference value is set to , ZMD detects any past-due schedule actions for the device on the refresh and sends a trigger to complete the immediate installation of the pending bundles. However, if the allow-pastdue preference value is set to , then on device refresh, ZMD skips the installation for any past-due scheduled task.
On the managed device, you can access the ZMD preference by running the following command:
rug get allow-pastdue
To change the ZMD preference value, run the following command:
rug set allow-pastdue <possible-value>
Replace possible-value with True or False.
NOTE:This ZMD preference is not applicable to YOU patch bundles for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 9.
Use the following scenarios for more information on how to control the installation of a package bundle:
Scenario 1: The package bundle is scheduled to be installed at 3:00 a.m., but the install schedule information arrives before 3:00 a.m. On device refresh, the package bundle is installed regardless of the preference value.
Scenario 2: The package bundle is scheduled to install at 3:00 a.m., but the installation schedule information arrives at 4:00 a.m. because of a delayed device refresh. If the preference value is set to , the bundle is installed as soon as the schedule information arrives on the managed device. If the preference value is set to , the install action is skipped because the installation time has passed.
Scenario 3: The package bundle is randomly scheduled to install between certain start and end time, such as 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m., and the schedule information arrives at 4:00 a.m. during a device refresh. In this case, the package bundle is installed at the scheduled time. However, if the schedule information arrives after 5:00 a.m., the package bundle installation depends on the value of the allow-pastdue preference.