Agent Third-Party Deployment: Installing FlexNet inventory agent on UNIX

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

You downloaded the installers of interest in Agent Third-Party Deployment: Collecting the Software. You have also customized your bootstrap configuration file (or potentially multiple variants for different platforms and contexts) in Agent Third-Party Deployment: Configuring the Bootstrap File for UNIX.

The default installation path for the complete FlexNet Inventory Agent on UNIX-like platforms is:

/opt/managesoft/bin

Log files for the complete FlexNet Inventory Agent default to:

var/opt/managesoft/log

Note: For some UNIX-like platforms, you can customize the command line to install the FlexNet Inventory Agent in the folder of your choice. Because IT Asset Management uses the native installation technology on each platform, this introduces some diversity into the installation process, as described below. As well, notice the following points:

If you previously had the FlexNet Inventory Agent installed in the default location, and now wish to switch to a custom installation path, first uninstall the old agent.
With a customized installation path, support for in-place self-upgrade of FlexNet Inventory Agent requires:
- The installed, running version of FlexNet Inventory Agent must be 13.2.0 or later, with a later version specified as the intended upgrade
- The installation is on either AIX or Linux.
For other platforms, or when an earlier version is operational, using third-party deployment to a custom location means that you are also committing to update the FlexNet Inventory Agent in that location using your chosen third-party technology.
If you previously turned on self-upgrade of the FlexNet Inventory Agent (and are now switching to a custom installation path with third-party deployment), go to the Inventory Settings page (Data Collection > IT Assets Inventory Tasks > Inventory Settings). In the Inventory agent for automatic deployment section, consider selecting Do not upgrade automatically and publishing this setting for platforms where you are implementing the custom installation path. While it is possible to use a third-party tool for deployment, and then allow in-place self-updates, this requires very careful management so that, for example, you do not allow the third-party tool to continue maintaining one installed version at the same time as the self-update policy requires a different version. A difference in policy can mean that one tool upgrades and the other tool downgrades again (or attempts to). This tussle for control can result in damaged installations and a non-functional FlexNet Inventory Agent.

Currently, a custom installation folder is supported for the following platforms:

AIX version 5.3 or later, where the custom path is called a User Specified Installation Location (USIL)
Linux x86 (RPM)
Linux x86_64 (RPM)
Solaris SPARC (currently does not support in-place self-upgrade)
Solaris x86 (currently does not support in-place self-upgrade).

To deploy FlexNet Inventory Agent to UNIX-like platforms:

Configure your deployment/installation tool to deliver the bootstrap configuration file to /var/tmp/mgsft_rollout_response.
This file must be in place on the device before you run the installer for FlexNet Inventory Agent.
Tip: If you are installing to a custom location (USIL) on the AIX operating system, remember to include the COMMONAPPDATAFOLDER option (for details, see Agent Third-Party Deployment: Configuring the Bootstrap File for UNIX).
If you have configured the bootstrap configuration file to install the FlexNet Inventory Agent into the least privilege operation mode, configure sudo on the target Unix system. For details, see Agent Third-Party Deployment: Configuring the Operation Mode on UNIX.
If the target computer device is to use the HTTPS protocol to communicate with an inventory beacon, and you require certificate checking to validate that the device is talking to the correct inventory beacon (for details, see Agent Third-Party Deployment: Enabling the HTTPS Protocol on UNIX Agents):
1. Prepare a summary HTTPS CA certificate for the target device(s) (see notes in Agent Third-Party Deployment: HTTPS CA Certificate File Format (UNIX))
2. Configure your deployment/installation tool to deliver the certificate file as /var/tmp/mgsft_rollout_cert on the target device.
  To complete certificate set-up during installation, this file must be in place on the device before you run the installer for FlexNet Inventory Agent. During installation, the /var/tmp/mgsft_rollout_cert file is copied to /var/opt/managesoft/etc/ssl/cert.pem.
  Tip: If you do not complete this as part of the deployment and installation process, after installation you can simply copy the completed certificate to /var/opt/managesoft/etc/ssl/cert.pem on a device where FlexNet Inventory Agent is locally installed.
3. If you wish to use mutual TLS to authenticate communication between the client (inventory device) and server (inventory beacon), also configure your deployment/installation tool to deliver the client certificate file as /var/tmp/mgsft_rollout_client_cert on the target device.
  To complete certificate set-up during installation, this file must be in place on the device before you run the installer for FlexNet Inventory Agent. During installation, the /var/tmp/mgsft_rollout_client_cert file is copied to /var/opt/managesoft/etc/ssl/client/client_cert.pem.
  Tip: If you do not complete this as part of the deployment and installation process, after installation you can simply copy the completed certificate to /var/opt/managesoft/etc/ssl/client/client_cert.pem on a device where FlexNet Inventory Agent is locally installed.
4. Similarly, if you are using mutual TLS, configure your deployment/installation tool to deliver the client private key file as /var/tmp/mgsft_rollout_client_private_key on the target device.
  To complete certificate set-up during installation, this file must be in place on the device before you run the installer for FlexNet Inventory Agent. During installation, the /var/tmp/mgsft_rollout_client_private_key file is copied to /var/opt/managesoft/etc/ssl/client/private/client_key.pem.
  Tip: If you do not complete this as part of the deployment and installation process, after installation you can simply copy the certificate private key file to /var/opt/managesoft/etc/ssl/client/private/client_key.pem on a device where FlexNet Inventory Agent is locally installed.
For Solaris platforms where you want a silent installation without user interaction, prepare a flat text admin file with the following content to include in your deployment package:
```
       mail=
       instance=overwrite
       partial=nocheck
       runlevel=nocheck
       idepend=nocheck
       rdepend=nocheck
       space=quit
       setuid=nocheck
       conflict=nocheck
       action=nocheck
       basedir=default
```
Tip: If you are planning a custom installation folder for your Solaris implementation, do not alter the value for basedir in this file. Keep the line basedir=default unchanged, and see the next step.
If you intend to install FlexNet Inventory Agent in a custom location on a Solaris platform, prepare a separate package response file (such as /var/tmp/flexera_package_response) with the following content (noting that the variable names are case sensitive and must be supplied in all upper case, as shown):
```
INSTALLDIR=/install/Path
COMMONAPPDATAFOLDER=/data/Path
```
Important: These paths must not contain white space characters. These will cause the installation to fail. Use absolute paths in their simplest canonical form, without relative path elements.

Tip: You may customize either or both of these paths. Omit either one for which you want to use the default path (/opt/managesoft and /var/opt/managesoft respectively).
This file is to be included in your deployment package, and must be in place in your chosen path before the installation command line is issued.

Prepare the installation tool command line appropriately for each target platform.

There are different command lines for different UNIX platforms. The following examples all assume that you execute the command line in the directory containing the installation package. For HP-UX alone, it is mandatory to include a fully-qualified path to the package. On other platforms, if the installation package is not in the current directory, add a value for [PACKAGE PATH] in the respective command.

Installations on UNIX-like platforms require root privileges. Configure your deployment and installation technology to execute the following commands on the appropriate platforms (substituting [VERSION] and [PACKAGE PATH] with appropriate values):

Platform	Installation command line
AIX	For the default installation path: `installp -aYX -d managesoft.[VERSION].bff managesoft.rte` Tip: You may use a custom data folder in conjunction with the default installation path. For more information, see Agent Third-Party Deployment: Configuring the Bootstrap File for UNIX. For a custom installation path (on a single line): `/usr/sbin/installp -R /new/install/path -aYX -d managesoft.version.number.bff managesoft.rte` where `/new/install/path` (the User Specified Installation Location) is the base for your installation path (the path is automatically extended with /opt/managesoft appended to the base you provide). Important: The base path must exist on the target system before issuing the installation command line. `version.number` is the multi-part version numbering for the current installation package. The `-R` option creates and maintains a User Specified Installation Location (USIL) with its own package database. This has the following consequences: You must use the same `-R` option for all management of the package, including upgrade of the agent with installp, removal of the agent with installp, listing the installed agent with lslpp, and verification of the package with lppchk. If you are upgrading a previous installation in the default (or any other) path, and now wish to deploy to a new custom folder, first uninstall the previous installation of the FlexNet Inventory Agent. As an example command line, to install version 13.2.0 of the FlexNet Inventory Agent into /u/software/opt/managesoft, use: `/usr/sbin/installp -R /u/software -aYX -d managesoft.13.2.0.0.bff managesoft.rte` Tip: For future upgrades, be sure to supply the same custom installation path or USIL (with the same `-R` option) using your third-party deployment tool. You can always check your custom installation path values as follows: `cat /etc/managesoft.ini` As well as its installation path, the upgraded FlexNet Inventory Agent requires a data storage folder. The `COMMONAPPDATAFOLDER` value used for the most recent custom installation is also saved in the same .ini file. For a future upgrade using the same locations for executables and data, if the mgsft_rollout_response file is missing, the installer can use the data folder value from /etc/managesoft.ini. (Therefore at upgrade time, ensure that either a mgsft_rollout_response file or /etc/managesoft.ini is available, to prevent the upgraded configuration being lost.)
Debian/Ubuntu Linux x86	`dpkg --install managesoft_[VERSION]_i386.deb`
Debian/Ubuntu Linux x86_64	`dpkg --install managesoft_[VERSION]_amd64.deb`
HP-UX	`swinstall -v -x mount_all_filesystems=false -x allow_downdate=true -s [PACKAGE PATH]/managesoft-[VERSION].depot managesoft`
Linux x86 (RPM)	For the default installation path: `rpm --upgrade --oldpackage --verbose managesoft-[VERSION]-1.i386.rpm` For a custom installation path (on a single line): `rpm --upgrade --oldpackage --verbose --relocate /opt/managesoft=/new/install/path --relocate /var/opt/managesoft=/new/data/path managesoft-[VERSION]-1.i386.rpm` Tip: The default values to be replaced are case sensitive and must be supplied exactly as shown. The new paths must not contain any white space characters. Use absolute paths in their simplest canonical form, without relative path elements. If you omit either `--relocate` option, the corresponding default value is used for the installation. Tip: For future upgrades, be sure to supply the same custom installation path using your third-party deployment tool. You can always check your custom installation path values as follows: `cat /etc/managesoft.ini`
Linux x86_64 (RPM)	For the default installation path: `rpm --upgrade --oldpackage --verbose managesoft-[VERSION]-1.x86_64.rpm` For a custom installation path (on a single line): `rpm --upgrade --oldpackage --verbose --relocate /opt/managesoft=/new/install/path --relocate /var/opt/managesoft=/new/data/path managesoft-[VERSION]-1.x86_64.rpm` Tip: The default values to be replaced are case sensitive and must be supplied exactly as shown. The new paths must not contain any white space characters. Use absolute paths in their simplest canonical form, without relative path elements. If you omit either `--relocate` option, the corresponding default value is used for the installation. Tip: For upgrades, be sure to supply the same custom installation path using your third-party deployment tool. You can always check your custom installation path values as follows: `cat /etc/managesoft.ini`
Mac OS X	For the default installation path (while running as root): `installer -verbose -pkg managesoft-[VERSION].pkg -target /` Note: If you are running anti-virus software, ensure that IT Asset Management is white-listed in your anti-virus settings so that the installation is not blocked.
Solaris SPARC	For the default installation path: `pkgadd -n -a admin -r /dev/null -d managesoft-[VERSION].sparc.pkg ManageSoft` Tip: If you saved your `admin` file under a different name, modify the command line appropriately. For a custom installation path: `pkgadd -n -a adminFile -r responseFile -d packageFile ManageSoft` For example (all on one line): `/usr/sbin/pkgadd -n -a admin -r /var/tmp/flexera_package_response -d managesoft-12.1.0.x86.pkg ManageSoft` Tip: For upgrades, be sure to supply the same custom installation path using your third-party deployment tool. You can always check your custom installation path values as follows: `cat /etc/managesoft.ini`
Solaris x86	For the default installation path: `pkgadd -n -a admin -r /dev/null -d managesoft-[VERSION].x86.pkg ManageSoft` For a custom installation path, use the command line shown above for Solaris SPARC.

You can now hand off these materials (the configured installer, the bootstrap configuration file, the optional HTTPS CA certificate, and for Solaris the admin file and optional package response file) to the people responsible for packaging and deployment to the target devices.

Tip: If you are manually completing a single installation on an UNIX-like device, remember to have the bootstrap configuration file and the HTTPS CA certificate in place first, and then run the installer with your prepared command line.

After installation (assuming the standard setting of MGSFT_RUNPOLICY=1), FlexNet Inventory Agent attempts to connect with the inventory beacon. You may need to protect your customization, for which see the notes in Agent Third-Party Deployment: Protecting Your Customizations.

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

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