When our customers are installing the NG4i LPP on the target system as part of the AAG solution it requires that the save files required for the installation are downloaded to the system to allow the LPP to be installed (RSTLICPGM) and that the latest update file can be installed (LODRUN). This meant that the customer had to sign onto the system and download the save files independently, they also needed to know which save files were required as the update file changes regularly. The information is all available on the website, but we wanted to be a bit smarter about it, so we looked at allowing the files to be distributed from the Nagios installation.
When we ship any updates to the AAG product we can package the IBM i save files within the AAG update, this means that there will always be the latest save files available for distribution from the Nagios box. Added to this when you configure a remote system we have added a check box that will determine if you want to deploy the latest save files to the system being configured ready for installation (thought about automatic installation but not possible with today’s tech we have available on he IBM i) instead of having to go through a lot of work doing the downloads.
The installation and update files will be be pushed to the target LPAR using FTP, now all you need to do is sign on and run the RSTLICPGM command against the LPP save file and then the LODRUN command against the update save file to have the latest and greatest copy of NG4i installed.
We have added the same functionality to our own Nagios Core implementation although we do expect the people who are running Nagios XI to get more benefit as they tend to be the customers looking after more LPAR’s etc.
We are constantly looking for ways to improve our products, a recent update allows the save files we use for installation and updates to be verified by checksum to confirm the content is the same as we shipped. This same technology will be added to the above to ensure the save file is checked prior to be pushed out to the customer system, security after all is important to everyone!
Any feedback let us know or if you have questions about the products book a demo using our online forms.
Chris…