Version Control Installation Guide

1 Product overview
Today’s distributed enterprise networks are some of the most complex ever constructed. As companies deploy
more business-critical applications, these networks continue to rapidly expand, becoming more sophisticated
and requiring servers that support the latest technological innovations. In this fast-changing environment,
any loss of availability translates into a loss of time and money, and manageability has become the leading
success criterion for today’s highly competitive businesses.
HP systems provide maximum uptime with minimal maintenance. HP has developed advanced server
management technologies, such as the HP Version Control Repository Manager (VCRM), HP Version Control
Agent (VCA), and HP Systems Insight Manager (HP SIM). The tight integration of these advanced technologies
reduces server management efforts, enabling administrators to work issues, resolve problems, and install
server software from remote locations by means of a standard web browser.
VCRM
The VCRM is a repository that stores the software and firmware components used to support ProLiant servers
on Windows and Linux platforms. By default, the VCRM is installed on the HP SIM central management
server, however you can specify a custom directory or server location.
You can use the VCRM as a central point to define software baselines and to automate the installation and
change management of HP software and firmware updates to production systems.
The VCRM catalogs system software and firmware that is stored where the VCRM is installed. The software
and firmware can be manually downloaded from http://www.hp.com/servers/swdrivers directly to the file
system, or you can use the VCRM to automatically download software or manually upload software from
any web client. Software is organized into groups by function and operating system. You can view detailed
information about each piece of software by clicking the software component name. The VCRM also enables
you to create customized groupings of software, which can then serve as a system software baseline for the
entire managed environment or a subset of your environment.
NOTE: If you use the automatic download feature for software updates, then you must ensure that either
the VCA is configured and directed to the VCRM or the operating systems are selected for PSP download
through VCRM Installer GUI during installation/upgrade, web page GUI during configuration, or through
the CLI option. However, if you manually upload software updates, then you must also manually update the
VCRM. In this case, the VCA need not point to the VCRM.
VCA
The VCA is an Insight Management Agent that is installed on a server to enable you to view the HP software
and firmware that is installed on that server. The VCA can be configured to point to a repository being
managed by the VCRM, enabling easy version comparison and software update from the repository to the
server on which the VCA is installed.
The VCA provides version control and system update capabilities for a single HP system. The VCA determines
server software status by comparing each component installed on the local system with the set of individual
components or a specified ProLiant or Integrity Support Pack listed in the VCRM. You can also update
individual components or multiple components by checking the checkbox. The entire ProLiant or Integrity
Support Packs can be installed by clicking the install icon located next to the system software status icon.
The installation of single or multiple software components on an individual system can be initiated from the
VCA, which retrieves the software from the VCRM. To install multiple components or custom baselines to
one or more systems, you can use the installation options in HP SIM to install the software from the VCRM.
NOTE: You can access VCA and VCRM from the System Management Homepage (SMH).
HP SIM integration
For software versioning and updating, HP SIM relies on the VCRM and the VCA. By using these applications,
HP SIM provides a single view of the software status for all managed ProLiant or Integrity servers, plus the
capability to update software and firmware on those servers through its powerful query and task features.
VCRM 9