Just a quick copy-past from a press release
VMware and Novell today announced an expansion to their strategic partnership with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement through which VMware will distribute and support the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server operating system. Under the agreement, VMware also intends to standardize its virtual appliance-based product offerings on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
Read whole article
Of course I think this is great! For the last 5 years now, my main target is SLES/OES on VMware. So that VMware will be using SLES for the Virtual Appliances.. Great!
I wanted to move a embedded Sybase database of a existing ZCM10 installation to a external (SLES11) server for better performance.
In this example I’m assuming you have already installed a SLES11 server.
Step 1 Installing the Sybase database server
- Mount the iso file in (for example) /mnt/iso by giving the command mount -o loop /tmp/ZENworks10_sp3.iso /mnt/iso
- Give the command sh /mnt/iso/setup.sh -c –zcminstall
The -c option provides additional options that you do not have when installing the Primary Server, especially if you want to make your OEM database a remote database. You can view the SQL files generating the ZENworks database, create access users, view creation commands (OEM Sybase only), and so on.
The –zcminstall tells the installation that ZCM is already installed and you want to use the device to configure another instance of the ZENworks database (on the same device or on another device) by using the external database installation program.
- Select you language and click on next.
- If you want you can read the welcome message, after you did this click on next.
- Accept the license Agreement and click next.
- Select the type of database (in my case OEM Sybase SQL Anywhere) you want to use. The lower section is from the documentation site:
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OEM Sybase SQL Anywhere: Installs the default Sybase 10 database for ZENworks. It is configured as a service, the database user is created, and the required tables for the Primary Server are established.
If you select this option, you must use the -o (or –sybase-oem) parameter with the setup.exe installation executable in order to successfully install to the database when you install the Primary Server software. This parameter allows ZENworks to authenticate the database prior to performing any operations on it.
You should use the -o parameter only when you are using the Sybase installation that is provided on the Novell ZENworks 10 Configuration Management SP3installation DVD.
You must also select the Remote Sybase SQL Anywhere option during installation of the Primary Server.
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Sybase SQL Anywhere: Sets up an existing Sybase database for writing ZENworks information to it.
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Microsoft SQL Server: Creates a ZENworks database on a Microsoft SQL Server.
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Oracle: Specifies a user schema that you can use to set up an external Oracle 10g database schema for use with ZENworks.
- Select the where the database will run on (default 2638).
- Specify the Sybase Access Configuration:
Database Name: (default zenworks_database)
Username: (default zenadmin)
Password: (whatever you want)
Database Server Name: (default zenworks_database_server)
- Select the folder where the database will be installed (default /opt/novell/zenworks/database).
- Accept the default database configuration.
- You will get a overview op the SQL scripts that will be executed as part ot the database creation. Click on Next in order to proceed with the database creation.
- You will get a overview of the database creation command information. Click Next.
- You will receive a message that over you click on OK the database installation starts.
- After a while the Sybase database is installed. Now we are ready to move the existing database.
Step 2 Move the existing embedded Sybase database to external
- First we have to stop de Sybase deamon on the ZCM server where we want to migrated the database from and the new database server. You can do does by entering /etc/init.d/sybase-asa stop as root.
In step 4 you’ll start the database on the new server. When I tried this the first time I got a error “A database server with that name has already started”. The cause of this error was that ZENworks restarted the database. So the original database was in the air again. I resolved this by renaming the /var/opt/novell/zenworks/database directory to database-org. Now the Sybase database cannot find the file and cannot start the database.
- Copy the file zenworks_database.conf located in /etc/opt/novell/zenworks to the destination server. In this file the options and database file are configured.
- Copy the database directory located in /var/opt/novell/zenworks to the destination server. In this directory the actual database file are located.
- Start the database on the new database server by entering the command /etc/init.d/sybase-asa start and make sure the database starts when the servers starts by entering the command insserv /etc/init.d/sybase-asa
- Make sure the database is started successful by looking at /vat/log/messages and by checking the deamon by /etc/init.d/sybase-asa status
- On the source server where the embedded Sybase database was installed edit the zmd.xml file located in /etc/opt/novell/zenworks/datamodel
- Change the value of the Embedded key to false
- Change the value of the server key to the ip adres of new Sybase database server
- Make sure that the value of the port key is matching the port where the new database runs on.
You can check this by looking at the port value by giving the command:
/etc/opt/novell/zenworks/zenworks_database.conf
on the new database server.
- Restart the ZCM deamons
- /etc/init.d/novell-zenmntr restart
- /etc/init.d/novell-zenserver restart
- /etc/init.d/novell-zenloader restart
The Zen server is now pointing to the new Sybase database
Just a quick note for all you guy’s who get this error.
I was trying to install ZCM10.3 on a SLES11 server when I got the error: Install/Disk1/InstData/Linux/VM/install.bin: Input/output error
I didn’t know if this was a error from a bad download or that I tried to install ZCM10.3 on a SLES11 machine. After a quick MD5 check the problem was obvious. Wrong download.
Yesterday I was at the Novell Congres in Ede the Netherlands. And I must say it was really nice day with a lot of interesting session. In the morning I followed a session from Ron van Herk about ZENworks Configuration Management 11. A few things about this session were very intresting:
- The interface of ZCM11 looks and feels the same as ZCM10
- Reporting server is added by default
- Linux management is integrated, as of ZCM11 it’s possible to create a bundle who installs a RPM
- Only Suse and Red-Hat server are supported, not Debian (including Ubuntu)
After this, I followed a the session: Automatic deployment of a SLES/OES server. This session was all about Installation servers, PXE boot and Autoyast wich I find very intreseting. You can view the deck slide over here. Most of the deck slide is in dutch (notice the .nl in novellcongers.nl! ;-))
Next was the keynote from Johan Rosius from Novell. Johan Rosius is Vice President Identity and Security Management EMEA. The keynote was all about cloud computing and Identity Mangement and how it all combines. Unfortunately I had the leave in the middle to prepare my session: Open Enterprise Server 2 on VMware vSphere best practises. I had about 50 people in Studio 1. Very nice, and I only saw 2 people sleeping 😉 The responses were great. It’s always nice, that if you put a lot of effort in a presentation, you get nice responses. Of course you can download my session over here.
After this I didn’t follow any technical sessions any more.
The Financiel Times reports that Google is replacing all there Windows desktop in there organisation.
The reason for this is the security of Windows (duh!). As you all will know, Google was a victim of a attack of the Chinees country. As of then (januari 2010) the strategy of Google is to replace all there Windows desktop by either a Mac or Linux desktop.
This is not official annouced by Google, but by employees who work for Google. If a employee still want to use a Windows desktop, they have to get a approaval from “quite senior level” or even a CIO.
I must say that I can understand the decission off Google. Windows is not the best secured operating system in the world. This doesn’t mean that you have to move off Windows from now, but if you have a company with sensitive information (Banks for example), I can imaging you will think twice!
Novell, VMware | Michael June 10, 2010 | 
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