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Release notes for IBM Support Assistant V4.1 Agent
 Release notes
 
Abstract
This document contains the IBM Support Assistant V4.1 Agent release notes.
 
 
Content

Platform Support

Agent
You can run the Agent on:
  • Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1
  • Windows Server 2003 Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS V4.0 or V5.0
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server V9.0 or V10.0
  • Solaris V10.0 (lacks support for inventory reporting)
  • AIX 5L V5.3 (requires APAR IY91085)
  • AIX V6.1

Agent Manager
You can run the Agent Manager on the same platforms as the Agent, except there is no support for Windows XP.


Known Issues for IBM Support Assistant Agent v4.1 release


Agent Manager installation GUI mode fails on Linux RedHat
In order to install the Agent Manager on a Linux RedHat system, you may need to make sure libXp.so.6 and compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3-47.3.i386 libraries are installed on your Linux system. Also make sure the Security-Enhanced Linux is disabled before installing the Agent Manager. See Installing the Agent Manager on Security-Enhanced Linux section for commands to enable/disable the Linux security.


Agent Manager Silent install fails due to port conflict (InstallStatus=-10)
The status of Agent Manager installation is recorded in log files located in the logs directory under the AgentManager installation directory. The default installation directory on Windows system is c:\Program Files\IBM\AgentManager\logs, and /opt/IBM/AgentManager/logs on Unix and Linux systems.

To verify status of the Agent Manager installation, check the value of InstallStatus field in amInstallStatus.log. If InstallStatus=0, the installation succeeds. Other values indicate the installation failure.
InstallStatus=-10 indicates that the port required by the Agent Manager is not free, check for an error message in amInstall.log. The error message should indicate Port(####) is in use.

For Example:

(Feb 20, 2008 5:50:30 PM), Install, com.ibm.tivoli.cas.manager.ismp.event.dialog.silent.PanelContainerSelectionSilentImpl, err, CTGEM2357I Registration Port (9443) is in use.

To correct the error, you need to:
  1. Identify free ports by using both methods below:

  2. Use "netstat a" command to list the active ports on the system

  3. Examine the /etc/services (Unix & Linux) or %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\drivers\etc\services file to see a list of port definitions for the system. The list can include ports that might be used by services on the system, even if the service is not currently using the port. The file does not include ports that are opened dynamically by applications.

  4. Change the appropriate parameters in amInstall.rsp response file.

For Example: to resolve the error in the example above, replace 9443 with a port number that is not in use.

-W CASInstall.ewasDefaultSecurePort="9443"

To make sure the installation completes successfully, check for conflicts on the ports required by the Agent Manager and its prerequisites. The default values of all ports being used are specified in the amInstall.rsp response file.


Missing parameters in response file generated by Agent Manager Typical installation using record option.
When you run the installation in GUI mode with record option to generate a response file for use in silent installation, and select Typical option, the generated response file contains only parameters corresponding to the fields in the Typical installation panels. Before using the generated response file in silent installation mode, you need to update the generated response file with the two parameters listed below
  • -W CASInstall.installEmbeddedContainer="true"
  • -W CASInstall.dbType="derby"

The silent install will fail without these parameters.


Install the Agent Manager on Security-Enhanced Linux
Perform the following steps if you install the Agent Manager on a system with Security-Enhance Linux.
  1. Check if the Linux security is on, run the following command:

    getenforce

    If you obtained an enforcing as an output, it means that the security enhance is enabled.

  2. Switch off the security enhancement using one of the following commands:

    setenforce 0
    echo 0 > /selinux/enforce
  3. Install the Agent Manager

  4. Switch on the security enhancement using either one of the following commands:

    setenforce 1
    echo 1 > /selinux/enforce
  5. Restart the computer

Console Install displays debug messages during Agent Manager installations
If the Agent Manager installer is executed in console mode (using the -console argument), the console will display a lot of extraneous text that is not relevant to the normal install process. These are debug messages and may be ignored. They do not affect the function of the installation.


Intermitant SSLHandshakeException when accessing Agent functions.
The Workbench may fail to connect with Agents due to an SSL handshaking issue. Usually, but not always, these occur just after installation of the Agent or Workbench. These connection failures will disappear within 15 minutes of their occurrence. Restarting the Workbench, Agent Manager or Agents is not necessary nor will it resolve the problem.

This issue will manifest itself differently depending on the Agent function in use. If the problem occurs when using the Systems Explorer, a error popup titled Authentication Failure will appear which will include the exceptions below. If it occurs when using "Analyze Problem" the "Select a System" drop down menu will only contain "My Computer." Other remote functions will also fail unexpectedly. In all cases, one of the two following exceptions can be seen in the trace or log which is accessed from the Help -> Support menu.

Exceptions which may be seen:
  • javax.net.ssl.SSLHandshakeException:
  • java.security.cert.CertificateException: Certificate Revoked
  • javax.net.ssl.SSLHandshakeException: Received fatal alert:
  • handshake_failure


Slow response during registration or accessing remote agents
You may experience slow response during registration with the Agent Manager or to access the remote agents behind the firewall. In ISA v4.1, the default timeout value is 60 seconds. You can change this value from the WorkBench Preferences/Agent Access panel.


Linux/Unix with early tar
Unpackaging Agent Lauchpad installation archive on Linux/UNIX systems using some early version of "tar" can result in incorrect directories and file names structure and thus unsuccessful installation. The problem exists because early versions of tar did not support path lengths greater than 100 characters. To correct the problem, a new version of TAR should be used.


Agent installation fails after the agent-restart time-out
This behavior occurs more often on Aix and Solaris than Windows and Linux. During agent installation, the agent is registered with the agent manager and IBM SUpport Assistant subagents are installed onto the agents. After the Agent installer the Agent Manager and installed ISA subagents, the installer restarts the agent, an error message is displayed indicating the installation failed and the installation was rolled back: "BTC8275E Installation has been rolled back due to an error during a custom bundle or feature installation. For more information on the cause of the error, see the log files". This occurs dues to atiming issue during restart of the agent. To work around this problem perform the following steps:
  1. To disable the agent restart and installation roll-back,
    • If installing from the installation GUI:
    • At "Choose Installation Type" panel, select "Advanced installation".
    • At "Start Option" panel, uncheck "Start the common agent after successful installation".
    • At "Custom Bundles And features Installation Summary" panel, uncheck "Exit setup if there are some errors during above features installation".
    • If installing in silent mode: Modify the response file, caInstall.rsp, and set the StartCommonAgent and RollbackOnSubagentFailure to "false".
    • -W CASInstall.StartCommonAgent="false"
    • -W CASInstall.RollbackOnSubagentsFailure="false"
    • If installing in console mode: Answer "no" to questions about restarting the agent and exiting setup if there are errors during feature installation.

  2. After the install completes, run the following commands to start and restart the agent. Wait for a few minutes before proceeding to step 3.

    #/opt/tivoli/ep/runtime/nonstop/bin/installnonstop.sh -start
    #/opt/tivoli/ep/runtime/nonstop/bin/installnonstop.sh -stop
    #/opt/tivoli/ep/runtime/nonstop/bin/installnonstop.sh -start

  3. To verify the IBM Support Assistant subagents were successfully installed, run the following command.

    #/opt/tivoli/ep/runitme/agent/agentcli.sh updateMgr list. The result should show the following features: .... com.ibm.esupport.feature.sacs_4.1.0.20090218-0954:Enabled
    com.ibm.esupport.feature.isaagentbase_4.1.0.20090218-0954:Enabled
    com.ibm.etools.logging.discovery_1.0.1.v200804061520:Enabled
    com.ibm.esupport.feature.product.SSLLVC.agent_4.1.0.20090312-1531:Enabled
    ....


Notices and Trademarks
The following terms are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both:
  • DB2
  • Everyplace
  • IBM
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  • iSeries
  • Lotus
  • Notes
  • Passport Advantage
  • pSeries
  • Rational
  • S/390
  • Tivoli
  • WebSphere
  • zSeries
Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States, and/or other countries.
Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.
Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.
Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both.
UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries.
Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2008. All rights reserved. US Government Users Restricted Rights - Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.


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Document information
 Product categories:
 Software
 Software Development
 Other Software Development
 IBM Support Assistant
 Agents
 Operating system(s):
  AIX, Linux, Solaris, Windows
 Software version:
  4.1
 Reference #:
  7015868
 IBM Group:
 Software Group
 Modified date:
 2009-05-28

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