VM Manager Tool command-line options

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Apart from basic commands that allow you to create connections to VM managers and check their status, you can use additional commands to run or remove the VM Manager Tool, encrypt passwords, or collect debug information for troubleshooting purposes.

The following table provides a list of command-line options that you can use when you run the VM Manager Tool. If you run the application without specifying any options, the help screen is displayed by default.

Option Description Applicable VM Manager Tool deployment type Example
-addcertificate -alias unique_alias -file vm_manager_certificate

Adds a certificate to the VM Manager Tool keystore. Use this option when the VM Manager Tool is set not to trust SSL certificates from all defined VM managers (the vmman_trust_all_vm_managers_certificates parameter is set to false).

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Linux icon ./vmman.sh -addcertificate -alias cert_to_vmm1 -file /root/Downloads/VMwaredefaultcertificate.crt

Windows icon vmman.bat -addcertificate -alias cert_to_vmm1 -file C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VMwaredefaultcertificate.crt
9.2.9 -changepassword -file file_path

Changes the default password to the VM Manager Tool keystore. For more information, see: Improving security of storing VM manager passwords.

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Linux icon./vmman.sh -changepassword -file /var/opt/BESClient/LMT/VMMAN/config/keystore_password.txt

Windows icon vmman.bat -changepassword -file "C:\Program Files (x86)\BigFix Enterprise\BES Client\LMT\config\keystore_password.txt"
9.2.26 -convertcertificate
Changes format of the VM Manager Tool keystore from JCEKS to PKCS#12.
Important: Use this command only if you are upgrading the disconnected VM Manager Tool from version earlier than 9.2.26.
 Disconnected

Other types of the VM Manager Tool have the VM Manager Tool keystore format changed automatically during the upgrade.

Linux icon ./vmman.sh -convertkeystore

Windows icon vmman.bat -convertkeystore
-help

Displays the help screen. It is the default option when no other option is specified.

 All  
-install

Installs the VM Manager Tool as a system service.

Important: You must have the administrative or root privileges to use this option.

Disconnected

The local VM Manager Tool is installed automatically with the License Metric Tool server.

The central and distributed VM Manager Tool is installed by running a fixlet from the BigFix® console.

Linux icon ./vmman.sh -install

Windows icon vmman.bat -install
9.2.23 Linux -install [-user user_name]

Installs the VM Manager Tool as a system service and configures it to run as a specific user.

Important: You must have the administrative or root privileges to use this option.
To use this option, ensure that the following requirements are met.
  • The user is a valid user in the system.
  • The runuser command is installed on the system.
  • All parent directories of the VM Manager Tool directory are assigned appropriate permissions to allow the user to read and execute files in the VM Manager Tool directory.

File ownership

When you use this option, the owner of all files that exist in the VM Manager Tool directory changes to the user that you specified. To avoid changing ownership of other files, create a dedicated directory for the VM Manager Tool files.

Starting the VM Manager Tool

Do not use the -run command to start the VM Manager Tool when you are logged in as root. Otherwise, the VM Manager Tool service is started as root and some of the files are inaccessible to the user that you specified.

To start the VM Manager Tool, run the following command: /etc/init.d/vmmansvc start.

 Disconnected ./vmman.sh -install -user MyUser
-passwd passwordString -config file_path

Encrypts a password for the VM manager from a configuration file that is specified in the config parameter.

 All

Linux icon ./vmman.sh -passwd newPassword -config ./config/vmmconf_1.properties

Windows icon vmman.bat -passwd newPassword -config config\vmmconf_1.properties
9.2.9 -regenerateencryptionkey

Overwrites the default key that is used to encrypt passwords to VM managers. Run the command to increase security of storing the passwords. For more information, see: Improving security of storing VM manager passwords.

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Linux icon ./vmman.sh -regenerateencryptionkey

Windows icon vmman.bat -regenerateencryptionkey
-reloadconfig

Reloads all configuration files and updates the parameters in the memory of the VM Manager Tool.

Tip: Use this option each time a new VM manager connection is defined to load the newly created configuration.

Central, distributed, and disconnected

You can use this option only if the VM Manager Tool runs as a system service.

Linux icon ./vmman.sh -reloadconfig

Windows icon vmman.bat -reloadconfig
-remove

Removes the VM Manager Tool from the service registry.

Important: You must have the administrative or root privileges to use this option.

Disconnected

The local VM Manager Tool is uninstalled automatically with the License Metric Tool server.

The central and distributed VM Manager Tool is uninstalled by running a fixlet from the BigFix console.

Linux icon ./vmman.sh -remove

Windows icon vmman.bat -remove
-retrievedebugdata
Collects debug information from all defined VM managers and stores it in the debugData.zip file that is in the main directory of the VM Manager Tool. The collected information includes:
  • Configuration files
  • Log files
  • Network communication log files
  • Data collected from VM managers
  • Status of all VM managers
 All

Linux icon ./vmman.sh -retrievedebugdata

Windows icon vmman.bat -retrievedebugdata
-run

Starts the VM Manager Tool in service mode. In this mode, data is collected for all defined VM managers repeatedly at the interval that is set in the vmm_polling_time_interval parameter. To use this option, you must install the VM Manager Tool as a system service.

Important: Windows icon You must have the administrative privileges to use this option.

Central, distributed, and disconnected

Do not use this command to run the local VM Manager Tool tool. The local VM Manager Tool is started together with the License Metric Tool server.

Linux icon ./vmman.sh -run

Windows icon vmman.bat -run
-runonce [-config file_path]

Collects data from all defined VM managers once and exits the VM Manager Tool. To collect data from a particular VM manager, use the -config file_path option, where file_path is a full or relative path to the configuration file of the VM manager from which you want to collect data.

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Linux icon ./vmman.sh -runonce -config ./config/vmmconf_1.properties

Windows icon vmman.bat -runonce -config config\vmmconf_1.properties
-status [-config file_path]

Displays the operation status for all VM managers. If the file path is specified, the operation status for the particular VM manager is displayed.

To see the information about all operation statuses, see: VM manager statuses.

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Linux icon ./vmman.sh -status -config ./config/vmmconf_1.properties

Windows icon vmman.bat -status -config config\vmmconf_1.properties
-stop

Stops the VM Manager Tool that was started as a system service.

Central, distributed, and disconnected

Do not use this command to stop the local VM Manager Tool tool. To stop the local VM Manager Tool, stop the License Metric Tool server.

Linux icon ./vmman.sh -stop

Windows icon vmman.bat -stop
-testconnection [-config file_path]

Tests connections to all defined VM managers. If no VM manager connection is defined, the command output is empty.

To collect data from a particular VM manager, use the -config file_path option, where file_path is a full or relative path to the configuration file of the VM manager from which you want to collect data.

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Linux icon ./vmman.sh -testconnection -config ./config/vmmconf_1.properties

Windows icon vmman.bat -testconnection -config config\vmmconf_1.properties