Using IBM Endpoint Manager relevant Fixlets to upgrade Tivoli Workload Scheduler agents
Fixlets and tasks are central to IBM Endpoint Manager. Using Relevance statements, they target specific computers, remediating only those IBM Endpoint Manager clients affected by an issue. They are both packaged with an action script that can resolve the issue with a simple mouse-click.
For example, Tivoli Workload Scheduler Fixlets find, if relevant, only the Tivoli Workload Scheduler agents that have installed a version earlier than V9.2. The related actions then prepare the instance to install the upgrade and then upgrade the agent.
Fixlets and tasks differ mainly on how they get resolved.
A Fixlet is triggered by a Relevance clause that detects a vulnerability, for example a version earlier than V9.2 applied to agents. When an action is invoked to solve the vulnerability, this Fixlet automatically loses relevance and is no longer applicable on that specific IBM Endpoint Manager client. When a Fixlet action propagates through your network, you can track its progress using the Console, Web Reports, and the Visualization Tool. When you remedy every IBM Endpoint Manager client in your network, the Fixlet is no longer relevant and is removed from the list. If the vulnerability returns, the Fixlet is shown again in the list to address the vulnerability again.
A task comes with one or more action scripts that help you to adjust settings or to run maintenance tasks.
At any time, you can open a Fixlet to inspect the underlying Relevance expressions that are used to target clients, as well as the action scripts that are designed to address the issue. The language used is close to the human language to give you a high degree of confidence in both applicability and efficacy of the remedial action. You can also see precisely which computers in your network are affected by each Fixlet. When propagated, you can view the progress and ultimate history of each action taken on a client basis.
Tivoli Workload Scheduler provides the following Fixlets for each operating system to upgrade agents to V9.2:
- Prepare TWS type_of_agent agent upgrade to version 9.2 for platform
- Upgrade TWS type_of_agent agent to version 9.2 for platform
Where type_of_agent can be fault-tolerant, dynamic, for z/OS and platform is one of the supported operating systems.
If the first Fixlet is relevant and you click Take Action, IBM Endpoint Manager prepares the Tivoli Workload Scheduler agent for the upgrade by performing the following steps:
- Downloads the images from the IBM Endpoint Manager server or relay.
- Extracts the images.
- Checks if the Tivoli Workload Scheduler command line tools are running (conman, composer, fileaid). If they are running, the action fails.
- Sets the fence of the workstation to GO.
- Waits for jobs to complete. If there are still jobs running after WaitForJobCompletion seconds, the action fails.
- Stops the agent. If the agent cannot be stopped, the action fails.
- Checks if all Tivoli Workload Scheduler binaries and files are unlocked.
If one of the actions fails, the Fixlet fails and remains relevant. You can check the failed action by using the Status tab of the action. Perform the necessary steps to solve the problems on the agents and rerun the action.
If all the actions succeed, the Fixlet is no longer relevant and the next Fixlet becomes relevant. If you click Take Action for the new one, it upgrades the previously prepared agent instance to V9.2, performing the following steps:
- Downloads the images from the IBM Endpoint Manager server or relay.
- Extracts the images.
- Upgrades the instance.
- Resets the fence to the original value.
- Links back to the domain manager.
Also in this case you can check the status of the action through the relative tab and, in case of errors, solve the problems and rerun the action until it succeeds.
