Managing the client runtime

You will need to refer to Configuring the platform and Extending the platform for the details to be supplied when completing each task.

Modifying the platform configuration files

IBM® has two server components in its portfolio which can be used for remote configuration updates.

1. IBM Lotus® Expeditor Server (Expeditor Client Manager)
2. IBM WebSphere® Premises Server

The IBM Lotus Expeditor Server also allows for remote management of the Eclipse RCP features and plug-ins. Please, note that the current Expeditor integrator use case configuration is based on OSGi Configuration Admin rather then Eclipse Preferences Service. Direct configuration through the Preferences Service is not possible. But, the Expeditor Server can be used to manage Expeditor integrator's configuration through updating the XPDinteg.xml configuration
file (see following).

The IBM WebSphere Premises Server was initially developed for remote management of the RFID Reader concentrators at the remote location (Edge Devices or Data Capture devices). Since the Data Capture devices were built on the same technology stack as Expeditor integrator and also use the OSGi Configuration Admin as configuration store, the Premises Server can also manage Expeditor integrator's configuration. For this, Premises Server licenses and two further Data Capture bundles are required. (Contact your IBM Representative for further information about the WebSphere Premises option.) However, for small environments where a Device Management Server is not available, the additionally developed Custom Config Service allows for using a local configuration file to update the Expeditor integrator configuration (config/XPDinteg.xml). Details about available configuration parameters and their possible values are given in the configuration section (see Common Configuration Settings).

The XPDinteg.xml file can be changed in one of the following ways.

• Option_1: locally in the Expeditor integrator installation folder (on the remote server)


• Option_2: remotely through Expeditor integrator ConfigUpdate message


• Option_3: through updating the XPDinteg.xml via file transfer (e.g. by using the Expeditor Server or software distribution tools)

Option_1: XPDinteg.xml file is manually updated on the remote server

The update mechanism exploits the following already existing features

1. The changed XPDinteg.xml file is simply copied into the <XPDINTEG_HOME
    
   /config/new subfolder. This subfolder is monitored by a specific Resource Adapter that is configured by default, as shown in the following code listing.
   
   
   Figure 38. LocalFileSystem Resource Adapter configuration for manual configuration update

   <adapter type="XPDINTEG_FILE_SYSTEM_ADAPTER" name="UC210AdapterForConfigUpdate1"
     
   
    <!-- sync mode --
     
   
    <polling
     
   
     <interval
    60000</interval
     
   
     <meta-data
    ASCII-config/new/XPDinteg.xml</meta-data
     
   
     <topic
    com/ibm/integrator/flowtriggerevent/ConfigUpdate/LocalFileSystem/ConfigurationUpdateFile/LocalFileSystemAdapter</topic
     
   
    </polling
     
   
    <configuration
     
   
     <param name="ResourceType" value="LocalFileSystemMonitorForConfigUpdate"/
     
   
     <param name="TransferConfirmationMode" value="DELETE"/
     
   
     <param name="DestinationName" value="config/new/XPDinteg.xml"/
     
   
    </configuration
     </adapter
    

2. As soon as the new XPDinteg.xml file is recognized by this adapter, the com/ibm/integrator/flowtriggerevent/ConfigUpdate/LocalFileSystem/ConfigurationUpdateFile/LocalFileSystemAdapter event
   is fired that triggers the manual update default flow: Default_ConfigUpdateManual.flow
3. This flow overwrites the existing config/XPDinteg.xml file with the new one in theconfig/new directory. It also creates the updated system configuration file under config/system.
4. The new XPDinteg.xml XML structure is validated by the LocalConfigUpdate_TransformAndValidate Activity.
5. Finally, the LocalConfigUpdate_ConfigStoreUpdate Activity applies the configuration changes to the OSGi Configuration Admin store.

Option_2: XPDinteg.xml file is replaced by a new file provided through an update message

The Expeditor integrator ConfigUpdate message is a FileTransfer message that carries one of two things.

1. A new (updated) XPDinteg.xml file
2. A specific Expeditor integrator XML structure which contains the configured parameters as parameter-value-pairs of the XPDintegConfig.xml file (see XPDINTEG_CONFIG_XML structure in the following code listing)

The JMS Custom Header property ResourceCmd is used to differentiate between the two options.

For updating the whole XPDinteg.xml (1):

• ResourceCmd=FILE;[Command:{restart|stop};Param:console,reset]
• Message payload contains the new XPDinteg.xml file
• The new XPDinteg.xml file is detached to the <XPDINTEG_HOME
   
  /config folder and overwrites the currently active configuration file. The Application Control Service (ACS) Update Flow (Default_ConfigUpdate.flow) is started to validate the new configuration XML structure and also create the new system configuration file (under /config/system).

For the list of configuration parameters which need to be updated
(b):

• ResourceCmd =ParamList;[Command:{restart|stop};Param:console,reset]
• Message Payload contains the partial properties of XPDintegConfig.xml file (see XPDINTEG_CONFIG_XML structure in the following code listing)
• These parameters/values are used to update the specific attributes of the integrator bundles using also the Default_ConfigUpdate flow. The following code listing shows a message body example for changing
  the maintenance mode of the custom log service using option 2.:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?
  <configurations
  

    <configuration pid="com.ibm.rcp.integrator.customeventservice"
  

        <properties
  

            <property name="MaintenanceMode" value="ON"/
  

        </properties
  

    </configuration
  </configurations
  ...

For both options, the Expeditor integrator bundle configuration in OSGi Configuration Admin is updated with the properties in the new XPDinteg.xml file or the provided parameter list.

The Expeditor integrator ConfigUpdate message requires the following JMS Custom Header parameters.

• The DestinationPath and -Name parameters contain the target path in the local file system where the configuration file in the payload is detached to and applied to the OSGi Configuration Admin store.
• MessageId, TransactionId, LocationId, MessageSrcId and HeaderVersion must be provided so that the log message can be created appropriately.

The JMS Adapter (Resource Adapter) recognizes a new message in
the CtrlInQ and fires the corresponding event with this topic:

• com/ibm/integrator/flowtriggerevent/ConfigUpdate/LocalFileSystem/ConfigurationUpdateFile/JmsAdapter

This event is received by the ACS which kicks off the configured default configuration update flow which provides transactional security
for the configuration update as well:

• Flow file name: Default_ConfigUpdate.flow

The triggered default flow will contain the following.

• ConfigUpdate_TransformAndValidate Activity which validates the XML schema of the config file
• ConfigUpdate_FileWriteToFileSystem Activities for writing the new XPDinteg.xml and XPDintegConfig.xml
• ConfigUpdate_ConfigStoreUpdate Activity which finally updates the OSGi Config Admin store
• PlatformRestart_PlatformRestart which restarts the Expeditor integrator platform if it was indicated in the ResourceCmd header of the ConfigUpdate message

• There is no corresponding reply message. Log and Business Event (transaction status information) messages are available for appropriate status information.
• The ConfigUpdate Flow can be further secured by checking the provided credentials in the JMS Custom header property Credentials of the ConfigUpdate control message (see int_op_tuning_secop.dita).

Refer to the Users Guide for further details of how ConfigUpdate messages can be created and sent.

Option_3: XPDinteg.xml file is replaced by a new file provided through remote file transfer facility

This option is the same as described in Option_1: XPDinteg.xml file is manually updated on the remote server. The difference is that the XPDinteg.xml file is not manually copied to the <XPDINTEG_HOME

As soon as the configuration update LocalFileSystem adapter recognizes a new file in the config/new directory, the LocalConfigUpdate.flow is started for processing the new configuration file.

Remote Configuration Management with IBM WebSphere Premises Server

There are two options to connect the Expeditor integrator to the WebSphere Premises server.

1. Connect directly to the MQ
2. Connect to the Microbroker running inside the DTS component of the Premises server

The Premises web interface is used to create and send new configurations to the Expeditor integrator. This creates a message that is put to
the EDGE.OUT.Q (QM: IBM.RFID.QM). This message is forwared automatically by the DTS component to the corresponding Expeditor integrator instance according the EdgeId (Scenario 2). If the DTS component is disabled (it's a simple Windows&reg; service), the message then stays on the EDGE.OUT.Q and can be picked up from there by the Expeditor integrator (Scenario 1).

Figure 40. Reload Config Scenario with the Premises Server

The WebSphere Premises server update scenario contains the following steps.

1. The Administrator changes in parameters the configuration for a certain remote Expeditor integrator instance using the Premises Server user interface.
2. The Administrator triggers a configuration reload for this Expeditor integrator instance.
3. The Premises Server sends a notification message to the Expeditor
   integrator.
4. The Expeditor integrator receives the notification and triggers the Data Capture bundles.
5. The EdgeConfigAgent wrapper component is reacting on the message and triggers the EdgeConfigAgent by using its public API.
6. The Data Capture bundle retrieves the new configuration from the Premises server over HTTP.

Configuration data for the EdgeConfigAgent

<custom-config-service
  ... 

 <deployment-mode value="PREMISES"
  

  <premises-deployment
  

   <param name="com.ibm.rfid.edge.config.autostart" value="true"/
  

   <param name="com.ibm.rfid.edge.config.bootstrap" value="true"/
  

   <param name="com.ibm.rfid.edge.config.bootstrap.overrides" value="false"/
  

   <param name="com.ibm.rfid.edge.config.interval" value="10000"/
  

   <url
  

    <property
 com.ibm.rfid.edge.config.url</property
  

    <value
 http://nickel.isicc.de.ibm.com:9080/ibmrfidadmin/premises.sl?action=getconfig&amp;amp;edge=&amp;lt;edge_id&amp;gt;&amp;amp;version=6.1</value
  

   </url
  

  </premises-deployment
  

 </deployment-mode
  

 ...  </custom-config-service
 

These parameters are part of the Custom Config Service section. The CCS takes these parameters and sets them as System properties. The EdgeConfigAgent relies on the system properties.

Configuration data to connect to the MQ running on the Premises Server

• Settings for the new connection factory
• Settings for the Remote Queue on the Premises Server
• Settings for the SyncQ and DeadletterQ on the Premises Server
• Settings for the local Premises Config Queue
• Settings for the bridge

<administered-objects
  

... 

 <!-- connection factory for the MQ running on the Premises Server --
  

 <connection-factory name="ConnectionFactory2" type="MQ"
          

   <implementation
 com.ibm.mq.jms.MqConnectionFactory</implementation
  

         <jndi-key
 jms/XPDinteg-PremisesConnectionFactory</jndi-key
  

         <hostname
 nickel.isicc.de.ibm.com</hostname
  

         <port
 1415</port
  

         <channel
 SYSTEM.DEF.SVRCONN</channel
  

         <queue-manager
 IBM.RFID.QM</queue-manager
  

         <clientid
 C00100</clientid
  

 </connection-factory
  

 ... </administered-objects
 

<administered-objects
  ... 

 <!-- Queue definitions for the Premises Server --
  

 <queue purpose="PremisesServerSyncQ" type="MQ"
  

         <implementation
 com.ibm.mq.jms.MqQueue</implementation
  

         <jndi-key
 jms/XPDinteg_PremisesSyncQueue</jndi-key
  

         <queue-name
 SYSTEM.CHANNEL.SYNCQ</queue-name
  

 </queue
  

 <queue  purpose="PremisesServerDeadletterQ" type="MQ"
  

         <implementation
 com.ibm.mq.jms.MqQueue</implementation
  

         <jndi-key
 jms/XPDinteg_PremisesDeadletterQueue</jndi-key
  

         <queue-name
 SYSTEM.DEAD.LETTER.QUEUE</queue-name
  

 </queue
  

 <queue purpose="PremisesConfigQ" type="MQ"
  

         <implementation
 com.ibm.mq.jms.MqQueue</implementation
  

         <jndi-key
 jms/MQ_PremisesConfigQ</jndi-key
  

         <queue-name
 EDGE.OUT.Q</queue-name
  

 </queue
  

 <!-- END Queue definitions for the Premises Server --
  

 ... </administered-objects
 

<queues
  ... <!-- definition for the local PremisesConfigQ --
  

  <queue purpose="LocalPremisesConfigQueue"
  

    <queue-name
 XPDinteg_LocalPremisesConfigQueue</queue-name
  

    <jndi-key
 jms/XPDinteg_LocalPremisesConfigQueue</jndi-key
  

  </queue
  ... </queues
 

<pipes
  ... <!-- Pipe definition for the Premises connection --
  

  <pipe name="Premises Pipe"
  

          <jndi-connection connection-factory-key="jms/XPDinteg-PremisesConnectionFactory" 

     sync-queue-key="jms/XPDinteg_PremisesSyncQueue" 

     dead-letter-queue-key="jms/XPDinteg_PremisesDeadletterQueue"/
  

            <flow name="PremisesConfigFlow" direction="INBOUND"
  

            <!-- The source and target types map onto the destination definitions in the bridge. --
  

                    <source name="mqQ" type="JNDI"
  

                      <value
 jms/MQ_PremisesConfigQ</value
  

              </source
  

        <target name="ubQ" type="QUEUE" value="XPDinteg_LocalPremisesConfigQueue"
  

        </target
  

        <jms-selector
 C00100</jms-selector
  

      </flow
          

  </pipe
  

  ... </pipes
 

Configuration data to connect to the Microbroker running on the Premises Server

• Settings for the new connection factory
• Settings for the topic received from the Microbroker
• Settings for the local Premises Config Queue
• Settings for the bridge

<administered-objects
  ... <!-- connection factory for the MQ running on the Premises Server --
  

  <connection-factory name="ConnectionFactory2" type="MQTTJMS"
  

    <implementation
 com.ibm.msg.client.mqtt.MqttJmsConnectionFactory</implementation
  

          <jndi-key
 jms/XPDinteg-PremisesConnectionFactory</jndi-key
  

          <hostname
 nickel.isicc.de.ibm.com</hostname
  

          <port
 1883</port
  

  </connection-factory
  ... </administered-objects
 

<administered-objects
  ... 

  <topic purpose="PremisesReloadTopic" type="MQTTJMS"
  

          <implementation
 com.ibm.msg.client.mqtt.MqttJmsTopic</implementation
  

    <jndi-key
 jms/premisesDTSTopic</jndi-key
  

    <topic-name
 reload/C999</topic-name
  

  </topic
  

  ... </administered-objects
 

<queues
  ... 

  <!-- queues needed for the bridge in case of connecting to the DTS of the Premises Server--
  

        <queue purpose="LocalPremisesSyncQueue"
  

    <queue-name
 XPDinteg_PremisesSyncQueue</queue-name
  

                <jndi-key
 jms/XPDinteg_PremisesSyncQueue</jndi-key
  

        </queue
  

        <queue purpose="LocalPremisesDeadletterQueue"
  

                <queue-name
 XPDinteg_PremisesDeadletterQueue</queue-name
  

                <jndi-key
 jms/XPDinteg_PremisesDeadletterQueue</jndi-key
  

        </queue
  

  <!-- definition for the local PremisesConfigQ --
  

        <queue purpose="LocalPremisesConfigQueue"
  

    <queue-name
 XPDinteg_LocalPremisesConfigQueue</queue-name
  

          <jndi-key
 jms/XPDinteg_LocalPremisesConfigQueue</jndi-key
  

  </queue
  

  ... </queues
 

<pipes
  ... 

  <!-- Pipe definition for the Premises connection --
  

  <pipe name="Premises Pipe"
  

    <jndi-connection connection-factory-key="jms/XPDinteg-PremisesConnectionFactory" 

     sync-queue-key="jms/XPDinteg_PremisesSyncQueue" 

     dead-letter-queue-key="jms/XPDinteg_PremisesDeadletterQueue"/
  

    <flow name="PremisesConfigFlow" direction="INBOUND"
  

    <!-- The source and target types map onto the destination definitions in the bridge. --
  

      <source name="ubTopic" type="JNDI"
  

        <value
 jms/premisesDTSTopic</value
  

      </source
  

    <target name="ubQ" type="QUEUE" value="XPDinteg_PremisesConfigQueue"
 </target
  

  </flow
  

  </pipe
  

  ... </pipes
 

Updating the platform configuration files

The IBM Lotus Expeditor Server offers remote OSGi bundle and Eclipse Plug-in management as well as configuration management. It is the recommended infrastructure component for large deployments in order to keep the operational effort minimal.

The Expeditor integrator offers different update methods.

1. Complete reinstall
   
   

   This method is equal to the initial installation procedure that is described earlier in this document (see Installing Expeditor Integrator). All files in the old installation location (<XPDINTEG_HOME

    
   directory) are removed and replaced with a new Expeditor integrator package (all application files and configuration). This also involves the deletion of the local queues that might contain messages which belong to a transaction.
   
   
   

   Use this method with great care and when no transactions are pending.

2. Eclipse plug-in (component) update
   
   

   This is the state-of-the-art method to update Eclipse RCP based applications. The Eclipse Rich Client Platform services ensure that only plug-ins (components/services) with resolved dependencies are finally started. They also allow application components updates without requiring a restart, reconfiguration of the platform / application nor the deletion of local queues (apart from the case when micro broker related services and components are effected; refer to Configuration Overview for details).

   
   
   

   Example: The file footer Activity BuildPriceUpdateFileFooterActivity in a FileTransfer ACS flow needs to be modified because the file footer creation algorithm was changed. This can be dynamically done by remotely updating the com.ibm.rcp.integrator.acsactivities application component (bundle) with a new version.

3. Installation of new components to extend the application (bundles)
   
   

   This is an extension to method 2. The Expeditor integrator can be simply extended with new ACS flows by providing new flow definition files through the FileTransfer methods (see Inbound Resource Mapper (Transfer from Back-end to Expeditor integrator)) and adding new ACS Activities by installing the components (plug-ins) that implement them using the remote Eclipse plug-in or OSGi bundle installation. This gives the Expeditor integrator powerful extension options and allows for remote adjustment of flows and use case implementations.

Managing using a Client Management server

The Enterprise Management Agent enables you to connect to a Lotus Expeditor
Server. The Lotus Expeditor Server contains the Client Management server component, which provides basic platform management of the client, along with additional features, such as database synchronization (DB2e) and a messaging gateway (MQe).

This section includes the following main topics:

Introducing Client Management services

For Client Management services, clients include any of the devices and computers supported by Lotus Expeditor for Desktop and Devices clients. This can include devices and computers running other products that include the Lotus Expeditor client.

Client Management Services is used to enroll devices into a database
and perform many tasks for managing devices, such as:

• Device configuration: Setting client parameters for software.


• Inventory collection: Collecting software information about the client.


• Software distribution: Distributing, installing, and removing software for the client.
• Additional tasks are also implemented on particular clients, depending
  on client capabilities, such as:
  
  
  • Run command
  • Retrieve file
  • Running the IBM Support Assistant
  • Restart the client

Client Management Services provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for client management. The Client Management administration interface is integrated with the Integrated Solutions Console provided by WebSphere Application Server. Administrators typically use the Client Management administration interface. Client Management also provides application programming interfaces to manage clients. For more information, see Developing Client Management applications.

For Client Management Services, management actions are called tasks.
Tasks can be applied to or targeted to a single client, or a group of clients. Groups of clients are defined by a list of clients, or by characterizing the group, such as by the client owner, owner group, some attributes of the client inventory, or a combination of characteristics. Groups of clients are defined to Client Management Services as filters.

Tasks are targeted to a client and the task is run when the client connects to the Client Management server. The server maintains a history of task status for all tasks and all clients. Client Management Services can also notify the client that a task is waiting for the client.

Client Management Services requires an agent on the managed client. The agent is supplied with the Lotus Expeditor client.

The client agents communicates with the Client Management server using HTTP or HTTPS. The protocol running on top of HTTP is a standard protocol called the OMA DM protocol used with OSGi devices. With HTTP and HTTPS communications between devices and Device Manager, requests
and responses can pass through various network elements, such as firewalls. OMA DM is a specification created by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) organization for device management of wireless devices.

Client management services limitations

Limitations are as follows:

• Client Management Services can only be used to manage Expeditor 6.1 and above clients.
• Managing Expeditor 6.1 or 6.1.1 clients with multi-user support enabled is not supported. Expeditor 6.1.2 and above with multi-user support enabled is supported.
• The following functions are only supported with Expeditor 6.2
  and above clients:
  
  
  • Run IBM Support Assistant task
  • Retrieve File task
  • Client Restart task (Computer restart is supported on Expeditor 6.1.2 and above)


• Known issues when using an Oracle database:
  
  
  • The sorting for the Client Management data in the administrative console may not be correct.
    
    

  • Some double byte character Client Management data in the administrative console is not displayed correctly.
    
    



• Known issues when using the Client Management GUI:
  
  
  • The order of day and month for the "Day of the year" when scheduling yearly tasks is incorrect for non-English locales.

Managing clients

The Clients view in the console displays the clients that have registered with the client management server. To view this administrative console page, click Expeditor Client Management -

To perform an action on one or more clients, select from the Actions list and click Go.

• Getting an inventory of Eclipse features
• Deploying Eclipse features
• Deleting a client
• Restarting the client
• Retrieving files from the client
• Running a command on a client
• Running the IBM Support Assistant
• Updating the Enterprise Management Agent properties

To filter or search views, see Filtering display information.

• Related concepts
• Introducing Client Management services
  Client Management services provides a flexible solution for robust management of clients, regardless of connection types or client capabilities. Network connected or offline clients can be targeted for management.
• Subadministrator support
  
  When logging on to the administrative console, you can have two levels of authentication: superadministrators and subadministrators.

• Related tasks
• Running a command on a client
  Use the Run Command task to run a command on one or more clients. A run command task is an available action on the Clients view.
• Managing inventory
  The Inventory view in the administrative console shows the inventory of a particular type for a specific client.

• Related reference
• Client notification
  The Client Management Server has the ability to attempt to notify a client that it has an active task waiting.
• Using filters
  
  Use the administrative console to create, edit, and delete filters. Filters help you organize your work.
• Server settings

• Related information
• Registering the client with the Client Management server
  The first time a client connects to the Client Management server, it will be automatically registered. Registration is the process by which an unknown client is registered in the Client Management server. Generally, registration occurs automatically when an unknown client connects to the Client Management server for the first time.

Changing a client user ID

Any data, including inventory and task history, from the previous user ID is deleted. The user ID the client uses to connect to the Client Management Server is configured in the Enterprise Management Agent. For more details, see Configuring the Enterprise Management Agent.

Deleting a client

Managing tasks

The following tasks are supported:

• Inventory collection: The inventory collection task causes the client to send information about specific inventory types to the Client Management server. When creating an inventory task, one or more types of inventory to gather can be specified. See the Inventory section for a description of the inventory types. The inventory information is stored in the Client Management server database and can be viewed from the client details view. See the Clients section for information on the clients view.


• Distribute a feature: The Distribute Feature task allows an Eclipse Feature to be installed or updated on a client.
• Disable
  a feature: The Disable Feature task allows an Eclipse Feature already installed on a client to be disabled.


• Enable a feature: The Enable Feature task allows an Eclipse Feature already installed on a client to be enabled.


• Remove a feature: The Remove Feature task allows an Eclipse Feature already installed on a client be uninstalled.


• Run a command: The Run Command task allows a command to be run on client. The task is only supported on Windows desktop clients.


• Retrieve a file: Upload a file from the client to the Client Management server.


• Run IBM Support Assistant: Run the IBM support Assistant on the client and optionally upload the results to the Client Management server.
• Update Enterprise Management
  Agent Account: Update configuration of the Enterprise Management Agent that is used to connect to the Client Management server.


• Restart the client: Restart the Expeditor Client or the client machine. Restarting the client is only supported by Lotus Expeditor 6.2 or above clients. Restarting the client machine is supported by Lotus Expeditor 6.1.2 or above.


• Add a property: The Add Properties task allows one or more properties to be created in a managed property file.


• Modify a property: The Modify Properties task allows one or more property values to be changes in a managed property file.


• Delete a property: The Delete Properties task allows one or more properties to be removed from a managed property file.


• Add an Eclipse preference: The Add Preferences task allows one or more Eclipse preferences to be defined in the client configuration.
• Modify an Eclipse
  preference: The Modify Preferences task allows one or more Eclipse preference values to be updated in the client configuration.
• Delete an Eclipse
  preference: The Delete Preferences task allows one or more Eclipse preferences to be removed from the client configuration.

This section contains the following topics:

Submitted tasks

To view this administrative console page, click Expeditor Client Management -

To perform an action on one or more tasks, select from the Actions list and click Go. You can delete tasks, resume tasks, and suspend tasks.

When you suspend a task, the task will not be distributed to any targeted clients when they connect to the Client Management server. You can resume a suspended task to re-activate it so it will be distributed to targeted clients when they connect.

When you delete a task, the following information associated with the deleted
task is also removed from the Client Management database:

• All task parameter values set for the deleted task
• All task progress records pertaining to the deleted task

To filter or search views, see Filtering display information.

• Related concepts
• Introducing Client Management services
  Client Management services provides a flexible solution for robust management of clients, regardless of connection types or client capabilities. Network connected or offline clients can be targeted for management.
• Chaining tasks
  You can combine a set of tasks into a task chain to run the set of tasks as a single unit. For example, you may want to distribute a feature and, if successful, set an Eclipse preference.


• Targeting tasks
  Tasks can be targeted to one or more clients. When you select an action to create a task, you are given an option to select the targets of the task.
• Task options
  During the process of creating a task, the last panel displayed provides you with task options.

• Related tasks
• Running a command on a client
  Use the Run Command task to run a command on one or more clients. A run command task is an available action on the Clients view.

• Related reference
• Managing tasks
  The Client Management server provides the ability to create a task that can be run against registered clients.


• Pending tasks
  Use the administrative console to manage one or more pending tasks. A task is a specialized process initiated through Lotus Expeditor management services and performed on a client or group of clients.
• Managing features
  Use the administrative console to manage the features installed on clients.
• Using filters
  Use the administrative console to create, edit, and delete filters. Filters help you organize your work.

• Related information
• Server settings

Chaining tasks

To create a task chain using the administrative console, select Chained Task when you start to create the new task. This causes the system to record the specifics of your task, but not actually submit it for clients to execute. If you create a chain task, you are not prompted to enter client targeting and scheduling information.

After you create one or more chain tasks, they appear under Expeditor Client Management

To submit the chain of tasks, select one of the chain tasks, and select Submit Task. You can change the order of the tasks, and whether or not continue if one of the tasks fails. After you click Next, you can choose the target clients, and the scheduling information.

The task now shows up under Expeditor Client Management

Pending tasks

To view this administrative console page, click Expeditor Client Management -

To perform an action on one or more tasks, select from the Actions list and click Go.
You can submit and delete tasks.

The table contains one Name column, which specifies the unique name of the task. Click to display
subtasks:

• Related concepts
• Introducing Client Management services
  Client Management services provides a flexible solution for robust management of clients, regardless of connection types or client capabilities. Network connected or offline clients can be targeted for management.
• Chaining tasks
  You can combine a set of tasks into a task chain to run the set of tasks as a single unit. For example, you may want to distribute a feature and, if successful, set an Eclipse preference.
• Targeting tasks
  Tasks can be targeted to one or more clients. When you select an action to create a task, you are given an option to select the targets of the task.
• Task options
  
  During the process of creating a task, the last panel displayed provides you with task options.

• Related tasks
• Running a command on a client
  Use the Run Command task to run a command on one or more clients. A run command task is an available action on the Clients view.

• Related reference
• Managing tasks
  The Client Management server provides the ability to create a task that can be run against registered clients.
• Submitted tasks
  Use the administrative console to manage one or more submitted tasks. A task is a specialized process initiated through Lotus Expeditor management services and performed on a client or group of clients.
• Managing features
  
  Use the administrative console to manage the features installed on clients.
• Using filters
  Use the administrative console to create, edit, and delete filters. Filters help you organize your work.

• Related information
• Server settings

Targeting tasks

The administrative console uses a queuing mechanism to gather the list of selected clients. The following options are available when targeting a
task:

• Select individual clients in the list and select Add Clients to Queue to add the selected clients to the target clients queue. Add Clients to Queue will add any selected client on the current page to the target clients queue. Be sure to select Add Clients to Queue before paging forward or backward in the list of clients.
• Select all registered clients. The option to Add All Clients to Queue will target all registered clients. This will include any clients that register after the task is created.
• Select all clients in a filter. If you apply a filter to the clients list, the option to Add Filter to Queue can be selected. By selecting Add Filter to Queue, all clients that are included as part of the filter will be targeted. The members of the filter are updated dynamically when the filter is synchronized. See Filter synchronization for
  more information.

Task options

Task options are as follows:

Managing inventory

The following inventory types are supported. You can create an Inventory Collection task from the Clients view.

• Feature Inventory - Lists Eclipse features that are installed on the client.
• Eclipse Preference Inventory - Lists Eclipse preferences that exist on the client.
• Properties Inventory - Lists key/value property information for managed property files.
• System Properties inventory - Lists key/value property information for system properties. System properties consists of settings in the client's virtual machine (VM).

The inventory collection task causes the client to send information about specific inventory types to the Client Management server. When you create an inventory task, you can specify one or more types of inventory to gather. The inventory information is stored in the Client
Management server database and can be viewed from the Client Details view, and can be used in Filter criteria. See Managing clients for information on the Clients view. See Using filters for more information about filters.

Registered update sites

When an update site is added, the Client Management server will read information about the Eclipse features from the update site's site.xml file. All valid Eclipse features on the update site will be registered with the Client Management server.

After an update site is added, all registered features are then available to be installed using the Distribute Feature. See Managing update sites for
more information.

Subadministrator support

The system provides a mechanism for defining realms of control over clients and filters called subadministrator support. For example, if your company has several business units that each have an IT person responsible for them, you may want to set up those IT people as subadministrators so that they can perform operations on the clients in their business unit. As the global or superadministrator, you would be able to see all the clients, but each subadministrator would only be able to see the clients assigned to them.

In general, only superadministrators have unrestricted access to administrative console functions. This user ID must be defined in the superadministrator group to manage clients. Any administrator not specified in this group can only work with items selected by a filter.

Configuring subadministrator support

Keep in mind that after subadministrator support is enabled, any administrator that attempts to use the administrative console must either be a member of sub administrator group, or a member of the superadministrator group to manage any clients.

To configure subadministrator support, follow these steps using the administrative
console:

1. Click Expeditor Client Management -
    
   Configuration -
    
   Server Settings and set a value for SuperAdminGroupName. Ensure that you are a member of that group.
2. Set the SubAdminSupportEnabled value to true.
3. Click Expeditor Client Management -
    
   Configuration -
    
   Filters, select the New Filter action and click Go.
4. Select Administration filter and click Next.
5. Enter the criteria for this administration group and click Next.
6. Enter the group name for this filter. Members of this group are considered subadministrators for the clients defined by this filter.
7. Restart the Client Management server for the changes to take effect.

Subadministrator support considerations

Considerations for subadministrator support include the following:

• Update sites and registered features are considered shared resources and are not affected by the subadministration settings.
• A subadministrator that is a member of only one administration filter group cannot see the filter that defines the clients that he manages.
• A subadministrator that is a member of multiple administration filter groups can see the filters for all the administration filters that he belongs.
• When you create a task or a filter as superadministrator, or as a subadministrator who belongs to more than one administration filter group, you can set the visibility of the task. This setting determines what other subadministrators can view.
• A subadminstrator cannot create or edit client filters.

Configuring the Enterprise Management Agent

The Enterprise Management Agent uses a sample account to connect to the server. Do the following to create the sample
account:

• After install time:
  
  
  • Use the OSGi Agent properties file to add or modify account and polling information. See Configuring using the OSGi Agent properties file.

Configuring using the OSGi Agent properties file

Configuring using the OSGi Agent properties file on Lotus Expeditor integrator for Desktop

The following are the supported keys and default values the agent uses at startup. Once the file is read the agent will remove the file. Under certain circumstances the property file is not deleted.
If the agent is not being started for the first time, then the property file will only be read if the properties are specified for a new account.
If no account name is specified in the properties file, the file is not read or deleted. To force the agent to read this property file again, the OSGiAgentTree.bin and its backup file must be deleted.

Before the agent starts for the first time, you can create a default account. When you first start the agent, it looks for the default account properties file, called osgiagent.properties, in the directory specified with a -D command line parameter in your invocation of the Virtual Machine (VM) that implements Java&trade; specifications. For example,
if the account properties file is in the c:\propertyfile directory, you would use the following -D parameter in your
VM invocation:

-Dcom.ibm.osg.service.osgiagent.PropertiesFileLoc=c:\propertyfile

If the -D parameter is not used, the Java class path is searched for the osgiagent.properties file and that properties file is used. If no properties file is located in the Java class path, the current directory is searched.

When a properties file is found, the agent reads the parameters to create the initial account. When the OSGi agent starts for the first time, if no initial account exists, an initial account named SampleAccount is automatically created.

Use the following parameter descriptions and the sample file format as a guide if you create an osgiagent.properties file to create an initial account. The corresponding Agent Control Panel field is enclosed in parenthesis.

AccountID (SyncML DM account ID)

The SyncML DM account ID, which is often the same as the server ID. If no account name is specified, then SampleAccount is created
the first time. However, if SampleAccount is already created, then the properties file will not be read if no AccountID is specified.

KeyRing (Key ring file name)

The file name for the key ring file.

The key ring file must be placed on the class path of the Windows 32-bit device in order for the device agent to use SSL connections to the server.

Use a fully qualified path, including the file name. If the path is not specified, the current working directory is used.

A key ring file stores the public keys of colleagues and associates in a single place for easy access and retrieval.

UserName (Device user name)

User name for the device.

The name is used when SyncML/DM authorization or HTTP basic authentication is implemented.

ClientPW (Device user password)

User password. The password text is displayed in clear text.

The password is used when SyncML/DM authorization is implemented.

KeyRingPassword (Key ring password)

The password for the key ring. The password is displayed in clear text.

ServerPW (Server password)

Server password.

The password is used when SyncML/DM authorization is implemented.

Note:

Expeditor Client Management server does not implement SyncML/DM authorization and this password does not need to be set.

Addr (Server address)

Use the host name or IP address for the Client Management server,
such as:

http://server_address/dmserver/OMADMServletAuthRequired

When
authorization is required, use the following value:

dmserver/OMADMServletAuthRequired

If
SyncML/DM authorization is not implemented, use the following value:

dmserver/OMADMServlet

PollingEnabled (Polling enabled)

Determines if polling is enabled. The values are true or false (case is ignored).

The Polling enabled check box is displayed in the Device Information window.

PollingInterval (Polling interval)

Specifies the polling interval in hours and minutes. The value
is specified as HH:MM.

This field is displayed in the Device Information window.

PollingIntervalSeconds (Polling interval in seconds)

Specifies the minimum polling interval allowed between polling in seconds. Use to prevent polling too frequently.

PollingStart (Polling start time)

Specifies the polling start time in hours and minutes. The value
is specified as HH:MM.

This field is displayed in the Device Information window.

PollingEnd (Polling end time)

Specifies the polling end time in hours and minutes. The value
is specified as HH:MM.

This field is displayed in the Device Information window.

LogSize (log size)

Specifies the size of the message files. This field is displayed in the Device Information window.

LogThreshold (log threshold)

Specifies the minimum error type added to the message file. The
choices and corresponding values are:

• * 1 for Error
• * 2 for Warning
• * 3 for Info
• * 4 for Debug

This field is displayed in the Device Information window.

TempFileLoc (Temp file location)

Identifies the path for temporary files. This field is displayed in the Device Information window.

Configuring using the OSGi Agent properties file on Lotus Expeditor integrator for Device

The following are the supported keys and default values the agent uses at startup. Once the file is read the agent will remove the file. Under certain circumstances the property file is not deleted. If the agent is not being started for the first time, then the property
file will only be read if the properties are specified for a new account.
If no account name is specified in the properties file, the file is not read or deleted. To force the agent to read this property file again, the OSGiAgentTree.bin and its backup file must be deleted.

Before the agent starts for the first time, you can create a default account. When you first start the agent, it looks for the default account properties file, called osgiagent.properties, in the directory specified with a -D command line parameter in your invocation of the Virtual Machine (VM) that implements Java specifications. For example, if the account properties file is in the \propertyfile directory, you would use the following -D parameter in your
VM invocation (JVM_ARG):

-Dcom.ibm.osg.service.osgiagent.PropertiesFileLoc=\propertyfile 

found in the \eclipse\configuration\config.ini file.

If the -D parameter is not used, the Java class path is searched for the osgiagent.properties file and that properties file is used. If no properties file is located in the Java class path, the current directory is searched.

When a properties file is found, the agent reads the parameters to create the initial account. When the OSGi agent starts for the first time, if no initial account exists, an initial account named SampleAccount is automatically created.

Use the following parameter descriptions and the sample file format as a guide if you create an osgiagent.properties file to create an initial account.

Use the following fields to configure the Enterprise Management Agent properties on the first launch of the Lotus Expeditor integrator for
Devices:

Registering the client with the Client Management server

For a client to connect to the Client Management server, you must first configure the client's Enterprise Agent, which communicates with the Client Management server. For information about configuring the Enterprise Agent, see Managing using a Client Management server.

Depending on your server settings, when a client registers a default inventory collection task is created for the client. The Client Management server submits this task to the Enterprise Agent as the first task. The default inventory collection task is run first because subsequent tasks might rely on inventory data. When the initial inventory scan is complete, the client returns the inventory data and the data is added to the Client Management server database.

Using filters

To view this administrative console page, click Expeditor Client Management -

To perform an action on one or more filters, select from the Actions list and click Go.
You can create a new filter, edit a filter, and delete a filter.

• Related concepts
• Introducing Client Management services
  Client Management services provides a flexible solution for robust management of clients, regardless of connection types or client capabilities. Network connected or offline clients can be targeted for management.
• Filters for targeting tasks
  To create a task that is targeted to a filter, you must first create a "Client" type filter.

• Related tasks
• Creating filters
  Use the New Filter action to create a filter.
• Filtering display information
  
  When you are viewing a list of items in the administration console and you have defined a filter for those items, then you can select it from the pull down menu to see only those items that are selected by the filter.
• Filter synchronization
  Because filters can be complicated, and evaluating them can negatively affect performance, the server separates the definition of a filter from its use through a process of synchronization.

Creating filters

To view this administrative console page, click Expeditor Client Management -

This panel lets you define all the conditions for the filter. Use the pull down to select a Property, such as Client User ID, a comparator, such as equals, and value, such as Fred. Properties that start with "directory." specify attributes defined in the WebSphere federated repository. Click Add to place an entry in the lower section
similar to:

client.user equals 'Fred' 

If you want to see all the clients that would be selected by this filter, you can use the Filter Preview button. You cannot use Filter Preview if any of the properties you are using start with "directory."

To make more complicated filters, you can use the parenthesis along with the "AND" and "OR" buttons to create a complete filter. For example, if you only want to add in a condition selecting only windows devices belong to user "Fred", the Filter expression would
look like this:

ent.user equals 'Fred' and ( systemproperty.name equals 'osgi.os' 

                       and systemproperty.value equals 'win32' ) 

After you are done with the Filter Expression, click Create. The filter appears in the list of Filters under Configuration.

Filtering display information

• Related reference
• Managing clients
  Use the administrative console to manage registered clients. Clients register with the Client Management server the first time they connect.
• Managing update sites
  
  Use the administrative console to manage Eclipse update sites. The Update Sites view displays a list of update sites that have registered with the Client Management server.
• Managing features
  Use the administrative console to manage the features installed on clients.
• Submitted tasks
  Use the administrative console to manage one or more submitted tasks. A task is a specialized process initiated through Lotus Expeditor management services and performed on a client or group of clients.
• Pending tasks
  Use the administrative console to manage one or more pending tasks. A task is a specialized process initiated through Lotus Expeditor management services and performed on a client or group of clients.
• Using filters
  
  Use the administrative console to create, edit, and delete filters. Filters help you organize your work.

Filters for targeting tasks

When you are creating a task, you are presented with the "Target Clients Queue" panel to select which clients should be targeted. To target a filter, select the filter from the pull-down menu and click Go and then click the Add Filter button. Now any clients that are selected by that filter in the future are targeted for this task, after the filter is synchronized.

Filter synchronization

When a filter is synchronized, the list of clients selected by that filter is set, and will not change until the filter is synchronized again. This means that if you use a filter to target a task, and new client enrolls with the server that would be selected by that filter, it will not be a target of that task until the filter is synchronized.

You can see the latest synchronization time in the Filter Details view.

You can control when filters are synchronized by modifying the following server settings.

In this example, filters would be synchronized every 30 minutes, regardless of the time of day. If you have a large number of clients and are concerned about the performance of your directory lookups, you can set the time of day to synchronize the filters when the performance degradation will be less noticeable.

Updating the Enterprise Management Agent properties

You can modify the following settings:

Polling

Enables periodic polling by the client. If disabled, the client will only contact the server when it starts( depending on the Poll on Startup setting) or if notified (see Client notification).

Poll On Startup

If enabled, the client will attempt to contact the server when it starts up

Polling Start Time

Time of day when polling should start, in form of HH:mm, where HH is the 24 hour time of day, mm is the minutes

Polling End Time

Time of day when polling should stop in form of HH:mm, where HH is the 24 hour time of day, mm is the minutes

Polling Interval

How often the client should poll the server, in the form of hh:mm, where hh is the number of hours, and mm is number of minutes

Server Address

The URL of the Client Management server servlet. You should be very careful when updating this setting. If it is incorrect, the client will not be able to contact the server, and you will have to manually adjust it on the client to recover

User Name

The user the client uses to contact the server

Password

The password the client uses to contact the server

To make a task to change the Enterprise Management agent configuration parameters using the administrative console, perform the following
steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Clients.
2. Optionally, select the clients you want to target. If you want to target a filter, do not select any clients. You will be able to select the filter in a later step.
3. From the Actions menu, select Update Enterprise Agent Account and click Go.
4. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information on task types.
5. Set the Enterprise Agent Account Options you want to change and click Next.
6. Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters from this panel. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.
7. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for more information.

After the task is created you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

Managing update sites

To install or update Eclipse features on a client, an update site containing the Eclipse features must be registered with the Client Management server. Use the Add Update Site action in the Update Site view to add new update sites. When an update site is added, the Client Management server reads information about the Eclipse features from the update site's site.xml file. All valid Eclipse features on the update site will be registered with the Client Management
server.

While the Client Management server is reading the site.xml and registering it's Eclipse features, the state of the update site is shown as Pending. After the Client Management server has completed reading the site.xml and registered it's Eclipse features, the state of the update site changes to Complete and the features found on the update site can be viewed by selecting the Update Site name. If errors occurred reading the update site's site.xml, the state of the update site changes to Error. The error messages can be viewed by selecting the update site name.

After an update site is added, all registered features are then available to be installed using the Distribute Feature task. Registered features for a particular update site can be viewed by selecting the update site name from the Update Site view. To view all Eclipse features registered to the Client Management server, select the Features view.

After an update site is added, you can refresh the update
site by selecting the Update Sites to be refreshed and selecting the Refresh Update Site action. The Refresh Update Site action causes the Client Management server to read the update site's site.xml file again and update the Update Site's registered features on the Client Management server to match the contents of the Eclipse update site.

To view this administrative console page, click Expeditor Client Management -

To perform an action on one or more update sites, select from the Actions list and click Go. You can edit, delete, and refresh update sites.

To filter or search views, see Filtering display information.

• Related concepts
• Introducing Client Management services
  Client Management services provides a flexible solution for robust management of clients, regardless of connection types or client capabilities. Network connected or offline clients can be targeted for management.

• Related tasks
• Registering an Eclipse update site
  To distribute features using the Client Management server you must register the update site where the features reside.
• Modifying an Eclipse update site
  
  Modifications to the name or URL can be made to an update site that is registered with the Client Management server.
• Refreshing an Eclipse update site
  If updates occur on an update site that is registered with the Client Management server, you must perform a refresh for the Client Management server to recognize the changes on the update site.
• Removing an Eclipse update site
  If features on a registered update site are no longer needed, you can remove the update site from the Client Management server.

• Related reference
• Eclipse update site limitations
  Review Eclipse update site limitations.
• Managing features
  
  Use the administrative console to manage the features installed on clients.
• Using filters
  Use the administrative console to create, edit, and delete filters. Filters help you organize your work.

• Related information
• Registering the client with the Client Management server
  The first time a client connects to the Client Management server, it will be automatically registered. Registration is the process by which an unknown client is registered in the Client Management server. Generally, registration occurs automatically when an unknown client connects to the Client Management server for the first time.

Eclipse update site limitations

Known update site limitations are as follows:

1. Update sites must be hosted on a Web server. Registering updates sites in an archive file is not supported.
2. Registering secure update sites via HTTPS is not supported.
3. The Expeditor Client does not support update sites using internationalized domain names. Therefore, the Client Management server does not support registering update sites using an internationalized domain name. An internationalized domain name (IDN) is an Internet domain name that contains non-ASCII characters.
4. Registering an update site on a server that requires authentication is not supported.

Registering an Eclipse update site

To register an Eclipse update site using the administrative console,
follow these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Update Sites.
2. From the Actions menu, select New Update Site and click Go.
3. Enter a descriptive name, the URL for the Eclipse update site, and click Create.

After the update site is registered, the Client Management server asynchronously reads information about the features on the update site. While this occurs, the state of the update site is Pending. You can click the Refresh View button until the state changes to Complete.

Modifying an Eclipse update site

To update a registered Eclipse update site using the administrative
console, follow these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Update Sites.
2. Select an update site to modify.
3. From the Actions menu, select Edit Update Sites and click Go.
4. Modify the name or URL and click Save.

Changes to the update site URL results in the Client Management server retrieving information from the updated URL. The Client Management server asynchronously reads information about the features on the update sites updated. While this occurs, the state of the update sites is Pending. You can click the Refresh View button until the state changes to Complete.

Refreshing an Eclipse update site

For example, if you add new features on the update site, you must perform a refresh to use the Client Management server to distribute the features. To refresh a registered Eclipse update site using the administrative console,
follow these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Update Sites.
2. Select one or more update sites to be refreshed.
3. From the Actions menu, select Refresh Update Sites and click Go.
4. Confirm the list of update sites to be refreshed and click Refresh.

The Client Management server asynchronously reads information about the features on the update sites selected. While this occurs, the state of the update sites is Pending. You can click the Refresh View button until the state changes to Complete.

Removing an Eclipse update site

To update a registered Eclipse update site using the administrative
console, follow these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Update Sites.
2. Select one or more update sites to delete.
3. From the Actions menu, select Delete Update Sites and click Go.
4. Confirm the list of update sites to delete and click Delete.

You cannot delete an update site whose features are referenced by an active task. If you attempt to do this, you receive an error message indicating which tasks still reference features on the update site. You must delete these tasks to delete the update site.

Managing features

After you have registered one or more Eclipse update sites with the Client Management server, you can distribute any feature on the update site to clients. See Registering an Eclipse update site for
information on how to register an Eclipse update site. Features that are part of registered Eclipse update sites are referred to as registered features.

There are two ways to view registered features. To view the registered features on a particular update site that has been registered with the Client Management server, select Expeditor Client Management

To perform an action on one or more features, select from the Actions list and click Go. You can distribute features, enable or disable features, and remove features.

To filter or search views, see Filtering display information.

• Related concepts
• Introducing Client Management services
  Client Management services provides a flexible solution for robust management of clients, regardless of connection types or client capabilities. Network connected or offline clients can be targeted for management.
• Targeting tasks
  
  Tasks can be targeted to one or more clients. When you select an action to create a task, you are given an option to select the targets of the task.

• Related tasks
• Enabling and disabling Eclipse features
  Eclipse features that have been installed on clients can be enabled or disabled.

• Related reference
• Getting an inventory of Eclipse features
  If you want to view the Eclipse features that are defined on a client, you need to run a feature inventory task against the client.
• Managing update sites
  Use the administrative console to manage Eclipse update sites. The Update Sites view displays a list of update sites that have registered with the Client Management server.


• Using filters
  Use the administrative console to create, edit, and delete filters. Filters help you organize your work.
• Server settings

• Related information
• Deploying Eclipse features
  If you want to install or update one or more Eclipse features on one or more clients you can use the Distribute Features action. This action is available from multiple views.
• Removing Eclipse features
  If you want to uninstall one or more Eclipse features on one or more clients you can use the Remove Features action.

Getting an inventory of Eclipse features

To run a feature inventory task using the administrative console, follow these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Clients.
2. Optionally, select the clients you want to target. If you want to target a filter do not select any clients. You will be able to select the filter in a later step.
3. Select Schedule Inventory Collection from the list of actions and click Go.
4. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information on task types.
5. Select Feature Inventory from the Inventory Options and click Next.
6. Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters from this panel. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.
7. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for more information.

After the task is created, you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

When the inventory task has successfully completed, you can view the list of features installed on the client. To view the feature inventory using the administrative console, select Expeditor Client Management

Deploying Eclipse features

To distribute features using the Clients view of the administrative console,
follow these steps:

• Select Expeditor Client Management
   
  Clients.
• Optionally, select the clients you want to target. If you want to target a filter do not select any clients. You will be able to select the filter in a later step.
• Select Distribute Features from the list of actions and click Go.
• Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information on task types.
• Select the features to be installed and click add selected features to add them to the Target Features Queue. You may use a filter or search to find the correct filters. Click Next when all the features have been added to the Target Features Queue.
• Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters from this panel. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for
  more information.
• Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for more information.

To distribute features using the Features view of the administrative console,
follow these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Features or select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Update Sites and click on the name of the update site.
2. Select one or more features to install.
3. Select Distribute Features from the list of actions and click Go.
4. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information on task types.
5. Update the Target Features Queue if needed. You may use a filter or search to find the correct filters. Click Add Selected Features to add more features to the queue. Click Next when all the features have been added to the Target Features Queue.
6. Add clients to the Target Clients Queue. You can target individual clients or a group of clients using filters. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.


7. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for more information.

After the task is created, you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

Enabling and disabling Eclipse features

By default, when a feature is installed, it is enabled. You can view the state of features on a client using the feature inventory. You can create an enable or disable task from multiple views. You can create an enable or
disable task from the following views, using the administrative console:

• Select Expeditor Client Management
   
  Client
   
  client_id
   
  Feature Inventory.
• Select Expeditor Client Management
   
  Update Sites
   
  update_site_name.
• Select Expeditor Client Management
   
  Features.

After you navigate to one of these views, follow these steps:

1. Select the features to be enabled or disabled.
2. Select either Enable Features or Disable Features from the list of actions and click Go.
3. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information on task types.
4. Update the Target Features Queue if needed. You may use a filter or search to find the correct filters. Click Add Selected Features to add more features to the queue. Click Next when all the features have been added to the Target Features Queue.
5. Add clients to the Target Clients Queue. You can target individual clients or a group of clients using filters. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.


6. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for more information.

After the task is created, you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

Removing Eclipse features

You can create a feature remove task from multiple views. You can create
a feature remove task from the following views, using the administrative console:

• Select Expeditor Client Management
   
  Client
   
  client_id
   
  Feature Inventory.
• Select Expeditor Client Management
   
  Update Sites
   
  update_site_name .
• Select Expeditor Client Management
   
  Features.

After you navigate to one of these views, follow these steps:

1. Select the features to be uninstalled.
2. Select Remove Features from the list of actions and click Go.
3. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information on task types.
4. Update the Target Features Queue if needed. You may use a filter or search to find the correct filters. Click Add Selected Features to add more features to the queue. Click Next when all the features have been added to the Target Features Queue.
5. Add clients to the Target Clients Queue. You can target individual clients or a group of clients using filters. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.
6. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for
   more information.

After the task is created, you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

Deploying native applications

The following steps describe how to wrap a native executable in a feature so it can be distributed to the clients using the Client Management server.

1. Create a feature using the Plug-in Development Environment within Eclipse or the Rational&reg; Software Development platform. For more information, see Creating a feature.
2. Import the native executable into the feature. From your
   workspace, choose File -
    
   Import -
    
   File System.
3. Create a handler.properties file in the feature. For more information, see Creating the install handler instructions file.
4. Update your feature to use the global install handler. For more information, see Adding the global install handler to a feature.
   
5. In the Build tab in the Feature Manifest Editor, select the executable in the binary build section.
6. Export the feature as a deployable feature. From your workspace, choose File -
    
   Export -
    
   Plug-in Development -
    
   Deployable Features.
7. Copy the feature to an update site and update the site.xml file to point to the feature.
8. Register the update site with the Client Management Server. If the update site is already registered, refresh the update site so the new feature is available for distribution.
9. Create a task to distribute the feature to the client.

Results

There are other functions that the global install handler
supports, such as setting environment variables and coping files. For details, see Using the global install handler.

Managing Eclipse preferences

The preferred mode for working with Eclipse preferences is through the use of the Eclipse preferences jobs.

An alternative to using the Eclipse preferences jobs is to use the Node discovery job and Custom command jobs.

Getting an inventory of Eclipse preferences

To run a preference inventory task using the administrative console, follow these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Clients.
2. Optionally, select the clients you want to target. If you want to target a filter do not select any clients. You will be able to select the filter in a later step.
3. Select Schedule Inventory Collection from the list of actions and click Go.
4. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information.
5. Select Preference Inventory from the Inventory Options and click Next.
6. Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters from this panel. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.
7. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for more information.

After the task is created, you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

When the inventory task has successfully completed, you can view the list of Eclipse preferences defined on the client. To view the preference inventory using the administrative console, select Expeditor Client Management

Creating Eclipse preferences

To run a new preference task using the administrative console,
follow these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Clients.
2. Click on the client ID of one of the clients. You will be able to select additional clients in a later step, including targeting a filter.
3. Click Preference Inventory.
4. Select New Preferences from the list of actions and click Go.
5. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information.
6. Enter the path, value and scope of the new preference. The path is in the form plugin_name/preference_name. For a description of the scope values, see Managing Eclipse preferences.
7. To create multiple preferences click Add. When you are done adding preferences, click Next.
8. Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters
   from this panel. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.
9. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for more information.

After the task is created, you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

Updating Eclipse preferences

To run an edit preference task using the administrative console, follow
these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Clients.
2. Click on the client ID of one of the clients. You will be able to select additional clients in a later step, including targeting a filter.
3. Click Preference Inventory.
4. Select one or more of the preferences.
5. Select Edit Preferences from the list of actions and click Go.
6. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information.
7. Updates the path, value, or scope for each preference. The path is in the form plugin_name/preference_name. For a description of the scope values, see Managing Eclipse preferences.
8. Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters from this panel. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for
   more information.
9. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for more information.

After the task is created, you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

Deleting Eclipse preferences

To run a preference inventory task using the administrative console, follow
these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Clients.
2. Click on the client ID of one of the clients. You will be able to select additional clients in a later step, including targeting a filter.
3. Click Preferences Inventory .
4. Select one or more preferences.
5. Select Delete Preferences from the list of actions and click Go.
6. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information.
7. Verify the preferences to delete under Target Preferences and click Next.
8. Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters from this panel. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.
9. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for
   more information.

After the task is created, you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

Managing system properties

There are no actions to modify or delete system properties, but system properties can be defined in the rcpinstall.properties file used by the client. You can modify system properties by modifying values in the rcpinstall.properties file, which is one of the managed properties files. See Managing properties files for information on managing the rcpinstall.properties file. Updates to
the rcpinstall.properties file do not take effect until the client is restarted.

Getting an inventory of system properties

To run a System Properties inventory task using the administrative
console, follow these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Clients.
2. Optionally, select the clients you want to target. If you want to target a filter do not select any clients. You will be able to select the filter in a later step.
3. Select Schedule Inventory Collection from the list of actions and click Go.
4. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information.
5. Select System Properties Inventory from the Inventory Options
6. Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters from this panel. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.
7. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for more information.

After the task is created you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

When the inventory task has successfully completed, you can view the list of system properties defined for the client's VM. To view the System Properties inventory using the administrative console, select Expeditor Client Management

Managing properties files

Files that can be managed must be registered using extension points. See Extending the platform for client management properties management for information on
how to register a properties file. By default the Expeditor Client
manages these files:

• plugin_customization.ini
• rcplauncher.properties
• config.ini
• rcpinstall.properties

Getting an inventory of property file values

To run a System Properties inventory task using the administrative console, perform the following steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Clients.
2. Optionally, select the clients you want to target. If you want to target a filter do not select any clients. You will be able to select the filter in a later step.
3. Select Schedule Inventory Collection from the list of actions and click Go.
4. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information.
5. Select Properties Inventory from the Inventory Options
6. Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters from this panel. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.
7. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for more information.

After the task is created you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

When the inventory task has successfully completed, you can view the values in the managed property files defined on the client. To view the Properties inventory using the administrative console, select Expeditor Client Management

Creating a new property in a property file

You can define a new property in a managed property file for one or more clients using a new properties task. To run a new properties
task using the administrative console, follow these steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Clients.
2. Click the client ID of one of the clients. You will be able to select additional clients in a later step including targeting a filter.
3. Click Properties Inventory.
4. Select New Properties from the list of actions and click Go.
5. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information on task types.
6. Enter the file name, property name, and property value of the new property.
7. To create multiple properties click the Add button. When you are done adding properties, click Next.
8. Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters from this panel. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.


9. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for more information.

After the task is created you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

Updating a property value in a property file

To run a new properties task using the administrative console, perform
the following steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Clients.
2. Click the client ID of one of the clients. You will be able to select additional clients in a later step including targeting a filter.
3. Click Properties Inventory.
4. Select one or more properties.
5. Select Edit Properties from the list of actions and click Go.
6. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information.
7. Update the property value for all the properties being edited and click Next.
8. Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters from this panel. Click Next when complete. See Targeting tasks for more information.
9. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for
   more information.

After the task is created, you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

Deleting a property from a property file

To run a delete properties task using the administrative console, perform the
following steps:

1. Select Expeditor Client Management
    
   Clients.
2. Click the client ID of one of the clients. You will be able to select additional clients in a later step including targeting a filter.
3. Click Properties Inventory.
4. Select one or more properties.
5. Select Delete Properties from the list of actions and click Go.
6. Select the task type and click Next. See Managing tasks for more information.
7. Verify the properties being deleted in the Target Properties list and click Next.
8. Update the target client queue if needed. You can target filters from this panel. Click Next when complete. See the Targeting tasks for more information.
9. Set the task options and click Create Task. See Task options for
   more information.

After the task is created, you can view the task status and monitor its progress. See Monitoring task progress for more information.

Running a command on a client

1. Select Expeditor Client Management -
    
   Clients.


2. Optional: Select one or more clients. You will be able to select additional clients in a later step including targeting a filter.
3. Select Run Command from the list of actions and click Go.
4. Select the task type. See Managing tasks for more information on task types. Click Next.
5. Enter the command string to execute on the client. Select options and click Next. The following options
   are available:
   
   

   Command String

   Type the fully-qualified command string that you want to run on
   the target clients. For example, type c:\winnt\system32\ipconfig.
   

   Notes:

   • You cannot use double quotes for the command string. For example, /bin/sh -c "java -version" returns an error.