Restricting Product Configurations
Restricting Product Configurations
The following procedure describes how to control and restrict the configura-tions of products that users can install. For example, you can prevent users from installing product subcomponents not needed in your environment, or force users to install certain product subcomponents as links to an administra-tive node rather than as local copies. These measures save disk space and simplify the installation process for users.
You constrain product configurations with the interactive cfgsa tool. For each configuration question associated with a product, cfgsa enables you to limit the possible answers a user may supply or preselect an answer. When a user runs the config or install + + tool to configure the product, the user is pres-ented with a modified set of configuration questions that reflect the constraints you define. If you preselect an answer, the question is not pres-ented to the user at all. If the user installs the product with a configuration file that was created before you created the constraints, or with a default con-figuration file, the constraints you define take precedence over any
configuration selections not allowed by the constraints.
Restricting product configurations is entirely optional. If you do not restrict a product configuration with cfgsa, the user is presented with the full range of configuration questions and options defined by HP for the product or product subset.
For a comprehensive description of cfgsa, see "cfgsa" in Chapter 10.
1 Invoke the cfgsa tool.
Invoke cfgsa by entering the command AAlinstali/tools/cfgsa AA
where AA is the pathname of the Authorized Area containing the product(s) whose configuration(s) you want to constrain.
cfgsa displays a list of products available in the Authorized Area and a CFGSA> prompt. You can redisplay this list later during the cfgsa session by entering available (or av) at the CFGSA> prompt.
2 Select the product.
Select the product you want to constrain by entering the command CFGSA> select produce number
where product_number is the number of the product in the list of available products. Or enter
CFGSA> select produce name version
where product_name and version are the name and version number of the product as they appear in the list of available products; for example pas 8.7.m. You can omit version if there is only one version of the product in the Authorized Area.
3 Define the configuration constraints.
Enter the command CFGSA> constrain
This begins the process of defining configuration constraints for the selected product.
cfgsa displays the configuration questions that are shown to a user when a user runs config or install + + to configure the product, and the possible an-swers that a user can supply. If no active override file for the product exists, cfgsa presents the full set of questions defined by HP for the product. If an active override file exists, the questions presented reflect the constraints de-fined by the override file. (See "Override Files," Chapter 11, for more information about override files.)
For each question, enter answer, limit, or user at the YOUR CHOICE prompt.
Restricting Product Configurations
answer Enter answer to answer the question for the user. cfgsa then prompts you to enter one of the possible answers. The configuration option is unconditionally set to the answer you supply; when a user configures the product, the question does not appear at all. If the question asks if a particu-lar product subcomponent is to be installed as a link (versus a local copy or not at all) and you preanswer the question as link, cfgsa prompts you for the destination of the link.
limit Enter limit to limit the answers a user can supply to a subset of the possible answers. cfgsa then prompts you to enter the answers you want pres-ented to the user. When a user configures the product, the user is prespres-ented with the question and the reduced answer set. If the text of the question re-fers or alludes to answers that you exclude, the question may become slightly confusing to the user.
user Enter user (or just press < RETURN> ) to impose no constraints.
When a user configures the product, the user is presented with the question and the full set of answers. This is the default response.
In response to each configuration question, you can also enter help to obtain information about the constraint subcommands; refresh to redisplay the ques-tion and answers; or abort to exit the constraint session. abort saves any constraints already defined and returns to the CFGSA> prompt.
When you finish responding to all the configuration questions, the CFGSA>
prompt reappears.
4 Optionally display and change the constraints.
You can enter show at the CFGSA> prompt to display all the questions for the product and the constraints you've applied. To change the constraints, enter revert. revert removes all constraints that you've applied to the selected prod-uct during the current cfgsa session. You can then redefine constraints with the constrain command.
5 Save the constraints.
When you've finished defining the constraints for the selected product, enter the command
CFGSA> save
This saves the constraints in an overrides file for the product. The file is named ri.apollo4Jroduccname.v.version. It is placed in the directory AA/ins-tall/overrides, where AA is the name of the Authorized Area that you specified when you invoked cfgsa.
Placing the override file in the install/overrides directory makes the file ac-tive, meaning the constraints are in effect. If an override file for the product already exists in the install/overrides directory, it it overwritten with the new one.
Also note:
It cfgsa provides a generate subcommand, which you can use instead of save. gen-erate creates both a selection file and a corresponding, but non-active, override file. You can use this selection file to load a subset of the product from distribu-tion media. This process is described in Chapter 7.
It To subsequently remove the constraints, you can delete, move, or rename the active override file, using standard Aegis or UNIX commands. This restores the full set of configuration questions and options for the product, as defined by the product's release index. But do this only if the entire product (not a subset) re-sides in the Authorized Area. Or, if a product subset rere-sides in the Authorized Area, remove the constraints only if you replace the active override file with another override file that corresponds to the product subset (or that corresponds to a set of product components that is smaller than the subset). Otherwise, a user can potentially define a product configuration that includes product components that do not physically reside in the Authorized Area. This causes numerous errors at installation time.
6 Exit cfgsa.
When you finish creating override files for as many products as you want, en-ter the command
CFGSA> exit
This returns you to the shell.
Example
Restricting Product Configurations
In this example, we restrict the configuration of the product c++ in the Au-thorized Area f fserverfaa. The restrictions force users to install the BSD4.3 c++ man pages as a link or not at all; users cannot install the man pages as a local copy. We then change this restriction so users can install the man pages only as a link to the node f fbsa.
% f fserverfaafinstaHftoolsfcfgsa f fserverfaa
RAI System Administrator Override Tool V1.01 3 Apr 89 Scanning Authorized Area in //server/aa
Products Available in //server/aa
1) ada 3.0
Restricting Product Configurations
latest version of these files to be available on the target. The C++ man pages consume about 0.18 MB of disk space.
Do you want a local copy of BSD4.3 C++ man pages, a link to another node or neither?
ANSWERS: Up to 1 of [ copy(D) link none]
YOUR CHOICE [ Answer Limit User (D) Help Refresh Abort ]: limit Pick 3 of [ copy(D) link none]: link none
All queries for c++ 2.0.0.m have been processed CFGSA> show
For product: c++ 2.0.0.m
For: Do you want a local copy of Domain/C++ executable components and libraries or a link to another node?
===> User chooses answer
For: /BSD4.3/USR/MAN
The /usr/man directory contains man pages for the bsd4.3 environment. If this directory exists and is NOT a link on the target, you may want to install the man pages for Domain/C++. If /usr/man IS a link from the target to another node, then you must install Domain/C++ on that node if you want the latest version of these files to be available on the target. The C++ man pages consume about 0.18 MB of disk space.
Do you want a local copy of BSD4.3 C++ man pages, a link to another node or neither?
===> Answers limited to: "link" "none"
CFGSA> revert
YOUR CHOICE [ Answer Limit User(D) Help Refresh Abort]: abort CFGSA> show
For: /BSD4.3/USR/MAN
The /usr/man directory contains man pages for the bsd4.3 environment. If this directory exists and is NOT a link on the target, you may want to install the man pages for Domain/C++. If /usr/man IS a link from the target to another node, then you must install Domain/C++ on that node if you want the latest version of these files to be available on the target. The C++ man pages consume about 0.18 MB of disk space.
Do you want a local copy of BSD4.3 C++ man pages, a link to another node or neither?
===> Answer forced to be: "link" and linking to: "//bsa"
CFGSA> save CFGSA> exit
% Is Ilserver/aa/instaU/overrides ri.apollo.c++.v.2.0.0.m
%