Installing packages from a custom repository

BigFix provides a task to easily install and update custom packages on SUSE Linux Enterprise version 11 and later endpoints that are registered to custom repositories.

Before you begin

  • Subscribe to the Patching Support site to access the installation task named as Install packages by using zypper.
  • Configure a custom repository from the SLE Custom Repository Management dashboard. For more information, see Custom repositories management.
  • Register the SCC download plug-in through the Manage Download Plug-ins dashboard. The data generated by the download plug-in may not be used, but it is crucial that you register the plug-in to avoid download errors.
  • Ensure that the configured repository is up-to-date and contains the required packages and metadata.

About this task

Use the Install packages by using zypper task to install or update the packages on endpoints.

You can use the package name or Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) ID number to specify the selected packages for installation.

You can also update all the installed packages on the endpoint with later available versions that are in your custom repository.

The Zypper commands for each of the available actions are as follows:
zypper install <package_name1> <package_name2>
Updates or installs a package with a specific name. Multiple package update or installation is acceptable. Use a space to separate the package names.
zypper update
Updates all the installed packages on the endpoint.
zypper patch --cve=<cve_number>
Updates a package with a specific CVE ID number. The task fails if no CVE ID number is specified and it only accepts a single CVE reference.
This action requires Zypper version 1.5.3-3.2.
zypper patch --date=<YYYY-MM-DD>
Installs all patches that were issued until the specified date.
This action requires Zypper version 1.5.3-3.2.
Command options are supported as extra flags for the zypper install and zypper update commands only. For detailed usage information, see the zypper man page.

This task also provides actions to test the packages for installation, without installing the packages on the endpoints.

Procedure

  1. From the Patch Management domain, click All Patch Management > Fixlets and Tasks.
  2. Select the Install packages by using zypper task to install custom packages on endpoints.
  3. In the Task pane, review the description and follow the instructions in the Actions box to deploy an action.
  4. Depending on the action that you selected, provide the necessary information and click OK.
    Note: To update all installed packages on the endpoint, select the action to install packages, but do not specify any package name.
  5. In the Take Action pane, select the endpoints on which the packages are to be installed or updated.
  6. Click OK.