Registering the SCC download plug-in

Use the Manage Download Plug-ins dashboard to register the SCC download plug-in on the BigFix server to install SUSE patches on x86, x86_64, and s390x endpoints.

Before you begin

You must complete the following tasks:
  • Ensure that the BigFix server and the BigFix client are on the same version to avoid a null error.
  • Ensure that the Require SHA-256 Downloads option in the BigFix Administration Tool is not enabled to prevent the SCC Plug-in from failing. For more information about the SCC Plug-in, see Using the download plug-in.
  • For Linux BigFix servers, install the following packages and their dependencies:
    • GLIBC version 2.2.5 or later
    • GLIBC version 2.3 or later
    • GNU/Linux kernel version 2.6.31 or later
  • Enable HTTPS access on the following URLs on port 443.
    • https://scc.suse.com:443
    • https://updates.suse.com:443
  • Subscribe to the Patching Support site to gain access to the Manage Download Plug-ins dashboard.
  • Activate the Encryption Analysis for Clients analysis, which is available from the BES Support site.
  • Activate the Download Plug-in Versions analysis, which is available from the Patching Support site.
  • If you want to encrypt endpoints, deploy the Enable Encryption for Clients Fixlet, which is available from the BES Support site.

Procedure

  1. From the Patch Management domain, click All Patch Management > Dashboards > Manage Download Plug-ins dashboard.
  2. From the Servers and Relays table, select the server on which the download plug-in is to be registered.
    Important: You must always register the download plug-in on the BigFix server.
  3. From the Plug-ins table, select SCC Plug-in.
  4. Click Register.
    The Register SCC Plug-in wizard displays.
    Figure 1. Register SCC download plug-in wizard

    Register SCC download plug-in wizard
  5. Enter the Novell credentials that you use to log on to the Novell Customer Center.
    Novell Username
    Your Novell account user name to the Novell Customer Center. It must have a valid support identifier to download patches.
    Novell Password
    Your Novell account password to the Novell Customer Center.
    Confirm Novell Password
    Your Novell account password for confirmation.
    Large amounts of downloads through this channel might lock you out of your Novell account. Use the mirror server to prevent a temporary lock out from happening.
  6. Enter your SUSE Customer Care mirror credentials to download the patches from the mirrors of the supported repositories.
    Important:

    The mirror credentials refer to the Organization Credentials listed in the SUSE Customer Center or Novell Customer Center. For more details, see Mirroring Credentials.

    Note: Mirror credentials are required for SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 content.
    Mirror URL
    The URL of your mirror server. It must be a well-formed URL, which contains a protocol and a host name.
    To use the Novell mirror server, enter https://nu.novell.com.
    Note: Ensure that you enter your Novell mirror server credentials. If you leave the following fields blank, the download plug-in uses the credentials for the Novell Customer Center instead.
    Mirror Username
    Your organization user name to access the mirror of the supported SUSE repositories.
    Mirror Password
    Your organization password to access the mirror of the supported SUSE repositories.
    Confirm Mirror Password
    Your mirror password for confirmation.
  7. Enter the proxy parameters if the downloads must go through a proxy server.
    Note: Only basic authentication is supported. Ensure that the proxy is configured to work with the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol.
    Proxy URL
    The URL of your proxy server. It must be a well-formed URL that contains a protocol and a host name. The URL is usually the IP address or DNS name of your proxy server and its port, which is separated by a colon. For example: http://192.168.100.10:8080.
    Proxy Username
    Your proxy user name if your proxy server requires authentication. It is usually in the form of domain\username.
    Proxy Password
    Your proxy password if your proxy server requires authentication.
    Confirm Proxy Password
    Your proxy password for confirmation.
  8. Click OK.
    The Take Action dialog displays.
  9. Select the target computer.
  10. Click OK.

Results

You successfully registered the SCC download plug-in. The plugin.ini configuration file is created in the following locations:
On Windows systems
%PROGRAM FILES%\BigFix Enterprise\BES Server\DownloadPlugins\SCCProtocol
On Linux systems
/var/opt/BESServer/DownloadPlugins/SCCProtocol