You can manually install the VCM Windows Agent using either the EXE (.exe, executable) file or the MSI (.msi, Microsoft Installer) file that is supplied with VCM. Choose your install method based on the following:
n EXE files detect an existing software version and provide the option to uninstall the existing version.
EXE files can also be used for unattended silent installations.
n MSI files are database files executed by the Windows MSIEXEC.EXE executable, which reads data in the MSI file and executes the installation. MSI files can be used for unattended, silent installations. The MSI installer will also uninstall an existing agent (non-msi), but it does not ask. If you run it again, you have the option of removal only. If you upgrade an MSI-installed agent with the new MSI, the old agent is uninstalled.
The VCM Enterprise Certificate, which is selected during the initial installation of VCM, is installed in the certificate store on the Agent machine during the Agent installation process if HTTP is selected. The Collector root certificate (Enterprise Certificate) is used to authenticate requests from a collector (using the Collector Certificate and its established trust to the Enterprise Certificate) on the Agent machine before a collection/change request is processed.
Using the .exe
To manually install the VCM Windows base Agent (CMAgentInstall.exe) on a target machine using the .exe file, follow these steps.
1. On your Collector, navigate to the Agent files directory at:
C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VCM\AgentFiles
2. Locate the CMAgentInstall.exe file, and then install it from a network share or copy it to the target machine.
3. Navigate to the Collector data directory at c:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\VCM\CollectorData. Locate the Enterprise Certificate .pem file. This file must be accessible during the agent installation. The path used here is the default location. If your files are not in the default location, click Administration > Settings > General Settings > Collector. In the data grid, go to the Root directory for all collector files. The current path is displayed in the Value column.
NOTE If the Enterprise Certificate has been distributed by a mechanism outside of the scope of VCM, such as a corporate Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), you may not need to include the Enterprise Certificate file.
4. In Windows Explorer, double-click the CMAgentInstall.exe. You will be asked for the certificate path and port.
If you are performing a silent install, on the target machine run the CMAgentInstall.exe using the following parameters:
CMAgentInstall.exe /s INSTALLPATH=%Systemroot%\CMAgent PORTNUMBER=26542 CERTIFICATEFILE=<filename>
NOTE The %Systemroot% environment variable specifies the directory where Windows is installed (typically \WINNT or \WINDOWS).
Where:
n CMAgentInstall.exeis the executable used to install the Agent.
n /sindicates a silent install, which means that popups and menus do not appear. When running this command from the command line, VMware recommends using the /s option. When performing a silent install, if the VCM Windows Agent is found locked, the installation will fail.
To unlock the Agent so that the installation will proceed, use the -UNLOCK option. When used, the Agent will remain unlocked when the installation completes. The syntax is:
CMAgentInstall.exe /s -UNLOCK INSTALLPATH=%Systemroot%\CMAgent PORTNUMBER=26542 CERTIFICATEFILE=<filename>
NOTE To re-lock your machine, submit a lock request from the VCM Collector.
n INSTALLPATHis the location where the Agent will be installed.
n PORTNUMBERis specified for HTTP Agents. If the PORT parameter is not present, the protocol will be DCOM. In this case, the communication socket listener service will not be installed and the certificate is not required.
n CERTIFICATEFILEis the certificate that was generated or specified on the Collector during the Collector installation. The location of the certificate file will be in the path relative to where you installed the software on the Collector, and by default is C:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\VCM\CollectorData\[certificate name].pem. If you specify a PORTNUMBER, but do not want to use a certificate, you must use the parameter
CERTIFICATEFILE=SKIP to allow an HTTP Agent without a valid CERTIFICATEFILE path.
NOTE For Vista, Windows7, and Windows 2008 only: If you set compatibility mode on any Agent executables to a prior version of Windows, the operating system may be reported incorrectly in VCM.
To Manually Uninstall the VCM Windows Agent
The VCM Windows Agent uninstall executable will be present only if the Agent was installed manually using CMAgentInstall.exe or CMAgentInstall.msi. To uninstall the VCM Windows Agent manually, execute the following command (this command assumes the default installation directory was selected):
%SystemRoot%\CMAgent\Uninstall\Packages\CMAgentInstall\UnCMAgentInstall.exe Using the .msi
To manually install the VCM Windows base Agent (CMAgent[Version].msi) on a target machine using the .msi file, follow these steps:
1. On your Collector, navigate to the agent files directory. The location of the .msi will be in the path relative to where you installed the software on the Collector, and by default is
c:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VCM\AgentFiles.
2. Locate the CMAgent[Version].msi file. This file must be accessible by the target machine.
3. Navigate to the Collector data directory at c:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\VCM\CollectorData. Locate the VCM Enterprise Certificate .pem file, and then copy this file to the target machine in a secure manner.
NOTE If your Collector is operating in a full Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), and the client can validate the Collector root certificate (Enterprise Certificate), the .pem file is not necessary.
4. On the target machine, double-click the .msi or run the .msi file using the command line syntax.
Command line options and parameters are described below.
msiexec /Option <Required Parameter> [Optional Parameter]
For example:
msiexec.exe /qn /i "[PathToFile]\CMAgent[Version].msi" [PORTNUMBER=<available port>] [INSTALLDIR="<new path>"]
When executing the Windows installer file with default options, any existing Window Agent is removed.
The new VCM Windows Agent is then installed in the %SystemRoot%\CMAgent directory, and will use DCOM to communicate. The %SystemRoot% variable defaults to C:\WinNT or C:\Windows.
For HTTP installs, where PORTNUMBER is set, you must also specify an Enterprise Certificate. To do so, use this syntax: CERTIFICATEFILE=”x:\[mypath]\[mycert].pem”. If you specify PORTNUMBER, you must also provide CERTIFICATEFILE with either SKIP or the path to a certificate file.
Command line options, showing required and optional parameters, include the following. These options are all parameters to msiexec.
n /qb- Runs the command in a basic user interface, displaying the progress and error messages.
n /qn- Runs the command in quiet mode; no user interaction is required.
n /i- Specifies the command as an installation.
n /x- Specifies the command as an uninstall process.
n PORTNUMBER: Installs the Windows Agent on the port number specified, using HTTP instead of DCOM. For HTTP installs, where PORTNUMBER is set, you must also specify a certificate file using the syntax: CERTIFICATEFILE=”x:\[mypath]\[mycert].pem”. For example:
msiexec.exe /qn /i "C:\temp\CMAgent[VersionNumber].msi" PORTNUMBER=2666 CERTIFICATEFILE=”x:\mypath\mycert.pem”
n INSTALLDIR: Changes the default root directory specification (%SystemRoot%\CMAgent). For example:
msiexec.exe /qn /i "C:\temp\CMAgent[VersionNumber].msi" INSTALLDIR="C:\VCM"
n CERTIFICATEFILE: Specifies the Enterprise Certificate. For example:
CERTIFICATEFILE=”x:\[mypath]\[mycert].pem”or CERTIFICATEFILE=”SKIP”
For more information about the command line options and descriptions, click Start > Run > msiexec or visithttp://www.microsoft.com.
You must specify optional parameters using UPPERCASE letters, following the required "/i" parameter.
Quotation marks are necessary only when a path includes spaces. For example, when one or more spaces exist in the source file location and the INSTALLDIR parameter. The optional parameters can be specified in any combination and order.