[BESAdmin-Announcements] Tool Updated: CentOS Download Plug-in R2 and CentOS Download Cacher R2 v1.0.0.2 published 2017-06-27

[Announcements for BES Administrators]

The CentOS Download Plug-in R2 tool and CentOS Download Cacher R2 have 
been updated with the following enhancements:

CentOS Download Plug-in R2 1.0.0.2

The CentOS Download Plug-in R2 can now use packages that are cached by the 
CentOSR2DownloadCacher's download_dir (which is referred to as localCache 
in the plugin.ini) and get packages from the Internet at the same time.

Previously, the CentOSR2Plugin was used in the BigFix Server in either of 
the following scenarios:
- fully air-gapped using CentOSR2DownloadCacher or
- internet-enabled without using CentOSR2DownloadCacher.

With this enhancement, you can cache the packages offline to save time 
downloading the packages during a patching cycle.


CentOS Download Cacher R2 1.0.0.2

- Package sha1 download support
The CentOS Download Cacher R2 can now download packages as sha1 files 
instead of RPM.

Previously, when using the “buildRepo –key centos-7-x64” with the download 
cacher, the CentOS repository “centos-7-x64” structure is mirrored 
offline. This might result to duplication of packages if they are found in 
multiple repositories.

Using the --sha1_download_dir will download all packages from all 
repositories (keys) as files with a sha1 filename into a single flat 
directory. Only the packages will be stored in the sha1_download_dir. Each 
repository metadata will still be stored in the download_dir and will 
still maintain the CentOS Repository directory structure.

Note: When using –sha1_download_dir, consider the cache limit of the 
BigFix server's sha1 file folder.

- Repository access check
New commands to verify if you have access to the BigFix supported CentOS 
base repositories and sub-repositories: check-baserepos and check-allrepos

- Storage space requirement check
New command to calculate and check the storage space requirement when 
using the builRepo command: check-storagereq

This command outputs the required space to download the repository 
metadata and packages with and without the use of the --sha1_download_dir 
option.

- Space-saving benchmarks
Space-saving benchmarks have been established with the use of the 
--sha1_download_dir option.

Using the --sha1_download_dir option have shown significant decrease in 
storage size, download size, and time when caching multiple repositories 
of the same CentOS version. This is because many packages are duplicated 
among repositories with the same CentOS version (for example, 
centos-6.8-x64, centos-6.7-x64, centos-6.6-x64). Space is not saved if you 
only cache a single repository for each CentOS version (for example, 
centos-6.8-x64, centos-7.1-x64).


Updated Tools Versions:
CentOS Download Plug-in R2, version 1.0.0.2
CentOS Download Cacher R2, version 1.0.0.2

Actions to Take:
- Update to CentOS Download Plug-in version 1.0.0.2 by using the Manage 
Download Plug-ins dashboard.
- Download the latest CentOS Download Cacher R2 from the BigFix Support 
site. For Windows systems, download the tool at 
http://software.bigfix.com/download/bes/util/CentOSR2DownloadCacher.exe. 
For Linux systems, download the tool at 
http://software.bigfix.com/download/bes/util/CentOSR2DownloadCacher-linux.tar.gz
. This tool is supported on x86-64 (64-bit) systems.

Published Site Version:
Patching Support, version 765

Additional Resources:
For more information about the new features, see BigFix Patch for CentOS 
User Guide at https://ibm.biz/Bdi3k3.

Application Engineering Team
IBM BigFix


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