Installing Common Agent on Linux for X-Architecture compute nodes

After preparing your system, you can install Common Agent on a Linux for X-Architecture compute nodes platform, including a VMware ESX server, by downloading the installation file .

About this task

Important:

Ensure that the system clocks on the systems that contain IBM® Flex System Manager and Common Agent remain synchronized.

Table 1. Installation options for Common Agent on Linux for X-Architecture compute nodes
Installation method	Title or file name
Downloaded installation package	6.3.5 agents Install the 6.3.5 agents unless you need full support for downlevel agents that have the previously specified hardware and software configurations. SysDir6_3_x_Common_Agent_Linux_x86.tar.gz (agent package for manual installation) SysDir6_3_x_Common_Agent_Linux_x86.jar (agent package for Agent Installation Wizard installation)

Note: The command line option -N for specifying the NIST mode is only for the Common Agent on xLinux. To let the IBM Flex System Manager installer (for Common Agent on xLinux) know that it should use NIST mode for the agent, the command line option -N must be used by the IBM Flex System Manager caller.

Procedure

Start the installation from the installation source:
Downloaded installation files: To start the installation from a Web download, complete the following steps:
1. View the IBM Flex System Manager downloads technote which provides information about acquiring the agent installation packages. The technote can be found at https://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas7452a24e9851ad53f86257f8f004bce0b.
2. To extract the contents of the installation package to a local directory, type one the following commands:
```
tar -zxvf SysDir6_3_x_Common_Agent_Linux_x86.tar.gz
```
  or
```
jar -xvf SysDir6_3_x_Common_Agent_Linux_x86.jar
```
3. Change to the directory in which the installation script is located. Type the following command and press Enter:
```
cd /install_files/repository
```
  where install_files is the path to the extracted installation files.
4. If you used the jar command, change the permission setting of the installation script to make it accessible. Type the following command and press Enter:
```
chmod +x dir6.3.x_commonagent_linux_x86
```
Optional: To customize the installation, copy the response file (diragent.rsp) to a local directory and modify the installation settings in your local copy.
1. Type the following command and press Enter:
```
cp diragent.rsp /directory/
```
  where directory is a local directory.
2. Open an ASCII text editor and modify the installation settings in the copy of the diragent.rsp file. This file is fully commented.
  The following parameters are used in the diragent.rsp file to register the Common Agent services with an agent manager. These parameters are optional, but, if one is specified, then both must be specified.
  AGENT_MANAGER_HOSTNAME
  
  The host name or IP address for the agent manager. If the agent is installed in a network address translation environment, set this parameter to ensure that the agent has the correct IP address to contact the agent manager.
  
  AGENT_MANAGER_PASSWORD
  
  The password for registering with the agent manager.
  The following parameters are used to set the ports that the common agent services will use. A valid number for each port is a number that is greater than 1024 and lesser than 65535. The values listed are the default values for each parameter.
  - AGENT_PORT=9510
  - AGENT_NONSTOP_PORT_1=9514
  - AGENT_NONSTOP_PORT_2=9515
3. Save the modified response file with a new name.
Tip: After installation, keep the response file for future use and reference.
To install Common Agent, from within the directory in which the installation script is located and type one of the following commands, then press Enter:
- To accept the default settings:
```
./dir6.3.x_commonagent_linux_x86
```
- To use the response file:
```
./dir6.3.x_commonagent_linux_x86 -r /directory/response.rsp
```
where directory is the local directory to which you copied the response file, and response.rsp is the name of the response file.
Note: To extract the file sets but not install Common Agent, enter the following command:
```
./dir6.3.x_commonagent_linux_x86 -x all -p extract_directory
```
where extract_directory is the local directory into which you want to extract the installation files.
Common Agent is started automatically when installation completes.

What to do next

To ensure full functionality of your new Common Agent instance, discover it with IBM Flex System Manager.