VMware VCENTER CONFIGURATION MANAGER 5.3, Getting Started Manual

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The Patch Signature File (.pls) files must reside on the Collector. By default, VCM Patching is set to
execute the action to download the .pls files automatically every 4 hours. The .pls files are used to
determine if required patches are installed on the VCM-managed machine. You can view the patch files
in:
Console | UNIX | Security | Patches | Assessment or Console | Change Management | Non
VCM Initiated | By Machine . During a patch assessment, using the Patch Assessment data type, the
.pls files are pushed from the Collector to the VCM-managed machine. You may experience a delay
while this process is occurring.
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The VCM Agent must be installed on the VCM-managed machine.
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The VCM-managed machine must be licensed for VCM Patching for UNIX Patching.
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Assessments of UNIX/Linux-based machines operate differently from Windows assessments:
UNIX assessments require new data to be collected, while Windows assessments are performed against
previously collected data.
Machine Assessments are Run Against Known Patches
Assessments of UNIX/Linux machines are run against the patches known by VMware at the time the
assessment is performed. For more information, contact VMware Customer Support.
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If machine data has not been collected for a machine, VCM Patching may not display assessment
results for the machine, and the machine will not be available for deployment. In cases where a patch-
machine mismatch occurs, VCM can be set to display the data and the mismatch status, or hide the patch-
machine mismatch data in
Patching | VCM Patching Administration | UNIX | Settings | Bulletin and
Update .
Using Bulletins to Run an Assessment
To run an assessment using bulletins, follow these steps.
1. Click Patching | [UNIX/Linux Platform] | Bulletins | By Bulletin .
2. Click Assess . The assessment on UNIX/Linux machines uses the Patch Assessment collection filter to
perform a collection of all machines in the current machine group. The results are reported in the
vCenter Configuration Manager Installation and Getting Started Guide
170 VMware, Inc.