Packaging and Release

Providers for HP WBEM Services for HP-UX are software products. They may be delivered through any vehicle suitable for the delivery of a software product intended for installation on HP-UX. The Software Distributor facility (SD) is particularly well suited for this purpose (SD is described on HP's web site at http://software.hp.com/products/SD_AT_HP/faqs/general.html).

When appropriate, a provider may be packaged with the system component that it makes accessible through WBEM. For example, a peripheral device is generally shipped with the software drivers and management commands that make it usable. The WBEM provider for the device is ideally included in the software components that accompany the device.

Provider Product Content

A provider product package contains software that will perform the provider installation, and the following product components:

Schema definition
The class or classes that will be instrumented by the provider. This can be delivered as MOF files that will be loaded during provider installation with the cimmof command, or the schema definition can be created by a small client program developed specifically for this purpose. Even if the provider will instrument CIM classes that will normally already be found on the system, the package should contain the schema definition component, specifying the entire line of descent of the class.
Provider binary(ies)
One or more shared libraries that contain the code that implements the functions in the Provider API.
Provider Registration
The instance specifications that register the provider for its schema. As with the schema definition, this can be delivered as MOF files that will be loaded with the cimmof command, or the instances can be created by a client program developed specifically for this purpose.
Provider Data Sheet (PDS)
A description of the provider which includes a list of properties and methods served by the provider. This component is not required for a provider package, but is strongly encouraged.
Operator's Guide
A conventional document providing a detailed description of system requirements and the procedures for installing, upgrading, and removing the provider, as well as other information, if required, for configuring and operating the provider. This information may be delivered in the PDS. It is not required.
Other Components
In some cases, the implementation of a provider may include other executable components, data or configuration files, online documentation, clients that use the provider, and other components.

Installation, Upgrade and Removal

Installation, upgrade and removal is done with HP WBEM Services for HP-UX running.

Installing on Systems with HP WBEM Services for HP-UX

The basic steps in a provider installation are:

Check for prerequisites
Disable existing provider
Move files to target locations
Update schema
Perform other tasks, as necessary, such as provider configuration, file initialization, or similar functions.
Enable new provider

Target File Locations

Provider installation must deliver the following two types of information to the system (though provider implementations may additionally include other components not specifically required by HP WBEM Services for HP-UX):

Executable binary (built as a shared library)
Schema being instrumented and provider registration (installed with either the cimmof command or a client application

The following directory is reserved for the required components listed above:

/opt/wbem/providers/lib

Installation of the schema instrumented and provider registration are the responsibility of the provider developer, and are normally performed in the provider’s SD configure script.

The CIM Server will look in this directory for the provider shared library. The provider installation should create a symbolic link in this directory that points to the actual file location.

Other provider components, such as MOF files, other scripts and binaries, configuration or database files, and other components may be installed in any directory. To simplify system administration, however, it is advisable to follow generally accepted conventions for file names and locations, where appropriate.

Disable Existing Provider

When upgrading a provider on a system on which hp WBEM services is running, it is necessary to first disable the existing provider. This is done with the cimprovider command, described in the command's man page and also in the section on testing providers. If there is no existing provider that would be affected by this installation, or if HP WBEM Services is either not installed or not running, this step is not necessary.

Move Files to Target Locations

Files should be copied to their final locations, and symbolic links created as described above.

Update Schema and Register the Provider

As discussed in the section on Chapter 3 “Schema Design and Implementation”, the provider product must supply its own class definition(s), plus the definitions of all superclasses, as these are not guaranteed to be present when the provider is installed. Schema may be updated by using the cimmof command on MOF files that are included in the installation procedure, or by a client program that has been implemented specifically for this purpose. In either case, it is imperative that the schema update follow the “Rules for Updating Schema” described previously.

Upgrading an Existing Provider

The basic steps in upgrading a provider are:

Check for prerequisites
Disable the provider. (See section on “Stopping the Provider” in this chapter.)
Move component files to target locations
Update schema if necessary
Complete installation tasks such as configuration
Enable the provider

In general, providers are installed while the CIM Server is running. Client requests will be denied while the provider is disabled.

Please refer to the section on “Rules for Updating Schema” when it is necessary to modify the schema definition. Some provider upgrades may not modify supported class schema definitions but ALL provider upgrades must change the registration MOF since the provider version has changed.

If a provider is implemented to operate with an upgraded schema, it may also be designed to function correctly if it is installed with a prior version of schema, but this is not required.

Removal

The basic steps in removing (uninstalling) a provider are:

Check for dependencies (does anything else depend on this provider?)
Remove the provider (see section on Removing a Provider)
Remove schema definitions. This step is not required, and generally may be omitted.
Remove files from system (using swremove if files were installed with SD)
Perform other cleanup operations, if necessary