Configuring Orchid Recorder for Manual and Automatic Updates (Red Hat/CentOS)

Beginning in version 24.6, Orchid Recorder supports manual updates on RHEL and CentOS systems, for selected license types only. In version 24.9, Orchid Recorder supports automatic updates for RHEL and CentOS systems. Using either of these features makes the upgrade process just a little bit easier.

Manual Updates

There are a few different settings available to configure the manual updates. To edit these, you may use either of the following methods:

• You can use the Advanced Settings feature in the software (which is described in the Orchid Recorder Administrator Guide).
• You can modify the Orchid Recorder properties file (as described below).

*To perform this change, you will need to be signed in as an Administrator.

1. Open the Orchid Recorder properties file. (If you need help, refer back to the How to Edit a Configuration File section.)

2. Add the package.dnf.repo.channel property to set the repository channel from which ipc-orchid package updates will be downloaded. If this value is not set, the system will default to the platform’s production channel (systemd-production).
3. Add the package.dnf.repo.url property to define the URL for the repository server. This server is responsible for hosting ipc-orchid packages. If this value is not supplied, the system will default to a platform specific URL hosted by IPConfigure, Inc. (Default: https://download.ipconfigure.com/ochid-yum-repo/repos/)
4. Add the package.dnf.repo.throttle property to set the bandwidth throttle for ipc-orchid package downloads. (Default: 500 kb/s).

5. Save and close the file.
6. After you update the Orchid Recorder properties file, you must restart the Orchid Recorder services. (If you need extra help, refer back to the How to Manage the Orchid Recorder Services section.)
7. Once the restart is complete, you may return to Orchid Recorder.

Automatic Updates

There are a few different settings available to configure automatic updates. To edit these, you may use either of the following methods:

• You can use the Advanced Settings feature in the software (which is described in the Orchid Recorder Administrator Guide).
• You can modify the Orchid Recorder properties file (as described below).

*To perform this change, you will need to be signed in as an Administrator.

1. Open the Orchid Recorder properties file. (If you need help, refer back to the How to Edit Configuration Files in Red Hat section.)

2. Work with the package.config_mode property to enable or disable automatic updates. Applicable settings include the following:
   1. default: Will enable automatic updates, instructing the system to perform repository configuration and lock/unlock ipc-orchid packages based on license status. On Linux, this causes Orchid to configure package repositories so that system Administrators can update Orchid themselves (using their Linux distribution’s standard upgrade mechanism such as apt upgrade or dnf upgrade). This is the default setting.
   2. full-management: Will enable not only the ipc-orchid updates, but will configure any other unattended updates. On Linux, this causes Orchid to configure the operating system to automatically perform automated updates of all packages, including Orchid. (WARNING: This option is system-wide and may include automatically installing and updating other packages not directly related to ipc-orchid. Do not use this setting unless you want Orchid Recorder to manage unattended upgrades for the entire system.)
   3. disabled: Will disable the package management feature.

!Before you configure the system for full management package updates, be sure to consider the implications as noted in 2b above.

If you enable automatic updates, there are several other settings to consider.

3. Add the package.license_check_interval property to determine how often the system will check the license status. Each time the license status is checked, the system will determine if the ipc-orchid package needs to either be locked (from automatic upgrades), or unlocked for an automatic upgrade. The maximum setting allowed is 3600 seconds (which is also the default).
4. Add the package.dnf.repo.url property to set the main repository URL for hosting ipc-orchid RPM packages. This value works in conjunction with the package.dnf.repo.channel property. Together, they form the full RPM repository URL. (Default: https://download.ipconfigure.com/orchid-yum-repo/repos)
5. Add the package.dnf.repo.channel property to set the repository channel from which ipc-orchid RPM package updates will be downloaded. This can be any string that points to a valid directory under the URL specified by the package.dnf.repo.url property. (Default: systemd-production)
6. Add the package.dnf.repo.baseurl property if you want to set an alternate repository that may be used if the standard combination (configured with package.dnf.repo.url and package.dnf.repo.channel) would not apply. This setting corresponds to the baseurl property in the ipconfigure.repo YUM/DNF repository file, which specifies the absolute URL to the RPM repository. If configured, this value will take precedence over package.dnf.repo.url and package.dnf.repo.channel.
7. Add the package.dnf.repo.throttle property to set a bandwidth throttle for ipc-orchid downloads. This may be expressed in bytes, or units: k (kb/s), M (Mb/s) or G (Gb/s). (Default: 500k.)
8. Add the package.dnf.upgrade_timer.on_calendar property to specify when to run unattended upgrades. If not provided, use the system provided value for dnf-automatic-install.timer. This value should be formatted as specified in the documentation for “OnCalendar”.
9. Add the package.dnf.upgrade_timer.randomized_delay property to delay the upgrade timer of system packages by a randomly selected, evenly distributed amount of time. If not provided, it uses the system provided value for dnf-automatic-install.timer. The default unit of time is in seconds (e.g. 100 for 100 seconds), but additional units can be specified. For example, you may set to 120m or 2h (which specifies 120 minutes or 2 hours, respectively).
   

10. Save and close the file.
11. After you update the Orchid Recorder properties file, you must restart the Orchid Recorder services. (If you need extra help, refer back to the How to Manage the Orchid Recorder Services in Red Hat section.)
12. Once the restart is complete, you may return to Orchid Recorder.