NetVault 13.1.2 - Installation Guide

Installing NetVault

Installation overview

You can install NetVault by using the interactive or non-interactive installation method. You can also use the push installation method to simultaneously install the NetVault Client software on multiple Windows and Linux-based machines. This section provides an overview of the NetVault installer and available installation methods.

It includes the following topics:

The NetVault installer is offered as a single file —typically an application. The installation file is named as follows:

NetVault offers separate client-only and server-only installation packages for Linux- and Windows-based systems. Both the server and the client packages are available in hybrid and pure 64-bit versions.

On Mac OS X, the installer is packaged as a disk image (.dmg) file. The installation file for Mac OS X is named as follows: netvault-<RYYYYMMMDD>-vx.x.x.x-client-MacOSX.dmg.

NetVault supports installations in the following languages: English, Simplified Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Korean. The installer automatically detects the system language and uses it as the default language. On systems that use an unsupported language, the installer defaults to English.

You can run the NetVault installer in graphical, text, or unattended mode. These modes are available for both new and upgrade installations. This section provides an overview of the available installation modes.

Use the graphical mode to install the software interactively from a graphical user interface. This mode is available on all supported operating systems that provide a graphical environment. The graphical mode requires GTK packages or X Window System libraries on Linux- and UNIX-based systems. The installer automatically runs in graphical mode if no installation mode is specified.

Use the text mode to install the software interactively from a text-based user interface. This mode is available on all supported operating systems, except Windows. On systems that do not provide a graphical environment, the installer automatically runs in text mode if no installation mode is specified.

Use the unattended mode to perform automated installations with minimal or no user interaction. This mode is supported on all operating systems. When performing unattended installations, you can specify the installation options at the command line or in an option file.

When running the NetVault installer, you can use the --mode option to specify the installation mode. Generally, you do not need to use this option because the installer automatically uses the default mode. If, for any reason, the default mode cannot be initialized, then the installer tries to use the alternative GUI or text modes, if available. For example, on Linux, if the GTK libraries are unavailable, the default gtk mode cannot be initialized. In such cases, the installer tries to use the xwindow mode, and if no X Server is detected, the installer defaults to text mode.

The following table lists the supported installation modes.

To run the installer in unattended mode, it is necessary to use the --mode option; the installer does not automatically switch to this mode. The --mode option is also required to run the installer in text mode on machines that support GUI (for example, to perform remote installations on Linux- or UNIX-based systems).

The installer generates a log file in the system temporary directory. The file is named as follows: netvault_{GUID}_install.log, where {GUID} is unique for each installation occurrence (for example, netvault_274bffb2-a3c1-457e-7f5e-221bf60a7689_install.log).

If the installation fails for any reason, you can examine the log file for details about the problem.

If an installation or upgrade is unsuccessful, the installer may not generate the regular log file. Instead, the installer may leave an intermediate log file is named bitrock_installer.log or bitrock_installer_nnn.log in the system temporary directory.

The push installation method lets you install one or more software packages on remote machines. You can use this method to install or upgrade the NetVault client and plug-ins on multiple machines. You can perform push installations from the NetVault WebUI. Push installation is available for Windows-to-Windows, Windows-to-Linux, Linux-to-Linux, and Linux-to-Windows scenarios. For more information about this method, see the Quest NetVault Administrator's Guide.

Installing NetVault in GUI mode

The graphical mode is available on all supported operating systems that provide a graphical environment. This mode requires GTK packages or X Window System libraries on Linux- and UNIX-based systems.

NOTE: On Mac OS X, the installer is packaged as a disk image (.dmg) file. Before you can run the installer, you must mount the disk image by double-clicking the installation file. After the image is mounted, start the installer by double-clicking or pressing control and clicking the installer icon on the desktop. After the installation completes, you can unmount the disk image from the Finder window by clicking the Eject icon next to the virtual drive icon. Alternatively, you can click the virtual drive icon on the desk top, and press CMD+E.

NOTE: The Managed Service Provider option is supported on Windows Server pure 64-bit version.

NOTE: Before proceeding with the installation, make sure that you have thoroughly reviewed the license agreement.

Installing NetVault in text mode

The text mode is available on all supported operating systems, except Windows.

NOTE: You can exit the setup in text mode at any time before the installation starts by pressing Ctrl+C.

NOTE:   • On Mac OS X, the installer is packaged as a disk image (.dmg) file. Before you can run the installer, you must mount the disk image by running the following command: hdiutil attach path/to/NVBU_Installer_Name.dmg After the image is mounted, you can start the installer by running the following command: “/Volumes/NetVault/<Name of the installer>.app/Contents/MacOS/installbuilder.sh” --mode text After the installation completes, you can unmount the disk image by running the following command: hdiutil detach /dev/diskWithInstallerImage When running the installer on Mac OS X from a remote terminal (SSH or telnet), it may be necessary to use the --mode text option. Otherwise, the installer may run in full graphic mode without showing any output in the console. • When installing NetVault on Linux IA (Itanium), the installer shows ‘unaligned access’ warning messages. However, the installation completes successfully. Example warning messages: unaligned access to 0x6000000005642f7c, ip=0x2000000004dbe520 To suppress these warning messages, start the installer by running the following command: prctl --unaligned=silent ./<installation file name> --mode text

NOTE: Before proceeding with the installation, ensure that you have thoroughly reviewed the license agreement.