Set reboot options for an Ubuntu patch installation

To minimize the downtime that server reboots can cause, you can control when servers will and will not be rebooted. You can adopt the vendor’s reboot assignments, reboot a server each time a patch is installed on it, completely suppress all server reboots, or postpone reboots until all patches have been installed.

When you are selecting reboot options in the Install Patch window, HPE recommends that you use Ubuntu’s reboot recommendations, which is the Reboot servers as specified by individual software items option. If it is not possible to use the Ubuntu reboot setting, select the single reboot option, which is the Hold all server reboots until after all packages are installed and/or uninstalled option. Failure to do this can result in incorrectly reporting the patches that are installed on the server until the next reboot occurs (outside of SA control).

The following options determine whether the servers are rebooted after the patch is installed. These options apply only to the job launched by the Install Patch window; they do not change the Reboot Required that is in the Install Parameters tab of the Patch Properties window.

If a server has a state of Reboot Pending, a subsequent install patch action may fail. Before performing any subsequent patch installation actions on the server, you must first reboot the server.

Except for the first option, the following options override the Reboot Required option.

• Reboot servers as specified by individual software items (Default): By default, the decision to reboot depends on the Reboot Required option of the patch properties.
• Reboot servers after each patch install: Even if the Reboot Required option of the patch properties is not set, reboot the server. If multiple patches are installed, the server reboots multiple times.

• Suppress all server reboots: Even if the Reboot Required option of the patch properties is set, do not reboot the server. Because of vendor settings, some patches ignore the suppress option and force a reboot. For a service pack, if a reboot is suppressed, then the action is incomplete—the service pack is not installed until after the reboot. The system does not have the software installed. The status is “Not Installed/Uninstalled”. If you manually check the system (look at the registry or server properties), this is not the same information that displays in the SA Client. After the reboot, the SA Client will not reflect the correct software or patch installed information until after the next software registration.

  When you suppress reboot during an Ubuntu patch installation (such as for a service pack), the system's software state might not accurately display. Accurate state information will display after the managed server is rebooted and software registration has completed.

• Hold all server reboots until after all packages are installed and/or uninstalled: If the Reboot Required option is set for some selected patches but not for others, the server is rebooted one time after all patches are installed. This option is commonly known as the single reboot option. If the Reboot Required option is not set for any of the selected patches, the server is not rebooted.

To set reboot options:

1. From the Install Patch window, click Next to advance to the Pre & Post Actions step.
2. Select one of the Rebooting Options.
3. Click Next to go to the next step or click Cancel to close the Install Patch window.