The final pre-installation step for Automation Config is to download the installation files and send them to the Salt master node.

Download files

Download the installation files for your distribution from Customer Connect. For assistance, contact your sales representative.

Transfer the files

Transfer the files to the Salt master node from which you are running the installation orchestration. Place the files in the root folder.

Verify the installation files

As a best practice, validate that the downloaded file was not altered after being created by VMware. You can validate the file by comparing the SHA-256 hash for your copy against the SHA-256 listed for that file.

To verify the installation files on RedHat or CentOS:

  1. On the machine containing the files, open a terminal and navigate to the directory that contains the files.
  2. If needed, use ls to list the exact filenames.
  3. Enter the following command, replacing the exact name of the file you want to verify:
    sha256sum file-name.tar.gz
  4. The previous command returns the SHA-256 for the file. Compare the output of this command to the SHA-256 listed for that file in Customer Connect.

Extract the files

To extract the files on RedHat or CentOS:

  1. If needed, install an application to extract the .tar.gz file. For example:
    sudo yum install tar
  2. After you install the tar tool, enter the following command, replacing the exact filename of the installation file:
    tar -xzvf SaltStack_Config-<version>_Installer.tar.gz

Import the .asc keyfiles

You must import the .asc keyfiles from the installer into the RPM packaging system. If you did a single-node installation, you only need to import the keyfiles on that node. If you did a standard installation, you must import the keyfiles on each node.

To import the keyfiles on all the nodes involved in the installation:

  1. Navigate to the ssc-installer directory.
  2. To import the .asc keyfiles you extracted from the installer .tar.gz file into the RPM packaging system, run the following command:
    sudo rpmkeys --import keys/*.asc
  3. Repeat these steps for all nodes.

What to do next

Once you have downloaded, transferred, verified, and imported the installation files, you can begin the installation process.