Installing and upgrading ERM in an offline environment

This topic describes how to deploy Enhanced Room Management when your primary ERM deployment has no direct Internet access.

If you have set up the ERM Installer virtual machine in an environment with internet access you may skip this article.

Overview

As outlined in the planning and prerequisites section, configuring your primary ERM deployment that has no direct Internet access requires two separate ERM virtual machines:

A primary (main) VM that provides the main ERM functions, and is "air-gapped" from the secondary VM and the internet.
A secondary ERM VM that has access to the Internet to activate licenses and fetch upgrades. The secondary VM plays no part in endpoint management — its sole purpose is to provide a simple way to activate or update your licence and fetch upgrades.

There is no difference in the images you deploy to each VM, just in how you configure and use them.

The license key is installed on both the secondary and primary VMs, however, it is only activated on the secondary server with Internet access. Therefore, while installing the license on the primary VM without Internet access, you should select the Ignore verification errors and save anyway option before proceeding.

In summary, to activate your primary ERM VM you have to export an "offline bundle" from the secondary ERM VM (after the license key has been activated and the ERM modules have been configured), then import that offline bundle into the primary ERM VM. The offline bundle contains the activated license authorization and all software components associated with the configured module available for that license key. The offline bundle is in the form of a large .bin file.

You may require several offline bundles depending on the options associated with your license key and the configuration of the primary ERM VM. For example, you may need an offline bundle for the ERM module(s) and a separate offline bundle for the ERM Installer.

The offline file can be large and take several minutes to prepare. Please be patient and do not navigate away from the page.

Procedure

This section describes the steps in detail to Install and upgrading ERM in an offline environment.

Install the secondary VM and export the bundle

On the secondary VM:

Follow the instructions to install an ERM virtual machine in an environment with internet access. See Deploying the ERM Installer virtual machine.
Enter your license key, ensuring you do not select the Ignore verification errors and save anyway option.
Install and configure the ERM module you want to use (as per normal for setting up a standalone ERM deployment, but using details that would apply to the offline environment, such as FQDN of the offline VM), then export the module bundle package(s) associated with your license key:
1. On the secondary VM, configure the module you intend to bundle for offline. Please see Using the ERM Installer and Installing the ERM module for device management.
  
  You only need to specify the mandatory fields. The settings you configure will need to be re-entered when you configure the modules in your offline environment.
2. On the secondary VM, in the ERM Installer menu, go to the Installation menu and click the Details button for the module you want to package.
3. Select the version of the module you want to export from the drop-down, then select Export offline bundles.
4. A new browser tab opens, and you see the following prompt:
  
  Do not close the tab. Wait for the offline bundle (in the form of a bin file) to start downloading.
  
  The offline file can be large and take several minutes to prepare. Please be patient and do not navigate away from the page.
  
  You can close the tab when the download is complete.
Optional. Export the offline bundle for the installer itself. This is only required if the installer version on the primary VM differs from the installer version on this secondary VM.
1. First, you should check the ERM Installer versions on both primary and secondary ERM VMs by going to Settings > Upgrade installer. Review the versions on both systems and if the primary VM installer is at a lower version than the secondary VM installer, you should export the installer as an offline bundle and update the primary VM.
2. On the online secondary VM, select Export offline bundle of installer.
3. A new browser tab opens, although this will not show any information.
  
  Do not close this tab. Wait for the offline bundle (in the form of a bin file) to start downloading. This can take 5 minutes, depending on the underlying host hardware, at which point the tab will close automatically.
4. Copy the exported file to your chosen media (such as a USB drive) for transfer to the primary ERM VM.

After completing these steps, the online secondary ERM VM can be switched off until the next upgrade. Its sole purpose is to enable you to activate or update your licence, and compile the correct version of software associated with your license key. It plays no role in the management of endpoints.

Install the primary VM and import the bundle

After exporting a bundle from the secondary VM, you can import it into the primary VM.

Follow the instructions to install an ERM virtual machine in an environment without internet access. See Deploying the ERM Installer virtual machine.
Enter your license key, ensuring you select the Ignore verification errors and save anyway option.
Enter the relevant server settings for your environment. See ERM Installer server settings.
Import into the primary VM the offline bundle(s) created previously:

You can use this method to import either offline bundles created for the ERM module or the ERM Installer.
1. On the primary offline VM, in the ERM Installer, go to Settings > Handle offline bundle.
2. Select Choose File, and select the file you exported previously.
3. Select Import to proceed.
After the offline bundle has been imported, you will have access to the new modules or installer functions.