Adding additional agents to OEM12c

One question I get asked a lot is “how can I add additional agent software to OEM 12c”?  The answer is pretty easy; just download and apply to the software library.  Now what does that mean?  In this post, I’ll explain how to download additional agents for later deployments to other platforms.
After logging into OEM 12c, go to the Setup -> Extensibility -> Self Update (Image 1).
Image 1:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Once on the Self Update page (Image 2), there are a few things to notice.  The first thing is that under Status, the Connection Mode is Online.  This is an indicator that OEM has been configured and connected to My Oracle Support (MOS).  Additional items under the Status area is when was the last refresh, last download time and the last download type.  Right under the Status section there is a menu bar with actions that can be performed on this page.  Clicking the Check Updates button will check for any new updates in all the Types listed.  Since we want to focus on Agents, click on the folder for Agent Software.
Image 2:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After clicking on the Agent Software folder, it takes us to the Agent Software Updates page for Self Updates (Image 3).  On this page, it can be seen clearly that there are a lot of agent software available.  On this page, we can see the Past Activities where we can see what actions have been performed against a particular version of the agent.
Image 3:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
On the menu bar (Image 4), we can search the agent software by either description or by example.  These search options take text search terms.  If we know there is a new release, it can be searched my simply entering text like ’12.1.0.4’.
Image 4:

 
As we can see in Image 5, searching for agents that are the version ’12.1.0.4’, we get a list of available agents with that version.  Notice the Status column of the table.  There are two types of status listed.  These are two of the three statuses available.  The third status is Downloading; which indicates that a new agent is downloading.  The two status listed in Image 5 are: Applied and Available.
Image 5:

 
 
 
 
 
Let’s define the Agent Software Update Statuses a bit more.  They are as follows:

1. Available = This version of the agent is available for the OS Platform and can be downloaded
2. Download in progress = This version of the agent is being downloaded to the OMS
3. Downloaded = This version of the agent has been downloaded to the OMS
4. Applied = This version of the agent has been applied to the Software Library and ready to use for agent deployments

Now that we know what the Status column means, how can an agent be downloaded?
While on the Agent Software Updates page, select and highlight an OS Platform that an agent is needed for.  In this example, lets use “Microsoft Windows x64 (64-bit)” (Image 6). Notice the Status column and Past Activities section.  This agent is available for download.  Download the agent by clicking the download button in the menu bar.
Image 6:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After clicking the Download button, OEM will ask you when to run the job (Image 7).  Normally running it immediately is fine.
Image 7:

 
 
 
Once the Status is set Downloaded, the agent software needs to be applied to the Software Library before it can be used (Image 8). Highlight the agent that was just downloaded and click the Apply button.  This will apply the binaries to the software library.  Also notice the Past Activities section; here we can clearly see what has been done with these agent binaries.
Image 8:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Once the Apply button has been clicked, OEM presents a message letting you know that the Apply operation will store the agent software in the software library (Image 9).  Click OK when we are ready.
Image 9:

 
 
 
 
 
The agent software is finally applied to the Software Library and ready to use (Image 10).
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With the agent now applied to the Software Library, it can be used to deploy out to, via push or pull, Microsoft Windows hosts.
Note: In my experience most deployments to Microsoft Windows host have to be done with there with Cygwin or Silent installed.  If you would like more information on the silent install approach, I wrote a post on it here.
Enjoy!!
 
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