---
name: "clientupdate"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "xymon-client"
version: "4.3.30-4"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/clientupdate"
---

# clientupdate(1)

Xymon client update utility

## NAME

clientupdate - Xymon client update utility

## SYNOPSIS

**clientupdate \[options\]**

## DESCRIPTION

**clientupdate** is part of the Xymon client. It is responsible for updating an existing client installation from a central repository of client packages stored on the Xymon server.

When the Xymon client sends a normal client report to the Xymon server, the server responds with the section of the *[client-local.cfg(5)](/client-local.cfg/5.md)* file that is relevant to this client. Included in this may be a "clientversion" value. The clientversion received from the server is compared against the current clientversion installed on the client,  as determined by the contents of the $XYMONHOME/etc/clientversion.cfg file. If the two versions are not identical, clientupdate is launched to update the client installation.

## OPTIONS

- \--level

  Report the current clientversion.

- \--update=NEWVERSION

  Attempt to update the client to NEWVERSION by fetching this version of the client software from the Xymon server.

- \--reexec

  Used internally during the update process, see **OPERATION** below.

- \--remove-self

  Used internally during the update process. This option causes the running clientupdate utility to delete itself - it is used during the update to purge a temporary copy of the clientupdate utility that is installed in $XYMONTMP.

## USING CLIENTUPDATE IN XYMON

To manage updating clients without having to logon to each server, you can use the clientupdate utility. This is how you setup the release of a new client version.

- Create the new client

  Setup the new client $XYMONHOME directory, e.g. by copying an existing client installation to an empty directory and modifying it for your needs. It is a good idea to delete all files in the tmp/ and logs/ directories, since there is no need to copy these over to all of the clients. Pay attention to the etc/ files, and make sure that they are suitable for the systems where you want to deploy this new client. You can add files - e.g. extension scripts in the ext/ directory - but the clientupdate utility cannot delete or rename files.

- Package the client

  When your new client software is ready, create a tar-file of the  new client. All files in the tar archive must have file names  relative to the clients' $XYMONHOME (usually, ~xymon/client/). Save the tar file on the Xymon server in  ~xymon/server/download/somefile.tar.  Don't compress it. It is recommended that you use some sort of operating-system  and version-numbering scheme for the filename, but you can choose  whatever filename suits you - the only requirement is that it must end with ".tar". The part of the filename preceding ".tar" is what Xymon will use as the "clientversion" ID.

- Configure which hosts receive the new client

  In the  *[client-local.cfg(5)](/client-local.cfg/5.md)* file, you must now setup a **clientversion:ID** line where the **ID** matches the filename you used for the tar-file. So if you have packaged the new client into the file **linux.v2.tar**, then the corresponding  entry in client-local.cfg would be **clientversion:linux.v2**.

- Wait for xymond to reload client-local.cfg

  xymond will automatically reload the client-local.cfg file after at most 10 minutes. If you want to force an immediate reload, send a SIGHUP signal to the xymond process.

- Wait for the client to update

  The next time the client contacts the Xymon server to send the client data, it will notice the new clientversion setting in client-local.cfg, and will run **clientupdate** to install the new client software. So when the client runs the next time, it will use the new client software.

## OPERATION

**clientupdate** runs in two steps:

- Re-exec step

  The first step is when clientupdate is first invoked from the xymonclient.sh  script with the "--re-exec" option. This step copies the clientupdate program from $XYMONHOME/bin/ to a temporary file in the $XYMONTMP directory. This is to avoid conflicts when the update procedure installs a new version of the clientupdate utility itself. Upon completion of this step, the clientupdate utility automatically launches the next step by running the program from the file in $XYMONTMP.

- Update step

  The second step downloads the new client software from the Xymon server. The new software must be packed into a tar file, which clientupdate then unpacks into the $XYMONHOME directory.

## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

clientupdate uses several of the standard Xymon environment variables, including **XYMONHOME** and **XYMONTMP**.

## SEE ALSO

[xymon(7)](/xymon/7.md), [xymon(1)](/xymon/1.md), [client-local.cfg(5)](/client-local.cfg/5.md)