2
#Managing OpenStack with Landscape
5
Landscape is a system management tool designed to let you easily manage multiple Ubuntu systems - up to 40,000 with a single Landscape instance. From a single dashboard you can apply package updates and perform other administrative tasks on many machines. You can categorize machines by group, and manage each group separately. You can make changes to targeted machines even when they are offline; the changes will be applied next time they start. Landscape lets you create scripts to automate routine work such as starting and stopping services and performing backups. It lets you use both common Ubuntu repositories and any custom repositories you may create for your own computers. Landscape is particularly adept at security updates; it can highlight newly available packages that involve security fixes so they can be applied quickly. You can use Landscape as a hosted service as part of Ubuntu Advantage, or run it on premises via Landscape Dedicated Server.
8
Ubuntu Advantage comprises systems management tools, technical support, access to online resources and support engineers, training, and legal assurance to keep organizations on top of their Ubuntu server, desktop, and cloud deployments. Advantage provides subscriptions at various support levels to help organizations maintain the level of support they need.
19
Landscape lets administrators limit administrative rights on computers
20
by assigning them to logical groupings called access groups. Each
21
computer can be in only one access group, but you can organize access
22
groups hierarchically to mirror the organization of your business. In
23
addition to computers, access groups can contain package profiles,
24
scripts, and custom graphs.
26
Creating access groups
27
----------------------
29
A new Landscape installation comes with a single access group, called
30
global, which gives any administrators who are associated with roles
31
that include that access group control over every computer managed by
32
Landscape. Most organizations will want to subdivide administration
33
responsibilities by creating logical groupings of computers. You can
34
create new access groups from the ACCESS GROUPS menu under your account
39
![image](./Chapter%A05.%A0Access%20groups_files/accessgroups1.png)
43
To create a new access group, you must provide two pieces of
44
information: a title for the access group and a parent.
46
To start with, the parent must be the global access group. If you want a
47
flat management hierarchy, you can make every access group a child of
48
global. Alternatively, you can use parent/child relationships to create
49
a hierarchy of access groups. For instance, you could specify different
50
sites at a high level, and under them individual buildings, and finally
51
individual departments. Such a hierarchy allows you to specify groups of
52
computers to be managed together by one administrator. Administrators
53
whose roles are associated with higher-level access groups can manage
54
all subgroups of which their access group is a parent.
56
When a new access group is first created, its administrators are those
57
who have roles linked to its parent access group, but you can edit the
58
roles associated with an access group. To change the roles associated
59
with an access group, see
60
[below](https://landscape.canonical.com/static/doc/user-guide/ch05.html#associatingadmins "Associating roles with access groups").
62
Adding computers to access groups
63
---------------------------------
65
To see all the computers currently in an access group, click on the name
66
of the group in the ACCESS GROUPS screen. The screen that then appears
67
displays information about that group. On the right side of the screen,
68
click the word "computers" to show the list of computers that are
69
currently members of this access group.
73
![image](./Chapter%A05.%A0Access%20groups_files/accessgroups2.png)
76
Alternatively, you can click on the COMPUTERS menu item at the top of
77
the Landscape screen, and in the selection box at the top of the left
78
column, enter `access-group:`{.literal} followed by the name of your
79
access group: for instance, `access-group:stagingservers`{.literal}.
81
To add computers to an access group, click on the COMPUTERS menu item at
82
the top of the Landscape screen. The resulting INFO screen shows the
83
total number of available computers being managed by Landscape, and the
84
number of computers currently selected:
88
![image](./Chapter%A05.%A0Access%20groups_files/accessgroups3.png)
91
Find computers you wish to include (see the documentation on [selecting
92
computers](https://landscape.canonical.com/static/doc/user-guide/ch06.html#selectingcomputers "Selecting computers")),
93
then tick the checkbox next to each computer you wish to select. Once
94
you've made your selection, click on the INFO menu entry at the top of
95
the page Scroll down to the bottom section, choose the access group you
96
want from the drop-down list, then click Update access group.
100
![image](./Chapter%A05.%A0Access%20groups_files/accessgroups4.png)
104
Associating roles with access groups
105
------------------------------------
107
An administrator may manage an access group if he is associated with a
108
role that has permission to do so. To associate a role with one or more
109
access groups, click on the ROLES menu item under your account to
110
display a screen that shows a role membership matrix.
114
![image](./Chapter%A05.%A0Access%20groups_files/accessgroups5.png)
117
The top of that screen shows a list of role names. Click on a role name
118
to edit the permissions and access groups associated with that role.
119
Note that you cannot modify the GlobalAdmin role, so there is no link
120
associated with that label at the top of the matrix.
122
Editing access groups
123
---------------------
125
To change the name or title of an existing access group, click on the
126
name of the group in the ACCESS GROUPS screen, then click on the Edit
127
access group link at the top of next screen. Make changes, then click
132
![image](./Chapter%A05.%A0Access%20groups_files/accessgroups6.png)
136
Deleting access groups
137
----------------------
139
To delete an existing access group, click on the name of the group in
140
the ACCESS GROUPS screen, then click on the Edit access group link at
141
the top of next screen. On the resulting screen, click the Delete
142
button. You may Confirm the group's deletion, or you can click Cancel to
143
abort the operation. When you delete an access group, its resources move
144
to its parent access group.
153
Provisioning new computers
154
--------------------------
156
Landscape can provision computers in two ways: manually, or via metal as
157
a service (MAAS). [The Ubuntu wiki explains how to set up
158
MAAS](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ServerTeam/MAAS/).
160
To manually provision computers, click on PROVISIONING under your
161
ACCOUNT menu. Landscape displays a provisioning dashboard that shows the
162
number of provisioning servers you have set up, managed systems, and
167
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers1.png)
171
To provision new systems, click the Provision new systems link. On the
172
Provisioning New Systems screen, the top three fields apply to all the
173
computers you wish to provision at one time.
177
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers2.png)
180
Enter the Ubuntu release/architecture from a drop-down list; the
181
available choices are the two hardware architectures (i386 and amd64)
182
for the each Ubuntu release beginning with 12.04. Enter the access group
183
to which the new systems should belong from a drop-down list of the
184
access groups set up for your account. You can optionally enter user
185
data, which Landscape can use for special processing. For instance, you
186
could use this field with Ubuntu's
187
[cloud-init](https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CloudInit) utility, which
188
handles early initialization functions for a cloud instance.
190
For each computer you wish to provision, enter its MAC address,
191
hostname, an optional title that will be displayed on the computer
192
listing screen after the computer is set up, and optional tags separated
193
by commas that can later help you search for this computer. Click the
194
Add more systems link to get a new line of empty boxes into which you
197
When you click the Next button, Landscape displays a screen that lets
198
you review the information you entered.
202
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers3.png)
205
You can click on Back to make changes, or Provision to perform the
206
operation. Landscape then displays a status screen that at first shows
207
the specified computers waiting to boot on the MAAS server.
211
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers4.png)
215
Registering computers
216
---------------------
218
If a computer is provisioned by Landscape, is it automatically
219
registered with Landscape, but when you first install Landscape, your
220
computers are not known to the Landscape server. To manage them, you
221
must register them with the server. Complete instructions for
222
registering client computers with a Landscape server are available at
223
https://yourserver/standalone/how-to-register. You can get to this page
224
by first clicking on the menu item for your account page on the top
225
menu, then on the link in the box on the left side of the page.
230
You can select one or more computers individually, or by using searches
231
or tags. For each of those approaches, the starting place is the
232
COMPUTERS menu entry at the top of the screen. Clicking on it displays a
233
list of all computers Landscape knows about.
235
- To select computers individually, tick the boxes beside their names
236
in the Select computers list.
238
- Using searches - The upper left corner of the Select computers
239
screen displays the instructions "Refine your selection by searching
240
or selecting from the tags below," followed by a search box. You can
241
enter any string in that box and press Enter, or click the arrow
242
next to the box. Landscape will search both the name and hostname
243
associated with all computers for a match with the search term.
244
Searches are not case-sensitive. A list of matching computers is
245
displayed on the right side of the screen.
247
Once you've selected a group of computers, you can apply a tag to
248
them to make it easier to find them again. To do so, with your
249
computers selected, click on INFO under COMPUTERS. In the box under
250
Tags:, enter the tag you want to use and click Add.
252
- Using tags - Any tags you have already created appear in a list
253
under the search box on the left of the Computers screens. You can
254
click on any tag to display the list of computers associated with
255
it. To select any of the displayed computers, tick the box next to
256
its name, or click Select: All link at the top of the list.
258
Information about computers
259
---------------------------
261
By clicking on several submenus of the COMPUTERS menu, you can get
262
information about selected computers.
264
- Clicking on ACTIVITIES displays information about actions that may
265
be applied to computers. You can filter the activity log to show
266
All, Pending, Unapproved, or Failed activities. You can click on
267
each activity in the list to display a screen showing details about
268
the activity. On that screen you can Approve, Cancel, Undo, or Redo
269
the activity by clicking on the relevant button.
271
- Clicking on HARDWARE displays information about the selected
272
computer's processor, memory, network, storage, audio, video, PCI,
273
and USB hardware, as well as BIOS information and CPU flags.
277
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers5.png)
281
- Clicking on PROCESSES displays information about all processes
282
running on a computer at the last time it checked in with the
283
Landscape server, and lets you end or kill processes by selecting
284
them and clicking on the relevant buttons.
288
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers6.png)
292
- Clicking on REPORTS displays seven pie charts that show what
293
percentage of computers:
295
- are securely patched
297
- are covered by upgrade profiles
299
- have contacted the server within the last five minutes
301
- have applied security updates - four charts show computers that
302
have applied Ubuntu Security Notices within the last two, 14,
305
- Clicking on MONITORING displays graphs of key performance
306
statistics, such as CPU load, memory use, disk use, and network
311
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers7.png)
314
You can also create custom graphs to display at the top of the page
315
by clicking on the Create some now! link. A drop-down box at the top
316
of the page lets you specify the timeframe the graph data covers:
317
one day, three days, one week, or four weeks. You can download the
318
data behind each graph by clicking the relevant button under the
324
The right side of the dashboard that displays when you click on your
325
account menu, and when you click on the ACTIVITIES submenu, shows the
326
status of Landscape activities, displayed in reverse chronological
331
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers8.png)
334
You can view details on an individual activity by clicking on its
335
description. Each activity is labeled with a status; possible values
352
You can select a subset to view by clicking on the links above the table
353
for All, Pending, Unapproved, or Failed activities.
355
In addition to the status and description of each activity, the table
356
shows what computers the activity applied to, who created it, and when.
361
Clicking on USERS displays a list of users on each of the selected
366
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers9.png)
369
You can select one or more users, then click one of the buttons at the
372
- The ADD button lets you add a new user to the selected computers.
376
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers10.png)
379
You must specify the person's name, a username, and a passphrase.
380
You may also specify a location and telephone numbers. Click the ADD
381
button at the bottom of the screen to complete the operation.
383
- The DELETE button displays a screen that lets you delete the
388
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers11.png)
391
You may also tick a checkbox to delete the user's home folders as
392
well. Press the Delete button at the bottom of the screen to
393
complete the operation.
395
- The EDIT button displays a User details screen that lets you change
396
details such as the person's name, primary group, passphrase,
397
location, and telephone numbers, and add or remove the user from
398
groups on the selected computers.
402
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers12.png)
406
- The LOCK button prevents the selected users from logging into their
409
- The UNLOCK button lets users into their cars when they've
410
accidentally locked their keys inside. Actually, no, it simply
411
unlocks previously locked accounts.
416
Landscape uses alerts to notify administrators of conditions that
417
require attention. The following types of alerts are available:
419
- when a pending computer needs to be accepted or rejected
421
- when you are exceeding your license entitlements for Landscape
422
Dedicated Server (This alert does not apply to the hosted version of
425
- when new package updates are available for computers
427
- when new security updates are available for computers
429
- when a package profile is not applied
431
- when package reporting fails (Each client runs the command **apt-get
432
update** every 60 minutes. Anything that prevents that command from
433
succeeding is considered a package reporting failure.)
435
- when an activity requires explicit administrator acceptance or
438
- when a computer has not contacted the Landscape server for more than
441
- when computers need to be rebooted in order for a package update
442
(such as a kernel update) to take effect
444
To configure alerts, click on the Configure alerts link in the
445
dashboard, or click on your account's ALERTS menu item. Tick the check
446
box next to each type of alert you want to subscribe to, or click the
447
All or None buttons at the top of the table, then click on the Subscribe
448
or Unsubscribe button below the table.
452
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers13.png)
456
The Alerts screen shows the status of each alert. If an alert has not
457
been tripped, the status is OK; if it has, the status is Alerted. The
458
last column notes whether the alert applies to your account (pending
459
computers, for instance, are not yet Landscape clients, but they are
460
part of your account), to all computers, or to a specified set of tagged
463
If an alert is tripped, chances are an administrator should investigate
464
it. You can see alerts on the account dashboard that displays when you
465
click on your account name on the top menu. The description for each
466
alert is a link; click on it to see a table of alerts. When you click on
467
an alert, the resulting screen shows relevant information about the
468
problem. For instance, if you click on an alert about computers having
469
issues reporting packages, the table shows the computer affected, the
470
error code, and error output text.
474
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers14.png)
477
On some alert screens you can download the list of affected computers as
478
a CSV file or save the criteria that generated the alert as a saved
479
search by clicking the relevant button at the bottom of the screen.
484
Landscape lets you run scripts on the computers you manage in your
485
account. The scripts may be in any language, as long as an interpreter
486
for that language is present on the computers on which they are to run.
487
You can maintain a library of scripts for common tasks. You can manage
488
scripts from the STORED SCRIPTS menu under your account, and run them
489
against computers from the SCRIPTS menu under COMPUTERS.
491
The Stored scripts screen displays a list of existing scripts, along
492
with the access groups each belongs to and its creator.
496
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers15.png)
499
You can edit a script by clicking on its name. To delete a stored
500
script, tick the check box next to its name, then click Remove. If you
501
have the proper permissions, Landscape erases the script immediately
502
without asking for confirmation.
504
From the Stored scripts screen you can add a new script by clicking on
509
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers16.png)
512
On the Create script screen you must enter a title, interpreter, the
513
script code, the time within which the script must complete, and the
514
access group to which the script belongs. You may enter a default user
515
to run the script as; if you don't, you will have to specify the user
516
when you choose to run the script. You may also attach as many as five
517
files with a maximum of 1MB in total size. On each computer on which a
518
script runs, attachments are placed in the directory specified by the
519
environment variable LANDSCAPE\_ATTACHMENTS, and are deleted once the
520
script has been run. After specifying all the information for a stored
521
script, click on Save to save it.
523
To run a stored script, go to the SCRIPTS menu under COMPUTERS. Here you
524
can choose to run a stored script, or run a new script.
528
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers17.png)
531
When you choose to run an existing script, Landscape displays the script
532
details, which allows you to modify any information. You must specify
533
the user on the target computers to run the script as, and schedule the
534
script to run either as soon as possible, or at a specified time. When
535
you're ready to run the script, click on Run.
537
To run a new script, you must enter most of the same information you
538
would if you were creating a stored script, with three differences.
542
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers18.png)
545
On this screen you must specify the user on the target computers to run
546
the script as, and you may optionally tick a check box to store the
547
script in your script library. You must also schedule the script to run
548
either as soon as possible, or at a specified time. When you're ready to
549
run the script, click on Run.
551
Managing upgrade profiles
552
-------------------------
554
An upgrade profile defines a schedule for the times when upgrades are to
555
be automatically installed on the machines associated with a specific
556
access group. You can associate zero or more computers with each upgrade
557
profile via tags to install packages on those computers. You can also
558
associate an upgrade profile with an access group, which limits its use
559
to only computers within the specified access group. You can manage
560
upgrade profiles from the UPGRADE PROFILES link in the PROFILES choice
563
When you do so, Landscape displays a list of the names and descriptions
564
of existing upgrade profiles.
568
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers19.png)
571
To see the details of an existing profile, click on its name to display
572
a screen that shows the name, schedule, and tags of computers associated
573
with the upgrade profile. If you want to change the upgrade profile's
574
name or schedule, click on the Edit upgrade profile link. If you want to
575
change the computers associated with the upgrade profile, tick or untick
576
the check boxes next to the tags on the lower part of the screen, then
577
click on the Change button. Though you can see the access group
578
associated with the upgrade profile, you cannot change the access groups
579
anywhere but from their association with a computer.
581
To add an upgrade profile, click on the Add upgrade profile link.
585
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers20.png)
588
On the resulting Create an upgrade profile screen you must enter a name
589
for the upgrade profile. Names can contain only letters, numbers, and
590
hyphens. You may check a box to make the upgrade profile apply only to
591
security upgrades; if you leave it unchecked, it will target all
592
upgrades. Specify the access group to which the upgrade profile belongs
593
from a drop-down list. Finally, specify the schedule on which the
594
upgrade profile can run. You can specify a number of hours to let the
595
upgrade profile run; if it does not complete successfully in that time,
596
Landscape will trigger an alert. Click on the Save button to save the
599
To delete one or more upgrade profiles, tick a check box next to the
600
upgrade profiles' names, then click on the Remove button.
602
Managing removal profiles
603
-------------------------
605
A removal profile defines a maximum number of days that a computer can
606
go without exchanging data with the Landscape server before it is
607
automatically removed. If more days pass than the profile's "Days
608
without exchange", that computer will automatically be removed and the
609
license seat it held will be released. This helps Landscape keep license
610
seats open and ensure Landscape is not tracking stale or retired
611
computer data for long periods of time. You can associate zero or more
612
computers with each removal profile via tags to ensure those computers
613
are governed by this removal profile. You can also associate a removal
614
profile with an access group, which limits its use to only computers
615
within the specified access group. You can manage removal profiles from
616
the REMOVAL PROFILES link in the PROFILES choice under your account.
618
When you do so, Landscape displays a list of the names and descriptions
619
of existing removal profiles.
623
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers21.png)
626
To see the details of an existing profile, click on its name to display
627
a screen that shows the title, name and number of days without exchange
628
before the computer is automatically removed, and tags of computers
629
associated with the removal profile. If you want to change the removal
630
profile's title or number of days before removal, click on the Edit
631
removal profile link. If you want to change the computers associated
632
with the removal profile, tick or untick the check boxes next to the
633
tags on the lower part of the screen, then click on the Change button.
634
Though you can see the access group associated with the removal profile,
635
you cannot change the access groups anywhere but from their association
638
To add a removal profile, click on the Add removal profile link.
642
![image](./Chapter%A06.%A0Managing%20computers_files/managecomputers22.png)
645
On the resulting Create a removal profile screen you must enter a title
646
for the removal profile. Specify the access group to which the removal
647
profile belongs from a drop-down list. Finally, specify the number of
648
days without exchange that computers will be allowed without contact
649
before they are automatically removed and their license seat is
650
released. If a computer does not contact Landscape within that number of
651
days, it will subsequently be removed. Click on the Save button to save
652
the new removal profile.
654
To delete one or more removal profiles, tick a check box next to the
655
removal profiles' names, then click on the Remove button.
660
A package is a group of related files that comprise everything you need
661
to install an application. Packages are stored in repositories, and each
662
package is managed via a package profile, which is a record of the
663
package's dependencies and conflicts.
668
Clicking on PACKAGES under the COMPUTERS menu displays a screen where
669
you can search for information about all the packages Landscape knows
670
about. You may first specify a package name or other search string, then
671
press Enter or click on the arrow next to the box. Landscape then
672
displays a list of packages that meet the search criteria.
676
![image](./Chapter%A07.%A0Managing%20packages_files/managepackages1.png)
679
The top of the screen displays summary information about the packages:
680
clickable links to which computers have security updates and other
681
upgrades to be installed, and the number of computers that are
682
up-to-date and those that have not reported package information.
684
The next section provides a list of security issues on computers that
685
need security updates. You can click on the name or USN number of a
686
security issue to see a full Ubuntu Security Notice.
690
![image](./Chapter%A07.%A0Managing%20packages_files/managepackages2.png)
693
The third section displays package information in the form of four
694
numbers for each selected computer: the number of packages available and
695
installed, pending upgrades, and held upgrades. You can click on the
696
number of pending or held upgrades to see a screen that lets you modify
697
the relevant package list and set a time for the upgrades to take place:
701
![image](./Chapter%A07.%A0Managing%20packages_files/managepackages3.png)
704
Finally, a Request upgrades button at the bottom of the screen lets you
705
quickly request that all possible upgrades be applied to the selected
706
computers. Any resulting activities require explicit administrator
709
Adding a package profile
710
------------------------
712
Landscape uses package profiles (also called meta packages) to make sure
713
the proper software is installed when you request packages. You can
714
think of a package profile as a package with no file contents, just
715
dependencies and conflicts. With that information, the package profile
716
can trigger the installation of other packages necessary for the
717
requested package to run, or trigger the removal of software that
718
conflicts with the requested package. These dependencies and conflicts
719
fall under the general category of constraints.
721
To manage package profiles, click the PROFILES menu entry under your
722
account and the Package profiles link. The Package profiles screen
723
displays a list of existing package profiles and a link that you can
724
click to add a new package profile.
728
![image](./Chapter%A07.%A0Managing%20packages_files/managepackages4.png)
731
Click on that link to display the Create package profile screen:
735
![image](./Chapter%A07.%A0Managing%20packages_files/managepackages5.png)
738
Here you enter a name for the package profile, a description (which
739
appears at the top of the package profile's information screen), the
740
access group to which the package profile should belong, and,
741
optionally, any package constraints - packages that this profile depends
742
on or conflicts with. The constraints drop-down lists lets you add
743
constraints in three ways: based on a computer's installed packages,
744
imported from a previously exported CSV file or the output of the **dpkg
745
--get-selections** command, or manually added. Use the first option if
746
you want to replicate one computer to another, as it makes all currently
747
installed packages that are on the selected computer dependencies of the
748
package profile you're creating. The second approach imports the
749
dependencies of a previously exported package profile. The manual
750
approach is suitable when you have few dependencies to add, all of which
753
When you save a package profile, behind the scenes Landscape creates a
754
Debian package with the specified dependencies and conflicts and gives
755
it a name and a version. Every time you change the package profile,
756
Landscape increments the version by one.
758
If Landscape finds computers on which the package profile should be
759
installed, it creates an activity to do so. That activity will run
760
unattended, except that you must provide explicit administrator approval
761
to remove any packages that the package profile wants to delete.
763
Exporting a package profile
764
---------------------------
766
You can export a package profile in order to use the same constraints
767
it's set up for with a new package profile. To export a package profile,
768
click the PROFILES menu entry under your account and the Package
769
profiles link. Tick the check box next to the packages you want to
770
export, then click Download as CSV.
772
Modifying a package profile
773
---------------------------
775
To modify a package profile, click the PROFILES menu entry under your
776
account and the Package profiles link, then click on the name of a
777
package profile in the list.
779
Deleting a package profile
780
--------------------------
782
To delete a package profile, click the PROFILES menu entry under your
783
account and then the Package profiles link. Tick the check box next to
784
the packages you want to delete, then click Remove. The package profile
785
is deleted immediately, with no prompt to confirm the action.
790
Packages are stored in repositories. A repository is simply a designated
791
location that stores packages. You can manage Landscape repositories
792
only via [the Landscape
793
API](https://landscape.canonical.com/static/doc/user-guide/ch09.html "Chapter 9. The Landscape API").
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[Prev](https://landscape.canonical.com/static/doc/user-guide/ch07.html)
801
[Up](https://landscape.canonical.com/static/doc/user-guide/index.html)
802
[Next](https://landscape.canonical.com/static/doc/user-guide/ch09.html)
808
You can use Landscape to perform many common system administration tasks
809
easily and automatically. Here are a few examples.
811
How do I upgrade all packages on a certain group of machines?
812
-------------------------------------------------------------
814
First, tag the machines you want to upgrade with a common tag, so you
815
can use the tag anytime you need to manage those computers as a group.
816
If, for instance, you want to upgrade all your desktop computers, you
817
might want to use "desktop" as a tag. Select your computers, then click
818
on COMPUTERS on the top menu, and under that INFO. In the box under
819
Tags:, enter the tag you want to use and click the Add button.
821
If you've already tagged the computers, click on COMPUTERS, then click
822
on the tag in the left column.
824
With your desktop computers selected, click on COMPUTERS, then PACKAGES.
825
Scroll to the bottom of the screen, where you'll see a Request upgrades
826
button. Click it to queue the upgrade tasks.
828
![image](./Chapter%A08.%A0Use%20cases_files/usecases1.png)
830
While the upgrade tasks are now in the queue, they will not be executed
831
until you approve them. To do so, next to Select:, click All, then click
832
on the Approve button at the bottom of the page.
834
How do I keep all of my file servers automatically up to date?
835
--------------------------------------------------------------
837
The best way is to use [upgrade
838
profiles](https://landscape.canonical.com/static/doc/user-guide/ch02.html#defineupgradeprofiles),
839
which rely on access groups.
841
If an access group for your file servers already exists, simply click on
842
its name. If not, you must create an access group for them. To do so,
843
click on your account, then on ACCESS GROUPS. Specify a name for your
844
new access group and click the Save button. You must then add computers
845
to the access group. To do that, click on COMPUTERS, then select all
846
your file servers by using a tag, if one exists, or a search, or by
847
ticking them individually. Once all the computers you want to add to the
848
access group are tagged, click on the INFO menu choice, scroll down to
849
the bottom section, choose the access group you want from the drop-down
850
list, then click the Update access group button.
852
![image](./Chapter%A08.%A0Use%20cases_files/accessgroups4.png)
854
Once you have all your file servers in an access group you can create an
855
upgrade profile for them. Click on your account, then PROFILES menu
856
following the Upgrade profiles link, and then on the Add upgrade profile
857
link. Enter a name for the new upgrade profile, choose the access group
858
you wish to associate with it, and specify the schedule on which the
859
upgrades should run, then click the Save button.
861
How do I keep Landscape from upgrading a certain package on one of my servers?
862
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
864
First find the package by clicking on COMPUTERS, then PACKAGES. Use the
865
search box at the top of the screen to find the package you want. Click
866
the triangle on the left of the listing line of the package you want to
867
hold, which expands the information for that package. Now click on the
868
icon to the left of the package name. A new icon with a lock replaces
869
the old one, indicating that this package is to be held during upgrades.
870
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Apply Changes button.
872
![image](./Chapter%A08.%A0Use%20cases_files/usecases2.png)
874
How do I set up a custom graph?
875
-------------------------------
877
First select the computers whose information you want to see. One good
878
way to do so is to create a tag for that group of computers on my
879
computers. Suppose you want to monitor the size of the PostgreSQL
880
database on your database servers. Select the servers, then click on
881
COMPUTERS on the top menu, and INFO under that. In the box under Tags:,
882
enter a tag name, such as "db-server," and click the Add button. Next,
883
under your account, click on CUSTOM GRAPHS, then on the link to Add
884
custom graph. Enter a title, and in the \#! field, enter **/bin/sh** to
885
indicate a shell script. In the Code section, enter the commands
886
necessary to create the data for the graph. For this example, the
889
~~~~ {.programlisting}
890
psql -tAc "select pg_database_size('postgres')"
893
For Run as user, enter **postgres**.
895
Fill in the Y-axix title, then click the Save button at the bottom of
898
![image](./Chapter%A08.%A0Use%20cases_files/usecases3.png)
900
To view the graph, click on COMPUTERS, then MONITORING. You can select
901
the monitoring period from the drop-down box at the top of the window.
903
How do I ensure all computers with a given tag have a common list of packages installed?
904
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
906
Manage them via a [package
907
profile](https://landscape.canonical.com/static/doc/user-guide/ch07.html#definepp "Adding a package profile").