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Manage Snow Update Service

You can manage and configure Snow Update Service (SUS) via the SUS graphical user interface, as described in the following sections.

Start the SUS GUI​

To start the graphical user interface for SUS, do one of the following:

  • Go to the Windows Start menu and select to start SUS from there.

  • Run C:\\Program Files\\Snow Software\\Snow Update Service\\SnowSoftware.Update.Gui.exe.

Enable the Software Recognition Service​

Use of the Software Recognition Service (SRS) requires a separate license. To order a license for SRS, contact your local Snow Software Sales representative or raise a ticket with Snow Support.

To enable SRS:

  1. On the SUS GUI main menu, select Change settings.

  2. In the Software recognition settings section, select the Enable software recognition updates checkbox.

  3. In the Enter new license dialog, select Set license.

  4. Enter your SRS license key, and then select Save.

Configure proxy settings​

If the internet connection requires a proxy server, you can configure and test proxy settings in the Proxy settings section on the Change settings page of the SUS GUI.

View update history​

To display a list of previously installed updates:

  • On the SUS GUI main menu, select View update history.

View log​

To view generated logs:

  1. On the SUS GUI main menu, select View log.

  2. In the Choose source section, select the checkboxes for the logs you want to view.

  3. In the Choose level section, select the checkboxes for the log levels you want to display.

  4. In the Choose date range section, select start and end dates for the log to be displayed.

  5. To see the log, select Show log.

note

The Choose source and Choose level depend on the current log settings, see Configure log settings.

Configure log settings​

To configure log levels for the SUS GUI and the SUS Windows service:

  1. On the SUS GUI main menu, select Change settings.

  2. In the Log settings section, select a log level from the GUI and/or Windows Service dropdown lists, respectively.

Update products manually online​

SUS is by default configured to check for, download, and install product updates automatically once a day, see Online versus offline updates. To install them manually instead, the installation setting needs to be changed.

To change the installation setting and install product updates manually:

  1. On the SUS GUI main menu, select Change settings, and then select Don’t install new updates automatically.

  2. On the SUS GUI main menu, select Check for updates. The current update status is displayed.

  3. To see details on any available updates, select View and install updates.

  4. In the Available updates view, select the down arrow for an available update to see information about the update.

  5. Select the checkboxes for the updates you want to install, and then select Install.

    note

    Selecting an update will also select all available previous updates; this is mandatory when installing an update.

    If a system requirement for an update is not yet fulfilled, it will be listed below the update version number.

    Some updates require a license or a new license to be entered. To get a license, contact your Snow sales representative or Snow Support.

Update SRS manually online​

SUS is by default configured to check for and download updates from the Software Recognition Service (SRS) database automatically once a day, see Online versus offline updates. To download SRS updates manually instead:

  1. On the SUS GUI main menu, select Change settings, and then clear the Enable SRS updates checkbox.

  2. On the SUS GUI main menu, select Synchronize SRS database

    note

    If uploading SRS data for analysis is enabled, the data is uploaded as the first step of the synchronization.

If you need to stop the synchronization process before it has been completed, select Stop SRS. All data that has been committed to the database will be kept, while any incomplete synchronization will be rolled back. There is no risk of data corruption or incomplete information when you stop the synchronization process in this way.

Export a product manifest for offline product updates​

A product manifest is an XML file containing information on all Snow products installed in your environment. The product manifest is a prerequisite for generating software update packages via the Snow Update Portal to be used for offline product updates.

  1. On the SUS GUI main menu, select Change settings, select the Use offline mode checkbox, and then select Save.

  2. On the SUS GUI main menu, select Export product manifest.

    The option is only available if the Use offline mode checkbox has been selected in the previous step.

  3. Select the Encrypted checkbox if you want the product manifest to be encrypted.

    The manifest can be exported encrypted or in plain text. It is preferred to use the encrypted option, but the plain text option can be used if you want to be able to see what is being exported.

  4. Select Export to save the product manifest to a local file on your machine. Ensure that the file is saved with the .manifest extension

note

You must generate a product manifest file no more than three days before it is used to create an update package via the Snow Update Portal, otherwise, it will be rejected, and you must generate a new product manifest.

Create an update package for offline product updates​

To install product updates offline, you need a software update package. You can create it via the Snow Update Portal. Note that to create the package, you must first have exported a product manifest and downloaded it to your machine. see Export a product manifest for offline product updates.

To open Snow Update Portal and create your software update package:

  1. In a browser, open https://updatesportal.snowsoftware.com .

  2. Select Software Update.

  3. In the Email box, enter an email address. A download link to the software update package will be sent to this email address when the package has been generated.

  4. Select Choose file to import the product manifest file you have saved to your machine as described in Export a product manifest for offline product updates.

  5. Select Request package.

    An update package is generated.

  6. Download the update package, either directly via the Snow Update Portal or via the link in the email sent to the email address you entered in Step 3. Save the package to a location that is accessible via the Snow Update Service application.

    Depending on the size of the file, the download may take a while.

All generated offline update packages are encrypted, company-specific, and can only be used for the installation that matches their unique configuration. Update packages are generated and saved with a .spk file extension.

See Install updates offline for instructions on how to perform the offline updates using the update package you have just created.

Create an update package for offline SRS updates​

To install SRS updates offline, you need an SRS update package. You can create it via the Snow Update Portal. Note that you will need your SRS license key to create the package.

To open Snow Update Portal and create your SRS update package:

  1. In a browser, open https://updatesportal.snowsoftware.com .

  2. Select SRS Update.

  3. In the Email address box, enter an email address. A download link to the software update package will be sent to this email address when the package has been generated.

  4. In the License key box, enter your SRS license key.

  5. Select which update types you want to include in the package. All types are included by default. If you don't want all types to be included, deselect the preselected All below (default) checkbox and select the checkboxes for the types you want to include.

  6. Select Request package.

    An update package is generated.

  7. Download the update package, either directly via the Snow Update Portal, or via the link in the email sent to the email address you entered in Step 3. Save the package to a location that is accessible via the Snow Update Service application.

    Depending on the size of the file, the download may take a while.

All generated offline update packages are encrypted, company-specific, and can only be used for the installation that matches their unique configuration. Update packages are generated and saved with a .spk file extension.

See Install updates offline for instructions on how to perform the offline updates using the update package you have just created.

Install updates offline​

If the server on which your Snow products are installed does not have an internet connection, you can install software and SRS updates offline according to the description below. Note that you must first create a software or SRS update package via the Snow Update Portal and download it to a location that is accessible via the Snow Update Service application, as described in Create an update package for offline product updates and Create an update package for offline SRS updates respectively.

  1. On the SUS GUI main menu, select Change settings, select the Use offline mode checkbox, and then select Save.

  2. On the SUS GUI main menu, select Install offline updates or Install offline SRS updates, depending on the type of update.

  3. Browse to the offline update file (.spk) and then select Open.

    Depending on the size of the file, this may take a while.

    For the Install offline SRS updates option, this is the last step and SUS will start synchronizing the updates.

  4. For the Install offline updates option: in the Available updates view, select the checkboxes for the product updates you want to install, and then select Install.

note

Make sure to clear the Use offline mode checkbox after the update has been completed if you wish to enable updates via the Internet.

This video shows how to install product updates offline, including generating a product manifest and creating a software update package: