SUMA Proxy Configuration

There are a number of documents on the web for configuring SUMA with a proxy. Some of the older documents still describe the configuration of proxies using SUMA attributes:

# suma -c -a HTTP_PROXY=http://10.0.0.1:49000
0500-019 The -a flag entry HTTP_PROXY=http://10.0.0.1:49000 is not valid. (main, /usr/sbin/suma [767])
0500-009 An error occurred attempting to save configuration settings. (main, /usr/sbin/suma [768])
# suma -c -a HTTPS_PROXY=https://10.0.0.1:49000
0500-019 The -a flag entry HTTPS_PROXY=https://10.0.0.1:49000 is not valid. (main, /usr/sbin/suma [767])
0500-009 An error occurred attempting to save configuration settings. (main, /usr/sbin/suma [768])
# suma -c -a HELLO=world
0500-019 The -a flag entry HELLO=world is not valid. (main, /usr/sbin/suma [767])
0500-009 An error occurred attempting to save configuration settings. (main, /usr/sbin/suma [768])
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Unfortunately, the attributes HTTP_PROXY and HTTPS_PROXY are no longer supported by SUMA. This is also documented in the SUMA manual page!

# man suma
...
HTTP_PROXY and HTTPS_PROXY
     Proxy server and port to use for the HTTP or HTTPS transfers. The SUMA command shares
     the proxy connectivity settings with the Electronic Service Agent\u2122. The HTTP or HTTPS
     proxy service configuration can be set up through the SMIT Create/Change Service
     Configuration menus (use fastpath smitty srv_conn) that allow the server
     specifications such as IP address, port number, and an optional user ID and password.
     SUMA no longer supports the settings of the HTTP_PROXY and HTTPS_PROXY parameters.

The proxy configuration is taken over from ESA (Electronic Service Agent). This means that proxies have to be configured via ESA. Therefore the fileset bos.ecc_client.rte must be installed. However, this should be already installed, as it is a prerequisite for bos.suma.

The proxies can be configured either using SMIT or via the command line. We first show the variant via the command line:

# /usr/ecc/bin/config_conn_path -c PRIMARY -y HTTP_PROXY -t YES -a 10.0.0.1 -x 49000
###########################################################

Testing HTTP Proxy Service Configuration

Performing HTTP Proxy Connectivity Test ... SUCCESS
#

The IP address of the proxy is specified with the option ‘–a‘, the port number with the option ‘–x‘. If a user is required for authentication, it can be specified with the option ‘–u‘ (the password is requested interactively). The option ‘–t YES‘ ensures that a connection test is made immediately, which was successful here.

In addition to the primary connection (PRIMARY), a secondary (SECONDARY) and tertiary (TERTIARY) connection can also be configured. The current configuration, e.g. for the primary connection, can be shown as follows:

# /usr/ecc/bin/config_conn_path -d PRIMARY
#type:ttyport:modem_type:primary_location:secondary_location:prefix:host:port:userid
HTTP_PROXY::::::10.0.0.1:49000:
#

The keyword ‘PRIMARY‘ can be abbreviated to ‘p‘.

A connection test can be started at any time using the option ‘–t YES‘ or ‘–t y‘:

# /usr/ecc/bin/config_conn_path -c p -t y
###########################################################

Testing HTTP Proxy Service Configuration

Performing HTTP Proxy Connectivity Test ... SUCCESS
#

Alternatively, you can also use SMIT:

# smitty configure_primary
…
                       Create/Change Primary Service Configuration

Type or select values in entry fields.
Press Enter AFTER making all desired changes.


                                                        [Entry Fields]
  Connection type                                    [HTTP_Proxy]                     +
  Test service configuration                         [No]                             +

  If type is DIRECT_INTERNET, no entry required.

  If type is HTTP_PROXY,
          IP address                                 [10.0.0.1]
          Port number                                [49000]                            #
          Authentication user ID                     []
          Authentication password requested interact
  ively.


F1=Help               F2=Refresh            F3=Cancel             F4=List
F5=Reset              F6=Command            F7=Edit               F8=Image
F9=Shell              F10=Exit              Enter=Do

A short test shows that SUMA works with the configured proxies:

# suma -x -a DisplayName=Test -a Action=Preview -a RqType=Latest
**************************************** (main, /usr/sbin/suma [990])
Performing preview download. (main, /usr/sbin/suma [991])
**************************************** (main, /usr/sbin/suma [992])
Partition id was unassigned; will attempt to assign it.
Partition id assigned value 6
Download SUCCEEDED: /export/nim/suma/installp/ppc/U861910.bff (main, /usr/sbin/suma [1048])
Download SUCCEEDED: /export/nim/suma/installp/ppc/U861907.bff (main, /usr/sbin/suma [1048])
Download SUCCEEDED: /export/nim/suma/installp/ppc/U861904.bff (main, /usr/sbin/suma [1048])
…
Total bytes of updates downloaded: 899671552 (main, /usr/sbin/suma [1048])
Summary: (main, /usr/sbin/suma [1048])
        367 downloaded (main, /usr/sbin/suma [1048])
        0 failed (main, /usr/sbin/suma [1048])
        34 skipped (main, /usr/sbin/suma [1048])
DEBUG: Closing file handles (SUMA::Messenger, /usr/suma/lib/SUMA/Messenger.pm [401])
#