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End of Java in Solarwinds Patch Manager?

So I have heard through the grapevine that Solarwinds will no longer provide packages for Java after they go to 9 and 10 due to the EULA saying silent installs are no longer allowed and that we will have to not only get our own downloads but create custom packages for it. Is this just a rumor and if not why is this not posted up somewhere? I get that we could just copy old java packages and edit them but how are other third party update systems still managing to do it when Solarwinds cant? I use 2 other systems that I wont name but both pre-package java in a one click easy download and have no plans to stop. Are they just breaking the EULA?

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[Deleted User]

While I don't know what plans Solarwinds has for their catalogs, Oracle still supports silent installs of JRE 10. You can find the instructions here:

JRE Installation Options for Windows System Administrators and Vendors

frgpugs

Yes that sure looks like silent installs are still supported which i wouldnt think they would ever change. Java is too widespread to not allow admins to install it silently and remotely. Well hopefully it was faulty info, but it was from a Solarwinds employee which is why I put some stock into believing it.

machaelle.larue

Hey Guys! So I have found out so more info from our Engineering team. It's only 9 that this is currently impacting. According to my team the Java 9 packages is not possible to install Java 9 remotely using tools such as Patch Manager. And us create a package that go against Java SE License Agreement prevents us from doing so. We are still investigating workarounds but have yet to find a solution which (a) complies with the Java SE License Agreement and (b) remains user-friendly. The only option currently available to users is to extract an msi file from the Java 9 download and manually create a package from that file.

If you would like so more info give us a call at support and we will do what we can to help with your Java 9 packages that will not get anyone in trouble.

Chell

frgpugs

Thanks for checking on that Chell. Just to clarify, this will apply to all Java moving forward starting with 9, ie. Java 10, 11, etc or is that unknown until we see the EULAs?

machaelle.larue

If 10 has the ability to update remotely from Java we should be good. But I will have my engineering check the licensing just in case. If they allow it we can create a package for it and I will put that request up to start that today. As for the future releases that it up to Java. If they say no remote installs then we are stuck again.

Chell

jhynds

Hi Folks,

Just to add to what Chell has already outlined. We are doing our upmost to ensure that we can continue to support Java updates going forward. As you can see from the MSI Enterprise JRE Installer FAQ, the MSI Installer is now only available as part of the Java SE Advanced commercial license. There are some caveats when extracting and modifying the temporary MSI included with the free .exe installer. As per the FAQ, it may cause issues.

I'd be interested to get your thoughts on a suitable deployment method for future Java updates. How would you feel if you had to follow these steps in order to publish Java updates from Patch Manager?

- Download the Java JRE .exe installer.

- Run the installer on a local machine

- Extract the MSI from a temp directory created during the .exe install

- Import the MSI into Patch Manager

frgpugs

Realistically Ill use another product.

On a non-negative note... Yes that will be the only way to do it and I guess its better than nothing, at least people will know when a new Java update is needed and will have the complicated part already done of making sure the rules are correct in the package. That method is how I used to deploy Java updates with psexec before Solarwinds and I still have to do that to get new MSI installs for Java deployment in MDT. Its not difficult but man what a pain.

jwckauman

I'm not sure we would keep using Patch Manager if we couldn't deploy it in the same manner as today (which even then isn't that great - it doesn't remove old versions). I may look at Shavlik and a few competitors just to see what they offer. Patch Manager is sometimes great and sometimes not so good. But for the price it's a good value.

eddieinnz

jhynes, what you've described is already what we have to do for iTunes and its dependencies now anyway. Sure, it's a pain, but I'd rather do that than create the entire package ourselves. We pay you support fees to produce the catalogs for us. Please, please, please produce the catalog in the suggested form. If you can streamline it further down the track, then great! But please make us feel like we're getting our money's worth in support fees for timely catalog updates.