Novell LINUX ENTERPRISE 10 SP2 User Manual

SUSE Linux Enterprise

www.novell.com10 SP2

September23,2008 Subscription Management Tool Guide

Subscription Management Tool Guide

List of Authors: Jakub Friedl

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Contents

1 SMT Installation 1

1.1 Installation During the Initial Installation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.2 Installation On Top of an Already Installed System . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.3 SMT Conguration Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Conguring SMT Using YaST 5

2.1 Activating and Deactivating SMT with YaST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.2 Setting NU Credentials with YaST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.3 Setting SMT Database Password with YaST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.4 Setting E-mail Addresses to Receive Reports with YaST . . . . . . . . . 10

2.5 Setting the SMT Job Schedule with YaST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

3 Mirroring Installation and Update Sources Using SMT 13

3.1 Getting Mirror Credentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3.2 Managing Software Catalogs with SMT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

3.3 The /srv/www/htdocs Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3.4 Using Test Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4 Managing Client Machines With SMT 21

4.1 Listing Registered Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.2 Deleting Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.3 Manual Registration of Clients at Novell Customer Center . . . . . . . . 22

4.4 Scheduling Periodic Registrations of Clients at Novell Customer Center . . 22

5 SMT Reports 25

5.1 Report Schedule and Recipients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

5.2 Types of SMT Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

5.3 Report Output Formats and Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

6 SMT Tools and Conguration Files 29

6.1 Important Scripts and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

6.2 SMT Conguration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

6.3 Server Certicates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

7 Conguring Clients to Use SMT 49

7.1 Using Kernel Parameters to Access an SMT Server . . . . . . . . . . . 50

7.2 Conguring Clients Using AutoYaST Prole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

7.3 Conguring Clients Using the clientSetup4SMT.sh Script . . . . . . . . . 52

7.4 Registering Clients Against SMT Test Environment . . . . . . . . . . . 53

1

SMT Installation

SMT is distributed as an add-on product for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2
system. To install it, install the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 base system.
You can choose to install the SMT add-on together with your base system during the
initial installation process, or you can install the SMT add-on on top of an already in­stalled base system at any later time.

1.1 Installation During the Initial
Installation Process

To install SMT add-on together with your base system during the initial installation
process, follow these steps:

1

Start SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 installation as usual. For more infor­mation, see the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server documentation.

2

To include the SMT add-on product, check the Include Add-On Products from
Separate Media option in the Installation Mode dialog in the System Analysis
step and click Next.

3

In the next dialog, click Add and, if you are installing SMT from a CD medium,
select CD as the source type. If you are installing from a different source, such
as NFS or HTTP, choose the appropriate source type. Click Next.

SMT Installation 1

4

If you are installing from CD, insert the SMT add-on product CD. If you are in­stalling from a different source, provide the necessary source. Click Continue.

5

Conrm the SMT license agreement and click Next.

6

The SMT add-on product is displayed in the overview. Continue with the instal­lation as usual. Make sure, that the SMT: Subscription Management Tool for SLE
installation pattern is selected automatically and do not remove it.

7

A two-step SMT Conguration Wizard is shown during the nal steps of the in-
stallation workow. Congure SMT as described in Section 1.3, “SMT Congu-

ration Wizard” (page 3) and continue with the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

installation as usual.

1.2 Installation On Top of an Already
Installed System

To install SMT on top of an already installed base system, follow these steps:

1

Start YaST and select Software > Add-On Product.

2

If you are installing SMT from a CD medium, select CD as the source type. If
you are installing from a different source, such as NFS or HTTP, choose the ap­propriate source type. Click Next.

3

If you are installing from CD, insert the SMT add-on product CD. If you are in­stalling from a different source, provide the necessary source. Click Continue.

4

Conrm the SMT license agreement and click Next.

5

Click Accept to install the SMT: Subscription Management Tool for SLE pattern.

6

The SMT Conguration Wizard is launched. See Section 1.3, “SMT Conguration

Wizard” (page 3).

2 Subscription Management Tool Guide

1.3 SMT Conguration Wizard

During the installation of SMT the two-step SMT Conguration Wizard is launched,
irrespective of the used installation method. Congure SMT using this wizard. However,
you will be able to change the conguration later using the YaST SMT Conguration
module.

1

The Enable Subscription Management Tool service (SMT) option is checked by
default. Uncheck it only if you want to disable the installed SMT.

If the rewall is enabled, check Open Port in Firewall to allow access to the
SMT service from remote computers.

Enter your Novell Customer Center mirroring credentials in NU User and NU
Password. NU stands for Novell Update. If you do not know your Novell Cus­tomer Center credentials, refer to Section 3.1, “Getting Mirror Credentials”
(page 13). Test the entered credentials by pressing the Test button. SMT will
connect to the Customer Center server using the provided credentials and
download some testing data.

Enter the e-mail address you have used for the Novell Customer Center registra­tion into NCC E-mail Used for Registration.

Your SMT Server URL should contain the URL of the SMT server being cong­ured. It is lled in automatically.

Press Next to continue to the second conguration step.

2

For security reasons, SMT uses a special user in the database. Set the SMT
Database Password in the respective elds. The password should not be empty.

Enter all e-mail addresses SMT should send reports to using the Add button. You
are also able to Edit or Delete any incorrect or needless addresses.

Press Next.

3

If the current MySQL root password is empty—as in any freshly installed sys­tem— you will be asked to enter a New MySQL Root Password.

SMT Installation 3

2

Conguring SMT Using YaST

SMT can be activated and congured using a graphical interface. A special YaST
module has been created for this purpose. The YaST SMT Conguration module can
be used to congure mirroring credentials, SMT database passwords and e-mail address­es to send SMT reports to, or to set the SMT job schedule, and activate or deactivate
the SMT service.

To congure SMT using the YaST SMT Conguration module, follow these steps:

1

To start YaST SMT module with text (ncurses) interface, run the yast smt
command as root.

To start the YaST SMT module with graphical interface, run yast2 smt as
root or open YaST Control Center and select SMT Conguration in the Network
Services section.

2

To activate SMT, check the Enable Subscription Management Tool Service
(SMT) option in the Customer Center Access tab. If you want to disable SMT,

uncheck this option. For more information about activating SMT using YaST,
see Section 2.1, “Activating and Deactivating SMT with YaST” (page 6)

3

In the Customer Center Access tab, set and test credentials for the NU (Novell
Update) service. Correct credentials are necessary to enable mirroring from NU
and determine the products that should be mirrored. Also set the e-mail address
used for the registration and the URL of your SMT server. For more information,
see Section 2.2, “Setting NU Credentials with YaST” (page 8).

Conguring SMT Using YaST 5

4

In the Database and Reporting tab, set the password for the SMT user in the
MySQL database and enter the e-mail addresses where reports should be sent to.
For more information, see Section 2.3, “Setting SMT Database Password with

YaST” (page 9) and Section 2.4, “Setting E-mail Addresses to Receive Reports
with YaST” (page 10).

5

In the Scheduled SMT Jobs tab, set a schedule of periodic SMT jobs, such as
synchronization of updates, Novell Customer Center registration, or SMT report
generation. For more information, see Section 2.5, “Setting the SMT Job

Schedule with YaST” (page 10).

6

If satised with the conguration, click Finish. YaST adjusts the SMT congu­ration and starts or restarts necessary services.

If you want to abort the conguration and cancel any changes, click Abort.

NOTE

When the YaST SMT module applies conguration changes, it checks for
the existence of the common server certicate. If the certicate does
not exist, you will be asked whether the certicate should be created
and the YaST CA Management module will be started, if you approve.

2.1 Activating and Deactivating SMT
with YaST

YaST provides an easy way to activate or deactivate the SMT service. To activate SMT
service using YaST, follow these steps:

1

Open the Customer Center Access tab of the YaST SMT Conguration module.

2

Check the Enable Subscription Management Tool service (SMT) option.

NOTE

Note that if not already congured, mirroring credentials should be
congured before activating SMT. For more information about how to

6 Subscription Management Tool Guide

set mirroring credentials using YaST, see Section 2.2, “Setting NU Creden-

tials with YaST” (page 8).

3

Click Finish to apply the changes and leave YaST SMT Conguration module.

To deactivate SMT service using YaST, follow these steps:

1

Open the Customer Center Access tab of the YaST SMT Conguration module.

2

Uncheck the Enable Subscription Management Tool service (SMT) option.

3

Click Finish to apply the changes and leave YaST SMT Conguration module.

When activating SMT, the following important operations are performed by YaST:

• The Apache conguration is changed by creating symbolic links in the /etc/
apache2/conf.d/ directory. Links to the /etc/smt.d/nu_server.conf
and /etc/smt.d/smt_mod_perl.conf les are created there.

• The Apache Web server is started or reloaded if already running.

• The MySQL server is started or reloaded if already running. If it does not exist,
smt user and necessary tables in the database are created.

• The schema of the SMT database is checked. If the database schema is obsolete,
the SMT database is upgraded to conform to the current schema.

• Cron is adjusted by creating a symbolic link in the /etc/cron.d/ directory. A
link to the /etc/smt.d/novell.com-smt le is created there.

When deactivating SMT, the following important operations are performed by YaST:

• Symbolic links created upon SMT activation in the /etc/apache2/conf.d/
and /etc/cron.d/ directories are deleted.

• The Cron, Apache Web and MySQL servers are reloaded. Neither Apache nor
MySQL are stopped, because they may be used for other purposes than the SMT
service.

Conguring SMT Using YaST 7

2.2 Setting NU Credentials with YaST

YaST provides a comfortable interface to set and test NU credentials and the URL of
the NU service. To do so, follow these steps:

Figure 2.1

Setting NU Credentials with YaST

1

Open the Customer Center Access tab of the YaST SMT Conguration module.
If the credentials have been already set using YaST or the /etc/smt.conf
conguration le, they appear in the dialog. Otherwise, the NU User and NU
Password elds are blank.

2

If you do not have your credentials, visit Novell Customer Center to obtain them.
For more information, see Section 3.1, “Getting Mirror Credentials” (page 13).

3

Enter your NU username in NU User and the corresponding password in NU
Password.

4

Press Test to check the credentials. YaST will try to download a list of available
repositories using the provided credentials. If the test succeeded, the last line of

8 Subscription Management Tool Guide

the test results will read Test result: success. If the test fails, check the
provided credentials and try again.

Figure 2.2

Succesful Test of NU Credentials

5

Enter the NCC E-mail Used for Registration. This should be the address you
used to register to Novell Customer Center.

Enter Your SMT Server URL if it has not been detected automatically.

6

Press Finish or continue with other congurations.

2.3 Setting SMT Database Password
with YaST

For security reasons, SMT uses its own user in the database. YaST provides a comfort­able interface for setting up or changing the SMT database password. To set or change
the SMT database password using YaST follow these steps:

1

Open the Database and Reporting tab of the YaST SMT module.

2

Enter the SMT Database Password for smt User. Conrm the password by
reentering it and press Finish or continue with other congurations.

Conguring SMT Using YaST 9

2.4 Setting E-mail Addresses to
Receive Reports with YaST

YaST SMT Conguration module provides a comfortable interface for setting up a list
of e-mail addresses SMT reports will be sent to. To edit the list of addresses to receive
the reports, follow these steps:

1

Open the Database and Reporting tab of the YaST SMT Conguration module.

2

The list of e-mail addresses to send reports to is shown in the table. You can Add,
Edit, or Delete addresses using the respective buttons.

3

Press Finish or continue with other congurations.

The comma separated list of adresses SMT reports should be sent to is written to the
reportEmail option of the /etc/smt.conf conguration le.

2.5 Setting the SMT Job Schedule with
YaST

The YaST SMT Conguration module provides a comfortable interface to schedule
periodical SMT jobs. YaST uses cron to schedule congured jobs. If needed, cron
can be used directly. Three types of periodical jobs can be set:

Synchronization of Updates

Synchronizes with Novell Customer Center, updates catalogs, and downloads new
updates.

Report Generation

Generates and sends SMT reports to addresses dened in Section 2.4, “Setting E-

mail Addresses to Receive Reports with YaST” (page 10).

NCC Registration

Registers all clients to Novell Customer Center that are not already registered or
that changed their data since the last registration.

10 Subscription Management Tool Guide

Figure 2.3

Setting SMT Job Schedule with YaST

To congure the schedule of SMT jobs using YaST, follow these steps:

1

Open the Scheduled SMT Jobs tab of the YaST SMT Conguration module. The
table contains a list of all scheduled jobs, their type, frequency, date, and time
to run. You can add, delete or edit these scheduled events.

2

If you want to add a scheduled SMT job, press Add. The Adding New SMT
Scheduled Job dialog opens.

Choose the synchronization job to schedule. You can choose between Synchro­nization of Updates, Report Generation, and NCC Registration.

Choose the Frequency of the new scheduled SMT job. Jobs can be performed
Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Periodically (every n-th hour or every m-th minute).

Set the Job Start Time by entering Hour and Minute. In case of periodical fre­quency, enter the respective periods. For weekly and monthly schedules, select
Day of the Week or Day of the Month.

Press Add.

3

If you want to edit a scheduled SMT job, for example, change its frequency,
time, or date, select the job in the table and press Edit. Then change any parame­ters as if you were creating a new schedule and press OK.

Conguring SMT Using YaST 11

4

If you want to cancel a scheduled job and delete it from the table, select the job
in the table and press Delete.

5

Press Finish to apply the settings and quit the YaST SMT Conguration module
or continue with other congurations.

12 Subscription Management Tool Guide

3

Mirroring Installation and
Update Sources Using SMT

SMT provides the possibility to mirror installation and update sources locally and to
bypass per-machine downloads and the bandwidth charges that go with it.

3.1 Getting Mirror Credentials

Before creating local mirrors of the repositories, you need to have proper mirror creden­tials. You can get these credentials from the Novell Customer Center by following these
steps:

1

Visit Novell Customer Center at http://www.novell.com/center and
log in.

2

Click on My Products. The list of product families is shown.

3

Expand any product family by clicking on its name. You can also expand all
product families by clicking on the icon showing the arrow with two converse
arrowheads (with the Expand All Product Families tooltip). Products in the ex-
panded families are shown.

4

Double click on any specic product in the list to show detailed information
about the product.

5

In the Downloads section, click on the Mirror Credentials link.

Mirroring Installation and Update Sources Using SMT 13

6

The credentials and mirror sites will be listed. These values are the same for all
users and subscriptions for a specic company.

Figure 3.1

NU Credentials in Novell Customer Center

The obtained credentials should be set in the YaST SMT module or manually written
in the /etc/smt.conf le. For more information about conguring NU credentials
using YaST, see Chapter 2, Conguring SMT Using YaST (page 5). For more infor-
mation about the /etc/smt.conf le, see Section 6.2.1, “/etc/smt.conf” (page 37)

3.2 Managing Software Catalogs with
SMT

This section describes tools and procedures for viewing information about software
catalogs available through SMT, conguring these catalogs and setting new custom
catalogs.

14 Subscription Management Tool Guide