Red Hat NETWORK 3.5 - PROVISIONING Reference Manual

Red Hat Network 3.5

Provisioning Reference Guide

Red Hat Network 3.5: Provisioning Reference Guide

Red Hat, Inc.

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RHNpro(EN)-3.5-Print-RHI (2004-07-23T11:20) Copyright © 2004 by Red Hat, Inc. This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, V1.0 or later (the latest version is presentlyavailableat http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/). Distribution of substantively modiﬁed versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. Distribution of the work or derivative of the work in any standard (paper) book form for commercial purposes is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder. Red Hat and the Red Hat "Shadow Man" logo are registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other

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Table of Contents

Introduction..........................................................................................................................................i

1. Document Conventions..........................................................................................................i

2. More to Come ...................................................................................................................... iv

2.1. Send in Your Feedback ......................................................................................... iv

1. What is Red Hat Network? ............................................................................................................ 1

1.1. Demo.................................................................................................................................. 2

1.2. Update................................................................................................................................ 2

1.3. Management....................................................................................................................... 2

1.4. Provisioning ....................................................................................................................... 3

1.5. Errata Notiﬁcations and Scheduled Package Installations................................................. 4

1.6. Security, Quality Assurance, and Red Hat Network.......................................................... 4

1.7. Before You Begin...............................................................................................................4

2. Red Hat Update Agent.................................................................................................................... 7

2.1. Starting the Red Hat Update Agent................................................................................. 7

2.2. Registration........................................................................................................................ 9

2.2.1. Registering a User Account .............................................................................. 11

2.2.2. Registering a System Proﬁle .............................................................................14

2.3. Setup and Use .................................................................................................................. 18

2.3.1. Choosing a Software Channel........................................................................... 19

2.3.2. Choosing Packages to Update........................................................................... 19

2.3.3. Installing Updated Packages .............................................................................24

2.3.4. Update Agent Finished ..................................................................................... 25

2.3.5. Command Line Version .................................................................................... 26

2.4. Conﬁguration ................................................................................................................... 30

2.4.1. Using the Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool..................................30

2.4.2. Command Line Version .................................................................................... 33

2.5. Registering with Activation Keys .................................................................................... 34

3. Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool ................................................................................... 37

3.1. Conﬁguring the Applet .................................................................................................... 37

3.2. Notiﬁcation Icons............................................................................................................. 38

3.3. Viewing Updates ..............................................................................................................39

3.4. Applying Updates ............................................................................................................ 39

3.5. Launching the RHN Website ...........................................................................................39

4. Red Hat Network Website............................................................................................................41

4.1. Logging into the RHN Website........................................................................................41

4.2. Introduction to the Website .............................................................................................. 41

4.2.1. Errata Alert Icons .............................................................................................. 43

4.2.2. Quick Search.....................................................................................................43

4.2.3. Systems Selected...............................................................................................43

4.2.4. List Navigation.................................................................................................. 43

4.3. Your RHN ........................................................................................................................ 43

4.3.1. Your Account ....................................................................................................45

4.3.2. Your Preferences ...............................................................................................46

4.3.3. Buy Now ...........................................................................................................46

4.3.4. Purchase History ...............................................................................................46

4.3.5. Help................................................................................................................... 46

4.4. Systems ............................................................................................................................47

4.4.1. Overview........................................................................................................... 48

4.4.2. Systems .............................................................................................................48

4.4.3. System Groups .................................................................................................. 56

4.4.4. System Set Manager .........................................................................................59

4.4.5. System Entitlements ......................................................................................... 61

4.4.6. Advanced Search............................................................................................... 62

4.4.7. Activation Keys................................................................................................. 62

4.4.8. Stored Proﬁles...................................................................................................64

4.4.9. Custom System Info.......................................................................................... 64

4.4.10. Kickstart.......................................................................................................... 64

4.5. Errata................................................................................................................................ 69

4.5.1. Relevant Errata..................................................................................................70

4.5.2. All Errata........................................................................................................... 70

4.5.3. Advanced Search............................................................................................... 72

4.6. Channels...........................................................................................................................72

4.6.1. Software Channels ............................................................................................ 72

4.6.2. Channel Entitlements ........................................................................................ 75

4.6.3. Easy ISOs.......................................................................................................... 75

4.6.4. Package Search ................................................................................................. 75

4.6.5. Software Packages ............................................................................................ 76

4.6.6. Manage Conﬁg Channels .................................................................................. 77

4.7. Schedule........................................................................................................................... 82

4.7.1. Pending Actions ................................................................................................ 82

4.7.2. Failed Actions ................................................................................................... 83

4.7.3. Completed Actions............................................................................................ 83

4.7.4. Archived Actions ..............................................................................................83

4.7.5. Actions List ....................................................................................................... 83

4.8. Users ................................................................................................................................ 84

4.8.1. User Roles......................................................................................................... 84

4.8.2. User List............................................................................................................ 85

5. Red Hat Network Daemon ........................................................................................................... 89

5.1. Conﬁguring ...................................................................................................................... 89

5.2. Viewing Status .................................................................................................................89

5.3. Disabling..........................................................................................................................89

5.4. Troubleshooting ............................................................................................................... 89

6. Red Hat Network Registration Client .........................................................................................91

6.1. Conﬁguring the Red Hat Network Registration Client................................................91

6.2. Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client ...................................................... 93

6.3. Registering a User Account ............................................................................................. 95

6.4. Registering a System Proﬁle ............................................................................................97

6.4.1. Hardware System Proﬁle .................................................................................. 97

6.4.2. Software System Proﬁle.................................................................................... 98

6.5. Finishing Registration.................................................................................................... 100

6.6. Entitling Your System .................................................................................................... 102

6.7. Text Mode RHN Registration Client .............................................................................102

A. Command Line Conﬁg Management Tools............................................................................. 105

A.1. Red Hat Network Conﬁguration Client .................................................................... 105

A.1.1. Listing Conﬁg Files........................................................................................ 105

A.1.2. Getting a Conﬁg File ......................................................................................105

A.1.3. Viewing Conﬁg Channels ..............................................................................105

A.1.4. Differentiating between Conﬁg Files .............................................................106

A.1.5. Verifying Conﬁg Files.................................................................................... 106

A.2. Red Hat Network Conﬁguration Manager ............................................................... 106

A.2.1. Creating a Conﬁg Channel ............................................................................. 107

A.2.2. Adding Files to a Conﬁg Channel..................................................................107

A.2.3. Differentiating between Latest Conﬁg Files ..................................................108

A.2.4. Differentiating between Various Versions...................................................... 108

A.2.5. Downloading All Files in a Channel .............................................................. 109

A.2.6. Getting the Contents of a File ........................................................................ 109

A.2.7. Listing All Files in a Channel ........................................................................ 109

A.2.8. Listing All Conﬁg Channels .......................................................................... 109

A.2.9. Removing a File from a Channel ................................................................... 110

A.2.10. Deleting a Conﬁg Channel ........................................................................... 110

A.2.11. Determining the Number of File Revisions .................................................110

A.2.12. Updating a File in a Channel........................................................................ 110

A.2.13. Uploading Multiple Files at Once ................................................................ 111

B. RHN API Access......................................................................................................................... 113

B.1. Using the auth Class and Getting the Session ...............................................................113

B.2. Obtaining the system_id................................................................................................ 113

B.3. Determining the sid .......................................................................................................113

B.4. Viewing the cid.............................................................................................................. 113

B.5. Getting the sgid ............................................................................................................. 114

B.6. Sample API Script......................................................................................................... 114

Glossary ........................................................................................................................................... 117

Index................................................................................................................................................. 123

Introduction

Welcome to the Red Hat Network 3.5 Provisioning Reference Guide.

The Red Hat Network Provisioning Reference Guide will guide you through registering your system for Red Hat Network and using its many features. Depending on which version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux you have installed, the Red Hat Network Registration Client and the Red Hat Update Agent might be different than the ones described in this manual as new features are added. Once you use Red Hat Network to update these applications, you can use the latest version of this manual.

All versions of this manual are available in HTML and PDF formats at http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/RHNetwork/.

This version of the manual covers version 3.0.7 of the Red Hat Update Agent and version 2.8.27-34 of the Red Hat Network Registration Client.

Warning

Systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 will need to use the separate Red Hat Network Registration Client before starting the Red Hat Update Agent. Refer to Chapter 6 Red Hat Network

Registration Client for instructions. Systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 can go directly to the Red Hat Update Agent, which has registration functionality built in. Refer to Chapter 2 Red Hat Update Agent for instructions.

For an overview of Red Hat Network offerings, please review the descriptions available at http://www.redhat.com/software/rhn/ .

1. Document Conventions

When you read this manual, certain words are represented in different fonts, typefaces, sizes, and weights. This highlighting is systematic; different words are represented in the same style to indicate their inclusion in a speciﬁc category. The types of words that are represented this way include the following:

command

Linux commands (and other operating system commands, when used) are represented this way. This style should indicate to you that you can type the word or phrase on the command line and press [Enter] to invoke a command. Sometimes a command contains words that would be displayed in a different style on their own (such as ﬁle names). In these cases, they are considered to be part of the command, so the entire phrase is displayed as a command. For example:

Use the cat testfile command to view the contents of a ﬁle, named testfile, in the current working directory.

file name

File names, directory names, paths, and RPM package names are represented this way. This style should indicate that a particular ﬁle or directory exists by that name on your system. Examples:

The .bashrc ﬁle in your home directory contains bash shell deﬁnitions and aliases for your own use.

The /etc/fstab ﬁle contains information about different system devices and ﬁle systems.

Install the webalizer RPM if you want to use a Web server log ﬁle analysis program.

ii Introduction

application

This style indicates that the program is an end-user application (as opposed to system software). For example:

Use Mozilla to browse the Web.

[key]

A key on the keyboard is shown in this style. For example:

To use [Tab] completion, type in a character and then press the [Tab] key. Your terminal displays the list of ﬁles in the directory that start with that letter.

[key]-[combination]

A combination of keystrokes is represented in this way. For example:

The [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Backspace] key combination exits your graphical session and return you to the graphical login screen or the console.

text found on a GUI interface

A title, word, or phrase found on a GUI interface screen or window is shown in this style. Text shown in this style is being used to identify a particular GUI screen or an element on a GUI screen (such as text associated with a checkbox or ﬁeld). Example:

Select the Require Password checkbox if you would like your screensaver to require a password before stopping.

top level of a menu on a GUI screen or window

A word in this style indicates that the word is the top level of a pulldown menu. If you click on the word on the GUI screen, the rest of the menu should appear. For example:

Under File on a GNOME terminal, the New Tab option allows you to open multiple shell prompts in the same window.

If you need to type in a sequence of commands from a GUI menu, they are shown like the following example:

Go to Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => Programming => Emacs to start the Emacs text editor.

button on a GUI screen or window

This style indicates that the text can be found on a clickable button on a GUI screen. For example:

Click on the Back button to return to the webpage you last viewed.

computer output

Text in this style indicates text displayed to a shell prompt such as error messages and responses to commands. For example:

The ls command displays the contents of a directory. For example:

Desktop about.html logs paulwesterberg.png Mail backupfiles mail reports

The output returned in response to the command (in this case, the contents of the directory) is shown in this style.

prompt

A prompt, which is a computer’s way of signifying that it is ready for you to input something, is shown in this style. Examples:

Introduction iii

[stephen@maturin stephen]$

leopard login:

user input

Text that the user has to type, either on the command line, or into a text box on a GUI screen, is displayed in this style. In the following example, text is displayed in this style:

To boot your system into the text based installation program, you must type in the text command at the boot: prompt.

replaceable

Text used for examples which is meant to be replaced with data provided by the user is displayed in this style. In the following example,



version-numberis displayed in this style:

The directory for the kernel source is /usr/src/



version-number/, where



version-numberis the version of the kernel installed on this system.

Additionally, we use several different strategies to draw your attention to certain pieces of information. In order of how critical the information is to your system, these items are marked as note, tip, important, caution, or a warning. For example:

Note

Remember that Linux is case sensitive. In other words, a rose is not a ROSE is not a rOsE.

Tip

The directory /usr/share/doc/ contains additional documentation for packages installed on your system.

Important

If you modify the DHCP conﬁguration ﬁle, the changes will not take effect until you restart the DHCP daemon.

Caution

Do not perform routine tasks as root — use a regular user account unless you need to use the root account for system administration tasks.

iv Introduction

Warning

Be careful to remove only the necessary INCLUDE partitions. Removing other partitions could result in data loss or a corrupted system environment.

2. More to Come

The Red Hat Network Provisioning Reference Guide is constantly expanding as new Red Hat Network features and service plans are launched. HTML, PDF, and RPM versions of this and other manuals are available within the Help section of the RHN website and at http://www.redhat.com/docs/.

Note

Although this manual reﬂects the most current information possible, read the RHN Release Notes for information that may not have been available prior to our documentation being ﬁnalized. The notes can be found on the RHN website and at http://www.redhat.com/docs/.

2.1. Send in Your Feedback

If you would like to make suggestions about the Red Hat Network Provisioning Reference Guide, please submit a report in Bugzilla: http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/

Be sure to select the Red Hat Network product and the Documentation component. To easily associate the problem with this guide, mention its identiﬁer:

RHNpro(EN)-3.5-Print-RHI (2004-07-23T11:20)

Chapter 1.

What is Red Hat Network?

Have you ever read about a new version of a software package and wanted to install it but could not ﬁnd it?

Have you ever tried to ﬁnd an RPM through an Internet search engine or an RPM repository and been linked to a site that you have never heard of?

Have you ever tried to ﬁnd an RPM but instead found only the source ﬁles that you had to compile yourself?

Have you ever spent hours or even days visiting different websites to see if you have the latest packages installed on your system, only to have to do it again in a few months?

Those days are over with Red Hat Network (RHN). RHN provides the solution to all your system software management needs.

Red Hat Network is an Internet solution for managing a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system or a network of Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems. All Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts (collectively known as Errata Alerts) can be downloaded directly from Red Hat. You can even have updates scheduled to be delivered directly to your system as soon as they are released.

The main components of Red Hat Network are as follows:

• the Red Hat Update Agent

• the Red Hat Network website

• Red Hat Network Daemon

• the Red Hat Network Registration Client - for systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1

only.

The Red Hat Update Agent (up2date) provides your initial connection to Red Hat Network. Once registered, it enables channel subscription, package installs, and management of System Proﬁles. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and newer systems will even use the Red Hat Update Agent to be registered to RHN. See Chapter 2 Red Hat Update Agent for further information.

Although both the RHN website and the Red Hat Update Agent allow you to view Errata Alerts from the Red Hat Errata list and apply updates, the website offers a much more granular view of your account and provides added functionality required for management and provisioning of systems. For enterprise deployments of Red Hat Network, the website is a must.

The Red Hat Network Daemon (rhnsd) runs in the background as a service and probes the Red Hat Network for notiﬁcations and updates at set time intervals (see Chapter 5 Red Hat Network Daemon for further information). This daemon is necessary if you want to schedule updates or other actions through the website.

The Red Hat Network Registration Client allows you to register your Red Hat Enterprise Linux

2.1 systems with RHN. (Newer versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux have registration functionality built into the Red Hat Update Agent.) Registration involves creating a unique RHN username and password, probing the hardware on your system to create a Hardware Proﬁle, and probing the software packages installed on your system to create a Package Proﬁle. This information is sent to RHN, and RHN returns a unique System ID to your system. See Chapter 6 Red Hat Network Registration Client for more information.

Many Red Hat Network terms are used throughout this manual. As you read the Red Hat Network Provisioning Reference Guide, refer to the Glossary as necessary for an explanation of common terms.

2 Chapter 1. What is Red Hat Network?

Tip

For a comparison chart of RHN service levels, refer to http://www.redhat.com/software/rhn/table/.

1.1. Demo

The RHN Demo service level is the complimentary service level. All users receive one free subscription to RHN Demo. All that is required is the completion of a brief survey once every 60 days.

With each Demo subscription, you receive:

• Errata Notiﬁcations — Be the ﬁrst to know about Red Hat’s patches. Subscribe to email errata

notiﬁcation through Red Hat Network.

• Errata Updates — Immediately bring individual systems up-to-date with the click of a button.

• Search Packages — Search through the full repository of RPMs available to Red Hat Network

users.

• Search Errata — Search through the collection of all errata ever released through Red Hat Network.

1.2. Update

The RHN Update service is ideal for a user with one Red Hat Enterprise Linux system or a small number of Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems to keep updated. Subscription to Update can be purchased at http://rhn.redhat.com/purchase_info.pxt.

With each Update subscription, you receive the essential functionality provided to Demo users, plus:

• Easy ISOs — For customers who have purchased subscriptions to Red Hat Network, ISO images

are available for immediate download. Beat the rush to the FTP servers by downloading directly from Red Hat Network.

• Priority Access during periods of high load — When Red Hat releases a large errata, users with

Priority Access can be guaranteed that they will be able to access the updated packages immediately.

• RHN Support Access — All paying customers of Red Hat Network receive web based support for

their RHN questions.

• Errata Notiﬁcation, Multiple Systems — Subscriptions for multiple systems means Errata notiﬁ-

cation for Errata to all of those systems. Note that only one email is distributed per each Errata, regardless of the number of systems affected.

• Errata Updates, Multiple Systems — Get quick updates for multiple systems with an easy button

click for each system.

1.3. Management

In addition to the features offered in the RHN Demo and Update subscription levels, the RHN Management subscription service allows you to manage your network of Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems, users, and system groups through its System Set Manager interface.

RHN Management is based upon the concept of an organization. Each Management-level Red Hat customer has the ability to establish users who have administration privileges to system groups. An Organization Administrator has overall control over each Red Hat Network organization with the ability to add and remove systems and users. When users other than the Organization Administrator log into the Red Hat Network website, they see only the systems they have permission to administer.

Chapter 1. What is Red Hat Network? 3

To create an account that can be used to entitle systems to RHN Management, go to

https://rhn.redhat.com/ and click on the Create Account link under the Sign In ﬁelds. On the Sign

Up for Red Hat Network page, click Create a new corporate account. After creating a corporate account, you may add users within your organization to it.

The Red Hat Network features available to you depend on the subscription level for each Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. With each Management subscription, you receive the functionality provided to Demo and Update users, plus:

• Package Proﬁle Comparison — Compare the package set on a system with the package sets of

similar systems with one click.

• Search Systems — Search through systems based on a number of criteria: packages, networking

information, even hardware asset tags.

• System Grouping — Web servers, database servers, workstations and other workload-focused sys-

tems may be grouped so that each set can be administered in common ways.

• Multiple Administrators — Administrators may be given rights to particular system groups, easing

the burden of system management over very large organizations.

• System Set Manager — You may now apply actions to sets of systems instead of single systems.

Work with members of a predeﬁned system group, or work with an ad-hoc collection of systems. Install a single package to each, subscribe them all to a new channel, or apply all errata to them with a single action.

• Massive Scalability — Figuring out a list of outdated packages for a thousand systems would take

days for a dedicated sysadmin. Red Hat Network Management service can do it for you in seconds.

1.4. Provisioning

As the highest service level, RHN Provisioning encompasses all of the features offered in the RHN Demo, Update, and Management subscription levels. It is designed to allow you to deploy and manage your network of Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems, users, and system groups.

Like, Management, Provisioning is based upon an organization. But it takes this concept a step further by enabling customers with Provisioning entitlements to kickstart, reconﬁgure, track, and revert systems on the ﬂy.

In addition to all of the features mentioned in lower service levels, Provisioning provides:

• Kickstarting — Systems with Provisioning entitlements may be re-installed through RHN with a

whole host of options established in kickstart proﬁles. Options include everything from the type of bootloader and time zone to packages included/excluded and IP address ranges allowed. Even GPG and SSL keys can be pre-conﬁgured.

• Client Conﬁguration — Customers may use RHN to manage the conﬁguration ﬁles on

Provisioning-entitled systems. Users can upload ﬁles to RHN’s central conﬁguration manager, verify local conﬁguration ﬁles against those stored by RHN, and deploy ﬁles from RHN. Further, custom conﬁguration channels can be created to help manage this process.

• Snapshot Rollbacks — Provisioning-level users have the ability to revert the package proﬁle, con-

ﬁguration ﬁles, and RHN settings of systems. This is possible because snapshots are captured whenever an action takes place on a system. These snapshots identify groups, channels, packages, and conﬁguration ﬁles.

• Custom System Information — Provisioning customers may identify any type of information they

choose about their systems. This differs from the more rigorous System Proﬁle information and the completely arbitrary Notes in that it allows you to develop speciﬁc keys of your choosing and then

4 Chapter 1. What is Red Hat Network?

assign searchable values for that key to each Provisioning-entitled system. For instance, this feature would allow you to identify the cubicle in which each system is located.

1.5. Errata Notiﬁcations and Scheduled Package Installations

You can conﬁgure Red Hat Network to send you email notiﬁcations of new and updated software packages as soon as the packages are available through RHN. You receive one email per Errata, regardless of the number of your systems affected. You can also schedule package installs or package updates. The beneﬁts include:

• Reduced time and effort required by system administrators to stay on top of the Red Hat Errata list

• Minimized security vulnerabilities in your network by providing the patches as soon as Red Hat

releases them

• Filtered list of package updates (packages not relevant to your network are not included)

• Reliable method of managing multiple systems with similar conﬁgurations

1.6. Security, Quality Assurance, and Red Hat Network

Red Hat Network provides signiﬁcant beneﬁts to your network including security and quality assurance. All transactions made between you and Red Hat Network are encrypted, and all RPM packages are signed with Red Hat’s GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) signature to ensure authenticity.

Red Hat Network incorporates the following security measures:

1. Your System Proﬁle available at http://rhn.redhat.com is accessible only with an RHN-veriﬁed username and password.

2. A Digital Certiﬁcate is written to the client system after registration and is used to authenticate the system during each transaction between the client and Red Hat Network. The ﬁle is only readable by the root user on the client system.

3. All notiﬁcations and information messages are signed by Red Hat with an electronic signature using GPG. RPM can be used to verify the authenticity of the package before it is installed.

4. All transactions are encrypted using a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection.

5. All packages are tested and veriﬁed by the Red Hat Quality Assurance Team before they are added to the Red Hat Errata list and Red Hat Network.

Tip

Refer to https://rhn.redhat.com/help/faq/ for a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

1.7. Before You Begin

By default, all the software packages you need to use Red Hat Network are installed with Red Hat distributions. However, if you chose not to install them during the installation process, you will need to obtain the Red Hat Update Agent (up2date) and possibly the Red Hat Network Registration

Client (rhn_register). In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, registration functionality is built into the Red Hat Update Agent, while Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 users will need the Red Hat Network Registration Client.

Chapter 1. What is Red Hat Network? 5

Warning

The SSL certiﬁcate packaged with older versions of the Red Hat Update Agent and the Red Hat Network Registration Client reached its end of life August 28, 2003. Users attempting to connect

using this certiﬁcate will receive SSL connection or certiﬁcate veriﬁcation errors. You may view and obtain the versions of these applications containing new certiﬁcates at the RHN Client Software page. In the RHN website, click Help at the top-right corner, Get RHN Software in the left navigation bar, and scroll down to examine the packages and versions.

To determine the versions of the client applications installed, run the rpm -q command followed by the package name. For instance, for the Red Hat Network Registration Client, type the following command:

rpm -q rhn_register

If the Red Hat Network Registration Client is installed, it will return something similar to:

rhn_register-2.9.3-1

The version number might differ slightly.

If you do not have the Red Hat Network Registration Client installed, the command will return:

package rhn_register is not installed

Perform this check for every package in Table 1-1 relevant to your system. Remember, only Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 users need the separate Red Hat Network Registration Client. If you prefer to use the command line versions, you do not have to install the two packages ending in gnome.

Package Name Description

rhn_register Provides the Red Hat Network Registration Client program and the

text mode interface

rhn_register-gnome Provides the GNOME interface (graphical version) for the Red Hat

Network Registration Client; runs if the X Window System is available

up2date Provides the Red Hat Update Agent command line version and the Red

Hat Network Daemon

up2date-gnome Provides the GNOME interface (graphical version) for the Red Hat

Update Agent; runs if the X Window System is available

Table 1-1. Red Hat Network Packages

6 Chapter 1. What is Red Hat Network?

Chapter 2.

Red Hat Update Agent

The Red Hat Update Agent is your connection to Red Hat Network. It enables you to register your systems, create System Proﬁles, and alter the settings by which your organization and RHN interact. Once registered, your systems can use the Red Hat Update Agent to retrieve the latest software packages from Red Hat. This tool will allow you to always have the most up-to-date Red Hat Linux systems with all security patches, bug ﬁxes, and software package enhancements.

Remember, this tool must be run on the system you wish to update. You cannot use the Red Hat Update Agent on the system if it is not entitled to an RHN service offering.

Warning

Only systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 can use the Red Hat Update Agent to register with RHN. Systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 will need to use the separate Red Hat

Network Registration Client before starting the Red Hat Update Agent. Refer to Chapter 6 Red Hat Network Registration Client for instructions. Then return to this chapter for instructions on

using the Red Hat Update Agent.

Important

You must use Red Hat Update Agent Version 2.5.4 or higher to upgrade your kernel automatically. It will install the updated kernel and conﬁgure LILO or GRUB to boot the new kernel the next time the system is rebooted. To ensure you are running the latest version, execute the command up2date

up2date. If you do not have the latest version installed, this command will update it.

2.1. Starting the Red Hat Update Agent

If you are not running the X Window System or prefer the command line version of the Red Hat Update Agent, skip to Section 2.3.5 Command Line Version.

You must be root to run the Red Hat Update Agent. If you start it as a standard user, you will be prompted to enter the root password before proceeding. The Red Hat Update Agent can be started using one of the following methods:

For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3:

• On the GNOME and KDE desktops, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => System Tools

=> Red Hat Network.

• At a shell prompt (for example, an xterm or gnome-terminal), type the command up2date.

For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1:

• On the GNOME desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => Programs => System

=> Update Agent.

• On the KDE desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => Update Agent.

• At a shell prompt (for example, an xterm or gnome-terminal), type the command up2date.

8 Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

If you choose the last option and start the application from a shell prompt, you can specify the options in Table 2-1 to the Red Hat Update Agent. To view these options, type the command up2date

--help.

For example, use the following command to specify the directory in which to download the updated packages (temporarily overriding your saved conﬁguration):

up2date --tmpdir=/tmp/up2date

Argument Description

--configure Conﬁgure Red Hat Update Agent options. Refer to Section 2.4

Conﬁguration for detailed instructions.

-d, --download Download packages only; do not install them. This argument

temporarily overrides the conﬁguration option Do not install packages after retrieval. Use this option if you prefer to install

the packages manually.

-f, --force Force package installation. This option temporarily overrides the

ﬁle, package, and conﬁguration skip lists.

-i, --install Install packages after they are downloaded. This argument

temporarily overrides the conﬁguration option Do not install packages after retrieval.

-k, --packagedir Specify a colon separated path of directories to look for packages

before trying to download them.

--nosig Do not use GPG to check package signatures. This option

temporarily overrides the saved conﬁguration option.

--tmpdir=directory Temporarily override the conﬁgured package directory. The

default location is /var/spool/up2date. This option is useful if you do not have enough space in the conﬁgured location.

--justdb Only add packages to the database and do not install them.

--dbpath=dir Specify an alternate RPM database to use temporarily.

Table 2-1. Graphical Update Agent Options

The ﬁrst time you run the Red Hat Update Agent, two dialog boxes will appear that you will not see in subsequent startups: Conﬁgure Proxy Server and Install GPG Key.

As shown in Figure 2-1, the ﬁrst dialog box to appear will prompt you for HTTP Proxy Server information. This is useful if your network connection requires you to use a proxy server to make HTTP connections. To use this feature, select the Enable HTTP Proxy checkbox and type your proxy server in the text ﬁeld with the format http://HOST:PORT, such as http://squid.mysite.org:3128. Additionally, if your proxy server requires a username and password, select the Use Authentication checkbox and enter your username and password in the respective text ﬁelds.

An HTTP Proxy Server is not required by Red Hat Network. If you do not want to use this feature, click the OK button without making any selections. Note that the Red Hat Network Server dropdown menu at the top of the dialog box is only useful to RHN Proxy and Satellite customers. These customers should refer to the RHN Client Conﬁguration Guide for registration steps. Also note this dialox box is actually the General tab of the Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool. Refer to Section

2.4 Conﬁguration for detailed instructions.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent 9

Figure 2-1. Conﬁgure Proxy Server

The second dialog box to appear will prompt you to install the Red Hat GPG key, as shown in Figure 2-2. This key is used to verify the packages you download for security purposes. Click Yes to install the key, and you will not see this message again.

Figure 2-2. Install GPG Key

2.2. Registration

Before you begin using Red Hat Network, you need to create a username, password, and System Proﬁle. Upon launch, the Red Hat Update Agent senses whether these tasks have been accomplished. If not, it guides you through the registration process. If you ever need to force the Red Hat Update Agent into registration mode, say to re-register an existing system, you may do so by issuing the following command at a shell prompt:

up2date --register

10 Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

Note

In addition to the steps described here, the Red Hat Update Agent also provides a utility aimed at batch processing the registration of systems called Activation Keys. Refer to Section 2.5 Registering with Activation Keys for a full description.

After installing the Red Hat GPG key, the screen in Figure 2-3 will appear. It appears every time you start the Red Hat Update Agent. Click Forward to continue.

Figure 2-3. Welcome Screen

After clicking through the Welcome Screen, the Red Hat Privacy Statement appears. (See Figure 2-

4). Red Hat is committed to protecting your privacy. The information gathered during the Red Hat Network registration process is used to create a System Proﬁle, which is essential to receiving update notiﬁcations about your system. If after reading the statement you have any questions about how your information is being used, please contact us at <feedback@redhat.com>. When satisﬁed, click Forward.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent 11

Figure 2-4. Red Hat Privacy Statement

2.2.1. Registering a User Account

Before you can create a System Proﬁle, you must create a user account. All that is required is a unique username-password combination and a valid email address.

In the screen shown in Figure 2-5, choose a username and password. Once logged in to Red Hat Network, you can modify your preferences, view your existing System Proﬁle, or obtain the latest Red Hat software packages.

Note

If you are already a member of redhat.com, you can use the same username and password. However, you will still need to continue with the registration process to create your System Proﬁle.

Your username and password have the following restrictions:

• Must be at least four characters long

• Are case-insensitive

• Cannot contain any spaces

• Cannot contain any tabs

12 Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

• Cannot contain any line feeds

• Cannot contain the characters &, +, %, or ’

Figure 2-5. Create a User Account

You must choose a unique username. If you enter one already in use, you will see an error message (see Figure 2-6). Try different usernames until you ﬁnd one that has not been used.

Warning

Be sure to identify a username that you will be satisﬁed with permanently, as this cannot be changed after account creation.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent 13

Figure 2-6. Error: Username Already Exists

Most users can leave the Org Info section blank. If you have an existing organization account, enter your organization’s ID and password in the provided text ﬁelds. If the values are valid, the system will be added to the organization’s Red Hat Network account.

If you have already registered a machine and created a System Proﬁle, you can add a new machine to your account. Run the Red Hat Update Agent on the new machine you wish to add, and enter your existing Red Hat Network username and password. The new machine will be added to your existing account, and you can log into Red Hat Network with your username and password to view all your systems simultaneously.

In the Create Account screen, click Forward to continue.

If you are a new user to RHN, the Red Hat Update Agent takes you to the screen shown in Figure 2-

7. Here you will add details about yourself and your business, if applicable, and identify the methods by which you should be reached.

Note

Unlike other details, your company name can be changed only through redhat.com. To make this change, go to http://www.redhat.com/ and click the Account link near the top-right corner. Sign in if you are not already logged in, and then click the Account Details link. In the Edit Account Details page, replace your company name in the appropriate ﬁeld and click the Finish button at the bottom. The change will appear in the RHN website immediately.

14 Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

Figure 2-7. Register a User Account

Once satsﬁed with the information supplied, click Forward to continue.

2.2.2. Registering a System Proﬁle

Now that you have a user account, you can create a System Proﬁle that consists of hardware and software information about your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. The System Proﬁle information is used by Red Hat Network to determine what software update notiﬁcations you receive.

2.2.2.1. Hardware System Proﬁle

After creating a username and password for your Red Hat Network account, the Red Hat Update Agent probes your system for the following information:

• Red Hat Linux version

• Hostname

• IP address

• CPU model

• CPU speed

• Amount of RAM

• PCI devices

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent 15

• Disk sizes

• Mount points

The next step is choosing a proﬁle name for your system as shown in Figure 2-8. The default value is the hostname for the system. You may modify this to be a more descriptive string, such as Email Server for Support Team, if you ﬁnd it more helpful. Optionally, you can enter a computer serial or identiﬁcation number for the system.

If you do not wish to include information about your hardware or network in your System Proﬁle, deselect Include information about hardware and network (see Figure 2-8).

Figure 2-8. System Proﬁle - Hardware

Click Forward to continue with the registration process.

2.2.2.2. Software System Proﬁle

The software System Proﬁle consists of a list of RPM packages for which you wish to receive notiﬁcations. The Red Hat Update Agent shows you a list of all RPM packages listed in the RPM database on your system and then allows you to customize the list by deselecting packages.

2.2.2.2.1. Gathering RPM Database Information

Only those packages you choose during this part of the registration will be included in your System Proﬁle, and you will receive notiﬁcations only about the packages in your System Proﬁle. Therefore,

16 Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

you must include packages in your proﬁle to have RHN send you Errata regarding them. You should also note if you use an older version of a package and deselect it from the list, it will not be replaced with a newer version.

This RPM list can be modiﬁed through the Red Hat Network Web interface or by using the Red Hat Update Agent. Figure 2-9 shows the progress bar you will see while the Red Hat Update Agent gathers a list of the RPM packages installed on your system. This operation may take some time, depending on your system installation.

Figure 2-9. Registration Wizard

Once the RPM package list is built, the list will be displayed as shown in Figure 2-10. Deselecting Include RPM Packages installed on this system in my System Proﬁle will omit this information from your System Proﬁle.

Figure 2-10. RPM Package Information

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent 17

2.2.2.2.2. Choosing RPM Packages to Exclude from the System Proﬁle

By default, all RPM packages in your RPM database are included in your System Proﬁle to be updated by Red Hat Network. To exclude a package, uncheck the package from the list by clicking the checkbox beside the package name. For example, Figure 2-11 shows that the Canna-devel and Canna-libs packages have been omitted from the package list.

Choose which packages to exclude, if any, from the System Proﬁle, and click Forward to continue with the registration process.

Figure 2-11. Choose which RPM Packages to Exclude from System Proﬁle

2.2.2.3. Finishing Registration

As seen in Figure 2-12, the last step of registration is to conﬁrm that you want to send your System Proﬁle to the Red Hat Network. If you choose Cancel at this point, no information will be sent. Clicking Forward will submit your RHN System Proﬁle.

18 Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

Figure 2-12. Finished Collecting Information for System Proﬁle

Figure 2-13 shows the progress bar you will see while your proﬁle is being sent. This process may take some time depending on your connection speed.

Figure 2-13. Send System Proﬁle to Red Hat Network

You will know your System Proﬁle has been successfully sent when you see the Channels screen (Figure 2-14) appear. Refer to Section 2.3.1 Choosing a Software Channel for continued instructions.

2.3. Setup and Use

After completing the registration process, you should set up the Red Hat Update Agent to effectively manage all of your system’s package updates. This requires selecting its channel, identifying the packages requiring maintenance, and making your ﬁrst installation.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent 19

Before you proceed, however, you should consider ensuring you have the latest version of the Red Hat Update Agent, as development on it is continuous. This task is as simple as running the tool

against its own package. Shut down the GUI version and run this command in a terminal (as root), like so:

up2date up2date

2.3.1. Choosing a Software Channel

The ﬁrst step is to select the channel from which you want the updated packages to be retrieved. After you send your System Proﬁle, the Channels screen (Figure 2-14) appears. Select the appropriate base channel and click Forward to continue. The Red Hat Update Agent offers only the channels enabled for the system in RHN (or your RHN Satellite Server). Refer to Section 4.6 Channels for more information on channels and how channels are used to determine which packages are installed.

Figure 2-14. Channels

2.3.2. Choosing Packages to Update

After clicking Forward, the dialog box in Figure 2-15 will appear. This means a connection to Red Hat Network is being established and your customized list of updates is being retrieved. This might take some time, depending on the speed of your connection and the number of packages you have installed.

20 Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

Figure 2-15. Retrieve Update Information

While you see this dialog box, the Red Hat Update Agent uses your unique Digital Certiﬁcate (/etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid) to determine if there are any updated packages available for your system. If there are no updated packages available for your system, the dialog box in Figure 2-16 appears. Click OK to exit the Red Hat Update Agent.

Figure 2-16. No new packages needed

If you excluded any packages while registering your System Proﬁle, these are displayed in Figure 2-17. You may override these settings and include any of these packages in the update by selecting the checkboxes next to them. To see a summary of each package in the Package Information section at the bottom of the screen, click the name of the package.

+ 106 hidden pages

Red Hat NETWORK 3.5 - PROVISIONING Reference Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual