Red Hat NETWORK BASIC - USER REFERENCE GUIDE 3.3, NETWORK BASIC 3.3 User Reference Manual

Red Hat Network Basic

User Reference Guide 3.3

Red Hat Network Basic: User Reference Guide 3.3

Red Hat, Inc.

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RHNbasic(EN)-3.3-HTML-RHI (2002-05-06T10:470400) Copyright © 2002 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 presently available at 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, Red Hat Network, the Red Hat "Shadow Man" logo, RPM, Maximum RPM, the RPM logo, Linux Library, PowerTools, Linux Undercover, RHmember, RHmember More, Rough Cuts, Rawhide and all Red Hat-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Motif and UNIX are registeredtrademarks of The Open Group. Intel and Pentium are a registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Itanium and Celeron are trademarks of Intel Corporation. AMD, AMD Athlon, AMD Duron, and AMD K6 are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Netscape is a registered trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. SSH and Secure Shell are trademarks of SSH Communications Security, Inc. FireWire is a trademark of Apple Computer Corporation. All other trademarks and copyrights referred to are the property of their respective owners.

Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................... v

1. Document Conventions......................................................................................................... v

2. More to Come .....................................................................................................................vii

2.1. Send in Your Feedback ........................................................................................vii

1. What is Red Hat Network? ............................................................................................................ 9

1.1. Demo................................................................................................................................10

1.2. Basic................................................................................................................................. 10

1.3. Enterprise ......................................................................................................................... 10

1.4. Automatic Notiﬁcations and Scheduled Package Installations........................................ 11

1.5. Security, Quality Assurance, and Red Hat Network ........................................................11

1.6. Before You Begin............................................................................................................. 12

2. Red Hat Network Registration Client .........................................................................................15

2.1. Conﬁguring the Red Hat Network Registration Client................................................ 15

2.2. Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client ...................................................... 16

2.3. Registering a User Account ............................................................................................. 19

2.4. Registering a System Proﬁle ............................................................................................21

2.4.1. Hardware System Proﬁle .................................................................................. 21

2.4.2. Software System Proﬁle.................................................................................... 22

2.5. Finishing Registration......................................................................................................24

2.6. Entitling Your System...................................................................................................... 26

2.7. Text Mode RHN Registration Client ............................................................................... 26

3. Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool................................................................................ 29

3.1. Starting the Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool..............................................29

3.2. General Settings ............................................................................................................... 29

3.3. Retrieval/Installation Settings .......................................................................................... 30

3.4. Package Exceptions Settings............................................................................................31

3.5. Command Line Version ................................................................................................... 32

4. Red Hat Update Agent.................................................................................................................. 35

4.1. Starting the Red Hat Update Agent............................................................................... 35

4.2. Choosing a Channel ......................................................................................................... 37

4.3. Choosing Packages to Update.......................................................................................... 38

4.4. Installing Updated Packages ............................................................................................41

4.5. Update Agent Finished .................................................................................................... 42

4.6. Command Line Version ................................................................................................... 43

4.6.1. Installing the Red Hat GPG key........................................................................ 45

4.7. Manual Package Installation ............................................................................................ 46

4.8. Synchronizing Your System Proﬁle ................................................................................. 46

4.9. Log File............................................................................................................................47

5. Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool................................................................................... 49

5.1. Conﬁguring the Applet .................................................................................................... 49

5.2. Notiﬁcation Icons............................................................................................................. 50

5.3. Viewing Updates ..............................................................................................................50

5.4. Applying Updates ............................................................................................................51

6. Red Hat Network Website............................................................................................................ 53

6.1. Logging into the RHN Website........................................................................................53

6.2. Introduction to the Web Interface ....................................................................................53

6.2.1. Errata Alerts ......................................................................................................55

6.3. Your RHN ........................................................................................................................ 55

6.3.1. Your Account .................................................................................................... 56

6.3.2. Entitlements ...................................................................................................... 57

6.3.3. Organization Information..................................................................................57

6.3.4. Activation Keys................................................................................................. 58

6.4. Systems ............................................................................................................................ 59

6.4.1. System List ....................................................................................................... 59

6.4.2. System Details ..................................................................................................60

6.5. Errata................................................................................................................................ 62

6.5.1. All Errata...........................................................................................................62

6.5.2. Applicable Errata ..............................................................................................62

6.5.3. Errata Search..................................................................................................... 62

6.5.4. Apply Errata Updates........................................................................................ 62

6.5.5. Errata Details ....................................................................................................63

6.6. Channels and Packages .................................................................................................... 63

6.6.1. Channel List ......................................................................................................63

6.6.2. Download ISO Images......................................................................................64

6.6.3. Channel Details ................................................................................................. 64

6.6.4. Channel Subscribe and Unsubscribe.................................................................65

6.6.5. Package Details ................................................................................................. 65

6.6.6. Package Install .................................................................................................. 65

6.6.7. Package Download............................................................................................ 66

6.7. Scheduled Actions ........................................................................................................... 67

7. Red Hat Network Daemon ...........................................................................................................69

8. Using Red Hat Network with Red Hat Linux 6.2 ...................................................................... 71

Glossary ............................................................................................................................................. 73

Index................................................................................................................................................... 79

Introduction

Welcome to the Red Hat Network Basic User Reference Guide 3.3.

The Red Hat Network Basic User 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 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 2.7.86-7.x.3 of the Red Hat Update Agent and version

2.7.21-7.x.3 of the Red Hat Network Registration Client.

For a more detailed, technical overview of Red Hat Network, please refer to the whitepapers available at http://www.redhat.com/docs/wp/.

For an interactive demo of RHN, go to http://rhn.redhat.com/demo/rhn_demo.html. It requires the Macromedia Flash player.

1. Document Conventions

When you read this manual, you will see that 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 ﬁlenames). In these cases, they are considered to be part of the command, so the entire phrase will be 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.

filename

Filenames, 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 Red Hat Linux 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 ﬁlesystems.

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

application

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

Use Netscape Navigator to browse the Web.

vi Introduction

[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 will display 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 will exit 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 will be shown in this style. When you see text shown in this style, it 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

When you see a word in this style, it 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 Settings on a GNOME terminal, you will see the following menu items: Preferences, Reset Terminal, Reset and Clear, and Color selector.

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

Click on Programs=>Applications=>Emacs to start the Emacs text editor.

button on a GUI screen or window

This style indicates that the text will 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

When you see text in this style, it indicates text displayed by the computer on the command line. You will see responses to commands you typed in, error messages, and interactive prompts for your input during scripts or programs shown this way. For example:

Use the ls command to display the contents of a directory:

$ ls Desktop axhome logs paulwesterberg.gif 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, will be shown in this style. Examples:

[stephen@maturin stephen]$

leopard login:

Introduction vii

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 will need to type in the text command at the boot: prompt.

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 will be 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.

Warning

If you choose not to partition manually, a server installation will remove all existing partitions on all installed hard drives. Do not choose this installation class unless you are sure you have no data you need to save.

2. More to Come

The Red Hat Network Basic User Reference Guide is constantly expanding as new Red Hat Network features and service plans are launched.

viii Introduction

2.1. Send in Your Feedback

If you would like to make suggestions about the Red Hat Network Basic User Reference Guide, please mention this guide’s identiﬁer:

RHNbasic(EN)-3.3-HTML-RHI (2002-05-06T10:470400)

You can send mail to:

<rhn-feedback@redhat.com>

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 you are only able to ﬁnd the source ﬁles that you have 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 Linux system or a network of Red Hat Linux systems. All Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts (collective known as Errata Alerts) can be downloaded directly from Red Hat. You can even have updates automatically delivered directly to your system as soon as they are released.

The three main components of Red Hat Network are as follows:

• The Red Hat Network Registration Client

• The Red Hat Network user interface

• Red Hat Network Daemon

The Red Hat Network Registration Client allows you to register your system with RHN. Registration involves creating a unique RHN user name 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 2 for further information).

You can use either of the two Red Hat Network user interfaces:

• https://rhn.redhat.com

• The Red Hat Update Agent

Both the Web interface and the Red Hat Update Agent allow you to view Errata Alerts from in the Red Hat Errata list. Only packages relevant to your system are shown. Red Hat Network can also be conﬁgured to verify packages once downloaded, ignore update notiﬁcations for certain packages, and view package details before downloading them.

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 7 for further information). This daemon is necessary if you want to receive automatic updates or if you schedule an action through the Web interface.

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

10 Chapter 1. What is Red Hat Network?

Tip

For a comparison chart of RHN service levels, refer to https://rhn.redhat.com/preview/.

1.1. Demo

The RHN Demo service level is the complimentary service level. All users receive one free subscription to RHN Demo. It includes Errata Notiﬁcations and Errata Updates from RHN.

1.2. Basic

The RHN Basic service is ideal for a user with one Red Hat Linux system or a small number of Red Hat Linux systems to keep updated. Basic also refers to trial subscriptions, such as those activated from the purchase of an ofﬁcial Red Hat Linux box product. Subscription to Basic can be purchased at http://rhn.redhat.com/purchase_info.pxt.

With each Basic subscription, you receive:

• Errata Notiﬁcations — learn when Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts are

issued for all the systems in your network

• Automatic email notiﬁcations — Receive an email notiﬁcation when an Errata Alert is issued for

your system

• Errata Updates — Scheduled delivery of Errata Updates with optional automatic installation

• Package installation — Scheduled package installation on one or more systems with the click of a

button

• Summary and Detailed System Lists — View your System Proﬁles at a glance or in detail.

• Instant ISOs — Download ISO images of our Red Hat Linux distribution instantly instead of com-

peting with other FTP users.

• Red Hat Update Agent — Use the Red Hat Update Agent to download the latest software pack-

ages for your system with optional package installation

• Website — Manage multiple systems, downloaded individual packages, and schedule actions such

as Errata Updates and Package Installation

1.3. Enterprise

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

RHN Enterprise is based around the concept of an organization. Each enterprise level Red Hat customer is assigned a Red Hat Customer Number. A Red Hat Network organization can be established for each Red Hat Customer Number. Each Red Hat Network organization contains 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 only see the systems they have permission to administer.

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

http://rhn.redhat.com/ and click on the Create Account link under the Your RHN category. On the Sign Up for Red Hat Network page, click Create a Corporate Account. After creating a corporate account, users within your organization need to click the Join a Corporate Account link to create

Chapter 1. What is Red Hat Network? 11

an RHN user account. In the Corporate Account Information section, they should enter the customer number and password conﬁgured when you created the corporate account. Before the new corporate user can log in, an existing Organization Administrator for the corporation must approve the addition of the user and conﬁgure the new user’s roles and permissions. Refer to Section 6.3 for more information on approving new users.

The Red Hat Network features available to you depends on the subscription level for each Red Hat Linux system.

Systems subscribed to RHN Enterprise may access the following features:

1. System Set Manager that allows administrators to perform an action on a selected set of sys-

tems at the same time

2. Enhanced system details including the location of the system

3. System groups

4. System search

5. User management

6. Multiple administrators

7. Grant or deny users access to selected system groups

8. Organization Administrator can modify the user details of all users within the organization

To learn more about the additional RHN Enterprise features, read the Red Hat Network Enterprise User Reference Guide available in HTML and PDF formats at http://www.redhat.com/docs/.

1.4. Automatic 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 can also schedule package packages 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

1.5. 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 only accessible with an RHN veriﬁed user name 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.

12 Chapter 1. What is Red Hat Network?

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.pxt for a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

1.6. Before You Begin

Red Hat Network is available for Red Hat Linux 6.2 and higher. For instructions on conﬁguring Red Hat Linux 6.2 for Red Hat Network, refer to Chapter 8.

By default, all the software packages you need to use Red Hat Network are installed with Red Hat Linux 7 and higher. However, if you chose not to install them during the installation process or performed an upgrade from Red Hat Linux 6.2 or lower, you may not have the Red Hat Network Reg-

istration Client or the Red Hat Update Agent installed. To determine if the Red Hat Network Registration Client is installed, 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-2.7.21-7.x.3

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. If you prefer not to use the graphical 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_registergnome

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

Chapter 1. What is Red Hat Network? 13

Table 1-1. Red Hat Network Packages

If the packages are not installed, they can be found on the Red Hat Linux 7 (or higher) CD-ROM #1 in the RedHat/RPMS directory or downloaded from the Red Hat FTP site available at ftp://ftp.redhat.com (or from a Red Hat FTP mirror available at http://www.redhat.com/mirrors.html). Always check the Red Hat Errata page, available at http://www.redhat.com/errata/, for package updates. If you install an older version of these packages, you can retrieve the latest versions using Red Hat Network. The ﬁrst time that you request the RPM updates for your system, they will be included.

14 Chapter 1. What is Red Hat Network?

Chapter 2.

Red Hat Network Registration Client

Before you begin using Red Hat Network, you need to create a username, password, and System Proﬁle. The Red Hat Network Registration Client walks you through this process.

2.1. Conﬁguring the Red Hat Network Registration Client

Warning

Most users do not need to conﬁgure the Red Hat Network Registration Client before registering their systems. Do not attempt to use this option unless you must.

To start the graphical interface for conﬁguring the application to connect through an HTTP proxy server, type the following command at a shell prompt:

rhn_register --configure

The window shown in Figure 2-1 will appear.

Figure 2-1. Red Hat Network Registration Client Conﬁguration

To start the command line version, use the command:

rhn_register --nox --configure

It has more conﬁguration options than the graphical version.

You will be presented with a list of options and their current values:

0. enableProxyAuth No

16 Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client

1. noSSLServerURL http://www.rhns.redhat.com/XMLRPC

2. oemInfoFile /etc/sysconfig/rhn/oeminfo

3. enableProxy No

4. networkSetup Yes

5. httpProxy

6. proxyUser

7. serverURL https://www.rhns.redhat.com/XMLRPC

8. proxyPassword

9. debug No

Enter number of item to edit



return to exit, q to quit without saving:

Enter the number of the item that you want to modify, and enter a new value for the option. When you ﬁnish changing your conﬁguration, press [Enter] to save your changes and exit. Press [q] and then [Enter] to quit without saving your changes.

The most common options conﬁgured are enableProxy and httpProxy to enable a proxy server. To enable a proxy server, change the value for enableProxy to Yes and the value of httpProxy to the name of the proxy server and port number in the format http://HOST:PORT. For example, to use the proxy server http://squid.mysite.org on port 3128, you would change the value to http://squid.mysite.org:3128.

If you require a proxy username and password, set enableProxyAuth to Yes to enable username/password authentication for the proxy, and set proxyUser and proxyPassword to the appropriate username and password for the proxy.

2.2. Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client

You must be root to register a system with RHN. If you start the Red Hat Network Registration Client as a standard user, you will be prompted to enter the root password before proceeding. To start

the Red Hat Network Registration Client, use one of the following methods:

1. On the GNOME desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => Programs => System => Red Hat Network

2. On the KDE desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => System => Red Hat

Network

3. Type the command rhn_register at a shell prompt (for example an XTerm or GNOME terminal)

4. If you are not running the X Window System, type the command rhn_register at a virtual console or remote terminal. Refer to Section 2.7 for further details.

Caution

You must use Python 1.5.2-24 or later with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) support. If not, the information you transfer will not be encrypted. If you have an earlier version of Python, you will see the message shown in Figure 2-2. To determine the version of Python on your system, use the command

rpm -q python. It is strongly recommended you use Python 1.5.2-24 or later.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client 17

Figure 2-2. Use Python 1.5.2-24 or later

If you have already registered your system and try to register it again, the dialog box shown in Figure 2-3 will appear. If you continue, it will overwrite your existing Digital Certiﬁcate ﬁle (/etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid), and you will create a different System Proﬁle. You will no longer be able to use your previous System Proﬁle — be sure this is what you want to do before you choose Yes.

If you overwrite an existing system registration, you can delete the unused proﬁle via the website at https://rhn.redhat.com.

Figure 2-3. Warning: This System Already Registered

The opening screen for the Red Hat Network Registration Client gives you a brief overview of the services available and the steps required to register (see Figure 2-4). Click Next to continue with the registration process. If you click Cancel, the registration process will end and no information will be sent.

18 Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client

Figure 2-4. Welcome Screen

Red Hat is committed to protecting your privacy (see Figure 2-5). The information gathered during the Red Hat Network registration process is used to create a System Proﬁle. The System Proﬁle is essential if you wish to receive update notiﬁcations about your system. If you have any questions about how your information is being used, please contact us at <feedback@redhat.com>.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client 19

Figure 2-5. Red Hat Privacy Statement

2.3. Registering a User Account

Before you can create a System Proﬁle, you must create a user account. The only required information in this section is a unique username, password, and a valid email address.

In the screen shown in Figure 2-7, you must 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. 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.

Figure 2-6. Error: Username Already Exists

20 Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client

Note

If you are already a member of redhat.com, you can use the same user name 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

• Can not contain any spaces

• Can not contain any tabs

• Can not contain any line feeds

• Can not contain the characters &, +, %, or ’

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 Network Registration Client 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.

Figure 2-7. Create a Unique Username and Password

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.

Click Next to continue.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client 21

2.4. 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 Linux system. The software System Proﬁle information is used by Red Hat Network to determine what software update notiﬁcations you receive.

2.4.1. Hardware System Proﬁle

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

• Red Hat Linux version

• Hostname

• IP address

• CPU model

• CPU speed

• Amount of RAM

• PCI devices

• 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).

Click Next to continue with the registration process.

22 Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client

Figure 2-8. System Proﬁle - Hardware

2.4.2. Software System Proﬁle

The software System Proﬁle consists of a list of RPM packages for which you wish to receive notiﬁcations. The Red Hat Network Registration Client 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.

2.4.2.1. 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 only receive notiﬁcations about the packages in your System Proﬁle. Thus, 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 Network Registration Client gathers a list of the RPM packages installed on your system. This operation may

take some time depending on your system.

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.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client 23

Figure 2-10. RPM Package Information

2.4.2.2. 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 procmail, procps, and psgml packages have been omitted from the package list.

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

24 Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client

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

2.5. 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 Next will submit your RHN System Proﬁle.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client 25

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 Registration Finished screen (Figure 2-14). Click Finish to exit the Red Hat Network Registration Client.

After completing the registration, you must entitle your system to an RHN service level. Refer to Section 2.6 for details.

26 Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client

Figure 2-14. Registration Finished

2.6. Entitling Your System

Now that you have registered your system, it must be entitled before you can receive updated packages. In other words, you must subscribe it to a service level offering. Everyone automatically receives one free Demo entitlement after creating an account by registering a system for RHN or creating a redhat.com account.

To entitle a system, go to http://rhn.redhat.com and login using the same username and password you just used in the Red Hat Network Registration Client. On the left navigation bar, click Entitlements under the Your RHN category. The Entitlement Manager tells you how many entitlements you have left. If you have one or more left, check the checkbox under the Entitled column beside the name of the system that you just registered. Then click the Update Entitlements button at the bottom of the page. The number of entitlements remaining will decrease, and your system is now ready to use the Red Hat Update Agent and RHN website. Refer to Chapter 4 and Chapter 6 for details on how to use them. If you do not have any entitlement slots left, enter the number you want to purchase and click the Buy Now! button to purchase additional subscriptions.

2.7. Text Mode RHN Registration Client

If you are not running the X Window System, the Red Hat Network Registration Client starts in text mode.

You can force the Red Hat Network Registration Client to run in text mode with the command:

rhn_register --nox

The screens for the text mode Red Hat Network Registration Client are almost identical to the screens for the graphical Red Hat Network Registration Client. Some of the text in the text mode version is more concise due to lack of space in the interface. However, there is an equal number of screens and ﬁelds in both versions. Thus, if you are using the text mode version, you can still follow the instructions that begin in Section 2.2.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client 27

Figure 2-15. Text Mode Welcome Screen

28 Chapter 2. Red Hat Network Registration Client

Chapter 3.

Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool

Before using the Red Hat Update Agent, you should conﬁgure the settings. This can be done with the Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool.

If you are not running the X Window System or prefer the command line version, skip to Section 3.5.

3.1. Starting the Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool

You must be root to run the Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool. If you start the Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool as a standard user, you will be prompted to enter the root password

before proceeding. The Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool can be started using one of the following methods:

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

=> Update Agent Conﬁguration

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

tion

• Type the command up2date-config at a shell prompt (for example, an xterm or a gnome-

terminal)

3.2. General Settings

The General tab allows you to enable an HTTP Proxy Server. If your network connection requires you to use an HTTP Proxy Server to make HTTP connections, select the Enable HTTP Proxy option and type your proxy server in the text ﬁeld with the format http://HOST:PORT. For example, to use the proxy server http://squid.mysite.org on port 3128, you would enter http://squid.mysite.org:3128 in the text ﬁeld. Additionally, if your proxy server requires a username and password, select the Use Authentication option and enter your username and password in the respective text ﬁelds.

30 Chapter 3. Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool

Figure 3-1. General Settings

3.3. Retrieval/Installation Settings

The Retrieval/Installation tab allows you to customize your software package retrieval and package installation preferences.

Warning

You must use Red Hat Update Agent Version 2.5.4 or higher to upgrade your kernel automatically. Red Hat Update Agent will install the updated kernel and conﬁgure LILO or GRUB to boot the new

kernel the next time the system is rebooted.

Chapter 3. Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool 31

Figure 3-2. Retrieval/Installation Settings

The following package retrieval options can be selected (see Figure 3-2):

• Do not install packages after retrieval — download selected RPM packages to desired directory

and ignore the installation preferences

• Do not display packages when local conﬁguration ﬁle has been modiﬁed — if the conﬁguration

ﬁle has been modiﬁed for a package such as apache or squid, do not display them in the list of available packages. This option is useful if you are installing custom RPM packages on your system and you do not want them updated or reverted to the default Red Hat Linux packages.

• Retrieve source RPM along with binary package — download both the source (*.src.rpm)

and the binary (*.[architecture].rpm) ﬁles

The following installation options are conﬁgurable (see Figure 3-2):

• After installation, keep binary packages on disk — save binary packages in desired directory

instead of deleting them after installation

• Use GPG to verify package integrity — before installing the packages, verify Red Hat’s GPG

signature (highly recommended for security reasons)

The following additional options are conﬁgurable from this tab:

• Override version stored in System Proﬁle — override the Red Hat Linux version in your System

Proﬁle

• Package storage directory — change the directory where packages are downloaded; the default

location is /var/spool/up2date

3.4. Package Exceptions Settings

The Package Exceptions tab allows you to deﬁne which packages to exclude from the list of updated RPM packages according to the package name or ﬁle name (see Figure 3-3).

To deﬁne a set of packages to be excluded according to the package name, enter a character string including wild cards (*) in the Add new text ﬁeld under in the Package Names to Skip section. A

32 Chapter 3. Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool

wild card at the end of the character string means all packages beginning with the character string will be excluded from the list. A wild card at the beginning of the character string means any packages that end with the character string will be excluded from the list.

For example, if the string kernel* in the Package Names to Skip section, the Red Hat Update Agent will not display any packages beginning with kernel.

To exclude packages by ﬁle name, follow the same rules except click the Add button next to the File

Names to Skip section.

Figure 3-3. Package Exceptions Settings

3.5. Command Line Version

The command line version of this tool performs the same function as the graphical version. It allows you to conﬁgure the settings used by the Red Hat Update Agent and store them in the conﬁguration ﬁle /etc/sysconfig/rhn/up2date.

To run the command line version of the Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool, use the following command:

up2date --nox --configure

You will be presented with a list of options and their current values:

0. storageDir /var/spool/up2date

1. networkSetup Yes

2. headerCacheSize 40

3. httpProxy

4. debug No

5. useGPG Yes

6. networkRetries 5

7. removeSkipList [’kernel*’]

8. retrieveOnly No

9. keepAfterInstall No

Chapter 3. Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool 33

10. enableProxy No

11. gpgKeyRing /etc/sysconfig/rhn/up2date-keyring.gpg

12. proxyUser

13. proxyPassword

14. headerFetchCount 10

15. versionOverride

16. useNoSSLForPackage No

17. enableProxyAuth No

18. noSSLServerURL http://www.rhns.redhat.com/XMLRPC

19. noReplaceConfig Yes

20. sslCACert /usr/share/rhn/RHNS-CA-CERT

21. noBootLoader No

22. systemIdPath /etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid

23. serverURL https://www.rhns.redhat.com/XMLRPC

24. pkgSkipList [’kernel*’]

25. adminAddress [’root@localhost’]

26. forceInstall No

27. fileSkipList []

28. retrieveSource No

Enter number of item to edit



return to exit, q to quit without saving:

Enter the number of the item that you want to modify and enter a new value for the option. When you ﬁnish changing your conﬁguration, press [Enter] to save your changes and exit. Press [q] and then [Enter] to quit without saving your changes.

34 Chapter 3. Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool

Chapter 4.

Red Hat Update Agent

After conﬁguring the settings for the Red Hat Update Agent using the instructions in Chapter 3, you can use the Red Hat Update Agent to retrieve the latest software packages from Red Hat. Using this tool will allow you to always have the most up-to-date Red Hat Linux system with all security patches, bug ﬁxes, and software package enhancements. It must be run on the system you wish to update.

Remember that you can not use the Red Hat Update Agent on the system if it is not entitled to an RHN service offering.

If you are not running the X Window System or prefer the command-line version of the Red Hat Update Agent, skip to Section 4.6.

Important

Before updating your system with the Red Hat Update Agent, make sure you are running the latest version by executing the command up2date up2date. If you do not have the latest version installed, this command will update it to the latest version.

Warning

You must use Red Hat Update Agent Version 2.5.4 or higher to upgrade your kernel automatically. Red Hat Update Agent will install the updated kernel and conﬁgure LILO or GRUB to boot the new

kernel the next time the system is rebooted.

4.1. Starting the Red Hat Update Agent

You must be root to run the Red Hat Update Agent. If you start the Red Hat Update Agent 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:

• 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

• Type the command up2date at a shell prompt (for example, an xterm or gnome-terminal)

If you choose the last option and start the application from a shell prompt, you can specify the options in Table 4-1 to the Red Hat Update Agent.

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

36 Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent

Argument Description

--configure Conﬁgure Red Hat Update Agent options. This is equivalent to

running the Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool (up2date-config).

-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 4-1. Graphical Update Agent Options

The ﬁrst time you run the Red Hat Update Agent, the dialog window in Figure 4-1 will prompt you to install the Red Hat GPG key. This is used to verify the RPM packages you download for security purposes. Click Yes to install the key, and you will not see this message again.

Figure 4-1. Install GPG Key

After installing the Red Hat GPG key, the screen in Figure 4-2 will appear. It appears every time you start the Red Hat Update Agent. Click Next to continue.

Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent 37

Figure 4-2. Welcome Screen

4.2. Choosing a Channel

The ﬁrst step is to select the channel(s) from which you want the updated packages to be retrieved. Select one or more channels and click Next. Refer to Section 6.6 for more information on channels and how channels are used to determine which packages to install.

38 Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent

Figure 4-3. Channels

4.3. Choosing Packages to Update

After clicking Next, the dialog box in Figure 4-4 will appear. This means that a connection to Red Hat Network is being established and that 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.

Figure 4-4. 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 4-5 appears. Click OK to exit the Red Hat Update Agent.

Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent 39

Figure 4-5. No new packages needed

If your system is not up-to-date, your customized list of available updated packages is displayed as shown in Figure 4-6.

Figure 4-6. List of Available Updates

By default, no packages are selected for download. If you highlight each package, a brief package description is displayed in the Package Information section at the bottom of the screen. To select the package for download (and installation if you chose that option), click the checkbox. To select all the packages listed, click the button next to Select all packages.

If you want to view the advisory for the RPM Alert, click the View Advisory button. This will display what type of Errata Alert it is and what problem(s) it addresses as shown in Figure 4-7. Click Next when you are ﬁnished selecting packages.

40 Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent

Figure 4-7. View Advisory

After choosing which packages to update, the Red Hat Update Agent tests for RPM dependencies and prompts you if you have chosen to omit packages that are required for software updates that you did choose. The dialog box in Figure 4-8 is shown while it is testing for dependencies. This process might take some time depending upon how many packages are are updating.

Figure 4-8. Testing Packages

The Red Hat Update Agent shows the progress of each package retrieval as shown in Figure 4-9. When they have all been retrieved, the message All ﬁnished is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Click Next to continue.

Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent 41

Figure 4-9. Retrieval Finished

4.4. Installing Updated Packages

After downloading the packages through the Red Hat Update Agent, they must be installed. If you chose not to have the packages installed via the Red Hat Update Agent, skip to Section 4.7 for further instructions. If you conﬁgured it to installed the packages (the default setting), the selected packages are installed. The progress of installing each package, as well as the total progress, is displayed. When the packages have been installed, as seen in Figure 4-10, click Next to continue.

42 Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent

Figure 4-10. Installation Finished

4.5. Update Agent Finished

When the Red Hat Update Agent has ﬁnished downloading the desired packages (and installing them if you chose the install option), you will see the screen in Figure 4-11. Click Finish to exit the Red Hat Update Agent.

Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent 43

Figure 4-11. Update Agent Finished

4.6. Command Line Version

If you are not running X, you can still run the Red Hat Update Agent from a virtual console or remote terminal. If you are running X but want to use the command line version, you can force it not to display the graphical interface with the following command:

up2date --nox

The command line version of the Red Hat Update Agent allows you to perform advanced functions or to perform actions with little or no interaction. For example, the following command updates your system with no interaction. It will download the newer packages and install them if you conﬁgured it to install them automatically.

up2date -u

The command line version of the Red Hat Update Agent accepts the following arguments:

Argument Description

--configure Conﬁgure Red Hat Update Agent options. This is equivalent to

running the Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool (up2date-config). To run the command line version of

up2date-config, use this option in conjunction with the

--nox option: up2date --nox --configure. Refer to

Section 3.5 for details.

44 Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent

Argument Description

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

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

manually.

--src Download SRPM packages in addition to the binary RPM

packages.

--nosrc Do not download SRPM packages (overrides conﬁguration

setting).

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

package, and conﬁguration skip lists.

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

override the conﬁguration option Do not install packages after retrieval.

-l, --list Display the list of updated packages that are available for the

system.

--showall Show a list of all packages available for your release of Red Hat

Linux, including those not currently installed.

-k, --packagedir=string 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 will

override the saved conﬁguration option.

-p, --packages Update the packages associated with your System Proﬁle on Red

Hat Network. Use this option if you install RPM packages without using the Red Hat Update Agent.

--whatprovides=deps Sends a comma separated list of dependencies to the RHN

servers and returns a list of packages that satisﬁes the dependencies.

--solvesdeps=deps Performs the same action as --whatprovides in addition to

downloading the packages that are needed to resolve the dependencies.

--channel=string Specify a channel to use.

--gpg-flags Show the ﬂags that gpg will be invoked with.

--tmpdir=directory 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.

-u, --update Update the system. All package updates for your system will be

downloaded based on your conﬁgured preferences (and installed if you chose that option).

--nox Force the program to run in command line mode. Do not display

the graphical interface.

-h, --help Display help on command line arguments.

-v, --verbose Display more information about what actions the Red Hat

Update Agent is performing.

Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent 45

Argument Description

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

--dbpath=dir Specify a path where an alternate RPM database to be used is

found.

--version Display which version of the Red Hat Update Agent you are

running.

-?, --usage Brieﬂy describe the options for up2date.

packagename Specify a package name to download (and install if you chose

that option). Only specify the package name. Do not include the version or release numbers. For example, the command up2date

python downloads (and optionally installs) the python package

if there is a newer version available and all of its dependencies. If the package speciﬁed is not already installed, it will download it and all of its dependencies (and optionally install it).

Table 4-2. Update Agent Command Line Arguments

4.6.1. Installing the Red Hat GPG key

The ﬁrst time you run the graphical version of the Red Hat Update Agent, it prompts you to install the Red Hat GPG key. This key is required to authenticate the packages downloaded from Red Hat Network. If you run the command line version the ﬁrst time you start Red Hat Update Agent, you need to install the Red Hat GPG key manually. If you do not have it installed, you will see the following message:

Your GPG keyring does not contain the Red Hat, Inc. public key. Without it, you will be unable to verify that packages Update Agent downloads are securely signed by Red Hat.

Your Update Agent options specify that you want to use GPG.

To install the key, run the following as root:

/usr/bin/gpg --import /usr/share/rhn/RPM-GPG-KEY

To install the Red Hat GPG key, use the command displayed: /usr/bin/gpg --import

/usr/share/rhn/RPM-GPG-KEY, or use the following steps:

Note

GPG keys must be installed for each user. To install the key to use with Red Hat Network, import the key while logged in as root.

1. Cut and paste the following into a ﬁle and save it as redhat2.asc or download it from http://www.redhat.com/about/contact/.

Type bits/keyID Date User ID pub 1024D/DB42A60E 1999-09-23 Red Hat Software, Inc. (security@redhat.com) sub 2048g/961630A2 1999-09-23

-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

46 Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent

Version: GnuPG v1.0.0 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org

mQGiBDfqVDgRBADBKr3Bl6PO8BQ0H8sJoD6p9U7Yyl7pjtZqioviPwXP+DCWd4u8 HQzcxAZ57m8ssA1LK1Fx93coJhDzM130+p5BG9mYSWShLabR3N1KXdXQYYcowTOM GxdwYRGr1Spw8QydLhjVfU1VSl4xt6bupPbWJbyjkg5Z3P7BlUOUJmrx3wCgobNV EDGaWYJcch5z5B1of/41G8kEAKii6q7Gu/vhXXnLS6m15oNnPVybyngiw/23dKjS ZVG7rKANEK2mxg1VB+vc/uUc4k49UxJJfCZg1gu1sPFV3GSa+Y/7jsiLktQvCiLP lncQt1dV+ENmHR5BdIDPWDzKBVbgWnSDnqQ6KrZ7T6AlZ74VMpjGxxkWU6vV2xsW XCLPA/9P/vtImA8CZN3jxGgtK5GGtDNJ/cMhhuv5tnfwFg4b/VGo2Jr8mhLUqoIb E6zeGAmZbUpdckDco8D5fiFmqTf5+++pCEpJLJkkzel/32N2w4qzPrcRMCiBURES PjCLd4Y5rPoU8E4kOHc/4BuHN903tiCsCPloCrWsQZ7UdxfQ5LQiUmVkIEhhdCwg SW5jIDxzZWN1cml0eUByZWRoYXQuY29tPohVBBMRAgAVBQI36lQ4AwsKAwMVAwID FgIBAheAAAoJECGRgM3bQqYOsBQAnRVtg7B25Hm11PHcpa8FpeddKiq2AJ9aO8sB XmLDmPOEFI75mpTrKYHF6rkCDQQ36lRyEAgAokgI2xJ+3bZsk8jRA8ORIX8DH05U lMH27qFYzLbT6npXwXYIOtVn0K2/iMDj+oEB1Aa2au4OnddYaLWp06v3d+XyS0t+ 5ab2ZfIQzdh7wCwxqRkzR+/H5TLYbMG+hvtTdylfqIX0WEfoOXMtWEGSVwyUsnM3 Jy3LOi48rQQSCKtCAUdV20FoIGWhwnb/gHU1BnmES6UdQujFBE6EANqPhp0coYoI hHJ2oIO8ujQItvvNaU88j/s/izQv5e7MXOgVSjKe/WX3s2JtB/tW7utpy12wh1J+ JsFdbLV/t8CozUTpJgx5mVA3RKlxjTA+On+1IEUWioB+iVfT7Ov/0kcAzwADBQf9 E4SKCWRand8K0XloMYgmipxMhJNnWDMLkokvbMNTUoNpSfRoQJ9EheXDxwMpTPwK ti/PYrrL2J11P2ed0x7zm8v3gLrY0cue1iSba+8glY+p31ZPOr5ogaJw7ZARgoS8 BwjyRymXQp+8Dete0TELKOL2/itDOPGHW07SsVWOR6cmX4VlRRcWB5KejaNvdrE5 4XFtOd04NMgWI63uqZc4zkRa+kwEZtmbz3tHSdRCCE+Y7YVP6IUf/w6YPQFQriWY FiA6fD10eB+BlIUqIw80VgjsBKmCwvKkn4jg8kibXgj4/TzQSx77uYokw1EqQ2wk OZoaEtcubsNMquuLCMWijYhGBBgRAgAGBQI36lRyAAoJECGRgM3bQqYOhyYAnj7h VDY/FJAGqmtZpwVp9IlitW5tAJ4xQApr/jNFZCTksnI+4O1765F7tA== =3AHZ

-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

2. At the shell prompt, import the key with the following command:

gpg --import redhat2.asc

The resulting message tells you that the key was processed. To check that the key was added, type gpg --list-keys. You will see the Red Hat, GPG key as well as your own keys.

4.7. Manual Package Installation

If you chose to download the software updates with the Red Hat Update Agent or from the RHN website, you must install them manually using RPM.

To install them, change to the directory that contains the downloaded packages. The default directory is /var/spool/up2date. Then, type the command rpm -Uvh *.rpm. When the packages are ﬁnished installing, you can delete them if you wish. You do not need them anymore.

After installing the packages, you must update your System Proﬁle so that you are not prompted to download them again. Refer to Section 4.8 for details.

4.8. Synchronizing Your System Proﬁle

If you conﬁgured the Red Hat Update Agent to install the latest packages, then your System Proﬁle stored by Red Hat Network will be updated automatically after the packages are installed. However, if you only download the latest RPM packages using the Red Hat Update Agent, download the RPM packages from the Web interface, or upgrade/install/remove RPM packages yourself, your System Proﬁle will not be updated automatically. You will need to send your updated System Proﬁle to the RHN servers.

To synchronize the RPM package list on your local system and on Red Hat Network, run the command:

Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent 47

up2date -p

After running this command, your RHN System Proﬁle will reﬂect the latest software versions installed on your system.

4.9. Log File

The Red Hat Update Agent keeps a log of all the actions that it performs on your system in the ﬁle /var/log/up2date. It uses the standard rotating log method. Thus, older logs are in

/var/log/up2date.1, /var/log/up2date.2, and /var/log/up2date.3. The log ﬁles store

actions performed by the Red Hat Update Agent such as when your RPM database is opened, when it connects to Red Hat Network to retrieve information from your System Proﬁle, which packages are downloaded, which packages are installed using the Red Hat Update Agent, and which packages are deleted from your system after installation. If you choose to install and delete packages yourself, it will not be logged in this ﬁle. You should keep your own log of actions not performed with the Red Hat Update Agent.

48 Chapter 4. Red Hat Update Agent

Chapter 5.

Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool

The Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool is a GNOME applet that appears on the panel and alerts users when software package updates are available for their systems. The list of updates are retrieved from the RHN Servers. The system does not have to be registered with Red Hat Network to display a list of updates; however, retrieving the updates with the Red Hat Update Agent requires registration with Red Hat Network and a subscription to a RHN service offering. The applet does not send any identiﬁable information about the user or the system to the RHN Servers.

To use the Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool, you must install the rhn-applet RPM package, use the X Window System, and use the GNOME desktop environment.

Starting with Red Hat Linux 7.3, the Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool appears on the GNOME Panel by default as shown in Figure 5-1.

Figure 5-1. GNOME Panel with Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool

If it does not appear on the panel, you can add it to the GNOME panel by selecting the GNOME Main Menu Button => Panel => Add to Panel => Applet => Red Hat Network Monitor. To move it around the panel, right-click on the applet, select Move, move the mouse left and right until it is in the desired location, and click the mouse to place the applet.

5.1. Conﬁguring the Applet

The ﬁrst time the Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool is run, a conﬁguration wizard starts. It displays the terms of service and allows the user to conﬁgure an HTTP proxy as shown in Figure 5-2.

Figure 5-2. HTTP Proxy Conﬁguration

50 Chapter 5. Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool

If your network connection requires you to use an HTTP Proxy Server to make HTTP connections, on the Proxy Conﬁguration screen, type your proxy server in the text ﬁeld with the format http://HOST:PORT. For example, to use the proxy server http://squid.mysite.org on port 3128, enter http://squid.mysite.org:3128 in the text ﬁeld. Additionally, if your proxy server requires a username and password, select the Use Authentication option and enter your username and password in the respective text ﬁelds.

Tip

To run the conﬁguration wizard again, right-click on the applet, and select Properties.

Your preferences are written to the ﬁle .rhn-applet.conf in your home directory. The Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool also uses the system-wide conﬁguration ﬁle

/etc/sysconfig/rhn/rhn-applet. Do not modify the system-wide conﬁguration ﬁle; it is

automatically generated by the application.

You can also conﬁgure the Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool not to list speciﬁc packages. To conﬁgure which packages to ignore, click on the applet, and select the Ignored Packages tab.

5.2. Notiﬁcation Icons

The applet displays a different icon, depending on the status of the updates. Refer to Table 5-1 for details.

Icon Description

Update are available

System is up-to-date

Checking for updates

Error has occurred

Table 5-1. Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool Icons

If you see the icon, it is highly recommended that you apply the updates. Refer to Section 5.4 for information on applying updates.

If you have scheduled updates to be installed, you can watch the applet icon to determine when updates

are applied. The icon changes to the

icon after the Errata Updates are applied.

If you apply a kernel update (or the kernel update is automatically applied), the applet will display

the until the system is rebooted with the new kernel. If you click on the applet, the Critical Information tab displays a message stating that the kernel is installed but that the system must be rebooted to use the new kernel.

5.3. Viewing Updates

Clicking on the Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool displays critical information about the system as well as a list of available updates. If you are using an older version of the Red Hat Update Agent, the dialog box displays a message similar to Figure 5-3 recommending that you upgrade to the latest version. If you not running the latest available kernel, the Critical Information tab displays a warning.

Chapter 5. Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool 51

Figure 5-3. Critical Information

The Available Updates tab displays a list of available package updates, including the installed version number and the available version number.

5.4. Applying Updates

If the system is registered with RHN and entitled to a service offering, you can apply the Errata Updates with the Red Hat Update Agent. To launch the Red Hat Update Agent, click on the applet, and then click on the Launch up2date button. You can also right-click on the applet and select Launch up2date. For more information on the Red Hat Update Agent, refer to Chapter 4.

52 Chapter 5. Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool

Chapter 6.

Red Hat Network Website

You can use RHN website to manage multiple Red Hat Linux systems simultaneously including viewing Errata Alerts, applying Errata Updates, and installing packages.

6.1. Logging into the RHN Website

In a Web browser, go to http://rhn.redhat.com. The page shown in Figure 6-1 will be displayed.

Figure 6-1. RHN Website

If you have not registered a system yet or do not have a redhat.com account, create a new account by clicking Sign Up. After creating a new user account, you must register your system before using RHN. Refer to Chapter 2 for step-by-step instructions.

After registering your system with Red Hat Network through the Red Hat Network Registration Client, go back to http://rhn.redhat.com and click the here link inside the graphic to display the username and password ﬁelds. Use the same username and password combination to log into RHN. Type them in the provided text entry boxes, and click the Log In button.

54 Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website

6.2. Introduction to the Web Interface

The left navigation bar is divided into categories and pages within the categories.

A user with entitled systems has permission to use the following categories and pages. Each will be explained in more detail throughout this manual.

• Your RHN — Displays a quick overview of your account. It notiﬁes you if your systems need

attention, provides a quick link to go directly to them, and displays the most recent Errata Alerts for your account.

• Your Account — Update your personal proﬁle and addresses.

• Your Preferences — Indicate if you wish to receive email notiﬁcations about Errata Alerts for

your systems, set how many items are displayed at one time for lists such as system lists and system group lists, and set your time zone.

• Entitlements — Select systems that you want to be entitled to use RHN. Purchase RHN sub-

scriptions.

• Quick Start Guide — If you are familiar with Red Hat Network and want to get started quickly,

read this guide. It is recommended that you read this guide in its entirety if you are not familiar with Red Hat Network and its many features.

• Purchase Info — Information on purchasing Red Hat Network services.

• Feature Comparison — Comparison chart of the Red Hat Network service offerings.

• Enterprise Service — Summary of the Red Hat Network Enterprise Service.

• Basic Service — Summary of the Red Hat Network Basic Service.

• Buy Now — Purchase entitlements to RHN service offerings.

• Systems — Manage your systems here.

• System List — View a list of your systems along with how many Errata Alerts each system has,

which channels the systems are subscribed to, and which systems are entitled.

• System Search — Quickly search all of your systems by speciﬁc criteria.

• Errata — Manage Errata Alerts here.

• All Errata — List of all released Errata Alerts.

• Applicable Errata — List of all applicable Errata Alerts for your systems.

• Errata Search — Search Errata Alerts based on speciﬁc criteria.

• Channels and Packages — Learn about the available RHN Channels and which packages are in

each channel.

• Channel List — View a list of all channels available through Red Hat Network.

• Download ISO Images — Access to priority downloading of Red Hat ISO images. ISO images

are used to write to a CD-ROM media.

• Scheduled Actions — Keep track of your scheduled actions.

• Pending Actions — List of scheduled actions that have not been completed.

• Failed Actions — List of scheduled actions that have failed.

• Completed Actions — List of scheduled actions that have been completed. Completed actions

can be archived at any time.

• Archived Actions — List of completed actions that have been selected to archive.

Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website 55

• Help Desk — Learn how to use Red Hat Network and receive help if needed.

• Terms and Conditions — License Agreement and Limited Product Warranty.

• FAQ — List of Frequently Asked Questions.

• Customer Support — Form to send an email to Red Hat Customer Service for support.

• RHN and Red Hat Linux 6.2 — Help for using RHN on Red Hat Linux 6.2.

• Support Forums — Link to Red Hat Developer Network Forums.

• RHN Basic User Reference — Step-by-step instructions for using Red Hat Network.

• Security and Privacy — Detailed information about how Red Hat protects the information about

your systems and the personal information that you provide.

6.2.1. Errata Alerts

Throughout Red Hat Network you will see three Errata Alert icons.

represents a Security Alert.

represents a Bug Fix Alert. represents an Enhancement Alert.

Click on the Errata synopsis to view details about the Errata, or click on the number of systems affected to view a list of systems affected by the Errata Alert.

6.3. Your RHN

After logging into the Web interface of Red Hat Network, the ﬁrst page you will see is Your Red Hat Network page. This page displays important information about your systems including Recent Errata

Alerts for your systems under the title Recent Errata. To view a complete list of applicable Errata Alerts for a system, click View All Applicable Errata in the bottom right-hand corner.

Tip

If you are new to the RHN website, it is recommended that you read Section 6.2 to become familiar with the layout and symbols used through the interface.

56 Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website

Figure 6-2. Your Red Hat Network

The top of the page shows how many systems need attention, provides a link to quickly view those systems, and a summary of scheduled actions. Refer to Section 6.4.1 for information on using this page.

The System Summary section provides the following information:

• Total Systems — Number of total systems that you have registered for your account.

• Out of Date Systems — Number of registered systems that have applicable Errata Alerts that have

not been applied.

• Unentitled — Number of systems that are not entitled.

• Inactive Systems — Number of systems that have not checked into RHN for at least a week. This

indicates that:

• The system is not entitled to any RHN service. System proﬁles that remain unentitled for 180

days (6 months) are removed.

• The system is entitled, but the Red Hat Network Daemon has been disabled on the system.

• The system is behind a ﬁrewall that does not allow connections over https (port 443).

• The system is behind a proxy that has not been properly conﬁgured.

• Some other barrier exists between the system and the RHN servers.

You can return to this page by clicking Your RHN on the left navigation bar.

6.3.1. Your Account

The Your Account page under the Your RHN category allows you to modify your personal infor- mation, as well as set some RHN preferences. To modify any information on the Details tab or the Addresses tab, change the information and click the Update button on the page.

If you want to change your Red Hat Network password (the one used to log into RHN and redhat.com) click the Details tab on the Your Account page and replace the asterisks in the Password and Pass-

Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website 57

word Conﬁrmation text ﬁelds with your new password. You will not see your password as you type

it for security reasons. Click Update to change your password.

The email address on the Details tab is the address Red Hat Network sends email notiﬁcations to, if you have selected to receive Errata Alert email for your systems under the Preferences tab. To change your preferred email address, replace in on the Details page and click Update.

The Preferences tab allows you to conﬁgure Red Hat Network options including:

• Email notiﬁcations — Determine whether you want to receive email every time an Errata Alert is

applicable to one or more systems in your RHN account.

• Default page size — Maximum number of items that will appear in a list on a single page. If more

items are in the list, clicking the Next button will display the next group of items. This preferences applies to system lists, Errata lists, package lists, and so on.

• Time Zone — Set your time zone so that scheduled actions are scheduled according to the time in

your time zone.

6.3.2. Entitlements

To use all of the features of RHN, your systems must be entitled — subscribed to a RHN subscription service. Every user receives one free Red Hat Network Basic entitlement subscription.

Use the Entitlement Manager to conﬁgure which systems are entitled to which service offerings. If you need to purchase additional entitlements, go to Purchase Info => Buy Now from the left navigation bar.

There are two types of entitlements, or service offerings:

• Basic — should be used to manage a single Red Hat Linux system. It includes Errata Alerts, Sched-

uled Errata Updates, Package Installation, and the Red Hat Update Agent.

• Enterprise — should be used to manage multiple systems with multiple system administrators. In

addition to the features of the Basic offering, it includes system group management, user management, and the System Set Manager interface to quickly perform actions on multiple systems.

6.3.2.1. Service Entitlements

The Service Entitlements tab allows you to view and change the entitlements for your registered systems. To change the entitlement for a system, select the entitlement from the pulldown menu and click Update Entitlements.

6.3.2.2. Channel Entitlements

The Channel Entitlements tab displays the list of channels for which you have paid.

6.3.2.3. Purchase History

The Purchase History tab displays a history of your entitlements, including the expiration date and the number available.

58 Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website

6.3.3. Organization Information

The Organization Info page allows Organization Administrator to change the customer password for the corporate account. This ID and password combination is used by new users who wish to join the organization’s account.

To change the password, type the new password in the New Password text ﬁeld and click Change Password.

6.3.4. Activation Keys

RHN Enterprise customers can generate activation keys through the RHN website. Each unique key can then be used to register the RHL system, entitle the system to RHN Enterprise, subscribe the system to speciﬁc channels, and subscribe the system to RHN system groups through the command line utility rhnreg_ks from the rhn_register package. Thus, channel and group subscriptions can be automated along with registration, without having to run the Red Hat Network Registration Client on each client system and entitle each system through the RHN website.

Note

Version 2.7.20 or higher of the rhn_register package is required. It is highly recommended that you use the latest version before using activation keys.

To generate an activation key:

1. Select Your RHN => Activation Keys from the left navigation bar.

2. Click the Generate Activation Key button.

3. Provide the following information:

• Description — User-deﬁned description to identify the generated activation key.

• Usage Limit: — The number of times the key can be used to register a system before the

activation key is disabled.

• Channels — Channels to subscribe the system to as applicable.

• Groups — System groups to subscribe the system to after registering it.

4. Click Submit.

After creating the unique key, it appears in the list of activation keys, along with the number of times it has been used.

To change information about a key, such as the channels, click edit beside the key in the activation key list. Make any changes, and click the Submit key.

To delete a key, click edit beside the key in the activation key list, and click the Delete Key button.

If you do not want the key to be used to activate a system, you can disable it by unselecting the corresponding checkbox under the Enabled column in the activation keys list. The key can be reenabled by selecting the checkbox.

To use an activation key, as root from a shell prompt on the system to be registered, use the rhnreg_ks command. For example:

rhnreg_ks --serialnumber=7202f3b7d218cf59b764f9f6e9fa281b

Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website 59

This command performs all the actions that the Red Hat Network Registration Client does. Do not run the Red Hat Network Registration Client program after running rhnreg_ks.

A System Proﬁle, including software and hardware information, is created for the system and sent to the RHN servers along with the unique activation key. The system is registered with RHN under the account used to generate the key, entitled to the RHN Enterprise service offering, subscribed to the RHN channels selected during key generation, and subscribed to the RHN system groups selected during key generation. The system will not be subscribed to channels that contains packages not suitable for the system. For example, a Red Hat Linux 7.2 system can not be subscribed to the Red Hat Linux 7.1 channel.

The unique Digital Certiﬁcate for the system is generated on the system in

/etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid.

6.4. Systems

If you click the Systems link on the left navigation bar, the Systems Overview page appears. The pages in the System category allow you to select systems so that you can perform actions on them and create system proﬁles.

6.4.1. System List

As shown in Figure 6-3, the System List page displays a list of all your registered systems.

The System List contains several columns for each registered system:

• Select — Only entitled systems can be selected.

• Alerts — Shows which type of Errata Alerts are applicable to the system:

•

— Critical errata available, update strongly recommended

• — Updates available and recommended

• — System not checking in properly

• — System not entitled to any update service

• — System is up-to-date

• Errata — Total number of Errata Alerts applicable to the system.

• Pkgs — Total number of package updates for the system. Includes packages from Errata Alerts as

well as newer packages that are not from Errata Alerts. For example, if a system is subscribed to the Red Hat Linux 7.1 i386 channel that contains version 2.5.4 of a package because that is the version that shipped with Red Hat Linux 7.1, but the system has version 2.5.2 of the package installed, the newer version of the package will be in the list of updated packages for the system.

• System Name — The name of the system as conﬁgured when registering the system. The default

name is the hostname of the system. Clicking on the name of a system takes you to the System Details page for the system. Refer to Section 6.4.2 for more information.

• Base Channel — The base channel for the system. To view all the channels for a system, go to its

System Detail page by clicking on the name of the system in the System List.

• Entitlement — Whether or not the system is entitled.

60 Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website

Figure 6-3. Systems List

If you click on the Detailed View link in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, you can view more details about the systems as shown in Figure 6-4. Click the UPDATE NOW link to apply all Errata Updates. If you click this link, you will be prompted to conﬁrm the action.

Figure 6-4. Detailed Systems List

Clicking on the name of a system in the Summary View or clicking on the see details for this system link in the Detailed View displays the System Details page for the system. Refer to Section 6.4.2 for details.

6.4.2. System Details

If you click on the name of a system on any page, it will display the System Details page for the system.

Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website 61

The System Details page is further divided into tabbed pages. The ﬁrst tabbed page you see is the Details page. Notice the button Update this System. If you click it, you can apply all relevant Errata

Updates to the individual system. Be sure you review the Errata List for the system before performing this action. After clicking the button, you will be asked to conﬁrm the update. Click the Conﬁrm Update For This System to conﬁrm. After conﬁrming, the action is added to the Pending Actions list under Actions => Pending Actions from the left navigation bar.

The packages will be updated by the RHN Daemon. You must have the RHN Daemon enabled on your systems. Refer to Chapter 7 for more details.

The following tabbed pages are available:

• Details — Information about the system.

• Overview — Includes the system’s unique System ID, entitlement status, proﬁle name, descrip-

tion, OS Release, channels, automation options, and notiﬁcation options. To change the system’s proﬁle name, description, automation options, or notiﬁcation options make the change and click the Modify System Proﬁle button after changing the options. To delete a system from your account, click the Delete System Proﬁle button.

• Hardware — During registration, if you selected to include the Hardware Proﬁle for this ma-

chine, this tabbed page displays the Hardware Proﬁle. If the hardware proﬁle looks incomplete or outdated, click the Schedule Hardware List Refresh button to schedule a Hardware Proﬁle Update for your system. The next time the RHN Daemon connects to RHN, it will update your System Proﬁle with the latest list of hardware.

• Errata — This tab only appears for entitled systems. It contains a list of Errata Alerts applicable

to the system. You can select one more Errata to add to your selection list from here. Clicking on the Synopsis displays the Errata Details page for the Errata Alert. Refer to Section 6.5.5 for more information about the Errata Details page.

• Packages — Manage the packages on the system.

•

If the package list looks incomplete or outdated or you installed packages manually (did not have RHN install them), click the Schedule Package List Refresh button to schedule a Package List Proﬁle Update for your system. The next time the RHN Daemon connects to RHN, it will update your System Proﬁle with the latest list of installed packages. To look for particular packages by name, use the ﬁlter by name ﬁeld.

• Currently Installed Packages — List of installed packages from the system’s Software System

Proﬁle. Click on a package name to view its Package Details page. (Refer to Section 6.6.5.)

• Upgrade Packages — This tab is only displayed for entitled systems. It displays a list of pack-

ages that have a new version available based on the package versions in the channel for the system. Click on the newer package name to view the Package Details page for it. Click on the Related Errata number to view the Errata Details page for the Errata Alert if an Errata Alert is associated with the newer package. To add one or more packages to your selection list, select the package(s) and click Update Selection List. To install one or more packages on the system you are currently viewing, select the package(s) and click the Install Selected Packages on This System button. To download one or more packages immediately, select the package(s) and click the Download Selected Packages button. Refer to Section 6.6.7 for details.

• Install New Packages — Install new packages on the system from the available channels.

• Notes — Create notes about the system. Click Add a new note, type a subject and the note, and

click Update Note. To delete a note, click on its title for the list of notes, check Delete this note, and click Update Note.

• History — A history of events for your system that is automatically generated.

62 Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website

6.5. Errata

Red Hat releases Errata Alerts in three categories: Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts. Each Errata Alert is comprised of a summary of the problem and the solution, including the RPM packages required to ﬁx the problem. The Errata category allows you to view all released Errata Alerts, to view only Errata Alerts applicable to your systems, to search Errata Alerts, and to apply Errata Updates to one or more of your systems.

Tip

If you want to receive an email when Errata Alerts are issued for your system, go to Systems => System Preferences and select Receive Notiﬁcations of Updates.

6.5.1. All Errata

The All Errata page displays a list of all Errata Alerts released for your registered systems.

If you click on the synopsis of an Errata Alert, the Errata Details page for the Errata Alert will appear. Refer to Section 6.5.5 for more information.

To add Errata to your selection list, check the Select box beside the Errata, and click Update Selection List.

6.5.2. Applicable Errata

The Applicable Errata page displays a customized list of Errata Alerts that apply to your registered systems.

If you click on the synopsis of an Errata Alert, the Errata Details page for the Errata Alert will appear. Refer to Section 6.5.5 for more information.

To add Errata to your selection list, check the Select box beside the Errata, and click Update Selection List.

6.5.3. Errata Search

The results of the last search are on the bottom of the page. You can create a new result set, choose to create a union with the previous result set, or intersect with the previous result set.

The Errata Search page allows you to search through your systems according to speciﬁc criteria. Select the criteria to search by and click Submit Query. The results appear at the bottom of the page.

6.5.4. Apply Errata Updates

Errata Alerts include a list of updated packages that are required to apply the Errata Update. To apply Errata Updates to a system, the system must be entitled.

You can use one of these methods to apply Errata Updates:

1. To apply all applicable Errata Updates to a system, click on Systems => System List on the left navigation bar. Click on the name of an entitled system, and click the Update This System button on the Details tabbed page. This action will apply all available Errata Updates on the system. To view a list of the Errata, click the Errata tab on the System Details page for the system.

Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website 63

2. To apply a speciﬁc Errata Update to one or more systems, click on Errata on the left navigation bar and use the All Errata, Applicable Errata, or Errata Search page to ﬁnd the Errata Update that you want to apply. From the Errata List, click on the Synopsis for the Errata Alert to display a summary of it. Click on the Systems Affected tab, and select the systems that you want to apply this update to. Click Update Selected Systems to apply the Errata Update to all selected systems, or click Update All Affected Entitled Systems to apply the update to all the affected systems listed.

Important

If you choose to apply Errata Updates automatically, the packages will be installed via the RHN Daemon. You must have the RHN Daemon enabled on your systems. Refer to Chapter 7 for more details.

The following rules apply to Errata Updates:

1. Each package is a member of one or more channels. If a selected system is not subscribed to the channel that the selected package is a member of, the package will not be installed on that system.

2. If a newer version of the package is already on the system, the package will not be installed on that system.

3. If an older version of the package is installed, the package will be upgraded.

The packages will be updated by the RHN Daemon. You must have the RHN Daemon enabled on your systems. Refer to Chapter 7 for more details.

6.5.5. Errata Details

If you click on the synopsis of an Errata Alert, the Errata Details page for the Errata Alert will appear. This page is further divided into two tabbed pages: Details and Systems Affected.

The Details page provides the Errata Report issued by Red Hat. It describes what channels the Errata Alert affects, its problem and solution, MD5 veriﬁcation for each of the packages, and the packages required for the Errata Update. Clicking on the RPM package name displays the Package Details page for the package. Refer to Section 6.6.5 for more information.

The Systems Affected page shows a list of systems affected by the Errata Alert.

6.6. Channels and Packages

6.6.1. Channel List

A channel is a list of Red Hat Linux packages. Channels are used to choose packages to be installed on a system.

There are two types of channels: base channels and child channels. A base channel consists of a list of packages based on a speciﬁc architecture and Red Hat Linux release. For example, all the packages in Red Hat Linux 7.1 for the x86 architecture is a base channel. The list of packages in Red Hat Linux 7.1 for the Itanium architecture is a different base channel. A child channel is a channel associated with a base channel but contains extra packages. For example, an organization can create a child channel

64 Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website

that is associated with the Red Hat Linux 7.1 for the x86 architecture and that contains extra packages needed only for the organization, such as a custom engineering application.

A system must be subscribed to one base channel and can only be subscribed to one base channel. A system can be subscribed to multiple child channels of its base channel. Only packages included in a system’s subscribed channels can be installed or updated on that system.

The Channel List page provides a list of all base channels and their child channels. Clicking on the name of the channel (base or child) displays the Channel Details page. Refer to Section 6.6.3 for details.

6.6.2. Download ISO Images

This feature is only available to RHN Basic and RHN Enterprise subscribers.

To download an ISO image, click on the name of the corresponding CD-ROM image. For instructions on burning the ISO image to a CD-R or CD-RW, refer to the Ofﬁcial Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide available at http://www.redhat.com/docs/.

6.6.3. Channel Details

If you click on the name of a channel, the Channel Details page will appear. This page contains the following tabs:

• Details — General information about the channel and the parent channel if it is a child channel.

• Package List — List of packages in the channel.

Clicking on a package name displays a set of tabbed pages with information about the package. This information includes which architectures it runs on, the package size, build date, package dependencies, the change log, list of ﬁles in the package, and which systems have the package installed. Refer to Section 6.6.5 for more information.

If you are looking for a speciﬁc package or a subset of packages, you can use the package ﬁlter on the top of the list. Entering a substring to search for will search all the packages in the list for the substring at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the package name. The ﬁlter is case-insensitive. For example, typing ks in the ﬁlter might return all the ksconfig, krb5-

workstation, and links.

To download packages, select the packages and click the Download Selected Packages button. Refer to Section 6.6.7 for details.

If you want to download packages that are displayed on multiple pages, click the checkbox beside the package name and under the Select column. Click Update Selection List to add them to your download list. After selecting all the packages, on the bottom status page, click on the link that is the number of packages you have selected. Then click Download Selected Packages. Refer to Section 6.6.7 for details.

• Subscribed Systems — List of entitled systems subscribed to the channel. The list contains the

following columns of information:

•

— Number of Security Alerts for the system.

• — Number of Bug Fix Alerts for the system.

• — Number of Enhancement Alerts for the system.

• — Total number of package updates for the system. Includes packages from Errata Alerts as

well as newer packages that are not from Errata Alerts. For example, if a system is subscribed to the Red Hat Linux 7.1 i386 channel that contains version 2.5.4 of a package because that is

Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website 65

the version that shipped with Red Hat Linux 7.1, but the system has version 2.5.2 of the package installed, the newer version of the package will be in the list of updated packages for the system.

• Name — The name of the system as conﬁgured when registering the system. The default name

is the hostname of the system. Clicking on the name of a system takes you to the System Details page for the system. Refer to Section 6.4.2 for more information.

• Entitled — RHN subscription service that the server is entitled to.

• Base Channel — The base channel for the system. To view all the channels for a system, go to

its System Detail page by clicking on the name of the system in the System List.

• Target Systems — List of entitled systems that are eligible to be subscribed to the channel.

6.6.4. Channel Subscribe and Unsubscribe

Each RHN client system must be subscribed to a base channel and can only be subscribed to one base channel. This base channel is selected automatically during registration from the Red Hat Linux release and system architecture selected. Each RHN client system can be subscribed to zero or more child channels.

To view the list of channels to which each system is subscribed, click Systems => System List from the left navigation bar. From the System List, click on the name of the system to display the System Details page. On the System Details page, there is a check beside the channels to which the system is subscribed. To subscribe the system to additional child channels, check the box beside it and click the Modify System Proﬁle button at the bottom of the page. To unsubscribe the system from a child channel, uncheck the box beside the channel name and click Modify System Proﬁle.

6.6.5. Package Details

If you click on the name of any RPM package in the interface, the Package Details page will appear. This page contains the following tabbed pages:

• Details — Details about the package including the package description, package size, and package

version (This information is similar to issuing the command rpm -qi packagename but with more detail). Click the links in the bottom right of the page to download the RPM and/or SRPM ﬁles for the package.

• Newer Versions — List of newer versions of the packages released via Errata Alerts.

• Dependencies — Lists the package dependencies, what the package provides, the packages it ob-

soletes, and the packages with which it conﬂicts.

• Change Log — The Change Log for the package (This information is similar to issuing the com-

mand rpm -q --changelog packagename).

• File List — List of ﬁles installed from the package (This information is similar to issuing the

command rpm -ql packagename).

• Installed Systems — List of systems with this package installed.

• Target Systems — List of systems on which the package can be installed. Go here to install pack-

ages on entitled systems. Refer to Section 6.6.6 for instructions.

6.6.6. Package Install

Only packages included in a system’s subscribed channels can be installed or updated on that system.

66 Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website

Important

If you use automatic package installation, the packages will be installed via the RHN Daemon. You must have the RHN Daemon enabled on your systems. Refer to Chapter 7 for more details.

To apply Errata Updates, refer to Section 6.5.4.

To upgrade outdated packages on a single entitled system, follow these steps:

1. Select System => System List from the left navigation bar.

2. Click on an entitled system from the list.

3. Click the Upgrade Packages tab.

4. Select the package(s) to update from the Select Newer Package column.

5. Click the Install Selected Packages On This System button.

6. Conﬁrm the action.

7. The action is added to the Pending Actions list under Actions => Pending Actions from the left navigation bar.

To install individual package(s) on multiple entitled systems, follow these steps:

1. Select Channels and Packages => Channel List from the left navigation bar.

2. Click on the name of a channel to view its package list.

3. Click on the Package List tab.

4. Click on the name of the package that you want to install.

5. Click on the Target Systems tab.

6. Select the entitled systems that you want to install the package on.

7. Click the Install Packages on Selected Systems button.

8. Conﬁrm the action.

9. The action is added to the Pending Actions list under Actions => Pending Actions from the left navigation bar.

6.6.7. Package Download

If you do not want to schedule a package installation, you can download the package(s) immediately. If you download the package(s), you must install them manually.

There are two methods for downloading RPM package(s). First method:

1. Select System => System List from the left navigation bar.

2. Click on an entitled system from the list.

3. Click the Upgrade Packages tab.

4. Select the package(s) to download from the Select Newer Package column.

5. Click the Download Selected Packages button.

6. Conﬁrm the action.

Second method:

Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website 67

1. Select Channels and Packages => Channel List from the left navigation bar.

2. Click on the name of the channel that contains the package(s) that you want to download.

3. Select the Package List tab.

4. Select the package(s) to download from the Select column.

5. Click the Download Selected Packages button.

6. Conﬁrm the action.

After choosing to download the package(s) using one of these methods, you will be presented with a conﬁrmation page as shown in Figure 6-5. If you selected a package that is available for more than one architecture, you need to select an architecture for the package. For example, if you want to download the kernel package you will need to choose between i386, i586, and i686. Click the Download Selected Packages Now! button to start downloading the package(s).

The package are downloaded into a directory called rhn-packages beneath the current directory selected after clicking the button. For example, if you want to save the package(s) in the directory, /downloads/rhn-packages, select the directory /downloads when prompted. The directory

rhn-packages will be created for you if it does not already exist.

Figure 6-5. Package Download

Even if you selected to download more than one package, you will only download one ﬁle. This one TAR ﬁle contains the RPM package(s) you selected. To extract the packages from the TAR ﬁle, open a shell prompt (such as an XTerm or GNOME terminal), change to the rhn-packages directory, and issue the command:

tar -xvf rhn-packages.tar

The next step is to install the packages manually. Refer to Section 4.7 for details.

6.7. Scheduled Actions

An action is a scheduled RHN task that is to be performed on one or more client systems. For example, an action can be scheduled to apply all Errata Updates to a system.

68 Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website

Each tabbed page on the Scheduled Actions page represents a type of action. There are three types of actions:

• Pending Actions are actions that have not started or are in progress.

• Failed Actions are actions that have failed. If the action returns an error, it will be displayed.

• Completed Actions are actions that have been completed.

• Archived Actions are actions that you have selected to archive.

In each tabbed page, each row in the list represents a single scheduled event or action that might affect multiple systems and involve multiple packages.

The list includes six columns of information:

• Select — Use the checkboxes in this column to select actions. After selecting actions, you can

either add them to your selection list or move them to the Archived Actions list. If you archive a pending action, it is not canceled, the action item just moves to the Archived Actions list so you do not see it in the Pending Actions list.

• Action — Type of action to perform such as Errata Update or Package Install.

• Earliest Action — The earliest day and time to perform the action.

• Succeeded — Number of systems on which this action was successful.

• Failed — Number of systems on which this action has been tried and failed.

• In Progress — Number of systems on which this action is taking place.

If you click on a link under the Action column, you can view details for the action. For example, for an Errata Update action, you can view which Errata Updates are to be applied, which systems are currently performing the Errata Update, which systems have completed the action, and which systems tried the action but failed to complete it.

Red Hat Network keeps track of the following action types:

1. Package Installations — For more information on how to perform package installations, refer to Section 6.6.6.

2. Errata Updates — For more information on how to apply Errata Updates, refer to Section 6.5.4.

3. Hardware Proﬁle Updates — To schedule a hardware proﬁle refresh, go to the System List page under the Systems category, click on the Package Proﬁle tab, and click Schedule Hardware List Refresh.

4. Package List Proﬁle Updates — To schedule a package list proﬁle refresh, go to the System

List page under the Systems category, click on the Package Proﬁle tab, and click Schedule Package List Refresh.

Chapter 7.

Red Hat Network Daemon

The Red Hat Network Daemon periodically connects to the Red Hat Network to check for updates and notiﬁcations. The default interval time is two hours (120 minutes). This can be conﬁgured in the /etc/sysconfig/rhn/rhnsd ﬁle by specifying the time interval in minutes. If you modify the conﬁguration ﬁle, you must (as root) restart the daemon with the command service rhnsd

restart or /etc/rc.d/init.d/rhnsd restart.

Note

The minimum time interval allowed is one hour (60 minutes). If you set the interval below one hour, it will default to two hours (120 minutes).

You can view the status of the rhnsd by typing the command service rhnsd status or

/etc/rc.d/init.d/rhnsd status at a shell prompt.

To disable the daemon, (as root) run the ntsysv utility and uncheck rhnsd. You can also (as root) execute the command chkconfig rhnsd off. Using these two methods will only disable the service the next time the system is started. To stop the service immediately, use the command service

rhnsd stop or /etc/rc.d/init.d/rhnsd stop.

The same rules you conﬁgured for the Red Hat Update Agent apply to the Red Hat Network Daemon (see Section 3.1).

70 Chapter 7. Red Hat Network Daemon

Chapter 8.

Using Red Hat Network with Red Hat Linux 6.2

Red Hat Linux 6.2 shipped with a program named Red Hat Update Agent (up2date). However, this version of the Red Hat Update Agent can not be used to connect to Red Hat Network to receive package updates. You need a new version of the Red Hat Update Agent and the Red Hat Network Registration Client to use Red Hat Network on a Red Hat Linux 6.2 system.

To download and install these programs, use the following steps:

1. In a shell prompt, log in as root and execute the command mkdir rhnpackages to create a new directory in which to download the packages.

2. In the same shell prompt, execute the command cd rhnpackages to change to the new directory.

3. Go to http://rhn.redhat.com/help/rh62.pxt and download the necessary packages.

4. Go back to the shell prompt in the rhnpackages directory (you must still be root) and execute the command rpm -Uvh * to upgrade the existing Red Hat Update Agent to the version that works with Red Hat Network. The Red Hat Network Registration Client will also be installed with this command along with other packages your system needs to run the Red Hat Network programs.

5. After they are installed, run the Red Hat Network Registration Client (rhn_register) to register your system. See Chapter 2 for details.

6. Login to your account at http://rhn.redhat.com to conﬁgure your preferences and to conﬁgure which systems you want to entitle.

72 Chapter 8. Using Red Hat Network with Red Hat Linux 6.2

Glossary

Action

A task that is scheduled by a system administrator using Red Hat Network to be performed on one or more client systems. For example, an action can be scheduled to update the kernel packages on all the systems within a selected group.

Base Channel

A base channel is a type of Channel that consists of a list of packages based on a speciﬁc architecture and Red Hat Linux release. For example, all the packages in Red Hat Linux 7.3 for the x86 architecture make a base channel.

Basic

One of the RHN service level offerings. Basic was formerly called Software Manager. Basic offers the same services as the Software Manager subscription did, plus more new features.

Bug Fix Alert

An Errata Alert that pertains to a bug ﬁx.

Bugzilla

Bugzilla is an online application (http://www.redhat.com/bugzilla) that allows users to communicate directly with the developers. From Bugzilla, users can submit bug reports and feature requests for Red Hat Linux and related open source packages.

Channel

A channel is a list of Red Hat Linux packages. Channels are used to choose packages to be installed from client systems. Every client system must be subscribed to one Base Channel and can be subscribed to one or more Child Channel .

74 Glossary

Child Channel

A child channel is a Channel associated with a Base Channel but contains extra packages.

Client System

See Registered System .

Digital Certiﬁcate

A client component in XML format that is stored in the /etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid ﬁle on registered systems. Red Hat Network veriﬁes this certiﬁcate to authenticate the registered system before each connection. This certiﬁcate is issued by Red Hat and passed to the system as part of the registration process. It includes unique information about the registered system to avoid fraudulent use.

Email Notiﬁcation

Similar to an Errata Alert , except the information is delivered via email. If the email notiﬁcations option is selected, notiﬁcations are sent for every Red Hat Network Errata Alert . The email includes the type of Errata Alert, summary of the Errata, description of the Errata, and a list of which systems are affected by the report.

Enhancement Alert

An Errata Alert that pertains to a package enhancement request.

Enterprise

One of the RHN service level offering. It has more features than the Basic service level, including user management, system groups, and enhanced system details.

Entitled Server

A server that is subscribed to Software Manager . Because the server is entitled, the Software Manager interface can be used to manage its packages.

Glossary 75

Errata

Information published by Red Hat describing security ﬁxes, bug ﬁxes, and package enhancements for Red Hat Linux. The information includes the topics of the Errata, Bugzilla bug IDs, relevant releases/architectures, solutions including required RPMs, and MD5 checksums for veriﬁcation. Errata are also available at http://www.redhat.com/errata/. Each RHN Errata Alert is based on the Red Hat Linux Errata List.

Security issues and bug ﬁxes are submitted by Red Hat engineers as well as the Linux community through Bugzilla which generates a bug report for each issue. Red Hat engineering evaluates the reports, resolves the bug, and generates new RPM packages. After the Red Hat quality assurance team tests new packages they are placed on the Red Hat Public File Server and on the Red Hat Network Server and an Errata is generated.

Errata Alert

RHN Errata Alert that updated packages based on Red Hat Errata are available for one or more systems within an organization. There are three types of Errata Alerts: Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts.

Package

All software in Red Hat Linux is divided into software packages. Software updates are released in the form of RPM packages that can be installed on a Red Hat Linux system.

Registered System

A system that is registered with Red Hat Network. Also known as a client system.

Red Hat Network Daemon

The RHN client daemon (rhnsd) that periodically polls Red Hat Network for updates and notiﬁcations.

Red Hat Network Registration Client

The RHN client application (rhn_register) that collects information about the client system, creates a System Proﬁle and Digital Certiﬁcate , establishes a connection with the Red Hat Network servers, and registers the system with Red Hat Network.

76 Glossary

Red Hat Update Agent

The RHN client application (up2date) that allows users to retrieve and install all updated packages for the client system on which the application is run. Use the Red Hat Update Agent Conﬁguration Tool to conﬁgure its preferences, including whether to install the packages after they are downloaded.

RPM

A software package manager that was developed by Red Hat. It can be used to build, install, query, verify, update, and uninstall software packages. All software updates from RHN are delivered in RPM format.

RPM Database

Each Red Hat Linux system has an RPM database that stores information about all the RPM packages installed on the system. This information includes the version of the package, which ﬁles were installed with the package, a brief description of the package, the installation date, and more.

RPM Update

Red Hat Network option to deliver the RPM packages based on the Errata Alert list to a client system automatically and without user intervention. If this feature is selected, packages are delivered through the Red Hat Network Daemon running on the client system.

Security Alert

An Errata Alert that pertains to system security.

Service Level

A Red Hat Network subscription service. Different service levels offer different features of RHN. There are two service levels currently available: RHN Basic and RHN Enterprise.

Software Manager

The name of the ﬁrst Service Level offering for Red Hat Network. Software Manager is now known as RHN Basic .

System ID

A unique string of characters and numbers that identiﬁes a registered system. It is stored in the system’s Digital Certiﬁcate .

Glossary 77

System Proﬁle

Hardware and software information about the client system. It is created during the registration process. The software information is a list of RPM packages and their versions installed on the client system. The System Proﬁle is used to determine every Errata Alert relevant to each client system.

78 Glossary

Index

activation key, 58

deleting, 58 disabling, 58 editing, 58 generating, 58 using, 58

base channel, 63 Basic, 10

change corporate account password, 58 Channel List, 63 channels, 63

base, 63 child, 63 details, 64 list of, 63 package list, 64 subscribe, 65 unsubscribe, 65

Channels and Packages, 63

Channel List, 63

Channel Details, 64 child channel, 63 conventions

document, v

daemon

(See Red Hat Network Daemon) deleting a system, 61 Demo, 10 Digital Certiﬁcate, 11 download ISO images, 64

email address

change, 57 entitlement

with activation key, 58 Entitlement Manager, 57 Errata, 62

All Errata, 62

Applicable Errata, 62

apply applicable, 61

Errata Search, 62

Errata Alerts

applying, 62

explanation of, 55

searching, 62

viewing details, 63

viewing list of all errata, 62

viewing list of applicable errata, 62

getting started, 12

GNU Privacy Guard, 11

hardware proﬁle

Updating on server, 61

introduction, v, 9

ISO images

download, 64

left navigation bar, 54

notiﬁcations

automatic, 11

overview of Web interface, 54

package installation

scheduled, 11 package list

Updating on server, 46, 61 packages

details, 65

download, 64

downloading, 66

ﬁlter, 64

installing, 65 password

change, 56 proxy server

with Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool, 49

with Red Hat Network Registration Client, 16

with Red Hat Update Agent, 29

Quality Assurance, 11

Red Hat Linux 6.2

Using Red Hat Network with, 71 Red Hat Network Alert Notiﬁcation Tool

adding to panel, 49

applying Errata Updates, 51

conﬁguring, 49

icons, 50

requirements, 49

with a proxy server, 49 Red Hat Network Daemon, 9, 69

Disable, 69

Status, 69

using to apply Errata Updates, 61, 63, 66 Red Hat Network Registration Client

(See Registration) Red Hat Update Agent, 9, 35, 51

Command Line Arguments, 43

Conﬁguration, 29

with a proxy server, 29 Registration, 15

as part of an organization, 20

Conﬁguration, 15

Email notiﬁcation, 19

Hardware System Proﬁle, 21

Password, 19

RPM Package List, 22

Software System Proﬁle, 22

System Proﬁle, 19, 21

text mode, 26

through the Web, 53

username, 19

with a proxy server, 16

with activation key, 58

rhnreg_ks, 58

rhnsd

(See Red Hat Network Daemon)

rhn_register

(See Registration)

Scheduled Actions, 67

Archived Actions, 68

Completed Actions, 68

Failed Actions, 68

Pending Actions, 68

Secure Sockets Layer, 12

Security, 11

service levels

Basic, 10

Demo, 10

Enterprise, 10

subscribe to channel, 65

system list, 59

alerts, 59

System Proﬁle, 21

Updating hardware proﬁle, 61

Updating package list, 46, 61

systems

deleting, 61

entitling, 57

System Details, 60

System List, 59

viewing a list of, 59

viewing details for, 60

unsubscribe to channel, 65

up2date

(See Red Hat Update Agent)

Upgrade Packages, 66, 66

user account, 19

Users

Organization Info, 58

website, 53

activation keys, 58

All Errata, 62

Applicable Errata, 62

Channel Details, 64

Channel List, 63

Channels and Packages, 63

Entitlements, 57

Errata, 62

Errata Search, 62

left navigation bar, 54

logging in, 53

Organization Info, 58

overview, 54 Scheduled Actions, 67 System Details, 60 System List, 59 Systems, 59 Your Account, 56 Your RHN, 55

Your RHN, 55

Entitlements, 57 Your Account, 56

Red Hat NETWORK BASIC - USER REFERENCE GUIDE 3.3, NETWORK BASIC 3.3 User Reference Manual

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