Red Hat NETWORK SATELLITE 5.1.1 Reference Manual

Red Hat Network

Satellite 5.1.1

Reference Guide

Red Hat Network Satellite

Reference Guide

Red Hat Network Satellite 5.1.1 Reference Guide
Red Hat Network Satellite
Edition 5.1.1

iii

Introduction to the Guide xi

1. More to Come ................................................................................................................ xi

1.1. Send in Your Feedback ....................................................................................... xii

1. Red Hat Network Overview 1

1.1. Update ......................................................................................................................... 2

1.2. Management ................................................................................................................ 2

1.3. Provisioning ................................................................................................................. 3

1.4. Monitoring .................................................................................................................... 4

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

1.6. Security, Quality Assurance, and Red Hat Network ........................................................ 5

1.7. Before You Begin ......................................................................................................... 5

2. Red Hat Update Agent 7

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

2.2. Registration ................................................................................................................ 10

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

2.2.2. Activate ........................................................................................................... 13

2.2.3. Channels ......................................................................................................... 15

2.2.4. Packages Flagged to be Skipped ..................................................................... 17

2.2.5. Available Package Updates .............................................................................. 17

2.2.6. Retrieving Packages ........................................................................................ 19

2.2.7. Installing Packages .......................................................................................... 20

2.3. Command Line Version .............................................................................................. 22

2.3.1. Installing the Red Hat GPG key ........................................................................ 25

2.3.2. Manual Package Installation ............................................................................. 26

2.3.3. Synchronizing Your System Profile ................................................................... 26

2.3.4. Log File .......................................................................................................... 26

2.4. Configuration .............................................................................................................. 27

2.4.1. Using the Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool ...................................... 27

2.4.2. Command Line Version .................................................................................... 31

2.5. Registering with Activation Keys .................................................................................. 31

2.6. Registering a System to an Organization ..................................................................... 33

3. Red Hat Network Daemon 35

3.1. Configuring ................................................................................................................ 35

3.2. Viewing Status ........................................................................................................... 35

3.3. Disabling .................................................................................................................... 35

3.4. Troubleshooting .......................................................................................................... 35

4. Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool 37

4.1. Configuring the Applet ................................................................................................ 37

4.2. Notification Icons ........................................................................................................ 39

4.3. Viewing Updates ........................................................................................................ 39

4.4. Applying Updates ....................................................................................................... 40

4.5. Launching the RHN Website ....................................................................................... 40

5. Red Hat Network Registration Client 41

5.1. Configuring the Red Hat Network Registration Client ................................................. 41

5.2. Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client ...................................................... 43

5.3. Registering a User Account ........................................................................................ 46

5.4. Registering a System Profile ....................................................................................... 48

5.4.1. Hardware System Profile .................................................................................. 48

5.4.2. Software System Profile ................................................................................... 50

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iv

5.5. Finishing Registration ................................................................................................. 52

5.6. Entitling Your System ................................................................................................. 54

5.7. Text Mode RHN Registration Client ............................................................................. 55

6. Red Hat Network Website 57

6.1. Navigation .................................................................................................................. 57

6.1.1. Entitlement Views ............................................................................................ 57

6.1.2. Categories and Pages ..................................................................................... 58

6.1.3. Errata Alert Icons ............................................................................................ 61

6.1.4. Quick Search .................................................................................................. 62

6.1.5. Systems Selected ............................................................................................ 62

6.1.6. Lists ................................................................................................................ 62

6.2. Logging into the RHN Website .................................................................................... 62

6.3. Your RHN .................................................................................................................. 64

6.3.1. Your Account .................................................................................................. 65

6.3.2. Your Preferences ............................................................................................. 66

6.3.3. Locale Preferences .......................................................................................... 67

6.3.4. Subscription Management ................................................................................ 67

6.4. Systems ..................................................................................................................... 69

6.4.1. Overview —

.................................................................................................................................. 69

6.4.2. Systems .......................................................................................................... 69

6.4.3. System Groups —

.................................................................................................................................. 87

6.4.4. System Set Manager —

.................................................................................................................................. 90

6.4.5. Advanced Search —

.................................................................................................................................. 97

6.4.6. Activation Keys —

.................................................................................................................................. 97

6.4.7. Stored Profiles —

................................................................................................................................ 100

6.4.8. Custom System Info —

................................................................................................................................ 100

6.4.9. Kickstart —

................................................................................................................................ 101

v

6.5. Errata ....................................................................................................................... 112

6.5.1. Relevant Errata .............................................................................................. 113

6.5.2. All Errata ....................................................................................................... 113

6.5.3. Advanced Search .......................................................................................... 115

6.6. Channels .................................................................................................................. 116

6.6.1. Software Channels ......................................................................................... 116

6.6.2. Package Search ............................................................................................ 119

6.6.3. Manage Software Channels ............................................................................ 120

6.7. Configuration ............................................................................................................ 121

6.7.1. Preparing Systems for Config Management ..................................................... 122

6.7.2. Overview ....................................................................................................... 122

6.7.3. Configuration Channels .................................................................................. 123

6.7.4. Configuration Files ......................................................................................... 124

6.7.5. Locally-Managed Files ................................................................................... 125

6.7.6. Systems ........................................................................................................ 127

6.8. Schedule .................................................................................................................. 127

6.8.1. Pending Actions ............................................................................................. 128

6.8.2. Failed Actions ................................................................................................ 129

6.8.3. Completed Actions ......................................................................................... 129

6.8.4. Archived Actions ............................................................................................ 129

6.8.5. Actions List .................................................................................................... 129

6.9. Users —

........................................................................................................................................ 130

6.9.1. User List � Active —

................................................................................................................................ 130

6.9.2. User List � Deactivated —

................................................................................................................................ 135

6.9.3. User List � All —

................................................................................................................................ 135

6.10. Monitoring —

........................................................................................................................................ 136

6.10.1. Probe Status —

................................................................................................................................ 136

6.10.2. Notification —

................................................................................................................................ 138

6.10.3. Probe Suites ................................................................................................ 140

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vi

6.10.4. Scout Config Push —

................................................................................................................................ 141

6.10.5. General Config —

................................................................................................................................ 142

6.11. Satellite Tools ......................................................................................................... 142

6.11.1. Satellite Tools � Organizations ..................................................................... 142

6.11.2. Satellite Tools � Satellite Configuration ......................................................... 147

6.12. Help ....................................................................................................................... 148

6.12.1. Help Desk ................................................................................................... 148

6.12.2. RHN Security ............................................................................................... 148

6.12.3. Lookup Login/Password ............................................................................... 148

6.12.4. Release Notes ............................................................................................. 149

6.12.5. Reference Guide .......................................................................................... 149

6.12.6. Satellite Installation Guide ............................................................................ 149

6.12.7. Proxy Guide ................................................................................................ 149

6.12.8. Client Configuration Guide ............................................................................ 149

6.12.9. Channel Management Guide ........................................................................ 149

6.12.10. API ............................................................................................................ 149

7. Monitoring 151

7.1. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................ 151

7.2. Red Hat Network Monitoring Daemon (rhnmd) ........................................................... 151

7.2.1. Probes requiring the daemon ......................................................................... 152

7.2.2. Installing the Red Hat Network Monitoring Daemon .......................................... 152

7.2.3. Configuring SSH ............................................................................................ 153

7.2.4. Installing the SSH key .................................................................................... 154

7.3. mysql-server package .......................................................................................... 154

7.4. Notifications .............................................................................................................. 155

7.4.1. Creating Notification Methods ......................................................................... 155

7.4.2. Receiving Notifications ................................................................................... 155

7.4.3. Redirecting Notifications ................................................................................. 156

7.4.4. Filtering Notifications ...................................................................................... 157

7.4.5. Deleting Notification Methods ......................................................................... 157

7.5. Probes ..................................................................................................................... 157

7.5.1. Managing Probes ........................................................................................... 158

7.5.2. Establishing Thresholds ................................................................................. 158

7.5.3. Monitoring the RHN Server ............................................................................ 159

7.6. Troubleshooting ........................................................................................................ 159

7.6.1. Examining Probes with rhn-catalog ............................................................ 159

7.6.2. Viewing the output of rhn-runprobe ............................................................ 160

8. Virtualization 163

8.1. Setting Up the Host System for Your Virtual Systems ................................................. 163

8.1.1. Create a Kickstart Profile for the Guest Systems .............................................. 163

8.1.2. Kickstart Your Host System ............................................................................ 164

8.2. Setting Up Your Virtual Systems ............................................................................... 168

8.2.1. Create a Kickstart Profile for the Guest Systems .............................................. 168

8.2.2. Provision Your Guest Systems ....................................................................... 169

vii

8.3. Working With Your Virtual Systems ........................................................................... 171

8.3.1. Logging into Virtual Systems Directly via SSH ................................................. 171

8.3.2. Gaining Console Access Via the Host ............................................................. 171

8.3.3. Installing Software Via the Satellite Web Interface ............................................ 172

8.3.4. Installing Software Via Yum From the Virtual System ....................................... 172

8.3.5. Deleting Virtual Systems ................................................................................ 172

9. UNIX Support Guide 175

9.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 175

9.1.1. Supported UNIX Variants ............................................................................... 175

9.1.2. Prerequisites .................................................................................................. 175

9.1.3. Included Features .......................................................................................... 175

9.1.4. Differences in Functionality ............................................................................. 176

9.1.5. Excluded Features ......................................................................................... 176

9.2. Satellite Server Preparation/Configuration .................................................................. 176

9.3. Client System Preparation ......................................................................................... 178

9.3.1. Download and Install Additional Packages ....................................................... 179

9.3.2. Deploying Client SSL Certificates .................................................................... 182

9.3.3. Configuring the clients .................................................................................... 182

9.4. Registration and Updates .......................................................................................... 183

9.4.1. Registering Systems ...................................................................................... 183

9.4.2. Obtaining Updates ......................................................................................... 184

9.5. Remote Commands .................................................................................................. 187

9.5.1. Enabling Commands ...................................................................................... 187

9.5.2. Issuing Commands ........................................................................................ 188

A. Command Line Config Management Tools 189

A.1. Red Hat Network Actions Control .......................................................................... 189

A.1.1. General command line options ....................................................................... 189

A.2. Red Hat Network Configuration Client ................................................................... 190

A.2.1. Listing Config Files ........................................................................................ 190

A.2.2. Getting a Config File ..................................................................................... 191

A.2.3. Viewing Config Channels ............................................................................... 191

A.2.4. Differentiating between Config Files ................................................................ 191

A.2.5. Verifying Config Files ..................................................................................... 192

A.3. Red Hat Network Configuration Manager ............................................................... 192

A.3.1. Creating a Config Channel ............................................................................. 193

A.3.2. Adding Files to a Config Channel ................................................................... 193

A.3.3. Differentiating between Latest Config Files ...................................................... 194

A.3.4. Differentiating between Various Versions ........................................................ 194

A.3.5. Downloading All Files in a Channel ................................................................ 195

A.3.6. Getting the Contents of a File ........................................................................ 195

A.3.7. Listing All Files in a Channel .......................................................................... 196

A.3.8. Listing All Config Channels ............................................................................ 196

A.3.9. Removing a File from a Channel .................................................................... 196

A.3.10. Deleting a Config Channel ........................................................................... 197

A.3.11. Determining the Number of File Revisions ..................................................... 197

A.3.12. Updating a File in a Channel ........................................................................ 197

A.3.13. Uploading Multiple Files at Once .................................................................. 198

B. RHN API Access 199

B.1. Using the auth Class and Getting the Session ........................................................... 199

B.2. Obtaining the system_id ........................................................................................... 199

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viii

B.3. Determining the sid .................................................................................................. 199

B.4. Viewing the cid ........................................................................................................ 199

B.5. Getting the sgid ....................................................................................................... 199

B.6. Channel Labels ........................................................................................................ 200

B.7. Sample API Script .................................................................................................... 200

C. Probes 203

C.1. Probe Guidelines ..................................................................................................... 203

C.2. Apache 1.3.x and 2.0.x ............................................................................................ 204

C.2.1. Apache::Processes ........................................................................................ 204

C.2.2. Apache::Traffic .............................................................................................. 205

C.2.3. Apache::Uptime ............................................................................................. 205

C.3. BEA WebLogic 6.x and higher .................................................................................. 206

C.3.1. BEA WebLogic::Execute Queue ..................................................................... 206

C.3.2. BEA WebLogic::Heap Free ............................................................................ 207

C.3.3. BEA WebLogic::JDBC Connection Pool .......................................................... 207

C.3.4. BEA WebLogic::Server State ......................................................................... 208

C.3.5. BEA WebLogic::Servlet .................................................................................. 208

C.4. General ................................................................................................................... 209

C.4.1. General::Remote Program ............................................................................. 209

C.4.2. General::Remote Program with Data .............................................................. 209

C.4.3. General::SNMP Check ................................................................................... 210

C.4.4. General::TCP Check ...................................................................................... 211

C.4.5. General::UDP Check ..................................................................................... 211

C.4.6. General::Uptime (SNMP) ............................................................................... 212

C.5. Linux ....................................................................................................................... 212

C.5.1. Linux::CPU Usage ......................................................................................... 212

C.5.2. Linux::Disk IO Throughput ............................................................................. 212

C.5.3. Linux::Disk Usage ......................................................................................... 213

C.5.4. Linux::Inodes ................................................................................................. 213

C.5.5. Linux::Interface Traffic ................................................................................... 214

C.5.6. Linux::Load ................................................................................................... 214

C.5.7. Linux::Memory Usage .................................................................................... 215

C.5.8. Linux::Process Counts by State ...................................................................... 215

C.5.9. Linux::Process Count Total ............................................................................ 216

C.5.10. Linux::Process Health .................................................................................. 216

C.5.11. Linux::Process Running ............................................................................... 217

C.5.12. Linux::Swap Usage ...................................................................................... 218

C.5.13. Linux::TCP Connections by State ................................................................. 218

C.5.14. Linux::Users ................................................................................................ 219

C.5.15. Linux::Virtual Memory .................................................................................. 219

C.6. LogAgent ................................................................................................................. 220

C.6.1. LogAgent::Log Pattern Match ......................................................................... 220

C.6.2. LogAgent::Log Size ....................................................................................... 221

C.7. MySQL 3.23 - 3.33 .................................................................................................. 222

C.7.1. MySQL::Database Accessibility ...................................................................... 222

C.7.2. MySQL::Opened Tables ................................................................................. 222

C.7.3. MySQL::Open Tables .................................................................................... 223

C.7.4. MySQL::Query Rate ...................................................................................... 223

C.7.5. MySQL::Threads Running .............................................................................. 223

C.8. Network Services ..................................................................................................... 224

C.8.1. Network Services::DNS Lookup ...................................................................... 224

ix

C.8.2. Network Services::FTP .................................................................................. 224

C.8.3. Network Services::IMAP Mail ......................................................................... 225

C.8.4. Network Services::Mail Transfer (SMTP) ......................................................... 225

C.8.5. Network Services::Ping .................................................................................. 225

C.8.6. Network Services::POP Mail .......................................................................... 226

C.8.7. Network Services::Remote Ping ..................................................................... 227

C.8.8. Network Services::RPCService ....................................................................... 227

C.8.9. Network Services::Secure Web Server (HTTPS) ............................................. 228

C.8.10. Network Services::SSH ................................................................................ 228

C.8.11. Network Services::Web Server (HTTP) ......................................................... 229

C.9. Oracle 8i and 9i ....................................................................................................... 230

C.9.1. Oracle::Active Sessions ................................................................................. 230

C.9.2. Oracle::Availability ......................................................................................... 231

C.9.3. Oracle::Blocking Sessions .............................................................................. 231

C.9.4. Oracle::Buffer Cache ..................................................................................... 231

C.9.5. Oracle::Client Connectivity ............................................................................. 232

C.9.6. Oracle::Data Dictionary Cache ....................................................................... 232

C.9.7. Oracle::Disk Sort Ratio .................................................................................. 233

C.9.8. Oracle::Idle Sessions ..................................................................................... 233

C.9.9. Oracle::Index Extents .................................................................................... 234

C.9.10. Oracle::Library Cache .................................................................................. 234

C.9.11. Oracle::Locks .............................................................................................. 235

C.9.12. Oracle::Redo Log ........................................................................................ 235

C.9.13. Oracle::Table Extents .................................................................................. 236

C.9.14. Oracle::Tablespace Usage ........................................................................... 236

C.9.15. Oracle::TNS Ping ........................................................................................ 237

C.10. RHN Satellite Server .............................................................................................. 237

C.10.1. RHN Satellite Server::Disk Space ................................................................. 237

C.10.2. RHN Satellite Server::Execution Time ........................................................... 238

C.10.3. RHN Satellite Server::Interface Traffic ........................................................... 238

C.10.4. RHN Satellite Server::Latency ...................................................................... 238

C.10.5. RHN Satellite Server::Load .......................................................................... 239

C.10.6. RHN Satellite Server::Probe Count ............................................................... 239

C.10.7. RHN Satellite Server::Process Counts .......................................................... 239

C.10.8. RHN Satellite Server::Processes .................................................................. 240

C.10.9. RHN Satellite Server::Process Health ........................................................... 240

C.10.10. RHN Satellite Server::Process Running ....................................................... 241

C.10.11. RHN Satellite Server::Swap ........................................................................ 241

C.10.12. RHN Satellite Server::Users ....................................................................... 242

Glossary 243

D. Revision History 247

Index 249

x

xi

Introduction to the Guide

Welcome to the Red Hat Network Satellite Server 5.1.1 Reference Guide. The RHN Reference Guide
guides you through registering systems with Red Hat Network and using its many features.

Since Red Hat Network offers a variety of service levels, from the most basic Update module to the
most advanced Monitoring package, some content of this guide may be inapplicable to you. This is
particularly true of the RHN website, which displays selected categories, pages, and tabs depending
on the entitlement level of the account used to log in. Refer to Chapter 6, Red Hat Network Website to
determine what is available to you.

Depending on the version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux installed and the addition of new features,
the Red Hat Network Registration Client and the Red Hat Update Agent may differ from the
descriptions in this manual. Use Red Hat Network to update these applications before referring to 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 4.4.5 of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4 Red Hat
Update Agent and versions 2.9.14 and 2.9.12 of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 Red Hat Update
Agent and Red Hat Network Registration Client, respectively.

Warning

Systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 must use the Red Hat Network
Registration Client before starting the Red Hat Update Agent. Refer to Chapter 5,

Red Hat Network Registration Client for instructions. Systems running Red Hat

Enterprise Linux 3, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and later register with the Red Hat
Update Agent. Refer to Chapter 2, Red Hat Update Agent for instructions.

For an overview of Red Hat Network offerings, please review the descriptions available at http://

www.redhat.com/software/rhn/.

1. More to Come

The Red Hat Network Reference Guide is constantly expanding as new Red Hat Network features and
service plans are launched. HTML and PDF versions of this and other manuals are available within the

Help section of the RHN website and at http://www.redhat.com/docs/.

Note

Although this manual reflects the most current information possible, read the RHN
Release Notes for information that may not have been available prior to the finalization

of the documentation. The notes can be found on the RHN website and at http://

www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/RHNetwork/1.

The following RHN documentation has been translated for the RHN 5.1 release: RHN Satellite
Reference Guide, RHN Satellite Installation Guide, RHN Client Configuration Guide, RHN Channel

Introduction to the Guide

xii

Management Guide, and RHN Satellite Release Notes. Translated documentation is available at http://

rhn.redhat.com/help/

1.1. Send in Your Feedback

If you would like to make suggestions about the Red Hat Network Reference Guide, please
submit a report in Bugzilla (http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/) against the component
Documentation_Reference_Guide (Product: Red Hat Network Satellite, Version: 510).

Chapter 1.

1

Red Hat Network Overview

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 an unknown site?

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

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

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

Red Hat Network is an Internet solution for managing a single Red Hat Enterprise Linux system or a
network of Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems. All Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement
Alerts (collectively known as Errata Alerts) can be downloaded directly from Red Hat or your own
custom collection. You can even schedule updates for delivery to your system immediately after
release.

The main components of Red Hat Network are as follows:

• the Red Hat Update Agent

• the Red Hat Network website, whether this is hosted by the central RHN Servers, an RHN Satellite
Server, or fed through an RHN Proxy Server

• Red Hat Network Daemon

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

The Red Hat Update Agent (up2date) provides your initial connection to Red Hat Network. Red
Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and newer systems use the Red Hat Update Agent to register with RHN.
Registration involves creating a unique RHN username and password, probing the hardware on your
system to create a Hardware Profile, and probing the software packages installed on your system
to create a Package Profile. This information is sent to RHN and RHN returns a unique System ID
to your system. Once registered, the Red Hat Update Agent enables channel subscription, package
installs, and management of System Profiles. See Chapter 2, Red Hat Update Agent for further
information.

The Red Hat Update Agent, as the base component of RHN, is designed to manage a single system.
It allows the system's superuser to view and apply Errata to the system. The RHN web interface
facilitates the management, monitoring, and provisioning of a large deployment of systems, including
the configuration of the Red Hat Update Agent for each system.

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 3, Red Hat Network Daemon
for further information). This daemon is necessary in order to schedule updates or other actions
through the website.

The Red Hat Network Registration Client allows you to register your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1
systems with RHN. (Newer versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux have registration functionality built

Chapter 1. Red Hat Network Overview

2

into the Red Hat Update Agent.) See Chapter 5, Red Hat Network Registration Client for more
information.

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

Tip

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

rhn/table/.

1.1. Update

The RHN Update service is ideal for a user with one Red Hat Enterprise Linux system or a small
number of Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems. Updated Subscription to Update can be purchased at

https://www.redhat.com/apps/commerce/rhn/.

With each Update subscription, you receive the following services:

• Download Software — For customers who have purchased subscriptions to Red Hat Network, ISO
images are available for immediate download.

• Priority Access during periods of high load — When Red Hat releases a large erratum, users
with Priority Access can be guaranteed that they will be able to access the updated packages
immediately.

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

• Errata Notification, Multiple Systems — Subscriptions for multiple systems means Errata notification
for Errata to all of those systems. Note that only one email is distributed per each Erratum,
regardless of the number of systems affected.

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

1.2. Management

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

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

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

rhn.redhat.com/1 and click on the Create Login link under the Sign In fields. On the Create a Red

1

https://rhn.redhat.com/

Provisioning

3

Hat Login page, click Create a new Business Login. After creating a business account, you may add
users within your organization to it.

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

• Package Profile Comparison — Compare the package set on a system with the package sets of
similar systems with one click.

• Search Systems — Search through systems based on a number of criteria: packages, networking
information, even hardware asset tags.

• System Grouping — Web servers, database servers, workstations and other workload-focused
systems may be grouped so that each set can be administered in common ways.

• Multiple Administrators — Administrators may be given rights to particular system groups, easing
the burden of system management over very large organizations.

• System Set Manager — You may now apply actions to sets of systems instead of single systems,
work with members of a predefined system group, or work with an ad-hoc collection of systems.
Install a single software package to each, subscribe the systems to a new channel, or apply all
Errata to them with a single action.

• Batch Processing — Compiling a list of outdated packages for a thousand systems would take days
for a dedicated sysadmin. Red Hat Network Management service can do it for you in seconds.

1.3. Provisioning

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

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

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

• Kickstarting — Systems with Provisioning entitlements may be re-installed through RHN with a
whole host of options established in kickstart profiles. Options include everything from the type of
bootloader and time zone to packages included/excluded and IP address ranges allowed. Even
GPG and SSL keys can be pre-configured.

• Client Configuration — RHN Satellite Server Customers may use RHN to manage the configuration
files on Provisioning-entitled systems. Users can upload files to custom configurations channels on
the Satellite, verify local configuration files against those stored on the Satellite, and deploy files
from the Satellite.

• Snapshot Rollbacks — Provisioning-level users have the ability to revert the package profile and
RHN settings of systems. RHN Satellite Server customers can also roll back local configurations
files. This is possible because snapshots are captured whenever an action takes place on a system.
These snapshots identify groups, channels, packages, and configuration files.

Chapter 1. Red Hat Network Overview

4

• Custom System Information — Provisioning customers may identify any type of information
they choose about their registered systems. This differs from System Profile information, which
is generated automatically, and the Notes, which are unrestricted, in that the Custom System
Information allows you to develop specific keys of your choosing and assign searchable values for
that key to each Provisioning-entitled system. For instance, this feature allows you to identify the
cubicle in which each system is located and search through all registered systems according to their
cubicle.

1.4. Monitoring

Monitoring entitlements are available to RHN Satellite Server customers with Red Hat Enterprise Linux
systems.

Monitoring allows an organization to install probes that can immediately detect failures and identify
performance degradation before it becomes critical. Used properly, the Monitoring entitlement can
provide insight into the applications, services, and devices on each system.

Specifically, Monitoring provides:

• Probes — Dozens of probes can be run against each system. These range from simple ping
checks to custom remote programs designed to return valuable data.

• Notification — Alerts can be sent to email and pager addresses with contact methods identified
by you when a probe changes state. Each probe notification can be sent to a different method, or
address.

• Central Status — The results of all probes are summarized in a single Probe Status page, with the
systems affected broken down by state.

• Reporting — By selecting a probe and identifying the particular metric and a range of time, you
can generate graphs and event logs depicting precisely how the probe has performed. This can be
instrumental in predicting and preventing costly system failures.

• Probe Suites — Groups of probes may be assigned to a system or set of systems at once rather
than individually. This allows Administrators to be certain that similar systems are monitored in the
same way and saves time configuring individual probes.

• Notification Filters — Probe notifications may be redirected to another recipient, halted, or sent to
an additional recipient for a specified time based on probe criteria, notification method, scout or
organization.

1.5. Errata Notifications and Scheduled Package

Installations

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

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

• Minimized security vulnerabilities in your network through the application of updates as soon as Red
Hat releases them

Security, Quality Assurance, and Red Hat Network

5

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

• Reliable method of managing multiple systems with similar configurations

1.6. Security, Quality Assurance, and Red Hat Network

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

Red Hat Network incorporates the following security measures:

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

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

3. Red Hat signs all communications with an electronic signature using GPG. RPM can be used to
verify the authenticity of the package before it is installed.

4. Red Hat encrypts all transactions using a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection.

5. The Red Hat Quality Assurance Team tests and verifies all packages before they are added to the
Red Hat Errata list and Red Hat Network.

1.7. Before You Begin

By default, all software packages necessary to access Red Hat Network are installed with Red
Hat Enterprise Linux distributions. However, if you chose not to install them during the installation
process, you must obtain the Red Hat Update Agent (up2date) and possibly the Red Hat Network
Registration Client (rhn_register). In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and later, registration
functionality is built into the Red Hat Update Agent, while Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 users will
need the Red Hat Network Registration Client.

Warning

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

2003. Users attempting to connect using this certificate will receive SSL connection
or certificate verification errors. You may view and obtain the versions of these
applications containing new certificates at the RHN Client Software2 page. In the RHN
website, click Help at the top-right corner, Get RHN Software in the left navigation bar,
and scroll down to examine the packages and versions.

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

rpm -q rhn_register

Chapter 1. Red Hat Network Overview

6

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

rhn_register-2.9.3-1

The version number might differ slightly.

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

package rhn_register is not installed

Perform this check for every package in Table 1.1, “Red Hat Network Packages” that is relevant
to your system. Remember, only Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 users need Red Hat Network
Registration Client. If you prefer to use the command line versions, the two packages ending in
gnome are not required..

Package Name Description

rhn_register Provides the Red Hat Network Registration Client

program and the text mode interface

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

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

up2date Provides the Red Hat Update Agent command line version

and the Red Hat Network Daemon

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

Red Hat Update Agent; runs if the X Window System is
available

Table 1.1. Red Hat Network Packages

Chapter 2.

7

Red Hat Update Agent

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

Remember, this tool must be run on the system you wish to update. You cannot use the Red Hat

Update Agent on the system if it is not entitled to an RHN service offering.

Warning

Only systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and later can use the Red Hat
Update Agent to register with RHN. Systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1
must use Red Hat Network Registration Client before starting the Red Hat Update
Agent. Refer to Chapter 5, Red Hat Network Registration Client for instructions, then
return to this chapter for Red Hat Update Agent instructions.

Important

You must use Red Hat Update Agent Version 2.5.4 or higher to upgrade your kernel
automatically. It installs the updated kernel and configures LILO or GRUB to boot the
new kernel the next time the system is rebooted. To ensure that you are running the
latest version, execute the command up2date up2date. If you do not have the latest
version installed, this command updates it.

2.1. Starting the Red Hat Update Agent

If you are not running the X Window System or prefer the command line version of the Red Hat
Update Agent, skip to Section 2.3, “Command Line Version”.

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

For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4:

• On the GNOME and KDE desktops, go to Applications (the main menu on the panel) => System

Tools => Red Hat Network.

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

For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1:

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

Update Agent.

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

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

8

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

If you choose the last option and start the application from a shell prompt, you can specify the options
in Table 2.1, “Graphical Update Agent Options”. To view these options, type the command up2date

--help.

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

up2date --tmpdir=/tmp/up2date/

Option Description

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

“Configuration” for detailed instructions.

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

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

-f, --force Force package installation. This option temporarily overrides the
file, package, and configuration skip lists.

-i, --install Install packages after they are downloaded. This argument
temporarily overrides the configuration option Do not install

packages after retrieval.

-k, --packagedir Specify a colon separated path of directories in which 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.

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

Table 2.1. Graphical Update Agent Options

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

As shown in Figure 2.1, “Configure Proxy Server”, the first dialog box to appear prompts you for HTTP
Proxy Server information. This is useful if your network connection requires you to use a proxy server
to make HTTP connections. To use this feature, select the Enable HTTP Proxy checkbox and type
your proxy server in the text field with the format HOST:PORT, such as squid.mysite.org:3128.
Additionally, if your proxy server requires a username and password, select the Use Authentication
checkbox and enter your username and password in the respective text fields.

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

Starting the Red Hat Update Agent

9

is actually the General tab of the Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool. Refer to Section 2.4,

“Configuration” for detailed instructions.

Figure 2.1. Configure Proxy Server

The second dialog box to appear prompts you to install the Red Hat GPG key, as shown in Figure 2.2,

“Install GPG Key”. This key is used to verify the packages you download for security purposes. Click

Yes to install the key, and you will not see this message again.

Figure 2.2. Install GPG Key

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

10

2.2. Registration

Before you begin using Red Hat Network, you must create a username, password, and System
Profile. Upon launch, the Red Hat Update Agent senses whether these tasks have been
accomplished. If not, it guides you through the registration process.

If you ever need to force the Red Hat Update Agent into registration mode, such as to re-register an
existing system, you may do so by issuing the following command at a shell prompt:

up2date --register

Important

If your username is part of a larger organizational account, you should take caution
when registering systems. By default, all systems registered with the Red Hat
Update Agent end up in the Ungrouped section of systems visible only to Satellite
Administrators. To ensure you retain management of these systems, Red Hat
recommends that your organization create an activation key associated with a
specific system group and grant you permissions to that group. You may then register
your systems using that activation key and find those System Profiles within RHN
immediately. Refer to Section 2.5, “Registering with Activation Keys” for instructions.

After installing the Red Hat GPG Key, the screen shown in Figure 2.3, “Welcome Screen” appears. It
appears each time you start the Red Hat Update Agent. Click Forward to continue.

Registering a User Account

11

Figure 2.3. Welcome Screen

2.2.1. Registering a User Account

Before you create a System Profile, you must create a user account. Red Hat recommends that you
do so through the website at https://rhn.redhat.com/newlogin/, but you may also do so via Red Hat
Update Agent (up2date).

Important

Users may access and read Red Hat's privacy statement from this screen. Click the
Read our Privacy Statement button to do so. Red Hat is committed to protecting your
privacy. The information gathered during the registration process is used to create a
System Profile, which is essential to receiving update notifications about your system.
When finished, click OK

Those users that have created a Red Hat login previously may enter their username and password
and click the Forward button to continue.

Users that have registered at least one system with Red Hat Network can add new machines to the
same account. To do so, run the Red Hat Update Agent on the new machine and enter the existing
Red Hat username and password at this screen.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

12

Figure 2.4. Red Hat Login Screen

New users must select the I don't have a Red Hat login. I need to create one. radio button and click
the Forward button. Add details about yourself and your business to the screen shown in Figure 2.5,

“Create a User Account”, and identify the methods by which you may be reached.

Your username has the following restrictions:

• Cannot contain any spaces

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

• Is not case-sensitive, thereby eliminating the possibility of duplicate usernames differing only by
capitalization

In addition, the following restrictions apply to both your username and password:

• Must be at least four characters long

• Cannot contain any tabs

• Cannot contain any line feeds

Passwords are case-sensitive for obvious reasons.

Activate

13

Note

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

Complete all fields marked by an asterisk (*). The address and email addresses are required so that
Red Hat may communicate with you regarding your account. You may select to receive monthly
copies of Red Hat Magazine, a valuable source of tips, insights, and Red Hat news.

When finished, click Forward.

Figure 2.5. Create a User Account

2.2.2. Activate

The Activation screen allows you to select various details of your registration. If you have a
subscription number, enter it in the appropriate field. If not, select the Use one of my existing, active
subscriptions radio button.

In the Connect Your System option group, select whether to send a hardware or software profile.

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

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux version

• Hostname

• IP address

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

14

• CPU model

• CPU speed

• Amount of RAM

• PCI devices

• Disk sizes

• Mount points

The software System Profile consists of a list of RPM packages for which you wish to receive
notifications. The Red Hat Update Agent displays 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.

To see the details of the information gathered from your system, click the Details button next to the
profile. When finished, click OK. If you uncheck the box to the left of the profile, that information is not
sent to RHN.

Note

If you do not send a Software Profile, this system will receive no Errata Updates.

Click Forward to send the information to RHN.

Channels

15

Figure 2.6. Activate

Figure 2.7, “Sending System Profile to Red Hat Network” shows the progress bar displayed as the

System Profile is sent.

Figure 2.7. Sending System Profile to Red Hat Network

2.2.3. Channels

Red Hat Update Agent next displays all package channels to which you have access. The channels
you select from this screen must match the base operating system of the system you are registering.
if any child channels are available, such as the RHEL AS (v.4 for x86) Extras channel in the figure,
you may select them as well. Additional information regarding the selected channel is displayed in the
Channel Information pane. When finished, click Forward to continue.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

16

Figure 2.8. Channels

Red Hat Update Agent now compares the packages in your RPM database with those available from
the Channel you selected. The progress bar shown in Figure 2.9, “Fetching package list” is displayed
during this process.

Figure 2.9. Fetching package list

Note

If the version of up2date on your system is older than the one in your selected
channel, the Red Hat Update Agent asks whether you would like to update it. If
you agree, the only package that will be updated is the up2date package. This is
equivalent to executing the up2date up2date command from a shell prompt. Once
the updated process has completed, the Red Hat Update Agent restarts and completes
the initial update of the system.

Packages Flagged to be Skipped

17

2.2.4. Packages Flagged to be Skipped

The next step in the initial update is the selection of files to be skipped. Any packages checked here
will not be downloaded and updated by the Red Hat Update Agent. This screen is displayed whenever
packages are available that are currently selected to be ignored. You may change these settings at
any time from the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool. Refer to Chapter 4, Red Hat Network Alert

Notification Tool for addition information.

Make your selections and click Forward to continue.

Figure 2.10. Packages Flagged to be Skipped

2.2.5. Available Package Updates

The Red Hat Update Agent next displays all available updates except those you chose to skip in
the previous screen. Select those you wish to download and click Forward to continue.To view
the complete Errata Advisory text for an update, highlight the relevant package and click the View
Advisory button. When finished, click OK.

Select those you wish to download and click Forward to continue.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

18

Figure 2.11. Available Package Updates

Retrieving Packages

19

Figure 2.12. Example Errata Advisory

2.2.6. Retrieving Packages

The Red Hat Update Agent tests the packages you selected to be certain that the requirements of
each RPM are met. If any additional packages are required, Red Hat Update Agent displays an error
message. Click OK to continue.

Once all dependencies are met, Red Hat Update Agent retrieves the packages from RHN. As the
packages are downloaded, they are temporarily stored in /var/spool/up2date/.

When all packages have been downloaded, click Forward to continue.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

20

Figure 2.13. Retrieving Packages

2.2.7. Installing Packages

The packages must be installed after downloading them via the Red Hat Update Agent. If you chose
not to install the packages via the Red Hat Update Agent, skip to Section 2.3.2, “Manual Package

Installation” for further instructions. If you configured the Red Hat Update Agent to install the packages

(the default setting), the installation process begins. The progress of installing each package, as well
as the total progress, is displayed. When the packages have been installed, as seen in Figure 2.14,

“Installing Packages”, click Forward to continue.

Installing Packages

21

Figure 2.14. Installing Packages

When the Red Hat Update Agent has finished downloading the desired packages (and installing them
if you chose the install option), it displays the screen in Figure 2.15, “All Finished”. Click Finish to exit
the Red Hat Update Agent.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

22

Figure 2.15. All Finished

2.3. 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 downloads the newer packages and installs them if you configured it to
do so.

up2date -u

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

Command Line Version

23

Option Description

-?, --usage Briefly describe the available options.

-h, --help List the available options and exit.

--arch=architecture Force up2date to install this architecture of the package.
Not valid with --update, --list, or --dry-run.

--channel=channel Specify from which channels to update using channel

labels.

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

Section 2.4, “Configuration” for detailed instructions.

-d, --download Download packages only; do not install them. This
argument temporarily overrides the configuration option Do
not install packages after retrieval. Use this option if you
prefer to install the packages manually.

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

--dry-run Do everything but download and install packages. This is

useful in checking dependencies and other requirements
prior to actual installation.

-f, --force Force package installation. This option temporarily
overrides the file, package, and configuration skip lists.

--firstboot Pop up in the center of the screen for Firstboot.

--get Fetch the package specified without resolving

dependencies.

--get-source Fetch the source package specified without resolving
dependencies.

--gpg-flags Show the flags with which GPG is invoked, such as the
keyring.

--hardware Update this system's hardware profile on RHN.

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

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

--installall=<channel-label> Install all available packages from a given channel

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

-k, --packagedir Specify a colon-separated path of directories in which to

look for packages before trying to download them.

-l, --list List packages relevant to the system.

--list-rollbacks Show the package rollbacks available.

--nodownload Do not download packages at all. This is useful in testing.

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

temporarily overrides the saved configuration option.

--nosrc Do not download source packages (SRPMs).

--nox Do not attempt to run in X. This launches the command line

version of the Red Hat Update Agent.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

24

Option Description

-p, --packages Update packages associated with this System Profile.

--proxy=proxy URL Specify an HTTP proxy to use.

--proxyPassword=proxy

password

Specify a password to use with an authenticated HTTP
proxy.

--proxyUser=proxy user ID Specify a username to use with an authenticated HTTP
proxy.

--register Register (or re-register) this system with RHN. Refer to

Section 2.2, “Registration” for detailed instructions.

--serverUrl=server URL Specify an alternate server from which to retrieve
packages.

--showall List all packages available for download.

--show-available List all packages available that are not currently installed.

--show-channels Show the channel name associated with each package.

--show-orphans List all packages currently installed that are not in channels

to which the system is subscribed.

--show-package-dialog Show the package installation dialog in GUI mode.

--solvedeps=dependencies Find, download, and install the packages necessary to

resolve dependencies.

--src Download source packages, as well as binary RPMs.

--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.

-u, --update Update system with all relevant packages.

--undo Reverse the last package set update.

--upgrade-to-release=release

version

Upgrade to the channel specified.

--uuid=uuid Pass in a Unique User ID generated by the Alert
Notification tool.

-v, --verbose Show additional output while updating.

--version Show up2date version information.

--whatprovides=dependencies Show the packages that resolve the comma-separated list

of dependencies.

Table 2.2. Update Agent Command Line Arguments

Note

The --solvedeps and --whatprovides options can be used to solve the
dependencies for an RPM regardless even if your system does not currently have
access to a channel that contains that package.

Installing the Red Hat GPG key

25

2.3.1. 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
must 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.

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.

The method for installing the key varies depending on your version of RPM. Starting with version 4.1,
which shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, you may use RPM to import GPG keys. Issue the
following command at a shell prompt as root:

rpm --import /usr/share/doc/rpm-4.1/RPM-GPG-KEY

For older versions of RPM, such as the one that came with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1, use the gpg
command (as root):

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

To download the Red Hat GPG key first, you may obtain it from https://www.redhat.com/security/team/

key.html 1. Here's an example:

Type bits/keyID Date User ID pub 1024D/650D5882 2001-11-21 Red Hat,
Inc. (Security Response Team) sub 2048g/7EAB9AFD 2001-11-21 ----­BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (GNU/Linux)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1

https://www.redhat.com/security/team/key.html

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

26

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QNqEfTkTYU4Rbhkzz/UxUxZoRZ+tqVjNbPKFpRraiQrUDsZFbgksBCzkzd0YURvi
CegO2K7JPKbZJo6eJA10qiBQvAx2EUijZfxIKqZeLx40EKMaL7Wa2CM/xmkQmCgg
Hyu5bmLSMZ7cxFSWyXOst78dehCKv9WyPxHV3m4iANWFL4hGBBgRAgAGBQI7+9O3
AAoJEF5UgINlDViCKWcAoMCeYStWVKXJTytzHEL6Wl8rXr8WAKCHuapJIA4/eFsf
4ciWtjY8cO0v8Q== =yOVZ -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

Save the text file and import it into your keyring using the method applicable to your version of RPM.

2.3.2. Manual Package Installation

If you chose to download, but not install, 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. Type the command rpm -Uvh *.rpm. When the packages finish
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 2.3.3, “Synchronizing Your System Profile” for details.

2.3.3. Synchronizing Your System Profile

If you configured the Red Hat Update Agent to install the latest packages, the System Profile stored
by Red Hat Network is updated 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 website, or upgrade/install/remove RPM packages yourself, your System Profile is not updated
automatically. You must 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:

up2date -p

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

2.3.4. 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/

Configuration

27

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 is
not logged in this file. Red Hat Network recommends that you keep a log of actions not performed with
the Red Hat Update Agent.

2.4. Configuration

The Red Hat Update Agent offers various options to configure its settings.

If you are not running the X Window System or prefer the command line version, skip to Section 2.4.2,

“Command Line Version”.

2.4.1. Using the Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool

You must be root to run the Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool. If started by a user other
than root, the Red Hat Update Agent prompts you for the root password. The Red Hat Update Agent
Configuration Tool can be started by typing the command up2date --config at a shell prompt
(for example, an xterm or a gnome-terminal).

2.4.1.1. 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 squid.mysite.org on port 3128, you would enter 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.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

28

Figure 2.16. General Settings

In addition, RHN Proxy and Satellite customers have the option of selecting Red Hat Network Servers
here. These customers should refer to the RHN Client Configuration Guide for detailed instructions.

2.4.1.2. 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.

Using the Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool

29

Figure 2.17. Retrieval/Installation Settings

The following package retrieval options can be selected (see Figure 2.17, “Retrieval/Installation

Settings”):

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

directory and ignore the installation preferences

• Do not upgrade 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 attempt to
upgrade it. This option is useful if you are installing custom RPMs on your system and you do not
want them updated or reverted to the default Red Hat Enterprise 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 2.17, “Retrieval/Installation Settings”):

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

signature (highly recommended for security reasons)

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

instead of deleting them after installation

The following additional options are configurable from this tab:

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

30

• 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/

2.4.1.3. 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 2.18, “Package Exceptions

Settings”).

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
heading. A wild card at the end of the character string indicates that all packages beginning with the
character string are excluded from the list. A wild card at the beginning of the character string indicates
that any packages that end with the character string are excluded from the list.

For example, if the string kernel* is 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, apply the same rules to the field below File Names to Skip section
heading.

Figure 2.18. Package Exceptions Settings

Command Line Version

31

2.4.2. 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 are presented with a list of options and their current values:

0. debug No 1. isatty Yes 2. depslist [] 3. networkSetup Yes 4.
retrieveOnly No 5. enableRollbacks No 6. pkgSkipList ['kernel*'] 7.
storageDir /var/spool/up2date 8. adminAddress ['root@localhost'] 9.
noBootLoader No 10. serverURL https://xmlrpc.rhn.redhat.com/XMLRPC

11. fileSkipList [] 12. sslCACert /usr/share/rhn/RHNS-CA-CERT 13.
noReplaceConfig Yes 14. useNoSSLForPackage No 15. systemIdPath /
etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid 16. enableProxyAuth No 17. retrieveSource
No 18. versionOverride 19. headerFetchCount 10 20. networkRetries
5 21. enableProxy No 22. proxyPassword 23. noSSLServerURL http://
xmlrpc.rhn.redhat.com/XMLRPC 24. keepAfterInstall No 25. proxyUser

26. removeSkipList ['kernel*'] 27. useGPG Yes 28. gpgKeyRing /etc/
sysconfig/rhn/up2date-keyring.gpg 29. httpProxy 30. headerCacheSize 40

31. forceInstall No Enter number of item to edit <return to exit, q to
quit without saving>:

Enter the number of the item 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.

Important

Although this is not configurable, users should still make note that the port used by
the Red Hat Update Agent is 443 for SSL (HTTPS) and 80 for non-SSL (HTTP).
By default, up2date uses SSL only. For this reason, users should ensure that their
firewalls allow connections over port 443. To bypass SSL, change the protocol for
serverURL from https to http in the /etc/sysconfig/rhn/up2date configuration
file.

2.5. Registering with Activation Keys

In addition to the standard Red Hat Update Agent interface, up2date offers a utility aimed at batch
processing system registrations: activation keys. Each unique key can be used to register Red
Hat Enterprise Linux systems, entitle them to an RHN service level, and subscribe them to specific
channels and system groups, all in one action. This automation bypasses entitlement and registration
via Red Hat Network Registration Client and Red Hat Update Agent.

Alternatively, both the Red Hat Network Registration Client and Red Hat Update Agent offer the
activation keys utility rhnreg_ks as part of their packages.

Chapter 2. Red Hat Update Agent

32

Note

Systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 need version 2.9.3-1 or higher of the
rhn_register package. It is highly recommended that you obtain the latest version
before using activation keys.

Before using an activation key you must first generate one through
the RHN website. Refer to Section 6.4.6, “Activation Keys —

”

for precise steps.

To use an activation key, run the following command as root from a shell prompt on the system to be
registered:

rhnreg_ks --activationkey=7202f3b7d218cf59b764f9f6e9fa281b

The precise value of the activation key varies.

Systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 substitute the --serialnumber option for the -­activationkey option:

rhnreg_ks --serialnumber=7202f3b7d218cf59b764f9f6e9fa281b

In addition, Provisioning-entitled systems may use multiple activation keys at once, either at the
command line or within kickstart profiles. This allows Administrators to include a variety of values
without creating a special key for the desired results. To do this, specify the keys separated by
commas, like this:

rhnreg_ks --activationkey=7202f3b7d218cf59b764f9f6e9fa281b,\
39f41081f0329c20798876f37cb9p6a3

Note

The trailing backslash (\) in this command example is a continuation character; it may
safely be omitted.

Refer to Section 6.4.6.2, “Using Multiple Activation Keys at Once —

”

to understand how differences in activation keys are handled.

The above command performs all the actions of the Red Hat Network Registration Client and
the registration function of the Red Hat Update Agent. Do not run either of these applications for
registration 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 an RHN service offering, and subscribed to the
RHN channels and system groups selected during key generation. The system is not subscribed to

Registering a System to an Organization

33

channels that contain packages unsuitable for the system. For example, a Red Hat Enterprise Linux

2.1 system cannot be subscribed to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 channel.

The unique Digital Certificate for the system is generated on the system in the file /etc/sysconfig/
rhn/systemid.

When using activation keys to assign channels, consider these rules:

• A key may specify either zero or one base channel. If specified, it must be a custom base channel.
If not, the base channel corresponding to the system's Red Hat distribution is chosen. For instance,
you may not subscribe a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 system to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3
channel.

• A key may specify any number of child channels. For each child channel, subscription is attempted.
If the child channel matches the system's base channel, subscription succeeds. If it does not, the
subscription fails silently. Refer to Section 6.6, “Channels” for more information.

• Keys may be modified by any user with the role of Activation Key
Administrator or Satellite Administrator (or both). These permissions are set
through the Users tab of the RHN website. Refer to Section 6.9, “Users —

” for details.

• Systems registered by activation keys are tied to the organization account in which the key was
created, not the key itself. After registration, a key can be deleted safely without any effect on the
systems it was used to register.

2.6. Registering a System to an Organization

RHN Satellite Server now supports the Organizations feature, which allows administrators to
appropriate software and system entitlements across various organizations, as well as control
an organization's access to systems management. Systems can now be registered directly to an
organization.

To register a system to an organization on a satellite, you can use the username and password of an
account that is created within that organization. For example, if there is an organization called Sales
Team, with a username salesadmin and password abc123, using these credentials assures that a
system is registered to the proper organization.

For example:

rhnreg_ks --user=salesadmin --password=abc123

Important

The --orgid option (for RHEL 4 and 5) and the --orgpassword option (in RHEL 4)
in the rhnreg_ks command are not related to the Organizations feature and should
not be used in the context of registering systems to organizations.

For more information about the Organizations feature, refer to Section 6.11.1, “Satellite Tools �

Organizations”.

34

Chapter 3.

35

Red Hat Network Daemon

The Red Hat Network Daemon (rhnsd) periodically connects to Red Hat Network to check for
updates and notifications. The daemon, which runs in the background, is typically started from the
initialization scripts in /etc/init.d/rhnsd or /etc/rc.d/init.d/rhnsd.

To check for updates, rhnsd runs an external program called rhn_check located in /usr/sbin/.
This is a small application that makes the network connection to RHN. The Red Hat Network Daemon
does not listen on any network ports or talk to the network directly. All network activity is done via the
rhn_check utility.

3.1. Configuring

The Red Hat Network Daemon can be configured by editing the /etc/sysconfig/rhn/rhnsd
configuration file. This is actually the configuration file the rhnsd initialization script uses. The most
important setting offered by the daemon is its check-in frequency. The default interval time is four
hours (240 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.

Important

The minimum time interval allowed is one hour (60 minutes). If you set the interval
below one hour, it will default to four hours (240 minutes).

3.2. Viewing Status

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.

3.3. Disabling

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 only disables 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.

3.4. Troubleshooting

If you see messages indicating that checkins are not taking place, the RHN client on your system is
not successfully reaching Red Hat Network. Make certain:

• your client is configured correctly.

• your system can communicate with RHN via SSL (port 443). You may test this by running the
following command from a shell prompt:

telnet xmlrpc.rhn.redhat.com 443

• the Red Hat Network Daemon is activated and running. You may ensure this by running the
following commands:

Chapter 3. Red Hat Network Daemon

36

chkconfig --level 345 rhnsd on

service rhnsd start

If these are correct and your systems still indicate they are not checking in, please contact our
technical support team.

Chapter 4.

37

Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool

The Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool is a notifier that appears on the panel and alerts users
when software package updates are available for their systems. The list of updates is 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 an RHN service offering. The notifier 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 and use the X Window System.

Starting with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool appears on
the panel by default as shown in Figure 4.1, “GNOME Panel with Red Hat Network Alert Notification

Tool”.

Figure 4.1. GNOME Panel with Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool

If it does not appear on the panel, you can add it:

• In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and later, select Applications (the main menu on the panel) =>
System Tools => Red Hat Network Alert Icon. To ensure the icon appears on subsequent
sessions, select the Save current setup checkbox when logging out.

• In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1, select the 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.

4.1. 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 4.2,

“HTTP Proxy Configuration”.

Chapter 4. Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool

38

Figure 4.2. HTTP Proxy Configuration

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
HOST:PORT. For example, to use the proxy server http://squid.mysite.org on port 3128, enter
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
Configuration.

Your preferences are written to the .rhn-applet.conf file in your home directory. The Red Hat

Network Alert Notification Tool also uses the system-wide configuration file /etc/sysconfig/
rhn/rhn-applet. The setting for server_url should be set to your satellite server. For example:

server_url=http://YourRHN_Satellite.com/APPLET

Or, for SSL:

server_url=https://YourRHN_Satellite.com/APPLET

Notification Icons

39

You can also configure the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool to ignore specific packages. To
select these packages, click on the applet and select the Ignored Packages tab.

4.2. Notification Icons

The applet displays a different icon, depending on the status of the updates. Table 4.1, “Red Hat

Network Alert Notification Tool Icons” shows the possible icons and their meaning.

Icon Description

Updates are available

System is up-to-date

Checking for updates

Error has occurred

Table 4.1. Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool Icons

If you see the

icon, it is strongly recommended that you apply the updates. Refer to Section 4.4, “Applying Updates”
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 displays the

icon until the system is rebooted with the new kernel. If you double-click on the applet, the Available

Updates tab displays a list of packages that can be updated on your system.

4.3. Viewing Updates

Clicking on the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool displays a list of available updates. To alter
your list of excluded packages, click the Ignored Packages tab and make your modifications.

Chapter 4. Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool

40

Figure 4.3. Available Updates

4.4. 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 icon and select Launch

up2date. For more information on the Red Hat Update Agent, refer to Chapter 2, Red Hat Update

Agent.

4.5. Launching the RHN Website

The simplest way to obtain a comprehensive view of your system's status is to access the RHN
website. This can be accomplished through the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool by
right-clicking on it and selecting RHN Website. For more information on the RHN website, refer to

Section 6.1, “Navigation”.

Chapter 5.

41

Red Hat Network Registration Client

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

Warning

Only systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 need to use the Red Hat Network
Registration Client before starting the Red Hat Update Agent. Systems running Red
Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and later have this registration functionality built into the Red
Hat Update Agent. After registering your system, refer to Chapter 2, Red Hat Update

Agent for instructions on starting the Red Hat Update Agent.

5.1. Configuring the Red Hat Network Registration Client

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 5.1, “Red Hat Network Registration Client Configuration” appears.

Chapter 5. Red Hat Network Registration Client

42

Figure 5.1. 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 1. noSSLServerURL http://xmlrpc.rhn.redhat.com/
XMLRPC 2. oemInfoFile /etc/sysconfig/rhn/oeminfo 3. enableProxy No

4. networkSetup Yes 5. httpProxy 6. proxyUser 7. serverURL https://
xmlrpc.rhn.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 to modify and enter a new value for the option. When finished 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 HOST:PORT. For
example, to use the proxy server squid.mysite.org on port 3128, you would change the value to
squid.mysite.org:3128.

Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client

43

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.

To bypass SSL, change the protocol for serverURL from https to http in the /etc/sysconfig/
rhn/rhn_register file.

5.2. Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client

You must be root to register a system with RHN. If started by a standard users, the Red Hat Network
Registration Client prompts you to enter the root password before proceeding.

Important

If your username is part of a larger organizational account, be cautious when
registering your systems. By default, all systems registered with the Red Hat Network
Registration Client end up in the Ungrouped section of systems visible only to
Satellite Administrators. To ensure that you retain management of these systems, Red
Hat recommends that your organization create an activation key associated with a
specific system group and grant you permissions to that group. You may then register
your systems using that activation key and find those System Profiles within RHN
immediately. Refer to Section 2.5, “Registering with Activation Keys” for instructions.

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

1. On the GNOME desktop, go to Applications (the main menu on the panel) => Programs =>

System => Red Hat Network

2. On the KDE desktop, go to Applications (the main menu 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 shell prompt.

Refer to Section 5.7, “Text Mode RHN Registration Client” for further details.

Caution

You must use Python 1.5.2-24 or later with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) support. If not,
the information transferred is not encrypted. If you have an earlier version of Python,
you will see the message shown in Figure 5.2, “Use Python 1.5.2-24 or later”. To
determine the version of Python on your system, use the command rpm -q python.
It is strongly recommended that you use Python 1.5.2-24 or later.

Chapter 5. Red Hat Network Registration Client

44

Figure 5.2. 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 5.3, “Warning: This System Already Registered” appears. If you continue, it overwrites your

existing Digital Certificate file (/etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid), and creates 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 5.3. Warning: This System Already Registered

The opening screen for the Red Hat Network Registration Client provides a brief overview of the
services available and the steps required to register (see Figure 5.4, “Welcome Screen”). Click Next
to continue with the registration process. If you click Cancel, the registration process ends and no
information is sent.

Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client

45

Figure 5.4. Welcome Screen

Red Hat is committed to protecting your privacy (see Figure 5.5, “Red Hat Privacy Statement”). 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.

Chapter 5. Red Hat Network Registration Client

46

Figure 5.5. Red Hat Privacy Statement

5.3. 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 5.7, “Create a Unique Username and Password”, 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 5.6,

“Error: Username Already Exists”). Try different usernames until you find one that has not been used.

Registering a User Account

47

Figure 5.6. Error: Username Already Exists

Note

If you are already a member of redhat.com, you can use the same user name and
password. However, you must continue with the registration process to create your
System Profile.

Your username has the following restrictions:

• Cannot contain any spaces

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

• Is not case-sensitive, thereby eliminating the possibility of duplicate usernames differing only by
capitalization

In addition, the following restrictions apply to both your username and password:

• Must be at least four characters long

• Cannot contain any tabs

• Cannot contain any line feeds

Passwords are case-sensitive for obvious reasons.

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 is added to your
existing account, and you can log into Red Hat Network with your username and password to view all
your systems simultaneously.

Chapter 5. Red Hat Network Registration Client

48

Figure 5.7. Create a Unique Username and Password

Most users can leave the Org Info section blank. If you have an existing organization account, work
with your Satellite Administrator to ensure that your system is added to that account.This requires
entering your organization's ID and password in the provided text fields. If the values are valid, the
system is added to the organization's Red Hat Network account. Your Satellite Administrator can then
create your user account through the Users category of the RHN website. Refer to Section 6.9, “Users

—
” for instructions.

Click Next to continue.

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

5.4.1. 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 Enterprise Linux version

Hardware System Profile

49

• 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 5.8, “System Profile

- Hardware”. 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. 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 5.8, “System Profile -

Hardware”).

Click Next to continue with the registration process.

Figure 5.8. System Profile - Hardware

Chapter 5. Red Hat Network Registration Client

50

5.4.2. 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 displays 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.

5.4.2.1. Gathering RPM Database Information

Only those packages you choose during this part of the registration are 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 website or by using the Red Hat

Update Agent. Figure 5.9, “Registration Wizard” shows the progress bar displayed 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 5.9. Registration Wizard

Once the RPM package list is built, the list is displayed as shown in Figure 5.10, “RPM Package

Information”. Deselecting Include RPM Packages installed on this system in my System Profile

omits this information from your System Profile.

Software System Profile

51

Figure 5.10. RPM Package Information

5.4.2.2. 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 5.11, “Choose which RPM Packages

to Exclude from System Profile” 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.

Chapter 5. Red Hat Network Registration Client

52

Figure 5.11. Choose which RPM Packages to Exclude from System Profile

5.5. Finishing Registration

As seen in Figure 5.12, “Finished Collecting Information for System Profile”, 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 is sent. Clicking Next submits your RHN System Profile.

Finishing Registration

53

Figure 5.12. Finished Collecting Information for System Profile

Figure 5.13, “Send System Profile to Red Hat Network” shows the progress bar displayed while your

profile is sent. This process may take some time depending on your connection speed.

Figure 5.13. Send System Profile to Red Hat Network

The Red Hat Network Registration Client displays the Registration Finished screen (Figure 5.14,

“Registration Finished” once your System Profile has been sent successfully. 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 5.6, “Entitling Your System” for details.

Chapter 5. Red Hat Network Registration Client

54

Figure 5.14. Registration Finished

5.6. 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.

To entitle a system, go to http://rhn.redhat.com and log in using the same username and password
you just used in the Red Hat Network Registration Client. Click Systems on the top navigation bar
and then Systems Entitlements in the left navigation bar.

The System Entitlements page displays the following items:

• a list of the system for which the user can choose an entitlement level

• the current entitlements applied to each of these systems

• buttons that allow the user to change entitlement level

• an overview of the number and types of purchased entitlements that remain available to the
organization

To change the entitlement level of a system or systems, check the box to the left of the systems and
click the appropriate button for the desired entitlement level. Note that you must apply a Management
entitlement to a system before you can add a Provisioning entitlement. You can change entitlements
to any available level at any time.

Text Mode RHN Registration Client

55

Note

Removing a required entitlement (such as Provisioning) will not cancel a previously
scheduled action (such as a kickstart).

As you change the selected entitlements for your systems, the number of available entitlements is
updated at the bottom of the screen.

5.7. 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 are equal numbers 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 5.2, “Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client”.

Figure 5.15. Text Mode Welcome Screen

56

Chapter 6.

57

Red Hat Network Website

You can use the Red Hat Network website to manage multiple Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems
simultaneously, including viewing Errata Alerts, applying Errata Updates, and installing packages. This
chapter seeks to identify all of categories, pages, and tabs within the website and explain how to use
them.

6.1. Navigation

The Top Navigation Bar is divided into tabs. Satellite Administrators see the following Top
Navigation Bar. Note that only RHN Satellite Server customers see the Monitoring and Satellite
Tools tabs.

Figure 6.1. Top Navigation bar — RHN Satellite Server

The Left Navigation Bar is divided into pages. The links are context-sensitive and may vary slightly
between RHN Satellite Server and non-Satellite web interfaces. The following is an example of the
Left Navigation Bar for the Users tab.

Figure 6.2. Left Navigation Bar — Users

Some pages have sub-tabs. These tabs offer an additional layer of granularity in performing tasks
for systems or users. The following is a menu bar for all System Details sub-tabs. This system has
Management and Provisioning entitlements, but not Monitoring:

Figure 6.3. Sub-Tabs — System Details

6.1.1. Entitlement Views

Keep in mind, since this guide covers all entitlement levels, some tabs, pages, and even whole
categories described here may not be visible to you. For this reason, icons are used here to identify
which functions are available to each entitlement level.

Icon Entitlement

Management or higher

Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website

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Icon Entitlement

Provisioning

Monitoring

Table 6.1. Entitlement Icons

If no icon follows a category, page, or tab label within this chapter, the area described is available to all
Red Hat Network users. If an icon does follow, the associated entitlement is needed. Remember that
Provisioning inherits all of the functions of Management.

If an icon precedes a paragraph, only the specific portion of the page or tab discussed afterward
requires the indicated entitlement level. When a page or tab is associated with a particular entitlement
level, all of its tabs and subtabs require at least the same entitlement level but may need a higher
entitlement. Regardless, each tab is identified separately.

6.1.2. Categories and Pages

This section summarizes all of the categories and primary pages (those linked from the top and
left navigation bars) within the RHN website. It does not list the many subpages, tabs and subtabs
accessible from the left navigation bar and individual pages. Each area of the website is explained in
detail later in this chapter:

• Your RHN — View and manage your primary account information and obtain help.

• Your RHN — Obtain 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, set your time zone, and identify your contact options.

• Locale Preferences — Configure language, timezone, and other customizations for your

particular locale.

• Subscription Management — Manage base and add-on system entitlements, such as

Management, Provisioning, and Virtualization.

• Systems — Manage all of your systems (including virtual guest systems) here.

• Overview —

— View a summary of your systems or system groups showing how many Errata Alerts each
system has and which systems are entitled.

• Systems — Select and view subsets of your systems by specific criteria, such as Virtual

Systems, Unentitled, Recently Registered, Proxy, and Inactive.

Categories and Pages

59

• System Groups —

— List your system groups. Create additional groups.

• System Set Manager —

— Perform various actions on collective sets of systems, including scheduling errata updates,
package management, listing and creating new groups, and managing channel entitlements.

• Advanced Search —

— Quickly search all of your systems by specific criteria, such as name, hardware, devices,
system info, networking, packages, and location.

• Activation Keys —

— Generate an activation key for an RHN-entitled system. This activation key can be used to
grant a specified level of entitlement or group membership to a newly registered system with the
rhnreg_ks command.

• Stored Profiles —

— View system profiles used to provision systems.

• Custom System Info —

— Create and edit system information keys containing completely customizable values that can
be assigned while provisioning systems.

• Kickstart —

— Display and modify various aspects of kickstart profiles used in provisioning systems.

• Errata — View and manage Errata Alerts here.

• Errata — List Errata Alerts and download associated RPMs.

• Advanced Search — Search Errata Alerts based on specific criteria, such as synopsis, advisory

type, and package name.

• Manage Errata — Manage the errata for an organization's channels.

• Clone Errata — Clone errata for an organization for ease of replication and distribution across an

organization.

• Channels — View and manage the available RHN channels and the files they contain.

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• Software Channels — View a list of all software channels and those applicable to your systems.

• Package Search — Search packages using all or some portion of the package name,

description, or summary, with support for limiting searches to supported platforms.

• Manage Software Channels —

— Create and edit channels used to deploy configuration files.

• Configuration — Keep track of and manage configuration channels, actions, and individual
configuration files.

• Overview — A general dashboard view that shows a configuration summary

• Configuration Channels — List and create configuration channels from which any subscribed

system can receive configuration files

• Configuration Files — List and create files from which systems receive configuration input

• Systems — List the systems that have RHN-managed configuration files.

• Schedule — Keep track of your scheduled actions.

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

• Failed Actions — List scheduled actions that have failed.

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

be archived at any time.

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

• Users —

— View and manage users for your organization.

• User List —

— List users for your organization.

• Monitoring —

— Run probes and receive notifications regarding systems.

• Status —

— View probes by state.

• Notification —

— View contact methods established for your organization.

Errata Alert Icons

61

• Probe Suites —

— Manage your monitoring infrastructure using suites of monitoring probes that apply to one or
more assigned systems.

• Scout Config Push —

— Displays the status of your monitoring infrastructure.

• Satellite Tools (visible only to Satellite administrators) — List, create, and manage one or more

Satellite organizations, from which the Satellite administrator can assign channel entitlements,
create and assign administrators for each organization, and other tasks.

• Organizations — List and create new organizations

• Subscriptions — List and manage the software and system entitlements for all organizations

across the Satellite.

• Users — List all users on the Satellite, across all organizations. Click individual usernames to

change administrative privileges for the user.

Note

Users created for organization administration can only be configured by the
organization administrator, not the Satellite administrator.

• Satellite Configuration — Make general configuration changes to the Satellite, including Proxy

settings, Certificate configuration, Bootstrap Script configuration, Organization changes, and
Restart the Satellite Server.

• Task Engine Status — configures the daemon that runs on the Satellite server itself and

performs routine operations, such as database cleanup, Errata mailings, and other tasks that are
performed in the background.

6.1.3. Errata Alert Icons

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

represents a Security Alert.

represents a Bug Fix Alert.

represents an Enhancement Alert.

In the Your RHN page, click on the Errata advisory to view details about the Erratum or click on the
number of affected systems to see which are affected by the Errata Alert. Both links take you to tabs of
the Errata Details page. Refer to Section 6.5.2.2, “Errata Details” for more information.

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6.1.4. Quick Search

In addition to the Advanced Search functionality for Packages, Errata, and Systems offered within
some categories, the RHN website also offers a Quick Search tool near the top of each page. To use
it, select the search item (choose fro Systems, Packages, and Errata) and type a keyword to look for
a name match. Click the Search button. Your results appear at the bottom of the page.

For advanced System searches, refer to Section 6.4.5, “Advanced Search —

”.

For advanced Errata searches, refer to Section 6.5.3, “Advanced Search”.

For advanced Package searches, refer to Section 6.6.2, “Package Search”.

6.1.5. Systems Selected

Also near the top of the page is a tool for keeping track of the systems you have selected for use in the
System Set Manager. It identifies the number of selected systems at all times and provides the means
to work with them. Clicking the Clear button deselects all systems, while clicking the Manage button
launches the System Set Manager with your selected systems in place.

These systems can be selected in a number of ways. Only systems with at least a
Management entitlement are eligible for selection. On all system and system group lists,
a Select column exists for this purpose. Select the checkboxes next to the systems or
groups and click the Update List button below the column. Each time, the Systems
Selected tool at the top of the page changes to reflect the new number of systems ready
for use in the System Set Manager. Refer to Section 6.4.4, “System Set Manager —

”

for details.

6.1.6. Lists

The information within most categories is presented as lists. These lists have some common features
for navigation. For instance, you can navigate through virtually all lists by clicking the back and next
arrows above and below the right side of the table. Some lists also offer the ability to retrieve items
alphabetically by clicking the letters above the table.

6.2. Logging into the RHN Website

Use a web browser to navigate to http://rhn.redhat.com. RHN displays the login page shown below
unless one of two things is true:

• You have recently logged into your account at http://1www.redhat.com.

• You have recently either logged into RHN or recently visited the new account verification page.

If you have recently logged into http://1rhn.redhat.com or http://1www.redhat.com, you are
automatically authenticated and redirected to the Your RHN page.

Logging into the RHN Website

63

Figure 6.4. RHN Website

If you have not registered a system yet or do not have a redhat.com account, create a new account
by following the Learn More link, then selecting Create Login on the resulting page. After creating a
new user account, you must register a system before using RHN. Refer to Chapter 2, Red Hat Update

Agent for step-by-step instructions.

After registering your system with Red Hat Network, go back to http://rhn.redhat.com and complete
the username and password fields with the same information established during registration. Once
complete, press the Log In button to continue.

Tip

You may click the Sign In tab at the top of the screen to display the fields if they are not
already visible.

If you have not previously accepted the RHN Site Terms and the T7 agreement, you will be asked
to do so now before proceeding. To read the content of either agreement, click on its title, which will
open a new window. When ready to proceed, select the checkbox indicating your acceptance of the
agreements and press the Continue button.

Note

You must accept both the Site Terms and the T7 agreement in order to use RHN.

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Once you have accepted the agreements and pressed the Continue button, RHN displays the Your

RHN page.

6.3. Your RHN

After logging into the web interface of Red Hat Network, the first page to appear is Your RHN. This
page contains important information about your systems, including summaries of system status,
actions, and Errata Alerts.

Tip

If you are new to the RHN web interface, it is recommended that you read Section 6.1,

“Navigation” to become familiar with the layout and symbols used throughout the

interface.

Figure 6.5. Your Red Hat Network

This page is broken into functional areas, with the most critical areas displayed first. Users can
control which of the following areas are displayed by making selections on the Your RHN � Your
Preferences page. Refer to Section 6.3.2, “Your Preferences” for more information.

Your Account

65

• The Tasks area lists the most common tasks that an administrator performs via the web. Click on

any of the links to be taken to the page within RHN that allows you to accomplish that task.

• To the right is the Inactive System listing. If any systems have not been checking in to RHN, they

are listed here. Highlighting them in this way allows an administrator quickly select those systems
for troubleshooting.

•

— Customers with Monitoring enabled on their Satellite can also choose to include a list of all
probes in the Warning state.

•

— Customers with Monitoring enabled on their Satellite can also choose to include a list of all
probes in the Critical state.

• The Critical Systems section lists the most critical systems within your organization. It provides a

link to quickly view those systems, and displays a summary of the errata updates that have yet to
be applied to those systems. Click on the name of the system to be taken to the System Details
page of that system and apply the errata updates. Below the list is a link to the Out of Date systems
page.

• Next is the Recently Scheduled Actions section. Any action that is less than thirty days old is

considered to be recent. This section allows you to see all actions and their status, whether they
have failed, completed, or are still pending. Click on the label of any given actions to view the details
page for that action. Below the list is a link to the Pending Actions page, which lists all actions that
have not yet been picked up by your client systems.

• The Relevant Security Errata section lists the security errata that are available and have yet to be

applied to some or all of your client systems. It is critical that you apply these security errata to keep
your systems secure. Below this section are links to all errata and to those errata that apply to your
systems.

• The System Groups section lists the groups (if any) and indicates whether the systems in those
groups are fully updated. Click on the link below this section to be taken to the System Groups
page, from which you can chose System Groups to use with the System Set Manager.

• The Recently Registered Systems lists the systems that have been added to the Satellite in the
past 30 days. Click the system's name to go the System Details page for that particular system.

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

6.3.1. Your Account

The Your Account page allows you to modify your personal information, such as name, password,
and title. To modify any of this information, make the changes in the appropriate text fields and click
the Update button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Remember, if you change your Red Hat Network password (the one used to log into RHN and
redhat.com), you will not see your new one as you type it for security reasons. Also for security, your
password is represented by 12 asterisks no matter how many characters it actually contains. Replace
the asterisks in the Password and Password Confirmation text fields with your new password.

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6.3.1.1. Addresses

The Addresses page allows you to manage your mailing, billing and shipping addresses, as well as
the associated phone numbers. Just click Edit this address below the address to be modified, make
the changes, and click Update.

6.3.1.2. Change Email

The email address listed in the Your Account page is the address to which Red Hat Network sends
email notifications if you select to receive Errata Alerts or daily summaries for your systems on the
Your Preferences page.

To change your preferred email address, click Change Email in the left navigation bar. You are then
asked for the new email address. Enter it and click the Update button. A confirmation email is sent to
the new email address; responding to the confirmation email validates the new email address. Note
that false email addresses such as those ending in "@localhost" are filtered and rejected.

6.3.1.3. Account Deactivation

The Account Deactivation page provides a means to cancel your Red Hat Network service. Click
the Deactivate Account button to deactivate your account. The web interface returns you to the
login screen. If you attempt to log back in, an error message advises you to contact the Satellite
Administrator for your organization. Note that if you are the only Satellite Administrator for your
organization, you are unable to deactivate your account.

6.3.2. Your Preferences

The Your Preferences page 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.

Important

This setting also enables Management and Provisioning customers to receive a
daily summary of system events. These include actions affecting packages, such
as scheduled Errata Updates, system reboots, or failures to check in. In addition
to selecting this checkbox, you must identify each system to be included in this
summary email. (By default, all Management and Provisioning systems are included
in the summary.) This can be done either individually through the System Details
page or for multiple systems at once through the System Set Manager interface.
Note that RHN sends these summaries only to verified email addresses. To disable
all messages, simply deselect this checkbox.

• RHN List Page Size — Maximum number of items that appear in a list on a single page. If more
items are in the list, clicking the Next button displays the next group of items. This preference
applies to system lists, Errata lists, package lists, and so on.

• "Your RHN" Start Page — select the information areas that are displayed on the Your RHN Start
Page. Check the box to the left of the information area you would like to include.

After making changes to any of these options, click the Save Preferences button in the bottom right­hand corner.

Locale Preferences

67

6.3.3. Locale Preferences

The Your RHN � Locale Preferences page allows each user to tailor their RHN interface to the local
time and their preferred language. Select the appropriate timezone from the Time Zone dropdown
box, then click the Save Preferences button to apply the selection.

When the language preference is set to Use Browser Settings, RHN uses the language preference
from the user's browser (such as Firefox) to determine which language to use for the web interface.
When one of the listed languages is selected, the user sees the web interface in that language
each time they log in, regardless of their browser's settings. Choosing a preferred language may be
helpful for users traveling abroad. To select a default language, click the radio button to the left of the
appropriate language and click the Save Preferences button to apply the change.

6.3.4. Subscription Management

To use all of the features of RHN, your systems must be entitled — subscribed to an RHN service
level. Use the System Entitlements page to configure which systems are entitled to which service
offerings. There are six primary types of entitlements:

• Update — manages a single Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. It includes Errata Alerts, Scheduled
Errata Updates, Package Installation, and the Red Hat Update Agent.

• Management — manages multiple systems with multiple system administrators. In addition to the
features of the Update offering, it includes system group management, user management, and the
System Set Manager interface to quickly perform actions on multiple systems.

• Provisioning — offers the highest level of functionality. It should be used to provision multiple
systems that will need to be re-installed and reconfigured regularly. The Provisioning offering
provides tools for kickstarting machines, managing their configuration files, conducting snapshot
rollbacks, and inputting searchable custom system information, as well as all of the functionality
included in the Management service level.

• Monitoring — monitors the health of multiple systems. The Monitoring offering provides probes
that watch system metrics and notify Administrators when changes occur. Such notifications alert
Administrators to system performance degradation before it becomes critical.

• Virtualization — applies to virtual host systems. Virtual hosts with this entitlement may register as
many as four guest systems without violating RHN's Service Level Agreement. Guest systems may
be subscribed to any channel with the virtualization-free channel group label without consuming
channel entitlements. Subscribing a guest to any channel that does not belong to virtualization-
free, such as a Directory Server or RHN Satellite channel, consumes an additional channel
entitlement.

• Virtualization Platform — also applies to virtual host systems. Host systems to which this
entitlement apply may register an unlimited number of virtual guests without invalidating your
Service Level Agreement. Guests of a host with this entitlement may subscribe to any channel
that has the virtualization-platform-free content group label without consuming any channel
entitlements. Subscribing a guest to any channel that does not belong to virtualization-platform-
free, such as a Directory Server or RHN Satellite channel, consumes an additional channel
entitlement.

Chapter 6. Red Hat Network Website

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Tip

The two virtualization entitlements specifically apply to host systems.

Guest systems that exist on unregistered hosts are treated the same as any physical
system — each guest consumes a channel and a system entitlement.

6.3.4.1. System Entitlements

The System Entitlements page allows you to view, add, and remove the entitlements for your
registered systems. Red Hat Network 4.0 allows you to apply and remove entitlements at will, allowing
you to adjust your Red Hat Network infrastructure as your organization grows and changes.

To enable the base entitlement, select the checkbox to the left of the system, then click the Set to
Management Entitled button. For add-on entitlements, select the system's checkbox, followed by the
desired entitlement from the drop-down box, and finally press the Add Entitlement button.

If clicking on an entitlement fails to update the information in the table, you may need to purchase
additional entitlements. Check the number of available subscriptions, listed in bold below the table.
Non-RHN Satellite Server customers may purchase more entitlements; click the Buy Now link at the
left of the page to do so.

When an entitlement expires, the last system entitled to the same service level (such as Management)
will be unentitled. For instance, if you have 10 Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS systems entitled to
Management and either one of the RHN entitlements or one of the operating system subscriptions
expire, the last system subscribed or entitled will have their subscription or entitlement removed.

6.3.4.2. Virtualization Entitlements

This page only appears if you have applied Virtualization or Virtualization Platform entitlements. It
allows you to quickly assess whether you have used these entitlements in the most effective manner.

The first table on this page displays any Virtualization-entitled hosts that have more guest systems
than are allowed in the Red Hat Network service level agreement. If you would like to upgrade these
systems to any available Virtualization Platform entitlements, click the profile name of that system.
This displays the System Details page for the system. Click the Edit Properties link on the page to
edit that system's add-on entitlements.

The second table displays any Virtualization Platform-entitled hosts that have fewer than four guests. It
may be advisable to to downgrade these systems' entitlements to the Virtualization entitlement. To do
so, click the profile name of the system you would like to downgrade, then edit the add-on entitlements
from the resulting System Details page.

6.3.4.3. Software Channel Entitlements

The software channels listed on this page are the subscription-based channels to which your
organization has paid access. The table lists each of the supported operating systems that can
be managed via RHN, the number of such systems you have registered with RHN, and finally the
remaining number of entitlements for that operating system. Clicking on the name of the channel
opens a page that displays information about the channels associated with that channel entitlement.
Clicking on the number of entitled systems displays a list of the systems so entitled.

Systems

69

6.4. Systems

If you click the Systems tab on the top navigation bar, the Systems category and links appear. The
pages in the Systems category allow you to select systems so that you can perform actions on them
and create System Profiles.

6.4.1. Overview —

The Overview page provides a summary of your systems, including their status, number of associated
Errata and packages, and entitlement level. Clicking on the name of a system takes you to its System
Details page. Refer to Section 6.4.2.9, “System Details” for more information.

Clicking the View System Groups link at the top of the Overview page takes you to a
similar summary of your system groups. It identifies group status and displays the number
of systems contained. Clicking on the number of systems takes you to the Systems
tab of the System Group Details page, while clicking on the system name takes you
to the Details tab for that system. Refer to Section 6.4.3.3, “System Group Details —

”

for more information.

You can also click the Use Group button in the System Groups section of the Overview page
to go directly to the System Set Manager. Refer to Section 6.4.4, “System Set Manager —

”

for more information.

6.4.2. Systems

The Systems page displays a list of all of your registered systems. The Systems list contains several
columns of information for each system:

• Select — Update or unentitled systems cannot be selected. To select systems,
mark the appropriate checkboxes. Selected systems are added to the System Set
Manager. After adding systems to the System Set Manager, you can use it to perform
actions on them simultaneously. Refer to Section 6.4.4, “System Set Manager —

” for details.

• Status — Shows which type of Errata Alerts are applicable to the system or confirms that it is up-to­date. Some icons are linked to pages providing resolution. For instance, the standard Updates icon
is linked to the Upgrade subtab of the packages list, while the Critical Updates icon links directly to
the Update Confirmation page. Also, the Not Checking In icon is linked to instructions for resolving
the issue.

•

— System is up-to-date

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•

— Critical Errata available, update strongly recommended

•

— Updates available and recommended

•

— System is locked; Actions prohibited

•

— System is being kickstarted

•

— Updates have been scheduled

•

— System not checking in properly (for 24 hours or more)

•

— System not entitled to any update service

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

• Packages — 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, imagine a client
system that has an early version of a package installed. If this client is then subscribed to the
appropriate base channel of RHN (such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4), that channel may have an
updated version of the package. If so, the package appears in the list of available package updates.

Important

If the RHN website identifies package updates for the system, yet the Red Hat
Update Agent responds with "Your system is fully updated" when run, a conflict

likely exists in the system's package profile or in the up2date configuration
file. To resolve the conflict, either schedule a package list update or remove the
packages from the Package Exceptions list for the Red Hat Update Agent. Refer to

Section 6.4.2.9, “System Details” or Section 2.4.1.3, “Package Exceptions Settings”,

respectively, for instructions.

• System — The name of the system as configured when registering it. 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 6.4.2.9, “System Details” for more information.

• Base Channel — The primary channel for the system, based upon its operating system distribution.
Refer to Section 6.6.1, “Software Channels” for more information.

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• Entitlement — Whether or not the system is entitled and at what service level.

Links in the left navigation bar below Systems enable you to select and view predefined sets of your
systems. All of the options described above can be applied within these pages.

6.4.2.1. All

The All page contains the default set of your systems. It displays every system you have permission to
manage. A user has permission to manage a system if he is the only user in his organization, if he is
an Satellite Administrator, or if the system is a member of a group to which he has admin rights.

6.4.2.2. Virtual Systems

To reach this page, select the Systems tab, followed by the Systems subtab from the left navigation
bar, and finally select Virtual Systems from the left navigation bar. This page lists each virtual host of
which the RHN Satellite Server is aware and the guest systems on those hosts.

System

This column displays the name of each guest system.

Updates

This column indicates whether the guest systems have any errata that have not yet been applied
to them.

Status

This column indicates whether a guest is running, paused, or stopped.

Base Channel

This column indicates the base channel to which the guest is currently subscribed.

Only those guests that are registered with RHN are displayed in blue text. Clicking on the hostname of
such a guest system displays that system's System Details page.

6.4.2.3. Out of Date

The Out of Date page displays the systems that have applicable Errata Alerts that have not been
applied.

6.4.2.4. Unentitled —

The Unentitled page displays the systems that have not yet been entitled for Red Hat Network
service.

6.4.2.5. Ungrouped

The Ungrouped page displays the systems that have not yet been assigned to a specific system
group.

6.4.2.6. Inactive

The Inactive page displays the systems that have not checked into RHN for 24 hours or more. When
the Red Hat Update Agent connects to RHN to see if there are any updates available or if any actions

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have been scheduled, this is considered a check-in. If you are seeing a message indicating checkins
are not taking place, the RHN client on your system is not successfully reaching Red Hat Network for
some reason. This indicates:

• 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. Refer to

Chapter 3, Red Hat Network Daemon for instructions on restarting and troubleshooting.

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

• The system is behind an HTTP proxy server that has not been properly configured.

• The system is connected to an RHN Proxy Server or RHN Satellite Server that has not been
properly configured.

• The system itself has not been properly configured, perhaps pointing at the wrong RHN Server.

• The system is not on the network.

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

6.4.2.7. Recently Registered

The Recently Registered page displays any new systems that have been registered in a given period
of time. Use the drop-down menu to specify new systems registered in days, weeks, 30- and 180-day
increments, and yearly.

6.4.2.8. Proxy

The Proxy page displays the RHN Proxy Server systems registered to your RHN account.

6.4.2.9. System Details

Click on the name of a system on any page and RHN displays the System Details page for that client.
From here, you may modify the displayed information or remove the system altogether by clicking the

delete system link on the top-right corner.

Note

The delete system link in the upper right of this screen refers to the system profile
only. Deleting a host system profile will not destroy or remove the registration of guest
systems. Deleting a guest system profile does not remove it from the list of guests for
its host, nor does it stop or pause the guest. It does, however, remove your ability to
manage it via RHN.

If you mistakenly delete a system profile from RHN, you may re-register the system.

The System Details page is further divided into the following tabs:

• Details

• Software

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• Configuration

• Provisioning —

• Monitoring —

• Groups

• Events

The following sections discuss these tabs and their sub-tabs in detail.

6.4.2.9.1. System Details � Details

This page is not accessible from any of the standard navigation bars. However, clicking on the name
of a system anywhere in the web interface brings you to this page. The default tab displayed on
this page is the Details � Overview subtab. Other tabs are available, depending on the current
entitlement level of the system.

6.4.2.9.1.1. System Details � Details � Overview

This system summary page displays the system status message and the following key information
about the system:

System Info

System Status Message

This message indicates the current state of your system in relation to RHN.

Note

If updates are available for any entitled system, the message Critical updates
available appears. To apply these updates, click the update now link.

system ID

A unique identifier generated each time a system registers with RHN.

Note

The system ID can be used to eliminate duplicate profiles from RHN. Compare the
system ID listed on this page with the information stored on the client system in
the /etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid file. In that file, the system's current ID
is listed under "system_id". The value starts after the characters "ID-" If the value
stored in the file does not match the value listed in the profile, the profile is not the
most recent one and may be removed.

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Hostname

The hostname as defined by the client system. This information is often found in /etc/hostname
for Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems.

IP Address

The IP address of the client.

Kernel

The kernel that is installed and operating on the client system.

Registered

The date and time at which the system registered with RHN and created this profile.

Checked In

The date and time at which the system last checked in with RHN.

Last Booted

The date and time at which the system was last started or restarted.

Note

Systems with a Management entitlement can be rebooted from this screen.

• Select Schedule system reboot

• Provide the earliest date and time at which the reboot may take place.

• Click the Schedule Reboot button in the lower right.

When the client checks in after the scheduled start time, RHN will instruct the
system to restart itself.

Locked

Indicates whether a system has been locked.

Actions cannot be scheduled for locked systems through the web interface until the lock is
removed manually. This does not include preventing auto-errata updates scheduled through the
web interface. To prevent the application of auto-errata updates, de-select Auto Errata Update
from the System Details � Details � Properties subtab.

Locking a system can help to prevent you from accidentally making any changes to a system until
you are ready to do so. For example, the system may be a production system that you do not wish
to receive updates or new packages until you decide to unlock it.

Important

Locking a system in the web interface will not prevent any actions that originate
from the client system. For example, if a user logs into the client directly and runs
up2date, up2date will install available errata whether or not the system is locked
in the web interface.

Further, locking a system does not restrict the number of users who can
access the system via the web interface. If you wish to restrict access to

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the system, associate that system with a System Group and assign it a
System Group Administrator. Refer to Section 6.4.3, “System Groups —

” for more information about System Groups.

It is also possible to lock multiple systems via the System Set Manager.
Refer to Section 6.4.4.12.4, “System Set Manager � Misc � Lock Systems —

” to learn how to do so.

— OSA status is also displayed for client systems registered to a Satellite that have a Provisioning
entitlement and have enabled OSA.

Push enables Satellite customers to immediately initiate tasks on Provisioning-entitled system rather
than wait for those systems to check in with RHN. Scheduling actions through push is identical to the
process of scheduling any other action, except that the task begins immediately instead of waiting the
set interval.

In addition to the configuration of the Satellite, each client system to receive pushed actions must have
the osad package installed and its service started. Refer to the Enabling Push to Clients section of the
RHN Satellite Server 5.1.1 Installation Guide for details.

Subscribed Channels

Base Channel

The first line indicates the base channel to which this client is subscribed. The base channel
should match the operating system of the system.

Child Channels

The subsequent lines of text, which depend from the base channel, are child channels. Examples
are the Red Hat Network Tools channel and the RHEL AS Extras channel.

Note

The final link under Subscribed Channels is the Alter Channel subscriptions link.
Click on this link to select from the available base and child channels for this system.
When finished making selections, click the Change Subscriptions button to confirm
the changes.

System Properties

Profile Name

This editable name for the system profile is set to the system's hostname by default. It serves to
distinguish this system profile from others.

Entitlement

The base entitlement currently applied to this system.

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Notifications

Indicates the the notification options for this system. You can choose whether you wish to receive
email notifying you of available errata updates for this system. In addition, you may choose to
include Management-entitled systems in the daily summary email.

Auto Errata Update

Indicates whether this system is configured to accept updates automatically.

Description

This information is automatically generated at registration. You can edit this to include any
information you wish.

Location

If entered, this field displays the physical address of the system.

The final link on the page is Edit these properties. Clicking this link opens the System Details �
Properties subtab. On this page, edit any text you choose, then click the Update Properties button to
confirm.

6.4.2.9.1.2. System Details � Details � Properties

This subtab allows you to alter the following basic properties of your system:

Profile Name

By default, this is the hostname of the system. You can however alter the profile name to anything
that allows you to distinguish this profile from others.

Base Entitlement

Select a base channel for the system from the available base entitlements.

Add-on entitlements

If available, apply a Monitoring or Provisioning entitlement to the system.

Notifications

Toggle whether notifications about this system are sent and whether this system is included in
the daily summary. (By default, all Management and Provisioning systems are included in the
summary.) This setting keeps you abreast of all advisories pertaining to the system. Anytime an
update is produced and released for the system, a notification is sent via email.

The daily summary reports system events that affect packages, such as scheduled Errata
Updates, system reboots, or failures to check in. In addition to including the system here, you must
choose to receive email notification sin the Your Preferences page of the Your RHN category.

Auto-errata update

If this box is checked, available errata are automatically applied to the system when it checks in.
This action takes place without user intervention. Customers should note that Red Hat does not
recommend the use of the auto-update feature for production systems because conflicts between
packages and environments can cause system failures. The Red Hat Network Daemon must be
enabled on the system for this feature to work.

Description

By default, this text box records the operating system, release, and architecture of the system
when it first registers. You may edit this information to include anything you like.

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The remaining fields record the physical address at which the system is stored. To confirm any
changes to these fields, click the Update Properties button.

Note

Many of these properties can be set for multiple systems at once through the
System Set Manager interface. Refer to Section 6.4.4, “System Set Manager —

” for details.

6.4.2.9.1.3. System Details � Details � Remote Command —

This subtab allows you to run a remote command on the system if the system possesses a
Provisioning entitlement. Before doing so, you must first configure the system to accept such
commands.

• First, subscribe the system to the RHN Tools channel and use up2date to install the rhncfg,

rhncfg-client, and rhncfg-actions packages.

up2date rhncfg rhncfg-client rhncfg-actions

• Log into the system as root and add the following file to the local RHN configuration directory:
allowed-actions/scripts/run.

• Create the necessary directory on the target system:

mkdir -p /etc/sysconfig/rhn/allowed-actions/script

• Create an empty run file in that directory to act as a flag to RHN signaling permission to allow

remote commands:

touch /etc/sysconfig/rhn/allowed-actions/script/run

Once the setup is complete, refresh the page in order to view the text fields for remote commands.
You may then identify a specific user, group, and timeout period, as well as the script itself on
this page. Select a date and time to begin attempting the command, and click Schedule Remote

Command.

6.4.2.9.1.4. System Details � Details � Reactivation —

An activation key specific to this System Profile. Reactivation keys, available only for systems that
have a Provisioning entitlement, include this system's ID, history, groups, and channels. This key can
then be used only once with the rhnreg_ks command line utility to re-register this system and regain
all Red Hat Network settings. Refer to Section 2.5, “Registering with Activation Keys” for instructions.

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Unlike typical activation keys, which are not associated with a specific system ID, keys created here
do not show up within the Activation Keys page.

Warning

When kickstarting a system with its existing RHN profile, the kickstart profile uses the
system-specific activation key created here to re-register the system and return its
other RHN settings. For this reason, you should not regenerate, delete, or use this key
(with rhnreg_ks) while a profile-based kickstart is in progress. If you do, the kickstart
will fail.

6.4.2.9.1.5. System Details � Details � Hardware

This subtab provides detailed information about the system, including networking, BIOS, storage,
and other devices. This appears only if you selected to include the hardware profile for this machine
during registration. If the hardware profile looks incomplete or outdated, click the Schedule Hardware
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.

6.4.2.9.1.6. System Details � Details � Notes

This subtab provides a place to create notes about the system. To add a new note, click the create
new note link, type a subject and details, and click the Create button. To modify a note, click on its

subject in the list of notes, make your changes, and click the Update button. To remove a note, click
on its subject in the list of notes and then click the delete note link.

6.4.2.9.1.7. System Details � Details � Custom Info —

This subtab, available for systems with a Provisioning entitlement, provides completely
customizable information about the system. Unlike Notes, Custom Info is structured, formalized,
and can be searched upon. Before you can provide custom information about a system,
you must first have Custom Information Keys. This is done via the Custom System Info
page, available from the left navigation bar. Refer to Section 6.4.8, “Custom System Info —

”

for instructions.

Once you have created one or more Keys, you may assign a value for this system by select the create
new value link. Click the name of the key in the resulting list and enter a value for it in the Description
field, then click the Update Key button.

6.4.2.9.1.8. System Details � Details � Proxy

Activates an RHN Proxy Server. This tab is only available for Provisioning-entitled systems. Select
a version of RHN Proxy Server and click the Activate Proxy button to begin the installation and
activation process. For detailed information, refer to the RHN Proxy Server Guide and the Client
Configuration Guide.

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6.4.2.9.1.9. System Details � Details � Satellite

Displays the certificate of an active Red Hat Network. You can deactivate an old certificate here and
upload a new one if necessary. This tab requires a Provisioning entitlement. For detailed information
on activating a Satellite, refer to the RHN Satellite Installation Guide.

6.4.2.9.2. System Details � Software

This tab and its accompanying subtabs allow you to manage the software of the system: errata,
packages and package profiles, and software channel memberships.

6.4.2.9.2.1. System Details � Software � Errata

This subtab contains a list of Errata Alerts applicable to the system. Refer to Section 6.1.3, “Errata

Alert Icons” for meanings of the icons on this tab. To apply updates, select them and click the Apply

Errata button. Double-check the updates to be applied on the confirmation page, then click the
Confirm button. After confirming, the action is added to the Pending Actions list under Schedule.

Errata that have been scheduled cannot be selected for update. In the place of a checkbox is a clock
icon that, when clicked, takes you to the Action Details page.

To help users determine whether an update has been scheduled, a Status column exists within
the Errata table. Possible values are: None, Pending, Picked Up, Completed, and Failed. This
column identifies only the latest action related to an Erratum. For instance, if an action fails and you
reschedule it, this column shows the status of the Erratum as Pending only (with no mention of the
previous failure). Clicking a status other than None takes you to the Action Details page. This column
corresponds to the one on the Affected Systems tab of the Errata Details page.

6.4.2.9.2.2. System Details � Software � Packages

This subtab allows you to manage the packages on the system.

— When selecting packages to install, upgrade, or remove, Provisioning customers
have the option of running a remote command automatically before or after the package
installation. Refer to Section 6.4.2.9.1.3, “System Details � Details � Remote Command —

”

for more information.

Packages

The default display of the Packages tab describes the options available to you and provides the
means to update your package list. To update or complete a potentially outdated list, possibly
due to the manual installation of packages, click the Update Package List button on the bottom
right-hand corner of this page. The next time the RHN Daemon connects to RHN, it updates your
System Profile with the latest list of installed packages.

List/Remove

Lists installed packages from the system's software System Profile and enables you to remove
them. Click on a package name to view its Package Details page. To delete packages from the
system, select their checkboxes and click the Remove Packages button on the bottom right­hand corner of the page. A confirmation page appears with the packages listed. Click the Confirm
button to remove the packages.

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Upgrade

Displays a list of packages that have a new version available based on the package versions in
the channels for the system. Click on the latest package name to view its Package Details page.
To upgrade packages immediately, select them and click the Upgrade Packages button. To
download the packages as a .tar file, select them and click the Download Packages button.

Install

Enables you to install new packages on the system from the available channels. Click on the
package name to view its Package Details page. To install packages, select them and click the
Install Selected Packages button.

Verify

Validates the packages installed on the system against its RPM database. This is the equivalent
of running rpm -V. Specifically, this tab allows you to compare the metadata of the system's
packages with information from the database, such as MD5 sum, file size, permissions, owner,
group and type. To verify a package or packages, select them, click the Verify Selected
Packages button, and confirm this action. Once finished, you can view the results by selecting this
action within the History subtab under Events.

Profiles

Gives you the ability to compare the packages on this system with the packages of stored profiles
and other Management and Provisioning systems. To make the comparison with a stored profile,
select that profile from the pulldown menu and click the Compare button. To make the comparison
with another system, select it from the associated pulldown menu and click the Compare button.
To create a stored profile based upon the existing system, click the Create System Profile button,
enter any additional information you desire, and click the Create Profile button. These profiles are
kept within the Stored Profiles page linked from the left navigation bar.

— Once package profiles have been compared, Provisioning customers have the ability to
synchronize the packages of the selected system with the package manifest of the compared
profile. Note that this action may delete packages on the system not in the profile, as well as
install packages from the profile. To install specific packages, select the checkboxes of packages
from the profile. To remove specific packages already installed on the system itself, select the
checkboxes of packages showing a difference of This system only. To synchronize fully the
system's packages with the compared profile, select the master checkbox at the top of the column.
Then click the Sync Packages to button. On the confirmation screen, review the changes, select
a time frame for the action, and click the Schedule Sync button.

6.4.2.9.2.3. System Details � Software � Software Channels

Software channels provide a well-defined method to determine which packages should be available
to a system for installation or upgrade based upon its operating systems, packages, and functionality.
Click a channel name to view its Channel Details page. To modify the child channels associated
with this system, use the checkboxes next to the channels and click the Change Subscriptions
button. You will receive a success message or be notified of any errors. To change the system's base
channel, select the new one from the pulldown menu and click the Modify Base Channel button.
Refer to Section 6.6.1, “Software Channels” for more information.

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6.4.2.9.3. System Details � Configuration —

This tab and its subtabs, which do not appear without a Provisioning entitlement, assist in managing
the configuration files associated with the system. These configuration files may be managed solely
for the current system, or may be distributed widely via a Configuration Channel. The following section
describe these and other available options on the System Details � Configuration subtabs.

Note

To manage the configuration of a system, it must have the latest rhncfg* packages
installed. Refer to Section 6.7.1, “Preparing Systems for Config Management” for
instructions on enabling and disabling scheduled actions for a system.

This section is available to normal users with access to systems that have configuration management
enabled. Like software channels, configuration channels store files to be installed on systems. While
software updates are provided by RHN, configuration files are managed solely by you. Also unlike
software packages, various versions of configuration files may prove useful to a system at any given
time. Remember, only the latest version can be deployed.

6.4.2.9.3.1. System Details � Configuration � Overview

This subtab provides access to the configuration statistics of your system and to the most common
tasks used to manage configuration files. You may change the settings listed under Configuration
Stats by clicking on the blue text for that setting. Alternatively, you may perform any of the common
configuration management tasks listed on the right of the screen by clicking one of the links.

6.4.2.9.3.2. System Details � Configuration � Managed Files

This subtab lists all configuration files currently associated with the system.

Filename

This column shows both the name and the deployment path for this file.

Revision

This column increments any time you make a change to the managed file.

From Config Channel

This column indicates the name of the channel that contains the file, or displays (system
override) for files available to this system only.

Overrides

If this configuration file overrides another, the overridden file is listed in this column along with its
host channel.

If you wish to deploy any of these files to the client system, overwriting any changes that have been
made locally, check the box to the left of the file and click the Deploy Configuration button. On the
following screen, choose a deployment time and click the Schedule Deploy button to confirm.

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Note

If you click on the Filename of a (system override) file, you can edit its contents.

The Overrides column identifies the config file from which channel will apply if the system is
unsubscribed from the config channel that provides the file now. For instance, if a system has '/etc/
foo' from channel 'bar' and '/etc/foo' from channel 'baz' is in the Overrides column, then unsubscribing
from channel 'bar' will mean that the file from channel 'baz' will be applicable. Also, if nothing is in the
'Overrides' column for a given file path, then unsubscribing from the channel providing the file will
mean that the file is no longer managed (though it will not remove the file from the system).

6.4.2.9.3.3. System Details � Configuration � Compare Files

This subtab compares a configuration file as stored on the Satellite with the file as it exists on the
client. (It does not, for example, compare versions of the same file stored in different channels.) Select
the files to be diffed, click the Compare Files button, select a time to perform the diff, and click the
Schedule Compare button to confirm. After the diff has been performed, you may return to this page
to view the results.

6.4.2.9.3.4. System Details � Configuration � Manage Configuration Channels

This subtab allows you to subscribe to and rank configuration channels that may be associated with
the system, lowest first.

The List/Unsubscribe from Channels subtab contains a list of the system's configuration channel
subscriptions. Click the checkbox next to the Channel and click Unsubscribe to remove the
subscription to the channel.

The Subscribe to Channels subtab lists all available configuration channels. To subscribe to
a channel, select the checkbox next to it and press Continue. To subscribe to all configuration
channels, click Select All and press Continue. The View/Modify Rankings page automatically loads.

The View/Modify Rankings subtab allows users rank the priority in which files from a particular
configuration channel are weighted. The higher the channel is on the list, the more its files take
precedence over files on lower-ranked channels (for example, the higher-ranked channel may have an
httpd.conf file that will take precedence over the file on lower-ranked channel)

6.4.2.9.3.5. System Details � Configuration � Local Overrides

This subtab displays the default configuration files for the system and allows you to manage them.
If no files exist, you may use the add files, upload files, and add directories links within the
page description to associate files with this system. These tabs correspond to those within the
Configuration Channel Details page, affecting your entire organization and available only to
Configuration Administrators. Refer to Section 6.7.3.1, “Configuration � Configuration Channels �

Configuration Channel Details” for more information.

If a file exists, click its name to go to the Configuration File Details page. Refer to Section 6.7.4,

“Configuration Files” for instructions. To replicate the file within a config channel, select its checkbox,

click the Copy to Config Channel button, and select the destination channel. To remove a file, select
it and click Delete Selected Files.

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6.4.2.9.3.6. System Details � Configuration � Sandbox

This subtab allows you to manipulate configuration files without deploying them. This sandbox
provides you with an area in which to experiment with files without affecting your systems. To add
files, click the import new files link, enter the path to the file on you local system, and click the Add
button. Select the Import Files button to confirm.

6.4.2.9.4. System Details � Provisioning —

This tab and its subtabs allow you to schedule and monitor kickstarts and to return your system to a
previous state. Kickstart is a Red Hat utility that allows you to automate the reinstallation of a system.
Snapshots keep a record of every change to a Provisioning system and allow you to "undo" those
changes at will. Both features are described in the sections that follow.

6.4.2.9.4.1. System Details � Provisioning � Kickstart —

This subtab is further divided into Session Status, which tracks the progress of previously scheduled
kickstarts, and Schedule, which allows you to configure and schedule a kickstart for this system.

Schedule

This subtab allows you to schedule the selected system for kickstart. Choose from the list
of available kickstart profiles, select a time for the kickstart to begin, and click the Schedule
Kickstart and Finish button to begin the kickstart. You may first alter kickstart settings by clicking
the Advanced Configuration button.

Note

You must first create a kickstart profile before it appears on this subtab. If you have
not created any profiles, refer to Section 6.4.9.3, “Create a New Kickstart Profile”
before scheduling a kickstart for a system.

Session Status

If you have scheduled a kickstart, this subtab shows the progress of the kickstart. The provided
details include the kickstart profile used, its state, the next action and the number of requested
packages. Kickstarts that do not complete within approximately two hours are marked Kickstart
Failed. The page refreshes itself periodically, or you can force a refresh using your browser's
controls.

6.4.2.9.4.2. System Details � Provisioning � Snapshots —

Snapshots enable you to roll back the system's package profile, configuration files, and RHN settings.
Snapshots are captured whenever an action takes place on a Provisioning-entitled system. The
Snapshots subtab lists all snapshots for the system , including the reason the snapshot was taken,
the time it was taken, and the number of tags applied to each snapshot. To revert to a previous
configuration, click the Reason of the snapshot taken and review the potential changes on the
provided subtabs, starting with Rollback.

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Each subtab provides the specific changes that will be made to the system during the rollback:

• group memberships

• channel subscriptions

• installed packages

• configuration channel subscriptions

• configuration files

• snapshot tags

When satisfied with the reversion, return to the Rollback subtab and click the Rollback to Snapshot
button. To see the list again, click Return to snapshot list.

6.4.2.9.4.3. System Details � Provisioning � Snapshot Tags —

Provides a means to add meaningful descriptions to your most recent system snapshot. This can
be used to indicate milestones, such as a known working configuration or a successful upgrade.
To tag the most recent snapshot, click create new system tag, enter a descriptive term in the Tag
name field, and click the Tag Current Snapshot button. You may then revert using this tag directly
by clicking its name in the Snapshot Tags list. To delete tags, select their checkboxes, click Remove

Tags, and confirm the action.

6.4.2.9.5. System Details � Virtualization

This is tab allows you to create a new virtual guest on a host system or allows you to change the
status of virtual guests.

The Virtualization tab has two subtabs, Details and Kickstart. These tabs appear the same for both
virtual hosts and guests, but the functionality only makes sense for virtual hosts. It is not possible to
create a guest system that runs on another guest system.

6.4.2.9.5.1. System Details � Virtualization � Details

Details is the default tab. For host systems, it presents a table of the host system's virtual guests. For

each guest system, the following information is provided:

Status

This field indicates whether the virtual system is running, paused, stopped, or has crashed.

Updates

This field indicates whether errata applicable to the guest have yet to be applied.

Base Software Channel

This field indicates the Base Channel to which the guest is subscribed.

Systems

85

Tip

If a guest system has not registered to the Satellite, this information appears as plain
text in the table.

If you have System Group Administrator responsibilities assigned for your guest systems, it is possible
that a user could see the message You do not have permission to access this system within the
table. This is because it is possible to assign virtual guests on a single host to multiple System Group
Administrators. Only users that have System Group Administrator privileges on the host system may
create new virtual guests.

6.4.2.9.5.2. System Details � Monitoring —

This tab is only visible for systems registered to a RHN Satellite Server with Monitoring enabled
and that are Monitoring entitled. It displays all of the probes monitoring the system. The State
column shows icons representing the status of each probe. Refer to Section 6.10, “Monitoring —

”

for descriptions of these states. Clicking the Probe Description takes you to its Current State page.
The Status String column displays the last message received from the probe.

To add a probe to the system, click the create new probe link at the top-right corner of the page and
complete the fields on the following page. Refer to Section 7.5.1, “Managing Probes” for detailed
instructions.

Once the probe has been added, you must reconfigure your Monitoring
infrastructure to recognize it. Refer to Section 6.10.4, “Scout Config Push —

” for details. After the probe has run, its results become available on

the Current State page. Refer to Section 6.10.1.7, “Current State —

”

for details.

To remove a probe from a system, click on the name of the probe, then click the delete probe link in
the upper right corner. Finally, click the Delete Probe button to complete the process.

6.4.2.9.5.3. System Details � Groups —

This tab and its subtabs allow you to manage the system's group memberships.

6.4.2.9.5.3.1. System Details � Groups � List/Leave —

This subtab lists groups to which the system belongs and enables you to cancel those
associations. Only System Group Administrators and Satellite Administrators can

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remove the system from groups. Non-admins just see a Review this system's group
membership page. To remove the system from groups, select the groups' checkboxes
and click the Leave Selected Groups button. Click on a group's name to go to its
System Group Details page. Refer to Section 6.4.3.3, “System Group Details —

”

for more information.

6.4.2.9.5.3.2. System Details � Groups � Join —

Lists groups that the system may be subscribed to. Only System Group Administrators and Satellite
Administrators can add the system to groups. Non-admins see a Review this system's group

membership page. To add the system to groups, select the groups' checkboxes and click the Join
Selected Groups button.

6.4.2.9.5.4. System Details � Events

Displays past, current, and scheduled actions on the system. You may cancel pending events here.
The following sections describe the Events sub-tabs and the features they offer.

6.4.2.9.5.4.1. System Details � Events � Pending

Lists events that are scheduled but have not begun. A prerequisite action must complete successfully
before a given action is attempted. If an action has a prerequisite, no checkbox is available to cancel
that action. Instead, a checkbox appears next to the prerequisite action; canceling the prerequisite
action causes the action in question to fail.

Actions can be chained in this manner so that action 'a' requires action 'b' which requires action 'c'.
Action 'c' is the first one attempted and has a checkbox next to it until it is completed successfully - if
any action in the chain fails, the remaining actions also fail. To unschedule a pending event, select the
event and click the Cancel Events button at the bottom of the page. The following icons indicate the
type of events listed here:

•

— Package Event

•

— Errata Event

•

— Preferences Event

•

— System Event

System Groups —

87

6.4.2.9.5.4.2. System Details � Events � History

The default display of the Events tab lists the type and status of events that have failed, occurred or
are occurring. To view details of an event, click its summary in the System History list. To again view
the table, click Return to history list at the bottom of the page.

6.4.3. System Groups —

The System Groups page allows all RHN Management and Provisioning users to view the System
Groups list. Only System Group Administrators and Satellite Administrators may perform the following

additional tasks:

1. Create system groups. (Refer to Section 6.4.3.1, “Creating Groups”.)

2. Add systems to system groups. (Refer to Section 6.4.3.2, “Adding and Removing Systems in

Groups”.)

3. Remove systems from system groups. (Refer to Section 6.4.2.9, “System Details”.)

4. Assign system group permissions to users. (Refer to Section 6.9, “Users —

”.)

The System Groups list displays all of your system groups.

The System Groups list contains several columns for each group:

• Select — These checkboxes enable you to add systems in groups to the System Set Manager.
To select groups, mark the appropriate checkboxes and click the Update button below the
column. All systems in the selected groups are added to the System Set Manager. You can
then use the System Set Manager to perform actions on them simultaneously. It is possible
to select only those systems that are members of all of the selected groups, excluding those
systems that belong only to one or some of the selected groups. To do so, select them and
click the Work with Intersection button. To add all systems in all selected groups, select
them and click the Work with Union button. Each system will show up once, regardless of
the number of groups to which it belongs. Refer to Section 6.4.4, “System Set Manager —

” for details.

• Updates — Shows which type of Errata Alerts are applicable to the group or confirms
that it is up-to-date. Clicking on a group's status icon takes you to the Errata tab of
its System Group Details page. Refer to Section 6.4.3.3, “System Group Details —

” for more information.

The status icons call for differing degrees of attention:

•

— All systems within group are up-to-date

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•

— Critical Errata available, update strongly recommended

•

— Updates available and recommended

• Group Name — The name of the group as configured during its creation. The

name should be explicit enough to easily differentiate between it and other
groups. Clicking on the name of a group takes you to Details tab of its System
Group Details page. Refer to Section 6.4.3.3, “System Group Details —

” for more information.

• Systems — Total number of systems contained by the group. Clicking on
the number takes you to the Systems tab of the System Group Details
page for the group. Refer to Section 6.4.3.3, “System Group Details —

” for more information.

• Use in SSM — Clicking the Use Group button in this column loads the group from that row and
launches the System Set Manager immediately. Refer to Section 6.4.4, “System Set Manager —

” for more information.

6.4.3.1. Creating Groups

To add a new system group, click the create new group link at the top-right corner of the page. Type
a name and description and click the Create Group button. Make sure you use a name that clearly
sets this group apart from others. The new group will appear in the System Groups list.

6.4.3.2. Adding and Removing Systems in Groups

Systems can be added and removed from system groups in two places: the Target Systems tab of
the System Group Details page and the Groups tab of the System Details page. The process is
similar in both instances. Select the systems to be added or removed and click the Add Systems or

Remove Systems button.

6.4.3.3. System Group Details —

At the top of each System Group Details page are two links: work with group and
delete group. Clicking delete group deletes the System Group and should be used

with caution. Clicking Work with Group functions similarly to the Use Group button
from the System Groups list in that it loads the group's systems and launches the
System Set Manager immediately. Refer to Section 6.4.4, “System Set Manager —