Red Hat NETWORK 4.0.5 - Reference Manual

Copyright © 2005 Red Hat, Inc. Red Hat, Inc. 1801 Varsity Drive Raleigh NC 27606-2072 USA Phone: +1 919 754 3700 Phone: 888 733 4281 Fax: +1 919 754 3701 PO Box 13588 Research Triangle Park NC 27709 USA RHNref(EN)-4.0.5-RHI (2005-06-17T12:14) Copyright © 2005 by Red Hat, Inc. This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, V1.0 or later (the latest version is presently available at http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/). Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. Distribution of the work or derivative of the work in any standard (paper) book form for commercial purposes is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder. Red Hat and the Red Hat "Shadow Man" logo are registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. The GPG fingerprint of the [email protected] is: CA 20 86 86 2B D6 9D FC 65 F6 EC C4 21 91 80 CD DB 42 A6 0E

Introduction to the Guide.................................................................................................. i 1. Document Conventions........................................................................................ i 2. More to Come ......................................................................................................v 2.1. Send in Your Feedback .........................................................................v 1. Red Hat Network Overview ..........................................................................................1 1.1. Update...............................................................................................................2 1.2. Management......................................................................................................3 1.3. Provisioning ......................................................................................................3 1.4. Monitoring ........................................................................................................4 1.5. Errata Notifications and Scheduled Package Installations................................5 1.6. Security, Quality Assurance, and Red Hat Network.........................................5 1.7. Before You Begin..............................................................................................6 2. Red Hat Update Agent...................................................................................................9 2.1. Starting the Red Hat Update Agent................................................................9 2.2. Registration .....................................................................................................13 2.2.1. Registering a User Account .............................................................14 2.2.2. Activate ............................................................................................17 2.2.3. Channels...........................................................................................20 2.2.4. Packages Flagged to be Skipped......................................................22 2.2.5. Available Package Updates ..............................................................23 2.2.6. Retrieving Packages.........................................................................25 2.2.7. Installing Packages...........................................................................26 2.3. Command Line Version ..................................................................................28 2.3.1. Installing the Red Hat GPG key.......................................................31 2.3.2. Manual Package Installation ............................................................33 2.3.3. Synchronizing Your System Profile.................................................33 2.3.4. Log File............................................................................................34 2.4. Configuration ..................................................................................................34 2.4.1. Using the Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool.................34 2.4.2. Command Line Version ...................................................................38 2.5. Registering with Activation Keys ...................................................................39 3. Red Hat Network Daemon ..........................................................................................43 3.1. Configuring .....................................................................................................43 3.2. Viewing Status ................................................................................................43 3.3. Disabling .........................................................................................................44 3.4. Troubleshooting ..............................................................................................44 4. Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool ..................................................................45 4.1. Configuring the Applet ...................................................................................45 4.2. Notification Icons............................................................................................46 4.3. Viewing Updates.............................................................................................47 4.4. Applying Updates ...........................................................................................48 4.5. Launching the RHN Website ..........................................................................48

5.1. Configuring the Red Hat Network Registration Client...............................49 5.2. Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client .....................................51 5.3. Registering a User Account ............................................................................54 5.4. Registering a System Profile...........................................................................56 5.4.1. Hardware System Profile .................................................................56 5.4.2. Software System Profile...................................................................58 5.5. Finishing Registration .....................................................................................60 5.6. Entitling Your System.....................................................................................62 5.7. Text Mode RHN Registration Client ..............................................................63 6. Red Hat Network Website...........................................................................................65 6.1. Navigation.......................................................................................................65 6.1.1. Entitlement Views............................................................................66 6.1.2. Categories and Pages .......................................................................67 6.1.3. Errata Alert Icons.............................................................................69 6.1.4. Quick Search....................................................................................69 6.1.5. Systems Selected..............................................................................69 6.1.6. Lists..................................................................................................70 6.2. Logging into the RHN Website.......................................................................70 6.3. Your RHN .......................................................................................................71 6.3.1. Your Account ...................................................................................73 6.3.2. Your Preferences ..............................................................................74 6.3.3. Purchase History ..............................................................................75 6.4. Systems ...........................................................................................................75 6.4.1. Overview — .............................................................................75 6.4.2. Systems ............................................................................................76 6.4.3. System Groups — ....................................................................91 6.4.4. System Set Manager — ...........................................................95 6.4.5. System Entitlements ......................................................................102 6.4.6. Advanced Search — ..............................................................104 6.4.7. Activation Keys — .................................................................104 6.4.8. Stored Profiles — ...................................................................106 6.4.9. Custom System Info — ..........................................................106 6.4.10. Kickstart — ..........................................................................107 6.5. Errata.............................................................................................................116 6.5.1. Relevant Errata...............................................................................117 6.5.2. All Errata........................................................................................118 6.5.3. Advanced Search............................................................................120 6.6. Channels........................................................................................................120

6.6.2. Channel Entitlements .....................................................................125 6.6.3. Download Software........................................................................125 6.6.4. Package Search ..............................................................................126 6.6.5. Manage Software Channels ...........................................................126 6.6.6. Manage Config Channels — ..................................................128 6.7. Schedule........................................................................................................135 6.7.1. Pending Actions.............................................................................136 6.7.2. Failed Actions ................................................................................137 6.7.3. Completed Actions.........................................................................137 6.7.4. Archived Actions ...........................................................................137 6.7.5. Actions List....................................................................................137 6.8. Users — ................................................................................................139 6.8.1. User List ⇒Active — ...........................................................140 6.8.2. User List ⇒Disabled — .......................................................145 6.8.3. User List ⇒All — ................................................................145 6.9. Monitoring — .......................................................................................145 6.9.1. Probe Status — ......................................................................145 6.9.2. Notification — .......................................................................148 6.9.3. Probe Suites ...................................................................................150 6.9.4. Scout Config Push — .............................................................152 6.9.5. General Config — ..................................................................152 6.10. Satellite Tools..............................................................................................152 6.10.1. Satellite Tools ⇒Satellite Configuration ....................................153 6.10.2. Satellite Tools ⇒String Manager ...............................................154 6.11. Help.............................................................................................................154 6.11.1. Help Desk.....................................................................................154 6.11.2. Quick Start Guide ........................................................................154 6.11.3. FAQ..............................................................................................154 6.11.4. Migration FAQ.............................................................................154 6.11.5. Reference Guide...........................................................................155 6.11.6. Best Practices Guide ....................................................................155 6.11.7. Contact RHN................................................................................155 6.11.8. Satellite Installation Guide...........................................................155 6.11.9. Proxy Guide .................................................................................155 6.11.10. Client Configuration Guide........................................................155 6.11.11. Channel Management Guide......................................................156 6.11.12. Terms & Conditions ...................................................................156 6.11.13. Outage Policy.............................................................................156

6.11.15. Get RHN Software.....................................................................156 7. Monitoring..................................................................................................................157 7.1. Prerequisites..................................................................................................157 7.2. Red Hat Network Monitoring Daemon (rhnmd) ..........................................158 7.2.1. Probes requiring the daemon .........................................................158 7.2.2. Installing the Red Hat Network Monitoring Daemon....................159 7.2.3. Configuring SSH............................................................................159 7.2.4. Installing the SSH key ...................................................................160 7.3. mysql-server package ..............................................................................161 7.4. Notifications..................................................................................................161 7.4.1. Creating Notification Methods.......................................................161 7.4.2. Receiving Notifications..................................................................162 7.4.3. Redirecting Notifications ...............................................................163 7.4.4. Filtering Notifications ....................................................................164 7.4.5. Deleting Notification Methods.......................................................164 7.5. Probes............................................................................................................165 7.5.1. Managing Probes ...........................................................................165 7.5.2. Establishing Thresholds .................................................................166 7.5.3. Monitoring the RHN Server...........................................................166 7.6. Troubleshooting ............................................................................................167 7.6.1. Examining Probes with rhn-catalog .........................................167 7.6.2. Viewing the output of rhn-runprobe..........................................168 8. UNIX Support Guide.................................................................................................171 8.1. Introduction...................................................................................................171 8.1.1. Supported UNIX Variants ..............................................................171 8.1.2. Prerequisites...................................................................................171 8.1.3. Included Features ...........................................................................171 8.1.4. Differences in Functionality ..........................................................172 8.1.5. Excluded Features..........................................................................173 8.2. Satellite Server Preparation/Configuration ...................................................174 8.3. Client System Preparation.............................................................................175 8.3.1. Installing Additional Packages ......................................................176 8.3.2. Deploying Client SSL Certificates.................................................177 8.3.3. Configuring the clients...................................................................177 8.4. Registration and Updates ..............................................................................178 8.4.1. Registering Systems.......................................................................179 8.4.2. Obtaining Updates .........................................................................179 8.5. Remote Commands.......................................................................................181 8.5.1. Enabling Commands......................................................................182 8.5.2. Issuing Commands.........................................................................182

A.1. Red Hat Network Actions Control ...........................................................185 A.1.1. General command line options .....................................................185 A.2. Red Hat Network Configuration Client...................................................186 A.2.1. Listing Config Files.......................................................................186 A.2.2. Getting a Config File.....................................................................187 A.2.3. Viewing Config Channels .............................................................188 A.2.4. Differentiating between Config Files ............................................188 A.2.5. Verifying Config Files...................................................................189 A.3. Red Hat Network Configuration Manager..............................................189 A.3.1. Creating a Config Channel............................................................190 A.3.2. Adding Files to a Config Channel.................................................190 A.3.3. Differentiating between Latest Config Files .................................191 A.3.4. Differentiating between Various Versions.....................................192 A.3.5. Downloading All Files in a Channel.............................................193 A.3.6. Getting the Contents of a File .......................................................193 A.3.7. Listing All Files in a Channel .......................................................194 A.3.8. Listing All Config Channels .........................................................194 A.3.9. Removing a File from a Channel ..................................................195 A.3.10. Deleting a Config Channel..........................................................195 A.3.11. Determining the Number of File Revisions ................................195 A.3.12. Updating a File in a Channel.......................................................196 A.3.13. Uploading Multiple Files at Once...............................................197 B. RHN API Access........................................................................................................199 B.1. Using the auth Class and Getting the Session..............................................199 B.2. Obtaining the system_id...............................................................................199 B.3. Determining the sid......................................................................................200 B.4. Viewing the cid.............................................................................................200 B.5. Getting the sgid ............................................................................................200 B.6. 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 ............................................................................206 C.3. BEA WebLogic 6.x and higher ....................................................................207 C.3.1. BEA WebLogic::Execute Queue...................................................207 C.3.2. BEA WebLogic::Heap Free ..........................................................208 C.3.3. BEA WebLogic::JDBC Connection Pool .....................................209 C.3.4. BEA WebLogic::Server State........................................................210 C.3.5. BEA WebLogic::Servlet................................................................210 C.4. General .........................................................................................................211 C.4.1. General::Remote Program.............................................................211

C.4.3. General::SNMP Check..................................................................213 C.4.4. General::TCP Check .....................................................................213 C.4.5. General::UDP Check.....................................................................214 C.4.6. General::Uptime (SNMP) .............................................................215 C.5. Linux ............................................................................................................215 C.5.1. Linux::CPU Usage ........................................................................216 C.5.2. Linux::Disk IO Throughput ..........................................................216 C.5.3. Linux::Disk Usage.........................................................................217 C.5.4. Linux::Inodes ................................................................................218 C.5.5. Linux::Interface Traffic .................................................................218 C.5.6. Linux::Load...................................................................................219 C.5.7. Linux::Memory Usage ..................................................................219 C.5.8. Linux::Process Counts by State ....................................................220 C.5.9. Linux::Process Count Total...........................................................221 C.5.10. Linux::Process Health .................................................................221 C.5.11. Linux::Process Running ..............................................................223 C.5.12. Linux::Swap Usage .....................................................................223 C.5.13. Linux::TCP Connections by State...............................................224 C.5.14. Linux::Users................................................................................225 C.5.15. Linux::Virtual Memory ...............................................................226 C.6. LogAgent......................................................................................................226 C.6.1. LogAgent::Log Pattern Match ......................................................226 C.6.2. LogAgent::Log Size ......................................................................228 C.7. MySQL 3.23 - 3.33 ......................................................................................229 C.7.1. MySQL::Database Accessibility ...................................................229 C.7.2. MySQL::Opened Tables................................................................230 C.7.3. MySQL::Open Tables ...................................................................230 C.7.4. MySQL::Query Rate .....................................................................231 C.7.5. MySQL::Threads Running............................................................231 C.8. Network Services .........................................................................................232 C.8.1. Network Services::DNS Lookup...................................................232 C.8.2. Network Services::FTP .................................................................233 C.8.3. Network Services::IMAP Mail......................................................233 C.8.4. Network Services::Mail Transfer (SMTP)....................................234 C.8.5. Network Services::Ping.................................................................234 C.8.6. Network Services::POP Mail ........................................................235 C.8.7. Network Services::Remote Ping ...................................................236 C.8.8. Network Services::RPCService.....................................................237 C.8.9. Network Services::Secure Web Server (HTTPS)..........................238 C.8.10. Network Services::SSH...............................................................238 C.8.11. Network Services::Web Server (HTTP)......................................239 C.9. Oracle 8i and 9i ............................................................................................240 C.9.1. Oracle::Active Sessions.................................................................241 C.9.2. Oracle::Availability .......................................................................241 C.9.3. Oracle::Blocking Sessions.............................................................242

C.9.5. Oracle::Client Connectivity...........................................................243 C.9.6. Oracle::Data Dictionary Cache .....................................................244 C.9.7. Oracle::Disk Sort Ratio .................................................................244 C.9.8. Oracle::Idle Sessions.....................................................................245 C.9.9. Oracle::Index Extents....................................................................246 C.9.10. Oracle::Library Cache .................................................................246 C.9.11. Oracle::Locks ..............................................................................247 C.9.12. Oracle::Redo Log ........................................................................248 C.9.13. Oracle::Table Extents ..................................................................249 C.9.14. Oracle::Tablespace Usage ...........................................................250 C.9.15. Oracle::TNS Ping ........................................................................250 C.10. RHN Satellite Server..................................................................................251 C.10.1. RHN Satellite Server::Disk Space...............................................251 C.10.2. RHN Satellite Server::Execution Time .......................................252 C.10.3. RHN Satellite Server::Interface Traffic.......................................252 C.10.4. RHN Satellite Server::Latency ....................................................253 C.10.5. RHN Satellite Server::Load ........................................................253 C.10.6. RHN Satellite Server::Probe Count.............................................254 C.10.7. RHN Satellite Server::Process Counts ........................................254 C.10.8. RHN Satellite Server::Processes .................................................255 C.10.9. RHN Satellite Server::Process Health.........................................255 C.10.10. RHN Satellite Server::Process Running....................................256 C.10.11. RHN Satellite Server::Swap......................................................257 C.10.12. RHN Satellite Server::Users......................................................257 Glossary ..........................................................................................................................259 Index................................................................................................................................267

Welcome to the Red Hat Network 4.0.5 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. Document Conventions In this manual, certain words are represented in different fonts, typefaces, sizes, and weights. This highlighting is systematic; different words are represented in the same style to indicate their inclusion in a specific category. The types of words that are represented this way include the following: command Linux commands (and other operating system commands, when used) are represented this way. This style should indicate to you that you can type the word or phrase on

the command line and press [Enter] to invoke a command. Sometimes a command contains words that would be displayed in a different style on their own (such as file names). In these cases, they are considered to be part of the command, so the entire phrase is displayed as a command. For example: Use the cat testfile command to view the contents of a file, named testfile, in the current working directory. file name File names, directory names, paths, and RPM package names are represented this way. This style indicates that a particular file or directory exists with that name on your system. Examples: The .bashrc file in your home directory contains bash shell definitions and aliases for your own use. The /etc/fstab file contains information about different system devices and file systems. Install the webalizer RPM if you want to use a Web server log file analysis program. application This style indicates that the program is an end-user application (as opposed to system software). For example: Use Mozilla to browse the Web. [key] A key on the keyboard is shown in this style. For example: To use [Tab] completion, type in a character and then press the [Tab] key. Your termi- nal displays the list of files in the directory that start with that letter. [key]-[combination] A combination of keystrokes is represented in this way. For example: The [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Backspace] key combination exits your graphical session and returns you to the graphical login screen or the console. text found on a GUI interface A title, word, or phrase found on a GUI interface screen or window is shown in this style. Text shown in this style indicates that a particular GUI screen or an element on a GUI screen (such as text associated with a checkbox or field). Example: Select the Require Password checkbox if you would like your screensaver to require a password before stopping.

iii top level of a menu on a GUI screen or window A word in this style indicates that the word is the top level of a pulldown menu. If you click on the word on the GUI screen, the rest of the menu should appear. For example: Under File on a GNOME terminal, the New Tab option allows you to open multiple shell prompts in the same window. Instructions to type in a sequence of commands from a GUI menu look like the fol- lowing example: Go to Applications (the main menu on the panel) => Programming => Emacs Text Editor to start the Emacs text editor. button on a GUI screen or window This style indicates that the text can be found on a clickable button on a GUI screen. For example: Click on the Back button to return to the webpage you last viewed. computer output Text in this style indicates text displayed to a shell prompt such as error messages and responses to commands. For example: The ls command displays the contents of a directory. For example: Desktop about.html logs paulwesterberg.png Mail backupfiles mail reports The output returned in response to the command (in this case, the contents of the directory) is shown in this style. prompt A prompt, which is a computer’s way of signifying that it is ready for you to input something, is shown in this style. Examples: $ # [stephen@maturin stephen]$ leopard login: user input Text that the user types, either on the command line or into a text box on a GUI screen, is displayed in this style. In the following example, text is displayed in this style: To boot your system into the text based installation program, you must type in the text command at the boot: prompt.

v Warning Be careful to remove only the necessary partitions. Removing other partitions could result in data loss or a corrupted system environment. 2. 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/. The following RHN documentation has been translated for the RHN 4.0 release: RHN 3.7 Reference Guide, RHN 3.7 Satellite Guide, RHN 3.7 Release Notes, and the RHN 4.0 Release Notes. Translations of the remaining RHN 4.0 documentation will be available after the initial release. Translated documentation is available at http://rhn.redhat.com/help/ 2.1. 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/ Be sure to select the Red Hat Network product and the Documentation component. To easily associate the problem with this guide, mention its identifier: RHNref(EN)-4.0.5-RHI (2005-06-17T12:14)

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 Net- work. 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 soft- ware 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 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 essential functionality provided to Demo users, plus: • 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 Er- rata 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.

3 1.2. Management In addition to the features offered in the RHN Demo and Update subscription levels, the RHN Management subscription service allows you to manage your network of Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems, users, and system groups through its System Set Manager in- terface. RHN Management is based upon the concept of an organization. Each Management-level Red Hat customer has the ability to establish users who have administration privileges to system groups. An Organization Administrator has overall control over each Red Hat Network organization with the ability to add and remove systems and users. When users other than the Organization Administrator log into the Red Hat Network website, they see only the systems they have permission to administer. To create an account that can be used to entitle systems to RHN Management, go to https://rhn.redhat.com/ and click on the Create Login link under the Sign In fields. On the Create a Red Hat Login page, click Create a new Corporate Login. After creating a corporate account, you may add users within your organization to it. The Red Hat Network features available to you depend on the subscription level for each Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. With each Management subscription, you receive the functionality provided to Demo and Update users, plus: • Package Profile Comparison — Compare the package set on a system with the package sets of similar systems with one click. • Search Systems — Search through systems based on a number of criteria: packages, networking information, even hardware asset tags. • System Grouping — Web servers, database servers, workstations and other workload- focused 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 fea- tures offered in the RHN Demo, Update, and Management subscription levels. It is de-

signed 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, reconfig- ure, 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. • Custom System Information — Provisioning customers may identify any type of in- formation 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 choos- ing 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.

5 • 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 • 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 pos- sibly 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 ver- ification errors. You may view and obtain the versions of these applications containing new certificates at the RHN Client Software page. In the RHN website, click Help at the top-right corner, Get RHN Software in the left navigation bar, and scroll down to examine the packages and versions. To determine the versions of the client applications installed, run the rpm -q command fol- lowed by the package name. For instance, for the Red Hat Network Registration Client, type the following command: rpm -q rhn_register If the Red Hat Network Registration Client is installed, it will return something similar to: rhn_register-2.9.3-1

7 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 that is relevant to your system. Remem- ber, 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

The Red Hat Update Agent is your connection to Red Hat Network. It enables you to reg- ister 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. • 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. 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.

11 Option Description --tmpdir=directory Temporarily override the configured package directory. The default location is /var/spool/up2date. This option is useful if you do not have enough space in the configured location. --justdb Only add packages to the database and do not install them. --dbpath=dir Specify an alternate RPM database to use temporarily. Table 2-1. Graphical Update Agent Options The first time you run the Red Hat Update Agent, two dialog boxes appear that you will not see in subsequent startups: Configure Proxy Server and Install GPG Key. As shown in Figure 2-1, the first dialog box to appear 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 check- box 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 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. 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.

13 Figure 2-2. Install GPG Key 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 Organization Admin- istrators. 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 appears. It appears each time you start the Red Hat Update Agent. Click Forward to continue.

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 Pro- file, which is essential to receiving update notifications about your system. When finished, click OK

15 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. 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, 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. 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.

17 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 • 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 sytem will receive no Errata Updates. Click Forward to send the information to RHN.

19 Figure 2-6. Activate Figure 2-7 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 regard- ing the selected channel is displayed in the Channel Information pane. When finished, click Forward to continue.

21 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 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. 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 ig- nored. You may change these settings at any time from the Red Hat Network Alert No- tification Tool. Refer to Chapter 4 Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool for addition information. Make your selections and click Forward to continue.

23 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.

25 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 require- ments 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.

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, click Forward to continue.

27 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. Click Finish to exit the Red Hat Update Agent.

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.

29 up2date -u The command line version of the Red Hat Update Agent accepts the following arguments: 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.

Option Description -i, --install Install packages after they are downloaded. This argument temporarily overrides the configuration option Do not install packages after retrieval. --installall Install all available packages. Used with --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. -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.

31 Option Description --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. --undo Reverse the last package set update. -u, --update Update system with all relevant packages. --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=dependenciesShow the packages that resolve the comma-separated list of dependencies. Table 2-2. Update Agent Command Line Arguments 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 . 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) mQGiBDv70vQRBADh701rf8WUzDG88kqlV/N5KQ1PF0amnODB/1EeuAD7n6bCBRmV ekQWJCdfab0Rf1S+VsFg6IAAAmDIarVnacTLQzqCdGJqTpXm/rGVpLv+mCh+OmT9 QRFbjSzB0uPJOpiIvJwSS00D/wJ8XKzHkVNgW3DiJ9Qz2BHYszU2ISI6FwCgxY6d IVjWT5jblkLNjtD3+fR024ED/i0e2knetTX3S9LjC+HdGvP8Eds92Ti2CnJLaFJk Rp749PucnK9mzxPcO2jSHgdtjWAXst/st+gWFVbFmkjBQDVSd00B/xEwI1T1+LN8 V7R8BElBmg99IlJmDvA2BI/seXvafhzly9bxSHScFnceco/Az9umIs3NXwv3/yOm ZakDBAC6SAGHBmpVkOdeXJDdb4LcbEhErFU3CpRCjZ6AOnFuiV1MGdulZXvEUgBA I6/PDE5nBHfZY3zPjyLPZVtgYioJpZqcRIx/g+bX2O8kPqvJEuZ19tLCdykfZGpy bsV7QdSGqBk3snNOizmFj543RaHyEbnwKWbNADhujWMeUAxN+7Q8UmVkIEhhdCwg SW5jLiAoU2VjdXJpdHkgUmVzcG9uc2UgVGVhbSkgPHNlY2FsZXJ0QHJlZGhhdC5j b20+iFcEExECABcFAj3GczYFCwcKAwQDFQMCAxYCAQIXgAAKCRBeVICDZQ1YghAU AJoCeQfuMR2dKyLft/10O6qUs+MNLQCggJgdO8MUO2y11TWID3XOYgyQG+2InAQT AQIABgUCPtyYpQAKCRDurUz9SaVj2e97A/0b2s7OhhAMljNwMQS4I2UWVGbgtxdu D+yBcG/3mwL76MJVY7aX+NN/tT9yDGU+FSiQZZCL/4OFOHMvjpcDqfJY+zpTlBii ZMAPJWTs2bB+0QaXxUgWlwW84GVf2rA6RSbvMLTbDjTH8t7J1RGP9zAqu8SgraTA QbQdao6TNxVt+ohGBBMRAgAGBQI+3LjCAAoJECGRgM3bQqYOf5MAoIjiJDe+hDOj

33 9+jlR0qDs9lIi/C2AJ9SBBfd4A8hyR4z3lY7e0LzjWF51LkCDQQ7+9O3EAgA8tMs xdUmuTfA+X78fMXh7LCvrL4Hi28CqvNM+Au81XJjDLNawZvpVmFlMmd9h0Xb5Jt2 BZWLR13rcDUByNdw1EWhVAzCz6Bp9Z3MIDhcP00iIBctIHn7YP9fi5vV0G03iryT XE01mhWoBlC233wr3XHwsqxFfZzaCZqqNKTl0+PNfEAIzJRgtYiW8nzFTPpIR05E oRn6EvmQfayOF2uYDX9Sk//lOD7T7RLtKjM/hPW/9NoCGwwROaG+VUzVv4aelh1L dJGEjpFtdxcrOUMD8xbkuGMznu0mpDI+J2BUDh5n57yOyEMaGrQ0jfY1ZqdqDvZg osY1ZHa6KlmuCWNTnwADBQf/XYhCicp6iLetnPv6lYtyRfFRpnK98w3br+fThywC t81P2nKv8lio6OsRbksGc1gX8Zl6GoHQYfDe7hYsCHZPoWErobECFds5E9M7cmzV TTyNTvrELrs07jyuPb4Q+mHcsYPILGR3M+rnXKGjloz+05kOPRJaBEBzP6B8SZKy 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/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 connec- tion 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 for- mat 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 op- tion and enter your username and password in the respective text fields.

35 Figure 2-16. General Settings In addition, RHN Proxy and Satellite customers have the option of selecting Red Hat Net- work 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.

Figure 2-17. Retrieval/Installation Settings The following package retrieval options can be selected (see Figure 2-17): • 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): • 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 de- sired directory instead of deleting them after installation The following additional options are configurable from this tab:

37 • 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). 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 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’]

39 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 : 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 de- fault, 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 automa- tion 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. 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 be- fore using activation keys. Before using an activation key you must first generate one through the RHN website. Refer to Section 6.4.7 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.

41 Refer to Section 6.4.7.2 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 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 suc- ceeds. 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 Organization Administrator (or both). These permissions are set through the Users tab of the RHN website. Refer to Section 6.8 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.

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. Tip Provisioning-entitled systems served by an RHN Satellite Server may have actions imme- diately initiated or pushed to them. Refer to Section 6.4.2.8.1 System Details ⇒Details for instructions on enabling this feature. 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: 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.

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. 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.

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. Do not modify the system-wide configuration file; it is automatically generated by the application. You can also configure the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool to ignore specific packages. To select these packages, click on the applet and select the Ignored Packages tab.

47 4.2. Notification Icons The applet displays a different icon, depending on the status of the updates. Table 4-1 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.

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.

Before you begin using Red Hat Network, you must create a username, password, and Sys- tem 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 appears.

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 : 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.

51 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. 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 register- ing your systems. By default, all systems registered with the Red Hat Network Regis- tration Client end up in the Ungrouped section of systems visible only to Organization Administrators. To ensure that you retain management of these systems, Red Hat recom- mends 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 us- ing 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) => Pro- grams => 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. 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. 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 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). Click

53 Next to continue with the registration process. If you click Cancel, the registration process ends and no information is sent. Figure 5-4. Welcome Screen Red Hat is committed to protecting your privacy (see Figure 5-5). The information gathered during the Red Hat Network registration process is used to create a System Profile. The System Profile is essential if you wish to receive update notifications about your system.

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, you must choose a username and password. Once logged in to Red Hat Network, you can modify your preferences, view your existing System Pro- file, 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). Try different usernames until you find one that has not been used.

55 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 pass- word. 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.

Figure 5-7. Create a Unique Username and Password Most users can leave the Org Info section blank. If you have an existing organization ac- count, work with your Organization 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 Net- work account. Your Organization Administrator can then create your user account through the Users category of the RHN website. Refer to Section 6.8 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 hard- ware 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.

57 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 • 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. The default value is the hostname for the system. You may modify this to be a more descrip- tive 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). Click Next to continue with the registration process.

Figure 5-8. System Profile - Hardware 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 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.

59 Figure 5-9. Registration Wizard Once the RPM package list is built, the list is displayed as shown in Figure 5-10. Dese- lecting Include RPM Packages installed on this system in my System Profile omits this information from your System Profile. 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 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. Figure 5-11. Choose which RPM Packages to Exclude from System Profile 5.5. Finishing Registration As seen in Figure 5-12, the last step of registration is to confirm that you want to send your System Profile to the Red Hat Network. If you choose Cancel at this point, no information is sent. Clicking Next submits your RHN System Profile.

61 Figure 5-12. Finished Collecting Information for System Profile Figure 5-13 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 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.

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 up- dated packages. In other words, you must subscribe it to a service level offering. Everyone automatically receives one free Demo entitlement after creating an account by registering a system with RHN or creating a redhat.com account 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 number of available entitlements, or subscriptions, at the bottom. If you have one or more subscriptions left, make a selection from the dropdown menu under the Entitlement column beside the name of the system you just registered. Only increases in entitlement levels are allowed. Systems cannot be re-entitled to a lower entitlement level. For instance, a system entitled to the Update service level can be promoted to the Management level, but this action cannot be reversed. Click the Update Entitlements button at the bottom of the page when finished.

63 Warning Changing a system’s entitlement is an irreversible action. You may be unable to change the entitlement levels of some systems. For more information, refer to the RHN entitlement policy linked from the System Entitlements page. The number of entitlements remaining decreases, and your system becomes ready to use the Red Hat Update Agent and RHN website. Refer to Chapter 2 Red Hat Update Agent and Chapter 6 Red Hat Network Website for details on how to use them. If you do not have any entitlements left, click the Buy more system entitlements now link at the top of the System Entitlements page to make additional purchases. 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.

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. Organization Administrators see the follow- ing Top Navigation Bar. Note that only RHN Satellite Server customers see the Monitor- ing and Satellite Tools tabs. Figure 6-1. Top Navigation bar — RHN Satellite Server Figure 6-2. Top Navigation bar — RHN’s Hosted Environment 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 exaple of the Left Navigation Bar for the Users tab.

Figure 6-3. 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 6-4. 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 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.

67 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. • Purchase History — View a history of your entitlements, including the expiration date and the number available. • Help — Learn how to use Red Hat Network and receive support if needed. • Systems — Manage your 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 Out of Date, Unentitled, Ungrouped, and Inactive. • System Groups — — List your system groups. Create additional groups. • System Set Manager — — Perform actions on currently selected systems. • System Entitlements — Change the entitlement levels of systems. • 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. • Channels — View and manage the available RHN channels and the files they contain. • Software Channels — View a list of all software channels and those applicable to your systems. • Channel Entitlements — View a list of software channels for which you have paid, as well as the systems associated with each. • Download Software — Access priority downloading of Red Hat ISO images. ISO images are used to write to CD. • Package Search — Search packages using all or some portion of the package name. • Manage Config Channels — — Create and edit channels used to deploy con- figuration 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.

69 • User List — — List users for your organization. • Monitoring — — Run probes and receive notifications regarding systems. • Probe Status — — View probes by state. • Notification — — View contact methods established for your organization. • Scout Config Push — — Reconfigure your monitoring infrastructure. • Global Config — — Change organization-wide monitoring settings. 6.1.3. Errata Alert Icons Throughout Red Hat Network you will see three Errata Alert icons. represents a Se- curity 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. 6.1.4. Quick Search In addition to the Advanced Search functionality offered within some categories, the RHN website also offers a Quick Search tool near the top of each page. To use it, select the item type (such as packages) and type a keyword to look for a name match. Click the Search button. Your results appear at the bottom of the page. Refer to the appropriate category for instructions on using these results. 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 Manage- ment 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 In a Web browser, navigate to http://rhn.redhat.com. The page shown in Figure 6-5 will be displayed.

71 Figure 6-5. RHN Website If you have not registered a system yet or do not have a redhat.com account, create a new account by clicking Create Login. 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. Click the Sign In link near the top to display the fields, if they are not already visible. Once complete, click the Sign In button. 6.3. Your RHN After logging into the website 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 website, it is recommended that you read

Section 6.1 Navigation to become familiar with the layout and symbols used throughout the website. Figure 6-6. Your Red Hat Network The top of the page shows how many systems need attention, provides a link to quickly view those systems, and displays a summary of scheduled actions. Refer to Section 6.4.2 Systems for information on using the Systems pages. The System Summary section of Your RHN page provides the following information: • Total Systems — Number of total systems that you have registered for your organiza- tion.

73 • Out of Date Systems — Number of registered systems that have applicable Errata Alerts that have not been applied. • Unentitled Systems — Number of systems that are not entitled. • Ungrouped Systems — Each system may be a member of one or more groups. The number of ungrouped systems refers to systems that are not yet members of any system group. • Inactive Systems — Number of systems that have not checked into RHN for 24 hours or more. Refer to Section 6.4.2.5 Inactive for details. The Action Summary section provides the following information about events scheduled in the past week: • Recently Failed Actions — Number of scheduled actions that did not succeed. • Pending Actions — Number of scheduled actions that have not yet been completed. • Recently Completed Actions — Number of scheduled actions that succeeded. The System Groups section gives you access to the groups of systems you establish. Click- ing on the links in this section takes you to the System Group Details pages. Refer to Section 6.4.3.3 System Group Details — for more information. The Errata section lists all and relevant Errata Alerts. You may toggle between All and Relevant by clicking the View All or View Relevant link at the top of the table. This view is retained until you toggle it by again clicking the link. Relevant Errata are those derived from software channels to which your systems are sub- scribed. They refer to versions of packages that are newer than those installed on the sys- tems. To go to a complete list of applicable Errata Alerts for your systems stored in the Errata category, click View All Relevant Errata in the bottom right-hand corner. 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.

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 Address. 6.3.1.2. Change Email The email address listed in the Your Account page is the address to which Red Hat Net- work 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 ser- vice. Click the Deactivate Account button to disable 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 Organization Administrator for your organization. Note that if you are the only Organization 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 Er- rata 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 sched- uled 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

75 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. • Time Zone — Set your time zone so that scheduled actions are scheduled according to the time in your time zone. • Red Hat Contact Options — Identify what ways (email, phone, fax, or mail) Red Hat may contact you. After making changes to any of these options, click the Save Preferences button in the bottom right-hand corner. 6.3.3. Purchase History The Purchase History page provides a link to the main Red Hat site, where you can view your subscription status, contract numbers for purchases, pricing information, subscription purchase and expiration dates. 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 — As shown in Figure 6-7, 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 6.4.2.8 System Details for more information.

Figure 6-7. Systems Overview 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 De- tails 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.

77 6.4.2. Systems The Systems page displays a list of all of your registered systems. The Systems list con- tains several columns of information for each system: • Select — Update or unentitled systems cannot be selected. To select systems, mark the appropriate checkboxes and click the Update List button below the column. Se- lected systems are added to the System Set Manager. After adding systems to the Sys- tem 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-to-date. 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 • — 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 2.1), 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 con- flict, either schedule a package list update or remove the packages from the Package Exceptions list for the Red Hat Update Agent. Refer to Section 6.4.2.8 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 6.4.2.8 System Details for more informa- tion. • 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. • 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 Organization Administrator, or if the system is a member of a group to which he has admin rights. 6.4.2.2. Out of Date The Out of Date page displays the systems that have applicable Errata Alerts that have not been applied. 6.4.2.3. Unentitled — The Unentitled page displays the systems that have not yet been entitled for Red Hat Network service. 6.4.2.4. Ungrouped The Ungrouped page displays the systems that have not yet been assigned to a specific system group.

79 6.4.2.5. 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 have been scheduled, this is considered a checkin. 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. 6.4.2.6. Satellite The Satellite page displays the RHN Satellite Server systems registered to your RHN ac- count. 6.4.2.7. Proxy The Proxy page displays the RHN Proxy Server systems registered to your RHN account. 6.4.2.8. System Details If you click on the name of a system on any page, it displays the System Details page for the system. From here, you may modify this information or remove the system altogether by clicking the delete system link on the top-right corner. The System Details page is further divided into tabs:

6.4.2.8.1. System Details ⇒Details Displays information about the system. This is the first tab you see when you click on a system. It offers direct access to some of the functionality provided in subsequent tabs. For instance, under the System Info heading, a message appears describing the status of this machine. If it states "Critical updates available" you may click the update now link to apply all relevant Errata Updates to the individual system, as you would under the Errata tab. — In addition, some Management-level functions can be accessed only on this tab. Most importantly, a system may be locked by clicking the Lock system link near the bottom-left corner of the page. This prohibits the scheduling of any action through RHN that affects the system, including package updates and system reboots. To undo this, click the Unlock system link in the same location. — Additional Provisioning-level features can be found here, as well. The most im- portant of these is the marker indicating that the client system can have actions pushed to it. This feature requires it be connected to an RHN Satellite Server that has this feature enabled and is identified by the OSA Status section within the System Details page. Push enables Satellite customers to immediately initiate tasks on Provisioning-entitled sys- tems, 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 the task begins im- mediately 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 Installation Guide for details. The Details tab contains the following subsets of information: 6.4.2.8.1.1. System Details ⇒Details ⇒Overview A summary of the system’s details. In addition to the system status message, the Overview subtab contains basic System Info, Subscribed Channels, and System Properties. Clicking the Alter Channel Subscriptions link takes you to the Channels tab, while clicking the Edit these properties link takes you to the Properties subtab. See the following sections for more information. 6.4.2.8.1.2. System Details ⇒Details ⇒Properties The profile name, entitlement level, notification choice, daily summary, auto-Errata update, and physical location of the system, including street address, city, state, country, building, room, and rack. To modify this information, make your changes and click the Update Properties button. Note that many of these properties can be set for multiple systems at once through the System Set Manager interface. Refer to

81 Section 6.4.4 System Set Manager — for details. The following properties deserve additional explanation: • Receive Notifications of Updates/Errata — This setting keeps you abreast of all ad- visories pertaining to the system. Anytime an update is produced and released for the system, a notification is sent via email. • Include system in daily summary report calculations — This setting includes the system in a daily summary of system events. (By default, all Management and Provi- sioning systems are included in the summary.) These are actions affecting 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 notifications in the Your Preferences page of the Your RHN category. Refer to Section 6.3.2 Your Preferences for instructions. Note that RHN sends these summaries only to verified email addresses. • Automatic application of relevant errata — This setting allows you have all Errata Updates automatically applied to a system. This means packages associated with Er- rata will be updated without any 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 systems for this feature to work. 6.4.2.8.1.3. System Details ⇒Details ⇒Hardware 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 Sched- ule 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. 6.4.2.8.1.4. System Details ⇒Details ⇒Notes 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. 6.4.2.8.1.5. System Details ⇒Details ⇒Custom Info — Completely customizable information about the system. Unlike a note, information in- cluded here is more formal and can be searched upon. For instance, you may decide to identify an asset tag for each system. To do this, you must first create an asset key

within the Custom System Info page. Refer to Section 6.4.9 Custom System Info — for instructions. Once the key exists, you may assign a value to it by clicking create new value here. Click the name of the key in the resulting list and enter a value for it in the Description field, such as "Example#456." Then click the Update Key button. 6.4.2.8.1.6. System Details ⇒Details ⇒Proxy Activates a RHN Proxy Server. Select a version of RHN Proxy Server and click the Acti- vate Proxy button to begin the installation and activation process. For detailed information, refer to the RHN Proxy Server Guide and the Client Configuration Guide. 6.4.2.8.1.7. System Details ⇒Details ⇒Reactivation — A System Profile-specific activation key. This allows you to create an activation key en- compassing this system’s ID, history, groups, and channels. You may then use this key 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 in- structions. 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 reregister 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. 6.4.2.8.1.8. System Details ⇒Details ⇒Remote Command — The method for running a remote command on the system. To allow remote commands to be run on the client through RHN, first install the latest rhncfg* packages available within the RHN Tools child channel for the system. These may already be installed if you kickstarted the system with configuration management functionality. Next, create the necessary directory on the target system: mkdir -p /etc/sysconfig/rhn/allowed-actions/script

83 Then create a 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 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. 6.4.2.8.1.9. System Details ⇒Details ⇒Connection The system’s path to the package repository. This tab appears for any system in an or- ganization that has a registered RHN Proxy Server version 3.1 or later. This subtab is designed to help you determine if updates and other information are passing through one or more RHN Proxy Servers. It identifies the Proxies being used and the order in which data passes through them to reach this system. The Proxy connecting directly to the central RHN Servers or your RHN Satellite Server is numbered ’1’. 6.4.2.8.2. System Details ⇒Errata 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. 6.4.2.8.3. System Details ⇒Packages Manages 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 6.4.2.8.1.8 System Details ⇒Details ⇒Remote Command — for more information. 6.4.2.8.3.1. System Details ⇒Packages ⇒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. 6.4.2.8.3.2. System Details ⇒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 pack- ages from the system, select their checkboxes and click the Remove Packages button on the bottom right-hand corner of the page. A confirmation page appears with the packages listed. Click the Confirm button to remove the packages. 6.4.2.8.3.3. System Details ⇒Packages ⇒Upgrade Displays a list of packages that have a new version available based on the package ver- sions 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 Pack- ages button. To download the packages as a .tar file, select them and click the Download Packages button. 6.4.2.8.3.4. System Details ⇒Packages ⇒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. 6.4.2.8.3.5. System Details ⇒Packages ⇒Verify — Validates the packages installed on the system against its RPM database. This is the equiv- alent of running rpm -V. Specifically, this tab allows you to compare the metadata of the