Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX, User Reference Manual

Page 1: ...Red Hat Network Enterprise User Reference Guide 2 1 ...

Page 2: ...at Shadow Man logo RPM Maximum RPM the RPM logo Linux Library PowerTools Linux Undercover RHmember RHmember More Rough Cuts Rawhide and all Red Hat based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat Inc in the United States and other countries Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds Motif and UNIX are registered trademarks of The Open Group Intel and Pentium ar...

Page 3: ... 3 5 Command Line Version 25 2 4 Configuration 29 2 4 1 Using the Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool 29 2 4 2 Command Line Version 32 3 Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool 35 3 1 Configuring the Applet 35 3 2 Notification Icons 36 3 3 Viewing Updates 37 3 4 Applying Updates 37 3 5 Launching the RHN Website 37 4 Red Hat Network Website 39 4 1 Logging into the RHN Website 39 4 2 Introductio...

Page 4: ...s 65 4 7 4 Archived Actions 65 4 7 5 Actions List 65 4 8 Users 66 4 8 1 User List 66 5 Red Hat Network Daemon 69 6 Using Red Hat Network with Red Hat Linux 6 2 71 7 Red Hat Network Registration Client 73 7 1 Configuring the Red Hat Network Registration Client 73 7 2 Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client 74 7 3 Registering a User Account 77 7 4 Registering a System Profile 79 7 4 1 Hardw...

Page 5: ...f Red Hat Network please refer to the whitepapers available at http www redhat com docs wp For an interactive demo of RHN go to http rhn redhat com demo rhn_demo html It requires the Macromedia Flash player 1 Document Conventions When you read this manual you will see that certain words are represented in different fonts type faces sizes and weights This highlighting is systematic different words ...

Page 6: ...efore stopping top level of a menu on a GUI screen or window When you see a word in this style it indicates that the word is the top level of a pulldown menu If you click on the word on the GUI screen the rest of the menu should appear For example Under File on a GNOME terminal you will see the New Tab option that allows you to open multiple shell prompts in the same window If you need to type in ...

Page 7: ...dditionally we use several different strategies to draw your attention to certain pieces of information In order of how critical the information is to your system these items will be marked as note tip important caution or a warning For example Note Remember that Linux is case sensitive In other words a rose is not a ROSE is not a rOsE Tip The directory usr share doc contains additional documentat...

Page 8: ...ta you need to save 2 More to Come The Red Hat Network Enterprise User Reference Guide is constantly expanding as new Red Hat Network features and service plans are launched 2 1 Send in Your Feedback If you would like to make suggestions about the Red Hat Network Enterprise User Reference Guide please mention this guide s identifier RHNent EN 2 1 Print RHI 2003 03 27T14 490700 You can send mail to...

Page 9: ...d Hat Linux 6 2 7 3 and Red Hat Linux Advanced Server only The Red Hat Update Agent provides your initial connection to the Red Hat Network Once regis tered it enables channel subscription package installs and management of System Profiles Red Hat Linux 8 0 systems will even use the Red Hat Update Agent to be registered to RHN See Chapter 2 Red Hat Update Agent for further information You can use ...

Page 10: ...ository of RPMs available to Red Hat Network users Search Errata Search through the collection of all errata ever released through Red Hat Network 1 2 Basic The RHN Basic service is ideal for a user with one Red Hat Linux system or a small number of Red Hat Linux systems to keep updated Subscription to Basic can be purchased at http rhn redhat com purchase_info pxt With each Basic subscription you...

Page 11: ...e the package set on a system with the package sets of similar systems with one click Search Systems Search through systems based on a number of criteria packages networking information even hardware asset tags System Grouping Web servers database servers workstations and other workload focused sys tems may be grouped so that each set can be administered in common ways Multiple Administrators Admi...

Page 12: ...the Red Hat Errata list and Red Hat Network Tip Refer to https rhn redhat com help faq for a list of Frequently Asked Questions 1 6 Before You Begin Red Hat Network is available for Red Hat Linux 6 2 and higher For instructions on configuring Red Hat Linux 6 2 for Red Hat Network refer to Chapter 6 Using Red Hat Network with Red Hat Linux 6 2 By default all the software packages you need to use Re...

Page 13: ...for the Red Hat Update Agent runs if the X Window System is available Table 1 1 Red Hat Network Packages If the packages are not installed they can be found on the Red Hat Linux 7 or higher CD ROM 1 in the RedHat RPMS directory or downloaded from the Red Hat FTP site available at ftp ftp redhat com or from a Red Hat FTP mirror available at http www redhat com mirrors html Always check the Red Hat ...

Page 14: ...6 Chapter 1 What is Red Hat Network ...

Page 15: ... Agent Important You must use Red Hat Update Agent Version 2 5 4 or higher to upgrade your kernel automatically It will install the updated kernel and configure LILO or GRUB to boot the new kernel the next time the system is rebooted To ensure you are running the latest version execute the command up2date up2date If you do not have the latest version installed this command will update it 2 1 Start...

Page 16: ...fault location is var spool up2date This option is useful if you do not have enough space in the configured location justdb Only add packages to the database and do not install them dbpath dir Specify an alternate RPM database to use temporarily Table 2 1 Graphical Update Agent Options The first time you run the Red Hat Update Agent two dialog boxes will appear that you will not see in subsequent ...

Page 17: ... this message again Figure 2 2 Install GPG Key 2 2 Registration Before you begin using Red Hat Network you need to create a username password and System Profile Upon launch the Red Hat Update Agent senses whether these tasks have been accomplished If not it guides you through the registration process If you ever need to force the Red Hat Update Agent into registration mode say to re register an ex...

Page 18: ... Screen the Red Hat Privacy Statement appears See Figure 2 4 Red Hat is committed to protecting your privacy The information gathered during the Red Hat Network registration process is used to create a System Profile which is essential to receiving update notifications about your system If after reading the statement you have any questions about how your information is being used please contact us...

Page 19: ...and password Once logged in to Red Hat Network you can modify your preferences view your existing System Profile or obtain the latest Red Hat software packages Note If you are already a member of redhat com you can use the same username and password However you will still need to continue with the registration process to create your System Profile Your username and password have the following rest...

Page 20: ...ntain the characters or Figure 2 5 Create a User Account You must choose a unique username If you enter one already in use you will see an error message see Figure 2 6 Try different usernames until you find one that has not been used Figure 2 6 Error Username Already Exists ...

Page 21: ...ou can log into Red Hat Network with your username and password to view all your systems simultaneously In the Create Account screen click Forward to continue If you are a new user to RHN the Red Hat Update Agent takes you to the screen shown in Figure 2 7 Here you will add details about yourself and your business if applicable and identify the methods by which you should be reached Figure 2 7 Reg...

Page 22: ...s Mount points The next step is choosing a profile name for your system as shown in Figure 2 8 The default value is the hostname for the system You may modify this to be a more descriptive string such as Email Server for Support Team if you find it more helpful Optionally you can enter a computer serial or identification number for the system If you do not wish to include information about your ha...

Page 23: ... RPM Database Information Only those packages you choose during this part of the registration will be included in your System Profile and you will receive notifications only about the packages in your System Profile Thus if you use an older version of a package and deselect it from the list it will not be replaced with a newer version This RPM list can be modified through the Red Hat Network Web i...

Page 24: ...2 2 2 Choosing RPM Packages to Exclude from the System Profile By default all RPM packages in your RPM database are included in your System Profile to be updated by Red Hat Network To exclude a package uncheck the package from the list by clicking the check box beside the package name For example Figure 2 11 shows that the Canna devel and Canna libs packages have been omitted from the package list...

Page 25: ...stem Profile 2 2 2 3 Finishing Registration As seen in Figure 2 12 the last step of registration is to confirm that you want to send your System Profile to the Red Hat Network If you choose Cancel at this point no information will be sent Clicking Forward will submit your RHN System Profile ...

Page 26: ...o Red Hat Network You will know your System Profile has been successfully sent when you see the Channels screen Figure 2 14 appear Refer to Section 2 3 1 Choosing a Channel for continued instructions 2 3 Setup and Use After completing the registration process you should set up the Red Hat Update Agent to effectively manage all of your system s package updates This requires selecting its channel id...

Page 27: ...tion 4 6 Software for more information on channels and how channels are used to determine which packages are installed Figure 2 14 Channels 2 3 2 Choosing Packages to Update After clicking Forward the dialog box in Figure 2 15 will appear This means a connection to Red Hat Network is being established and your customized list of updates is being retrieved This might take some time depending on the...

Page 28: ...istering your System Profile these are displayed in Figure 2 17 You may override these settings and include any of these packages in the update by selecting the checkboxes next to them To see a summary of each package in the Package Information section at the bottom of the screen click the name of the package Figure 2 17 Packages Flagged to be Skipped If you want to view the advisory for the RPM A...

Page 29: ...pdate Agent 21 Figure 2 18 View Advisory The Available Package Updates screen is the next to appear If your system is not up to date your customized list of available updated packages is displayed as shown in Figure 2 19 ...

Page 30: ...tests for RPM dependencies and prompts you if you have chosen to omit packages that are required for software updates that you did choose The dialog box in Figure 2 20 is shown while it is testing for dependencies This process might take some time depending upon how many packages are updating Figure 2 20 Testing Packages After testing is complete package retrieval begins The progress of each packa...

Page 31: ...o have the packages installed via the Red Hat Update Agent skip to Section 2 3 5 2 Manual Package Installation for further instructions If you configured it to install the packages the default setting the selected packages are installed The progress of installing each package as well as the total progress is displayed When the packages have been installed as seen in Figure 2 22 click Forward to co...

Page 32: ...ation Finished 2 3 4 Update Agent Finished When the Red Hat Update Agent has finished downloading the desired packages and installing them if you chose the install option you will see the screen in Figure 2 23 Click Finish to exit the Red Hat Update Agent ...

Page 33: ...n of the Red Hat Update Agent allows you to perform advanced functions or to perform actions with little or no interaction For example the following command updates your system with no interaction It will download the newer packages and install them if you configured it to install them up2date u The command line version of the Red Hat Update Agent accepts the following arguments Argument Descripti...

Page 34: ...database and do not install them k packagedir Specify a colon separated path of directories to look for packages in before trying to download them l list List packages relevant to the system 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 sour...

Page 35: ...ion the first time you start Red Hat Update Agent you need to install the Red Hat GPG key manually If you do not have it installed you will see the following message Your GPG keyring does not contain the Red Hat Inc public key Without it you will be unable to verify that packages Update Agent downloads are securely signed by Red Hat Your Update Agent options specify that you want to use GPG To ins...

Page 36: ...4 TzQSx77uYokw1EqQ2wk OZoaEtcubsNMquuLCMWijYhGBBgRAgAGBQI36lRyAAoJECGRgM3bQqYOhyYAnj7h VDY FJAGqmtZpwVp9IlitW5tAJ4xQApr jNFZCTksnI 4O1765F7tA 3AHZ END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK 2 At the shell prompt import the key with the following command gpg import redhat2 asc The resulting message tells you that the key was processed To check that the key was added type gpg list keys You will see the Red Hat GPG ke...

Page 37: ...ers 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 you start the Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool as a standard user you will be prompted to enter the...

Page 38: ...e 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 th...

Page 39: ...re rpm files The following installation options are configurable see Figure 2 25 Use GPG to verify package integrity before installing the packages verify Red Hat s GPG signature highly recommended for security reasons After installation keep binary packages on disk save binary packages in desired directory instead of deleting them after installation Enable RPM rollbacks allow undo of updates This...

Page 40: ... Update Agent will not display any packages beginning with kernel To exclude packages by file name follow the same rules except click the Add button next to the File Names to Skip section Figure 2 26 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...

Page 41: ...tchCount 10 20 networkRetries 5 21 enableProxy No 22 proxyPassword 23 noSSLServerURL http www rhns redhat com XMLRPC 24 keepAfterInstall No 25 proxyUser 26 removeSkipList kernel 27 useGPG Yes 28 gpgKeyRing etc sysconfig rhn up2date keyring gpg 29 httpProxy 30 headerCacheSize 40 31 forceInstall No Enter number of item to edit return to exit q to quit without saving Enter the number of the item that...

Page 42: ...34 Chapter 2 Red Hat Update Agent ...

Page 43: ... Red Hat Linux 7 3 the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool appears on the panel by default as shown in Figure 3 1 Figure 3 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 Linux 8 0 and later select the Main Menu Button System Tools Red Hat Network Alert Icon To ensure the icon appears on subsequent sessions select the Save...

Page 44: ...n right click on the applet and select Configuration Your preferences are written to the file rhn applet conf in your home directory The Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool also uses the system wide configuration file etc sysconfig rhn rhn applet Do not modify the system wide configuration file it is automatically generated by the application You can also configure the Red Hat Network Alert No...

Page 45: ...plays a list of available updates To alter your list of excluded packages click the Ignored Packages tab and make your modifications Figure 3 3 Available Updates 3 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 Launc...

Page 46: ...38 Chapter 3 Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool ...

Page 47: ... 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 4 2 Introducti...

Page 48: ...ge 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 Enterprise system This activation key can be used to grant a specified level of entitlement or group membership to a newly regis tered system with the rhnreg_ks c...

Page 49: ...n Your results will appear at the bottom of the page Refer to the appropriate category for instructions on using these results 4 2 3 Systems Selected Also near the top of the page is a tool for keeping track of the Enterprise level systems you ve selected for use in the System Set Manager It identifies the number selected at all times and provides the means to work with them Clicking the Clear but...

Page 50: ...with the layout and symbols used throughout the interface Figure 4 2 Your Red Hat Network The top of the page shows how many systems need attention provides a link to quickly view those systems and displays a summary of scheduled actions Refer to Section 4 4 2 Systems for information on using the Systems pages The System Summary section of Your RHN page provides the following information Total Sys...

Page 51: ...our Account The Your Account page allows you to modify your personal information such as name password email and title To modify any of this information merely 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 red hat com you will not see your new one as y...

Page 52: ...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 on the bottom right hand corner 4 3 3 Buy Now The Buy Now page provides...

Page 53: ...ns for using RHN on Red Hat Linux 6 2 These instructions cover obtaining new versions of the Red Hat Update Agent and the Red Hat Network Registration Client These same instructions can also be found in Chapter 6 Using Red Hat Network with Red Hat Linux 6 2 of this guide 4 3 5 6 Enterprise Guide The Enterprise Guide page takes you to this same document the most comprehensive set of instruc tions f...

Page 54: ... directly to the Update Confirmation page Also the Not Checking In icon is linked to instructions for resolving the issue while the Unentitled icon goes to the Buy Now page if the user is an Organization Administrator System is up to date Critical Errata available update strongly recommended Updates available and recommended Updates have been scheduled System not checking in properly for 24 hours ...

Page 55: ...ult set of your systems It displays every system you ve registered with Red Hat Network 4 4 2 2 Out of Date The Out of Date page displays the registered systems that have applicable Errata Alerts that have not been applied 4 4 2 3 Unentitled The Unentitled page displays the registered systems that have not yet been entitled for Red Hat Network service 4 4 2 4 Ungrouped The Ungrouped page displays ...

Page 56: ...4 2 6 System Details If you click on the name of a system on any page it will display 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 Details Displays information about the system This is the first tab you see when you clic...

Page 57: ... for this machine If the hardware profile looks incomplete or outdated click the Schedule Hardware Refresh button to schedule a Hardware Profile Update for your system The next time the RHN Daemon connects to RHN it will update your System Profile with the latest list of hardware Errata Contains a list of Errata Alerts applicable to the system To apply updates select them and click the Apply Errat...

Page 58: ...hild channels associated with this system use the checkboxes next to the channels and click the Change Subscriptions button You will receive a success message or be notified of any errors To change the system s base channel select the new one from the pulldown menu and click the Modify Base Channel button Refer to Section 4 6 1 Channels for more information Groups Lists the system s associated gro...

Page 59: ...utton below the column Selected groups are added to the System Set Manager After adding groups to the System Set Manager you can use it to perform actions on them simultaneously To add an intersection of groups select them and click the Work with Intersection button To add a union of groups select them and click the Work with Union button Refer to Section 4 4 4 System Set Manager for details Statu...

Page 60: ... Systems tab To remove systems from groups use the Groups tab of the System Details page Refer to Section 4 4 2 6 System Details for instructions 4 4 3 3 System Group Details At the top of each System Group Details page are two buttons work with group and delete group Clicking delete group does just that and should be used with caution Clicking Work with Group functions similarly to the Use Group ...

Page 61: ...cess the System Set Manager page in two ways 1 Add systems and groups from their respective lists to the System Set Manager and click System Set Manager in the left navigation bar 2 Click Use Group in the System Groups list or Work with Group in the System Group Details page to work with a predefined system group The System Set Manager page contains a set of tabs Overview Description of the variou...

Page 62: ...nclude system in Daily Summary This setting includes the selected systems in a daily summary of system events By default all Enterprise systems are included in the summary These are actions affecting packages such as scheduled Errata Updates and system reboots or failures to check in In addition to including the systems here you must choose to receive email notifications in the Your Preferences pa...

Page 63: ...to register the Red Hat Linux system entitle the system to RHN Enterprise and subscribe the system to specific channels and system groups through the command line utility rhn reg_ks Thus channel and group subscriptions can be automated along with registration thereby bypassing registration through either the Red Hat Network Registration Client or the Red Hat Update Agent and entitlement of each sy...

Page 64: ...subscribed to channels that contain packages not suitable for the system For example a Red Hat Linux 7 2 system cannot be subscribed to the Red Hat Linux 7 1 channel The unique Digital Certificate for the system is generated on the system in etc sysconfig rhn systemid When using activation keys to assign channels a couple of rules should be kept in mind A key may specify either zero or one base ch...

Page 65: ... Errata List Clicking on the Advisory takes you to the Details tab of the Errata Details page Clicking on the number of associated systems takes you to the Affected Systems tab of the Errata Details page Refer to Section 4 5 2 2 Errata Details for more information 4 5 2 All Errata The All Errata page displays a list of all Errata Alerts released by Red Hat It works much the same as the Relevant Er...

Page 66: ... left navigation bar then click the Systems tab After ensuring the appropriate systems are selected click the Er rata tab select the Errata Updates to apply and click the Apply Errata button You can select to apply the Errata as soon as possible the next time the Red Hat Network Daemon on the client sys tems connect to RHN or schedule a date and time for the Errata Updates to occur Then click the ...

Page 67: ...tware If you click the Software tab on the top navigation bar the Software category and links appear The pages in the Software category enable you to view and manage the channels and packages associated with your systems In addition you can obtain ISO images here 4 6 1 Channels The Channels page is the first to appear in the Software category A channel is a list of Red Hat Linux packages grouped b...

Page 68: ... of the Channel Details page Clicking on a channel name takes you to the Details tab Clicking on the packages number takes you to the Packages tab And clicking on the systems number takes you to the Subscribed Systems tab Refer to Section 4 6 1 3 Channel Details for details The Relevant page also contains links to ISO images Refer to Section 4 6 3 Instant ISOs for instructions Figure 4 6 Software ...

Page 69: ...ames base channels and their levels of entitlement Clicking on a system name takes you to its System Details page Refer to Section 4 4 2 6 System Details for more information If it is a child channel you will also have the option within this tab of unsubscribing systems from the channel Use the checkboxes to select the systems then click the Unsubscribe button on the bottom right hand corner Targe...

Page 70: ... you more easily determine which are applicable to your systems These packages can be retrieved in one of two ways by direct install or through download 4 6 5 1 Package Install Only packages included in a system s subscribed channels can be installed or updated on that system Important If you use scheduled package installation the packages will be installed via the RHN Daemon You must have the RHN...

Page 71: ...Details page will appear This page contains the following tabs Details Details about the package including subtabs for overview dependencies change log and file list Overview A summary of the package including the package description size and version This information is similar to issuing the command rpm qi packagename but with more detail Click the links in the bottom right hand corner of the pag...

Page 72: ...e an action can be scheduled to apply all Errata Updates to a system Red Hat Network keeps track of the following action types 1 Package Installations For more information on how to perform package installations refer to Section 4 6 5 Packages 2 Errata Updates For more information on how to apply Errata Updates refer to Section 4 5 2 1 Apply Errata Updates 3 Hardware Profile Updates To schedule a ...

Page 73: ...ons that you have selected to store for review 4 7 5 Actions List In each page each row in the list represents a single scheduled event or action that might affect multiple systems and involve various packages The list contains several columns of information Select Use the checkboxes in this column to select actions After selecting actions you can either add them to your selection list or move the...

Page 74: ...r more information In Progress Systems List of systems on which the action is now being undertaken To cancel an action select the system using the appropriate checkbox and click the Unschedule Action button Clicking a system name takes you to its System Details page Refer to Section 4 4 2 6 System Details for more information Failed Systems List of systems on which the action has been attempted an...

Page 75: ...ddress and user roles for the user All of this information is modifiable To do so make your changes and click the Update button Remember when changing a user s password you will see only asterisks as you type the password To as sign a user the role of Organization Administrator or channel administrator select the appropriate checkbox before clicking Update Assigned Groups List of system groups tha...

Page 76: ...ne Set your time zone so that scheduled actions are arranged 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 To modify any of these options make your changes and click the Alter Preferences button Addresses General address billing address and shipping address for the user as configured during user creation To modify...

Page 77: ...inutes If you set the interval below one hour it will default to two hours 120 minutes You can view the status of the rhnsd by typing the command service rhnsd status or etc rc d init d rhnsd status at a shell prompt To disable the daemon as root run the ntsysv utility and uncheck rhnsd You can also as root execute the command chkconfig rhnsd off Using these two methods will only disable the ser v...

Page 78: ...70 Chapter 5 Red Hat Network Daemon ...

Page 79: ...ll prompt execute the command cd rhnpackages to change to the new direc tory 3 Go to http rhn redhat com help rh62 pxt and download the necessary packages 4 Go back to the shell prompt in the rhnpackages directory you must still be root and execute the command rpm Uvh to upgrade the existing Red Hat Update Agent to the version that works with Red Hat Network The Red Hat Network Registration Client...

Page 80: ...72 Chapter 6 Using Red Hat Network with Red Hat Linux 6 2 ...

Page 81: ... 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 and begin steps listed in Section 2 3 Setup and Use 7 1 Configuring the Red Hat Network Registration Client Warning Most users do not need to configure the Red Hat Network Registration Client before registering their systems ...

Page 82: ... the number of the item that you want to modify and enter a new value for the option When you finish changing your configuration press Enter to save your changes and exit Press q and then Enter to quit without saving your changes The most common options configured are enableProxy and httpProxy to enable a proxy server To enable a proxy server change the value for enableProxy to Yes and the value o...

Page 83: ...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 infor mation you transfer will not be encrypted If you have an earlier version of Python you will see the message shown in Figure 7 2 To determine the version of Python on your system use the command rpm q python It is strongly recommended you use P...

Page 84: ...istration process If you click Cancel the registration process will end and no information will be sent Figure 7 4 Welcome Screen Red Hat is committed to protecting your privacy see Figure 7 5 The information gathered during the Red Hat Network registration process is used to create a System Profile The System Profile is essential if you wish to receive update notifications about your system If yo...

Page 85: ...and a valid email address In the screen shown in Figure 7 7 you must choose a username and password Once logged in to Red Hat Network you can modify your preferences view your existing System Profile or obtain the latest Red Hat software packages You must choose a unique username If you enter one already in use you will see an error message see Figure 7 6 Try different usernames until you find one...

Page 86: ...d created a System Profile you can add a new machine to your account Run the Red Hat Network Registration Client on the new machine you wish to add and enter your existing Red Hat Network username and password The new machine will be added to your existing account and you can log into Red Hat Network with your username and password to view all your systems simultaneously Figure 7 7 Create a Unique...

Page 87: ...ystem Profile After creating a username and password for your Red Hat Network account the Red Hat Network Registration Client probes your system for the following information Red Hat Linux version Hostname IP address CPU model CPU speed Amount of RAM PCI devices Disk sizes Mount points The next step is choosing a profile name for your system as shown in Figure 7 8 The default value is the hostname...

Page 88: ...u will only receive notifications about the packages in your System Profile Thus if you use an older version of a package and deselect it from the list it will not be replaced with a newer version This RPM list can be modified through the Red Hat Network Web interface or by using the Red Hat Update Agent Figure 7 9 shows the progress bar you will see while the Red Hat Network Registration Client g...

Page 89: ...included in your System Profile to be up dated 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 7 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 pro...

Page 90: ...ude from System Profile 7 5 Finishing Registration As seen in Figure 7 12 the last step of registration is to confirm that you want to send your System Profile to the Red Hat Network If you choose Cancel at this point no information will be sent Clicking Next will submit your RHN System Profile ...

Page 91: ...ome time depending on your connection speed Figure 7 13 Send System Profile to Red Hat Network You will know your System Profile has been successfully sent when you see the Registration Fin ished screen Figure 7 14 Click Finish to exit the Red Hat Network Registration Client After completing the registration you must entitle your system to an RHN service level Refer to Section 7 6 Entitling Your S...

Page 92: ...tem that you just registered Then click the Update Entitlements button at the bottom of the page The number of entitlements remaining will decrease and your system is now ready to use the Red Hat Update Agent and RHN website Refer to Chapter 2 Red Hat Update Agent and Chapter 4 Red Hat Network Website for details on how to use them If you do not have any entitlement slots left enter the number you...

Page 93: ... Client 85 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 7 2 Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client Figure 7 15 Text Mode Welcome Screen ...

Page 94: ...86 Chapter 7 Red Hat Network Registration Client ...

Page 95: ...eg_ks from the rhn_register package B Base Channel A base channel is a type of Channel that consists of a list of packages based on a specific architecture and Red Hat Linux release For example all the packages in Red Hat Linux 9 for the x86 architecture make a base channel Basic One of the RHN service level offerings Basic was formerly called Software Manager Basic offers the same services as the...

Page 96: ...before each connection This certificate is issued by Red Hat and passed to the system as part of the registration process It includes unique information about the registered system to avoid fraudulent use E Email Notification Similar to an Errata Alert except the information is delivered via email If the email notifi cations option is selected notifications are sent for every Red Hat Network Errat...

Page 97: ...w packages they are placed on the Red Hat Public File Server and on the Red Hat Network Server and an Errata is generated Errata Alert RHN Errata Alert that updated packages based on Red Hat Errata are available for one or more systems within an organization There are three types of Errata Alerts Security Alerts Bug Fix Alerts and Enhancement Alerts O Organization Administrator Organization Admini...

Page 98: ...hether to install the packages after they are downloaded RPM A software package manager that was developed by Red Hat It can be used to build install query verify update and uninstall software packages All software updates from RHN are de livered in RPM format RPM Database Each Red Hat Linux system has an RPM database that stores information about all the RPM packages installed on the system This ...

Page 99: ...dministrator group can add systems to the organization System ID A unique string of characters and numbers that identifies a registered system It is stored in the system s Digital Certificate System Profile Hardware and software information about the client system It is created during the registration process The software information is a list of RPM packages and their versions installed on the cl...

Page 100: ...92 Glossary ...

Page 101: ...es Channel List 59 child channel 59 conventions document i D daemon 69 deleting a system 48 Demo 2 Digital Certificate 4 download ISO images 62 E email address change 43 changing 67 entitlement with activation key 55 entitlements purchase history 44 purchasing 44 Errata 56 Advanced Search 59 All Errata 57 apply applicable 49 Relevant Errata 57 Errata Alert Icons explanation of 41 Errata Alerts app...

Page 102: ...ed Hat Network Daemon 1 69 Disable 69 Status 69 using to apply Errata Updates 48 58 62 Red Hat Network Registration Client See Registration Red Hat Update Agent 1 7 37 Command Line Arguments 25 Configuration 29 with a proxy server 29 Registration 73 as part of an organization 12 78 Configuration 73 Email notification 11 77 Hardware System Profile 14 79 Password 11 77 RPM Package List 15 80 Softwar...

Page 103: ...up2date See Red Hat Update Agent user account 11 77 user details modifying 67 user roles 67 users 66 billing address 68 changing email address 67 changing password 67 creating 67 general address 68 list of 66 roles 67 shipping address 68 User List 66 W website 39 activation keys 55 All Errata 57 Buy Now 44 Channel Details 61 Channel List 59 Errata 56 Errata Search 59 Help 44 logging in 39 Manage C...

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