REDHAT NETWORK - USER REFERENCE GUIDE 3.0 User Reference Manual

[Page 1] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Red Hat Network User Reference Guide 3.0 ...

[Page 2] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

ISBN: N/A Red Hat, Inc. 2600 Meridian Parkway Durham, NC 27713 USA +1 919 547 0012 (Voice) +1 919 547 0024 (FAX) 888 733 4281 (Voice) P.O. Box 13588 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 USA © 2001 Red Hat, Inc. RHNurg(EN)-3.0-Print-RHI (2001-08-12T12:19...

[Page 3] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Contents Red Hat Network Introduction................................................................................... v Document Conventions.................................................................... v More to Come ..........................

[Page 4] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

4.3 Choosing Packages to Update.................................................. 38 4.4 Installing Updated Packages .................................................... 41 4.5 Update Agent Finished.......................................................

[Page 5] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 0.1:Document Conventions v Introduction Welcome to the Red Hat Network User Reference Guide 3.0. The Red Hat Network User Reference Guide will guide you through registering your system for Red Hat Network and using its many features. Dependin...

[Page 6] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

vi Introduction The /usr/share/doc directory contains documentation for various programs. Install the webalizer RPM if you want to use a Web server log file analysis program. application This style should indicate to you that the program named is an ...

[Page 7] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 0.1:Document Conventions vii Click on the Back button to return to the Web page you last viewed. computer output When you see text in this style, it indicates text displayed by the computer on the command line. You will see responses to comma...

[Page 8] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

viii Introduction In this case, the style of the word daemon should indicate to you that a definition of the term is available in the glossary. Additionally, we use several different strategies to draw your attention to certain pieces of information....

[Page 9] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 0.2:More to Come ix [email protected] ...

[Page 10] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

x Introduction ...

[Page 11] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

What is Red Hat Network? 11 1 What is Red Hat Network? Have you ever read about a new version of a software package and wanted to install it but could not find it? Have you ever tried to find an RPM through an Internet search engine or an RPM Reposit...

[Page 12] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

12 Chapter 1:What is Red Hat Network? 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 6, Red Hat Network Daemon for further informa...

[Page 13] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 1.4:Before You Begin 13 1.3 Security, Quality Assurance, and Red Hat Network Red Hat Network provides significant benefits to your network including security and quality assur- ance. All transactions made between you and Red Hat Network are e...

[Page 14] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

14 Chapter 1:What is Red Hat Network? package rhn_register is not installed Perform this check for every package in Table 1–1, Red Hat Network Packages. If you do not want to use the graphical versions, you do not have to install the two packages e...

[Page 15] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 2.1:Configuring the Red Hat Network Registration Client 15 2 Red Hat Network Registration Client Before you begin using Red Hat Network, you need to create a user name, password, and System Profile. The Red Hat Network Registration Client wil...

[Page 16] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

16 Chapter 2:Red Hat Network Registration Client If you require a proxy username and password, change the values of numbers 0, 4, and 6. Set en- ableProxyAuth to Yes to enable username/password authentication for the proxy. Set prox- yUser and proxyP...

[Page 17] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 2.2:Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client 17 Figure 2–1 Use Python 1.5.2-24 or later The opening screen for the Red Hat Network Registration Client gives you a brief overview of the services available and the steps required to re...

[Page 18] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

18 Chapter 2:Red Hat Network Registration Client Figure 2–3 Red Hat Privacy Statement 2.3 Registering a User Account Before you can create a System Profile, you must create a user account. The only required information in this section is a unique u...

[Page 19] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 2.3:Registering a User Account 19 Figure 2–4 Error: Username Already Exists Note If you are already a member of redhat.com, you can use the same user name and password. However, you will still need to continue with the registration process ...

[Page 20] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

20 Chapter 2:Red Hat Network Registration Client Figure 2–5 Warning: This System Already Registered 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 Registrati...

[Page 21] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 2.4:Registering a System Profile 21 Most users can leave the Org Info section blank. If you have an existing organization account, enter your organization’s ID and password in the provided text fields. If the values are valid, the system wi...

[Page 22] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

22 Chapter 2:Red Hat Network Registration Client Figure 2–7 System Profile - Hardware 2.4.2 Software System Profile The software System Profile consists of a list of RPM packages for which you wish to receive notifi- cations. The Red Hat Network Re...

[Page 23] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 2.4:Registering a System Profile 23 Figure 2–8 Registration Wizard Once the RPM package list is built, the list will be displayed as shown in Figure 2–9, RPM Package Information. Deselecting Include RPM Packages installed on this system i...

[Page 24] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

24 Chapter 2:Red Hat Network Registration Client Profile shows that the procmail, procps, and psgml packages have been omitted from the package list. Choose which packages to exclude from the system profile, and click Next to continue with the regis-...

[Page 25] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 2.5:Finishing Registration 25 Figure 2–11 Finished Collecting Information for System Profile Figure 2–12, Send System Profile to Red Hat Network shows the progress bar you will see while your profile is being sent. This process may take s...

[Page 26] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

26 Chapter 2:Red Hat Network Registration Client Figure 2–13 Registration Finished 2.6 Entitling Your System Now that you have registered your system, it must be entitled before you can receive updated packages. In other words, you must subscribe i...

[Page 27] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 2.7:Text Mode RHN Registration Client 27 2.7 Text Mode RHN Registration Client 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 Regist...

[Page 28] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

28 Chapter 2:Red Hat Network Registration Client ...

[Page 29] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 3.2:General Settings 29 3 Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool Before using the Red Hat Update Agent, you should configure the settings. This can be done with the Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool. If you are not running the X Window...

[Page 30] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

30 Chapter 3:Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool Figure 3–1 General Settings 3.3 Retrieval/Installation Settings The Retrieval/Installation tab allows you to customize your software package retrieval and package installation preferences. Note Y...

[Page 31] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 3.3:Retrieval/Installation Settings 31 Figure 3–2 Retrieval/Installation Settings The following retrieval options can be selected (see Figure 3–2, Retrieval/Installation Settings): • Do not install packages after retrieval — download ...

[Page 32] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

32 Chapter 3:Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool • 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...

[Page 33] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 3.5:Command Line Version of Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool 33 Figure 3–3 Package Exceptions Settings 3.5 Command Line Version of Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool The command line version of this tool performs the same functi...

[Page 34] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

34 Chapter 3:Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool 5. networkRetries 5 6. removeSkipList [’kernel*’] 7. retrieveOnly No 8. enableProxy No 9. keepAfterInstall No 10. proxyPassword 11. proxyUser 12. headerFetchCount 10 13. versionOverride 14. ena...

[Page 35] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 4.1:Starting the Red Hat Update Agent 35 4 Red Hat Update Agent After configuring the settings for the Red Hat Update Agent using the instructions in Chapter 3, Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool , you can use the Red Hat Update Agent to...

[Page 36] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

36 Chapter 4:Red Hat Update Agent Argument Description -i, --install Install packages after they are downloaded. This argument will override the configuraton option Do not install packages after retrieval. -k, --packagedir Specify a colon separated p...

[Page 37] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 4.2:Choosing a Channel 37 Figure 4–2 Welcome Screen 4.2 Choosing a Channel The first step is to select the channel(s) from which you want the updated packages to be retreived. Select one or more channels and click Next. Refer to Section 5.5...

[Page 38] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

38 Chapter 4:Red Hat Update Agent Figure 4–3 Channels 4.3 Choosing Packages to Update After clicking Next on the Welcome Screen, the dialog box in Figure 4–4, Retrieve Update Information will appear. This means that a connection to Red Hat Networ...

[Page 39] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 4.3:Choosing Packages to Update 39 for your system. If there are no updated packages available for your system, the dialog box in Figure 4–5, No new packages needed appears. Click Ok to exit Red Hat Update Agent. Figure 4–5 No new package...

[Page 40] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

40 Chapter 4:Red Hat Update Agent If you want to view the advisory for the RPM Update, click the View Advisory button. This will display what type of Errata Alert it is and what problems it addresses as shown in Figure 4–7, View Advisory. Click Nex...

[Page 41] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 4.4:Installing Updated Packages 41 Red Hat Update Agent shows the progress of each package retrieval as shown in Figure 4–9, Re- trieval Finished. When they have all been retrieved, the message All finished is displayed at the bottom of the...

[Page 42] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

42 Chapter 4:Red Hat Update Agent Figure 4–10 Installation Finished 4.5 Update Agent Finished When the Red Hat Update Agent has finished downloading the desired packages (and installing them if you chose the install option), you will see the screen...

[Page 43] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 4.6:Command Line Version of Red Hat Update Agent 43 Figure 4–11 Update Agent Finished 4.6 Command Line Version of Red Hat Update Agent If you are not running X, you can still run the Red Hat Update Agent from a virtual console or remote ter...

[Page 44] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

44 Chapter 4:Red Hat Update Agent Table 4–2 Update Agent Command Line Arguments Argument Description --configure Configure Red Hat Update Agent options. This is equivalent to running the Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool (up2date-config). To ...

[Page 45] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 4.6:Command Line Version of Red Hat Update Agent 45 Argument Description --tmpdir=directory Override the configured package directory. The default location is /var/spool/up2date. This option is useful if you do not have enough space in the co...

[Page 46] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

46 Chapter 4:Red Hat Update Agent 4.6.1 Installing the Red Hat GPG key The first time you run the graphical version of Red Hat Update Agent, it prompts you to install the Red Hat GPG key. This key is required to authenticate the packages downloaded f...

[Page 47] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 4.7:Manual Package Installation 47 XCLPA/9P/vtImA8CZN3jxGgtK5GGtDNJ/cMhhuv5tnfwFg4b/VGo2Jr8mhLUqoIb E6zeGAmZbUpdckDco8D5fiFmqTf5+++pCEpJLJkkzel/32N2w4qzPrcRMCiBURES PjCLd4Y5rPoU8E4kOHc/4BuHN903tiCsCPloCrWsQZ7UdxfQ5LQiUmVkIEhhdCwg SW5jIDxzZWN1...

[Page 48] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

48 Chapter 4:Red Hat Update Agent 4.8 Syncronizing Your System Profile If you configured the Red Hat Update Agent to install the latest packages automatically, then your System Profile stored by Red Hat Network will be updated automatically also. How...

[Page 49] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 5.1:Logging into Software Manager 49 5 Software Manager Software Manager also refers to the Web interface to Red Hat Network. You can use Software Manager to manage multiple Red Hat Linux systems simultaneously including viewing Errata Alerts...

[Page 50] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

50 Chapter 5:Software Manager Figure 5–1 Logging into Red Hat Network 5.2 Introduction to the Web Interface The left navigation bar is divided into categories and pages within the categories. A user with entitled systems has permission to use the f...

[Page 51] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 5.2:Introduction to the Web Interface 51 • Systems — Manage your systems here. – System List — View a list of all your systems along with how many Errata Alerts each system has, which channels the systems are subscribed to, and which ...

[Page 52] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

52 Chapter 5:Software Manager – RHN User Reference — Link to RHN User Reference Guide that provides step-by-step in- structions for using RHN. • Security and Privacy — Detailed information about how Red Hat protects the information about your...

[Page 53] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 5.3:Your RHN 53 1. Click the category name in the Current Selections box. 2. Unselect the items from the list by clicking the checkbox under the Select column. 3. Click . After clicking , the number of selections in the category will change i...

[Page 54] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

54 Chapter 5:Software Manager Figure 5–3 Your Red Hat Network The first line of the Your Red Hat Network page shows how many systems need attention and provides a link to quickly view those systems. Clicking the here link displays the System List p...

[Page 55] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 5.4:Systems 55 The email address on the Details tab is the one Red Hat Network sends email notification to if you have selected to receive Errata Alert email for your systems under the Preferences tab. To change your preferred email address, ...

[Page 56] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

56 Chapter 5:Software Manager 5.4.1 System List As shown in Figure 5–4, Systems List, the System List page displays a list of all your registered systems. Figure 5–4 Systems List The System List contains several columns for each registered system...

[Page 57] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 5.4:Systems 57 • Name — The name of the system as configured when registering the system. The default name is the hostname of the system. Clicking on the name of a system takes you to the System Details page for the system. Refer to Secti...

[Page 58] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

58 Chapter 5:Software Manager 5.4.4 System Details If you click on the name of a system on any page, it will display the System Details page for the system. The System Details page is further divided into tabbed pages. The first tabbed page you see i...

[Page 59] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 5.5:Channels and Packages 59 • Notes — Create notes about the system. Click Add a new note, type a subject and the note, and click Update Note. To delete a note, click on its title for the list of notes, check Delete this note, and click ...

[Page 60] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

60 Chapter 5:Software Manager 5.5.2 Channel Subscribe and Unsubscribe Each RHN client system must be subscribed to a base channel and can only be subscribed to one base channel. This base channel is selected automatically during registration from the...

[Page 61] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 5.6:Errata 61 5. Select the entitled systems that you want to install the package on. 6. Click the Install Packages on Selected Systems button. 7. Confirm the action. 5.6 Errata Red Hat releases Errata Alerts in three categories: Security Ale...

[Page 62] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

62 Chapter 5:Software Manager 5.6.3 Errata Search The results of the last search are on the bottom of the page. You can create a new result set, choose to union with the previous result set, or intersect with the previous result set. The Errata Searc...

[Page 63] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Section 5.7:Scheduled Actions 63 5.6.5 Errata Details If you click on the synopsis of an Errata Alert, the Errata Details page for the Errata Alert will appear. This page is further divided into two tabbed pages: Details and Systems Affected. The Det...

[Page 64] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

64 Chapter 5:Software Manager currently performing the Errata Update, which systems have completed the action, and which systems tried the action but failed to complete it. Figure 5–5 Scheduled Actions ...

[Page 65] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Red Hat Network Daemon 65 6 Red Hat Network Daemon The Red Hat Network Daemon periodically connects to the Red Hat Network to check for updates and notifications. The default interval time is two hours (120 minutes). This can be configured in the /et...

[Page 66] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

66 Chapter 6:Red Hat Network Daemon ...

[Page 67] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Using Red Hat Network with Red Hat Linux 6.2 67 7 Using Red Hat Network with Red Hat Linux 6.2 Red Hat Linux 6.2 shipped with a program named Red Hat Update Agent (up2date). However, this version of Red Hat Update Agent can not be used to connect to ...

[Page 68] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

68 Chapter 7:Using Red Hat Network with Red Hat Linux 6.2 ...

[Page 69] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Frequently Asked Questions 69 8 Frequently Asked Questions The following contains answers to common questions about Red Hat Network. Q: What is Red Hat Network? A: Red Hat Network is a systems support and management environment for Red Hat Linux netw...

[Page 70] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

70 Chapter 8:Frequently Asked Questions 1. In GNOME desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => Programs => System => Red Hat Network 2. In KDE desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => Red Hat => System => Red...

[Page 71] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Frequently Asked Questions 71 Q: Can I use Red Hat Network to upgrade my Red Hat Linux kernel? A: Yes. You must use Red Hat Update Agent version 2.5.4 or higher. If you choose the kernel packages and allow Red Hat Network to install them to your syst...

[Page 72] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

72 Chapter 8:Frequently Asked Questions ...

[Page 73] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Frequently Asked Questions 73 Glossary A Action A task that is scheduled by a system administrator using Red Hat Network to be performed on one or more client systems. For example, an action can be scheduled to update the kernel packages on all the s...

[Page 74] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

74 Chapter 8:Frequently Asked Questions D Digital Certificate A client component in XML format that is stored in the /etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid file on registered systems. Red Hat Network verifies this certificate to authenticate the registered syst...

[Page 75] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Frequently Asked Questions 75 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 Enhan...

[Page 76] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

76 Chapter 8:Frequently Asked Questions S Security Alert An Errata Alert that pertains to system security. Service Level A Red Hat Network subscription service. Different service levels offer different features of RHN. The first service level offered...

[Page 77] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

Index 77 Index B base channel.................................. 59 C Channel List ................................. 59 channels....................................... 59 base......................................... 59 child.............................

[Page 78] Red Hat NETWORK - USER 3.0

78 Index Quality Assurance ........................... 12 R Red Hat Linux 6.2 Using Red Hat Network with ............ 67 Red Hat Network Daemon.............. 11, 65 Disable..................................... 65 Status..................................