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If you click the Channels tab on the top navigation bar, the Channels category and links appear. The pages in the Channels category enable you to view and manage the channels and packages associated with your systems. In addition, you can obtain ISO images here.
The Software Channels page is the first to appear in the Channels category. A software channel is a list of Red Hat Enterprise Linux packages grouped by use. Channels are used to choose packages to be installed on a system.
There are two types of software channels: base channels and child channels. A base channel consists of a list of packages based on a specific architecture and Red Hat Enterprise Linux release. For example, all the packages in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 for the x86 architecture is a base channel. The list of packages in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 for the Itanium architecture is a different base channel. A child channel is a channel associated with a base channel but contains extra packages. For example, an organization can create a child channel associated with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 for the x86 architecture that contains extra packages needed only for the organization, such as a custom engineering application.
A system must be subscribed to one base channel only. This base channel is assigned automatically during registration based upon the Red Hat Enterprise Linux release and system architecture selected. In the case of public free channels, the action will succeed. In the case of paid base channels, this action will fail if an associated entitlement doesn't exist.
A system can be subscribed to multiple child channels of its base channel. Only packages included in a system's subscribed channels can be installed or updated on that system.
Channels can be further broken down by their relevance to your systems. Two such lists emerge: Relevant and All.
As shown in Figure 4-5, the Relevant Channels page is shown by default when you click Software Channels in the left navigation bar. It displays a list of channels now associated with your systems. Links within this list go to different tabs of the Software 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 Software Channel Details for details.
The All Channels page can be retrieved by clicking All below Software Channels in the left navigation bar. It works identically to the Relevant button with one exception; It displays all software channels offered by Red Hat Network, regardless of whether you have systems associated with them.
If you click on the name of a channel, the Software Channel Details page will appear. This page contains the following tabs:
Details — General information about the channel and the parent channel, if it is a child channel. This is the first tab you see when you click on a channel. It displays essential information about the channel, such as summary, description, and architecture.
Errata — List of Errata affecting the channel. The list displays advisory types, names, summaries, and the dates issued. Clicking on an advisory name takes you to its Errata Details page. Refer to Section 4.5.2.2 Errata Details for more information.
Packages — List of packages in the channel. To download packages as a .tar file, select them and click the Download Packages button at the bottom-left corner of the page. Clicking on a package name takes you to the Package Details page. This page displays a set of tabs with information about the package, including which architectures it runs on, the package size, build date, package dependencies, the change log, list of files in the package, newer versions, and which systems have the package installed. From here, you can download the packages as RPMs or SRPMs. Refer to Section 4.6.5.3 Package Details for more information.
If you are looking for a specific package or a subset of packages, you can use the package filter on the top of the list. Entering a substring to search for will search all the packages in the list for the substring at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the package name. For example, typing ks in the filter might return all the ksconfig, krb5-workstation, and links. The filter is case-insensitive.
Subscribed Systems — List of entitled systems subscribed to the channel. The list displays system names, base channels, and their levels of entitlement. Clicking on a system name takes you to its System Details page. Refer to Section 4.4.1.5 System Details for more information.
Target Systems — List of entitled systems that are eligible to be subscribed to the channel. This tab appears only for child channels. Use the checkboxes to select the systems, then click the Subscribe button on the bottom right-hand corner. You will receive a success message or be notified of any errors. This can also be accomplished through the Channels tab of the System Details page. Refer to Section 4.4.1.5 System Details for more information.
Downloads — ISO images associated with the channel. This tab appears only for base channels. Links on the Easy ISOs pages bring you to this tab for the related channel. Red Hat recommends using curl or wget for ISO downloads. Click the help on using curl or wget link for precise instructions.
License — Text of the channel's End User License Agreement. This tab is associated only with channels of third-party providers. It appears when you attempt a subscription to such a channel through the Target Systems tab. To complete the subscription, read the agreement, click the Accept button, and then click the Confirm button. To decline the subscription, click the Cancel button.
The Channel Entitlements page displays the list of channels for which you have paid. Click the number of systems subscribed to see a list of systems tied to the corresponding channel.
The Easy ISOs pages provide direct access to the ISO images available to you. These images, comprising full installations of various Red Hat operating system distributions, are actually located within the Downloads tab of the Channel Details page. This feature is available only to paid RHN subscribers.
To download an ISO image, Red Hat recommends copying its URL and using either curl or wget. Click the help on using curl or wget link for precise instructions. To obtain the URL, right-click on the disc link and select to open the link in a new window or tab. You may then cancel the download, copy the lengthy URL from the location bar, and paste it into the curl or wget command.
Once downloaded, either burn the images to CD-Rs or CD-RWs or copy them to the machine for direct installation. Refer to http://www.redhat.com/download/howto_download.html for additional download instructions and steps to burn images to discs. Refer to the operating system's respective installation guide for instructions on installing from CD-ROM or hard drive, available at http://www.redhat.com/docs/.
ISOs can be further broken down by their relevance to your systems. Two such lists emerge: Relevant and All.
The Relevant ISOs page is shown by default when you click Easy ISOs in the left navigation bar. It displays a list of ISOs by channel now associated with your systems. Links within this list go to the Downloads tab of the Channel Details page. Refer to Section 4.6.3 Easy ISOs for instructions on use.
The All ISOs page can be retrieved by clicking All below Easy ISOs in the left navigation bar. It works identically to the Relevant button with one exception; It displays all ISOs available to you through Red Hat Network, regardless of whether you have systems associated with the related channels. Refer to Section 4.6.3 Easy ISOs for instructions on use.
The Package Search page allows you to search through packages using various criteria. You may search by name or name and summary, within relevant or all channels, or within specific architectures. Type your keyword, select the criterion to search by, and click the Search button. The results appear at the bottom of the page.
A software package is the smallest essential ingredient of any Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. Packages, commonly known as RPMs because of their oversight by RPM Package Manager, are the pieces of software that, when installed, enable your system to operate. Packages are grouped by channels to help 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.
Only software 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 Daemon enabled on your systems. Refer to Chapter 5 Red Hat Network Daemon for more details. |
To apply Errata Updates, refer to Section 4.5.2.1 Apply Errata Updates. To upgrade and install packages through the Systems category, use the Packages tab of the System Details page. Refer to Section 4.4.1.5 System Details for instructions.
If you do not want to schedule a package installation, you can download the packages immediately. If you download the packages, you must install them manually.
To download packages through the Systems category, refer to Section 4.4.1.5 System Details.
To download individual RPMs and SRPMs through the Channels category, follow these steps:
Select Channels => Software Channels from the top and left navigation bars.
Click on the name of the channel that contains the package to be downloaded.
On the Software Channel Details page, click on the Packages tab.
Click on the name of the package that you want to download.
On the Package Details page, click the Download RPM or Download SRPM link on the bottom right-hand corner.
Confirm the action.
The next step is to install the packages manually. Refer to Section 2.3.5.2 Manual Package Installation for details.
If you click on the name of any package in the website, the Package 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 page to download the RPM and/or SRPM files for the package.
Dependencies — A list of all other packages that must also be installed on the system for this one to function properly. It also lists packages that it obsoletes or has conflicts with.
Change Log — The events of this package's history listed in reverse chronological order. (This information is similar to issuing the command rpm -q --changelog packagename.)
File List — A list of the files that comprise this package, including their MD5 Sums and sizes. (This information is similar to issuing the command rpm -ql packagename.)
Newer Versions — List of newer versions of the packages released via Errata Alerts.
Installed Systems — List of systems with this package installed.
