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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.
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.
Clicking the View System Groups link at the
top of the Overview page takes you to a
similar summary of your system groups. It identifies group
status and displays the number of systems contained. Clicking on
the number of systems takes you to the
Systems tab of the System Group
Details page, while clicking on the system name
takes you to the Details tab for that system.. Refer to
Section 6.4.3.3 System Group Details — for more information.
You can also click the Use Group button
in the System Groups section of the
Overview page to go directly to the
System Set Manager. Refer to Section 6.4.4 System Set Manager — for
more information.
The Systems page displays a list of all of your registered systems. The Systems list contains several columns of information for each system:
Select — Update or unentitled
systems cannot be selected. To select systems, mark the
appropriate checkboxes and click the Update
List button below the column. Selected systems
are added to the System Set Manager. After adding
systems to the System Set Manager, you can use it to
perform actions on them simultaneously. Refer to Section 6.4.4 System Set Manager — for details.
Status — Shows which type of Errata Alerts are applicable to the system or confirms that it is up-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 conflict, either schedule a package list update or remove the packages from the Package Exceptions list for the Red Hat Update Agent. Refer to Section 6.4.2.8 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 information.
Base Channel — The primary channel for the system, based upon its operating system distribution. Refer to Section 6.6.1 Software Channels for more information.
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.
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.
The Out of Date page displays the systems that have applicable Errata Alerts that have not been applied.
The Unentitled page displays the systems that have not yet been entitled for Red Hat Network service.
The Ungrouped page displays the systems that have not yet been assigned to a specific system group.
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.
The Satellite page displays the RHN Satellite Server systems registered to your RHN account.
The Proxy page displays the RHN Proxy Server systems registered to your RHN account.
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:
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 important 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 systems, 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 immediately instead of waiting the set interval.
In addition to the configuration of the Satellite, each client system to receive pushed actions must have the osad package installed and its service started. Refer to the Enabling Push to Clients section of the RHN Satellite Server Installation Guide for details.
The Details tab contains the following subsets of information:
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.
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 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 advisories 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 Provisioning 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 Errata 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.
Detailed information about the system, including networking, BIOS, storage, and other devices. This appears only if you selected to include the hardware profile for this machine during registration. If the hardware profile looks incomplete or outdated, click the Schedule Hardware Refresh button to schedule a Hardware Profile update for your system. The next time the RHN Daemon connects to RHN, it will update your System Profile with the latest list of hardware.
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.
Completely customizable information about the system.
Unlike a note, information included 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.
Activates a RHN Proxy Server. Select a version of RHN Proxy Server and click the Activate Proxy button to begin the installation and activation process. For detailed information, refer to the RHN Proxy Server Guide and the Client Configuration Guide.
A System Profile-specific activation key. This allows you to create an activation key encompassing 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 instructions. 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. |
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 |
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.
The system's path to the package repository. This tab appears for any system in an organization 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'.
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.
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.
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.
Lists installed packages from the system's software System Profile and enables you to remove them. Click on a package name to view its Package Details page. To delete packages from the system, select their checkboxes and click the Remove Packages button on the bottom right-hand corner of the page. A confirmation page appears with the packages listed. Click the Confirm button to remove the packages.
Displays a list of packages that have a new version available based on the package versions in the channels for the system. Click on the latest package name to view its Package Details page. To upgrade packages immediately, select them and click the Upgrade Packages button. To download the packages as a .tar file, select them and click the Download Packages button.
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.
Validates the packages installed on the system against its RPM database. This is the equivalent of running rpm -V. Specifically, this tab allows you to compare the metadata of the system's packages with information from the database, such as MD5 sum, file size, permissions, owner, group and type. To verify a package or packages, select them, click the Verify Selected Packages button, and confirm this action. Once finished, you can view the results by selecting this action within the History subtab under Events.
Gives you the ability to compare the packages on this system with the packages of stored profiles and other Management and Provisioning systems. To make the comparison with a stored profile, select that profile from the pulldown menu and click the Compare button. To make the comparison with another system, select it from the associated pulldown menu and click the Compare button. To create a stored profile based upon the existing system, click the Create System Profile button, enter any additional information you desire, and click the Create Profile button. These profiles are kept within the Stored Profiles page linked from the left navigation bar.
— Once package profiles have
been compared, Provisioning customers have the ability to
synchronize the packages of the selected system with the
package manifest of the compared profile. Note that this
action may delete packages on the system not in the
profile, as well as install packages from the profile. To
install specific packages, select the checkboxes of
packages from the profile. To remove specific packages
already installed on the system itself, select the
checkboxes of packages showing a difference of This
system only. To synchronize fully the system's packages with
the compared profile, select the master checkbox
at the top of the column. Then click the Sync
Packages to button. On the confirmation
screen, review the changes, select a time frame for the
action, and click the Schedule Sync
button.
Manage the channels associated with the system.
Software channels provide a well-defined method to determine which packages should be available to a system for installation or upgrade based upon its operating systems, packages, and functionality. Click a channel name to view its Channel Details page. To modify the child channels associated with this system, use the checkboxes next to the channels and click the Change Subscriptions button. You will receive a success message or be notified of any errors. To change the system's base channel, select the new one from the pulldown menu and click the Modify Base Channel button. Refer to Section 6.6.1 Software Channels for more information.
Assists in managing the configuration of the system. This section is available to normal users with access to systems that have configuration management enabled. Like software channels, configuration channels store files to be installed on systems. While software updates are provided by RHN, configuration files are managed solely by you. Also unlike software packages, various versions of configuration files may prove useful to a system at any given time. Remember, only the latest version can be deployed.
To manage the configuration of a system, it must have the latest rhncfg* packages installed. Refer to Section 6.6.6.1 Preparing Systems for Config Management for instructions on enabling and disabling scheduled actions for a system.
Here are the options available within the system's Configuration tab, each of which results in a separate subtab:
Managed Files — List all configuration files currently associated with the system. The Overrides column identifies the config file from which channel will apply if the system is unsubscribed from the config channel that provides the file now. For instance, if a system has '/etc/foo' from channel 'bar' and '/etc/foo' from channel 'baz' is in the Overrides column, then unsubscribing from channel 'bar' will mean that the file from channel 'baz' will be applicable. Also, if nothing is in the 'Overrides' column for a given file path, then unsubscribing from the channel providing the file will mean that the file is no longer managed (though it will not remove the file from the system).
Diff — Validate the configuration files installed on the system by comparing them to versions stored in RHN's central configuration manager. Select the files to be diffed and click Analyze Differences.
Config Channels — Set
the subscription and rank of configuration channels
that may be associated with the system, lowest first.
Enter numbers in the Rank fields
to establish the order in which channels are used.
Channels with no numeric value are not associated with
the system. This system's local configuration channel
will always override all other channels for this
system and therefore cannot have its rank adjusted
from 1. All other channels are created in the
Manage Config Channels interface
within the Channels category.
Refer to Section 6.6.6 Manage Config Channels — for
instructions. When satisfied, click
Update.
Local Overrides — View
and manage the default configuration files for the
system. If no files exist, you may use the
add files, upload
files, and add
directories links within the page
description to associate files with this system. These
tabs correspond to those within the
Configuration Channel Details
page, affecting your entire organization and available
only to Configuration Administrators. Refer to Section 6.6.6.5 Configuration Channel Details — for instructions.
If a file exists, click its name to go to the
Configuration File Details page.
Refer to Section 6.6.6.6 Configuration File Details — for
instructions. To replicate the file within a config
channel, select its checkbox, click the
Copy to Config Channel button,
and select the destination channel. To remove a file,
select it and click Delete Selected
Files.
Sandbox — Manipulate configuration files without deploying them. This sandbox provides you with an area to experiment with files without affecting systems. To add files, click the import new files link, select an option for their addition from the dropdown menu, and click Go. Ensure you have the latest rhncfg* packages. The rest of the functions work like those on the Local Overrides subtab.
Lists the system's associated groups and enables you to change these associations.
Lists groups to which the system belongs and enables
you to cancel those associations. Only System Group Administrators and Organization Administrators
can remove the system from groups. Non-admins just see a
Review this system's group membership page. To remove
the system from groups, select the groups' checkboxes and
click the Leave Selected Groups
button. Click on a group's name to go to its
System Group Details page. Refer to
Section 6.4.3.3 System Group Details — for more
information.
Lists groups that the system may be subscribed to. Only System Group Administrators and Organization Administrators can add the system to groups. Non-admins see a Review this system's group membership page. To add the system to groups, select the groups' checkboxes and click the Join Selected Groups button.
Provides snapshots enabling rollback of the system's package profile, configuration files, and RHN settings. These snapshots are captured whenever an action takes place on the system.
The default display of the Snapshots tab lists the reason, dates, and times for snapshots taken, as well as any tags associated with the snapshots. To revert to a previous configuration, click the Reason of the snapshot taken at the desired date and time and review the potential changes on the provided subtabs, starting with Rollback.
Each subtab provides the specific changes that will be made to the system during the rollback:
group memberships
channel subscriptions
installed packages
configuration channel subscriptions
configuration files
Finally, you may review the tags associated with the rollback. You
may also add tags to older snapshots: click the
create new snapshot tag link, enter a
tag name, and click the Tag this
Snapshot button. Refer to Section 6.4.2.8.6.2 System Details ⇒ Snapshots ⇒ Snapshot Tags
—
for more
information.
When satisfied with the reversion, return to the Rollback subtab and click the Rollback to Snapshot button. To see the list again, click Return to snapshot list.
Provides a means to add meaningful descriptions to
your most recent system snapshot. This can be used to
indicate milestones, such as a known working configuration
or a successful upgrade. To tag the most recent snapshot,
click create new system tag, enter a
descriptive term in the Tag name
field, and click the Tag Current
Snapshot button. Refer to Section 6.4.2.8.6.1 System Details ⇒ Snapshots ⇒ Snapshots
—
to tag
older snapshots. You may then revert using this tag
directly by clicking its name in the Snapshot Tags list.
To delete tags, select their checkboxes, click
Remove Tags, and confirm the
action.
Enables the re-installation of the system based upon
selectable parameters, including specific Red Hat distribution.
These kickstarts are based upon profiles developed within
the Kickstart interface. Refer to Section 6.4.10 Kickstart — for details.
The default display of the Kickstart tab, this subtab allows the kickstarting of the selected system. To schedule a kickstart, select a distribution, identify the type (IP address or manual selection of kickstart profile), and click Continue. Note that IP address kickstarts require ranges to be defined in kickstart profiles.
On the next page, finish choosing from the options available. If the client system to be kickstarted connects to the RHN through a RHN Proxy Server, select the appropriate Proxy from the Select RHN Proxy: dropdown list. Using the existing RHN profile relies upon the system-specific activation key created within the Reactivation tab to reregister the system. Do not regenerate, delete, or use this key while a profile-based kickstart is in progress. Selecting the Deploy Configuration checkbox will re-install configuration files from any config channels associated with the system. When finished, click the Schedule Kickstart button.
 | Caution |
|---|---|
It is imperative the kickstart profile selected match the installation files supplied. For instance, it is possible a given IP address could be associated with a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 kickstart profile, but you insert an IP address kickstart CD-ROM built for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. This would result in errors and cause the kickstart to fail. |
 | Note |
|---|---|
The Select RHN Proxy: dropdown list does not appear for the client if that system does not connect to RHN via a Proxy. |
If you've scheduled a kickstart, this subtab shows where the system's kickstart stands. Details include the kickstart profile used, its state, and pending and latest actions. Kickstarts that do not complete within approximately two hours will be marked as failed here. Click the profile name to access the Kickstart Details page. Click the view link to see the actual kickstart configuration file generated by RHN. To force this page to reload at a set interval, select one from the pulldown menu and click the Change Reload Time button.
Displays particular points in a kickstart session's progress. Like Session Status, this subtab appears only if you've scheduled a kickstart. It lists individual actions, such as package installs, as they occur. Click the name of an action to see information about it, including summary, details, and time. Failed kickstarts are shown here, as well. To force this page to reload at a set interval, select one from the pulldown menu and click the Change Reload Time button.
Displays past, current, and scheduled actions on the system. You may cancel pending events here. The following sections describe the Events subtabs and the features they offer.
The default display of the Events tab lists the type and status of events that have failed, occurred or are occurring. To view details of an event, click its summary in the System History list. To again view the table, click Return to history list at the bottom of the page.
Lists events that are scheduled but have not begun. A prerequisite action must complete successfully before a given action is attempted. If an action has a prerequisite, no checkbox is available to cancel that action. Instead, a checkbox appears next to the prerequisite action; canceling the prerequisite action causes the action in question to fail.
Actions can be chained in this manner so that action 'a' requires action 'b' which requires action 'c'. Action 'c' is the first one attempted and has a checkbox next to it until it is completed successfully - if any action in the chain fails, the remaining actions also fail. To unschedule a pending event, select the event and click the Cancel Events button at the bottom of the page. The following icons indicate the type of events listed here:
— Package Event
— Errata Event
— Preferences Event
— System Event
Displays all of the probes monitoring the system. You
must be logged into an RHN Satellite Server with Monitoring enabled and have
Monitoring entitlements to see this tab. The
State column shows icons representing
the status of each probe. Refer to Section 6.9 Monitoring — for descriptions of these states.
The Status String column displays the
last message received from the probe. Clicking the probe
description takes you to its Current
State page.
To add a probe to the system, click the create new probe link at the top-right corner of the page and complete the fields on the following page. Refer to Section 7.5.1 Managing Probes for detailed instructions.
Once the probe has been added, you must reconfigure your
Monitoring infrastructure to recognize it. Refer to Section 6.9.4 Scout Config Push — for details. After the probe
has run, its results become available on the
Current State page. Refer to Section 6.9.1.7 Current State — for details.
To remove a probe from a system, click on the name of the probe, then click the delete probe link in the upper right corner. Finally, click the Delete Probe button to complete the process.
The System Groups page allows all RHN Management and Provisioning users to view the System Groups list. Only System Group Administrators and Organization Administrators may perform the following additional tasks:
Create system groups. (Refer to Section 6.4.3.1 Creating Groups.)
Add systems to system groups. (Refer to Section 6.4.3.2 Adding and Removing Systems in Groups.)
Remove systems from system groups. (Refer to Section 6.4.2.8 System Details.)
Assign system group permissions to users. (Refer to
Section 6.8 Users — .)
As shown in Figure 6-8, the System Groups list displays all of your system groups.
The System Groups list contains several columns for each group:
Select — These checkboxes enable you to add
systems in groups to the System Set Manager. To
select groups, mark the appropriate checkboxes and click the
Update button below the column. All
systems in the selected groups are added to the
System Set Manager. You can then use the
System Set Manager to perform actions on them
simultaneously. It is possible to select only those systems
that are members of all of the selected groups, excluding
those systems that belong only to one or some of the
selected groups. To do so, select them and click the
Work with Intersection button. To add
all systems in all selected groups, select them and click
the Work with Union button. Each
system will show up once, regardless of the number of groups
to which it belongs. Refer to Section 6.4.4 System Set Manager — for details.
Status — Shows which type of
Errata Alerts are applicable to the group or confirms that
it is up-to-date. Clicking on a group's status icon takes
you to the Errata tab of its
System Group Details page. Refer to
Section 6.4.3.3 System Group Details — for more
information.
The status icons call for differing degrees of attention:
— All systems within group
are up-to-date
— Critical Errata available,
update strongly recommended
— Updates available and
recommended
Group Name — The name of the
group as configured during its creation. The name should be
explicit enough to easily differentiate between it and other
groups. Clicking on the name of a group takes you to
Details tab of its System
Group Details page. Refer to
Section 6.4.3.3 System Group Details — for more
information.
Systems — Total number of
systems contained by the group. Clicking on the number takes
you to the Systems tab of the
System Group Details page for the
group. Refer to Section 6.4.3.3 System Group Details — for more
information.
Use in SSM — Clicking the
Use Group button in this column loads
the group from that row and launches the
System Set Manager immediately. Refer to
Section 6.4.4 System Set Manager — for more information.
To add a new system group, click the create new group button at the top-right corner of the page. Type a name and description and click the Create Group button. Make sure you use a name that clearly sets this group apart from others. The new group will appear in the System Groups list.
Systems can be added and removed from system groups in two places: the Target Systems tab of the System Group Details page and the Groups tab of the System Details page. The process is similar in both instances. Select the systems to be added or removed and click the Add Systems or Remove Systems button.
At the top of each System Group Details page are
two links: work with group and delete
group. Clicking delete group deletes
the System Group and should be used with caution. Clicking
Work with Group functions similarly to the
Use Group button from the System
Groups list in that it loads the group's systems and
launches the System Set Manager immediately. Refer to Section 6.4.4 System Set Manager — for more information.
The System Group Details page is broken down into tabs:
Provides the group name and group description. To change this information, click Edit Group Properties, make your changes in the appropriate fields, and click the Modify Details button.
Lists systems that are members of the system group. Clicking links
within the table takes you to corresponding tabs within the
System Details page for the associated system.
To remove systems from the group, select the appropriate checkboxes
and click the Remove from group button on the
bottom of the page. Clicking it does not delete systems from RHN
entirely. This is done through the System Set
Manager or System Details pages.
Refer to Section 6.4.4 System Set Manager — or Section 6.4.2.8 System Details, respectively.
Target Systems — Lists all systems in your organization. This tab enables you to add systems to the specified system group. Select the systems using the checkboxes to the left and click the Add Systems button on the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
List of relevant Errata for systems in the system group. Clicking the Advisory takes you to the Details tab of the Errata Details page. (Refer to Section 6.5.2.2 Errata Details for more information.) Clicking the Affected Systems number lists all of the systems addressed by the Errata. To apply the Errata Updates in this list, select the systems and click the Apply Errata button.
List of all organization users that have the ability to manage the system group. Organization Administrators are clearly identified. System Group Administrators are marked with an asterisk (*). To change the system group's users, select and unselect the appropriate checkboxes and click the Update button.
Many actions performed for individual systems through the System Details page may be performed for multiple systems via the System Set Manager, including:
Apply Errata updates
Upgrade packages to the most recent versions available
Add/remove systems to/from system groups
Subscribe/unsubscribe systems to/from channels
Update system profiles
Modify system preferences such as scheduled download and installation of packages
Kickstart several Provisioning-entitled systems at once
Set the subscription and rank of configuration channels for Provisioning-entitled systems
Tag the most recent snapshots of your selected Provisioning-entitled systems
Revert Provisioning-entitled systems to previous snapshots
Run remote commands on Provisioning-entitled systems
Before performing actions on multiple systems, select the systems you wish to modify. To do so, click the List the systems link, check the boxes to the left of the systems you wish to select, and click the Update List button.
You can access the System Set Manager in three ways:
Click the System Set Manager link in the left gray navigation area.
Click the Use Group button in the System Groups list.
Check the Work with Group link on the System Group Details page.
Description of the various options available to you in the remaining tabs.
List of systems now selected. To remove systems from this set, select them and click the Remove button.
List of Errata Updates applicable to the current system set. Click the number in the Systems column to see to which systems in the System Set Manager the given Errata applies. To apply updates, select the Errata and click the Apply Errata button.
Options to modify packages on the system within the following subtabs (Click the number in the Systems column to see to which systems in the System Set Manager the given package applies):
— 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.
A list of all the packages installed on the selected systems that might be upgraded. Systems must be subscribed to a channel providing the package for the system to be able to upgrade the package. If multiple versions of a package appear, note that only the latest version available to each system is upgraded on that system. Select the packages to be upgraded, then click the Upgrade Packages button.
A list of channels from which you may retrieve packages. This list includes all channels to which systems in the set are subscribed; a package is installed on a system only if the system is subscribed to the channel from which the package originates. Click on the channel name and select the packages from the list. Then click the Install Packages button.
A list of all the packages installed on the selected systems that might be removed. Multiple versions appear if systems in the System Set Manager have more than one version installed. Select the packages to be deleted, then click the Remove Packages button.
A list of all installed package whose contents, MD5 sum, and other details may be verified. At the next check in, the verify event issues the command rpm --verify for the specified package. If there are any discrepancies, they are displayed in the System Details page for each system.
Select the checkbox next to all packages to be verified, then click the Verify Packages button. On the next page, select either Schedule actions ASAP or choose a date and time for the verification, then click the Schedule Verifications button.
Tools to manage patches to Solaris clients. Patches may be installed or removed via the subtabs.
Tools to manage patch clusters for Solaris clients. Patches may be installed or removed via the subtabs.
Tools to create groups and manage group membership. These functions are limited to Organization Administrators and System Group Administrators. To add a new group, click create new group on the top-right corner. In the resulting page, type its name and description in the identified fields and click the Create Group button. To add or remove the selected systems in any of the system groups, toggle the appropriate radio buttons and click the Alter Membership button.
Options to manage channel associations through the following subtabs:
To subscribe or unsubscribe the selected systems in any of the channels, toggle the appropriate radio buttons and click the Alter Subscriptions button. Keep in mind that subscribing to a channel uses a channel entitlement for each system in the selected group. If too few entitlements are available, some systems fail to subscribe. Systems must subscribe to a base channel before subscribing to a child channel.
Like the options within the System Details
⇒ Channels ⇒ Configuration tab, the
subtabs here can be used to subscribe the selected systems
to configuration channels and deploy and compare the
configuration files on the systems. The channels are created
in the Manage Config Channels interface
within the Channels category. Refer to
Section 6.6.6 Manage Config Channels — for channel creation
instructions.
To manage the configuration of a system, install the latest rhncfg* packages. Refer to Section 6.6.6.1 Preparing Systems for Config Management for instructions on enabling and disabling scheduled actions for a system.
Use this subtab to distribute configuration files from your central repository on RHN to each of the selected systems. The table lists the configuration files associated with any of the selected systems. Clicking its system count displays the systems already subscribed to the file.
To subscribe the selected systems to the available configuration files, select the checkbox for each desired file. When done, click Deploy Configuration and schedule the action. Note that the files deployed are of the latest version at the time of scheduling and do not account for versions that may appear before the action takes place.
Use this subtab to validate configuration files on the selected systems against copies in your central repository on RHN. The table lists the configuration files associated with any of the selected systems. Clicking its system count displays the systems already subscribed to the file.
To compare the configuration files deployed on the systems with those in RHN, select the checkbox for each file to be validated. Then click Analyze Differences and schedule the action. Note that the files compared are of the latest version at the time of scheduling and do not account for versions that may appear before the action takes place. Find the results within the main Schedule category or within the System Details ⇒ Events tab.
Subscribe systems to configuration channels according to order of preference. This tab is available only to Organization Administrators and Configuration Administrators. Enter a number in the Rank column to subscribe to a channel. Channels are accessed in the order of their rank, starting from the number 1. Channels not assigned a numeric value are not associated with the selected systems. Your local configuration channel always overrides all other channels. Once you have established the rank of the config channels, you must decide how they are applied to the selected systems.
The three buttons below the channels reflect your options. Clicking Add with Highest Rank places all the ranked channels before any other channels to which the selected systems are currently subscribed. Clicking Add with Lowest Rank places the ranked channels after those channels to which the selected systems are currently subscribed. Clicking Replace Existing Config Channels removes any existing association and starts cleanly with the ranked channels, leaving every system with the same config channels in the same order.
In the first two cases, if any of the newly ranked config channels is already in a system's existing config channel list, the duplicate channel is removed and replaced according to the new rank, effectively reordering the system's existing channels. When such conflicts exist, you are presented with a confirmation page to ensure the intended action is correct. When the change has taken place, a message appears at the top of the page indicating the update was successful.
Channel Administrators may change the base channels to which the selected systems are subscribed via this subtab. The default Red Hat base channel selection in the pulldown menu subscribes the system to whichever Red Hat-provided base channel represents the operating system installed on the system. Systems are unsubscribed from all channels and subscribed to the new base channels. For this reason, this should be done with caution. Select the new base channel from the pulldown menus and click the Change Base Channels button.
Options for provisioning systems through the following subtabs:
Use this subtab to re-install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the selected Provisioning-entitled systems. To schedule kickstarts for these systems, select a distribution, identify the type (IP address or manual), and click Continue. Finish choosing from the options available on the subsequent screen. If any of the systems connect to RHN via a RHN Proxy Server, choose either the Preserve Existing Configuration radio button or the Use RHN Proxy radio button. If you choose to kickstart through a RHN Proxy Server, select from the available Proxies listed in the drop-down box beside the Use RHN Proxy radio button. All of the selected systems will kickstart through the selected Proxy. Click the Schedule Kickstart button to confirm your selections. When the kickstarts for the selected systems are successfully scheduled, the web interface returns you to the System Set Manager page.
Use this subtab to add meaningful descriptions to the most recent snapshots of your selected systems. To tag the most recent system snapshots, enter a descriptive term in the Tag name field and click the Tag Current Snapshots button.
Use this subtab to rollback selected Provisioning-entitled systems to previous snapshots marked with a tag. Click the name of the tag, verify the systems to be reverted, and click the Rollback Systems button.
Use this subtab to issue remote commands on selected Provisioning-entitled systems. First create a run file on the client systems to allow this function to operate. Refer to the description of the Configuration subtab of the Channels tab for instructions. You may then identify a specific user, group, timeout period, and the script on this page. Select a date and time to perform the command, and click Schedule Remote Command.
Misc — Update System Profiles and preferences for the system set through the following links:
Click Update Hardware Profile followed by the Confirm Refresh button to schedule a hardware profile update. Clicking Update Package Profile,followed by the Confirm Refresh button schedules a package profile update.
Click Set a custom value for selected systems followed by the name of a key to allow you to provide values for all selected systems. Enter the information and click the Set Values button. Click Remove a custom value from selected systems followed by the name of a key to allow you to remove values for all selected systems. Click the Remove Values button to finalize the deletion.
Select the appropriate systems and click the Reboot Systems link to set those systems for reboot. To immediately cancel this action, click the list of systems link that appears within the confirmation message at the top of the page, select the systems, and click Unschedule Action.
Select the appropriate systems and click the Lock Systems link to prevent the scheduling of any action through RHN that affects the selected systems. This can be reversed by clicking the Unlock Systems link.
Click Delete System Profiles, then click the Confirm Deletions button to remove the selected profiles permanently.
Select, via the radio button, whether to Add, Remove, or make No Change in the entitlements of the selected systems. Click the Change Entitlements button to confirm your selection.
Toggle the Yes and No radio buttons and click the Change Preferences button to alter your notification preferences for the selected systems. You may apply these preferences to individual systems through the Properties subtab of the System Details page. Refer to Section 6.4.2.8.1.2 System Details ⇒ Details ⇒ Properties for instructions.
Receive Notifications of Updates/Errata — This setting keeps you abreast of all advisories pertaining to your systems. Any time an update is produced and released for a system under your supervision, a notification is sent via email.
Include system in Daily Summary — This setting includes the selected systems in a daily summary of system events. (By default, all Management and Provisioning systems are included in the summary.) These system events are actions that affect packages, such as scheduled Errata Updates, 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 page of Your RHN. 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 enables the automatic application of Errata Updates to the selected systems. This means packages associated with Errata are 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.
To use all of the features of RHN, your systems must be entitled — subscribed to an RHN service level. Use the System Entitlements page to configure which systems are entitled to which service offerings. There are four primary types of entitlements:
Update — manages a single Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. It includes Errata Alerts, Scheduled Errata Updates, Package Installation, and the Red Hat Update Agent.
Management — manages multiple systems with multiple system administrators. In addition to the features of the Update offering, it includes system group management, user management, and the System Set Manager interface to quickly perform actions on multiple systems.
Provisioning — offers the highest level of functionality. It should be used to provision multiple systems that will need to be re-installed and reconfigured regularly. The Provisioning offering provides tools for kickstarting machines, managing their configuration files, conducting snapshot rollbacks, and inputting searchable custom system information, as well as all of the functionality included in the Management service level.
Monitoring — monitors the health of multiple systems. The Monitoring offering provides probes that watch system metrics and notify Administrators when changes occur. Such notifications alert Administrators to system performance degradation before it becomes critical.
The System Entitlements page allows you to view, add, and remove the entitlements for your registered systems. Red Hat Network 4.0 allows you to apply and remove entitlements at will, allowing you to adjust your Red Hat Network infrastructure as your organization grows and changes.
To change an individual entitlement, select the checkbox to the left of the system, then click the button that corresponds to the entitlement you wish to add. If clicking on an entitlement fails to update the information in the table, you may need to purchase additional entitlements. Check the number of available subscriptions, listed in bold below the table. Non-RHN Satellite Server customers may purchase more entitlements; click the Buy Now link at the left of the page to do so.
In addition, you may entitle all newly registered systems to the Management service level at once by clicking the Auto-Entitle Newest Servers Now link at the bottom of the page. To use this link, which appears only when new, unentitled systems exist, first make sure you have enough Management entitlements available. If you need to purchase additional entitlements, click the Buy more system entitlements now link at the top of the page. After auto-entitling, a message appears at the top of the System Entitlements page indicating the number of systems successfully entitled to the Management service level.
When an entitlement expires, the last system entitled to the same service level (such as Management) will be unentitled. For instance, if you have 10 Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS systems entitled to Management and either one of the RHN entitlements or one of the operating system subscriptions expire, the last system subscribed or entitled will have their subscription or entitlement removed.
The System Search page allows you to search through your systems according to specific criteria. These criteria include custom system information, system details, hardware, devices, interface, networking, packages, and location. The activity selections (Days Since Last Checkin, for instance) can be especially useful in finding and removing outdated System Profiles. Type the keyword, select the criterion to search by, use the radio buttons to identify whether you wish to query all systems or only those loaded in the System Set Manager, and click the Search button. You may also select the Invert Result checkbox to list those systems that do not match the criteria selected.
The results appear at the bottom of the page. For details about using the resulting system list, refer to Section 6.4.2 Systems.
RHN Management and Provisioning customers with the Activation Key Administrator role (including Organization Administrators) can generate activation keys through the RHN website. These keys can then be used to register a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system, entitle the system to an RHN service level and subscribe the system to specific channels and system groups through the command line utility rhnreg_ks. Refer to Section 2.5 Registering with Activation Keys for instructions on use.
| Note |
|---|---|
System-specific activation keys created through the Reactivation subtab of the System Details page are not part of this list because they are not reusable across systems. |
To generate an activation key:
Select Systems => Activation Keys from the top and left navigation bars.
Click the create new key link at the top-left corner.
| Warning |
|---|---|
In addition to the fields listed below, RHN Satellite Server customers may
also populate the Key field itself.
This user-defined string of characters can then be
supplied with rhnreg_ks to register
client systems with the Satellite. Do not
insert commas in the key. All other
characters are accepted. Commas are problematic since
they are the separator used when including two or more
activation keys at once. Refer to Section 6.4.7.2 Using Multiple Activation Keys at Once —
|
Provide the following information:
Description — User-defined description to identify the generated activation key.
Usage Limit — The maximum number of registered systems that can be registered to the activation key at any one time. Leave blank for unlimited use. Deleting a system profile reduces the usage count by one and registering a system profile with the key increases the usage count by one.
Base Channel — The primary channel for the key. Selecting nothing will enable you to select from all child channels, although systems can be subscribed to only those that are applicable.
Entitlement — The service level for the key, either Management or Provisioning. All systems will be subscribed at this level with the key.
Universal default — Whether or not this key should be considered the primary activation key for your organization.
Click Create Key.
After creating the unique key, it appears in the list of activation keys along with the number of times it has been used. Note that only Activation Key Administrators can see this list. At this point, you may associate child channels and groups with the key so that systems registered with it automatically subscribe to them.
To change information about a key, such as the channels or
groups, click its description in the key list, make your
modifications in the appropriate tab, and click the
Update Key button. To disassociate
channels and groups from a key, deselect them in their
respective menus by
A system may be set to subscribe to a base channel during registration with an activation key. However, if the activation key specifies a base channel that is not compatible with the operating system of the systems, the registration fails. For example, a Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.4 for x86 system cannot register with an Activation Key that specifies a Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES v.4 for x86 base channel. A system is always allowed to subscribe to a custom base channel.
To disable system activations with a key, unselect the corresponding checkbox under the Enabled column in the key list. The key can be re-enabled by selecting the checkbox. After making these changes, click the Update Keys button on the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
Provisioning customers should note that multiple activation keys can be included at the command line or in a single kickstart profile. This allows you to aggregate the aspects of various keys without recreating a new key specific to the desired systems, simplifying the registration and kickstart processes while slowing the growth of your key list.
Without this stacking ability, your organization would need at least six activation keys to manage four server groups and subscribe a server to any two groups. Factor in two versions of the operating system, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4, and you need twice the number of activation keys. A larger organization would need keys in the dozens.
Registering with multiple activation keys requires some caution; conflicts between some values cause registration to fail. Conflicts in the following values do not cause registration to fail, a combination of values is applied: software packages, software child channels, and config channels. Conflicts in the remaining properties are resolved in the following manner:
base software channels — registration fails
entitlements — registration fails
enable config flag — configuration management is set
Do not use system-specific activation keys along with other activation keys; registration fails in this event..
You are now ready to use multiple activation keys at once. This is done with comma separation at the command line with rhnreg_ks or in a kickstart profile within the Post tab of the Kickstart Details page. Refer to Section 2.5 Registering with Activation Keys and Section 6.4.10.3 Creating Kickstarts, respectively, for instructions.
RHN Provisioning customers can create package profiles through the Profiles subtab of the Packages tab within the System Details page. Those profiles are displayed on the Stored Profiles page, where they may be edited and even deleted.
To edit a profile, click its name in the list, alter its name and description, and click the Update Profile button. To view software associated with the profile, click the Packages subtab. To remove the profile entirely, click delete stored profile at the upper-right corner of the page.
RHN Provisioning customers may include completely customizable information about their systems. Unlike notes, the information here is more formal and may be searched upon. For instance, you may decide to identify an asset tag for each system. To do this, you must create an asset key within the Custom System Info page.
Click create new key at the upper-right corner of the page. Enter a descriptive label and description, such as Asset and Precise location of each system, and click the Create Key. The key will then show up in the custom info keys list.
Once the key exists, you may assign a value to it through the
Custom Info tab of the System
Details page. Refer to Section 6.4.2.8.1.5 System Details ⇒ Details ⇒ Custom Info
— for instructions.
To satisfy the provisioning needs of customers, RHN provides this interface for developing kickstart profiles that can be used to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on either new or already-registered systems. This enables systems to be installed automatically to particular specifications.
| Important |
|---|---|
If your systems are connected to the central RHN Servers, you
will need an external installation tree for each distribution
to be kickstarted. This tree can be hosted anywhere that is
accessible by the target system via HTTP. If the systems are
connected through an RHN Proxy Server, then you may place the
installation tree in /var/www/html/pub/
on the Proxy. RHN Satellite Servers already have a tree for each Red Hat
distribution and therefore do not require separate trees. Even
if the system connects through an RHN Proxy Server to get to the
Satellite, these trees will be available for kickstart. Refer
to Section 6.4.10.9 Kickstart ⇒ Distributions —
|
Although Red Hat Network has taken great pains to ease the provisioning of systems, some preparation is still required for your infrastructure to handle kickstarts. For instance, before creating kickstart profiles, you may consider:
A DHCP server is not required for kickstarting, but it can make things easier. If you are using static IP addresses, you should select static IP while developing your kickstart profile.
An FTP server can be used in place of hosting the kickstart distribution trees via HTTP.
If conducting a bare metal kickstart, you should 1)Configure DHCP to assign required networking parameters and the bootloader program location. 2)Specify within the bootloader configuration file the kernel to be used and appropriate kernel options.
For a description of the inner workings of the kickstart process, refer to Section 6.4.10.2 Kickstart Explained.
When a machine is to receive a network-based kickstart, the following events must occur in this order:
After being placed on the network and turned on, the machine's PXE logic broadcasts its MAC address and a request to be discovered.
If a static IP address is not being used, the DHCP server recognizes the discovery request and extends an offer of network information needed for the new machine to boot. This includes an IP address, the default gateway to be used, the netmask of the network, the IP address of the TFTP or HTTP server holding the bootloader program, and the full path and file name of that program (relative to the server's root).
The machine applies the networking information and initiates a session with the server to request the bootloader program.
The bootloader, once loaded, searches for its configuration file on the server from which it was itself loaded. This file dictates which kernel and kernel options, such as the initial RAM disk (initrd) image, should be executed on the booting machine. Assuming the bootloader program is SYSLINUX, this file is located in the pxelinux.cfg directory on the server and named the hexadecimal equivalent of the new machine's IP address. For example, a bootloader configuration file for Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1 should contain:
port 0 prompt 0 timeout 1 default My_Label label My_Label kernel vmlinuz append ks=http://myrhnsatellite/ initrd=initrd.img network apic |
The machine accepts and uncompresses the init image and kernel, boots the kernel, and initiates a kickstart installation with the options supplied in the bootloader configuration file, including the server containing the kickstart configuration file.
This kickstart configuration file in turn directs the machine to the location of the installation files.
The new machine is built based upon the parameters established within the kickstart configuration file.
If you are not using RHN Satellite Server, and need to develop a new kickstart
profile, first create a distribution through the
Distributions page. Refer to Section 6.4.10.9 Kickstart ⇒ Distributions —
for instructions. Once that is
done, return to the Kickstart page and
click create new kickstart in the
upper-right corner of the page. On the resulting page, enter a
name and label for the profile, select whether it should
immediately be considered active, and click the
Select Kickstart Options button.
On the next page, identify the precise values to be included in the profile, including: bootloader type, time zone, kickstart network configuration, root password, and partition details. Please note that the kickstart network configuration value here is different from the network setting on the Advanced Options tab. Refer to the individual tab descriptions for details. Click the Create Kickstart button when done.
When finished with the initial profile, you're presented with
the Kickstart Details page, which offers
various options for enhancing the kickstart steps. Refer to
Section 6.4.10.4 Kickstart Details — for descriptions of the
page and its tabs. Take note that RHN supports the inclusion
of separate files within the Partition Details section of the
kickstart profile. For instance, you may dynamically generate
a partition file based on the machine type and number of disks
at kickstart time. This file can be created via %pre script
and placed on the system, such as
/tmp/part-include. Then you can call for
that file by including the following line within the Partition
Details field of the Kickstart Details ⇒
Options tab:
%include /tmp/part-include
|
You may clone or delete the profile at any time using links at the upper-right corner of the Kickstart Details page. Once you've populated the tabs and fields within the Kickstart Details page, the kickstart profile should be completely configured and ready for use. Refer to the following pages for instructions on supplementing and aggregating kickstart profiles.
Use the following tabs to modify the kickstart profile.
The default display of the Kickstart Details page shows the kickstart profile name and label, as well as the associated distribution, URL to be used, whether it's the default profile for your organization, and any comments about the profile. The URL for a kickstart profile is used to locate the bootable CD-ROM image for the installation. Note that the URL does not begin with https:// because the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program does not support Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Click the view kickstart link to see the actual kickstart configuration file (converted to SSL) generated by RHN.
In addition, you may select lists of files to preserve during the
kickstart process. These files, typically configuration
files and others that remain relevant when the system is
re-deployed, can be selected using the File
Preservation Lists pulldown menu near the
bottom of the page. Refer to Section 6.4.10.10 Kickstart ⇒ File Preservation —
to find out how to
create these lists. To deselect a list, hold the
Collects the precise values to be applied during the kickstart process, including bootloader type, time zone, root password, and partition details. Keep in mind, the kickstart network configuration value here is used by the bootloader to determine the network configuration for the kickstart process, unlike the network setting on the Advanced Options tab, which is used to generate the kickstart configuration file. The options passed to the bootloader are different from those needed by the Red Hat installation program to configure the system. Remember you may %include separate files in the Partition Details section of the profile if needed. When done, click the Update Kickstart button.
Accessible through a link at the top of the Options tab, this page establishes the arguments to be included in the kickstart configuration file. These differ from the settings included on the Options tab. For instance, the network setting here defines the parameters of the Red Hat installation program (Anaconda), while the kickstart network configuration value there affects the bootloader. (Note that these options are passed to Anaconda with little or no verification for correctness. As an example, you might need to kickstart a system using eth1 (kickstart network configuration), but eth0 is the primary network interface for the system (as identified in the network field on this page). When done, click the Update Kickstart button.
Allows the addition or removal of specific software packages from the kickstart profile. To include packages, enter them in the text field. These are passed directly to Anaconda. To remove packages, precede them with a dash (-). You may also enter components and exclude specific packages, such as @ X Window System and -filename.rpm.
Note that packages to be excluded may still be installed to resolve dependencies and ensure that the system works properly. When finished, click Add Packages. To delete packages from the list you have created, enter them below and click Remove Packages.
Enables you to edit the %pre script for the kickstart profile. Make your changes and click the Update Pre button.
Enables you to specify an interpreter and specific commands to be interpreted before the rest of the %pre section. Identify the interpreter in the top field (such as /usr/bin/python), include the commands to be interpreted below it, and click Update Pre.
