Red Hat Network 4.0.
Red Hat Network 4.0.5: Channel Management Guide Copyright © 2002 - 2005 Red Hat, Inc. Red Hat, Inc. 1801 Varsity Drive Raleigh NC 27606-2072 USA Phone: +1 919 754 3700 Phone: 888 733 4281 Fax: +1 919 754 3701 PO Box 13588 Research Triangle Park NC 27709 USA channel-mgmt(EN)-4.0.5-RHI (2005-06-30T16:20) Copyright © 2005 by Red Hat, Inc. This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, V1.
Table of Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 2. Introduction to RHN Channels.....................................................................................3 2.1. Base Channels and Child Channels ..................................................................3 2.2. Subscribing to Channels ...................................................................................3 2.3.
Chapter 1. Introduction This document discusses issues surrounding the deployment and maintenance of customized software channels for RHN Proxy Server and RHN Satellite Server. It is used after the RHN Satellite Server or RHN Proxy Server is installed and configured. Refer to the Red Hat Network 4.0.5 Satellite Installation Guide and the Red Hat Network 4.0 Proxy Installation Guide for details, as well as the Red Hat Network Client Configuration Guide.
2 Chapter 1.
Chapter 2. Introduction to RHN Channels A Red Hat Network channel is a collection of software packages. Channels help you segregate packages by sensible rules: a channel may contain packages from a specific Red Hat distribution, for instance. A channel may contain packages for an application or family of applications. Users may also define channels for their own particular needs; a company may create a channel that contains packages for all of the organization’s laptops, for example. 2.1.
4 Chapter 2. Introduction to RHN Channels • Install registration — When a system is initially registered through either the Red Hat Update Agent or the Red Hat Network Registration Client, it is automatically assigned to the base channel that corresponds to the version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the system. Once a system is registered, its default base channel may be changed to a private base channel on a per-system basis via the RHN website.
Chapter 2. Introduction to RHN Channels 5 • RHN Package Manager - Use this to push custom packages into custom channels on your RHN Proxy Server. • RHN Push - Use this to push custom packages into custom channels on your RHN Satellite Server. • RHN Satellite Synchronization Tool - Use this to import and synchronize standard packages from Red Hat Network to your RHN Satellite Server with Red Hat Network. This is done via the Internet or CD-ROM.
6 Chapter 2.
Chapter 3. Building Custom Packages There are many things that might go wrong when building software packages. This is especially true when these packages must be delivered and installed through Red Hat Network. This chapter provides an overview of how to build packages for successful delivery via Red Hat Network. Topics covered include why to use RPM, how to build packages for RHN, and how to properly sign packages. 3.1.
8 Chapter 3. Building Custom Packages information about the package and its contents. RPM queries the headers quickly and easily. System Verification Another feature is the ability to verify packages. If you are worried a file related to a package was deleted, you can verify the package to check the status of the files it provides. The verification notifies you of any anomalies. If errors do exist, you can reinstall the files easily. Modified configuration files are preserved during reinstallation.
Chapter 3. Building Custom Packages 9 3. The RPM package must install without using the --force or --nodeps options. If you cannot install an RPM cleanly on your build system, Red Hat Network cannot install it automatically on a system. 4. The RPM package filename must be in the NVR (name, version, release) format and must contain the architecture for the package. The proper format is name-version-release.arch.rpm. For example, a valid RPM package filename is pkgname-0.84-1.i386.
10 Chapter 3. Building Custom Packages 3.2. Digital Signatures for RHN Packages All packages distributed through RHN should have a digital signature. A digital signature is created with a unique private key and can be verified with the corresponding public key. After creating a package, the SRPM (Source RPM) and the RPM can be digitally signed with a GnuPG key.
Chapter 3. Building Custom Packages 11 be informed of its expiration and supplied with a new public key. It is recommended that you select no expiration date. If you do not choose an expiration date, you are asked to confirm your decision: Key does not expire at all Is this correct (y/n)? Press [y] to confirm your decision. Your next task is to provide a User-ID containing your name, your email address, and an optional comment. Each is requested individually.
12 Chapter 3. Building Custom Packages gpg --export -a ’Your Name’ > public_key.txt Your public key is written to the file public_key.txt. This public key is quite important. It’s the key that must be deployed to all client systems that receive custom software through up2date. Techniques for deploying this key across an organization are covered in the Red Hat Network Client Configuration Guide. 3.2.2. Signing packages Before you can sign packages, you need to configure your ~/.
Chapter 4. Custom Channel and Package Management Custom channels allow administrators to use the Red Hat Network infrastructure to deploy packages built and maintained by their organizations. All channel and package management activities take place in the Channels tab of the RHN website. The instructions here are used in conjunction with the RHN website chapter of the RHN Reference Guide.
14 Chapter 4. Custom Channel and Package Management 4. Have the user log in to the Red Hat Network website, click the Channels tab on the top navigation bar, and ensure the Manage Software Channels button appears on the corresponding left navigation bar. 4.2. Manage Software Channels In addition to the buttons and pages available to standard RHN Management-level users, RHN Satellite Server and RHN Proxy Server customers also have access to Manage Software Channels on the left navigation bar.
Chapter 4. Custom Channel and Package Management 15 an Organization Administrator or a Channel Administrator. Second, the Globally Subscribable checkbox on the Details tab must be unchecked, thereby making the channel subscribable by user. On this tab, select the checkboxes of the users to be allowed to subscribe systems to this channel and click Update. Note that Organization Administrators and Channel Administrators automatically have subscription access to all channels.
16 Chapter 4. Custom Channel and Package Management In addition to the Merge option, previously cloned errata contain values within the Owned Errata column. The erratum label is linked to its details page. The pub and mod flags within parentheses identify whether the cloned erratum has been published or modified from the original advisory. A plus sign + before the flag indicates affirmative, the cloned errata has been published. A minus sign - before the flag denotes negative.
Chapter 4. Custom Channel and Package Management 17 4.4. Manage Software Packages In addition to adding and removing packages within channels, you also have the option of deleting packages entirely from both the database and file system. Removal from the file system is delayed by about one hour. This can be done through the Software Package Management page, accessed by clicking Manage Software Packages on the left navigation bar.
18 Chapter 4. Custom Channel and Package Management 4. On the New Channel page, define the details of the channel following the instructions on the page. For most channel management actions, the Channel Label is used to identify the channel, so select a meaningful label. View the details of existing channels for ideas. The GPG key URL must be the location of the key on the server, as defined during the client configuration process. Refer to the Red Hat Network Client Configuration Guide.
Chapter 4. Custom Channel and Package Management 19 4.7. Cloning Software Channels RHN Satellite Server Channel Administrators also have the ability to clone software channels for easy package association. Cloning offers you a complete replica of another channel, enabling you to immediately associate appropriate packages and errata with a custom software channel. To access this functionality, click the Channels tab on the top navigation bar, then the Manage Software Channels on the left navigation bar.
20 Chapter 4. Custom Channel and Package Management Removing a channel via the website automatically deletes all packages associated only with that channel. Packages that are also associated with other channels are retained. If you have established that channel on a Proxy connected to a Satellite, you must delete the channel on the RHN Proxy Server.
Chapter 5. Custom Errata Management Custom errata enables you to issue errata alerts for the packages in your custom channels. All errata management activities take place in the Errata tab of the RHN website. The instructions here are used in conjunction with the RHN website chapter of the Red Hat Network Reference Guide. 5.1.
22 Chapter 5. Custom Errata Management 5.1.2. Unpublished Errata The Unpublished Errata page appears when you click Unpublished below Manage Errata in the left navigation bar. It displays the errata alerts your organization has created but not yet distributed.. To edit an existing unpublished errata, follow the steps described in Section 5.3 Creating and Editing Errata. To publish the errata, click Publish Errata on the top-right corner of the Errata Details page.
Chapter 5. Custom Errata Management 23 5.3. Creating and Editing Errata Follow this procedure to make a custom errata alert. 1. On the top navigation bar click on Errata then click Manage Errata on the left navigation bar. From the Errata Management page, click on create new erratum. 2. Enter an intuitive label for the erratum in the Advisory field, ideally following a naming convention adopted by your organization.
24 Chapter 5. Custom Errata Management 3. After clicking View, the package list for the selected option appears. Note that the page header still lists the errata being edited. 4. In the list, select the checkboxes of the packages to be assigned to the edited errata, and click Add Packages at the bottom-right corner of the page. 5. A confirmation page appears with the packages listed. Click Confirm to associate the packages with the errata.
Chapter 6. Uploading and Maintaining Custom Packages Depending upon which Red Hat Network service is used, there are two different mechanisms for uploading packages to private channels. Customers of RHN Proxy Server use the RHN Package Manager application, which sends package header information to the central Red Hat Network Servers and places the package itself into the local repository of the Proxy that invoked RHN Package Manager.
26 Chapter 6. Uploading and Maintaining Custom Packages custom packages cannot be downloaded through the RHN website, although they are listed. They must be retrieved by the client system using up2date. 6.1.1. Configuring and Using the RHN Package Manager Before you can use RHN Package Manager to upload packages into RHN, you need to first manually copy the packages to the Proxy server itself. For example, from a development host you can use scp: scp foo.rpm root@rhnproxy.example.
Chapter 6. Uploading and Maintaining Custom Packages 27 figuration file /etc/rhn/rhn.conf or via command line options passed to RHN Package Manager. Parameters not set in this file are read from .rhn_package_manager in the home directory of the user currently logged in and finally from /etc/rhn/rhn_package_manager.conf. Make sure all of these files have the appropriate permissions to prevent others from reading them.
28 Chapter 6. Uploading and Maintaining Custom Packages Option Description -l, --list List the packages in the specified channel(s). -s, --sync Check if local directory is in sync with the server. -p, --printconf Print the current configuration and exit. --newest Push only the packages that are newer than those on the server. Note that source packages are special in that their versions are never compared to each other. Their newness is dependent on their associated binary packages.
Chapter 6. Uploading and Maintaining Custom Packages Option 29 Description --test Only print a list of the packages to be pushed. -?, --help Display the help screen with a list of options. --usage Briefly describe the available options. --copyonly Only copy packages Table 6-1. rhn_package_manager options Tip These command line options are also described in the rhn_package_manager manual page: man rhn_package_manager. 6.2.
30 Chapter 6. Uploading and Maintaining Custom Packages 6.2.1. Configuring the RHN Push Application When RHN Push is installed, a central configuration file is installed in /etc/sysconfig/rhn/rhnpushrc. This file contains values for all the options contained in Table 6-2. In addition, the application creates ~/.rhnpushrc and ./.rhnpushrc upon its initial use. These distinct configuration files are useful in varying your settings depending on the directory from which the rhnpush command is issued.
Chapter 6. Uploading and Maintaining Custom Packages 31 Option Description -u , --username USERNAME Include the RHN username of the user that has administrative access to the specified channel. If not provided, rhnpush prompts for the username of a valid Channel Administrator. The username and password are cached in ~/.rhnpushcache for a limited time, five minutes being the default. Use --new-cache to force a new username and password.
32 Chapter 6. Uploading and Maintaining Custom Packages Option Description --newest Push only the packages that are newer than those on the server. Note that source packages are special in that their versions are never compared to each other. Their newness is dependent on their associated binary packages.
Chapter 6. Uploading and Maintaining Custom Packages 33 6.2.2. Using the RHN Push application Note It is recommended that you create at least one private channel to receive custom packages prior to upload, since a channel is required for systems to obtain the packages.
34 Chapter 6.
Index upload packages to RHN Proxy Server, 25 C M Channels cloning, 19 deleting, 19 intro, 3 custom packages, 7 building, 7 guidelines, 8 signing, 12 upload to RHN Proxy Server, 25 upload to RHN Satellite Server, 29 Manage Errata viewing details, 22 Managed Channel Details, 14 managed software channels details, 14 E errata alerts cloning, 24 creating and editing, 23 managing, 21 managing published, 21 managing unpublished, 22 G GnuPG key creating, 10 signing packages with, 12 gpg key, 10 H how to bu
36 S Software Channel Management, 14 U upload packages, 25 W website Manage Software Channels, 14 what are benefits of RPM, 7
