Installation guide

Chapter 6. Importing and Synchronizing
After installing the RHN Satellite, you must provide it with the packages and channels to be served to
client systems. This chapter explains how to import that data and keep it up to date whether the content
is from RHN's central servers, local media, or from one Satellite within your organization to another.
Two tools, RHN Sat ellit e Exporter and RHN Satellite Synchronization T ool, come installed as part of
the spacewalk-backend-tools package.
6.1. Exporting with RHN Satellite Exporter
The RHN Sate llite Exporter (rhn-satellite-exporter) tool exports Satellite content in an XML
format that can then be imported into another identical Satellite. The content is exported into a directory
specified by the user with the -d option. Once that directory has been transported to another Satellite,
the RHN Satellite Synchroniz at ion T ool may be used to import the contents, synchronizing two
Satellites .
6.1.1. rhn-satellite-exporter
The RHN Satellite Exporter can export the following content:
Channel Families
Architectures
Channel metadata
Blacklists
RPMs
RPM metadata
Errata
Kickstarts
The amount of time it takes rhn-satellite-exporter to export data is dependent on the number
and size of the channels being exported. Using the --no-packages, --no-kickstarts, --no-
errata, and --no-rpm s options reduces the amount of time required for rhn-satellite-
exporter to run, but also prevents potentially useful information from being exported. For that reason,
these options should only be used when you are certain that you will not need the content that they
exclude. Additionally, you must use the matching options for satellite-sync when importing the data.
For example, if you use --no-kickstarts with rhn-satellite-exporter you must s pecify the --
no-kickstarts option when importing the data.
When exporting an RHN base channel, you must also export the tools channel associated with that bas e
channel in order to kickstart machines to the distribution in the base channel. T his is because the tools
channels contain the auto-kickstart packages that install packages for kickstarting a machine through
the Satellite.
The RHN Sate llite Exporter offers several command line options. To use them, insert the option and
appropriate value after the rhn-satellite-exporter command.
Table 6.1. RHN Sat ellit e Exporter Options
Opt ion Description
-d, --dir= Place the exported information into this directory.
-cCHANNEL_LABEL, --
channel=CHANNEL_LABEL
Process data for this specific channel (s pecified
by label) only. NOT E: the channel's *label* is NOT
the same as the channel's *name*.
--list-channels List all available channels and exit.
--list-steps List all of the steps that rhn-satellite-exporter
takes while exporting data. These can be used
as values for --step.
-p --print-configuration Print the configuration and exit.
--print-report Print a report to the terminal when the export is
complete.
--no-rpm s Do not retrieve actual RPMs.
--no-packages Do not export RPM metadata.
--no-errata Do not process Errata information.
--no-kickstarts Do not process kickstart data (provisioning only).
--debug-level=LEVEL_NUMBER Override the amount of messaging sent to log
files and generated on the screen set in
/etc/rhn/rhn.conf, 0 -6 (2 is default).
--start-date=START _DATE The start date limit that the las t modified dates
are compared against. Must be in the format
YYYYMMDDHH24 MISS (for example,
20071225123000)
--end-date=END_DAT E The end date limit that the last modified dates are
compared against. Must be typed in the format
YYYYMMDDHH24 MISS (for example,
20071231235900)
--m ake-isos=MAKE_ISOS Create a channel dump ISO directory called
satellite-isos (for example, --m ake-
isos=cd or dvd
--em ail Email a report of what was exported and what
errors may have occurred.
--traceback-mail=EMAIL Alternative email address for --email.
--db=DB Include alternate database connect string:
username/password@SID.
--hard-links Export the RPM and kickstart files with hard links
to the original files.
6.1.2. Exporting
To perform a RHN Sate llite Exporter export, the following prerequisites must be met:
The RHN Satellite installation must have been performed successfully.
There must be sufficient disk space in the directory specified in the --dir option to contain the
exported contents .
Although it is not a requirement for the export to succeed, the export will be most useful when performed
on a Satellite that has populated channels.
Red Hat Network Satellite 5.4 Installation Guide
22