Repeat May 2016 w/RHEL 6.8 & satellite server, originally posted Sept 2015 --> disconnected Red Hat Satellites, latest incremental ISO dump will upgrade you to RHEL 6.7 (and python-argparse annoyance vs nfs-utils yum update)

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UPDATE, see updated post below dated 5/17/2016. In short, the latest RHEL 6 incremental iso channel dump takes clients to RHEL 6.8, what follows is the original first incident of this from September 2015... below

==================Original post from September 2015======================

A warning for those of you using disconnected Red Hat Satellite servers and use ISO channel dumps (base and incremental channels), The latest incremental channels for RHEL6 ISO Channel dumps will take you from RHEL 6.6 to the latest minor release of RHEL 6.7 (as of the date i type this, September 1st, 2015)

We have eight disconnected satellite servers. (and yes, there is a compelling reason to do so)

Applicability: Satellite Server versions 5.6, Satellite 5.7 / Affects RHEL 6.x attached clients to a Satellite Server.
NOTE: This is uniquely specific to those using DISCONNECTED Satellite servers (with the possible exception of the python-argparse rpm issue cited below)
  • (A "Disconnected" Satellite server is one that is not directly facing the public Internet, and not receiving updates directly and automatically from Red Hat 's servers, but instead using ISO Channel Dumps in the form of ISO DVD images)
Background:
  • If you do not have a publicly facing Satellite, or CDN server picking up satellite channels, one must manually download the base and incremental ISO satellite channel dumps provided by Red Hat at the URL in the link in this sentence.
  • Base channels are released every time there is a minor release (a "Minor Release" being the number to the right of the period of a Red Hat Linux version, such as RHEL 6.6 or RHEL 6.7).

  • Incremental channels are released every time continuing patches are released, and one must use the incremental channel that is related to the base channels they ingested. This process is somewhat analogous to Full and Differential backups. Incremental channels (historically speaking) are supposed to never take you to the next minor release, only Base channels are supposed to take you to the next minor release.

  • The LATEST Base channel (as of September 1st, 2015) available for RHEL 6 is at this link, and is RHEL 6 (x86_64) + EUS + AUS + RHN Proxy/Tools + Supplementary (Base 2014-12-31) with 22 (count 'em) dvds.

  • One must first download and ingest the base channels, then pick an incremental channel that relates to the base channel.
    • The latest incremental channel (as of this date, September 1st, 2015) is at this link, RHEL 6 (x86_64) + EUS + AUS + RHN Proxy/Tools + Supplementary (Incremental 2014-12-31:2015-08-30)
  • Make special note that the date on the incremental "2014-12-31" matches/relates to the base channel. So that incremental ISO channel dump contains all the updates from the "mile marker" of the base channels.
Side note, Base/Incremental ISO channel dump procedure

The point of all this (and I do have a point):

  • For years and years, it is well established that Base channels are released when a new Red Hat Minor release is made GA (like the 2014-12-31 Base channel of RHEL 6.6).
  • For years and years, it is also well established that incremental channels will only take you as far as the last minor release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, **namely, it should never take you higher than RHEL 6.6, which is what the Base Channel ISO Channel dump was built on.
  • If you work on this known history, and take the latest incremental ISO channel dump, you will be surprised when you do updates and those servers you update are (surprise!) now at RHEL 6.7.

What this means for you (those of you using disconnected Satellite servers)

  • The latest Incremental channel dump will take your systems to the next minor release of RHEL 6.7, even though established history of Base and Incremental ISO Channel Dumps says that you will never exceed the RHEL version the Base ISO Channel dump is made on.
  • If you work on previously established assumptions of the history of Base and Incremental channels (and namely, that an incremental ISO Channel dump would --never-- take you to the next minor release), you will be surprised (as I was) when your systems register as a RHEL 6.7 system **from an Incremental ISO Channel dump.

Why should you care, if at all....

  • If you happen to have some systems that are RHEL 6.6 and you have a third-party software package that is not yet supported for RHEL 6.7 (because it takes time for some companies to certify minor release supportability)*, you may find yourself with a lack of support, and highly surprised because you could not expect going to RHEL 6.7 from an Incremental ISO Channel dump. It has been inconceivable in the history of Base and Incremental channel dumps that you'd move to the next minor release without warning.
  • The Base ISO Channel dump for RHEL 6.7 is currently experiencing a delay. I have a case in with Red Hat and they are continuing to work to make a set of Base ISO Channel dumps.

Another side issue, python-argparse rpm vs nfs-utils

  • yum update fails currently for nfs-utils with a dependency of python-argparse which is not visible in any Satellite, but you'll have to install it (probable for the first time, as I did) in order to update nfs-utils, and nfs-utils will fail to update with yum until you:
    1) Manually find it in /var/satellite/NULL/72e/python-argparse/<sha256sum>/python-argparse-1.2.1-2.1.el6.noarch.rpm and
    2) present the python-argparse to your /var/www/html/pub/ directory on a satellite server, then do a yum -y install http://<ip-of-satellite-server>/pub/python-argparse-<version.noarch>.rpm first, before doing your yum upgrade to RHEL 6 servers.

Work arounds

  • Red Hat recommended the following to make a custom channel that would be restricted to RHEL 6.6 for those of you that need it:
# spacewalk-clone-by-date  --username  admin --password yourpasswordgoeshere --channels=rhel-x86_64-server-6 rhel6.6-base --to-date= 2015-07-21

So in summary, if you've long understood that an incremental ISO Channel dump would never take you to the next minor release, you will be surprised as I was. --so very close-- to pushing this incremental to one large segment of my non-production collection, but mercifully, I only hit three systems, and stopped patching at that point, I don't know WHAT caused me to type cat /etc/redhat-release before proceeding. But i was surprised. **Mostly because I do have third-party software that now is not supported on one of the servers because it is now at RHEL 6.7, and the vendor only supports 6.6, but we anticipate they will support 6.7 in a few months.

I thought I'd share this for those few who might be paying attention to the discussion forums and who ingest Base/Incremental ISO channel dumps so they can avoid going to RHEL 6.7 if they also have servers with third party software not yet supported for 6.7 as I do with various customers.

RJ Hinton's picture

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