Problem managing guest VM packages from Satellite

Latest response

Hi

I have four RHEL 7.2 hosts managed by a Satellite 5.8 instance. I created some guest VMs by hand (i.e. not from using Satellite to run a kickstart) on the hosts and then registered the guest VMs with the Satellite instance via rhnreg_ks. I can see the guest VMs in Satellite and can use Satellite to reboot, delete, etc.

However, I would like to use Satellite to install packages on the guest VMs. However, when I access Systems -> Virtual Systems and click on a VM profile name, I am not taken to a VM profile page - the profile name is not a hypertext link, and so it appears I can't use Satellite to manage the packages on my VMs.

Is this behaviour due to the fact that I didn't create the VMs via a Kickstart in Satellite? Is there way way around it?

Richard

RA
Log in to join the conversation

Responses

R. Hinton.'s picture Guru 10128 points
16 November 2017 1:50 AM

Hi Richard,

Since you did register the systems, did you entitle the systems through the Satellite 5.8 web interface? Are you familiar with that process?

Note... ---- (Only After) Assigning the entitlements---- , you will be able and will need to assign applicable RPM channels. I'm not sure where you are at with this process, or how familiar you are with the function/use of the Red Hat Satellite server.

I'm not clear if the rpm packages you wish to install are or are not provided by Red Hat - so if not, you might have to create a custom rpm channel and then assign it, there's various methods, the traditional method using satellite 5.8 and other methods as well.

I'm going to be busy this week, but I or others ought to hopefully help, please let us know how it goes.

RA Red Hat Newbie 15 points
22 November 2017 5:03 PM

Hello R. Hinton Thanks for your response! I have five hosts, and they have the entitlements Management, Provisioning, Virtualization Platform enabled.

When I click on a host, and change to the virtualization tab within that host's configuration page, I see all my guest VMs for that host, listed with the headings (Guest, System, Updates, Status, Current memory, vCPUs, Base Software Channel) and in the bottom right corner, there are a selection of actions I can perform (Delete, Start, Suspend, Resume, Restart, Shutdown) as well as options to set vCPU and memory.

However, I am unable to install/remove packages. I was expecting to be be able to click on a VM link and be taken to a VM profile page, where I could add and install packages, but that does not work. This is based on what I might expect.

More accurately, the Satellite 5.8 documentation (which I access from the Help tab once logged into Satellite) doesn't match what I see in the UI. For example, in the documentation, Section 4.3.2.1, "Create kickstart profile for the guest systems", describes seeing a link called Manage kickstarts in the Tasks widget in the Overview tab. This doesn't exist in my UI session. Also, Section 4.3.3.3, "Installing software via the Satellite web interface" mentions that I should be able to click on a VM name and enter the VMs profile, where I can add/remove packages. This also does not exist.

So, i'm wondering how to get this resolved.

R. Hinton.'s picture Guru 10128 points
22 November 2017 9:16 PM

Hi Richard Achmatowicz

EDITED, recommending reviewing again...

I see you're a Red-Hatter - Since you're in Red Hat - you could easily submit an bug for the documentation incongruity you discovered, I'm pretty sure.

The next 2 paragraphs are most likely useful, the remainder is just reference.

Important, check the documentation, and especially "4.1. Using Red Hat Network Actions Control" the prerequisites there. https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_satellite/5.8/html-single/user_guide/index. I bring this up because at one time in a previous edition of satellite 5.x, we had to manually create some of these directories and touch specific files to enable remote commands using the web interface. I'm hoping satellite 5.8 is cleaner than that. Please see the next paragraph.

Next, look at Paragraph "4.2.1.7. Remotely Installing New Packages" (scroll down to that paragraph number of 4.2.1.7 at this link) which certainly does not match what you'd expect, but it's what the documentation recommends.

Note-- The last Satellite 5.x server I have is Satellite 5.7, and instead of going to Satellite 5.8 we are at Satellite version 6.2.current, so I unfortunately can't examine personally, but check out that link which seems likely might or hopefully will give some guidance, provided that paragraph 4.2.1.7 has valid information for satellite version 5.8.

I've found occasionally in my long time using Red Hat documentation, that on occasion the documentation available for products often doesn't quite match up.

This info may or may not help... For remote commands, under the previous edition, I'd go to the host, find a link called "remote commands" in one of the upper "bars" or menus, click that link and then it would bring me to a remote commands window where I could enter a script and then execute it either immediately or set a later date.

I could also go to the list of servers, select (check mark) the server(s) I wished to execute a remote command to and then select "manage" and then a window would bring me to a place with many choices to include "Run Remote Commands" - then I could run a script against one or many systems. Again, I don't know what they've done with version 5.8, we've moved from 5.7 to 6.2.current.

Another method I used quite often, park a script on the satellite server, perhaps under "/root/spacecmd/" and use spacecmd to execute against either a host or a previously defined group of systems. Again, I don't know what they've done with version 5.8, we've moved from 5.7 to 6.2.current.

Hope this helps

R. Hinton.'s picture Guru 10128 points
22 November 2017 9:38 PM

I see you already have the provisioning entitlement enabled on these systems, -- that's good -- on certain Red Hat satellite versions (5.x), specific functions/menus would not even appear in the web interface without that entitlement assigned to a system.

R. Hinton.'s picture Guru 10128 points
22 November 2017 10:14 PM

Richard,

In previous editions of satellite 5.x, when you'd log into the satellite web interface, go to "Systems", then click on a host/system, you could go to a link that was under the "Details" tab called "Remote Command". I don't have a satellite 5.8 system, but if you have that function available in satellite 5.8, you can pass off yum commands with the "Remote Command".

I have no idea if they still have that function in satellite 5.8. I'd have been surprised if they removed it.

RA Red Hat Newbie 15 points
27 November 2017 11:17 PM

R. Hinton Thank you so much for taking the time to help me in trying to solve this problem!

The solution has been found: in order to enable the functionality I was looking for but could not find, my Satellite user account had to have the "Configuration Administrator" entitlement enabled. Once this switch was turned on, everything became available as the documentation describes.

Thanks again for your helpful collaboration in getting to the bottom of this!

Richard

R. Hinton.'s picture Guru 10128 points
28 November 2017 4:07 AM

Richard, sorry, I hadn't thought of that. I generally am always running under the role of "Organizational Manager" in the satellite version 5.x, and with all roles for Satellite 6.2.

Very glad it got sorted out.

RJ

Close

Welcome! Check out the Getting Started with Red Hat page for quick tours and guides for common tasks.