Chapter 9. Registering and installing RHEL from the CDN using the GUI

This section contains information about how to register your system, attach RHEL subscriptions, and install RHEL from the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN) using the GUI.

9.1. What is the Content Delivery Network

The Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN), available from cdn.redhat.com, is a geographically distributed series of static web servers that contain content and errata that is consumed by systems. The content can be consumed directly, such as using a system registered to Red Hat Subscription Management. The CDN is protected by x.509 certificate authentication to ensure that only valid users have access. When a system is registered to Red Hat Subscription Management, the attached subscriptions govern which subset of the CDN the system can access.

Registering and installing RHEL from the CDN provides the following benefits:

  • The CDN installation method supports the Boot ISO and the DVD ISO image files. However, the use of the smaller Boot ISO image file is recommended as it consumes less space than the larger DVD ISO image file.
  • The CDN uses the latest packages resulting in a fully up-to-date system right after installation. There is no requirement to install package updates immediately after installation as is often the case when using the DVD ISO image file.
  • Integrated support for connecting to Red Hat Insights and enabling System Purpose.

Registering and installing RHEL from the CDN is supported by the GUI and Kickstart. For information about how to register and install RHEL from the CDN using the GUI, see Register and install from CDN using GUI. For information about how to register and install RHEL using Kickstart, see the Performing a standard RHEL 8 installation document.

9.2. Registering and installing RHEL from the CDN

Use this procedure to register your system, attach RHEL subscriptions, and install RHEL from the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN) using the GUI.

Important

The CDN feature is supported by the Boot ISO and DVD ISO image files. However, it is recommended that you use the Boot ISO image file as the installation source defaults to CDN for the Boot ISO image file.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. From the boot menu, select Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, and press Enter on your keyboard.
  2. In the Welcome to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 window, select your language and location, and click Continue. The Installation Summary window opens and displays the default values for each setting.
  3. Select System > Installation Destination, and in the Local Standard Disks pane, select the target disk and then click Done. The default settings are selected for the storage configuration. For more information about customizing the storage settings, see Configuring software settings, Storage devices, Manual partitioning.
  4. Select System > Network & Host Name. The Network and Hostname window opens.
  5. In the Network and Hostname window, toggle the Ethernet switch to ON, and then click Done. The installer connects to an available network and configures the devices available on the network. If required, from the list of networks available, you can choose a desired network and configure the devices that are available on that network. For more information about configuring a network or network devices, see Network hostname.
  6. Select Software > Connect to Red Hat. The Connect to Red Hat window opens.
  7. In the Connect to Red Hat window, perform the following steps:

    1. Select the Authentication method, and provide the details based on the method you select.

      For Account authentication method: Enter your Red Hat Customer Portal username and password details.

      For Activation Key authentication method: Enter your organization ID and activation key. You can enter more than one activation key, separated by a comma, as long as the activation keys are registered to your subscription.

    2. Select the Set System Purpose check box, and then select the required Role, SLA, and Usage from the corresponding drop-down lists.

      With System Purpose you can record the intended use of a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 system, and ensure that the entitlement server auto-attaches the most appropriate subscription to your system.

    3. The Connect to Red Hat Insights check box is enabled by default. Clear the check box if you do not want to connect to Red Hat Insights.

      Red Hat Insights is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering that provides continuous, in-depth analysis of registered Red Hat-based systems to proactively identify threats to security, performance and stability across physical, virtual and cloud environments, and container deployments.

    4. Optionally, expand Options, and select the network communication type.

      • Select the Use HTTP proxy check box if your network environment allows external Internet access only or accesses the content servers through an HTTP proxy.
  1. Click Register. When the system is successfully registered and subscriptions are attached, the Connect to Red Hat window displays the attached subscription details.

    Depending on the amount of subscriptions, the registration and attachment process might take up to a minute to complete.

  2. Click Done.

    A Registered message is displayed under Connect to Red Hat.

    1. Select User Settings > Root Password. The Root Password window opens.
    2. In the Root Password window, type the password that you want to set for the root account, and then click Done. A root password is required to finish the installation process and to log in to the system administrator user account.

      For more details about the requirements and recommendations for creating a password, see Configuring a root password.

    3. Optional: Select User Settings > User Creation to create a user account for the installation process to complete. In place of the root account, you can use this user account to perform any system administrative tasks.
    4. In the Create User window, perform the following, and then click Done.
  3. Type a name and user name for the account that you want to create.
  4. Select the Make this user administrator and the Require a password to use this account check boxes. The installation program adds the user to the wheel group, and creates a password protected user account with default settings. It is recommended to create a password protected administrative user account.

    For more information about editing the default settings for a user account, see Creating a user account.

    1. Click Begin Installation to start the installation, and wait for the installation to complete. It might take a few minutes.
    2. When the installation process is complete, click Reboot to restart the system.
    3. Remove any installation media if it is not ejected automatically upon reboot.

      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 starts after your system’s normal power-up sequence is complete. If your system was installed on a workstation with the X Window System, applications to configure your system are launched. These applications guide you through initial configuration and you can set your system time and date, register your system with Red Hat, and more. If the X Window System is not installed, a login: prompt is displayed.

      Note

      If you have installed a Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta release, on systems having UEFI Secure Boot enabled, then add the Beta public key to the system’s Machine Owner Key (MOK) list.

    4. From the Initial Setup window, accept the licensing agreement and register your system.

Additional resources

9.2.1. Installation source repository after system registration

The installation source repository used after system registration is dependent on how the system was booted.

System booted from the Boot ISO or the DVD ISO image file
If you booted the RHEL installation using either the Boot ISO or the DVD ISO image file with the default boot parameters, the installation program automatically switches the installation source repository to the CDN after registration.
System booted with the inst.repo=<URL> boot parameter
If you booted the RHEL installation with the inst.repo=<URL> boot parameter, the installation program does not automatically switch the installation source repository to the CDN after registration. If you want to use the CDN to install RHEL, you must manually switch the installation source repository to the CDN by selecting the Red Hat CDN option in the Installation Source window of the graphical installation. If you do not manually switch to the CDN, the installation program installs the packages from the repository specified on the kernel command line.
Important
  • To switch the installation source repository to the CDN by using the rhsm Kickstart command, you must meet the following conditions:

    • On the kernel command line, you have used inst.stage2=<URL> to fetch the installation image but have not specified an installation source using inst.repo=.
    • In the Kickstart file, you have not specified an installation source by using the url, cdrom, harddrive, liveimg, nfs and ostree setup commands.
  • An installation source URL specified using a boot option or included in a Kickstart file takes precedence over the CDN, even if the Kickstart file contains the rhsm command with valid credentials. The system is registered, but it is installed from the URL installation source. This ensures that earlier installation processes operate as normal.

9.3. Verifying your system registration from the CDN

Use this procedure to verify that your system is registered to the CDN using the GUI.

Warning

You can only verify your registration from the CDN if you have not clicked the Begin Installation button from the Installation Summary window. Once the Begin Installation button is clicked, you cannot return to the Installation Summary window to verify your registration.

Prerequisite

  • You have completed the registration process as documented in the Register and install from CDN using GUI and Registered is displayed under Connect to Red Hat on the Installation Summary window.

Procedure

  1. From the Installation Summary window, select Connect to Red Hat.
  2. The window opens and displays a registration summary:

    Method
    The registered account name or activation keys are displayed.
    System Purpose
    If set, the role, SLA, and usage details are displayed.
    Insights
    If enabled, the Insights details are displayed.
    Number of subscriptions
    The number of subscriptions attached are displayed. Note: In the simple content access mode, no subscription being listed is a valid behavior.
  3. Verify that the registration summary matches the details that were entered.

Additional resources

9.4. Unregistering your system from the CDN

Use this procedure to unregister your system from the CDN using the GUI.

Warning
  • You can unregister from the CDN if you have not clicked the Begin Installation button from the Installation Summary window. Once the Begin Installation button is clicked, you cannot return to the Installation Summary window to unregister your registration.
  • When unregistering, the installation program switches to the first available repository, in the following order:

    1. The URL used in the inst.repo=<URL> boot parameter on the kernel command line.
    2. An automatically detected repository on the installation media (USB or DVD).

Prerequisite

  • You have completed the registration process as documented in the Register and install from CDN using GUI and Registered is displayed under Connect to Red Hat on the Installation Summary window.

Procedure

  1. From the Installation Summary window, select Connect to Red Hat.
  2. The Connect to Red Hat window opens and displays a registration summary:

    Method
    The registered account name or activation keys used are displayed.
    System Purpose
    If set, the role, SLA, and usage details are displayed.
    Insights
    If enabled, the Insights details are displayed.
    Number of subscriptions
    The number of subscriptions attached are displayed. Note: In the simple content access mode, no subscription being listed is a valid behavior.
  3. Click Unregister to remove the registration from the CDN. The original registration details are displayed with a Not registered message displayed in the lower-middle part of the window.
  4. Click Done to return to the Installation Summary window.
  5. Connect to Red Hat displays a Not registered message, and Software Selection displays a Red Hat CDN requires registration message.
Note

After unregistering, it is possible to register your system again. Click Connect to Red Hat. The previously entered details are populated. Edit the original details, or update the fields based on the account, purpose, and connection. Click Register to complete.