Chapter 10. Registering and installing RHEL from the CDN using Kickstart

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

10.1. Registering and installing RHEL from the CDN

Use this procedure to register your system, attach RHEL subscriptions, and install from the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN) using the rhsm Kickstart command, which supports the syspurpose command as well as Red Hat Insights. The rhsm Kickstart command removes the requirement of using custom %post scripts when registering the system.

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

  • Your system is connected to a network that can access the CDN.
  • You have created a Kickstart file and made it available to the installation program on removable media, a hard drive, or a network location using an HTTP(S), FTP, or NFS server.
  • The Kickstart file is in a location that is accessible by the system that is to be installed.
  • You have created the boot media used to begin the installation and made the installation source available to the installation program.
Important
  • The installation source repository used after system registration is dependent on how the system was booted. For more information, see the Installation source repository after system registration section in the Performing a standard RHEL 8 installation document.
  • Repository configuration is not required in a Kickstart file as your subscription governs which CDN subset and repositories the system can access.

Procedure

  1. Open the Kickstart file.

  2. Edit the file to add the rhsm Kickstart command and its options to the file:

    Organization (required)

    Enter the organization id. An example is: 

    --organization=1234567
    Note

    For security reasons, Red Hat username and password account details are not supported by Kickstart when registering and installing from the CDN.

    Activation Key (required)

    Enter the Activation Key. You can enter multiple keys as long as the activation keys are registered to your subscription. An example is: 

    --activation-key="Test_key_1" --activation-key="Test_key_2"
    Red Hat Insights (recommended)

    Connect the target system to Red Hat Insights.

    Note

    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. Unlike manual installation using the installer GUI, connecting to Red Hat Insights is not enabled by default when using Kickstart.

    An example is: 

    --connect-to-insights
    HTTP proxy (optional)

    Set the HTTP proxy. An example is: 

    --proxy="user:password@hostname:9000"
    Note

    Only the hostname is mandatory. If the proxy is required to run on a default port with no authentication, then the option is: --proxy="hostname"

    System Purpose (optional)

    Set the System Purpose role, SLA, and usage using the command: 

    subscription-manager syspurpose role ₋₋set="Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server" --sla="Premium" --usage="Production"
    Example

    The following example displays a minimal Kickstart file with all rhsm Kickstart command options. 

    graphical
lang en_US.UTF-8
keyboard us
rootpw 12345
timezone America/New_York
zerombr
clearpart --all --initlabel
autopart
syspurpose --role="Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server" --sla="Premium" --usage="Production"
rhsm --organization="12345" --activation-key="test_key" --connect-to-insights --proxy="user:password@hostname:9000"
reboot
%packages
vim
%end
  3. Save the Kickstart file and start the installation process.

Additional resources

10.2. Verifying your system registration from the CDN

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

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. From the terminal window, log in as a root user and verify the registration: 

    # subscription-manager list

    The output displays the attached subscription details, for example: 

    Installed Product Status

Product Name: Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64
Product ID: 486
Version: X
Arch: x86_64
Status: Subscribed
Status Details
Starts: 11/4/2019
Ends: 11/4/2020

  2. To view a detailed report, run the command: 

    # subscription-manager list --consumed

10.3. Unregistering your system from the CDN

Use this procedure to unregister your system from the Red Hat CDN.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  • From the terminal window, log in as a root user and unregister: 

    # subscription-manager unregister

    The attached subscription is unregistered from the system and the connection to CDN is removed.