Chapter 12. Registering and installing RHEL from Satellite using Kickstart

This section contains information about how to register your system, attach RHEL subscriptions, and install from the Red Hat Satellite using Kickstart.

12.1. Registering and installing RHEL from Satellite

This procedure describes how to register your system, attach RHEL subscriptions, and install from a Satellite instance using the rhsm Kickstart command. It also shows how to configure system purpose and connect the system to Red Hat Insights. The rhsm Kickstart command removes the requirement of using custom %post scripts when registering the system.

Important
  • Satellite installation 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 Satellite for the Boot ISO image file.
  • 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 the system registration.
  • Repository configuration is not required in a Kickstart file as your subscription governs which satellite hosted repositories the system can access.

Prerequisites

  • Your system is connected to a network that can access the Satellite instance.
  • The Red Hat Satellite Server version is 6.11 or later
  • 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 an organization ID, activation key, and the URL of the Satellite 6.11 instance you want to use.
  • You have enabled, synced, and added the required BaseOS and AppStream RPMs repositories to the content-view.
  • The activation key has the release version set to 9.x, and the concerned content-view is selected in it.

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 satellite.

    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 (optional)

    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"

    Server hostname
    Note

    The Server hostname does not require the HTTP protocol, for example, nameofhost.com.

    Set the server hostname if want to register to a Satellite instance. An example is: 

    --server-hostname="nameofhost.com"
    System Purpose (optional)

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

    syspurpose --role="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 --server-hostname="nameofhost.com" --proxy="user:password@hostname:9000"
reboot
%packages
vim
%end
  3. Save the Kickstart file and start the installation process.

Verification steps

Once the system is installed, has been rebooted, and terminal window is opened, you can verify that your system is registered to satellite:

  1. From the terminal window, enter the following command as a root user: 

    # subscription-manager list
Installed Product Status
Product Name: Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64
Product ID: 486
Version: 9
Arch: x86_64
Status: Subscribed
Status Details
Starts: 11/4/2019
Ends: 11/4/2020

  2. To view a detailed report: 

    # subscription-manager list --consumed

Additional resources

12.2. Unregistering your system from Satellite

This procedure describes how to unregister your system from the satellite.

Prerequisites

  • You have completed the registration and installation process.
  • You have started the Kickstart installation.
  • The installed system has rebooted and a terminal window is open.

Procedure

  • From the terminal window, enter the following command as a root user: 

    # subscription-manager unregister

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