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Ensuring Approved Packages Are Installed Across System Profiles Using the Drift Service

Red Hat Insights 2022

How to validate that approved packages are installed across system profiles and generate reports

Red Hat Customer Content Services

Abstract

This workflow example demonstrates how to validate that approved RPM packages are installed across system profiles and generate CSV reports for analysis.

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Chapter 1. Overview

As an IT operator, use Insights for Red Hat Enterprise Linux to ensure approved security tools and RPM packages are installed on each system:

  1. Access the drift service.
  2. Add systems manually within the drift service.
  3. Filter system configuration data by installed packages.
  4. Export the filtered data to a CSV file for analysis.

Chapter 2. Accessing the drift service

The drift service is part of Insights for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Access this service via Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux > Drift > Comparison page where the Comparison screen opens.

    img drift comparison screen

  2. Cick Add to comparison. The Add to comparison screen opens, where you can add systems or baselines to compare.

    img drift add to comparison screen

    • On the Systems tab, you can add any systems you want to compare. This screen also lists any baselines that already exist in your Insights for RHEL inventory.

    • On the Baselines tab, you can create baselines. This screen also lists any baselines that already exist in your inventory.

      img drift baselines screen

  3. Click Submit to add your systems or baselines for comparison.

Once you add them, you can start comparing the facts of systems and baselines in your Insights for RHEL inventory.

Chapter 3. Adding systems manually to comparisons

Within the drift service, you can add systems registered in your Insights for RHEL inventory.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux > Drift > Comparison page where the Comparison screen opens.
  2. Click Add to comparison.
  3. Select the systems to compare from the list. Alternatively, enter the system name in the search box to find by name, and then select the system.
  4. Click Submit.
Note
  • At any time, you can add more systems by clicking the Add to comparison button near the top of the Comparison screen.
  • Similarly, you can remove a particular system under comparison by clicking the X symbol on the upper-right corner of the individual system name.
  • You can remove all systems under comparison by clicking the options menu ( img drift options menu ) located at the top.
  • Click Clear all comparisons to start again.

Chapter 4. Filtering system facts by installed packages

To filter the system facts by installed packages:

  1. Enter the required package name in the search box at the top, or enter installed_packages to view the list of all packages installed.
  2. In the View drop-down list, ensure you are viewing the result for all comparison states, by selecting the check boxes for Same, Different, and Incomplete data.

For all installed packages, the Insights for RHEL service lists installed packages and their versions, indicating whether they are the same, or different, and where information is missing across systems. 

Facts are filtered by installed RPM packages for which you can see a subset of the list. Note that for package `deltarpm` there is no difference in its version between the two systems. However, packages `rpm`, `rpm-build-libs`, `rpm-libs`, and `rpm-python` show differences. Also, data is missing for some of the other packages. This is a discrepancy as systems were not consistently upgraded with approved packages.

Chapter 5. Exporting system comparison output

You can export a comma-separated-values (CSV) file of the system profiles you previously filtered. The report captures, by installed packages, where RPM versions are the same, different, and where information is missing.

Note

The exported CSV report preserves all your current selections on the system comparison output, including any filters applied. That is, it follows the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) paradigm. Therefore, you may need to expand any nested fact categories (installed_packages, for example) to be exported in the report.

Procedure

  1. At the top of the system comparison output screen for two or more systems, click the Export to CSV button img drift export as csv icon .
  2. Click Export to CSV.

Save the CSV file to the location of your choice so that you can analyze discrepancies in installed RPM packages.

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