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4.2. Managing Systems with Satellite

Once systems are registered to Red Hat Satellite, these systems will appear in the Overview page of the Systems tab. The Overview page provides a summary of systems, including their status, the number of associated errata and packages, the base channel the system is under, and the entitlement level. The systems can then be managed using several methods.

4.2.1. Managing Individual Systems

The Satellite administrator can manage systems individually by clicking on the system name while on the Overview page of the Systems tab. This will take you to the Details tab for the system. The Details page has numerous tabs that provide specific system information as well as other identifiers unique to the system.

4.2.1.1. Viewing the System's Hardware Profile

The Hardware tab shows you the system's hardware profile. It includes information such as DMI, Networking details, and the description of what drivers are being used by the machine. This is useful in identifying the machine or when vendor information is needed.
Should any of the hardware on the system change or if the list is incomplete, you may also refresh the hardware list on this page by clicking Schedule Hardware Refresh.
  1. Click Systems → Systems.
  2. Click on the system name.
  3. Click on Hardware.

4.2.1.2. Scheduling a System Reboot from the Satellite

This will schedule a remote reboot of the system. This is suitable in situations where the system administrator is not in close proximity to the Satellite and requires a reboot for troubleshooting purposes.
  1. Click Systems → Systems.
  2. Click on the system name.
  3. On the right-hand side of the page under System Events, click Schedule System Reboot.

4.2.1.3. Changing a System's Base Channel Subscriptions

Base channel subscriptions are chosen by default based on the hardware and system profile that has been sent to Red Hat Satellite upon registration. However, this setting can be changed if there are issues that occur. To change the system's base channel:
  1. Click Systems → Systems.
  2. Click on the system name.
  3. On the left-hand side of the page, under Subscribed Channels, click on Alter Channel Subscriptions.
  4. Scroll down to the Base Software Channel section on the bottom of the page and choose the base channel you wish to apply.
  5. Click Confirm.

Note

If you change the base channel subscription of the system, Satellite will unsubscribe your system from all previously subscribed channels and subscribe your system to the new base software channel you have chosen. Any additional child channels will have to be re-added.

4.2.1.4. Changing a System's Child Channel Subscriptions

Additional channels may be added based on specific requirements that a system has, such as optional packages in the Red Hat Network Tools channel or Virtualization capabilities. To subscribe your system to additional channels, follow the steps below.
  1. Click Systems → Systems.
  2. Click on the system name.
  3. On the left-hand side of the page, under Subscribed Channels, click on Alter Channel Subscriptions.
  4. Choose the child channels that the system requires by ticking the checkboxes. You may choose as many as needed. Note that some channels may consume additional software entitlements if chosen.
  5. Click Change Subscriptions.

4.2.1.5. Adding Provisioning/Monitoring Entitlements to a System

Provisioning or Monitoring entitlements can be added to systems inside the Satellite, provided that these entitlements are available. These entitlements are relevant to systems that have the following requirements:
  • Provisioning- This entitlement is required by a system that needs the ability to use kickstart, package rollback and configuration file management.
  • Monitoring- This entitlement allows Satellite with Monitoring-entitled clients to notify administrators of system performance issues before they become critical.
  1. Click Systems → Systems.
  2. Click on the system name.
  3. Click on Details → Properties.
  4. Select the required entitlements in the Add-On Entitlements section.
  5. Click Update Properties.

4.2.1.6. Remotely Installing New Packages

The ability to choose packages to install remotely can be used to manage new or changed requirements in a system. If systems are powered down when the remote install is scheduled, the action will be performed once the system is back up.
Follow these steps to install packages from Red Hat Satellite:
  1. Click Systems → Systems.
  2. Click on the system name.
  3. Click on Software → Packages → Install.
  4. Select the packages to install on the system.
  5. Click Install Selected Packages.
  6. Choose to schedule the installation on a specific time or as soon as possible.
  7. Click Confirm.

Note

If additional commands are required to install packages into the system, click Add Remote Command to Package Install. Add the script required to boot it and click Confirm Remote Command and Schedule Package Install. This additional step maybe useful for systems that have special configuration requirements.

4.2.1.7. Remotely Upgrading Packages

To remotely upgrade packages from the Red Hat Satellite:
  1. Click Systems → Systems.
  2. Click on the system name.
  3. Click on Software → Packages → Upgrade
  4. Select packages to be upgraded.
  5. Choose to schedule the installation on a specific time or as soon as possible.
  6. Click Confirm.

Note

If additional commands are required to install packages into the system, click Add Remote Command to Package Install. Add the script required to boot it and click Confirm Remote Command and Schedule Package Install. This additional step maybe useful for systems that have special configuration requirements.

4.2.1.8. Locking the System against Changes

In events where it is a requirement for a system to be kept unchanged, the system can be locked. A locked system will receive no package upgrades or any system-changing actions that occur even if the system is in a system group.
To lock a system:
  1. Click Systems → Systems.
  2. Click on the system name.
  3. Click Lock System in the Lock Status field in the System Info section.

Note

A system that has pending actions cannot be locked. To cancel the scheduled actions, click on Events → Cancel Events.

4.2.1.9. Configuring System Currency Weights/Multipliers

Included in Satellite is a System Currency report which lists registered systems ordered by score. The score is determined by the totals of the errata relevant to the systems. A specific weighted score per category per errata adds to the total score where the default weight awards critical security errata with the heaviest weight and enhancement errata with the lowest. The report can be used to prioritize maintenance actions on the systems registered to the Satellite. The following default values exist in /etc/rhn/rhn.conf: 
sc.crit = 32
sc.imp = 16
sc.mod = 8
sc.low = 4
sc.bug = 2
sc.enh = 1
Where the parameters are:
  • sc.crit - multiplier for critical security errata
  • sc.imp - multiplier for important security errata
  • sc-mod - multiplier for security errata of moderate importance
  • sc-low - multiplier for security errata of low importance
  • sc.bug - multiplier for bugfix errata
  • sc-enh - multiplier for enhancement errata
The higher the score, the higher the importance is given to the system in the report.
To change the default weight/multipliers of each errata type:
  1. Log in as root on the Satellite server.
  2. Edit the /etc/rhn/rhn.conf with your chosen text editor: 
    # vim /etc/rhn/rhn.conf
  3. Modify the following values in /etc/rhn/rhn.conf: 
    sc.crit = 32
sc.imp = 16
sc.mod = 8
sc.low = 4
sc.bug = 2
sc.enh = 1
  4. Save the /etc/rhn/rhn.conf file.
  5. Restart the Satellite service: 
    # rhn-satellite restart

Note

In Red Hat Satellite 5.5, the Currency Report and weight/multiplier values can also be retrieved using the Red Hat Network API Calls. See the API Overview for more information about the following calls:
  • system.getSystemCurrencyMutipliers - this API call provides information about the current weight/multiplier configuration.
  • system.getSystemCurrencyScores - this API call returns a list of systems, their scores and the counts of applicable errata of each type.