Chapter 7. Upgrades

This chapter examines how to upgrade a pre-existing Red Hat Satellite to version 5.6. Make sure to meet the requirements listed in Section 7.1, “Upgrade Requirements” before running the upgrade procedure.

Important

The minimum memory and disk space requirements have increased since version 5.5. Failure to meet these specifications can result in poor Satellite performance or failures for Satellite's services. See Section 2.2, “Red Hat Satellite Server Requirements” for more details on hardware requirements..

7.1. Upgrade Requirements

An upgrade from one version of Red Hat Satellite to another requires the following items:
  • An updated Red Hat Satellite certificate
  • The Red Hat Satellite Upgrade Package (rhn-upgrade)
  • The installation media for the latest version of Red Hat Satellite
The following procedure explains how to obtain these items.

Procedure 7.1. Preparing for Red Hat Satellite Upgrade

  1. Obtain Red Hat Satellite Certificate and installation media from the Red Hat Customer Portal

    1. Obtain a Red Hat Satellite certificate from the Red Hat Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com/home under Subscriptions → RHN Classic → Entitlements.
    2. Save this certificate on your Red Hat Satellite server.

  2. Obtain Red Hat Satellite Upgrade Package (rhn-upgrade)

    1. Ensure the Satellite is registered to the Red Hat Satellite Channel.
    2. Install the rhn-upgrade package with the following command: 
      # yum install rhn-upgrade
      This package installs scripts and a comprehensive set of instructions for a Red Hat Satellite upgrade within the /etc/sysconfig/rhn/satellite-upgrade directory.

  3. Obtain Installation Media

    1. Obtain a Red Hat Satellite 5.6 ISO from the Red Hat Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com/home under Downloads.
    2. Download this ISO to your Red Hat Satellite server.