3.2. Scenario 2: Installing Satellite with Managed Database

This scenario details the steps for a Managed Database Installation. You would use a Managed Database Installation to create a federated Red Hat Satellite infrastructure with the database separate from the Satellite server. The Managed Database also contains basic Satellite administration tools to maintain the database.
This scenario requires two hosts with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 installed as the operating system:
  • One host for the Satellite Server
  • One host for the Managed Database
The Satellite 5.8 installation program must be run on both the Satellite host and the Managed DB host. On the Managed DB host, the installation program installs the Satellite database prerequisites. On the Satellite host, it installs the Satellite application, and connects to the Managed DB host to create the Satellite database. The Managed DB must be installed first, and be available for the duration of the Satellite host's installation.

3.2.1. Downloading the Installation Media

The Satellite 5.8 installation media is available for download from the Red Hat Customer Portal in ISO format.

Procedure 3.7. Download the Installation Media

  1. Log on to the Customer Portal.
  2. Click Downloads.
  3. Click Red Hat Satellite.
  4. Select 5.8 for RHEL 6 from the Versions drop-down list.
  5. Select x86_64 or s390x from the Architecture list.
  6. Download the Red Hat Satellite 5.8 Binary DVD.
  7. Depending on your preferred installation source, either copy the DVD ISO image to the Satellite host, or burn it to DVD media.
    1. If you will be mounting the ISO image and running the installation program from there, copy the ISO image to both the Satellite host and the Managed DB host. 
      # scp satellite.iso root@satellite_hostname:/root
# scp satellite.iso root@manageddb_hostname:/root
    2. If you will be mounting a DVD and running the installation program from there, burn the DVD ISO image to DVD media.

3.2.2. Mounting the Installation Media

Mount the disc or ISO image on the Satellite host and the Managed DB host.

Procedure 3.8. Mounting from a disc

  1. Log into the machine as root.
  2. Insert the Red Hat Satellite Server CD or DVD containing the installation files.
  3. Red Hat Enterprise Linux might automount the disc. If so, it mounts the disc to the /media/cdrom/ directory. If Red Hat Enterprise Linux does not automount the disc, manually mount it to the /media/cdrom/ directory with the following command: 
    # mkdir /media/cdrom
# mount /dev/cdrom /media/cdrom

Procedure 3.9. Mounting from an ISO image

  1. Log into the host as root.
  2. Mount the ISO image to a location on your filesystem: 
    # mkdir /media/cdrom
# mount -o loop iso_filename /media/cdrom
The installation media is mounted at /media/cdrom/. Use this location to access the Red Hat Satellite installation program.

3.2.3. Generating a Manifest

In previous versions of Red Hat Satellite 5, details of product subscriptions and content repositories were contained in a Satellite Certificate. You downloaded the certificate from the Red Hat Customer Portal and imported it into Satellite. From Satellite 5.8, all content and subscriptions are hosted by the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN), replacing Red Hat Network.
The Red Hat Customer Portal enables you to group subscriptions into multiple subscription allocations. The Red Hat CDN uses a Subscription Manifest, instead of the certificate. A Subscription Manifest is an exported file that lists the subscriptions in one subscription allocation.

Note

If you are installing multiple instances of Satellite 5.8, ensure you divide the available subscriptions amongst the individual subscription allocations. For example, if you intend running two instances of Satellite 5.8, you might divide the subscriptions equally between the two subscription allocations.

Procedure 3.10. Generate New Satellite 5.8 Manifest

  1. Log on to the Customer Portal and navigate to Subscriptions in the upper-left corner.
  2. Navigate to Subscription Allocations.
  3. Click New subscription allocation.
  4. Enter a name in the Name field, select Satellite 5.8 from the Type drop-down list, and click Create.
  5. Navigate to the Subscription tab and click Add subscriptions.
  6. For each product to be attached to the manifest, specify the desired quantity in the Entitlements field, and click Submit. It may take several minutes for the subscriptions to be attached.
  7. Click Export Manifest and save the manifest file locally.
  8. Log out of the Customer Portal.
  9. Access the shell prompt on the host to which the manifest file was downloaded.
    Copy the manifest file to the Satellite host. In this example, the file is copied to the /root directory. 
    # scp manifest_file.zip root@satellite.example.com:/root

3.2.4. Installing Behind a HTTP Proxy: Pre-Configuration (Optional)

Note

  • This section only applies to networks behind a HTTP proxy.
  • Satellite does not support NTLM as a HTTP access authentication method. Only Basic access authentication, and Digest access authentication methods are supported.
The registration of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux host requires communication between itself and the Red Hat Content Delivery Network. If there is an HTTP proxy between these two, Subscription Manager must be configured with the proxy server's details, and credentials. These changes apply to both the Satellite host and the Managed DB host.
Edit the configuration file /etc/rhsm/rhsm.conf, and edit the following lines, adding details of the HTTP proxy, and credentials. 
proxy_hostname = proxy_hostname
proxy_port = proxy_port
proxy_user = proxy_user
proxy_password = proxy_password

3.2.5. Registering Host with Red Hat Content Delivery Network

Registering the host to the Red Hat Content Delivery Network entitles it to content available via subscriptions. This includes content such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Software Collections (RHSCL), and Red Hat Satellite.

Note

Complete this procedure on both the Satellite host and the Managed DB host.
Register your system with the Red Hat Content Delivery Network, entering your Customer Portal user name and password when prompted: 
# subscription-manager register
The command displays output similar to the following: 
The system has been registered with ID: 541084ff2-44cab-4eb1-9fa1-7683431bcf9a

3.2.6. Activating the Satellite Repositories

Installation of Red Hat Satellite 5.8 requires specific repositories to be enabled. The list of available repositories is determined by the subscription attached to the host. The following instructions detail how to identify and attach the required subscription, also which repositories must be enabled.

Note

Complete this procedure on both the Satellite host and the Managed DB host.

Procedure 3.11. Activate the Satellite Repositories

  1. List all available subscriptions, and identify the Red Hat Satellite 5 subscription.
    The list of available subscriptions may be long, but if you pipe the output into a pager utility, such as less or more, you can read the output one screenful at a time. 
    # subscription-manager list --all --available | less
    Note the Pool ID as this is required to attach the subscription.
  2. Attach the subscription to the host. 
    # subscription-manager attach --pool=pool_id
    The output should be similar to the following: 
    		Successfully attached a subscription for: Red Hat Satellite
  3. Disable all repositories. 
    # subscription-manager repos --disable "*"
  4. Enable the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 repository. The Red Hat Satellite 5.8 repository will be enabled automatically by the installation program.
    For ⁠AMD64 and Intel 64 
    # subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-6-server-rpms
    For IBM System z 
    # subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-6-for-system-z-rpms

3.2.7. Installing the Managed Database

The Managed Database component installs essential packages containing the database server and Red Hat Satellite tools to a host separate from the Red Hat Satellite server.

Note

The same media used for a Red Hat Satellite installation is also used for the Managed Database installation.

Procedure 3.12. Installing the Managed Database

  1. Log into the host to be used for the Managed Database as the root user.
  2. Navigate to the directory containing the Satellite installation program. 
    # cd /media/cdrom
  3. Run the installation program with the --managed-db option. 
    # ./install.pl --managed-db
  4. The installation program asks for the following information.
    • Database name
    • Database user
    • Database password
    • A comma-separated list of local addresses to listen. Leave blank for all addresses.
    • A comma-separated list of remote addresses in address/netmask format. The Managed Database allows connections from these addresses. 
    Database name: mydb
Database user: mydbuser
Database password:  mydbpassword
Local addresses to listen on (comma-separated, RETURN for all): 127.0.0.1
Remote addresses to allow connection from (address/netmask format, comma-separated): 192.168.1.10/32
Initializing database:                                     [  OK  ]
Starting postgresql service:                               [  OK  ]
The installation program installs the necessary packages for your Managed Database, including a set of management tools for the database. It also prepares the database and starts the PostgreSQL service.
The Managed Database host is registered with the Red Hat Content Delivery Network during its installation. After Red Hat Satellite 5.8 is installed and configured, you can register the Managed Database host to Satellite. This option has the advantage that the Managed Database Host's underlying instance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is managed from Satellite. As a prerequisite, you must first synchronize the Red Hat Satellite Managed DB child channel in Satellite. For full details on registering systems to Satellite and subscribing to channels, see the Red Hat Satellite 5.8 Getting Started Guide.

3.2.8. Installing Satellite

The following procedure starts the installation procedure for Red Hat Satellite using a Managed Database. Ensure to run this procedure as the root user.

Warning

The Installation Script installs all available package updates, which may include the kernel.

Procedure 3.13. Running Installation Script

  1. Run the installer script from the /media/cdrom/ directory: 
    # ./install.pl --external-postgresql
    The installation program first verifies the requirements in Chapter 2, Requirements are met before proceeding. 
    * Starting the Red Hat Satellite installer.
* Performing pre-install checks.
* Pre-install checks complete.  Beginning installation.
  2. The script performs host registration with Red Hat Subscription Manager (if not already done), installs and updates all required packages, and populates the database on the Managed Database host. 
    * RHSM Registration.
** Registration: System is already registered with RHSM.  Not re-registering.
* RHSM Subscriptions.
** Subscriptions: Subscription providing 'Red Hat Satellite' already attached.
** Subscriptions: Subscription providing 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server' already attached.
** Subscriptions: Disabling all RHSM repositories (rhel-6-server-rpms).
** Subscriptions: All repositories disabled.
** Subscriptions: Enabling RHEL repository.
** Subscriptions: RHEL repository enabled.
* Checking for uninstalled prerequisites.
** Checking if yum is available ...
There are some packages from Red Hat Enterprise Linux that are not part
of the @base group that Satellite will require to be installed on this
system. The installer will try resolve the dependencies automatically.
However, you may want to install these prerequisites manually.
Do you want the installer to resolve dependencies [y/N]? y
* Installing Satellite packages.
Warning: yum did not install the following packages:
	libXt
* Now running spacewalk-setup.
* Setting up SELinux..
** Database: Setting up database connection for PostgreSQL backend.
Hostname (leave empty for local)? satellite-db.example.com
Port [5432]?
Database? mydb
Username? mydbuser
Password? ************
** Database: Populating database.
*** Progress: ####################################

3.2.9. Configuring the Satellite

The installation program performs some basic configuration tasks on your Red Hat Satellite environment.
The Red Hat Satellite Installer downloads and installs the Red Hat GPG key and sets up the /root/.gnupg/ directory, if required. 
* Configuring tomcat.
* Setting up users and groups.
** GPG: Initializing GPG and importing key.
At the prompt, enter the email address to which you would like notifications from Red Hat Satellite to be sent. Due to the large volume of emails, choose a general email address rather than the address of an individual. 
You must enter an email address.
Admin Email Address? admin@example.com
* Performing initial configuration.
To activate Red Hat Satellite, provide the location of your manifest file, downloaded in Section 3.2.3, “Generating a Manifest”. 
* Activating Red Hat Satellite.
Where is your satellite manifest file? /path/manifest_file.zip
** Loading Red Hat Satellite Manifest.
** Verifying manifest locally.
** Activating Red Hat Satellite.
The next step is to create a CA certificate for SSL access. Answer y to the Apache SSL configuration question, then answer the CA certificate questions.
CA cert
Enter a password for the certificate.
Organization
Enter the name of your organization.
Organization Unit
Enter the name of your department within your organization.
Email Address
Enter an email address to be associated with this certificate, such as the admin email entered in the steps above.
City
Enter your city.
State
Enter your state.
Country
Enter your country. The country code must be exactly two letters, or the certificate generation fails. Type ? to see a list of country codes. 
* Configuring apache SSL virtual host.
Should setup configure apache's default ssl server for you (saves original ssl.conf) [Y]? 
** /etc/httpd/conf.d/ssl.conf has been backed up to ssl.conf-swsave
* Configuring jabberd.
* Creating SSL certificates.
CA certificate password? 
Re-enter CA certificate password? 
Organization? Red Hat
Organization Unit [satellite.example.com]? Sales
Email Address [admin@example.com]? admin@example.com
City? Raleigh
State? NC
Country code (Examples: "US", "JP", "IN", or type "?" to see a list)? US
** SSL: Generating CA certificate.
** SSL: Deploying CA certificate.
** SSL: Generating server certificate.
** SSL: Storing SSL certificates.
* Deploying configuration files.
* Update configuration in database.
After the CA certificate is created, you are asked if you want to enable the services required by Cobbler. If you will be using PXE provisioning functionality, reply y. 
* Setting up Cobbler..
cobblerd does not appear to be running/accessible
Cobbler requires tftp and xinetd services be turned on for PXE provisioning functionality. Enable these services [Y]?
After Cobbler is configured, the installation script restarts the associated services. 
* Restarting services.
Installation complete.
Visit https://satellite.example.com to create the satellite administrator account.
If you will be using Cobbler for provisioning hosts, grant Cobbler write access to the /tftpboot directory. 
setsebool -P cobbler_anon_write on
The Red Hat Satellite installation is now complete. Continue with the instructions in Chapter 4, Configuration.