Chapter 3. Installing Satellite Server

When you install Satellite Server from a connected network, you can obtain packages and receive updates directly from the Red Hat Content Delivery Network.

Note

You cannot register Satellite Server to itself.

Use the following procedures to install Satellite Server, perform the initial configuration, and import subscription manifests. For more information on subscription manifests, see Managing Red Hat Subscriptions in Managing Content.

Note that the Satellite installation script is based on Puppet, which means that if you run the installation script more than once, it might overwrite any manual configuration changes. ⁠ To avoid this and determine which future changes apply, use the --noop argument when you run the installation script. This argument ensures that no actual changes are made. Potential changes are written to /var/log/foreman-installer/satellite.log.

Files are always backed up and so you can revert any unwanted changes. For example, in the foreman-installer logs, you can see an entry similar to the following about Filebucket: 

/Stage[main]/Dhcp/File[/etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf]: Filebucketed /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf to puppet with sum 622d9820b8e764ab124367c68f5fa3a1

You can restore the previous file as follows: 

# puppet filebucket -l \
restore /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf 622d9820b8e764ab124367c68f5fa3a1

3.1. Configuring the HTTP Proxy to Connect to Red Hat CDN

Prerequisites

Your network gateway and the HTTP proxy must allow access to the following hosts:

Host namePortProtocol

subscription.rhsm.redhat.com

443

HTTPS

cdn.redhat.com

443

HTTPS

*.akamaiedge.net

443

HTTPS

cert.console.redhat.com (if using Red Hat Insights)

443

HTTPS

api.access.redhat.com (if using Red Hat Insights)

443

HTTPS

cert-api.access.redhat.com (if using Red Hat Insights)

443

HTTPS

Satellite Server uses SSL to communicate with the Red Hat CDN securely. Use of an SSL interception proxy interferes with this communication. These hosts must be whitelisted on the proxy.

For a list of IP addresses used by the Red Hat CDN (cdn.redhat.com), see the Knowledgebase article Public CIDR Lists for Red Hat on the Red Hat Customer Portal.

To configure the subscription-manager with the HTTP proxy, follow the procedure below.

Procedure

  1. On Satellite Server, complete the following details in the /etc/rhsm/rhsm.conf file: 

    # an http proxy server to use (enter server FQDN)
proxy_hostname = myproxy.example.com

# port for http proxy server
proxy_port = 8080

# user name for authenticating to an http proxy, if needed
proxy_user =

# password for basic http proxy auth, if needed
proxy_password =

3.2. Registering to Red Hat Subscription Management

Registering the host to Red Hat Subscription Management enables the host to subscribe to and consume content for any subscriptions available to the user. This includes content such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Satellite.

Procedure

  • 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: 

    # subscription-manager register
Username: user_name
Password:
The system has been registered with ID: 541084ff2-44cab-4eb1-9fa1-7683431bcf9a

3.3. Attaching the Satellite Infrastructure Subscription

Note

Skip this step if you have SCA enabled on Red Hat Customer Portal. There is no requirement of attaching the Red Hat Satellite Infrastructure Subscription to the Satellite Server using subscription-manager. For more information about SCA, see Simple Content Access.

After you have registered Satellite Server, you must identify your subscription Pool ID and attach an available subscription. The Red Hat Satellite Infrastructure subscription provides access to the Red Hat Satellite and Red Hat Enterprise Linux content.

Red Hat Satellite Infrastructure is included with all subscriptions that include Satellite, formerly known as Smart Management. For more information, see Satellite Infrastructure Subscriptions MCT3718 MCT3719 in the Red Hat Knowledgebase.

Subscriptions are classified as available if they are not already attached to a system. If you are unable to find an available Satellite subscription, see the Red Hat Knowledgebase solution How do I figure out which subscriptions have been consumed by clients registered under Red Hat Subscription Manager? to run a script to see if another system is consuming your subscription.

Procedure

  1. Identify the Pool ID of the Satellite Infrastructure subscription: 

    # subscription-manager list --all --available --matches 'Red Hat Satellite Infrastructure Subscription'

    The command displays output similar to the following: 

    Subscription Name:   Red Hat Satellite Infrastructure Subscription
Provides:            Red Hat Satellite
                     Red Hat Software Collections (for RHEL Server)
                     Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder for x86_64
                     Red Hat Satellite Capsule
                     Red Hat Ansible Engine
                     Red Hat Satellite with Embedded Oracle
                     Red Hat Satellite 5 Managed DB
                     Red Hat Enterprise Linux Load Balancer (for RHEL Server)
                     Red Hat Beta
                     Red Hat Software Collections Beta (for RHEL Server)
                     Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server
                     Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64
                     Red Hat Satellite Proxy
                     Red Hat Enterprise Linux High Availability for x86_64
                     Red Hat Discovery
SKU:                 MCT3718
Contract:
Pool ID:             8aca43dd771bf31101771c0231f906a5
Provides Management: Yes
Available:           10
Suggested:           1
Service Type:        L1-L3
Roles:
Service Level:       Premium
Usage:
Add-ons:
Subscription Type:   Standard
Starts:              11/11/2020
Ends:                11/11/2023
Entitlement Type:    Physical
  2. Make a note of the subscription Pool ID. Your subscription Pool ID is different from the example provided.

  3. Attach the Satellite Infrastructure subscription to the base operating system that your Satellite Server is running on. If SCA is enabled on Satellite Server, you can skip this step: 

    # subscription-manager attach --pool=pool_id

    The command displays output similar to the following: 

    Successfully attached a subscription for: Red Hat Satellite Infrastructure Subscription

  4. Optional: Verify that the Satellite Infrastructure subscription is attached: 

    # subscription-manager list --consumed

3.4. Configuring Repositories

Use these procedures to enable the repositories required to install Satellite Server.

  1. Disable all repositories: 

    # subscription-manager repos --disable "*"

  2. Enable the following repositories: 

    # subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-8-for-x86_64-baseos-rpms \
--enable=rhel-8-for-x86_64-appstream-rpms \
--enable=satellite-6.13-for-rhel-8-x86_64-rpms \
--enable=satellite-maintenance-6.13-for-rhel-8-x86_64-rpms

  3. Enable the DNF modules: 

    # dnf module enable satellite:el8
    Note

    If there is any warning about conflicts with Ruby or PostgreSQL while enabling satellite:el8 module, see Troubleshooting DNF modules. For more information about modules and lifecycle streams on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, see Red Hat Enterprise Linux Application Streams Life Cycle.

3.5. Installing Satellite Server Packages

Procedure

  1. Update all packages: 

    # dnf update

  2. Install Satellite Server packages: 

    # dnf install satellite

3.6. Synchronizing the System Clock With chronyd

To minimize the effects of time drift, you must synchronize the system clock on the base operating system on which you want to install Satellite Server with Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers. If the base operating system clock is configured incorrectly, certificate verification might fail.

For more information about the chrony suite, see Using the Chrony suite to configure NTP in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Configuring basic system settings.

Procedure

  1. Install the chrony package: 

    # dnf install chrony

  2. Start and enable the chronyd service: 

    # systemctl enable --now chronyd

3.7. Installing the SOS Package on the Base Operating System

Install the sos package on the base operating system so that you can collect configuration and diagnostic information from a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. You can also use it to provide the initial system analysis, which is required when opening a service request with Red Hat Technical Support. For more information on using sos, see the Knowledgebase solution What is a sosreport and how to create one in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.6 and later? on the Red Hat Customer Portal.

Procedure

  1. Install the sos package: 

    # dnf install sos

3.8. Configuring Satellite Server

Install Satellite Server using the satellite-installer installation script.

This method is performed by running the installation script with one or more command options. The command options override the corresponding default initial configuration options and are recorded in the Satellite answer file. You can run the script as often as needed to configure any necessary options.

Note

Depending on the options that you use when running the Satellite installer, the configuration can take several minutes to complete.

3.8.1. Configuring Satellite Installation

This initial configuration procedure creates an organization, location, user name, and password. After the initial configuration, you can create additional organizations and locations if required. The initial configuration also installs PostgreSQL databases on the same server.

The installation process can take tens of minutes to complete. If you are connecting remotely to the system, use a utility such as tmux that allows suspending and reattaching a communication session so that you can check the installation progress in case you become disconnected from the remote system. If you lose connection to the shell where the installation command is running, see the log at /var/log/foreman-installer/satellite.log to determine if the process completed successfully.

Considerations

  • Use the satellite-installer --scenario satellite --help command to display the available options and any default values. If you do not specify any values, the default values are used.
  • Specify a meaningful value for the option: --foreman-initial-organization. This can be your company name. An internal label that matches the value is also created and cannot be changed afterwards. If you do not specify a value, an organization called Default Organization with the label Default_Organization is created. You can rename the organization name but not the label.
  • Remote Execution is the primary method of managing packages on Content Hosts. If you want to use the deprecated Katello Agent instead of Remote Execution SSH, use the --foreman-proxy-content-enable-katello-agent=true option to enable it. The same option should be given on any Capsule Server as well as Satellite Server.
  • By default, all configuration files configured by the installer are managed. When satellite-installer runs, it overwrites any manual changes to the managed files with the intended values. This means that running the installer on a broken system should restore it to working order, regardless of changes made. For more information on how to apply custom configuration on other services, see Applying Custom Configuration to Satellite.

Procedure

  1. Enter the following command with any additional options that you want to use: 

    # satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
--foreman-initial-organization "My_Organization" \
--foreman-initial-location "My_Location" \
--foreman-initial-admin-username admin_user_name \
--foreman-initial-admin-password admin_password

    The script displays its progress and writes logs to /var/log/foreman-installer/satellite.log.

3.9. Importing a Red Hat Subscription Manifest into Satellite Server

Use the following procedure to import a Red Hat subscription manifest into Satellite Server.

Note

Simple Content Access (SCA) is set on the organization, not the manifest. Importing a manifest does not change your organization’s Simple Content Access status.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, ensure the context is set to the organization you want to use.
  2. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Subscriptions and click Manage Manifest.
  3. In the Manage Manifest window, click Choose File.
  4. Navigate to the location that contains the Red Hat subscription manifest file, then click Open.

CLI procedure

  1. Copy the Red Hat subscription manifest file from your local machine to Satellite Server: 

    $ scp ~/manifest_file.zip root@satellite.example.com:~/.

  2. Log in to Satellite Server as the root user and import the Red Hat subscription manifest file: 

    # hammer subscription upload \
--file ~/manifest_file.zip \
--organization "My_Organization"

You can now enable repositories and import Red Hat content. For more information, see Importing Content in Managing Content.