Chapter 4. Performing Additional Configuration on Satellite Server

4.1. Using Red Hat Insights with Satellite Server

You can use Red Hat Insights to diagnose systems and downtime related to security exploits, performance degradation and stability failures. You can use the dashboard to quickly identify key risks to stability, security, and performance. You can sort by category, view details of the impact and resolution, and then determine what systems are affected.

Note that you do not require a Red Hat Insights entitlement in your subscription manifest. For more information about Satellite and Red Hat Insights, see Red Hat Insights on Satellite Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

To maintain your Satellite Server, and improve your ability to monitor and diagnose problems you might have with Satellite, install Red Hat Insights on Satellite Server and register Satellite Server with Red Hat Insights.

Scheduling insights-client

Note that you can change the default schedule for running insights-client by configuring insights-client.timer on Satellite. For more information, see Changing the insights-client schedule in the Client Configuration Guide for Red Hat Insights.

Procedure

  1. To install Red Hat Insights on Satellite Server, enter the following command:

    # satellite-maintain packages install insights-client
  2. To register Satellite Server with Red Hat Insights, enter the following command:

    # satellite-installer --register-with-insights

4.2. Disabling Registration to Red Hat Insights

After you install or upgrade Satellite, you can choose to unregister or register Red Hat Insights as needed. For example, if you need to use Satellite in a disconnected environment, you can unregister insights-client from Satellite Server.

Prerequisites

  1. You have registered Satellite to Red Hat Customer Portal.

Procedure

  1. Optional: To unregister Red Hat Insights from Satellite Server, enter the following command:

    # insights-client --unregister
  2. Optional: To register Satellite Server with Red Hat Insights, enter the following command:

    # satellite-installer --register-with-insights

4.3. Enabling the Satellite Client 6 Repository

The Satellite Client 6 repository provides the katello-agent, katello-host-tools, and puppet packages for clients registered to Satellite Server. You must enable the repository for each Red Hat Enterprise Linux version that you need to manage hosts. Continue with a procedure below according to the operating system version for which you want to enable the Satellite Client 6 repository.

4.3.1. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 & Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

To use the CLI instead of the Satellite web UI, see the procedure relevant for your Red Hat Enterprise Linux version:

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Red Hat Repositories.
  2. In the Available Repositories pane, enable the Recommended Repositories to get the list of repositories.
  3. Click Red Hat Satellite Client 6 for RHEL 9 x86_64 (RPMs) or Red Hat Satellite Client 6 for RHEL 8 x86_64 (RPMs) to expand the repository set.
  4. For the x86_64 architecture, click the + icon to enable the repository.

    If the Satellite Client 6 items are not visible, it may be because they are not included in the Red Hat Subscription Manifest obtained from the Customer Portal. To correct that, log in to the Customer Portal, add these repositories, download the Red Hat Subscription Manifest and import it into Satellite. For more information, see Managing Red Hat Subscriptions in Managing Content.

    Enable the Satellite Client 6 repository for every supported major version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on your hosts. After enabling a Red Hat repository, a Product for this repository is automatically created.

CLI procedure for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

  • Enable the Satellite Client 6 repository using the hammer repository-set enable command:

    # hammer repository-set enable \
    --basearch="x86_64" \
    --name "Red Hat Satellite Client 6 for RHEL 9 x86_64 (RPMs)" \
    --organization "My_Organization" \
    --product "Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64"

CLI procedure for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

  • Enable the Satellite Client 6 repository using the hammer repository-set enable command:

    # hammer repository-set enable \
    --basearch="x86_64" \
    --name "Red Hat Satellite Client 6 for RHEL 8 x86_64 (RPMs)" \
    --organization "My_Organization" \
    --product "Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64"

4.3.2. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 & Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Note

You require Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on subscription to enable the repositories of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. For more information, see Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on guide.

To use the CLI instead of the Satellite web UI, see the procedure relevant for your Red Hat Enterprise Linux version:

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Red Hat Repositories.
  2. In the Available Repositories pane, enable the Recommended Repositories to get the list of repositories.
  3. In the Available Repositories pane, click on Satellite Client 6 (for RHEL 7 Server) (RPMs) or Satellite Client 6 (for RHEL 6 Server - ELS) (RPMs) to expand the repository set.

    If the Satellite Client 6 items are not visible, it may be because they are not included in the Red Hat Subscription Manifest obtained from the Customer Portal. To correct that, log in to the Customer Portal, add these repositories, download the Red Hat Subscription Manifest and import it into Satellite. For more information, see Managing Red Hat Subscriptions in Managing Content.

  4. For the x86_64 architecture, click the + icon to enable the repository. Enable the Satellite Client 6 repository for every supported major version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on your hosts. After enabling a Red Hat repository, a Product for this repository is automatically created.

CLI procedure for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

  • Enable the Satellite Client 6 repository using the hammer repository-set enable command:

    # hammer repository-set enable \
    --basearch="x86_64" \
    --name "Red Hat Satellite Client 6 (for RHEL 7 Server) (RPMs)" \
    --organization "My_Organization" \
    --product "Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server"

CLI procedure for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

  • Enable the Satellite Client 6 repository using the hammer repository-set enable command:

    # hammer repository-set enable \
    --basearch="x86_64" \
    --name "Red Hat Satellite Client 6 (for RHEL 6 Server - ELS) (RPMs)" \
    --organization "My_Organization" \
    --product "Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support"

4.4. Synchronizing the Satellite Client 6 Repository

Use this section to synchronize the Satellite Client 6 repository from the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN) to your Satellite. This repository provides the katello-agent, katello-host-tools, and puppet packages for clients registered to Satellite Server. Continue with a procedure below according to the operating system version for which you want to synchronize the Satellite Client 6 repository.

4.4.1. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 & Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

To use the CLI instead of the Satellite web UI, see the procedure relevant for your Red Hat Enterprise Linux version:

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Sync Status.
  2. Click the arrow next to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 product to view available content.
  3. Select Red Hat Satellite Client 6 for RHEL 9 x86_64 RPMs or Red Hat Satellite Client 6 for RHEL 8 x86_64 RPMs whichever is applicable.
  4. Click Synchronize Now.

CLI procedure for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

  • Synchronize your Satellite Client 6 repository using the hammer repository synchronize command:

    # hammer repository synchronize \
    --name "Red Hat Satellite Client 6 for RHEL 9 x86_64 RPMs" \
    --organization "My_Organization" \
    --product "Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64"

CLI procedure for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

  • Synchronize your Satellite Client 6 repository using the hammer repository synchronize command:

    # hammer repository synchronize \
    --name "Red Hat Satellite Client 6 for RHEL 8 x86_64 RPMs" \
    --organization "My_Organization" \
    --product "Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64"

4.4.2. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 & Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Note

You require Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on subscription to synchronize the repositories of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. For more information, see Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on guide.

To use the CLI instead of the Satellite web UI, see the procedure relevant for your Red Hat Enterprise Linux version:

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Sync Status.
  2. Click the arrow next to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server or Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support whichever product is applicable to view available content.
  3. Select Red Hat Satellite Client 6 (for RHEL 7 Server) RPMs x86_64 or Red Hat Satellite Client 6 for RHEL 6 Server - ELS RPMs x86_64 based on your operating system version.
  4. Click Synchronize Now.

CLI procedure for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

  • Synchronize your Satellite Client 6 repository using the hammer repository synchronize command:

    # hammer repository synchronize \
    --async \
    --name "Red Hat Satellite Client 6 for RHEL 7 Server RPMs x86_64" \
    --organization "My_Organization" \
    --product "Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server"

CLI procedure for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

  • Synchronize your Satellite Client 6 repository using the hammer repository synchronize command:

    # hammer repository synchronize \
    --async \
    --name "Red Hat Satellite Client 6 for RHEL 6 Server - ELS RPMs x86_64" \
    --organization "My_Organization" \
    --product "Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support"

4.5. Configuring Remote Execution for Pull Client on Satellite Server

By default, Remote Execution uses SSH as the transport mechanism for the Script provider. However, Remote Execution also offers pull-based transport, which you can use if your infrastructure prohibits outgoing connections from Satellite to hosts.

This comprises pull-mqtt mode on Satellite in combination with a pull client running on hosts. If you still use Katello Agent, configure the pull-mqtt mode for migration which is a deprecated method of pull-based transport.

Note

The pull-mqtt mode works only with the Script provider. Ansible and other providers will continue to use their default transport settings.

To use pull-mqtt mode on Satellite Server, follow the procedure below:

Procedure

  1. Enable the pull-based transport on your Satellite Server:

    # satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
    --foreman-proxy-plugin-remote-execution-script-mode pull-mqtt
  2. Configure the firewall to allow MQTT service on port 1883:

    # firewall-cmd --add-service=mqtt
    # firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent

    In pull-mqtt mode, hosts subscribe for job notifications to either your Satellite or any Capsule Server through which they are registered. Therefore, it is recommended to ensure that Satellite Server sends remote execution jobs to that same Satellite (or Capsule).

  3. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Administer > Settings.
  4. On the Content tab, set the value of Prefer registered through Capsule for remote execution to Yes.

After you set up the pull-based transport on Satellite, you must also configure it on each host. For more information, see Transport Modes for Remote Execution in Managing Hosts.

4.6. Configuring Satellite for UEFI HTTP Boot Provisioning in an IPv6 Network

Use this procedure to configure Satellite to provision hosts in an IPv6 network with UEFI HTTP Boot provisioning.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure that your clients can access DHCP and HTTP servers.
  • Ensure that the UDP ports 67 and 68 are accessible by clients so clients can send DHCP requests and receive DHCP offers.
  • Ensure that the TCP port 8000 is open for clients to download files and Kickstart templates from Satellite and Capsules.
  • Ensure that the host provisioning interface subnet has an HTTP Boot Capsule, and Templates Capsule set. For more information, see Adding a Subnet to Satellite Server in Provisioning Hosts.
  • In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Administer > Settings > Provisioning and ensure that the Token duration setting is not set to 0. Satellite cannot identify clients that are booting from the network by a remote IPv6 address because of unmanaged DHCPv6 service, therefore provisioning tokens must be enabled.

Procedure

  1. You must disable DHCP management in the installer or not use it.
  2. For all IPv6 subnets created in Satellite, set the DHCP Capsule to blank.
  3. Optional: If the host and the DHCP server are separated by a router, configure the DHCP relay agent and point to the DHCP server.
  4. On Satellite or Capsule from which you provision, update the grub2-efi package to the latest version:

    # satellite-maintain packages update grub2-efi
  5. Synchronize the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 kickstart repository.

4.7. Configuring Satellite Server with an HTTP Proxy

Use the following procedures to configure Satellite with an HTTP proxy.

4.7.1. Adding a Default HTTP Proxy to Satellite

If your network uses an HTTP Proxy, you can configure Satellite Server to use an HTTP proxy for requests to the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN) or another content source. Use the FQDN instead of the IP address where possible to avoid losing connectivity because of network changes.

The following procedure configures a proxy only for downloading content for Satellite. To use the CLI instead of the Satellite web UI, see the CLI procedure.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Infrastructure > HTTP Proxies.
  2. Click New HTTP Proxy.
  3. In the Name field, enter the name for the HTTP proxy.
  4. In the Url field, enter the URL of the HTTP proxy in the following format: https://proxy.example.com:8080.
  5. Optional: If authentication is required, in the Username field, enter the username to authenticate with.
  6. Optional: If authentication is required, in the Password field, enter the password to authenticate with.
  7. To test connection to the proxy, click the Test Connection button.
  8. Click Submit.
  9. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Administer > Settings, and click the Content tab.
  10. Set the Default HTTP Proxy setting to the created HTTP proxy.

CLI procedure

  1. Verify that the http_proxy, https_proxy, and no_proxy variables are not set.

    # unset http_proxy
    # unset https_proxy
    # unset no_proxy
  2. Add an HTTP proxy entry to Satellite:

    # hammer http-proxy create --name=myproxy \
    --url http://myproxy.example.com:8080  \
    --username=proxy_username \
    --password=proxy_password
  3. Configure Satellite to use this HTTP proxy by default:

    # hammer settings set --name=content_default_http_proxy --value=myproxy

4.7.2. Configuring SELinux to Ensure Access to Satellite on Custom Ports

SELinux ensures access of Red Hat Satellite and Subscription Manager only to specific ports. In the case of the HTTP cache, the TCP ports are 8080, 8118, 8123, and 10001 – 10010. If you use a port that does not have SELinux type http_cache_port_t, complete the following steps.

Procedure

  1. On Satellite, to verify the ports that are permitted by SELinux for the HTTP cache, enter a command as follows:

    # semanage port -l | grep http_cache
    http_cache_port_t       tcp    8080, 8118, 8123, 10001-10010
    [output truncated]
  2. To configure SELinux to permit a port for the HTTP cache, for example 8088, enter a command as follows:

    # semanage port -a -t http_cache_port_t -p tcp 8088

4.7.3. Using an HTTP Proxy for all Satellite HTTP Requests

If your Satellite Server must remain behind a firewall that blocks HTTP and HTTPS, you can configure a proxy for communication with external systems, including compute resources.

Note that if you are using compute resources for provisioning, and you want to use a different HTTP proxy with the compute resources, the proxy that you set for all Satellite communication takes precedence over the proxies that you set for compute resources.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Administer > Settings.
  2. In the HTTP(S) proxy row, select the adjacent Value column and enter the proxy URL.
  3. Click the tick icon to save your changes.

CLI procedure

  • Enter the following command:

    # hammer settings set --name=http_proxy --value=Proxy_URL

4.7.4. Excluding Hosts from Receiving Proxied Requests

If you use an HTTP Proxy for all Satellite HTTP or HTTPS requests, you can prevent certain hosts from communicating through the proxy.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Administer > Settings.
  2. In the HTTP(S) proxy except hosts row, select the adjacent Value column and enter the names of one or more hosts that you want to exclude from proxy requests.
  3. Click the tick icon to save your changes.

CLI procedure

  • Enter the following command:

    # hammer settings set --name=http_proxy_except_list --value=[hostname1.hostname2...]

4.7.5. Resetting the HTTP Proxy

If you want to reset the current HTTP proxy setting, unset the Default HTTP Proxy setting.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Administer > Settings, and click the Content tab.
  2. Set the Default HTTP Proxy setting to no global default.

CLI procedure

  • Set the content_default_http_proxy setting to an empty string:

    # hammer settings set --name=content_default_http_proxy --value=""

4.8. Enabling Power Management on Managed Hosts

To perform power management tasks on managed hosts using the intelligent platform management interface (IPMI) or a similar protocol, you must enable the baseboard management controller (BMC) module on Satellite Server.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  • To enable BMC, enter the following command:

    # satellite-installer --foreman-proxy-bmc "true" \
    --foreman-proxy-bmc-default-provider "freeipmi"

4.9. Configuring DNS, DHCP, and TFTP on Satellite Server

To configure the DNS, DHCP, and TFTP services on Satellite Server, use the satellite-installer command with the options appropriate for your environment. To view a complete list of configurable options, enter the satellite-installer --scenario satellite --help command.

Any changes to the settings require entering the satellite-installer command again. You can enter the command multiple times and each time it updates all configuration files with the changed values.

To use external DNS, DHCP, and TFTP services instead, see Chapter 6, Configuring Satellite Server with External Services.

Adding Multihomed DHCP details

If you want to use Multihomed DHCP, you must inform the installer.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure that the following information is available to you:

    • DHCP IP address ranges
    • DHCP gateway IP address
    • DHCP nameserver IP address
    • DNS information
    • TFTP server name
  • Use the FQDN instead of the IP address where possible in case of network changes.
  • Contact your network administrator to ensure that you have the correct settings.

Procedure

  • Enter the satellite-installer command with the options appropriate for your environment. The following example shows configuring full provisioning services:

    # satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
    --foreman-proxy-dns true \
    --foreman-proxy-dns-managed true \
    --foreman-proxy-dns-interface eth0 \
    --foreman-proxy-dns-zone example.com \
    --foreman-proxy-dns-reverse 2.0.192.in-addr.arpa \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp true \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-managed true \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-interface eth0 \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-additional-interfaces eth1 \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-additional-interfaces eth2 \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-range "192.0.2.100 192.0.2.150" \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-gateway 192.0.2.1 \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-nameservers 192.0.2.2 \
    --foreman-proxy-tftp true \
    --foreman-proxy-tftp-managed true \
    --foreman-proxy-tftp-servername 192.0.2.3

You can monitor the progress of the satellite-installer command displayed in your prompt. You can view the logs in /var/log/foreman-installer/satellite.log. You can view the settings used, including the initial_admin_password parameter, in the /etc/foreman-installer/scenarios.d/satellite-answers.yaml file.

For more information about configuring DHCP, DNS, and TFTP services, see Configuring Network Services in Provisioning Hosts.

4.10. Disabling DNS, DHCP, and TFTP for Unmanaged Networks

If you want to manage TFTP, DHCP, and DNS services manually, you must prevent Satellite from maintaining these services on the operating system and disable orchestration to avoid DHCP and DNS validation errors. However, Satellite does not remove the back-end services on the operating system.

Procedure

  1. On Satellite Server, enter the following command:

    # satellite-installer --foreman-proxy-dhcp false \
    --foreman-proxy-dns false \
    --foreman-proxy-tftp false
  2. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Infrastructure > Subnets and select a subnet.
  3. Click the Capsules tab and clear the DHCP Capsule, TFTP Capsule, and Reverse DNS Capsule fields.
  4. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Infrastructure > Domains and select a domain.
  5. Clear the DNS Capsule field.
  6. Optional: If you use a DHCP service supplied by a third party, configure your DHCP server to pass the following options:

    Option 66: IP address of Satellite or Capsule
    Option 67: /pxelinux.0

    For more information about DHCP options, see RFC 2132.

Note

Satellite does not perform orchestration when a Capsule is not set for a given subnet and domain. When enabling or disabling Capsule associations, orchestration commands for existing hosts can fail if the expected records and configuration files are not present. When associating a Capsule to turn orchestration on, ensure the required DHCP and DNS records as well as the TFTP files are in place for the existing Satellite hosts in order to prevent host deletion failures in the future.

4.11. Configuring Satellite Server for Outgoing Emails

To send email messages from Satellite Server, you can use either an SMTP server, or the sendmail command.

Prerequisite

  • Some SMTP servers with anti-spam protection or grey-listing features are known to cause problems. To setup outgoing email with such a service either install and configure a vanilla SMTP service on Satellite Server for relay or use the sendmail command instead.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Administer > Settings.
  2. Click the Email tab and set the configuration options to match your preferred delivery method. The changes have an immediate effect.

    1. The following example shows the configuration options for using an SMTP server:

      Table 4.1. Using an SMTP server as a delivery method

      NameExample value

      Delivery method

      SMTP

      SMTP address

      smtp.example.com

      SMTP authentication

      login

      SMTP HELO/EHLO domain

      example.com

      SMTP password

      password

      SMTP port

      25

      SMTP username

      user@example.com

      The SMTP username and SMTP password specify the login credentials for the SMTP server.

    2. The following example uses gmail.com as an SMTP server:

      Table 4.2. Using gmail.com as an SMTP server

      NameExample value

      Delivery method

      SMTP

      SMTP address

      smtp.gmail.com

      SMTP authentication

      plain

      SMTP HELO/EHLO domain

      smtp.gmail.com

      SMTP enable StartTLS auto

      Yes

      SMTP password

      password

      SMTP port

      587

      SMTP username

      user@gmail.com

    3. The following example uses the sendmail command as a delivery method:

      Table 4.3. Using sendmail as a delivery method

      NameExample value

      Delivery method

      Sendmail

      Sendmail location

      /usr/sbin/sendmail

      Sendmail arguments

      -i

      For security reasons, both Sendmail location and Sendmail argument settings are read-only and can be only set in /etc/foreman/settings.yaml. Both settings currently cannot be set via satellite-installer. For more information see the sendmail 1 man page.

  3. If you decide to send email using an SMTP server which uses TLS authentication, also perform one of the following steps:

    • Mark the CA certificate of the SMTP server as trusted. To do so, execute the following commands on Satellite Server:

      # cp mailca.crt /etc/pki/ca-trust/source/anchors/
      # update-ca-trust enable
      # update-ca-trust

      Where mailca.crt is the CA certificate of the SMTP server.

    • Alternatively, in the Satellite web UI, set the SMTP enable StartTLS auto option to No.
  4. Click Test email to send a test message to the user’s email address to confirm the configuration is working. If a message fails to send, the Satellite web UI displays an error. See the log at /var/log/foreman/production.log for further details.
Note

For information on configuring email notifications for individual users or user groups, see Configuring Email Notification Preferences in Administering Red Hat Satellite.

4.12. Configuring an Alternate CNAME for Satellite

You can configure an alternate CNAME for Satellite. This might be useful if you want to deploy the Satellite web interface on a different domain name than the one that is used by client systems to connect to Satellite. You must plan the alternate CNAME configuration in advance prior to installing Capsules and registering hosts to Satellite to avoid redeploying new certificates to hosts.

4.12.1. Configuring Satellite with an Alternate CNAME

Use this procedure to configure Satellite with an alternate CNAME. Note that the procedures for users of a default Satellite certificate and custom certificate differ.

For Default Satellite Certificate Users

  • If you have installed Satellite with a default Satellite certificate and want to configure Satellite with an alternate CNAME, enter the following command on Satellite to generate a new default Satellite SSL certificate with an additional CNAME.

    # satellite-installer --certs-cname alternate_fqdn --certs-update-server
  • If you have not installed Satellite, you can add the --certs-cname alternate_fqdn option to the satellite-installer command to install Satellite with an alternate CNAME.

For Custom Certificate Users

If you use Satellite with a custom certificate, when creating a custom certificate, include the alternate CNAME records to the custom certificate. For more information, see Creating a Custom SSL Certificate for Satellite Server.

4.12.2. Configuring Hosts to Use an Alternate Satellite CNAME for Content Management

If Satellite is configured with an alternate CNAME, you can configure hosts to use the alternate Satellite CNAME for content management. To do this, you must point hosts to the alternate Satellite CNAME prior to registering the hosts to Satellite. You can do this using the bootstrap script or manually.

Configuring Hosts with the bootstrap Script

On the host, run the bootstrap script with the --server alternate_fqdn.example.com option to register the host to the alternate Satellite CNAME:

# ./bootstrap.py --server alternate_fqdn.example.com

Configuring Hosts Manually

On the host, edit the /etc/rhsm/rhsm.conf file to update hostname and baseurl settings to point to the alternate host name, for example:

[server]
# Server hostname:
hostname = alternate_fqdn.example.com

content omitted

[rhsm]
# Content base URL:
baseurl=https://alternate_fqdn.example.com/pulp/content/

Now you can register the host with the subscription-manager.

4.13. Configuring Satellite Server with a Custom SSL Certificate

By default, Red Hat Satellite uses a self-signed SSL certificate to enable encrypted communications between Satellite Server, external Capsule Servers, and all hosts. If you cannot use a Satellite self-signed certificate, you can configure Satellite Server to use an SSL certificate signed by an external certificate authority (CA).

When you configure Red Hat Satellite with custom SSL certificates, you must fulfill the following requirements:

  • You must use the privacy-enhanced mail (PEM) encoding for the SSL certificates.
  • You must not use the same SSL certificate for both Satellite Server and Capsule Server.
  • The same CA must sign certificates for Satellite Server and Capsule Server.
  • An SSL certificate must not also be a CA certificate.
  • An SSL certificate must include a subject alt name (SAN) entry that matches the common name (CN).
  • An SSL certificate must be allowed for Key Encipherment using a Key Usage extension.
  • An SSL certificate must not have a shortname as the CN.
  • You must not set a passphrase for the private key.

To configure your Satellite Server with a custom certificate, complete the following procedures:

4.13.1. Creating a Custom SSL Certificate for Satellite Server

Use this procedure to create a custom SSL certificate for Satellite Server. If you already have a custom SSL certificate for Satellite Server, skip this procedure.

Procedure

  1. To store all the source certificate files, create a directory that is accessible only to the root user:

    # mkdir /root/satellite_cert
  2. Create a private key with which to sign the certificate signing request (CSR).

    Note that the private key must be unencrypted. If you use a password-protected private key, remove the private key password.

    If you already have a private key for this Satellite Server, skip this step.

    # openssl genrsa -out /root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_key.pem 4096
  3. Create the /root/satellite_cert/openssl.cnf configuration file for the CSR and include the following content:

    [ req ]
    req_extensions = v3_req
    distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
    x509_extensions = usr_cert
    prompt = no
    
    [ req_distinguished_name ]
    CN = satellite.example.com
    
    [ v3_req ]
    basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
    keyUsage = digitalSignature, nonRepudiation, keyEncipherment, dataEncipherment
    extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth, clientAuth, codeSigning, emailProtection
    subjectAltName = @alt_names
    
    [ usr_cert ]
    basicConstraints=CA:FALSE
    nsCertType = client, server, email
    keyUsage = nonRepudiation, digitalSignature, keyEncipherment
    extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth, clientAuth, codeSigning, emailProtection
    nsComment = "OpenSSL Generated Certificate"
    subjectKeyIdentifier=hash
    authorityKeyIdentifier=keyid,issuer
    
    [ alt_names ]
    DNS.1 = satellite.example.com

    Optional: If you want to add Distinguished Name (DN) details to the CSR, add the following information to the [ req_distinguished_name ] section:

    [req_distinguished_name]
    CN = satellite.example.com
    countryName =My_Country_Name 1
    stateOrProvinceName = My_State_Or_Province_Name 2
    localityName = My_Locality_Name 3
    organizationName = My_Organization_Or_Company_Name
    organizationalUnitName = My_Organizational_Unit_Name 4
    1
    Two letter code
    2
    Full name
    3
    Full name (example: New York)
    4
    Division responsible for the certificate (example: IT department)
  4. Generate CSR:

    # openssl req -new \
    -key /root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_key.pem \ 1
    -config /root/satellite_cert/openssl.cnf \ 2
    -out /root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_csr.pem 3
    1
    Path to the private key
    2
    Path to the configuration file
    3
    Path to the CSR to generate
  5. Send the certificate signing request to the certificate authority (CA). The same CA must sign certificates for Satellite Server and Capsule Server.

    When you submit the request, specify the lifespan of the certificate. The method for sending the certificate request varies, so consult the CA for the preferred method. In response to the request, you can expect to receive a CA bundle and a signed certificate, in separate files.

4.13.2. Deploying a Custom SSL Certificate to Satellite Server

Use this procedure to configure your Satellite Server to use a custom SSL certificate signed by a Certificate Authority. The katello-certs-check command validates the input certificate files and returns the commands necessary to deploy a custom SSL certificate to Satellite Server.

Important

Do not store the SSL certificates or .tar bundles in /tmp or /var/tmp directory. The operating system removes files from these directories periodically. As a result, satellite-installer fails to execute while enabling features or upgrading Satellite Server.

Procedure

  1. Validate the custom SSL certificate input files. Note that for the katello-certs-check command to work correctly, Common Name (CN) in the certificate must match the FQDN of Satellite Server.

    # katello-certs-check \
    -c /root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert.pem \      1
    -k /root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_key.pem \  2
    -b /root/satellite_cert/ca_cert_bundle.pem        3
    1
    Path to Satellite Server certificate file that is signed by a Certificate Authority.
    2
    Path to the private key that was used to sign Satellite Server certificate.
    3
    Path to the Certificate Authority bundle.

    If the command is successful, it returns two satellite-installer commands, one of which you must use to deploy a certificate to Satellite Server.

    Example output of katello-certs-check

    Validation succeeded.
    
    To install the Red Hat Satellite Server with the custom certificates, run:
    
      satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
        --certs-server-cert "/root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert.pem" \
        --certs-server-key "/root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_key.pem" \
        --certs-server-ca-cert "/root/satellite_cert/ca_cert_bundle.pem"
    
    To update the certificates on a currently running Red Hat Satellite installation, run:
    
      satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
        --certs-server-cert "/root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert.pem" \
        --certs-server-key "/root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_key.pem" \
        --certs-server-ca-cert "/root/satellite_cert/ca_cert_bundle.pem" \
        --certs-update-server --certs-update-server-ca

    Note that you must not access or modify /root/ssl-build.

  2. From the output of the katello-certs-check command, depending on your requirements, enter the satellite-installer command that installs a new Satellite with custom SSL certificates or updates certificates on a currently running Satellite.

    If you are unsure which command to run, you can verify that Satellite is installed by checking if the file /etc/foreman-installer/scenarios.d/.installed exists. If the file exists, run the second satellite-installer command that updates certificates.

    Important

    satellite-installer needs the certificate archive file after you deploy the certificate. Do not modify or delete it. It is required, for example, when upgrading Satellite Server.

  3. On a computer with network access to Satellite Server, navigate to the following URL: https://satellite.example.com.
  4. In your browser, view the certificate details to verify the deployed certificate.

4.13.3. Deploying a Custom SSL Certificate to Hosts

After you configure Satellite Server to use a custom SSL certificate, you must also install the katello-ca-consumer package on every host that is registered to this Satellite Server.

Procedure

  • On each host, install the katello-ca-consumer package:

    # dnf install http://satellite.example.com/pub/katello-ca-consumer-latest.noarch.rpm

4.14. Using External Databases with Satellite

As part of the installation process for Red Hat Satellite, the satellite-installer command installs PostgreSQL databases on the same server as Satellite. In certain Satellite deployments, using external databases instead of the default local databases can help with the server load.

Red Hat does not provide support or tools for external database maintenance. This includes backups, upgrades, and database tuning. You must have your own database administrator to support and maintain external databases.

To create and use external databases for Satellite, you must complete the following procedures:

  1. Section 4.14.2, “Preparing a Host for External Databases”. Prepare a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 server to host the external databases.
  2. Section 4.14.3, “Installing PostgreSQL”. Prepare PostgreSQL with databases for Satellite, Candlepin and Pulp with dedicated users owning them.
  3. Section 4.14.4, “Configuring Satellite Server to use External Databases”. Edit the parameters of satellite-installer to point to the new databases, and run satellite-installer.

4.14.1. PostgreSQL as an External Database Considerations

Foreman, Katello, and Candlepin use the PostgreSQL database. If you want to use PostgreSQL as an external database, the following information can help you decide if this option is right for your Satellite configuration. Satellite supports PostgreSQL version 12.

Advantages of External PostgreSQL

  • Increase in free memory and free CPU on Satellite
  • Flexibility to set shared_buffers on the PostgreSQL database to a high number without the risk of interfering with other services on Satellite
  • Flexibility to tune the PostgreSQL server’s system without adversely affecting Satellite operations

Disadvantages of External PostgreSQL

  • Increase in deployment complexity that can make troubleshooting more difficult
  • The external PostgreSQL server is an additional system to patch and maintain
  • If either Satellite or the PostgreSQL database server suffers a hardware or storage failure, Satellite is not operational
  • If there is latency between the Satellite server and database server, performance can suffer

If you suspect that the PostgreSQL database on your Satellite is causing performance problems, use the information in Satellite 6: How to enable postgres query logging to detect slow running queries to determine if you have slow queries. Queries that take longer than one second are typically caused by performance issues with large installations, and moving to an external database might not help. If you have slow queries, contact Red Hat Support.

4.14.2. Preparing a Host for External Databases

Install a freshly provisioned system with the latest Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 to host the external databases.

Subscriptions for Red Hat Enterprise Linux do not provide the correct service level agreement for using Satellite with external databases. You must also attach a Satellite subscription to the base operating system that you want to use for the external databases.

Prerequisite

Procedure

  1. Use the instructions in Attaching the Satellite Infrastructure Subscription to attach a Satellite subscription to your server.
  2. Disable all repositories and enable only the following repositories:

    # subscription-manager repos --disable '*'
    # subscription-manager repos \
    --enable=satellite-6.13-for-rhel-8-x86_64-rpms \
    --enable=satellite-maintenance-6.13-for-rhel-8-x86_64-rpms \
    --enable=rhel-8-for-x86_64-baseos-rpms \
    --enable=rhel-8-for-x86_64-appstream-rpms
  3. Enable the following modules:

    # dnf module enable satellite:el8
    Note

    Enablement of the module satellite:el8 warns about a conflict with postgresql:10 and ruby:2.5 as these modules are set to the default module versions on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. The module satellite:el8 has a dependency for the modules postgresql:12 and ruby:2.7 that will be enabled with the satellite:el8 module. These warnings do not cause installation process failure, hence can be ignored safely. For more information about modules and lifecycle streams on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, see Red Hat Enterprise Linux Application Streams Life Cycle.

4.14.3. Installing PostgreSQL

You can install only the same version of PostgreSQL that is installed with the satellite-installer tool during an internal database installation. Satellite supports PostgreSQL version 12.

Procedure

  1. To install PostgreSQL, enter the following command:

    # dnf install postgresql-server postgresql-evr
  2. To initialize PostgreSQL, enter the following command:

    # postgresql-setup initdb
  3. Edit the /var/lib/pgsql/data/postgresql.conf file:

    # vi /var/lib/pgsql/data/postgresql.conf

    Note that the default configuration of external PostgreSQL needs to be adjusted to work with Satellite. The base recommended external database configuration adjustments are as follows:

    • checkpoint_completion_target: 0.9
    • max_connections: 500
    • shared_buffers: 512MB
    • work_mem: 4MB
  4. Remove the # and edit to listen to inbound connections:

    listen_addresses = '*'
  5. Edit the /var/lib/pgsql/data/pg_hba.conf file:

    # vi /var/lib/pgsql/data/pg_hba.conf
  6. Add the following line to the file:

      host  all   all   Satellite_ip/32   md5
  7. To start, and enable PostgreSQL service, enter the following commands:

    # systemctl enable --now postgresql
  8. Open the postgresql port on the external PostgreSQL server:

    # firewall-cmd --add-service=postgresql
    # firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent
  9. Switch to the postgres user and start the PostgreSQL client:

    $ su - postgres -c psql
  10. Create three databases and dedicated roles: one for Satellite, one for Candlepin, and one for Pulp:

    CREATE USER "foreman" WITH PASSWORD 'Foreman_Password';
    CREATE USER "candlepin" WITH PASSWORD 'Candlepin_Password';
    CREATE USER "pulp" WITH PASSWORD 'Pulpcore_Password';
    CREATE DATABASE foreman OWNER foreman;
    CREATE DATABASE candlepin OWNER candlepin;
    CREATE DATABASE pulpcore OWNER pulp;
  11. Exit the postgres user:

    # \q
  12. From Satellite Server, test that you can access the database. If the connection succeeds, the commands return 1.

    # PGPASSWORD='Foreman_Password' psql -h postgres.example.com  -p 5432 -U foreman -d foreman -c "SELECT 1 as ping"
    # PGPASSWORD='Candlepin_Password' psql -h postgres.example.com -p 5432 -U candlepin -d candlepin -c "SELECT 1 as ping"
    # PGPASSWORD='Pulpcore_Password' psql -h postgres.example.com -p 5432 -U pulp -d pulpcore -c "SELECT 1 as ping"

4.14.4. Configuring Satellite Server to use External Databases

Use the satellite-installer command to configure Satellite to connect to an external PostgreSQL database.

Prerequisite

  • You have installed and configured a PostgreSQL database on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server.

Procedure

  1. To configure the external databases for Satellite, enter the following command:

    satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
      --foreman-db-host postgres.example.com \
      --foreman-db-password Foreman_Password \
      --foreman-db-database foreman \
      --foreman-db-manage false \
      --katello-candlepin-db-host postgres.example.com \
      --katello-candlepin-db-name candlepin \
      --katello-candlepin-db-password Candlepin_Password \
      --katello-candlepin-manage-db false \
      --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-manage-postgresql false \
      --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-host postgres.example.com \
      --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-db-name pulpcore \
      --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-password Pulpcore_Password
      --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-user pulp

    To enable the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol for these external databases, add the following options:

    --foreman-db-sslmode verify-full
    --foreman-db-root-cert <path_to_CA>
    --katello-candlepin-db-ssl true
    --katello-candlepin-db-ssl-verify true
    --katello-candlepin-db-ssl-ca <path_to_CA>
    --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-ssl true
    --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-ssl-root-ca <path_to_CA>