4.12. Using External Databases with Satellite

As part of the installation process for Red Hat Satellite, the satellite-installer command installs MongoDB and 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. Depending on your requirements, you can use external databases for either MongoDB or PostgreSQL database, or both.

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.

Use MongoDB as an External Database Considerations and PostgreSQL as an External Database Considerations to decide if you want to use external databases for your Satellite deployment.

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

  1. 「Preparing a Host for External Databases」. Prepare a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 server to host the external databases.
  2. 「Installing MongoDB」. Prepare MongoDB with user pulp owning the pulp_database
  3. 「Installing PostgreSQL」. Prepare PostgreSQL with databases for Satellite and Candlepin and dedicated users owning them.
  4. 「Configuring Satellite to use External Databases」. Edit the parameters of satellite-installer to point to the new databases, and run satellite-installer.

4.12.1. MongoDB as an External Database Considerations

Pulp uses the MongoDB database. If you want to use MongoDB as an external database, the following information can help you decide if this option is right for your Satellite configuration. Satellite supports MongoDB version 3.4.

Advantages of External MongoDB

  • Increase in free memory and free CPU on Satellite
  • Flexibility to tune the MongoDB server’s system without adversely affecting Satellite operations

Disadvantages of External MongoDB

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

FIPS-related Restrictions

  • You cannot use an external MongoDB with Satellite in FIPS mode.