Chapter 22. Using the rhc system role to register the system

The rhc RHEL system role enables administrators to automate the registration of multiple systems with Red Hat Subscription Management (RHSM) and Satellite servers. The role also supports Insights-related configuration and management tasks by using Ansible.

22.1. Introduction to the rhc system role

RHEL system role is a set of roles that provides a consistent configuration interface to remotely manage multiple systems. The remote host configuration (rhc) RHEL system role enables administrators to easily register RHEL systems to Red Hat Subscription Management (RHSM) and Satellite servers. By default, when you register a system by using the rhc RHEL system role, the system is connected to Insights. Additionally, with the rhc RHEL system role, you can:

  • Configure connections to Red Hat Insights
  • Enable and disable repositories
  • Configure the proxy to use for the connection
  • Configure insights remediations and, auto updates
  • Set the release of the system
  • Configure insights tags

22.2. Registering a system by using the rhc system role

You can register your system to Red Hat by using the rhc RHEL system role. By default, the rhc RHEL system role connects the system to Red Hat Insights when you register it.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Store your sensitive variables in an encrypted file:

    1. Create the vault:

      $ ansible-vault create vault.yml
      New Vault password: <password>
      Confirm New Vault password: <vault_password>
    2. After the ansible-vault create command opens an editor, enter the sensitive data in the <key>: <value> format:

      activationKey: <activation_key>
      username: <username>
      password: <password>
    3. Save the changes, and close the editor. Ansible encrypts the data in the vault.
  2. Create a playbook file, for example ~/playbook.yml, with the following content:

    • To register by using an activation key and organization ID (recommended), use the following playbook:

      ---
      - name: Registering system using activation key and organization ID
        hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
        vars_files:
          - vault.yml
        roles:
          - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
        vars:
          rhc_auth:
            activation_keys:
              keys:
                -  "{{ activationKey }}"
          rhc_organization: organizationID
    • To register by using a username and password, use the following playbook:

      ---
      - name: Registering system with username and password
        hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
        vars_files:
          - vault.yml
        vars:
          rhc_auth:
            login:
              username: "{{ username }}"
              password: "{{ password }}"
        roles:
          - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
  3. Validate the playbook syntax:

    $ ansible-playbook --syntax-check --ask-vault-pass ~/playbook.yml

    Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.

  4. Run the playbook:

    $ ansible-playbook --ask-vault-pass ~/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.rhc/README.md file
  • /usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/rhc/ directory
  • Ansible Vault

22.3. Registering a system with Satellite by using the rhc system role

When organizations use Satellite to manage systems, it is necessary to register the system through Satellite. You can remotely register your system with Satellite by using the rhc RHEL system role.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Store your sensitive variables in an encrypted file:

    1. Create the vault:

      $ ansible-vault create vault.yml
      New Vault password: <password>
      Confirm New Vault password: <vault_password>
    2. After the ansible-vault create command opens an editor, enter the sensitive data in the <key>: <value> format:

      activationKey: <activation_key>
    3. Save the changes, and close the editor. Ansible encrypts the data in the vault.
  2. Create a playbook file, for example ~/playbook.yml, with the following content:

    ---
    - name: Register to the custom registration server and CDN
      hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
      vars_files:
        - vault.yml
      roles:
        - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
      vars:
        rhc_auth:
          login:
            activation_keys:
              keys:
                - "{{ activationKey }}"
            rhc_organization: organizationID
        rhc_server:
          hostname: example.com
            port: 443
            prefix: /rhsm
        rhc_baseurl: http://example.com/pulp/content
  3. Validate the playbook syntax:

    $ ansible-playbook --syntax-check --ask-vault-pass ~/playbook.yml

    Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.

  4. Run the playbook:

    $ ansible-playbook --ask-vault-pass ~/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.rhc/README.md file
  • /usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/rhc/ directory
  • Ansible Vault

22.4. Disabling the connection to Insights after the registration by using the rhc system role

When you register a system by using the rhc RHEL system role, the role by default, enables the connection to Red Hat Insights. You can disable it by using the rhc RHEL system role, if not required.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Create a playbook file, for example ~/playbook.yml, with the following content:

    ---
    - name: Disable Insights connection
      hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
      roles:
        - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
      vars:
        rhc_insights:
          state: absent
  2. Validate the playbook syntax:

    $ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml

    Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.

  3. Run the playbook:

    $ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.rhc/README.md file
  • /usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/rhc/ directory

22.5. Enabling repositories by using the rhc system role

You can remotely enable or disable repositories on managed nodes by using the rhc RHEL system role.

Prerequisites

  • You have prepared the control node and the managed nodes.
  • You are logged in to the control node as a user who can run playbooks on the managed nodes.
  • The account you use to connect to the managed nodes has sudo permissions on them.
  • You have details of the repositories which you want to enable or disable on the managed nodes.
  • You have registered the system.

Procedure

  1. Create a playbook file, for example ~/playbook.yml, with the following content:

    • To enable a repository:

      ---
      - name: Enable repository
        hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
        roles:
          - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
        vars:
          rhc_repositories:
            - {name: "RepositoryName", state: enabled}
    • To disable a repository:

      ---
      - name: Disable repository
        hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
        vars:
          rhc_repositories:
            - {name: "RepositoryName", state: disabled}
        roles:
          - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
  2. Validate the playbook syntax:

    $ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml

    Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.

  3. Run the playbook:

    $ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.rhc/README.md file
  • /usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/rhc/ directory

22.6. Setting release versions by using the rhc system role

You can limit the system to use only repositories for a particular minor RHEL version instead of the latest one. This way, you can lock your system to a specific minor RHEL version.

Prerequisites

  • You have prepared the control node and the managed nodes.
  • You are logged in to the control node as a user who can run playbooks on the managed nodes.
  • The account you use to connect to the managed nodes has sudo permissions on them.
  • You know the minor RHEL version to which you want to lock the system. Note that you can only lock the system to the RHEL minor version that the host currently runs or a later minor version.
  • You have registered the system.

Procedure

  1. Create a playbook file, for example ~/playbook.yml, with the following content:

    ---
    - name: Set Release
      hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
      roles:
        - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
      vars:
        rhc_release: "8.6"
  2. Validate the playbook syntax:

    $ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml

    Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.

  3. Run the playbook:

    $ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.rhc/README.md file
  • /usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/rhc/ directory

22.7. Using a proxy server when registering the host by using the rhc system role

If your security restrictions allow access to the Internet only through a proxy server, you can specify the proxy’s settings in the playbook when you register the system using the rhc RHEL system role.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Store your sensitive variables in an encrypted file:

    1. Create the vault:

      $ ansible-vault create vault.yml
      New Vault password: <password>
      Confirm New Vault password: <vault_password>
    2. After the ansible-vault create command opens an editor, enter the sensitive data in the <key>: <value> format:

      username: <username>
      password: <password>
      proxy_username: <proxyusernme>
      proxy_password: <proxypassword>
    3. Save the changes, and close the editor. Ansible encrypts the data in the vault.
  2. Create a playbook file, for example ~/playbook.yml, with the following content:

    • To register to the Red Hat Customer Portal by using a proxy:

      ---
      - name: Register using proxy
        hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
        vars_files:
          - vault.yml
        roles:
          - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
        vars:
          rhc_auth:
            login:
              username: "{{ username }}"
              password: "{{ password }}"
          rhc_proxy:
            hostname: proxy.example.com
            port: 3128
            username: "{{ proxy_username }}"
            password: "{{ proxy_password }}"
    • To remove the proxy server from the configuration of the Red Hat Subscription Manager service:

      ---
      - name: To stop using proxy server for registration
        hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
        vars_files:
          - vault.yml
        vars:
          rhc_auth:
            login:
              username: "{{ username }}"
              password: "{{ password }}"
          rhc_proxy: {"state":"absent"}
        roles:
          - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
  3. Validate the playbook syntax:

    $ ansible-playbook --syntax-check --ask-vault-pass ~/playbook.yml

    Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.

  4. Run the playbook:

    $ ansible-playbook --ask-vault-pass ~/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.rhc/README.md file
  • /usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/rhc/ directory
  • Ansible Vault

22.8. Disabling auto updates of Insights rules by using the rhc system role

You can disable the automatic collection rule updates for Red Hat Insights by using the rhc RHEL system role. By default, when you connect your system to Red Hat Insights, this option is enabled. You can disable it by using the rhc RHEL system role.

Note

If you disable this feature, you risk using outdated rule definition files and not getting the most recent validation updates.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Store your sensitive variables in an encrypted file:

    1. Create the vault:

      $ ansible-vault create vault.yml
      New Vault password: <password>
      Confirm New Vault password: <vault_password>
    2. After the ansible-vault create command opens an editor, enter the sensitive data in the <key>: <value> format:

      username: <username>
      password: <password>
    3. Save the changes, and close the editor. Ansible encrypts the data in the vault.
  2. Create a playbook file, for example ~/playbook.yml, with the following content:

    ---
    - name: Disable Red Hat Insights autoupdates
      hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
      vars_files:
        - vault.yml
      roles:
        - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
      vars:
        rhc_auth:
          login:
            username: "{{ username }}"
            password: "{{ password }}"
        rhc_insights:
          autoupdate: false
          state: present
  3. Validate the playbook syntax:

    $ ansible-playbook --syntax-check --ask-vault-pass ~/playbook.yml

    Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.

  4. Run the playbook:

    $ ansible-playbook --ask-vault-pass ~/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.rhc/README.md file
  • /usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/rhc/ directory
  • Ansible Vault

22.9. Disabling Insights remediations by using the rhc RHEL system role

You can configure systems to automatically update the dynamic configuration by using the rhc RHEL system role. When you connect your system to Red hat Insights, it is enabled by default. You can disable it, if not required.

Note

Enabling remediation with the rhc RHEL system role ensures your system is ready to be remediated when connected directly to Red Hat. For systems connected to a Satellite, or Capsule, enabling remediation must be achieved differently. For more information about Red Hat Insights remediations, see Red Hat Insights Remediations Guide.

Prerequisites

  • You have prepared the control node and the managed nodes.
  • You are logged in to the control node as a user who can run playbooks on the managed nodes.
  • The account you use to connect to the managed nodes has sudo permissions on them.
  • You have Insights remediations enabled.
  • You have registered the system.

Procedure

  1. Create a playbook file, for example ~/playbook.yml, with the following content:

    ---
    - name: Disable remediation
      hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
      roles:
        - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
      vars:
        rhc_insights:
          remediation: absent
          state: present
  2. Validate the playbook syntax:

    $ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml

    Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.

  3. Run the playbook:

    $ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.rhc/README.md file
  • /usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/rhc/ directory

22.10. Configuring Insights tags by using the rhc system role

You can use tags for system filtering and grouping. You can also customize tags based on the requirements.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Store your sensitive variables in an encrypted file:

    1. Create the vault:

      $ ansible-vault create vault.yml
      New Vault password: <password>
      Confirm New Vault password: <vault_password>
    2. After the ansible-vault create command opens an editor, enter the sensitive data in the <key>: <value> format:

      username: <username>
      password: <password>
    3. Save the changes, and close the editor. Ansible encrypts the data in the vault.
  2. Create a playbook file, for example ~/playbook.yml, with the following content:

    ---
    - name: Creating tags
      hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
      vars_files:
        - vault.yml
      roles:
        - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
      vars:
        rhc_auth:
          login:
            username: "{{ username }}"
            password: "{{ password }}"
        rhc_insights:
          tags:
            group: group-name-value
            location: location-name-value
            description:
              - RHEL8
              - SAP
            sample_key:value
          state: present
  3. Validate the playbook syntax:

    $ ansible-playbook --syntax-check --ask-vault-pass ~/playbook.yml

    Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.

  4. Run the playbook:

    $ ansible-playbook --ask-vault-pass ~/playbook.yml

Additional resources

22.11. Unregistering a system by using the RHC system role

You can unregister the system from Red Hat if you no longer need the subscription service.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Create a playbook file, for example ~/playbook.yml, with the following content:

    ---
    - name: Unregister the system
      hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
      roles:
        - role: rhel-system-roles.rhc
      vars:
        rhc_state: absent
  2. Validate the playbook syntax:

    $ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml

    Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.

  3. Run the playbook:

    $ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml

Additional resources

  • /usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.rhc/README.md file
  • /usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/rhc/ directory