How to subscribe SAP Applications systems to the Update Services for SAP Solutions

Solution Verified - Updated -

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.2 and higher ( with the exception of RHEL 7.5)
  • Subscription: Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions

Issue

  • How to subscribe SAP Applications systems to the Update Services for SAP Solutions
  • How to migrate or re-register SAP Applications systems to use the new "Update Services for SAP Solutions"

Resolution

Either one of the below subscription combinations is required to access RHEL E4S channels

NOTE: Only for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5

As per RHEL lifecycle page, there is no E4S/Update services for RHEL 7.5. Enable Extended Update Support(EUS) instead of E4S. For more information on how to enable EUS, refer the following kbase article.

Other RHEL versions

For RHEL 8 see How to subscribe to Update Services for SAP Solutions on RHEL 8.

1. Detach 'SAP Applications' subscription (already registered systems only)

Follow the below steps if the SAP Netweaver system was already registered using the older RHEL for SAP Applications subscription.

  1. Find the serial number of the subscription that the system is currently subscribed to

    subscription-manager list --consumed

  2. Remove the subscription assigned to the system using the below command. Replace the "serial" with the value obtained from Step 1.

    subscription-manager remove --serial=<SERIAL>
2. Attach 'SAP Solutions' subscription

Follow the below steps to attach the 'SAP Solutions' subscription

Attach the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions subscription. This process involves two steps

  1. Find the pool id of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions subscription

    subscription-manager list --available

  2. Attach the subscription to the system

    subscription-manager attach --pool=XXXX
3. Enable base repositories for new Update Services for SAP Solutions

When registering the system you should first lock the RHEL system SAP Solutions available release and clear the yum cache. Note that all the default yum repositories associated with a subscription are enabled during registration. Disable all the enabled yum repositories and enable only the required E4S repositories. The same steps can be followed for a server which is registered to Red Hat Customer portal or to Satellite using Red Hat Subscription management.

  1. Set the release to one of the SAP Solutions available release and clear the yum cache. For setting the minor release as Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4 you can use commands below, for other version adjust the command.

    subscription-manager release --set=7.4
yum clean all

  2. Disable all yum repositories that were enabled by default

    subscription-manager repos --disable="*"

  3. Enable the E4S yum repositories

    • x86_64 platform

      subscription-manager repos --enable="rhel-7-server-e4s-rpms" --enable="rhel-sap-for-rhel-7-server-e4s-rpms"

    • PowerPC Little Endian(ppc64le) platform

      subscription-manager repos --enable="rhel-7-for-power-le-e4s-rpms" --enable="rhel-sap-for-rhel-7-for-power-le-e4s-rpms"
4. Enable 'High Availability' repositories for the new Update Services for SAP Solutions

If the system is also required to be subscribed to High availability repository, then in addition to previous commands execute one of the below commands.

  • x86_64 platform

    subscription-manager repos --enable="rhel-ha-for-rhel-7-server-e4s-rpms"

  • PowerPC Little Endian(ppc64le) platform

    subscription-manager repos --enable="rhel-ha-for-rhel-7-server-for-power-le-e4s-rpms"

Additional resources

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1 Comments

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KD Expert 1010 points
24 October 2017 7:23 AM

Hi, I have 3 questions regarding the e4s repositories:

  • is there an overview page for the e4s repositories like there is for eus (something like https://access.redhat.com/articles/rhel-eus but for e4s)

the eus page states: "What Is Included/Excluded from EUS For approximately the first six months of its lifetime (until the next minor release), an EUS channel receives the same updates that the base channel receives. These include Critical, Important, and Moderate-impact security updates and urgent-priority bug fixes. Following the next minor release, an EUS channel is practically restricted to Critical-impact security advisories and selected urgent-priority bug fixes. For EUS subscribers, Red Hat will generally continue to proactively provide Critical-impact RHSAs independent of customer requests if and when available. Not included in EUS updates are new features, hardware-enabling updates, or updated device drivers as EUS is intended to provide customers with a stable, long-term, secure environment. A list of EUS Inclusions is published here."

  • Is the same true for the e4s channels ie do they receive the same updates as the the release channel for the first months of a release? What kind of security fixes will be published into the e4s repositories?

  • what will be different from the regular eus channels? What will be the difference between rhel-7-server-e4s-rpms and rhel-7-server-eus-rpms repositories for example?

Greetings Klaas