Getting the most from your Support experience

Procedure

1. Run the sos report command and follow the on-screen instructions. You can add the --upload option to transfer the sos report to Red Hat immediately after generating it.

   [user@server1 ~]$ sudo sos report
   [sudo] password for user:
   
   sos report (version 4.2)
   
   This command collects diagnostic and configuration information from
   this Red Hat Enterprise Linux system and installed applications.
   
   An archive containing the collected information is generated in
   /var/tmp/sos.qkn_b7by and may be provided to a Red Hat support
   representative.
   
   Press ENTER to continue, or CTRL-C to quit.

2. Optional: If you have already opened a Technical Support case with Red Hat, enter the case number to embed it in the sos report file name. If you specified the --upload option, you can upload the report to that case.

   If you do not have a case number, leave this field blank. Entering a case number is optional and does not affect the operation of the sos utility.

   Please enter the case id that you are generating this report for []: <8-digit_case_number>

3. Take note of the sos report file name displayed at the end of the console output.

   Finished running plugins
   Creating compressed archive...
   
   Your sos report has been generated and saved in
   /var/tmp/sosreport-server1-12345678-2022-04-17-qmtnqng.tar.xz
   
   Size    16.51MiB
   Owner   root
   sha256  bf303917b689b13f0c059116d9ca55e341d5fadcd3f1473bef7299c4ad2a7f4f
   
   Please send this file to your support representative.

4. Optional: You can use the --batch option to generate an sos report without prompting for interactive input.

   [user@server1 ~]$ sudo sos report --batch --case-id <8-digit_case_number>

5. You can also use the --clean option to obfuscate a just-collected sos report.

   [user@server1 ~]$ sudo sos report --clean

Procedure

1. Run the sos report command and specify a passphrase with the --encrypt-pass option. You can add the --upload option to transfer the sos report to Red Hat immediately after generating it.

   [user@server1 ~]$ sudo sos report --encrypt-pass my-passphrase
   [sudo] password for user:
   
   sosreport (version 4.2)
   
   This command will collect diagnostic and configuration information from
   this Red Hat Enterprise Linux system and installed applications.
   
   An archive containing the collected information will be generated in
   /var/tmp/sos.6lck0myd and may be provided to a Red Hat support
   representative.
   
   ...
   
   Press ENTER to continue, or CTRL-C to quit.

2. Optional: If you have already opened a Technical Support case with Red Hat, enter the case number to embed it in the sos report file name, by using the --upload option. If you do not have a case number, leave the field blank as it does not affect the operation of the sos utility.

   Please enter the case id that you are generating this report for []: <8-digit_case_number>

3. Take note of the sos report file name displayed at the end of the console output.

   Finished running plugins
   Creating compressed archive...
   
   Your sosreport has been generated and saved in:
   /var/tmp/secured-sosreport-server1-12345678-2022-01-24-ueqijfm.tar.xz.gpg
   
   Size    17.53MiB
   Owner   root
   sha256     bf303917b689b13f0c059116d9ca55e341d5fadcd3f1473bef7299c4ad2a7f4f
   
   Please send this file to your support representative.

Verification

1. Verify that the sos utility created an archive meeting the following requirements:

   • File name starts with secured.
   • File name ends with a .gpg extension.

   • Located in the /var/tmp/ directory.

     [user@server1 ~]$ sudo ls -l /var/tmp/sosreport*
     [sudo] password for user:
     -rw-------. 1 root root 18381537 Jan 24 17:55 /var/tmp/secured-sosreport-server1-12345678-2022-01-24-ueqijfm.tar.xz.gpg

2. Verify that you can decrypt the archive with the same passphrase you used to encrypt it.

   1. Use the gpg command to decrypt the archive.

      [user@server1 ~]$ sudo gpg --output decrypted-sosreport.tar.gz --decrypt /var/tmp/secured-sosreport-server1-12345678-2022-01-24-ueqijfm.tar.xz.gpg

   2. When prompted, enter the passphrase you used to encrypt the archive.

      ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
      │ Enter passphrase                                     │
      │                                                      │
      │                                                      │
      │ Passphrase: <passphrase>                             │
      │                                                      │
      │       <OK>                              <Cancel>     │
      └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

   3. Verify that the gpg utility produced an unencrypted archive with a .tar.gz file extension.

      [user@server1 ~]$ sudo ls -l decrypted-sosreport.tar.gz
      [sudo] password for user:
      -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 18381537 Jan 24 17:59 decrypted-sosreport.tar.gz

1. The sos utility creates an unencrypted sos report.
2. The utility encrypts the sos report as a new file.
3. The utility then removes the unencrypted archive.

Procedure

1. Run the sos report command and specify the username that owns the GPG keyring with the --encrypt-key option. You can add the --upload option to transfer the sos report to Red Hat immediately after generating it.

   Note

   If you run the sos report command, you must own the GPG keyring that encrypts and decrypts the report. When you run the command as a sudo user, configure the keyring as a user with sudo privileges.

   [user@server1 ~]$ sudo sos report --encrypt-key root
   [sudo] password for user:
   
   sosreport (version 4.2)
   
   This command will collect diagnostic and configuration information from
   this Red Hat Enterprise Linux system and installed applications.
   
   An archive containing the collected information will be generated in
   /var/tmp/sos.6ucjclgf and may be provided to a Red Hat support
   representative.
   
   ...
   
   Press ENTER to continue, or CTRL-C to quit.

2. Optional: If you have already opened a Technical Support case with Red Hat, enter the case number to embed it in the sos report file name by using the --upload option. If you do not have a case number, leave the field blank as it does not affect the operation of the sos utility.

   Please enter the case id that you are generating this report for []: <8-digit_case_number>

3. Take note of the sos report file name displayed at the end of the console output.

   ...
   Finished running plugins
   Creating compressed archive...
   
   Your sosreport has been generated and saved in:
   /var/tmp/secured-sosreport-server1-23456789-2022-02-27-zhdqhdi.tar.xz.gpg
   
   Size    15.44MiB
   Owner   root
   sha256  bf303917b689b13f0c059116d9ca55e341d5fadcd3f1473bef7299c4ad2a7f4f
   
   Please send this file to your support representative.

Verification

1. Verify that the sos utility created an archive meeting the following requirements:

   • File name starts with secured.
   • File name ends with a .gpg extension.

   • Located in the /var/tmp/ directory.

     [user@server1 ~]$ sudo ls -l /var/tmp/sosreport*
     [sudo] password for user:
     -rw-------. 1 root root 16190013 Jan 24 17:55 /var/tmp/secured-sosreport-server1-23456789-2022-01-27-zhdqhdi.tar.xz.gpg

2. Verify you can decrypt the archive with the same key you used to encrypt it.

   1. Use the gpg command to decrypt the archive.

      [user@server1 ~]$ sudo gpg --output decrypted-sosreport.tar.gz --decrypt /var/tmp/secured-sosreport-server1-23456789-2022-01-27-zhdqhdi.tar.xz.gpg

   2. When prompted, enter the passphrase you used when creating the GPG key.

      ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
      │ Please enter the passphrase to unlock the OpenPGP secret key:  │
      │ "GPG User (first key) <root@example.com>"                      │
      │ 2048-bit RSA key, ID BF28FFA302EF4557,                         │
      │ created 2020-01-13.                                            │
      │                                                                │
      │                                                                │
      │ Passphrase: <passphrase>                                       │
      │                                                                │
      │         <OK>                                    <Cancel>       │
      └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

   3. Verify that the gpg utility produced an unencrypted archive with a .tar.gz file extension.

      [user@server1 ~]$ sudo ll decrypted-sosreport.tar.gz
      [sudo] password for user:
      -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 16190013 Jan 27 17:47 decrypted-sosreport.tar.gz

Procedure

1. Install and configure the pinentry utility.

   [root@server ~]# dnf install pinentry
   [root@server ~]# mkdir ~/.gnupg -m 700
   [root@server ~]# echo "pinentry-program /usr/bin/pinentry-curses" >> ~/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf

2. Create a key-input file used for generating a GPG keypair with your preferred details. For example:

   [root@server ~]# cat >key-input <<EOF
   %echo Generating a standard key
   Key-Type: RSA
   Key-Length: 2048
   Name-Real: GPG User
   Name-Comment: first key
   Name-Email: root@example.com
   Expire-Date: 0
   %commit
   %echo Finished creating standard key
   EOF

3. Optional: By default, GPG2 stores its keyring in the ~/.gnupg file. To use a custom keyring location, set the GNUPGHOME environment variable to a directory that is only accessible by root.

   [root@server ~]# export GNUPGHOME=/root/backup
   
   [root@server ~]# mkdir -p $GNUPGHOME -m 700

4. Generate a new GPG2 key based on the contents of the key-input file.

   [root@server ~]# gpg2 --batch --gen-key key-input

5. Enter a passphrase to protect the GPG2 key. You use this passphrase to access the private key for decryption.

   ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
   │ Please enter the passphrase to                       │
   │ protect your new key                                 │
   │                                                      │
   │ Passphrase: <passphrase>                             │
   │                                                      │
   │	 <OK>                             <Cancel>         │
   └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

6. Confirm the correct passphrase by entering it again.

   ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
   │ Please re-enter this passphrase                      │
   │                                                      │
   │ Passphrase: <passphrase>                             │
   │                                                      │
   │	 <OK>                             <Cancel>         │
   └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

7. Verify that the new GPG2 key was created successfully.

   gpg: keybox '/root/backup/pubring.kbx' created
   gpg: Generating a standard key
   gpg: /root/backup/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
   gpg: key BF28FFA302EF4557 marked as ultimately trusted
   gpg: directory '/root/backup/openpgp-revocs.d' created
   gpg: revocation certificate stored as '/root/backup/openpgp-revocs.d/8F6FCF10C80359D5A05AED67BF28FFA302EF4557.rev'
   gpg: Finished creating standard key

Procedure

1. Boot the host from an installation source.
2. In the boot menu for the installation media, select the Troubleshooting option.
3. In the Troubleshooting menu, select the Rescue a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system option.

4. At the Rescue menu, select 1 and press the Enter key to continue and mount the system under the /mnt/sysroot directory.

   …​
   1) Continue
   2) Read-only mount
   3) Skip to shell
   4) Quit (Reboot)
   Please make a selection from the above: 1

5. Press the Enter key to obtain a shell when prompted.

   Rescue Shell
   
   Your system has been mounted under /mnt/sysroot.
   
   If you would like to make the root of your system the root of the activate system, run the command:
   
       chroot /mnt/sysroot
   Warning: The rescue shell will trigger SELinux autorelabel on the subsequent boot. Add "enforcing=0" on the kernel command line for autorelabel to work properly.
   When finished, please exit from the shell and your system will reboot.
   
   Please press ENTER to get a shell:
   bash-5.2#

6. Use the chroot command to change the apparent root directory of the rescue session to the /mnt/sysroot directory.

   Rescue Shell
   …​
   Please press ENTER to get a shell:
   bash-5.2# chroot /mnt/sysroot/

7. Optional: Optional: If you did not set up the network during the initial rescue environment and need to transfer the sos report over the network, configure it now.

   1. Identify the Ethernet device you want to use:

      # ip link show
      …​
      2: enp1s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
          link/ether 52:54:00:74:79:56 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

   2. Assign an IP address to the network interface, and set the default gateway. For example, if you want to add the IP address of 192.168.0.1 with a subnet of 255.255.255.0, which is a Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) of 24, to device enp1s0, enter:

      # ip address add <192.168.0.1/24> dev <enp1s0>
      # ip route add default via <192.168.0.254>

   3. Add a nameserver entry to the /etc/resolv.conf file, for example:

      nameserver <192.168.0.5>

8. Run the sos report command and follow the on-screen instructions. You can add the --upload option to transfer the sos report to Red Hat immediately after generating it.

   bash-5.2# sos report
   sos report (version 4.8.2)
   
   This command will collect system configuration and diagnostic
   information from this Fedora Linux system.
   
   For more information on the Fedora Project visit:
   
           Community Website : https://fedoraproject.org/
           Community Forums  : https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/
   
   The generated archive may contain data considered sensitive and its
   content should be reviewed by the originating organization before being
   passed to any third party.
   
   No changes will be made to system configuration.
   
   Press ENTER to continue, or CTRL-C to quit.

9. Optional: If you have already opened a Technical Support case with Red Hat, enter the case number to embed it in the sos report file name, by using the --upload option. If you do not have a case number, leave the field blank as it does not affect the operation of the sos utility.

   sos report (version 4.8.2)
   …​
   
   Press ENTER to continue, or CTRL-C to quit.
   Optionally, please enter the case id that you are generating this report for []:

10. Take note of the sos report file name displayed at the end of the console output.

    Finished running plugins
    Creating compressed archive…​
    
    Your sosreport has been generated and saved in:
    /var/tmp/secured-sosreport-unused-2025-05-14-lofqhen.tar.xz
    
    Size    9.30MiB
    Owner   root
    sha256     bf303917b689b13f0c059116d9ca55e341d5fadcd3f1473bef7299c4ad2a7f4f
    
    Please send this file to your support representative.
    bash-5.2#

11. If your host does not have a connection to the internet, use a file transfer utility such as scp to transfer the sos report to another host. You can then upload it to a Red Hat Technical Support case.

Procedure

1. Log in to the RHEL web console. For details, see Logging in to the web console.
2. In the navigation panel menu, click Tools > Diagnostic reports.
3. To generate a new diagnostic report, click the Run report button.
4. Enter the label for the report you want to create.

5. Optional: Customize your report.

   1. Enter the encryption passphrase to encrypt your report. If you want to skip the encryption of the report, leave the field empty.
   2. Select the Obfuscate network addresses, hostnames, and usernames checkbox.
   3. Select the Use verbose logging checkbox.
6. Click the Run report button to generate a report and wait for the process to complete. You can stop generating the report using the Stop report button.

Procedure

1. Log in to the RHEL 10 web console.
2. In the navigation panel menu, select Tools > Diagnostic reports.
3. Click the Download button next to the report that you want to download.

Procedure

1. Log in to the RHEL web console. For details, see Logging in to the web console.
2. In the navigation panel menu, select Tools > Diagnostic reports.
3. Click the vertical ellipsis by the Download button next to the report that you want to delete, then click the Delete button.
4. In the Delete report permanently? window, click the Delete button to delete the report.