Chapter 2. Using content templates to apply system patches

Repository snapshots capture the state of your repository at a point in time. Repositories are collections of Red Hat Package Manager files (RPMs) and metadata.

A content template consists of a set of repository snapshots that have the same version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the same system architecture. You select the snapshots to ensure that your systems have access only to specific package versions. Using the content templates, you can establish date-based patch baselines for your systems, and then use yum or dnf to perform updates to the systems.

Snapshots are daily reference copies of the state of your repository at specified points in time. Insights for Red Hat Enterprise Linux takes snapshots of the common RHEL repositories as well as your custom repositories.

You can view the list of snapshots for the repositories that you select, as well as the changes that occur in time between one snapshot and the next. For example, you can see when new packages have been added between snapshots.

A content template consists of an explicit set of packages and errata that can be installed or updated on any associated system. It contains a set of repository snapshots that have the same RHEL product/version, system architecture, and template creation date.

When you associate a system with a content template, Insights overwrites the repository definitions on the system to point to the repository snapshots in the template. These are the same repository snapshots that appear on the Repositories page in the Hybrid Cloud Console. Once you associate a system with a content template, any yum or dnf commands that you run on that system are constrained to the updates included in those repository snapshots. For more information about the Repositories page, see Managing repositories to build your customized operating systems.

For example, you can create or edit a content template to contain only snapshots of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 for x86_64 repositories. You can use that content template to apply consistent patches to other systems in your inventory that match the product/version and architecture. Once you associate a content template with a set of systems, you can run dnf at the command line to easily perform consistent updates to all systems associated with that template.

Systems in your inventory that are not associated with that template do not receive the update packages and errata.

Systems that you can associate with a content template must meet the following criteria:

Content templates help you to apply consistent updates to all the systems assigned to the same template. This approach separates content management from remediation, and allows for more flexibility in patching. You can even use automation tools, such as Ansible Automation Platform, to perform patching operations for you.

You need the following administrator permissions to use content templates:

To view your permissions, navigate to your profile > My User Access > Users. Click your account name. The list of groups for which you have permission displays.

To see the permissions you have within a group, click the group name. The group page displays and shows the types of permissions available (for example, read and write).

For more information about administrator permissions, refer to Predefined User Access roles in the User Access Configuration Guide for Role-based Access Control (RBAC)

A content template is a set of repository snapshots you have selected to ensure your systems only have access to specific package versions. Using the content templates, you can establish date-based patch baselines for your systems and perform updates of your systems using yum or dnf.

Content templates help you to apply consistent updates to all the systems assigned to the same template. This approach separates content management from remediation, and allows for more flexibility in patching. You can even use automation tools, such as Ansible Automation Platform, to perform patching operations for you.