Chapter 1. Introduction to Red Hat Satellite
Red Hat Satellite 6 is the evolution of Red Hat's life cycle management platform. It provides the capabilities that administrators have come to expect in a tool focused on managing systems and content for a global enterprise. Satellite 6 covers the use cases requested by Satellite 5 customers, but also includes functionality that enables larger scale, federation of content, better control of systems during the provisioning process, and a much more simplified approach to life cycle management. Satellite 6 also further evolves the inherent approach to certificate-based entitlements and integrated subscription management. Satellite 6 is based on years of customer feedback and is an evolution of previous versions.
1.1. Red Hat Satellite 6 System Architecture
Red Hat Satellite 6 is based upon several open source projects arranged in the following architecture.
Figure 1.1. Red Hat Satellite 6 System Architecture
- Foreman
- Foreman is an open source application used for provisioning and life cycle management of physical and virtual systems. Foreman automatically configures these systems using various methods, including kickstart and Puppet modules. Foreman also provides historical data for reporting, auditing, and troubleshooting.
- Katello
- Katello is a subscription and repository management application. It provides a means to subscribe to Red Hat repositories and download content. You can create and manage different versions of this content and apply them to specific systems within user-defined stages of the application life cycle.
- Candlepin
- Candlepin is a service within Katello that handles subscription management.
- Pulp
- Pulp is a service within Katello that handles repository and content management.
- Hammer
- Hammer is a CLI tool that provides command line and shell equivalents of most Web UI functions.
- REST API
- Red Hat Satellite 6 includes a RESTful API service that allows system administrators and developers to write custom scripts and third-party applications that interface with Red Hat Satellite.
- Capsule
- Red Hat Satellite Capsule Server acts as a proxy for some of the main Satellite functions including repository storage,
DNS
,DHCP
, and Puppet Master configuration. Each Satellite Server also contains integrated Capsule Server services.