Chapter 3. Performing Additional Configuration on Satellite Server


3.1. Configuring Satellite to Synchronize Content with a Local CDN Server

In a disconnected environment, you must ensure that Satellite Server contains the required content to provision systems with the latest security updates, errata, and packages. To do this, follow this procedure to download content ISO images from the Red Hat Customer Portal and import them into a local CDN server. You can host the local CDN server on the base operating system of Satellite Server or on a system that is accessible to Satellite over HTTP. Next, you must configure Satellite Server to synchronize content with the local CDN server.

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Red Hat Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com.
  2. In the upper left of the window, click Downloads and select Red Hat Satellite.
  3. Click the Content ISOs tab. This page lists all the products that are available in your subscription.
  4. Click the link for the product name, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Server (x86_64) to download the ISO image.
  5. Copy all of Satellite Content ISO images to a system that you want to use as a local CDN server. For example, the /root/isos directory on Satellite Server.

    Note that storing the content on the same system where Satellite is installed is not a requirement. The CDN can be hosted on a different system inside the same disconnected network as long as it is accessible to Satellite Server over HTTP.

  6. On the system that you want to use as your local CDN server, create a local directory that is accessible over httpd. For example, /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/:

    # mkdir -p /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/
  7. Create a mount point and temporarily mount the ISO image at that location:

    # mkdir /mnt/iso
    # mount -o loop /root/isos/first_iso /mnt/iso
  8. Recursively copy content of the first ISO image to the local directory:

    # cp -ruv /mnt/iso/* /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/
  9. If you do not plan to use the mounted binary DVD ISO image, unmount and remove the mount point:

    # umount /mnt/iso
    # rmdir /mnt/iso
  10. Repeat the above step for each ISO image until you have copied all the data from the Content ISO images into /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/.
  11. Ensure that the SELinux context for the directory is correct:

    # restorecon -rv /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/
  12. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Subscriptions.
  13. Click Manage Manifest.
  14. Edit the Red Hat CDN URL field to point to the host name of the system that you use as a local CDN server with the newly created directory, for example:

    http://server.example.com/pub/sat-import/

  15. Click Update and then upload your manifest into Satellite.

3.2. Importing Kickstart Repositories

Kickstart repositories are not provided by the Content ISO image. To use Kickstart repositories in your disconnected Satellite, you must download a binary DVD ISO file for the version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux that you want to use and copy the Kickstart files to Satellite.

To import Kickstart repositories for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, complete Section 3.2.1, “Importing Kickstart Repositories for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7”.

To import Kickstart repositories for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, complete Section 3.2.2, “Importing Kickstart Repositories for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8”.

3.2.1. Importing Kickstart Repositories for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

To import Kickstart repositories for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, complete the following steps on Satellite.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the Red Hat Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com/ and log in.
  2. In the upper left of the window, click Downloads.
  3. To the right of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, click Versions 7 and below.
  4. From the Version list, select the required version of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, for example 7.7.
  5. In the Download Red Hat Enterprise Linux window, locate the binary DVD version of the ISO image, for example, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.7 Binary DVD, and click Download Now.
  6. When the download completes, copy the ISO image to Satellite Server.
  7. On Satellite Server, create a mount point and temporarily mount the ISO image at that location:

    # mkdir /mnt/iso
    # mount -o loop rhel-binary-dvd.iso /mnt/iso
  8. Create Kickstart directories:

    # mkdir --parents \
    /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel/server/7/7.7/x86_64/kickstart/
  9. Copy the kickstart files from the ISO image:

    # cp -a /mnt/iso/* /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel/server/7/7.7/x86_64/kickstart/
  10. Add the following entries to the listing files:

    To the /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel/server/7/listing file, append the version number with a new line. For example, for the RHEL 7.7 ISO, append 7.7.

    To the /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel/server/7/7.7/listing file, append the architecture with a new line. For example, x86_64.

    To the /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel/server/7/7.7/x86_64/listing file, append kickstart with a new line.

  11. Copy the .treeinfo files from the ISO image:

    # cp /mnt/iso/.treeinfo \
    /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel/server/7/7.7/x86_64/kickstart/treeinfo
  12. If you do not plan to use the mounted binary DVD ISO image, unmount and remove the directory:

    # umount /mnt/iso
    # rmdir /mnt/iso
  13. In the Satellite web UI, enable the Kickstart repositories.

3.2.2. Importing Kickstart Repositories for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

To import Kickstart repositories for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, complete the following steps on Satellite.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the Red Hat Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com/ and log in.
  2. In the upper left of the window, click Downloads.
  3. Click Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.
  4. In the Download Red Hat Enterprise Linux window, locate the binary DVD version of the ISO image, for example, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.1 Binary DVD, and click Download Now.
  5. When the download completes, copy the ISO image to Satellite Server.
  6. On Satellite Server, create a mount point and temporarily mount the ISO image at that location:

    # mkdir /mnt/iso
    # mount -o loop rhel-binary-dvd.iso /mnt/iso
  7. Create directories for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 AppStream and BaseOS Kickstart repositories:

    # mkdir --parents \
    /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/appstream/kickstart
    
    # mkdir --parents \
     /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/baseos/kickstart
  8. Copy the kickstart files from the ISO image:

    # cp -a /mnt/iso/AppStream/* \
    /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/appstream/kickstart
    
    # cp -a /mnt/iso/BaseOS/* /mnt/iso/images/ \
    /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/baseos/kickstart

    Note that for BaseOS, you must also copy the contents of the /mnt/iso/images/ directory.

  9. Add the following entries to the listing files:

    To the /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/appstream/listing file, append kickstart with a new line.

    To the /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/baseos/listing file, append kickstart with a new line:

    To the /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/listing file, append the version number with a new line. For example, for the RHEL 8.1 binary ISO, append 8.1.

  10. Copy the .treeinfo files from the ISO image:

    # cp /mnt/iso/.treeinfo \
    /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/appstream/kickstart/treeinfo
    
    # cp /mnt/iso/.treeinfo \
    /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/baseos/kickstart/treeinfo
  11. Open the /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/baseos/kickstart/treeinfo file for editing.
  12. In the [general] section, make the following changes:

    • Change packagedir = AppStream/Packages to packagedir = Packages
    • Change repository = AppStream to repository = .
    • Change variant = AppStream to variant = BaseOS
    • Change variants = AppStream,BaseOS to variants = BaseOS
  13. In the [tree] section, change variants = AppStream,BaseOS to variants = BaseOS.
  14. In the [variant-BaseOS] section, make the following changes:

    • Change packages = BaseOS/Packages to packages = Packages
    • Change repository = BaseOS to repository = .
  15. Delete the [media] and [variant-AppStream] sections.
  16. Save and close the file.
  17. Verify that the /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/baseos/kickstart/treeinfo file has the following format:

    [checksums]
    images/efiboot.img = sha256:9ad9beee4c906cd05d227a1be7a499c8d2f20b3891c79831325844c845262bb6
    images/install.img = sha256:e246bf4aedfff3bb54ae9012f959597cdab7387aadb3a504f841bdc2c35fe75e
    images/pxeboot/initrd.img = sha256:a66e3c158f02840b19c372136a522177a2ab4bd91cb7269fb5bfdaaf7452efef
    images/pxeboot/vmlinuz = sha256:789028335b64ddad343f61f2abfdc9819ed8e9dfad4df43a2694c0a0ba780d16
    
    [general]
    ; WARNING.0 = This section provides compatibility with pre-productmd treeinfos.
    ; WARNING.1 = Read productmd documentation for details about new format.
    arch = x86_64
    family = Red Hat Enterprise Linux
    name = Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.1.0
    packagedir = Packages
    platforms = x86_64,xen
    repository = .
    timestamp = 1571146127
    variant = BaseOS
    variants = BaseOS
    version = 8.1.0
    
    [header]
    type = productmd.treeinfo
    version = 1.2
    
    [images-x86_64]
    efiboot.img = images/efiboot.img
    initrd = images/pxeboot/initrd.img
    kernel = images/pxeboot/vmlinuz
    
    [images-xen]
    initrd = images/pxeboot/initrd.img
    kernel = images/pxeboot/vmlinuz
    
    [release]
    name = Red Hat Enterprise Linux
    short = RHEL
    version = 8.1.0
    
    [stage2]
    mainimage = images/install.img
    
    [tree]
    arch = x86_64
    build_timestamp = 1571146127
    platforms = x86_64,xen
    variants = BaseOS
    
    [variant-BaseOS]
    id = BaseOS
    name = BaseOS
    packages = Packages
    repository = .
    type = variant
    uid = BaseOS
  18. Open the /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/appstream/kickstart/treeinfo file for editing.
  19. In the [general] section, make the following changes:

    • Change packagedir = AppStream/Packages to packagedir = Packages
    • Change repository = AppStream to repository = .
    • Change variants = AppStream,BaseOS to variants = AppStream
  20. In the [tree] section, change variants = AppStream,BaseOS to variants = AppStream
  21. In the [variant-AppStream] section, make the following changes:

    • Change packages = AppStream/Packages to packages = Packages
    • Change repository = AppStream to repository = .
  22. Delete the following sections from the file: [checksums], [images-x86_64], [images-xen], [media], [stage2], [variant-BaseOS].
  23. Save and close the file.
  24. Verify that the /var/www/html/pub/sat-import/content/dist/rhel8/8.1/x86_64/appstream/kickstart/treeinfo file has the following format:

    [general]
    ; WARNING.0 = This section provides compatibility with pre-productmd treeinfos.
    ; WARNING.1 = Read productmd documentation for details about new format.
    arch = x86_64
    family = Red Hat Enterprise Linux
    name = Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.1.0
    packagedir = Packages
    platforms = x86_64,xen
    repository = .
    timestamp = 1571146127
    variant = AppStream
    variants = AppStream
    version = 8.1.0
    
    [header]
    type = productmd.treeinfo
    version = 1.2
    
    [release]
    name = Red Hat Enterprise Linux
    short = RHEL
    version = 8.1.0
    
    [tree]
    arch = x86_64
    build_timestamp = 1571146127
    platforms = x86_64,xen
    variants = AppStream
    
    [variant-AppStream]
    id = AppStream
    name = AppStream
    packages = Packages
    repository = .
    type = variant
    uid = AppStream
  25. If you do not plan to use the mounted binary DVD ISO image, unmount and remove the directory:

    # umount /mnt/iso
    # rmdir /mnt/iso
  26. In the Satellite web UI, enable the Kickstart repositories.

3.3. Enabling the Satellite Tools 6.10 Repository

The Satellite Tools 6.10 repository provides the katello-agent, katello-host-tools, and puppet packages for clients registered to Satellite Server.

To use the CLI instead of the web UI, see the CLI procedure.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure that you import all content ISO images that you require into Satellite Server.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Red Hat Repositories.
  2. Use the Search field to enter the following repository name: Satellite Tools 6.10 (for RHEL 7 Server) (RPMs).
  3. In the Available Repositories pane, click on Satellite Tools 6.10 (for RHEL 7 Server) (RPMs) to expand the repository set.

    If the Satellite Tools 6.10 items are not visible, it may be because they are not included in the Subscription Manifest obtained from the Customer Portal. To correct that, log in to the Customer Portal, add these repositories, download the Subscription Manifest and import it into Satellite.

  4. For the x86_64 entry, click the Enable icon to enable the repository.

Enable the Satellite Tools 6.10 repository for every supported major version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on your hosts. After enabling a Red Hat repository, a Product for this repository is automatically created.

CLI procedure

  • Enable the Satellite Tools 6.10 repository using the hammer repository-set enable command:

    # hammer repository-set enable --organization "initial_organization_name" \
    --product 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server' \
    --basearch='x86_64' \
    --name 'Red Hat Satellite Tools 6.10 (for RHEL 7 Server) (RPMs)'

3.4. Synchronizing the Satellite Tools 6.10 Repository

Use this section to synchronize the Satellite Tools 6.10 repository from the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN) to your Satellite. This repository provides the katello-agent, katello-host-tools, and puppet packages for clients registered to Satellite Server.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Sync Status.

    A list of product repositories available for synchronization is displayed.

  2. Click the arrow next to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server product to view available content.
  3. Select Satellite Tools 6.10 (for RHEL 7 Server) RPMs x86_64.
  4. Click Synchronize Now.

CLI procedure

  • Synchronize your Satellite Tools 6.10 repository using the hammer repository synchronize command:

    # hammer repository synchronize --organization "initial_organization_name" \
    --product 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server' \
    --name 'Red Hat Satellite Tools 6.10 for RHEL 7 Server RPMs x86_64' \
    --async

3.5. Enabling Power Management on Managed Hosts

To perform power management tasks on managed hosts using the intelligent platform management interface (IPMI) or a similar protocol, you must enable the baseboard management controller (BMC) module on Satellite Server.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  • To enable BMC, enter the following command:

    # satellite-installer --foreman-proxy-bmc "true" \
    --foreman-proxy-bmc-default-provider "freeipmi"

3.6. Configuring DNS, DHCP, and TFTP on Satellite Server

To configure the DNS, DHCP, and TFTP services on Satellite Server, use the satellite-installer command with the options appropriate for your environment. To view a complete list of configurable options, enter the satellite-installer --scenario satellite --help command.

Any changes to the settings require entering the satellite-installer command again. You can enter the command multiple times and each time it updates all configuration files with the changed values.

To use external DNS, DHCP, and TFTP services instead, see Chapter 4, Configuring Satellite Server with External Services.

Adding Multihomed DHCP details

If you want to use Multihomed DHCP, you must inform the installer.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure that the following information is available to you:

    • DHCP IP address ranges
    • DHCP gateway IP address
    • DHCP nameserver IP address
    • DNS information
    • TFTP server name
  • Use the FQDN instead of the IP address where possible in case of network changes.
  • Contact your network administrator to ensure that you have the correct settings.

Procedure

  • Enter the satellite-installer command with the options appropriate for your environment. The following example shows configuring full provisioning services:

    # satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
    --foreman-proxy-dns true \
    --foreman-proxy-dns-managed true \
    --foreman-proxy-dns-interface eth0 \
    --foreman-proxy-dns-zone example.com \
    --foreman-proxy-dns-reverse 2.0.192.in-addr.arpa \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp true \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-managed true \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-interface eth0 \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-additional-interfaces eth1 \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-additional-interfaces eth2 \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-range "192.0.2.100 192.0.2.150" \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-gateway 192.0.2.1 \
    --foreman-proxy-dhcp-nameservers 192.0.2.2 \
    --foreman-proxy-tftp true \
    --foreman-proxy-tftp-managed true \
    --foreman-proxy-tftp-servername 192.0.2.3

You can monitor the progress of the satellite-installer command displayed in your prompt. You can view the logs in /var/log/foreman-installer/satellite.log. You can view the settings used, including the initial_admin_password parameter, in the /etc/foreman-installer/scenarios.d/satellite-answers.yaml file.

For more information about configuring DHCP, DNS, and TFTP services, see the Configuring Network Services section in the Provisioning Guide.

3.7. Disabling DNS, DHCP, and TFTP for Unmanaged Networks

If you want to manage TFTP, DHCP, and DNS services manually, you must prevent Satellite from maintaining these services on the operating system and disable orchestration to avoid DHCP and DNS validation errors. However, Satellite does not remove the back-end services on the operating system.

Procedure

  1. On Satellite Server, enter the following command:

    # satellite-installer --foreman-proxy-dhcp false \
    --foreman-proxy-dns false \
    --foreman-proxy-tftp false
  2. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Infrastructure > Subnets and select a subnet.
  3. Click the Capsules tab and clear the DHCP Capsule, TFTP Capsule, and Reverse DNS Capsule fields.
  4. Navigate to Infrastructure > Domains and select a domain.
  5. Clear the DNS Capsule field.
  6. Optional: If you use a DHCP service supplied by a third party, configure your DHCP server to pass the following options:

    Option 66: IP address of Satellite or Capsule
    Option 67: /pxelinux.0

    For more information about DHCP options, see RFC 2132.

Note

Satellite 6 does not perform orchestration when a Capsule is not set for a given subnet and domain. When enabling or disabling Capsule associations, orchestration commands for existing hosts can fail if the expected records and configuration files are not present. When associating a Capsule to turn orchestration on, make sure the required DHCP and DNS records as well as the TFTP files are in place for the existing Satellite hosts in order to prevent host deletion failures in the future.

3.8. Configuring Satellite Server for Outgoing Emails

To send email messages from Satellite Server, you can use either an SMTP server, or the sendmail command.

Prerequisites

  • Some SMTP servers with anti-spam protection or grey-listing features are known to cause problems. To setup outgoing email with such a service either install and configure a vanilla SMTP service on Satellite Server for relay or use the sendmail command instead.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Administer Settings.
  2. Click the Email tab and set the configuration options to match your preferred delivery method. The changes have an immediate effect.

    1. The following example shows the configuration options for using an SMTP server:

      Table 3.1. Using an SMTP server as a delivery method
      NameExample value

      Delivery method

      SMTP

      SMTP address

      smtp.example.com

      SMTP authentication

      login

      SMTP HELO/EHLO domain

      example.com

      SMTP password

      password

      SMTP port

      25

      SMTP username

      user@example.com

      The SMTP username and SMTP password specify the login credentials for the SMTP server.

    2. The following example uses gmail.com as an SMTP server:

      Table 3.2. Using gmail.com as an SMTP server
      NameExample value

      Delivery method

      SMTP

      SMTP address

      smtp.gmail.com

      SMTP authentication

      plain

      SMTP HELO/EHLO domain

      smtp.gmail.com

      SMTP enable StartTLS auto

      Yes

      SMTP password

      password

      SMTP port

      587

      SMTP username

      user@gmail.com

    3. The following example uses the sendmail command as a delivery method:

      Table 3.3. Using sendmail as a delivery method
      NameExample value

      Delivery method

      Sendmail

      Sendmail arguments

      -i -t -G

      The Sendmail arguments specify the options passed to the sendmail command. The default value is -i -t. For more information see the sendmail 1 man page.

  3. If you decide to send email using an SMTP server which uses TLS authentication, also perform one of the following steps:

    • Mark the CA certificate of the SMTP server as trusted. To do so, execute the following commands on Satellite Server:

      # cp mailca.crt /etc/pki/ca-trust/source/anchors/
      # update-ca-trust enable
      # update-ca-trust

      Where mailca.crt is the CA certificate of the SMTP server.

    • Alternatively, in the web UI, set the SMTP enable StartTLS auto option to No.
  4. Click Test email to send a test message to the user’s email address to confirm the configuration is working. If a message fails to send, the web UI displays an error. See the log at /var/log/foreman/production.log for further details.
Note

For information on configuring email notifications for individual users or user groups, see Configuring Email Notifications in Administering Red Hat Satellite.

3.9. Configuring Satellite Server with a Custom SSL Certificate

By default, Red Hat Satellite 6 uses a self-signed SSL certificate to enable encrypted communications between Satellite Server, external Capsule Servers, and all hosts. If you cannot use a Satellite self-signed certificate, you can configure Satellite Server to use an SSL certificate signed by an external Certificate Authority.

To configure your Satellite Server with a custom certificate, complete the following procedures:

  1. Section 3.9.1, “Creating a Custom SSL Certificate for Satellite Server”
  2. Section 3.9.2, “Deploying a Custom SSL Certificate to Satellite Server”
  3. Section 3.9.3, “Deploying a Custom SSL Certificate to Hosts”
  4. If you have external Capsule Servers registered to Satellite Server, you must configure them with custom SSL certificates. The same Certificate Authority must sign certificates for Satellite Server and Capsule Server. For more information, see Configuring Capsule Server with a Custom SSL Certificate in Installing Capsule Server.

3.9.1. Creating a Custom SSL Certificate for Satellite Server

Use this procedure to create a custom SSL certificate for Satellite Server. If you already have a custom SSL certificate for Satellite Server, skip this procedure.

When you configure Satellite Server with custom certificates, note the following considerations:

  • You must use the Privacy-Enhanced Mail (PEM) encoding for the SSL certificates.
  • You cannot use the same certificate for both Satellite Server and Capsule Server.
  • The same Certificate Authority must sign certificates for Satellite Server and Capsule Server.

Procedure

  1. To store all the source certificate files, create a directory that is accessible only to the root user.

    # mkdir /root/satellite_cert
  2. Create a private key with which to sign the Certificate Signing Request (CSR).

    Note that the private key must be unencrypted. If you use a password-protected private key, remove the private key password.

    If you already have a private key for this Satellite Server, skip this step.

    # openssl genrsa -out /root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_key.pem 4096
  3. Create the /root/satellite_cert/openssl.cnf configuration file for the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and include the following content:

    [ req ]
    req_extensions = v3_req
    distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
    x509_extensions = usr_cert
    prompt = no
    
    [ req_distinguished_name ] 1
    C  = Country Name (2 letter code)
    ST = State or Province Name (full name)
    L  = Locality Name (eg, city)
    O  = Organization Name (eg, company)
    OU = The division of your organization handling the certificate
    CN = satellite.example.com 2
    
    [ v3_req ]
    basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
    keyUsage = digitalSignature, nonRepudiation, keyEncipherment, dataEncipherment
    extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth, clientAuth, codeSigning, emailProtection
    subjectAltName = @alt_names
    
    [ usr_cert ]
    basicConstraints=CA:FALSE
    nsCertType = client, server, email
    keyUsage = nonRepudiation, digitalSignature, keyEncipherment
    extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth, clientAuth, codeSigning, emailProtection
    nsComment = "OpenSSL Generated Certificate"
    subjectKeyIdentifier=hash
    authorityKeyIdentifier=keyid,issuer
    
    [ alt_names ]
    DNS.1 = satellite.example.com 3
    1
    In the [ req_distinguished_name ] section, enter information about your organization.
    2
    Set the certificate’s Common Name CN to match the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of your Satellite Server. To confirm a FQDN, on that Satellite Server, enter the hostname -f command. This is required to ensure that the katello-certs-check command validates the certificate correctly.
    3
    Set the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) DNS.1 to match the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of your server.
  4. Generate the Certificate Signing Request (CSR):

    # openssl req -new \
    -key /root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_key.pem \ 1
    -config /root/satellite_cert/openssl.cnf \ 2
    -out /root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_csr.pem 3
    1
    Path to the private key.
    2
    Path to the configuration file.
    3
    Path to the CSR to generate.
  5. Send the certificate signing request to the Certificate Authority. The same Certificate Authority must sign certificates for Satellite Server and Capsule Server.

    When you submit the request, specify the lifespan of the certificate. The method for sending the certificate request varies, so consult the Certificate Authority for the preferred method. In response to the request, you can expect to receive a Certificate Authority bundle and a signed certificate, in separate files.

3.9.2. Deploying a Custom SSL Certificate to Satellite Server

Use this procedure to configure your Satellite Server to use a custom SSL certificate signed by a Certificate Authority. The katello-certs-check command validates the input certificate files and returns the commands necessary to deploy a custom SSL certificate to Satellite Server.

Procedure

  1. Validate the custom SSL certificate input files. Note that for the katello-certs-check command to work correctly, Common Name (CN) in the certificate must match the FQDN of Satellite Server.

    # katello-certs-check \
    -c /root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert.pem \      1
    -k /root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_key.pem \  2
    -b /root/satellite_cert/ca_cert_bundle.pem        3
    1
    Path to Satellite Server certificate file that is signed by a Certificate Authority.
    2
    Path to the private key that was used to sign Satellite Server certificate.
    3
    Path to the Certificate Authority bundle.

    If the command is successful, it returns two satellite-installer commands, one of which you must use to deploy a certificate to Satellite Server.

    To install the Red Hat Satellite Server with the custom certificates, run:

      satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
        --certs-server-cert "/root/satellite_cert/satellite.example.com_cert.pem" \
        --certs-server-key "/root/satellite_cert/satellite.example.com_cert_key.pem" \
        --certs-server-ca-cert "/root/satellite_cert/CA-Chain.pem"

    To update the certificates on a currently running Satellite installation, run:

      satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
        --certs-server-cert "/root/satellite_cert/satellite.example.com_cert.pem" \
        --certs-server-key "/root/satellite_cert/satellite.example.com_cert_key.pem" \
        --certs-server-ca-cert "/root/satellite_cert/CA-Chain.pem" \
        --certs-update-server \
        --certs-update-server-ca

  2. Depending on your requirements, enter the satellite-installer command that installs a new Satellite Server with custom SSL certificates or updates certificates on a currently running Satellite Server. The output of the katello-certs-check command may not be accurate in some cases. Therefore, you must follow the steps mentioned above instead of the command outputs.

    If you are unsure which command to run, you can verify that Satellite is installed by checking if the file /etc/foreman-installer/scenarios.d/.installed exists. If the file exists, run the second satellite-installer command that updates certificates.

    Important

    Do not delete the certificate archive file after you deploy the certificate. It is required, for example, when upgrading Satellite Server.

  3. On a computer with network access to Satellite Server, navigate to the following URL: \https://satellite.example.com.
  4. In your browser, view the certificate details to verify the deployed certificate.

3.9.3. Deploying a Custom SSL Certificate to Hosts

After you configure Satellite Server to use a custom SSL certificate, you must also install the katello-ca-consumer package on every host that is registered to this Satellite Server.

Procedure

  • On each host, install the katello-ca-consumer package:

    # yum localinstall \
    http://satellite.example.com/pub/katello-ca-consumer-latest.noarch.rpm

3.10. Using External Databases with Satellite

As part of the installation process for Red Hat Satellite, the satellite-installer command installs PostgreSQL databases on the same server as Satellite. In certain Satellite deployments, using external databases instead of the default local databases can help with the server load.

Red Hat does not provide support or tools for external database maintenance. This includes backups, upgrades, and database tuning. You must have your own database administrator to support and maintain external databases.

To create and use external databases for Satellite, you must complete the following procedures:

  1. Section 3.10.2, “Preparing a Host for External Databases”. Prepare a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 server to host the external databases.
  2. Section 3.10.3, “Installing PostgreSQL”. Prepare PostgreSQL with databases for Satellite, Candlepin and Pulp with dedicated users owning them.
  3. Section 3.10.4, “Configuring Satellite to use External Databases”. Edit the parameters of satellite-installer to point to the new databases, and run satellite-installer.

3.10.1. PostgreSQL as an External Database Considerations

Foreman, Katello, and Candlepin use the PostgreSQL database. If you want to use PostgreSQL as an external database, the following information can help you decide if this option is right for your Satellite configuration. Satellite supports PostgreSQL version 12.1.

Advantages of External PostgreSQL:

  • Increase in free memory and free CPU on Satellite
  • Flexibility to set shared_buffers on the PostgreSQL database to a high number without the risk of interfering with other services on Satellite
  • Flexibility to tune the PostgreSQL server’s system without adversely affecting Satellite operations

Disadvantages of External PostgreSQL

  • Increase in deployment complexity that can make troubleshooting more difficult
  • The external PostgreSQL server is an additional system to patch and maintain
  • If either Satellite or the PostgreSQL database server suffers a hardware or storage failure, Satellite is not operational
  • If there is latency between the Satellite server and database server, performance can suffer

If you suspect that the PostgreSQL database on your Satellite is causing performance problems, use the information in Satellite 6: How to enable postgres query logging to detect slow running queries to determine if you have slow queries. Queries that take longer than one second are typically caused by performance issues with large installations, and moving to an external database might not help. If you have slow queries, contact Red Hat Support.

3.10.2. Preparing a Host for External Databases

Install a freshly provisioned system with the latest Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 server to host the external databases.

Subscriptions for Red Hat Software Collections and Red Hat Enterprise Linux do not provide the correct service level agreement for using Satellite with external databases. You must also attach a Satellite subscription to the base operating system that you want to use for the external databases.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Use the instructions in Attaching the Satellite Infrastructure Subscription to attach a Satellite subscription to your server.
  2. Disable all repositories and enable only the following repositories:

    # subscription-manager repos --disable '*'
    # subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-server-rhscl-7-rpms \
    --enable=rhel-7-server-rpms --enable=rhel-7-server-satellite-6.10-rpms

3.10.3. Installing PostgreSQL

You can install only the same version of PostgreSQL that is installed with the satellite-installer tool during an internal database installation. You can install PostgreSQL using Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 7 repositories or from an external source, as long as the version is supported. Satellite supports PostgreSQL version 12.1.

Procedure

  1. To install PostgreSQL, enter the following command:

    # yum install rh-postgresql12-postgresql-server \
    rh-postgresql12-syspaths \
    rh-postgresql12-postgresql-evr
  2. To initialize PostgreSQL, enter the following command:

    # postgresql-setup initdb
  3. Edit the /var/opt/rh/rh-postgresql12/lib/pgsql/data/postgresql.conf file:

    # vi /var/opt/rh/rh-postgresql12/lib/pgsql/data/postgresql.conf
  4. Remove the # and edit to listen to inbound connections:

    listen_addresses = '*'
  5. Edit the /var/opt/rh/rh-postgresql12/lib/pgsql/data/pg_hba.conf file:

    # vi /var/opt/rh/rh-postgresql12/lib/pgsql/data/pg_hba.conf
  6. Add the following line to the file:

      host  all   all   Satellite_ip/24   md5
  7. To start, and enable PostgreSQL service, enter the following commands:

    # systemctl start postgresql
    # systemctl enable postgresql
  8. Open the postgresql port on the external PostgreSQL server:

    # firewall-cmd --add-service=postgresql
    # firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent
  9. Switch to the postgres user and start the PostgreSQL client:

    $ su - postgres -c psql
  10. Create three databases and dedicated roles: one for Satellite, one for Candlepin, and one for Pulp:

    CREATE USER "foreman" WITH PASSWORD 'Foreman_Password';
    CREATE USER "candlepin" WITH PASSWORD 'Candlepin_Password';
    CREATE USER "pulp" WITH PASSWORD 'Pulpcore_Password';
    CREATE DATABASE foreman OWNER foreman;
    CREATE DATABASE candlepin OWNER candlepin;
    CREATE DATABASE pulpcore OWNER pulp;
  11. Exit the postgres user:

    # \q
  12. From Satellite Server, test that you can access the database. If the connection succeeds, the commands return 1.

    # PGPASSWORD='Foreman_Password' psql -h postgres.example.com  -p 5432 -U foreman -d foreman -c "SELECT 1 as ping"
    # PGPASSWORD='Candlepin_Password' psql -h postgres.example.com -p 5432 -U candlepin -d candlepin -c "SELECT 1 as ping"
    # PGPASSWORD='Pulpcore_Password' psql -h postgres.example.com -p 5432 -U pulp -d pulpcore -c "SELECT 1 as ping"

3.10.4. Configuring Satellite to use External Databases

Use the satellite-installer command to configure Satellite to connect to an external PostgreSQL database.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed and configured a PostgreSQL database on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server.

Procedure

  1. To configure the external databases for Satellite, enter the following command:

    satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
      --foreman-db-host postgres.example.com \
      --foreman-db-password Foreman_Password \
      --foreman-db-database foreman \
      --foreman-db-manage false \
      --katello-candlepin-db-host postgres.example.com \
      --katello-candlepin-db-name candlepin \
      --katello-candlepin-db-password Candlepin_Password \
      --katello-candlepin-manage-db false \
      --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-manage-postgresql false \
      --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-host postgres.example.com \
      --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-db-name pulpcore \
      --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-password Pulpcore_Password
      --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-user pulp

    To enable the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol for these external databases, add the following options:

    --foreman-db-sslmode verify-full
    --foreman-db-root-cert <path_to_CA>
    --katello-candlepin-db-ssl true
    --katello-candlepin-db-ssl-verify true
    --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-ssl true
    --foreman-proxy-content-pulpcore-postgresql-ssl-root-ca <path_to_CA>

3.11. Tuning Satellite Server with Predefined Profiles

If your Satellite deployment includes more than 5000 hosts, you can use predefined tuning profiles to improve performance of Satellite.

Note that you cannot use tuning profiles on Capsules.

You can choose one of the profiles depending on the number of hosts your Satellite manages and available hardware resources.

The tuning profiles are available in the /usr/share/foreman-installer/config/foreman.hiera/tuning/sizes directory.

When you run the satellite-installer command with the --tuning option, deployment configuration settings are applied to Satellite in the following order:

  1. The default tuning profile defined in the /usr/share/foreman-installer/config/foreman.hiera/tuning/common.yaml file
  2. The tuning profile that you want to apply to your deployment and is defined in the /usr/share/foreman-installer/config/foreman.hiera/tuning/sizes/ directory
  3. Optional: If you have configured a /etc/foreman-installer/custom-hiera.yaml file, Satellite applies these configuration settings.

Note that the configuration settings that are defined in the /etc/foreman-installer/custom-hiera.yaml file override the configuration settings that are defined in the tuning profiles.

Therefore, before applying a tuning profile, you must compare the configuration settings that are defined in the default tuning profile in /usr/share/foreman-installer/config/foreman.hiera/tuning/common.yaml, the tuning profile that you want to apply and your /etc/foreman-installer/custom-hiera.yaml file, and remove any duplicated configuration from the /etc/foreman-installer/custom-hiera.yaml file.

default

Number of managed hosts: 0-5000

RAM: 20G

Number of CPU cores: 4

medium

Number of managed hosts: 5001-10000

RAM: 32G

Number of CPU cores: 8

large

Number of managed hosts: 10001-20000

RAM: 64G

Number of CPU cores: 16

extra-large

Number of managed hosts: 20001-60000

RAM: 128G

Number of CPU cores: 32

extra-extra-large

Number of managed hosts: 60000+

RAM: 256G

Number of CPU cores: 48+

Procedure

  1. Optional: If you have configured the custom-hiera.yaml file on Satellite Server, back up the /etc/foreman-installer/custom-hiera.yaml file to custom-hiera.original. You can use the backup file to restore the /etc/foreman-installer/custom-hiera.yaml file to its original state if it becomes corrupted:

    # cp /etc/foreman-installer/custom-hiera.yaml \
    /etc/foreman-installer/custom-hiera.original
  2. Optional: If you have configured the custom-hiera.yaml file on Satellite Server, review the definitions of the default tuning profile in /usr/share/foreman-installer/config/foreman.hiera/tuning/common.yaml and the tuning profile that you want to apply in /usr/share/foreman-installer/config/foreman.hiera/tuning/sizes/. Compare the configuration entries against the entries in your /etc/foreman-installer/custom-hiera.yaml file and remove any duplicated configuration settings in your /etc/foreman-installer/custom-hiera.yaml file.
  3. Enter the satellite-installer command with the --tuning option for the profile that you want to apply. For example, to apply the medium tuning profile settings, enter the following command:

    # satellite-installer --tuning medium
Red Hat logoGithubRedditYoutubeTwitter

Learn

Try, buy, & sell

Communities

About Red Hat Documentation

We help Red Hat users innovate and achieve their goals with our products and services with content they can trust.

Making open source more inclusive

Red Hat is committed to replacing problematic language in our code, documentation, and web properties. For more details, see the Red Hat Blog.

About Red Hat

We deliver hardened solutions that make it easier for enterprises to work across platforms and environments, from the core datacenter to the network edge.

© 2024 Red Hat, Inc.