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Chapter 4. Registering hosts and setting up host integration

You must register hosts that have not been provisioned through Satellite to be able to manage them with Satellite. You can register hosts through Satellite Server or Capsule Server.

You must also install and configure tools on your hosts, depending on which integration features you want to use. Use the following procedures to install and configure host tools:

4.1. Supported clients in registration

Satellite supports the following operating systems and architectures for registration.

Supported host operating systems

The hosts can use the following operating systems:

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 and 8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and 6 with the ELS Add-On

  • You can register the following hosts for converting to RHEL:

    • CentOS Linux 7
    • Oracle Linux 7 and 8
Supported host architectures

The hosts can use the following architectures:

  • i386
  • x86_64
  • s390x
  • ppc_64

4.2. Registration methods

You can use the following methods to register hosts to Satellite:

Global registration

You generate a curl command from Satellite and run this command from an unlimited number of hosts to register them using provisioning templates over the Satellite API. For more information, see Section 4.3, “Registering hosts by using global registration”.

By using this method, you can also deploy Satellite SSH keys to hosts during registration to Satellite to enable hosts for remote execution jobs. For more information, see Chapter 13, Configuring and setting up remote jobs.

By using this method, you can also configure hosts with Red Hat Insights during registration to Satellite. For more information, see Chapter 10, Monitoring hosts by using Red Hat Insights.

(Deprecated) Katello CA Consumer
You download and install the consumer RPM from satellite.example.com/pub/katello-ca-consumer-latest.noarch.rpm on the host and then run subscription-manager.
(Deprecated) Bootstrap script
You download the bootstrap script from satellite.example.com/pub/bootstrap.py on the host and then run the script. For more information, see Section 4.4, “Registering hosts by using the bootstrap script”.

4.3. Registering hosts by using global registration

You can register a host to Satellite by generating a curl command on Satellite and running this command on hosts. This method uses two provisioning templates: Global Registration template and Linux host_init_config default template. That gives you complete control over the host registration process.

You can also customize the default templates if you need greater flexibility. For more information, see Section 4.3.5, “Customizing the registration templates”.

4.3.1. Global parameters for registration

You can configure the following global parameters by navigating to Configure > Global Parameters:

  • The host_registration_insights parameter is used in the insights snippet. If the parameter is set to true, the registration installs and enables the Red Hat Insights client on the host. If the parameter is set to false, it prevents Satellite and the Red Hat Insights client from uploading Inventory reports to your Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console. The default value is true. When overriding the parameter value, set the parameter type to boolean.
  • The host_packages parameter is for installing packages on the host.
  • The host_registration_remote_execution parameter is used in the remote_execution_ssh_keys snippet. If it is set to true, the registration enables remote execution on the host. The default value is true.
  • The remote_execution_ssh_keys, remote_execution_ssh_user, remote_execution_create_user, and remote_execution_effective_user_method parameters are used in the remote_execution_ssh_keys snippet. For more details, see the snippet.

You can navigate to snippets in the Satellite web UI through Hosts > Templates > Provisioning Templates.

4.3.2. Configuring a host for registration

Configure your host for registration to Satellite Server or Capsule Server. You can use a configuration management tool to configure multiple hosts at once.

Prerequisites

  • The host must be using a supported operating system. For more information, see Section 4.1, “Supported clients in registration”.
  • The system clock on your Satellite Server and any Capsule Servers must be synchronized across the network. If the system clock is not synchronized, SSL certificate verification might fail. For example, you can use the Chrony suite for timekeeping.

Procedure

  1. Enable and start a time-synchronization tool on your host. The host must be synchronized with the same NTP server as Satellite Server and any Capsule Servers.

    • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and later: 

      # systemctl enable --now chronyd

    • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6: 

      # chkconfig --add ntpd
# chkconfig ntpd on
# service ntpd start

  2. Deploy the SSL CA file on your host so that the host can make a secured registration call.

    1. Find where Satellite stores the SSL CA file by navigating to Administer > Settings > Authentication and locating the value of the SSL CA file setting.
    2. Transfer the SSL CA file to your host securely, for example by using scp.
    3. Login to your host by using SSH.

    4. Copy the certificate to the truststore: 

      # cp My_SSL_CA_file.pem /etc/pki/ca-trust/source/anchors

    5. Update the truststore: 

      # update-ca-trust

4.3.3. Registering a host

You can register a host by using registration templates and set up various integration features and host tools during the registration process.

Prerequisites

  • Your user account has a role assigned that grants the create_hosts permission.
  • You must have root privileges on the host that you want to register.
  • You have configured the host for registration. For more information, see Section 4.3.2, “Configuring a host for registration”.
  • An activation key must be available for the host. For more information, see Managing Activation Keys in Managing content.
  • Optional: If you want to register hosts to Red Hat Insights, you must synchronize the rhel-8-for-x86_64-baseos-rpms and rhel-8-for-x86_64-appstream-rpms repositories and make them available in the activation key that you use. This is required to install the insights-client package on hosts.
  • Red Hat Satellite Client 6 repository for the operating system version of the host is synchronized on Satellite Server and enabled in the activation key you use. For more information, see Importing Content in Managing content. This repository is required for the remote execution pull client, Puppet agent, Tracer, and other tools.
  • If you want to use Capsule Servers instead of your Satellite Server, ensure that you have configured your Capsule Servers accordingly. For more information, see Configuring Capsule for Host Registration and Provisioning in Installing Capsule Server.
  • If your Satellite Server or Capsule Server is behind an HTTP proxy, configure the Subscription Manager on your host to use the HTTP proxy for connection. For more information, see How to access Red Hat Subscription Manager (RHSM) through a firewall or proxy in the Red Hat Knowledgebase.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Hosts > Register Host.
  2. Enter the details for how you want the registered hosts to be configured.
  3. On the General tab, in the Activation Keys field, enter one or more activation keys to assign to hosts.
  4. Click Generate to generate a curl command.
  5. Run the curl command as root on the host that you want to register. After registration completes, any Ansible roles assigned to a host group you specified when configuring the registration template will run on the host.

The registration details that you can specify include the following:

  • On the General tab, in the Capsule field, you can select the Capsule to register hosts through. A Capsule behind a load balancer takes precedence over a Capsule selected in the Satellite web UI as the content source of the host.

  • On the General tab, you can select the Insecure option to make the first call insecure. During this first call, the host downloads the CA file from Satellite. The host will use this CA file to connect to Satellite with all future calls making them secure.

    Red Hat recommends that you avoid insecure calls.

    If an attacker, located in the network between Satellite and a host, fetches the CA file from the first insecure call, the attacker will be able to access the content of the API calls to and from the registered host and the JSON Web Tokens (JWT). Therefore, if you have chosen to deploy SSH keys during registration, the attacker will be able to access the host using the SSH key.

  • On the Advanced tab, in the Repositories field, you can list repositories to be added before the registration is performed. You do not have to specify repositories if you provide them in an activation key.

  • On the Advanced tab, in the Token lifetime (hours) field, you can change the validity duration of the JSON Web Token (JWT) that Satellite uses for authentication. The duration of this token defines how long the generated curl command works.

    Note that Satellite applies the permissions of the user who generates the curl command to authorization of hosts. If the user loses or gains additional permissions, the permissions of the JWT change too. Therefore, do not delete, block, or change permissions of the user during the token duration.

    The scope of the JWTs is limited to the registration endpoints only and cannot be used anywhere else.

CLI procedure

  1. Use the hammer host-registration generate-command to generate the curl command to register the host.
  2. On the host that you want to register, run the curl command as root.

For more information, see the Hammer CLI help with hammer host-registration generate-command --help.

Ansible procedure

  • Use the redhat.satellite.registration_command module.

For more information, see the Ansible module documentation with ansible-doc redhat.satellite.registration_command.

API procedure

  • Use the POST /api/registration_commands resource.

For more information, see the full API reference at https://satellite.example.com/apidoc/v2.html.

4.3.4. Customizing host registration by using snippets

You can customize the registration process by creating snippets with pre-defined names. The Global Registration template includes these snippets automatically. Therefore, you do not have to edit the template.

To add custom steps to registration, create one or both of the following snippets:

before_registration
This snippet is loaded and executed by the Global Registration template before registering your host to Satellite.
after_registration
This snippet is loaded and executed by the Global Registration template after registering your host to Satellite.

Ensure you name the snippets precisely. Otherwise, the Global Registration template cannot load them.

Prerequisites

  • Your Satellite account has a role that grants the permissions view_provisioning_templates, create_provisioning_templates, assign_organizations, and assign_locations.
  • You have selected a particular organization and location context.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Hosts > Templates > Provisioning Templates.
  2. Click Create Template.
  3. In the Name field, enter the name of the required snippet: before_registration or after_registration.
  4. In the template editor, create your snippet.
  5. On the Type tab, select Snippet.
  6. On the Locations tab, assign the snippet to required locations.
  7. On the Organizations tab, assign the snippet to required organizations.
  8. Click Submit.

Additional resources

4.3.5. Customizing the registration templates

You can customize the registration process by editing the provisioning templates. Note that all default templates in Satellite are locked. If you want to customize the registration templates, you must clone the default templates and edit the clones.

Note

Red Hat only provides support for the original unedited templates. Customized templates do not receive updates released by Red Hat.

The registration process uses the following provisioning templates:

  • The Global Registration template contains steps for registering hosts to Satellite. This template renders when hosts access the /register Satellite API endpoint.
  • The Linux host_init_config default template contains steps for initial configuration of hosts after they are registered.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to Hosts > Templates > Provisioning Templates.
  2. Search for the template you want to edit.
  3. In the row of the required template, click Clone.
  4. Edit the template as needed. For more information, see Appendix A, Template writing reference.
  5. Click Submit.
  6. Navigate to Administer > Settings > Provisioning.

  7. Change the following settings as needed:

    • Point the Default Global registration template setting to your custom global registration template,
    • Point the Default 'Host initial configuration' template setting to your custom initial configuration template.

4.4. Registering hosts by using the bootstrap script

Deprecated Use Section 4.3, “Registering hosts by using global registration” instead.

Use the bootstrap script to automate content registration and Puppet configuration. You can use the bootstrap script to register new hosts, or to migrate existing hosts from RHN, SAM, RHSM, or another Red Hat Satellite instance.

The katello-client-bootstrap package is installed by default on Satellite Server’s base operating system. The bootstrap.py script is installed in the /var/www/html/pub/ directory to make it available to hosts at satellite.example.com/pub/bootstrap.py. The script includes documentation in the /usr/share/doc/katello-client-bootstrap-version/README.md file.

To use the bootstrap script, you must install it on the host. As the script is only required once, and only for the root user, you can place it in /root or /usr/local/sbin and remove it after use. This procedure uses /root.

Prerequisites

  • You have a Satellite user with the permissions required to run the bootstrap script. The examples in this procedure specify the admin user. If this is not acceptable to your security policy, create a new role with the minimum permissions required and add it to the user that will run the script. For more information, see Section 4.4.1, “Setting permissions for the bootstrap script”.
  • You have an activation key for your hosts with the Red Hat Satellite Client 6 repository enabled. For information on configuring activation keys, see Managing Activation Keys in Managing content.
  • You have created a host group. For more information about creating host groups, see Section 3.2, “Creating a host group”.

Puppet considerations

If a host group is associated with a Puppet environment created inside a Production environment, Puppet fails to retrieve the Puppet CA certificate while registering a host from that host group.

To create a suitable Puppet environment to be associated with a host group, follow these steps:

  1. Manually create a directory: 

    # mkdir /etc/puppetlabs/code/environments/example_environment
  2. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Configure > Puppet ENC > Environments.
  3. Click Import environment from. The button name includes the FQDN of the internal or external Capsule.
  4. Choose the created directory and click Update.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the host as the root user.

  2. Download the script: 

    # curl -O http://satellite.example.com/pub/bootstrap.py

  3. Make the script executable: 

    # chmod +x bootstrap.py

  4. Confirm that the script is executable by viewing the help text:

    • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8: 

      # /usr/libexec/platform-python bootstrap.py -h

    • On other Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions: 

      # ./bootstrap.py -h

  5. Enter the bootstrap command with values suitable for your environment.

    For the --server option, specify the FQDN of Satellite Server or a Capsule Server. For the --location, --organization, and --hostgroup options, use quoted names, not labels, as arguments to the options. For advanced use cases, see Section 4.4.2, “Advanced bootstrap script configuration”.

    • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, enter the following command: 

      # /usr/libexec/platform-python bootstrap.py \
--login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key"

    • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7, enter the following command: 

      # ./bootstrap.py --login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key"

  6. Enter the password of the Satellite user you specified with the --login option.

    The script sends notices of progress to stdout.

  7. When prompted by the script, approve the host’s Puppet certificate. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Infrastructure > Capsules and find the Satellite or Capsule Server you specified with the --server option.
  8. From the list in the Actions column, select Certificates.
  9. In the Actions column, click Sign to approve the host’s Puppet certificate.
  10. Return to the host to see the remainder of the bootstrap process completing.
  11. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Hosts > All Hosts and ensure that the host is connected to the correct host group.

  12. Optional: After the host registration is complete, remove the script: 

    # rm bootstrap.py

4.4.1. Setting permissions for the bootstrap script

Use this procedure to configure a Satellite user with the permissions required to run the bootstrap script. To use the CLI instead of the Satellite web UI, see the CLI procedure.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Administer > Users.
  2. Select an existing user by clicking the required Username. A new pane opens with tabs to modify information about the selected user. Alternatively, create a new user specifically for the purpose of running this script.
  3. Click the Roles tab.

  4. Select Edit hosts and Viewer from the Roles list.

    Important

    The Edit hosts role allows the user to edit and delete hosts as well as being able to add hosts. If this is not acceptable to your security policy, create a new role with the following permissions and assign it to the user:

    • view_organizations
    • view_locations
    • view_domains
    • view_hostgroups
    • view_hosts
    • view_architectures
    • view_ptables
    • view_operatingsystems
    • create_hosts
  5. Click Submit.

CLI procedure

  1. Create a role with the minimum permissions required by the bootstrap script. This example creates a role with the name Bootstrap: 

    $ ROLE='Bootstrap'
$ hammer role create --name "$ROLE"
$ hammer filter create --role "$ROLE" --permissions view_organizations
$ hammer filter create --role "$ROLE" --permissions view_locations
$ hammer filter create --role "$ROLE" --permissions view_domains
$ hammer filter create --role "$ROLE" --permissions view_hostgroups
$ hammer filter create --role "$ROLE" --permissions view_hosts
$ hammer filter create --role "$ROLE" --permissions view_architectures
$ hammer filter create --role "$ROLE" --permissions view_ptables
$ hammer filter create --role "$ROLE" --permissions view_operatingsystems
$ hammer filter create --role "$ROLE" --permissions create_hosts

  2. Assign the new role to an existing user: 

    $ hammer user add-role --id user_id --role Bootstrap

    Alternatively, you can create a new user and assign this new role to them. For more information on creating users with Hammer, see Managing Users and Roles in Administering Red Hat Satellite.

4.4.2. Advanced bootstrap script configuration

This section has more examples for using the bootstrap script to register or migrate a host.

Warning

These examples specify the admin Satellite user. If this is not acceptable to your security policy, create a new role with the minimum permissions required by the bootstrap script. For more information, see Section 4.4.1, “Setting permissions for the bootstrap script”.

4.4.2.1. Migrating a host from one Satellite to another Satellite

Use the script with --force to remove the katello-ca-consumer-* packages from the old Satellite and install the katello-ca-consumer-* packages on the new Satellite.

Procedure

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, enter the following command: 

    # /usr/libexec/platform-python bootstrap.py \
--login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--force

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7, enter the following command: 

    # bootstrap.py --login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--force

4.4.2.2. Migrating a host from Red Hat Network (RHN) or Satellite 5 to Satellite

The bootstrap script detects the presence of /etc/syconfig/rhn/systemid and a valid connection to RHN as an indicator that the system is registered to a legacy platform. The script then calls rhn-classic-migrate-to-rhsm to migrate the system from RHN. By default, the script does not delete the system’s legacy profile due to auditing reasons. To remove the legacy profile, use --legacy-purge, and use --legacy-login to supply a user account that has appropriate permissions to remove a profile. Enter the user account password when prompted.

Procedure

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, enter the following command: 

    # /usr/libexec/platform-python bootstrap.py \
--login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--legacy-purge \
--legacy-login rhn-user

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7, enter the following command: 

    # bootstrap.py --login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--legacy-purge \
--legacy-login rhn-user

4.4.2.3. Registering a host to Satellite without Puppet

By default, the bootstrap script configures the host for content management and configuration management. If you have an existing configuration management system and do not want to install Puppet on the host, use --skip-puppet.

Procedure

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, enter the following command: 

    # /usr/libexec/platform-python bootstrap.py \
--login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--skip-puppet

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7, enter the following command: 

    # bootstrap.py --login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--skip-puppet

4.4.2.4. Registering a host to Satellite for content management only

To register a system as a content host, and omit the provisioning and configuration management functions, use --skip-foreman.

Procedure

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, enter the following command: 

    # /usr/libexec/platform-python bootstrap.py \
--server satellite.example.com \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--skip-foreman

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7, enter the following command: 

    # bootstrap.py --server satellite.example.com \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--skip-foreman

4.4.2.5. Changing the method the bootstrap script uses to download the consumer RPM

By default, the bootstrap script uses HTTP to download the consumer RPM from http://satellite.example.com/pub/katello-ca-consumer-latest.noarch.rpm. In some environments, you might want to allow HTTPS only between the host and Satellite. Use --download-method to change the download method from HTTP to HTTPS.

Procedure

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, enter the following command: 

    # /usr/libexec/platform-python bootstrap.py \
--login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--download-method https

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7, enter the following command: 

    # bootstrap.py --login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--download-method https

4.4.2.6. Providing the host’s IP address to Satellite

On hosts with multiple interfaces or multiple IP addresses on one interface, you might need to override the auto-detection of the IP address and provide a specific IP address to Satellite. Use --ip.

Procedure

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, enter the following command: 

    # /usr/libexec/platform-python bootstrap.py \
--login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--ip 192.x.x.x

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7, enter the following command: 

    # bootstrap.py --login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--ip 192.x.x.x

4.4.2.7. Enabling remote execution on the host

Use --rex and --rex-user to enable remote execution and add the required SSH keys for the specified user.

Procedure

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, enter the following command: 

    # /usr/libexec/platform-python bootstrap.py \
--login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--rex \
--rex-user root

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7, enter the following command: 

    # bootstrap.py --login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--rex \
--rex-user root

4.4.2.8. Creating a domain for a host during registration

To create a host record, the DNS domain of a host needs to exist in Satellite prior to running the script. If the domain does not exist, add it using --add-domain.

Procedure

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, enter the following command: 

    # /usr/libexec/platform-python bootstrap.py \
--login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--add-domain

  • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7, enter the following command: 

    # bootstrap.py --login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--add-domain

4.4.2.9. Providing an alternative FQDN for the host

If the host’s host name is not an FQDN, or is not RFC-compliant (containing a character such as an underscore), the script will fail at the host name validation stage. If you cannot update the host to use an FQDN that is accepted by Satellite, you can use the bootstrap script to specify an alternative FQDN.

Procedure

  1. Set create_new_host_when_facts_are_uploaded and create_new_host_when_report_is_uploaded to false using Hammer: 

    # hammer settings set \
--name create_new_host_when_facts_are_uploaded \
--value false
# hammer settings set \
--name create_new_host_when_report_is_uploaded \
--value false

  2. Use --fqdn to specify the FQDN that will be reported to Satellite:

    • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, enter the following command: 

      # /usr/libexec/platform-python bootstrap.py --login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--fqdn node100.example.com

    • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7, enter the following command: 

      # bootstrap.py --login=admin \
--server satellite.example.com \
--location="My_Location" \
--organization="My_Organization" \
--hostgroup="My_Host_Group" \
--activationkey="My_Activation_Key" \
--fqdn node100.example.com

4.5. Installing Tracer

Use this procedure to install Tracer on Red Hat Satellite and access Traces. Tracer displays a list of services and applications that are outdated and need to be restarted. Traces is the output generated by Tracer in the Satellite web UI.

Prerequisites

  • The host is registered to Red Hat Satellite.
  • Red Hat Satellite Client 6 repository for the operating system version of the host is synchronized on Satellite Server, available in the content view and the lifecycle environment of the host, and enabled for the host. For more information, see Changing the repository sets status for a host in Satellite in Managing content.

Procedure

  1. On the content host, install the katello-host-tools-tracer RPM package: 

    # yum install katello-host-tools-tracer

  2. Enter the following command: 

    # katello-tracer-upload
  3. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Hosts > All Hosts, then click the required host name.
  4. Click the Traces tab to view Traces. If it is not installed, an Enable Traces button initiates a remote execution job that installs the package.

4.6. Installing and configuring Puppet agent during host registration

You can install and configure the Puppet agent on the host during registration. A configured Puppet agent is required on the host for Puppet integration with your Satellite. For more information about Puppet, see Managing configurations by using Puppet integration.

Prerequisites

  • Puppet must be enabled in your Satellite. For more information, see Enabling Puppet Integration with Satellite in Managing configurations by using Puppet integration.
  • Red Hat Satellite Client 6 repository for the operating system version of the host is synchronized on Satellite Server and enabled in the activation key you use. For more information, see Importing Content in Managing content.
  • You have an activation key. For more information, see Managing Activation Keys in Managing content.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Configure > Global Parameters to add host parameters globally. Alternatively, you can navigate to Configure > Host Groups and edit or create a host group to add host parameters only to a host group.

  2. Enable the Puppet agent using a host parameter in global parameters or a host group.

    Add a host parameter named enable-puppet7, select the boolean type, and set the value to true.

  3. Specify configuration for the Puppet agent using the following host parameters in global parameters or a host group:

    • Add a host parameter named puppet_server, select the string type, and set the value to the hostname of your Puppet server, such as puppet.example.com.
    • Optional: Add a host parameter named puppet_ca_server, select the string type, and set the value to the hostname of your Puppet CA server, such as puppet-ca.example.com. If puppet_ca_server is not set, the Puppet agent will use the same server as puppet_server.
    • Optional: Add a host parameter named puppet_environment, select the string type, and set the value to the Puppet environment you want the host to use.

    Until the BZ2177730 is resolved, you must use host parameters to specify the Puppet agent configuration even in integrated setups where the Puppet server is a Capsule Server.

  4. Navigate to Hosts > Register Host and register your host using an appropriate activation key. For more information, see Registering Hosts in Managing hosts.
  5. Navigate to Infrastructure > Capsules.
  6. From the list in the Actions column for the required Capsule Server, select Certificates.
  7. Click Sign to the right of the required host to sign the SSL certificate for the Puppet agent.

4.7. Installing and configuring Puppet agent manually

You can install and configure the Puppet agent on a host manually. A configured Puppet agent is required on the host for Puppet integration with your Satellite. For more information about Puppet, see Managing configurations by using Puppet integration.

Prerequisites

  • Puppet must be enabled in your Satellite. For more information, see Enabling Puppet Integration with Satellite in Managing configurations by using Puppet integration.
  • The host must have a Puppet environment assigned to it.
  • Red Hat Satellite Client 6 repository for the operating system version of the host is synchronized on Satellite Server, available in the content view and the lifecycle environment of the host, and enabled for the host. For more information, see Changing the repository sets status for a host in Satellite in Managing content.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the host as the root user.

  2. Install the Puppet agent package.

    • On hosts running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and above: 

      # dnf install puppet-agent

    • On hosts running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and below: 

      # yum install puppet-agent

  3. Add the Puppet agent to PATH in your current shell using the following script: 

    . /etc/profile.d/puppet-agent.sh

  4. Configure the Puppet agent. Set the environment parameter to the name of the Puppet environment to which the host belongs: 

    # puppet config set server satellite.example.com --section agent
# puppet config set environment My_Puppet_Environment --section agent

  5. Start the Puppet agent service: 

    # puppet resource service puppet ensure=running enable=true

  6. Create a certificate for the host: 

    # puppet ssl bootstrap
  7. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Infrastructure > Capsules.
  8. From the list in the Actions column for the required Capsule Server, select Certificates.
  9. Click Sign to the right of the required host to sign the SSL certificate for the Puppet agent.

  10. On the host, run the Puppet agent again: 

    # puppet ssl bootstrap

4.8. Running Ansible roles during host registration

You can run Ansible roles when you are registering a host to Satellite.

Prerequisites

  • The required Ansible roles have been imported from your Capsule to Satellite. For more information, see Importing Ansible roles and variables in Managing configurations by using Ansible integration.

Procedure

  1. Create a host group with Ansible roles. For more information, see Section 3.2, “Creating a host group”.
  2. Register the host by using the host group with assigned Ansible roles. For more information, see Section 4.3.3, “Registering a host”.

4.9. Using custom SSL certificate for hosts

You can use custom SSL certificate on your hosts to enable encrypted communications between Satellite Server, Capsule Server, and hosts. Before deploying it to your hosts, ensure that you have configured the custom SSL certificate to your Satellite Server.

4.9.1. Deploying a custom SSL certificate to hosts

After you configure Satellite to use a custom SSL certificate, you must deploy the certificate to hosts registered to Satellite.

Procedure

  • Update the SSL certificate on each host: 

    # dnf install http://satellite.example.com/pub/katello-ca-consumer-latest.noarch.rpm

4.10. Resetting custom SSL certificate to default self-signed certificate on hosts

To reset the custom SSL certificate on your hosts to default self-signed certificate, you must re-register your hosts through Global Registration. For more information, see Section 4.3, “Registering hosts by using global registration”.

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