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Chapter 1. Virt-who and virtual machine subscriptions

Virtual machines (VMs) require host-based Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions instead of physical subscriptions. Many host-based subscriptions include entitlements for unlimited VMs.

virt-who queries the virtualization platform and reports hypervisor and VM information to Satellite. You can view your subscription usage by using the Subscriptions service on the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console.

You can configure virt-who for the following virtualization platforms:

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Virtualization (KVM)
  • VMware vSphere
  • Nutanix AHV
  • Microsoft Hyper-V
  • Red Hat OpenStack Services on OpenShift
  • OpenShift Virtualization
Important

The OpenShift Virtualization hypervisor is a Technology Preview feature only. Technology Preview features are not supported with Red Hat production service level agreements (SLAs) and might not be functionally complete. Red Hat does not recommend using them in production. These features provide early access to upcoming product features, enabling customers to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process.

For more information about the support scope of Red Hat Technology Preview features, see Technology Preview Features Support Scope.

1.1. virt-who configuration overview
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You configure virt-who by creating a virt-who configuration on Satellite Server. Then, you deploy the configuration on a target host such as a hypervisor or a dedicated Red Hat Enterprise Linux server.

Preparing your environment

  • Import a subscription manifest that includes a host-based subscription into Satellite Server.
  • Register the target host to Satellite Server.
  • Create a read-only user for virt-who on the target host.

Procedure

  1. Create a virt-who configuration on Satellite Server.
  2. Deploy the virt-who configuration on the target host.

Next steps

You can check for subscriptions that require virt-who configuration.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Subscriptions.
  2. Check the Requires Virt-Who column of the subscriptions list. If a tick is displayed, you must configure virt-who to use that subscription.
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