Chapter 3. Managing Hosts

To Configure a Host for Registration:

1. Take note of the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the Satellite Server or Capsule Server, for example server.example.com.
2. In a terminal, connect to the host as the root user.

3. Install the consumer RPM from the Satellite Server or Capsule Server to which the host is to be registered. The consumer RPM updates the content source location of the host and allows the host to download content from the content source specified in Red Hat Satellite.

   # rpm -Uvh http://server.example.com/pub/katello-ca-consumer-latest.noarch.rpm

   Important

   Any running Docker Daemons will be restarted.

   Note

   The RPM package is not signed, if required, you can add the --nosignature option to install the package. The katello-ca-consumer-hostname-1.0-1.noarch.rpm is an additional katello-ca-consumer RPM available that contains the server’s host name. The katello-ca-consumer-latest.noarch.rpm rpm will always reflect the most recent version. Both serve the same purpose.

To Register Hosts:

1. In a terminal, connect to the host as the root user.

2. Clear any old host data related to Red Hat Subscription Manager (RHSM):

   # subscription-manager clean

3. Register the host using RHSM:

   # subscription-manager register --org=your_org_name \
   --activationkey=your_activation_key

   Example 3.1. Command Output after Registration:

   # subscription-manager register --org=MyOrg --activationkey=TestKey-1
   The system has been registered with id: 62edc0f8-855b-4184-b1b8-72a9dc793b96

To Verify the Red Hat Satellite Tools 6 Repository is Enabled:

1. Open the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Red Hat Repositories and click the RPMs tab.
2. Find and expand the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server item.

3. Find and expand the Red Hat Satellite Tools 6 (for RHEL VERSION Server) (RPMs) item.

   If the Red Hat Satellite Tools 6 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. Ensure the Enabled check box beside the repository’s name is selected. If not, select it.

To Install Katello Agent:

1. On the host, verify that the rhel-version-server-satellite-tools-6-rpms repository is enabled. If you registered the host using an activation key with auto-attach enabled, the repository is enabled automatically already.

   # yum repolist enabled | grep -i rhel-version-server-satellite-tools-6-rpms

   If the rhel-version-server-satellite-tools-6-rpms is not enabled, enable it using the following command:

   # subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-version-server-satellite-tools-6-rpms

2. Install the katello-agent RPM package using the following command:

   # yum install katello-agent

3. Ensure the goferd service is running.

   • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, run the following command:

     # service goferd start

   • On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, run the following command:

     # systemctl start goferd

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. Verify that Tracer is installed.

   1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Hosts > All hosts, and then click on the required host name.
   2. In the Properties tab examine the Properties table, and then find the Traces item. If you cannot find a Traces item in the Properties table, then Tracer is not installed.

1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Hosts > Content Hosts, and then click on the required host name.
2. Click on the Traces tab to view any displayed Traces.

To Verify the Red Hat Satellite Tools 6 Repository is Enabled:

1. Open the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Red Hat Repositories and click the RPMs tab.
2. Find and expand the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server item.

3. Find and expand the Red Hat Satellite Tools 6 (for RHEL VERSION Server) (RPMs) item.

   If the Red Hat Satellite Tools 6 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. Ensure the Enabled check box beside the repository’s name is selected. If not, select it.

To Install and Enable the Puppet Agent:

1. On the host, open a terminal console and log in as the root user.

2. Verify that the rhel-version-server-satellite-tools-6-rpms repository is enabled, using the following command:

   # yum repolist enabled | grep -i rhel-version-server-satellite-tools-6-rpms

   If the rhel-version-server-satellite-tools-6-rpms is not enabled, enable it using the following command:

   # subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-version-server-satellite-tools-6-rpms

3. Install the Puppet agent RPM package using the following command:

   # yum install puppet

4. Configure the puppet agent to start at boot:

   1. On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6:

      # chkconfig puppet on

   2. On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7:

      # systemctl enable puppet

To Configure the Puppet Agent:

1. Configure the Puppet agent by specifying the server and environment settings in the /etc/puppet/puppet.conf file:

   # vi /etc/puppet/puppet.conf

   [main]
       # The Puppet log directory.
       # The default value is '$vardir/log'.
       logdir = /var/log/puppet
   
       # Where Puppet PID files are kept.
       # The default value is '$vardir/run'.
       rundir = /var/run/puppet
   
       # Where SSL certificates are kept.
       # The default value is '$confdir/ssl'.
       ssldir = /var/lib/puppet/ssl
   
   ...
   
   [agent]
       # The file in which puppetd stores a list of the classes
       # associated with the retrieved configuratiion.  Can be loaded in
       # the separate ``puppet`` executable using the ``--loadclasses``
       # option.
       # The default value is '$confdir/classes.txt'.
       classfile = $vardir/classes.txt
       pluginsync = true
       report = true
       ignoreschedules = true
       daemon = false
       ca_server = satellite.example.com
       server = satellite.example.com
       environment = KT_Example_Org_Library_RHEL6Server_3
   
       # Where puppetd caches the local configuration.  An
       # extension indicating the cache format is added automatically.
       # The default value is '$confdir/localconfig'.
       localconfig = $vardir/localconfig
   
   ...

   Important

   Set the environment parameter to the name of the Puppet environment to which the host belongs. A Puppet environment is a collection of Puppet modules that can be associated with a host or a host group.

   • To find the host’s Puppet environment, navigate to Hosts > All Hosts and inspect the Environment column in the host table.
   • To assign a Puppet environment to a host, navigate to Hosts > All Hosts and click Edit next to the selected host.
   • To list Puppet environments enabled on the Satellite Server, navigate to Configure > Environments. You can also inspect the /etc/puppet/environments/ directory on the Satellite Server to find what Puppet modules and manifests are associated with Puppet environments.

   For more information see the Red Hat Satellite Puppet Guide.

2. Run the Puppet agent on the host:

   # puppet agent -t --server satellite.example.com

3. Sign the SSL certificate for the Puppet client through the Satellite Server web UI:

   1. Log in to the Satellite Server through the web UI.
   2. Select Infrastructure > Capsules.
   3. Select Certificates from the drop-down menu to the right of the required Capsule.
   4. Click Sign to the right of the required host.

   5. Enter the puppet agent command again:

      # puppet agent -t --server satellite.example.com

1. Ensure you are in the correct directory. For example, to change to /root:

   # cd

2. Download the script:

   # curl -O http://satellite6.example.com/pub/bootstrap.py

   This installs the script in the current directory.

3. Make the script executable:

   # chmod +x bootstrap.py

4. To confirm that the script can now be run, view the usage statement as follows:

   # ./bootstrap.py -h

5. Optionally, when the transition process is complete, remove the script:

   # cd
   # rm bootstrap.py

Using the web UI to set permissions for the bootstrap script:

1. Navigate to Administer > Users.
2. Select an existing user or create a new user especially for the purpose of running this script. Users are located under the Username field. A new pane will open with tabs to modify information about the selected user.
3. Click the Roles tab.

4. Select Viewer and Edit hosts from the Roles list. The selected roles should appear on the Selected Items list confirming that they have been selected.

   Warning

   Be aware that the following role Edit hosts 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 minimal permissions required by the bootstrap script. Create the bootstrap role using the Hammer command line tool, see Using Hammer to set permissions for the bootstrap script:, then assign this role alone, to the user who will be running the bootstrap script. Alternatively, create an appropriate role using the web UI, navigate to Administer > Roles. Subsequently, use the web UI to create a role and set up the appropriate filters.

5. Click Submit. The permissions required for the bootstrap script to run will now be set for the user you have specified.

Using Hammer to set permissions for the bootstrap script:

1. Create a role with the minimum permissions required by the bootstrap script. This example creates a role with the name Bootstrap. Modify this to provide a more specific name if you wish.

   $ 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

   There is also the option to create a new user and assign this new role to them. For more information on how to create users through Hammer see Creating Users in the Red Hat Satellite Hammer CLI Guide.

To Add a Physical Interface:

1. Navigate to Hosts > All hosts to view available hosts.
2. Click Edit next to the host you want to edit.
3. On the Interfaces tab, click Add Interface.
4. Keep the Interface option selected in the Type menu.
5. Specify a MAC address of the additional interface. This setting is required.
6. Specify the device Identifier, for example eth0 or eth1.1. Identifier is used for bonded interfaces (in the Attached devices field, see ]), VLANs and aliases (in the Attached to field, see xref:proc-Red_Hat_Satellite-Managing_Hosts-Adding_a_Virtual_Interface-To_Add_a_Virtual_Interface[).
7. Specify the DNS name associated with the host’s IP address. Satellite saves this name in the Capsule Server associated with the selected domain (the "DNS A" field) and the Capsule Server associated with the selected subnet (the "DNS PTR" field). A single host can therefore have several DNS entries.
8. Select a domain from the Domain drop-down menu. To create and manage domains, navigate to Infrastructure > Domains.
9. Select a subnet from the Subnet drop-down menu. To create and manage subnets, navigate to Infrastructure > Subnets.
10. Specify the interface IP address. Managed interfaces with assigned DHCP Capsule Server require this setting for creating a DHCP lease. DHCP-enabled managed interfaces provide an automatic suggestion of IP address.
11. Decide if the interface will be managed. If the Managed check box is selected, the interface configuration is pulled from the associated Capsule Server during provisioning, and DNS and DHCP entries are created. If using kickstart provisioning, a configuration file is automatically created for the interface.
12. Select the Virtual NIC check box to create a virtual interface. See Section 3.11.2, “Adding a Virtual Interface” for details.
13. Click OK to save the interface configuration, and then click Submit to apply the changes to the host.

To Add a Virtual Interface:

1. Navigate to Hosts > All hosts to view available hosts.
2. Click Edit next to the host you want to edit.
3. On the Interfaces tab, click Add Interface.
4. Keep the Interface option selected in the Type menu.

5. Specify the general interface settings. The applicable configuration options are the same as for the physical interfaces described in Section 3.11.1, “Adding a Physical Interface”.

   Specify MAC address for managed virtual interfaces so that the configuration files for provisioning are generated correctly. However, MAC address is not required for virtual interfaces that are not managed.

   If creating a VLAN, specify ID in the form of eth1.10 in the Identifier field. If creating an alias, use ID in the form of eth1:10.

6. Select the Virtual NIC check box. Additional configuration options specific to virtual interfaces are appended to the form:

   • Tag: You can specify tags per interface to provide a higher-level segmentation of the network. If left blank, managed interfaces inherit the tag form the VLAN ID of the associated subnet, given that this subnet has the VLAN ID specified. User-specified entries from this field are not applied on alias interfaces.
   • Attached to: Specify the identifier of the physical interface to which the virtual interface belongs, for example eth1. This setting is required.
7. Click OK to save the interface configuration. Then click Submit to apply the changes to the host.

To Add a Bonded Interface:

1. Navigate to Hosts > All hosts to view available hosts.
2. Click Edit next to the host you want to edit.
3. On the Interfaces tab, click Add Interface.
4. Select Bond from the Type menu. Additional type-specific configuration options are appended to the form.
5. Specify the general interface settings. The applicable configuration options are the same as for the physical interfaces described in Section 3.11.1, “Adding a Physical Interface”. Bonded interfaces use IDs in the form of bond0 in the Identifier field. It is sufficient if you specify a single MAC address in the MAC address field.

6. Specify the configuration options specific to bonded interfaces:

   • Mode: Select the bonding mode that defines a policy for fault tolerance and load balancing. See Table 3.2, “Bonding Modes Available in Red Hat Satellite” for a brief description of individual bonding modes.
   • Attached devices: Specify a comma separated list of identifiers of attached devices. These can be physical interfaces or VLANs.
   • Bond options: Specify a space separated list of configuration options, for example miimon=100. There are several configuration options you can specify for the bonded interface, see Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Networking Guide for details.
7. Click OK to save the interface configuration. Then click Submit to apply the changes to the host.

To Enable BMC Power Management on an Existing Capsule Server:

1. Use the satellite-installer routine to configure BMC power management on the Capsule Server by running the following command with the following options:

   # satellite-installer --foreman-proxy-bmc=true \ --foreman-proxy-bmc-default-provider=ipmitool

2. Refresh the features for the Capsule Server.

   1. Log in to the Satellite web UI, and navigate to Infrastructure > Capsules.
   2. Identify the Capsule Server whose features you need to refresh. In the drop-down list on the right, click Refresh. The list of features in the Features column should now include BMC.

To Add a BMC Interface:

1. Navigate to Hosts > All hosts to view available hosts.
2. Click Edit next to the host you want to edit.
3. On the Interfaces tab, click Add Interface.
4. Select BMC from the Type menu. Type-specific configuration options are appended to the form.
5. Specify the general interface settings. The applicable configuration options are the same as for the physical interfaces described in Section 3.11.1, “Adding a Physical Interface”.

6. Specify the configuration options specific to BMC interfaces:

   • Username, Password: Specify any authentication credentials required by BMC.
   • Provider: Specify the BMC provider.
7. Click OK to save the interface configuration, and then click Submit to apply the changes to the host.