Chapter 3. Performing Additional Configuration on Satellite Server


3.1. Using Red Hat Insights with Satellite Server

You can use Red Hat Insights to diagnose systems and downtime related to security exploits, performance degradation and stability failures. You can use the dashboard to quickly identify key risks to stability, security, and performance. You can sort by category, view details of the impact and resolution, and then determine what systems are affected.

Note that you do not require a Red Hat Insights entitlement in your subscription manifest. For more information about Satellite and Red Hat Insights, see Red Hat Insights on Satellite Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

To maintain your Satellite Server, and improve your ability to monitor and diagnose problems you might have with Satellite, install Red Hat Insights on Satellite Server and register Satellite Server with Red Hat Insights.

Scheduling insights-client

Note that you can change the default schedule for running insights-client by configuring insights-client.timer on Satellite. For more information, see Changing the insights-client schedule in the Client Configuration Guide for Red Hat Insights.

Procedure

  1. To install Red Hat Insights on Satellite Server, enter the following command:

    # satellite-maintain packages install insights-client
  2. To register Satellite Server with Red Hat Insights, enter the following command:

    # insights-client --register

3.2. Enabling the Satellite Tools 6.7 Repository

The Satellite Tools 6.7 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 > Red Hat Repositories.
  2. Use the Search field to enter the following repository name: Satellite Tools 6.7 (for RHEL 7 Server) (RPMs).
  3. In the Available Repositories pane, click on Satellite Tools 6.7 (for RHEL 7 Server) (RPMs) to expand the repository set.

    If the Satellite Tools 6.7 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 6.7 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.

For CLI Users

  • Enable the Satellite Tools 6.7 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 6.7 (for RHEL 7 Server) (RPMs)'

3.3. Synchronizing the Satellite Tools 6.7 Repository

Use this section to synchronize the Satellite Tools 6.7 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 6.7 (for RHEL 7 Server) RPMs x86_64.
  4. Click Synchronize Now.

For CLI Users

  • Synchronize your Satellite Tools 6.7 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 6.7 for RHEL 7 Server RPMs x86_64' \
    --async

3.4. Configuring Satellite Server with an HTTP Proxy

Use the following procedures to configure Satellite with an HTTP proxy.

3.4.1. Adding a Default HTTP Proxy to Satellite

If your network uses an HTTP Proxy, you can configure Satellite Server to use an HTTP proxy for requests to the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN) or another content source. Use the FQDN instead of the IP address where possible to avoid losing connectivity because of network changes.

The following procedure configures a proxy only for downloading content for Satellite.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Infrastructure > HTTP Proxies.
  2. Click New HTTP Proxy.
  3. In the Name field, enter the name for the HTTP proxy.
  4. In the Url field, enter the URL of the HTTP proxy in the following format: https://proxy.example.com:8080.
  5. Optional: If authentication is required, in the Username field, enter the username to authenticate with.
  6. Optional: If authentication is required, in the Password field, enter the password to authenticate with.
  7. To test connection to the proxy, click the Test Connection button.
  8. Click Submit.
  9. Navigate to Administer > Settings, and click the Content tab.
  10. Set the Default HTTP Proxy setting to the created HTTP proxy.

For CLI Users

  1. Verify that the http_proxy, https_proxy, and no_proxy variables are not set.

    # unset http_proxy
    # unset https_proxy
    # unset no_proxy
  2. Add an HTTP proxy entry to Satellite:

    # hammer http-proxy create --name=myproxy \
    --url http://myproxy.example.com:8080  \
    --username=proxy_username \
    --password=proxy_password
  3. Configure Satellite to use this HTTP proxy by default:

    # hammer settings set --name=content_default_http_proxy --value=myproxy

3.4.2. Configuring the HTTP Proxy to Connect to Red Hat CDN

Verify that Satellite can connect to the Red Hat CDN and can synchronize its repositories.

Procedure

  1. On the network gateway and the HTTP Proxy, enable TCP for the following host names:

    Host namePortProtocol

    subscription.rhsm.redhat.com

    443

    HTTPS

    cdn.redhat.com

    443

    HTTPS

    *.akamaiedge.net

    443

    HTTPS

    cert-api.access.redhat.com (if using Red Hat Insights)

    443

    HTTPS

    api.access.redhat.com (if using Red Hat Insights)

    443

    HTTPS

    Satellite Server uses SSL to communicate with the Red Hat CDN securely. Use of an SSL interception proxy interferes with this communication. These hosts must be whitelisted on the proxy.

    For a list of IP addresses used by the Red Hat CDN (cdn.redhat.com), see the Knowledgebase article Public CIDR Lists for Red Hat on the Red Hat Customer Portal.

  2. On Satellite Server, complete the following details in the /etc/rhsm/rhsm.conf file:

    # an http proxy server to use (enter server FQDN)
    proxy_hostname = myproxy.example.com
    
    # port for http proxy server
    proxy_port = 8080
    
    # user name for authenticating to an http proxy, if needed
    proxy_user =
    
    # password for basic http proxy auth, if needed
    proxy_password =

3.4.3. Configuring SELinux to Ensure Access to Satellite on Custom Ports

SELinux ensures access of Red Hat Satellite 6 and Red Hat Subscription Manager only to specific ports. In the case of the HTTP cache, the TCP ports are 8080, 8118, 8123, and 10001 - 10010. If you use a port that does not have SELinux type http_cache_port_t, complete the following steps.

Procedure

  1. On Satellite, to verify the ports that are permitted by SELinux for the HTTP cache, enter a command as follows:

    # semanage port -l | grep http_cache
    http_cache_port_t       tcp    8080, 8118, 8123, 10001-10010
    [output truncated]
  2. To configure SELinux to permit a port for the HTTP cache, for example 8088, enter a command as follows:

    # semanage port -a -t http_cache_port_t -p tcp 8088

3.4.4. Using an HTTP Proxy for all Satellite HTTP Requests

If your Satellite Server must remain behind a firewall that blocks HTTP and HTTPS, you can configure a proxy for communication with external systems, including compute resources.

Note that if you are using compute resources for provisioning, and you want to use a different HTTP proxy with the compute resources, the proxy that you set for all Satellite communication takes precedence over the proxies that you set for compute resources.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Administer > Settings.
  2. In the HTTP(S) proxy row, select the adjacent Value column and enter the proxy URL.
  3. Click the tick icon to save your changes.

For CLI Users

  • Enter the following command:

    # hammer settings set --name=http_proxy --value=Proxy_URL

3.4.5. Excluding Hosts from Receiving Proxied Requests

If you use an HTTP Proxy for all Satellite HTTP or HTTPS requests, you can prevent certain hosts from communicating through the proxy.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Administer > Settings.
  2. In the HTTP(S) proxy except hosts row, select the adjacent Value column and enter the names of one or more hosts that you want to exclude from proxy requests.
  3. Click the tick icon to save your changes.

For CLI Users

  • Enter the following command:

    # hammer settings set --name=http_proxy_except_list --value=[hostname1.hostname2...]

3.4.6. Resetting the HTTP Proxy

If you want to reset the current HTTP proxy setting, unset the Default HTTP Proxy setting.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to Administer > Settings, and click the Content tab.
  2. Set the Default HTTP Proxy setting to no global default.

For CLI Users

  • Set the content_default_http_proxy setting to an empty string:

    # hammer settings set --name=content_default_http_proxy --value=""

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 update the network interface file.

  1. In the /etc/systemd/system/dhcpd.service.d/interfaces.conf file, edit the following line to add Multihomed DHCP:

    [Service]
    ExecStart=/usr/sbin/dhcpd -f -cf /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf -user dhcpd -group dhcpd --no-pid eth0 eth1 eth2

    If this file does not exist already, create it.

  2. Enter the following command to perform a daemon reload:

    # systemctl --system daemon-reload
  3. Enter the following command to restart the dhcpd service:

    # systemctl restart dhcpd.service

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-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

  • If you have upgraded from a previous release, rename or remove the configuration file /usr/share/foreman/config/email.yaml and restart the httpd service. For example:

    # mv /usr/share/foreman/config/email.yaml \
    /usr/share/foreman/config/email.yaml-backup
    # systemctl restart httpd

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. 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

To create a custom SSL certificate, complete the following steps:

  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

To deploy a custom certificate on your Satellite Server, complete the following steps:

  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 the Satellite Server certificate file that is signed by a Certificate Authority.
    2
    Path to the private key that was used to sign the Capsule 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.

    Example output of katello-certs-check

    Validation succeeded.
    
    To install the Red Hat Satellite Server with the custom certificates, run:
    
      satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
        --certs-server-cert "/root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert.pem" \
        --certs-server-key "/root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_key.pem" \
        --certs-server-ca-cert "/root/satellite_cert/ca_cert_bundle.pem"
    
    To update the certificates on a currently running Red Hat Satellite installation, run:
    
      satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
        --certs-server-cert "/root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert.pem" \
        --certs-server-key "/root/satellite_cert/satellite_cert_key.pem" \
        --certs-server-ca-cert "/root/satellite_cert/ca_cert_bundle.pem" \
        --certs-update-server --certs-update-server-ca

  2. From the output of the katello-certs-check command, depending on your requirements, enter the satellite-installer command that installs a new Satellite with custom SSL certificates or updates certificates on a currently running Satellite.

    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 MongoDB and 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. Depending on your requirements, you can use external databases for either MongoDB or PostgreSQL database, or both.

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.

Use MongoDB as an External Database Considerations and PostgreSQL as an External Database Considerations to decide if you want to use external databases for your Satellite deployment.

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

  1. Section 3.10.3, “Preparing a Host for External Databases”. Prepare a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 server to host the external databases.
  2. Section 3.10.4, “Installing MongoDB”. Prepare MongoDB with user pulp owning the pulp_database
  3. Section 3.10.5, “Installing PostgreSQL”. Prepare PostgreSQL with databases for Satellite and Candlepin and dedicated users owning them.
  4. Section 3.10.6, “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. MongoDB as an External Database Considerations

Pulp uses the MongoDB database. If you want to use MongoDB as an external database, the following information can help you decide if this option is right for your Satellite configuration. Satellite supports MongoDB version 3.4.

Advantages of External MongoDB

  • Increase in free memory and free CPU on Satellite
  • Flexibility to tune the MongoDB server’s system without adversely affecting Satellite operations

Disadvantages of External MongoDB

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

FIPS-related Restrictions

  • You cannot use an external MongoDB with Satellite in FIPS mode.

3.10.2. 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 9.2.

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.

3.10.3. 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

3.10.4. Installing MongoDB

You can install only the same version of MongoDB that is installed with the satellite-installer tool during an internal database installation. You can install MongoDB using Red Hat Software Collections (RHSCL) repositories or from an external source, as long as the version is supported. Satellite supports MongoDB version 3.4.

Procedure

  1. To install MongoDB, enter the following command:

    # yum install rh-mongodb34 rh-mongodb34-syspaths
  2. Start and enable the rh-mongodb34 service:

    # systemctl start rh-mongodb34-mongod
    # systemctl enable rh-mongodb34-mongod
  3. Create a Pulp user on MongoDB for database pulp_database:

    # mongo pulp_database \
    --eval "db.createUser({user:'pulp',pwd:'pulp_password',roles:[{role:'dbOwner', db:'pulp_database'},{ role: 'readWrite', db: 'pulp_database'}]})"
  4. In the /etc/opt/rh/rh-mongodb34/mongod.conf file, specify the bind IP:

    bindIp: your_mongodb_server_bind_IP,::1
  5. Edit the /etc/opt/rh/rh-mongodb34/mongod.conf file to enable authentication in the security section:

    security:
      authorization: enabled
  6. Restart the rh-mongodb34-mongod service:

    # systemctl restart rh-mongodb34-mongod
  7. Open port 27017 for MongoDB:

    # firewall-cmd --add-port=27017/tcp
    # firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent
  8. From Satellite Server, test that you can access the database. If the connection succeeds, the command returns 1.

    # scl enable rh-mongodb34 " mongo --host mongo.example.com \
    -u pulp -p pulp_password --port 27017 --eval 'ping:1' pulp_database"

3.10.5. 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 9.2.

Procedure

  1. To install PostgreSQL, enter the following command:

    # yum install postgresql-server
  2. To initialize, start, and enable PostgreSQL service, enter the following commands:

    # postgresql-setup initdb
    # systemctl start postgresql
    # systemctl enable postgresql
  3. Edit the /var/lib/pgsql/data/postgresql.conf file:

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

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

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

      host  all   all   Satellite_ip/24   md5
  7. Restart PostgreSQL service to update with the changes:

    # systemctl restart 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 two databases and dedicated roles, one for Satellite and one for Candlepin:

    CREATE USER "foreman" WITH PASSWORD 'Foreman_Password';
    CREATE USER "candlepin" WITH PASSWORD 'Candlepin_Password';
    CREATE DATABASE foreman OWNER foreman;
    CREATE DATABASE candlepin OWNER candlepin;
  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"

3.10.6. Configuring Satellite to use External Databases

Use the satellite-installer command to configure Satellite to connect to external MongoDB and PostgreSQL databases.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed and configured MongoDB and PostgreSQL databases 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 \
      --katello-candlepin-db-host postgres.example.com \
      --katello-candlepin-db-name candlepin \
      --katello-candlepin-db-password Candlepin_Password \
      --katello-candlepin-manage-db false \
      --katello-pulp-db-username pulp \
      --katello-pulp-db-password pulp_password \
      --katello-pulp-db-seeds mongo.example.com:27017 \
      --katello-pulp-db-name pulp_database
  2. Verify the status of the databases:

    • For PostgreSQL, enter the following command:

      # satellite-maintain service status --only postgresql
    • For MongoDB, enter the following command:

      # satellite-maintain service status --only rh-mongodb34-mongod

3.11. Restricting Access to mongod

To reduce the risk of data loss, configure only the apache and root users to have access to the MongoDB database daemon, mongod.

To restrict access to mongod on your Satellite Server, you must update your firewall configuration.

Procedure

  1. Update the firewall configuration by entering the following command:

    # firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv4 filter OUTPUT 0 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 27017 -m owner --uid-owner apache -j ACCEPT \
    && firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv6 filter OUTPUT 0 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 27017 -m owner --uid-owner apache -j ACCEPT \
    && firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv4 filter OUTPUT 0 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 27017 -m owner --uid-owner root -j ACCEPT \
    && firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv6 filter OUTPUT 0 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 27017 -m owner --uid-owner root -j ACCEPT \
    && firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv4 filter OUTPUT 1 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 27017 -j DROP \
    && firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv6 filter OUTPUT 1 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 27017 -j DROP \
    && firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv4 filter OUTPUT 0 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 28017 -m owner --uid-owner apache -j ACCEPT \
    && firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv6 filter OUTPUT 0 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 28017 -m owner --uid-owner apache -j ACCEPT \
    && firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv4 filter OUTPUT 0 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 28017 -m owner --uid-owner root -j ACCEPT \
    && firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv6 filter OUTPUT 0 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 28017 -m owner --uid-owner root -j ACCEPT \
    && firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv4 filter OUTPUT 1 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 28017 -j DROP \
    && firewall-cmd  --direct --add-rule ipv6 filter OUTPUT 1 -o lo -p \
    tcp -m tcp --dport 28017 -j DROP
  2. Make the changes persistent:

    # firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent

3.12. Tuning Satellite Server with Predefined Profiles

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

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.

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

  • To configure a tuning profile for your Satellite deployment, enter the satellite-installer command with the --tuning option. For example, to apply the medium tuning profile settings, enter the following command:

    # satellite-installer --tuning medium
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