Red Hat NETWORK - USER REFERENCE GUIDE 3.1 Product information sheet

Red Hat Network
User Reference Guide 3.1

ISBN: N/A
Red Hat, Inc.
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© 2001 Red Hat, Inc.
RHNurg(EN)-3.1-Print-RHI (2001-09-05T14:52-0400)
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at http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/).
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All other trademarks and copyrights referred to are the property of their respective owners.
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ii

Contents
Red Hat Network
Introduction................................................................................... v
Document Conventions.................................................................... v
MoretoCome.............................................................................. viii
Chapter 1 What is Red Hat Network? .................................... 9
1.1 Software Manager................................................................ 10
1.2 Automatic Notifications........................................................... 10
1.3 Security, Quality Assurance, and Red Hat Network .......................... 11
1.4 Before You Begin ................................................................. 11
Chapter 2 Red Hat Network Registration Client................... 13
2.1 Configuring the Red Hat Network Registration Client ........................ 13
2.2 Starting the Red Hat Network Registration Client............................. 14
2.3 Registering a User Account ..................................................... 16
2.4 Registering a System Profile.................................................... 19
2.5 Finishing Registration............................................................ 22
2.6 Entitling Your System............................................................. 24
2.7 Text Mode RHN Registration Client............................................. 25
Chapter 3 Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool ......... 27
3.1 Configuring the Red Hat Update Agent ........................................ 27
3.2 General Settings.................................................................. 27
3.3 Retrieval/Installation Settings ................................................... 28
3.4 Package Exceptions Settings ................................................... 30
3.5 Command Line Version of Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool...... 31
Chapter 4 Red Hat Update Agent........................................... 33
4.1 Starting the Red Hat Update Agent ............................................ 33
4.2 Choosing a Channel ............................................................. 35
iii

4.3 Choosing Packages to Update.................................................. 36
4.4 Installing Updated Packages .................................................... 39
4.5 Update Agent Finished........................................................... 40
4.6 Command Line Version of Red Hat Update Agent............................ 41
4.7 Manual Package Installation..................................................... 45
4.8 Synchronizing Your System Profile ............................................. 46
4.9 LogFile............................................................................ 46
Chapter 5 Software Manager .................................................. 47
5.1 Logging into Software Manager................................................. 47
5.2 Introduction to the Web Interface ............................................... 48
5.3 YourRHN.......................................................................... 51
5.4 Systems ........................................................................... 53
5.5 Channels and Packages......................................................... 57
5.6 Errata.............................................................................. 60
5.7 Scheduled Actions................................................................ 62
Chapter 6 Red Hat Network Daemon..................................... 65
Chapter 7 Using Red Hat Network with Red Hat Linux 6.2.67
Chapter 8 Frequently Asked Questions................................ 69
Glossary......................................................................................... 73
iv

Section 0.1:Document Conventions v
Introduction
Welcome to the Red Hat Network User Reference Guide 3.1.
The Red Hat Network User Reference Guide will guide you through registering your system for Red
Hat Network and using its many features. Depending on which version of Red Hat Linux you have
installed, the Red Hat Network Registration Client and the Red Hat Update Agent might be
different than the ones described in this manual as new features are added. All version of this manual
are available in HTML and PDF formats at http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/RHNetwork/. Once
you use Red Hat Network to update these applications, you can use the latest version of this manual.
This version of the manual covers version 2.7.0 of the Red Hat Update Agent and version 1.5.0 of the
Red Hat Network Registration Client.
For a more detailed, technical overview of Red Hat Network, please refer to the Red Hat Network
Technical Paper available at http://www.redhat.com/products/network/.
Document Conventions
When you read this manual, you will see that certain words are represented in different fonts, type-
faces, sizes and weights. This highlighting is systematic; different words are represented in the same
style to indicate their inclusion in a specific category. The types of words that are represented this way
include the following:
command
Linux commands (and other operating system commands, when used) are represented this way.
This style should indicate to you that you can type in the word or phrase on the command line
and press [Enter] to invoke a command. Sometimes a command contains words that would be
displayed in a different style on their own (e.g., filenames). In these cases, they are considered
to be part of the command, so the entire phrase will be displayed as a command. For example:
Use the cat testfile command to view the contents of a file, named testfile, in the
current working directory.
filename
Filenames, directory names, paths and RPM package names are represented this way. This style
should indicate that a particular file or directory exists by that name on your Red Hat Linux
system. Examples:
The .bashrc file in your home directory contains bash shell definitions and aliases for your
own use.
The /etc/fstab file contains information about different system devices and filesystems.

vi Introduction
The /usr/share/doc directory contains documentation for various programs.
Install the webalizer RPM if you want to use a Web server log file analysis program.
application
This style should indicate to you that the program named is an end-user application (as opposed
to system software). For example:
Use Netscape Navigator to browse the Web.
[key]
A key on the keyboard is shown in this style. For example:
To use [Tab] completion, type in a character and then press the [Tab] key. Your terminal will
display the list of files in the directory that start with that letter.
[key]-[combination]
A combination of keystrokes is represented in this way. For example:
The [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Backspace] key combination will restart the X Window System.
text found on a GUI interface
A title, word or phrase found on a GUI interface screen or window will be shown in this style.
When you see text shown in this style, it is being used to identify a particular GUI screen or an
element on a GUI screen (e.g., text associated with a checkbox or field). Examples:
On the GNOME Control Center screen, you can customize your GNOME window manager.
Selectthe RequirePasswordcheckbox if you wouldlikeyour screensavertorequire a password
before stopping.
top level of a menu on a GUI screen or window
When you see a word in this style, it indicates that the word is the top level of a pulldown menu.
If you click on the word on the GUI screen, the rest of the menu should appear. For example:
Under Settings on a GNOME terminal, you will see the following menu items: Preferences,
Reset Terminal,Reset and Clear, and Color selector.
If you need to type in a sequence of commands from a GUI menu, they will be shown like the
following example:
Click on Programs=>Applications=>Emacs to start the Emacs text editor.
button on a GUI screen or window
This style indicates that the text will be found on a clickable button on a GUI screen. For ex-
ample:

Section 0.1:Document Conventions vii
Click on the Back button to return to the Web page you last viewed.
computer output
When you see text in this style, it indicates text displayed by the computer on the command line.
You will see responses to commands you typed in, error messages and interactive prompts for
your input during scripts or programs shown this way. For example:
Use the ls to display the contents of a directory:
$ls
Desktop axhome logs paulwesterberg.gif
Mail backupfiles mail reports
The output returned in response to the command (in this case, the contents of the directory) is
shown in this style.
prompt
A prompt, which is a computer’s way of signifying that it is ready for you to input something,
will be shown in this style. Examples:
$
#
[stephen@maturin stephen]$
leopard login:
user input
Text that the user has to type, either on the command line, or into a text box on a GUI screen, is
displayed in this style. In the following example, text is displayed in this style:
To boot your system into the text based installation program, you will need to type in the text
command at the boot: prompt.
Another example, with the word root displayed as something the user needs to type in:
If you need to log in as root when you first log into your system, and you are using the graphical
login screen, at the Login prompt, type root. At the Password prompt, type in the root
password.
Additionally, we use several differentstrategies to drawyour attention to certain piecesof information.
In order of how critical the information is to your system, these items will be marked as a note, a
caution or a warning. For example:

viii Introduction
Note
Remember that Linux is case sensitive. In other words, a rose is not a ROSE
is not a rOsE.
CAUTION
Do not do routine tasks as root — use a regular user account unless you need
to use the root account to administer your system.
WARNING
If you choose not to partition manually, a server installation will remove
all existing partitions on all installed hard drives. Do not choose this
installation class unless you are sure you have no data you need to save.
More to Come
The Red Hat Network User Reference Guide is constantly expanding as new Red Hat Network features
and service plans are launched.
Send in Your Feedback
If you would like to make suggestions about the Red Hat Network User Reference Guide, please men-
tion this guide’s identifier:
RHNurg(EN)-3.1-Print-RHI (2001-09-05T14:52-0400)
You can send mail to:
[email protected]

What is Red Hat Network? 9
1 What is Red Hat Network?
Have you ever read about a new version of a software package and wanted to install it but could not
find it?
Have you ever tried to find an RPM through an Internet search engine or an RPM Repository and been
linked to a site that you have never heard of?
Have you ever tried to find an RPM but instead you are only able to find the source files that you have
to compile yourself?
Have you ever spenthours or even daysvisiting different websites to see if you have the latest packages
installed on your system, only to have to do it again in a few months?
Those days are over with Red Hat Network (RHN). RHN provides the solution to all your system
software management needs.
Red Hat Network is an Internet solution for managing a Red Hat Linux system or a network of Red
Hat Linux systems. All Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts (collective known
as Errata Alerts) can be downloaded directly from Red Hat. You can even have updates automatically
delivered directly to your system as soon as they are released.
The three main components of Red Hat Network are as follows:
• The Red Hat Network Registration Client
• The Red Hat Network user interface
• Red Hat Network Daemon
The Red Hat Network Registration Client allows you to create a unique RHN user name and pass-
word and probes the hardware and software on your system to create a System Profile. The System
Profile is sent to RHN and RHN returns a unique System ID to your system (see Chapter 2,
Red Hat
Network Registration Client for further information).
You can use either of the two Red Hat Network user interfaces:
• Software Manager Web interface available at http://rhn.redhat.com
• The Red Hat Update Agent
Both the Web interface and the Red Hat Update Agentallow you to view all Errata Alerts included in
the Red Hat Errata list. Only packages relevant to your system are shown. Red Hat Network can also
be configured to verify packages once downloaded, ignore update notifications for certain packages,
and view package details before downloading them.

10 Chapter 1:What is Red Hat Network?
The Red Hat Network Daemon (rhnsd) runs in the background as a service and probes the Red Hat
Network for notifications and updates at set time intervals (see Chapter 6, Red Hat Network Daemon
for further information).
Many Red Hat Network terms are used throughout this manual. As you read the Red Hat Network
User Reference Guide, refer to the Glossary as necessary for explanation of common terms.
1.1 Software Manager
The first subscription service offered through Red Hat Network is Software Manager. Additional
service offerings will be available in the near future. Registering a system with Red Hat Network is
free as well as one subscription to Software Manager. Additional subscription to Software Manager
can be purchased at http://rhn.redhat.com/purchase_info.pxt.
With each Software Manager subscription, you receive:
• Errata Alerts — learn when Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts are issued
for all the systems in your network through the Software Manager interface
• Automatic email notifications — receive an email notification when an Errata Alert is issued for
your system
• Scheduled Errata Updates — schedule delivery of Errata Updates with optional automatic instal-
lation
• Package installation — Schedule package installation on one or more systems with the click of a
button.
•Red Hat Update Agent — use the Red Hat Update Agent to download the lastest software
packages for your system with optional installation of packages
1.2 Automatic Notifications
During registration, you can configure Red Hat Network to send you email notifications of new and
updated software packages. Automated notifications of the latest updates:
• Reduce the time and effort required by system administrators to stay on top of the Red Hat errata
list
• Minimize security vulnerabilities in your network by providing the patches as soon as Red Hat
releases them
• Filter out package updates not relevant to your network
• Provide a reliable method of managing multiple systems with similar configurations