1. Client Life Cycle Management Guide for Release 2.10
  2. Registering Client Systems With Oracle Linux Manager

5 Registering Client Systems With Oracle Linux Manager

This chapter describes how to register client systems with Oracle Linux Manager. The procedures here are performed on the client system.

When registering a client system with Oracle Linux Manager, you should also create an activation key to use with the client, as described in Working With Activation Keys in Oracle Linux Manager. Do not use a default activation key, also called the universal default key. Otherwise, Oracle Linux Manager does not perform channel subscription or package installation on the registered client. Oracle also recommends that, instead of a default activation key, use an activation key that is specific to the Oracle Linux release and system architecture of the client.

Oracle Linux Manager's provisioning service typically performs all Oracle Linux Manager registration. For existing or manually installed systems, use the rhnreg_ks command to register them with Oracle Linux Manager.

Do not register an Oracle Linux Manager server or client with ULN. Oracle recommends that you register Oracle Linux Manager server as a client of itself after you have set up the software channels. Include the Oracle Linux Manager server channel in the list of software channels to which the server is subscribed.

Note:

Starting with systems running Oracle Linux 7 Update 1 and Oracle Linux 6 Update 9, you can register these systems without first installing Oracle Linux Manager client software. Likewise, Oracle Linux 8 Update 2 hosts that are updated with the latest available packages from ULN or yum.oracle.com can also be registered to Oracle Linux Manager without first installing Oracle Linux Manager client software. See Registering a Client System Only.

Registering a Client System by Using Kickstart

If you install a system by using a kickstart file that is generated from an Oracle Linux Manager profile, Oracle Linux Manager automatically registers the system as an Oracle Linux Manager client if the following conditions are met:

  • The Oracle Linux Manager client channel must be selected on the Modify Operating System page under the profile's Kickstart Details tab.

  • An activation key is associated with the profile on the Kickstart Details page under the profile's Activation Keys tab.

For Oracle Linux 8 hosts to successfully register with Oracle Linux Manager using Kickstart, ensure that the profile has access to the ol8_AppStream software channel.

Note:

For more information about enabling remote configuration and management of client systems, see Configuring Client Systems for Remote Management.

Installing Oracle Linux Manager Client Software and Registering the Client System

Note:

To register Red Hat Enterprise Linux clients, administrators are recommended to contact Oracle Linux consulting services to ensure proper registration of the clients.

Installing on Oracle Linux 7 Hosts

  1. Ensure that only the following repositories are enabled on the current host:

    • UEKR5 or UEKR6

    • ol7_latest

    • ol7_optional_latest

    • ol7_oraclelinuxmanager210_client

    You can verify enabled repositories by running the following command: 

    sudo yum repolist

  2. Enable access to the repositories that contain Oracle Linux Manager client and any dependent packages on the Oracle Linux yum server at https://yum.oracle.com.

    1. Ensure that the system is up to date and that you have transitioned to use the modular yum repository configuration: 

      sudo yum install oraclelinux-release-el7
sudo /usr/bin/ol_yum_configure.sh

    2. Install the client release package to install appropriate yum repository configuration. 

      sudo yum install oracle-linux-manager-client-release-el7

  3. Install additional packages as follows: 

    sudo yum install rhn-client-tools rhn-check rhn-setup rhnsd m2crypto yum-rhn-plugin

    This command replaces the existing packages and deletes any previous registration with ULN.

  4. Download the CA certificate file to the client server using one of the following methods:

    • Using a browser:

      Download http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT to the /usr/share/rhn directory.

    • Using a command line, for example wget. 

      sudo wget -q -O /usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT

    • Install the automatically generated package when you install SSL certificates, for example: 

      sudo yum install http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/rhn-org-trusted-ssl-cert-1.0-1.noarch.rpm

      You might need to specify a different URL if you replaced the SSL certificates after installing and configuring Oracle Linux Manager server software.

  5. Register the system with Oracle Linux Manager with the appropriate certificate. 

    sudo rhnreg_ks --sslCACert=/usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT --serverUrl=https://olmsvr_FQDN/XMLRPC --activationkey=activation_key

    If you need to re-register an Oracle Linux Manager client with a Oracle Linux Manager server, or if the client was previously registered to ULN, specify --force as an additional option.

  6. Disable access to Oracle Linux Manager client repository in the Oracle Linux yum server repository configuration file.

    For example, you can type the following command: 

    sudo yum remove oracle-linux-manager-client-release-el7

Installing on Oracle Linux 8 Hosts

This procedure upgrades Oracle Linux 8 hosts from the default satellite-5-client to Oracle Linux Manager 2.10 client packages

  1. Ensure that only the following repositories are enabled on the current host:

    • ol8_baseos_latest

    • ol8_appstream

    You can verify enabled repositories by running the following command: 

    sudo dnf repolist

  2. Enable access to the repositories that contain Oracle Linux Manager client and any dependent packages on the Oracle Linux yum server at https://yum.oracle.com.

    1. Ensure that your system is up to date.

    2. Install the client release package to install appropriate yum repository configuration. 

      sudo dnf install oracle-linux-manager-client-release-el8

  3. Run the following commands . 

    sudo dnf -y module disable rhn-tools satellite-5-client
sudo dnf -y --allowerasing install python3-rhnlib python3-spacewalk-usix rhn-client-tools rhn-check rhn-setup rhnsd dnf-plugin-spacewalk
sudo dnf -y remove rhnlib

  4. Download the CA certificate file to the client server using one of the following methods:

    • Using a browser:

      Download http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT to the /usr/share/rhn directory.

    • Using a command line, for example wget. 

      sudo wget -q -O /usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT

    • Install the automatically generated package when you install SSL certificates, for example: 

      sudo dnf install http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/rhn-org-trusted-ssl-cert-1.0-1.noarch.rpm

      You might need to specify a different URL if you replaced the SSL certificates after installing and configuring Oracle Linux Manager server software.

  5. Register the system with Oracle Linux Manager with the appropriate certificate. 

    sudo rhnreg_ks --sslCACert=/usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT --serverUrl=https://olmsvr_FQDN/XMLRPC --activationkey=activation_key

    If you need to re-register an Oracle Linux Manager client with a Oracle Linux Manager server, or if the client was previously registered to ULN, specify --force as an additional option.

  6. Disable access to Oracle Linux Manager client repository in the Oracle Linux yum server repository configuration file.

    For example, you can type the following command: 

    sudo dnf remove oracle-linux-manager-client-release-el8

Installing on Oracle Linux 9 Hosts

This procedure upgrades Oracle Linux Manager clients on Oracle Linux 8 hosts to work on Oracle Linux 9.

  1. Ensure that only the following repositories are enabled on the current Oracle Linux 9 host:

    • ol9_baseos_latest

    • ol9_appstream

    • ol9_UEKR7

    To check which repositories are enabled on the system, type:

    sudo dnf repolist

  2. Enable access to the repositories that contain Oracle Linux Manager client packages and any dependent packages in the Oracle Linux yum server at https://yum.oracle.com.

    1. Ensure that your system is up to date.

      sudo dnf update

    2. Install the client release package to install the appropriate yum repository configuration.

      sudo dnf install oracle-linux-manager-client-release-el9

  3. Run the following command to install additional required packages.

    sudo dnf -y --allowerasing install python3-rhnlib python3-spacewalk-usix rhn-client-tools rhn-check rhn-setup rhnsd dnf-plugin-spacewalk

  4. Download the CA certificate file to the client server using one of the following methods:

    • Using a browser:

      Download http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT to the /usr/share/rhn directory.

    • Using a command line, for example wget. 

      sudo wget -q -O /usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT

    • Install the automatically generated package when you install SSL certificates, for example: 

      sudo dnf install http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/rhn-org-trusted-ssl-cert-1.0-1.noarch.rpm

      You might need to specify a different URL if you replaced the SSL certificates after installing and configuring Oracle Linux Manager server software.

  5. Register the system with Oracle Linux Manager with the appropriate certificate. 

    sudo rhnreg_ks --sslCACert=/usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT --serverUrl=https://olmsvr_FQDN/XMLRPC --activationkey=activation_key

    If you need to re-register an Oracle Linux Manager client with a Oracle Linux Manager server, or if the client was previously registered to ULN, specify --force as an additional option.

Installing on CentOS 7 Hosts

Prerequisites

Before performing this procedure, ensure that the following channels are available on the Oracle Linux Manager and that these channels have been recently synchronized:

  • ol7_latest

  • ol7_UEKR6

  • ol7_oraclelinuxmanager210_client

Likewise, ensure that an Oracle Linux 7 Activation Key has been defined that includes these channels.

  1. Import the GPG key. 

    sudo wget https://yum.oracle.com/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle-ol7 -O /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
sudo gpg --import /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle

  2. Create a temporary yum repository file /etc/yum.repos.d/ol7-temp.repo with the following minimum required entries: 

    [ol7_latest]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Latest ($basearch)
baseurl=https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL7/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

  3. Install the oraclelinux-release-el7 package. 

    sudo yum install oraclelinux-release-el7

  4. Rename CentOS repository files that conflict with Oracle Linux repositories. 

    mv CentOS-Base.repo CentOS-Linux-Base.repo.disabled

    Likewise, rename other existing CentOS repository files as needed.

  5. Rename the temporary repository file. 

    mv ol7-temp.repo ol7-temp.repo.disabled

  6. Install Oracle Linux Manager Client on the CentOS 7 host. 

    sudo yum install oracle-linux-manager-client-release-el7
sudo yum install rhn-client-tools rhn-check rhn-setup rhnsd m2crypto yum-rhn-plugin

  7. Download the CA certificate file to the client.

    Choose from one of the following methods:

    • Using a browser

      Download http://olmsvr_fqdn/pub/RHN-ORG-trusted-SSL-CERT to the /usr/share/rhn directory.

    • Using a command line utility, such as wget. 

      sudo wget -q -O /usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT

    • Installing he automatically generated package when the SSL certificates were installed.

      sudo yum install http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/rhn-org-trusted-ssl-cert-1.0-1.noarch.rpm

  8. Register the system. 

    sudo rhnreg_ks --sslCACert=/usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT --serverUrl=https://olmsvr_FQDN/XMLRPC --activationkey=activation_key

    If you need to re-register an Oracle Linux Manager client with an Oracle Linux Manager server, or if the client was previously registered to ULN, specify --force as an added option to the command.

Installing on CentOS 8 Hosts

Important:

The information in the current procedure serves only a historical purpose. CentOS Linux 8 is no longer an active community project. CentosOS Linus 8 was discontinued by CentOS in December 2021 and therefore, is no longer supported.

Further, CentOS Streams 8 is not supported by Oracle.

Prerequisites

Before performing this procedure, you must ensure that the following channels are available for the Oracle Linux Manager and that these channels have been recently synchronized:

  • Oracle Linux 8 BaseOS Latest

  • Oracle Linux 8 Appstream

  • Oracle Linux Manager 2.10 Client for Oracle Linux 8

Ensure further that the Oracle Linux 8 Activation Key has been defined that includes these channels.

  1. Import the GPG key. 

    sudo wget https://yum.oracle.com/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle-ol8 -O /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
sudo gpg --import --import-options show-only /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle

  2. Create a temporary yum repository file /etc/yum.repos.d/ol8-temp.repo with the following minimum required entries: 

    [ol8_baseos]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Latest ($basearch)
baseurl=https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL8/baseos/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

  3. Install the oraclelinux-release-el8 package. 

    sudo dnf install oraclelinux-release-el8

  4. Rename CentOS repository files that conflict with Oracle Linux repositories. 

    mv CentOS-Linux_Appstream.repo CentOS-Linux-AppStream.repo.disabled

    Likewise, rename other existing CentOS repository files as needed.

  5. Rename the temporary repository file. 

    mv ol8-temp.repo ol8-temp.repo.disabled

  6. Install Oracle Linux Manager Client on the CentOS host. 

    sudo dnf install oracle-linux-manager-client-release-el8
sudo dnf remove subscription-manager
sudo dnf module disable rhn-tools satellite5-client
sudo dnf --allowerasing install python3-rhnlib python3-spacewalk-usix rhn-client-tools rhn-check rhn-setup rhnsd dnf-plugin-spacewalk osad
sudo dnf remove rhnlib

  7. Download the CA certificate file. 

    sudo wget -q -O /usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT

  8. Register the system. 

    sudo rhnreg_ks --sslCACert=/usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT --serverUrl=https://olmsvr_FQDN/XMLRPC --activationkey=activation_key

  9. Enable and start the osad service. 

    sudo systemctl enable osad
sudo systemctl start osad

Registering a Client System Only

Beginning from Oracle Linux 7 Update 1, and on Oracle Linux 8 Update 3 updated with the latest packages from either ULN or yum.oracle.com, you can register a client prior to installing the client software. Previously, client software installation was a prerequisite to registration.

To register an Oracle Linux server as an Oracle Linux Manager client:

  1. Download the CA certificate file to the client server using one of the following methods:

    • Using a browser:

      Download http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT to the /usr/share/rhn directory.

    • Using a command line, for example wget. 

      sudo wget -q -O /usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT http://olmsvr_FQDN/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT

  2. Register the client with Oracle Linux Manager with the appropriate certificate. 

    sudo rhnreg_ks --sslCACert=/usr/share/rhn/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT --serverUrl=https://olmsvr_FQDN/XMLRPC --activationkey=activation_key

    If you need to re-register an Oracle Linux Manager client with an Oracle Linux Manager server, additionally specify the --force option.

To subsequently install client software, subscribe the server to the appropriate Oracle Linux Manager client software channel. Then perform the procedures in Installing Oracle Linux Manager Client Software and Registering the Client System depending on the Oracle Linux version that your system is running.

Oracle recommends that you install Oracle Linux Manager client software after registration to support all of the features provided by Oracle Linux Manager, which include provisioning and auditing.

Upgrading the Spacewalk Client to Oracle Linux Manager 2.10

After you have upgraded to the Oracle Linux Manager server, the Spacewalk client remains registered to that server and continues to have access to the server's channels. However, the Oracle Linux Manager Client channels for the Oracle Linux versions that are in use need to be added and synchronized for the client. Follow these steps:

  1. On the Oracle Linux Manager server, configure the Oracle Linux Manager Client channels.

    Choose one of the following methods:

    Using a browser

    1. Follow the steps in Using the Oracle Linux Manager Web Interface to configure repositories. For the URL of the source repository package, specify https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL7/oraclelinuxmanager210/client/x86_64.

    2. Follow the steps in Using the Oracle Linux Manager Web Interface to configure software channels. For the channel name, specify Oracle Linux 7 (x86_64) Oracle Linux Manager 2.10 Client.

    Using the repo_create and softwarechannel_create commands

    1. Follow the steps in Using the repo_create Command to configure repositories. For the URL of the source repository package, specify https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL7/oraclelinuxmanager210/client/x86_64.

    2. Follow the steps in Using the softwarechannel_create Command to configure software channels. For the channel name, specify Oracle Linux 7 (x86_64) Oracle Linux Manager 2.10 Client.

    Using the spacewalk_common_channels command

    Type the following command: 

    sudo spacewalk-common-channels -v -u swadm -p swadm_passwd  -a x86_64 -k unlimited 'oraclelinuxmanager210-client'

    For more information about this command, see Obtaining Packages From the Oracle Linux Yum Server.

  2. Synchronize the newly created Oracle Linux Manager Client Channel with the source repository.

    For the different methods of synchronizing channels, see Synchronizing Software Channels.

  3. Remove the current client access to the Spacewalk 2.7 Client channel and add access to the Oracle Linux Manager 2.10 Client channel.

    1. On the Oracle Linux Manager web interface, select Systems, and then System Groups.

    2. Create a group and add all of your clients to the group.

      If necessary, create multiple groups to which you assign specific collections or groups of clients.

    3. Use the System Set Manager option to do the following:

      • Unsubscribe the groups from the Spacewalk 2.7 Client channel.

      • Subscribe the groups to the Oracle Linux Manager 2.10 Client channel.

    4. Click Alter Subscriptions.

    5. Click Change Subscriptions.

      Depending on the number of clients, the subscription changes might take a while to complete. Ensure that you allow enough time for the changes to be processed.

    For more detailed instructions on working with groups, see Setting Up System Groups.

  4. Update the client and osad packages.

    For this step, you would run the following commands: 

    sudo systemctl stop osad
sudo yum upgrade rhn-client-tools rhn-check rhn-setup rhnsd m2crypto yum-rhn-plugin osad
sudo systemctl start osad

    Choose one of the following methods to execute these commands:

    • Run the commands in each client's terminal.

    • Use Oracle Linux Manager's Remote Management feature to run these commands in a remote script.

      For instructions, see Running Command Scripts on Remote Clients.