Red Hat NETWORK 3.6 - CHANNEL MANAGEMENTT GUIDE Manual

Also see for NETWORK 3.6 -: Configuration guide Reference guide

Contents

Red Hat NETWORK 3.6 - CHANNEL MANAGEMENTT GUIDE Manual Manual pdf 7 page image

Chapter 2.Introduction to RHN ChannelsA Red Hat Network channel is a collection of packages. Channels help to segregate packages bysensible rules: a channel may contain packages from a specific Red Hat distribution, for instance. Achannel may contain packages for an application or family of applications. Users may also definechannels for their own particular needs; a company may create a channel that contains packages forall of the organization’s laptops, for example.2.1. Base Channels and Child ChannelsThere are two types of channels: base channels and child channels. A base channel consists of pack-ages based on a specific architecture and Red Hat Enterprise Linux release. A child channel is achannel associated with a base channel that contains extra packages.A system must be subscribed to one base channel and one base channel only. A system can be sub-scribed to multiple child channels of its base channel. Only packages included in a system’s subscribedchannels can be installed or updated on that system through Red Hat Network.When a system is registered with Red Hat Network, it is assigned to the base channel that correspondsto system’s version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Once a system is registered, its default base channelmay be changed to a private base channel; these changes can be made on a per-system basis in theRHN website.On the Red Hat Network website, the Channels page (located under the Channels tab in the topnavigation bar) provides a list of all base channels and their child channels. Clicking on the nameof a channel displays the Channel Details page, which provides a list of all of the packages in thatchannel, its Errata, and any associated systems.Remember, two different types of ISOs are available through the RHN website. Distribution ISOs rep-resent distributions of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system and contain only the packages.Channel Content ISOs, visible only to Satellite customers, also contain metadata in the form of XMLthat enable the Satellite to properly parse and serve the packages. Distribution ISOs can be found inthe Easy ISOs page and the Downloads tab of the respective Channel Details page. Channel ContentISOs exist only on the Downloads tab of the Satellite’s Channel Details page.2.2. Subscribing to ChannelsSystems may be subscribed to channels in the following ways:• Registration through activation keys — Because of the simplicity and speed of activation keys, thisis the preferred method for registering systems as clients of either RHN Proxy Server or RHN Satel-lite Server. Systems registered using an activation key are subscribed to all channels associated withthat activation key. For more information on activation keys, consult the RHN Client ConfigurationGuide and the RHN Management Reference Guide.• Install registration — When a system is initially registered through either the Red Hat UpdateAgent or the Red Hat Network Registration Client, it is automatically assigned to the base chan-nel that corresponds to the version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the system. For more informationon using these applications, refer to the respective chapter of the RHN Reference Guide for yourentitlement level (Management or Provisioning).• Website subscription — Various specific child channels are available for subscription, dependingon the system’s base channel. The system may be subscribed to the child channel through the RHNwebsite. Customers who have created their own base channels may also reassign systems to these