Red Hat NETWORK 3.2 - PROVISIONING, Reference Manual

Page: 11 / 128

Chapter 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 found only the source files that you had to compile
yourself?
Have you ever spent hours or even days visiting 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 (collectively known
as Errata Alerts) can be downloaded directly from Red Hat. You can even have updates scheduled to
be delivered directly to your system as soon as they are released.
The main components of Red Hat Network are as follows:
•
The Red Hat Update Agent
•
The Red Hat Network Website
•
Red Hat Network Daemon
•
The
Red Hat Network Registration Client
- for systems running Red Hat Linux 6.2-7.3 and Red
Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 only.
The Red Hat Update Agent provides your initial connection to the Red Hat Network. Once regis-
tered, it enables channel subscription, package installs, and management of System Profiles. Red Hat
Linux 8.0 systems will even use the Red Hat Update Agent to be registered to RHN. See Chapter 2
Red Hat Update Agent
for further information.
You can use either of the two Red Hat Network user interfaces:
•
https://rhn.redhat.com
•
The
Red Hat Update Agent
Both the website and the
Red Hat Update Agent
allow you to view Errata Alerts from 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.
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 5 Red Hat Network Daemon
for further information). This daemon is necessary if you want to schedule updates or other actions
through the website.
The
Red Hat Network Registration Client
allows you to register your older Red Hat Linux (prior to
8.0) and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (2.1) systems with RHN. Registration involves creating a unique
RHN username and password, probing the hardware on your system to create a Hardware Profile, and