Chapter 5.
RHN Package Manager
The RHN Package Manager is a command line tool that allows an organization to serve
local packages associated with a private RHN channel through the RHN Proxy Server. If
you want the RHN Proxy Server to update only official Red Hat packages, do not install
the RHN Package Manager.
To use the RHN Package Manager, install the
rhns-proxy-package-manager
package
and its dependencies.
Only the header information for packages is uploaded to the RHN Servers. The headers are
required so that RHN can resolve package dependencies for the client systems. The actual
package files (
*.rpm
) are stored on the RHN Proxy Server.
The RHN Package Manager uses the same settings as the Proxy, defined in the
/etc/rhn/rhn.conf
configuration file.
5.1. Creating a Private Channel
Before local packages can be provided through the RHN Proxy Server, a private channel
is needed to store them. Perform the following steps to create a private channel:
1. Log in to the RHN Web interface at https://rhn.redhat.com.
2. Click
Channels
on the top navigation bar. If the
Manage Channels
option is not
present in the left navigation bar, ensure that this user has channel editing permissions
set. Do this through the
Users
category accessible through the top navigation bar.
3. In the left navigation bar, click
Manage Software Channels
and then the
create
new channel
button at the top-right corner of the page.
4. Select a parent channel and base channel architecture, then enter a name, label, sum-
mary, and description for the new private channel. The channel label must: be at least
six characters long, begin with a letter, and contain only lowercase letters, digits,
dashes (-), and periods(.). Also enter the URL of the channel’s GPG key. Although
this field is not required, it is recommended to enhance security. For instructions on
generating GPG keys, refer to the
RHN Channel Management Guide
.
5. Click
Create Channel
.
