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Looking at Foreman 2.0

Upstream Foreman has had an update and now moved to a new major version, time to take a quick look at what is different with this Foreman. I am testing this on CentOS 7.8 with the latest updates as of today. Here’s […]

Here’s the offical release notes for Foreman 2.0
Here’s the offical Quick Start guide to install Foreman 2.0

Here’s a quick copy and paste to get you started

yum update -y
yum install epel-release -y
yum -y install https://yum.theforeman.org/releases/2.0/el7/x86_64/foreman-release.rpm
yum -y install https://yum.puppet.com/puppet6-release-el-7.noarch.rpm
yum -y install foreman-release-scl
yum -y install foreman-installer

Make sure to add in /etc/hosts your FQDN if you do not have an external DNS configured.

[root@foreman2 ~]# cat /etc/hosts
192.168.1.149 foreman2.local.lab.net foreman2
127.0.0.1   localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4
::1         localhost localhost.localdomain localhost6 localhost6.localdomain6

Run the installer and hopefully you get the Success message with the login and password.

foreman-installer
Preparing installation Done                                              
  Success!
  * Foreman is running at https://foreman2.local.lab.net
      Initial credentials are admin / XXXXXX
  * Foreman Proxy is running at https://foreman2.local.lab.net:8443
  The full log is at /var/log/foreman-installer/foreman.log

Open up the firewall por

firewall-cmd --add-port=8443/tcp --permanent
firewall-cmd --reload

Looks like the login GUI has changed compared to previous version, similar to what we see on Satellite 6.7 now as well.

Once you login, everything else looks to be the same from previous versions of Foreman. A lot of the changes seem to be under the hood, particularly with the databases which is a good indication of what a future Red Hat Satellite release will be using. This was the biggest giveaway in the release notes:

“Starting with Foreman 2.0, we are consolidating on PostgreSQL as the only supported database. RPM based installations will also upgrade PostgreSQL to use version 12 from SCL instead of the default version 9.2 shipped in EL7 repositories. Katello 3.15, that will be released for compatibility with 2.0, will also start the migration to using the PostgreSQL-based Pulp 3. Initially file and container content types will be switched to Pulp 3 followed by more types in future releases. This means that Katello users will eventually enjoy a single database instead of needing to manage multiple ones (as Pulp 2 is based on MongoDB). For MySQL users, there are migration instruction in the 1.24 manual. Note that this migration must be done prior to upgrading to Foreman 2.0.”

This does seem to sound that MongoDB will no longer be part of Red Hat Satellite which is used by Pulp with the migration to Pulp 3. One less house keeping job to do which should be done every few months and that is the MongoDB repair clean up.

Just a quick blog about how to install Foreman 2.0, it’s fairly easy to get up and running with minimal resources required. I have this running on a VM with 20GB storage x1 vCPU and x4GB vRAM and it doesn’t seem to miss a beat.

Setting up a portable provisioning systems on KVM

Uncategorized

I have been in situations where I need to test a build process on my laptop but do not have the necessary infrastructure setup or available for me. This is an easy way to replicate the entire PXE kickstart process on your […]

Configuring Red Hat Satellite for DHCP, DNS and TFTP

Red Hat

Satellite 6

Part 3: Configuring Red Hat Satellite for DHCP and DNS Now we get into the configuration side on Satellite to get it to perform a basic kickstart for you. We’ll be using the standard templates as you can modify and adjust to […]

Part 3: Configuring Red Hat Satellite for DHCP and DNS

Now we get into the configuration side on Satellite to get it to perform a basic kickstart for you. We’ll be using the standard templates as you can modify and adjust to your liking. First of all, we need to setup Satellite so that it will be our DHCP, DNS and TFTP server using the satellite-installer commands.


# satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
--foreman-proxy-dns true \
--foreman-proxy-dns-managed true \
--foreman-proxy-dns-interface eth0 \
--foreman-proxy-dns-zone lab.laptop.net \
--foreman-proxy-dns-reverse 100.168.192.in-addr.arpa \
--foreman-proxy-dhcp true \
--foreman-proxy-dhcp-managed true \
--foreman-proxy-dhcp-interface eth0 \
--foreman-proxy-dhcp-range "192.168.100.100 192.168.100.150" \
--foreman-proxy-dhcp-gateway 192.168.100.1 \
--foreman-proxy-dhcp-nameservers 192.168.100.2 \
--foreman-proxy-dhcp-server 192.168.100.2 \
--foreman-proxy-tftp true \
--foreman-proxy-tftp-managed true \
--foreman-proxy-tftp-servername 192.168.100.2

Package versions are locked. Continuing with unlock.
Installing             Done                                               [100%]
  Success!
  * Satellite is running at https://satellite.lab.laptop.net

Once you see the success message, head back over to the GUI and we need to do the following.

Subnet:
Infrastructure > Subnets > Create Subnet
Fill out the details as listed in the below images

Populate the page with these subnet details

Move lab.laptop.net to the right on the Domains tab

Select the satellite for these options on the Capsules tab

Assign the organisation to the subnet on the Organizations tab

After this is done, click submit and we have now setup the subnet for provisioning from Satellite.

Click on Infrastructure > Domain > lab.laptop.net

Select the satellite FQDN as the DNS capsule on the Domain tab

Assign the location and Organisation to the domain, similar to how we did this for the subnet. Thats it for the domain configured.

Now to configure the Host Group which we assign to a host we want to kickstart. We are going to keep this fairly simple and barebones.
Configure > Create Host Group

Fill out the name of the host group and where the content will come from

Select the arch, OS, the Sync Content should auto appear, select the default Partition Table and specify a root password

Assign the Host Group the organisation and select the rhel7 activation key on the last tab. We created this when we created the content view.

That’s it, right now we have a Satellite server that is ready to start building hosts. That’s the next part where we create the host and watch it PXE boot.

Installing Red Hat Satellite 6

Red Hat

Satellite 6

Part 2: Installing Red Hat Satellite 6 Let’s get Satellite up and running, we want to try and keep it as light weight as possible as the idea is we are able to keep storage and resources to a minimum since we’re […]

Part 2: Installing Red Hat Satellite 6

Let’s get Satellite up and running, we want to try and keep it as light weight as possible as the idea is we are able to keep storage and resources to a minimum since we’re focusing on build this all on a laptop with KVM. Of course you can replicate this on a much bigger home lab if you have one.

The Satellite VM on KVM will need at least 12GB of Ram and if you can spare, 2 CPU’s. You can get away with around 300GB of storage but the more the better. In this case here I have the VM running on an external 2TB drive via USB3 and it’s not the fastest but still does the job and performs well enough. Once you’ve created a VM with adequate resources, attach the RHEL 7 ISO and start building the machine. Don’t forget to use the network we just created that has no active DHCP.

This is how I did my LVM but you can reduce the sizes as you see fit.

Make sure to configure your network since there is no active DHCP on the subnet

Start building the VM, set a root password and I generally set a local account as well. Once that has finished building, reboot the VM and try and SSH into it from your laptop. It’ll make copying and pasting much easier. The gateway will allow us to get to the internet as we need to register the OS and assign the Satellite subscription to start downloading and installing. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to start building Satellite. You can copy and paste the commands below as well.

# subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-7-server-rpms --enable=rhel-7-server-satellite-6.7-rpms --enable=rhel-7-server-satellite-maintenance-6-rpms --enable=rhel-server-rhscl-7-rpms --enable=rhel-7-server-ansible-2.8-rpms
# yum update
# yum install satellite vim iotop yum-utils -y
# firewall-cmd --add-service=RH-Satellite-6 --permanent
# firewall-cmd --reload

Added some handy tools that we may need if we have to troubleshoot. So since there is no active DNS server on this subnet, we need to modify the /etc/hosts on the OS to allow Satellite to install.

# vim /etc/hosts
192.168.100.2 satellite.lab.laptop.net satellite
127.0.0.1   localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4
::1         localhost localhost.localdomain localhost6 localhost6.localdomain6

Let’s get started installing! Make sure you change the default admin password once you’ve logged in. I usually set it to something simple

#satellite-installer --scenario satellite --foreman-initial-admin-username admin --foreman-initial-admin-password changeme123

Once we have a successful install, open up a browser and browse to the Satellite server now running on your laptop.

Tip: Add the IP into /etc/hosts on your laptop as well so you can browse with the FQDN

From here, you can login and start configuring around, my advice is that change the default download policy to “immediate” from “on-demand”. You may not have access to internet all the time and having the content stored locally avoids any awkward moments. Navigate to Administrator, Settings, Content and scroll down.

Add the manifest that you were able to generate from the Red Hat Portal and start uploading. This is where the time consuming process begins because we want to enable the necessary repositories and start downloading them. Head over to Content and Red Hat Repositories. Let’s start with enabling the basic few that we need to get going (RHEL 7) and that would be:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Server RPMs x86_64 7Server rhel-7-server-rpms
Red Hat Satellite Tools 6.7 for RHEL 7 Server RPMs x86_64 rhel-7-server-satellite-tools-6.7-rpms
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Server Kickstart x86_64 7.8 rhel-7-server-kickstart

You can add more if you want such as Extra’s, RH Common, Software Collections and Optional but this will use more storage and just be prepared for the long initial sync times.

Once you have the repositories that you want, it’s time start putting them into a content view and create an activation key. Navigate over to Content and Content Views and click Create New View on the right. Give it a name, I called mine rhel7 and click Save.

Add the three repositories and click Publish New Version and then Save. This will take a short while so let that run and create the activation key at the same time. Navigate to Content and Activation Key, fill in the details that are required and click save.

Assign a valid Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription and then click add. Navigate to Repoistory Set” Tick the limit to environment checkbox and make sure the Satellite Tools repo has been overridden to Enabled.

That’s it! At this point you can even register an already built host to Satellite but we want to kickstart a new build.

A portable PXE/Kickstart provisioning systems through KVM

Red Hat

Satellite 6

Part 1create a new subnet through KVM with no default DHCP KVM is great, comes with your choice of Linux flavour and is a breeze to get up and running. I use it on stand alone servers and on my laptop to […]

Blocking malicious IP’s and spammers on my blog

Uncategorized

One thing I knew is that running a blog, it would be a hit for spam and thousands of unauthorised login attempts to the admin portion of the page. I installed a few plugins to help secure the site and would recommend […]

Adding non RHEL products to your Red Hat Satellite 6

Red Hat

Satellite 6

Red Hat Satellite 6 has features that allow you to import content that is not Red Hat related and distribute this content across your Linux fleet. If you are on a disconnected environment and you want to ensure that you are […]

Checking which errata is outstanding from the Red Hat Satellite 6 GUI

Red Hat

Satellite 6

In the light of the latest vulnerabilities Meltdown and Spectre, it is recommended to patch your services as soon as possible to minimise any exposure. There are multiple ways to check which errata and patching is outstanding on your RHEL hosts. If […]

Populating your air gapped Red Hat Satellite 6

Red Hat

Satellite 6

One of the great features that I have become accustomed to using in Red Hat Satellite 6, is the ability to provide content and patching services to your entire Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) fleet on an air gapped network. Anyone that […]

Learning to love Red Hat Satellite 6

Open Source

Red Hat

Satellite 6

Red Hat Satellite 6 is one beast of a product based on various upstream projects and brought together by Red Hat. Satellite 6 can certainly change theway you manage your Red Hat Enterprise Linux fleet and simplify your tasks in configuration management, patch […]