[Spacewalk-list] Initial load of Red Hat channel...?

Fri Dec 4 04:28:28 UTC 2009

Ahh, let me guess: In the /etc/hosts file on the Spacewalk server, the
name of of the host is at the end of the '127.0.0.1' line?

This will cause all kinds of grief.  I've no idea why this is the
default behavior but it is, in my overly opinionated opinion, an
insane default.

If this is indeed the case, I'd suggest fixing it and then follow the
instructions at
https://fedorahosted.org/spacewalk/wiki/How_to_rename_or_change_a_satellite_hostname

HTH

CC

On 12/4/09, Robert Kuropkat <rkuropkat at t-sciences.com> wrote:
>
> I don't have PXE, etc. setup yet, but I tried your suggestion of just
> booting from a DVD and giving it the ks parameter.  I think it almost
> worked.  I got the following error:
>
> "Unable to read package metadata.  This may be due to a missing repodata
> directory.  Please ensure that your install tree has been correctly
> generated.  Cannot retrieve reposutory metadata...."
>
> I believe this was because the kickstart file is littered with URLs with
> 'localhost.localdomain' in them.  I was able to get one of the URLs to
> change by hard coding the URL in the Kickstart -> Profiles -> System
> Details -> Advanced options.  But many other URLs still have the
> localhost.localdomain in the URL.
>
> What is considered the preferred way to fix these?
>
> Robert Kuropkat
>
>
> On Wed, 2009-11-25 at 08:11 +0800, Colin Coe wrote:
> > Don't get too hung up on PXE.
> >
> > Spacewalk/Satellite can be configured as a DHCP/TFTP server which is
> > used by the PXE client (server, Fedora desktop, whatever) to get an IP
> > address and grab a kernel + initial ramdisk for booting the installer
> > via TFTP.  That's where PXE comes in.  You could just as easily boot
> > from a USB key or RHEL/Fedora CD/DVD and type "linux
> > ks=http://spacewalk.server.com/ks/cfg/org/1/label/test-ks2 ip=1.2.3.4
> > etc"
> >
> > As for setting up the Kickstart trees, follow
> > https://fedorahosted.org/spacewalk/wiki/HowToKickstartCobbler.  I hate
> > to admit it, but this process has gotten a lot more involved since
> > v0.4 and is not as clear.  Follow the instructions with the knowledge
> > that 'this is what you have to do', understanding will come.
> >
> > The clear advantage of Satellite over Spacewalk is that sync'ing RHEL
> > content is easy.  If you have less than 50 physical nodes, my
> > understanding is that special pricing is available from RedHat.  One
> > of my clients bought Satellite and they only had 20 or so physical
> > boxes so they paid about a third of the Satellite retail price.  YMMV.
> >
> > Spacewalk/Satellite will give you the automated installs you want but
> > it will give you much more.  The API set is huge and at a previous
> > client site I tied the monitoring system and Satellite together so
> > that any new Linux nodes were automatically added to the monitoring
> > system.  I choose not to your the inbuilt Satellite monitoring as it
> > didn't easily do what I wanted (red light/green light monitoring,
> > trending and alerting).  What Satellite/Spacewalk can do is limitted
> > by your imagination and coding skills.
> >
> > You can't make a RHEL ISO from the Satellite server although this is
> > functionality I've requested in the past.  I think the request was
> > rejected as it also needed work done in Anaconda (the installer).
> >
> > Hope I've helped and not rambled to much (I have a habit of doing that)
> >
> > CC
> >
> > On Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 7:34 AM, Robert Kuropkat
> > <rkuropkat at t-sciences.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > That's another thing I am not clear on yet, but I have more reading to
> > > do still.  Does Spacewalk serve as a network (PXE) install server?  Or
> > > does it just store the kickstart files?  Or does it need the kickstart
> > > files to determine what packages to keep up to date on each server.
> > >
> > > My end goal is an automated install.  Obviously, there are many ways to
> > > go about that, but I thought Spacewalk would provide automated installs
> > > as well as provide a useful foundation for on going maintenance.
> > >
> > > I'm not sure yet what my target environment will be, but suspect a
> > > combination of being able to install/update over the network from this
> > > server, install from a CD (hopefully made from this server) and install
> > > from another Spacewalk server (or proxy) based on having to sneaker net
> > > files to it (thus my reason for wanting to understand how to setup rpms
> > > from CD even though I have a valid RHN account).
> > >
> > > Robert Kuropkat
> > >
> > >
> > > On Wed, 2009-11-25 at 07:19 +0800, Colin Coe wrote:
> > >> Just remember that putting RPMs into a channel is step one, you also
> > >> need to get the kickstart trees into Spacewalk if you want to do
> > >> provisioning (building systems).
> > >>
> > >> CC
> > >>
> > >> On Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 6:46 AM, Robert Kuropkat
> > >> <rkuropkat at t-sciences.com> wrote:
> > >> >
> > >> > hehehe, I am starting to work that out :-)
> > >> >
> > >> > Right now I've hit pause on this for a couple more hours.  I'm tired of
> > >> > Windows 7 blue screening on me and corrupting my VMs, so I am trying to
> > >> > get my Ubuntu partition functional.
> > >> >
> > >> > I hope to be back on this later tonight or tomorrow.
> > >> >
> > >> > Right now, I think I've been able to load the rpms from the iso using
> > >> > rhnpush and I used the web GUI to initiate a load of rpms from the RHN
> > >> > Extras site.  This gave me about 6,000 rpms in this channel.
> > >> >
> > >> > Now, whether that did something useful or not, I'm not sure.  I'll try
> > >> > to recreate it soon and see if I can subscribe a system to that channel
> > >> > and do updates.
> > >> >
> > >> > 'preciate all the help from everyone so far...
> > >> >
> > >> > Robert Kuropkat
> > >> >
> > >> >
> > >> > On Wed, 2009-11-25 at 06:41 +0800, Colin Coe wrote:
> > >> >> Robert,
> > >> >>
> > >> >> RHN Satellite != Spacewalk
> > >> >>
> > >> >> There are a lot of similarities but they are not the same, esp. when
> > >> >> dealing with RHEL products.
> > >> >>
> > >> >> CC
> > >> >>
> > >> >> On Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 12:33 AM, Robert Kuropkat
> > >> >> <rkuropkat at t-sciences.com> wrote:
> > >> >> >
> > >> >> > now see, that almost makes sense.  It does not appear to be what the
> > >> >> > documentation actually says, though maybe I am misreading it.  it talks
> > >> >> > about copying the files from the ISO and then goes right to the
> > >> >> > satellite-sync import.  I'm on page 47 of the install guide and rhnpush has
> > >> >> > not even been mentioned yet.  Perhaps the Channel Management guide is more
> > >> >> > detailed and I should skip to it...
> > >> >> >
> > >> >> > Robert Kuropkat
> > >> >> >
> > >> >> >
> > >> >> > Josh.Mullis at cox.com wrote:
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> The ISO's they are speaking of are the same one you downloaded on your
> > >> >> >> first thread.
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> They are saying that to save time, download the iso, mount it, and import
> > >> >> >> into spacewalk via the rhnpush utility.
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> This means it will not take as long to sync the channel from RHN via the
> > >> >> >> rhnget command, because most of the packages are already there.
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> ----- Original Message -----
> > >> >> >> From: spacewalk-list-bounces at redhat.com
> > >> >> >> <spacewalk-list-bounces at redhat.com>
> > >> >> >> To: spacewalk-list at redhat.com <spacewalk-list at redhat.com>
> > >> >> >> Sent: Tue Nov 24 11:07:25 2009
> > >> >> >> Subject: Re: [Spacewalk-list] Initial load of Red Hat channel...?
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> I still need to look into these packages.  Last night I accidentally
> > >> >> >> imported 3817 packages on accident, not exactly sure what.  I guess part of
> > >> >> >> what is irritating me is the following paragraph from the Satellite Server
> > >> >> >> Installation guide:
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> The Red Hat Network Channel Content ISOs or RHN Satellite Exporter data
> > >> >> >> must be available, or the Satellite must have access to the Internet and the
> > >> >> >> RHN website.
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> Although it is possible to conduct the import directly from the RHN
> > >> >> >> website, this should be done only if Channel Content ISOs are not available.
> > >> >> >> It takes a long time to populate a channel from scratch over the Internet.
> > >> >> >> For this reason, Red Hat urges you to use ISOs, if they are available, for
> > >> >> >> initial import.
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> So how the hell does one get the "Red hat Network Channel Content ISOs"?
> > >> >> >>  I have a valid RHN login but the iso's I download don't seem to have the
> > >> >> >> Channel Content info?  Or am I just on crack?  I mean I try not to read
> > >> >> >> documentation very often but would appreciate it to be correct when I do
> > >> >> >> bother... :-)
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> Robert
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> Josh.Mullis at cox.com wrote:
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>> Look into rhnget and gensystemid from the mrepo package.
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>> You can use that to sync the rhel rpms locally, then use rhnpush to
> > >> >> >>> import into spacewalk.
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>> ----- Original Message -----
> > >> >> >>> From: spacewalk-list-bounces at redhat.com
> > >> >> >>> <spacewalk-list-bounces at redhat.com>
> > >> >> >>> To: spacewalk-list at redhat.com <spacewalk-list at redhat.com>
> > >> >> >>> Sent: Mon Nov 23 21:37:40 2009
> > >> >> >>> Subject: Re: [Spacewalk-list] Initial load of Red Hat channel...?
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>> yea, in the little reading I recall on it, I gave it a confused dog look
> > >> >> >>> and just hoped I did not really need that.  So I'll look a little harder at
> > >> >> >>> it unless this other thing actually works accidentally.  But it sounds like
> > >> >> >>> even though I am getting nearly 4,000 packages it is still only part of what
> > >> >> >>> I need.
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>> Thanks for the info...
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>> Colin Coe wrote:
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>>>
> > >> >> >>>> I didn't like mrepo as:
> > >> >> >>>> a) I didn't find it at all intuitive
> > >> >> >>>> b) unless you do some fancy scripting you end up all the RHEL (and/or
> > >> >> >>>> EPEL) content twice on your filesystem
> > >> >> >>>>
> > >> >> >>>> CC
> > >> >> >>>>
> > >> >> >>>> On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 10:24 AM, Robert Kuropkat
> > >> >> >>>> <rkuropkat at t-sciences.com> wrote:
> > >> >> >>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>> hmmm... Well that makes a little more sense I guess.  I think it did/is
> > >> >> >>>>> syncing the epel repo, which is of course not what I wanted but would
> > >> >> >>>>> imply
> > >> >> >>>>> that process would work if I can dredge up the correct url.
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>> I did see something about spacewalk-repo-sync but I think that requires
> > >> >> >>>>> a
> > >> >> >>>>> URL as well, not local media.
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>> I do seem to have a sync process running, so I am not sure if it is
> > >> >> >>>>> because
> > >> >> >>>>> I clicked on the sync button multiple times or what.  Nothing is
> > >> >> >>>>> showing up
> > >> >> >>>>> in the Schedule tab in Space walk under pending, failed, completed or
> > >> >> >>>>> archived so I don't really understand what state this process is in.
> > >> >> >>>>>  There
> > >> >> >>>>> is a /var/log/rhn/rhn_taskomatic_daemon.log file that is showing a lot
> > >> >> >>>>> of
> > >> >> >>>>> hibernate and java null pointer errors so that does not seem promising.
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>> Actually, it looks like something might be happening now, I might have
> > >> >> >>>>> just
> > >> >> >>>>> been impatient.  There is now file in /var/log/rhn/reposync that is
> > >> >> >>>>> growing
> > >> >> >>>>> and shoes 754/3817.... and my little VM has gotten sluggish as hell.
> > >> >> >>>>>  So
> > >> >> >>>>> maybe it is downloading everything for a complete RH 5.2?
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>> Of course, that kinda sucks because I was about to give up and go home.
> > >> >> >>>>>  Now
> > >> >> >>>>> I have to stay and wait it out :-/
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>> Robert
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>> P.S.  What is mrepo and what did you not like about it?  I thought I
> > >> >> >>>>> saw
> > >> >> >>>>> that mentioned somewhere in my reading but don't recall now...
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>> Colin Coe wrote:
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>> My understanding is that satellite-sync does not work with Sapcewalk
> > >> >> >>>>>> but I'm not 100% on that.
> > >> >> >>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>> http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/5/i386/ is the location for
> > >> >> >>>>>> EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux), not for RHEL.
> > >> >> >>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>> a minute or two after clicking sync repo, do a 'ps -ef | grep sync' to
> > >> >> >>>>>> see if you have any spacewalk-repo-sync processes running.  I think
> > >> >> >>>>>> the logs are under /var/satellite/sync_repo or something similar.
> > >> >> >>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>> I ended up using mrepo to do this but I was less than happy with it.
> > >> >> >>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>> CC
> > >> >> >>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>> On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 9:51 AM, Robert Kuropkat
> > >> >> >>>>>> <rkuropkat at t-sciences.com> wrote:
> > >> >> >>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>> I seem to be missing something obvious.  I've installed Red Hat 5.2
> > >> >> >>>>>>> (in a
> > >> >> >>>>>>> VirtualBox VM) and installed Spacewalk.  Now I need to create my
> > >> >> >>>>>>> first
> > >> >> >>>>>>> channel.  I downloaded Red Hat 5.2 and copied the ISO to the file
> > >> >> >>>>>>> system
> > >> >> >>>>>>> and
> > >> >> >>>>>>> tried:
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>> satellite-sync --list-channels --mount-point /var/rhn-sat-import/rhel
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>> It fails saying it is unable to process file
> > >> >> >>>>>>> /var/rhn-sat-import/rhel/channel_families/channel_families.xml
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>> Sure enough, that file is not there.  I read the documentation on how
> > >> >> >>>>>>> to
> > >> >> >>>>>>> get
> > >> >> >>>>>>> the channel iso but it only gives me an iso without the channel
> > >> >> >>>>>>> information.
> > >> >> >>>>>>>  The documentation does not seem to exactly describe the web ui
> > >> >> >>>>>>> navigation
> > >> >> >>>>>>> through the RHN web site so I'm not sure if the documentation is
> > >> >> >>>>>>> slightly
> > >> >> >>>>>>> out of date and I am guessing wrong, or if there is some other detail
> > >> >> >>>>>>> I
> > >> >> >>>>>>> am
> > >> >> >>>>>>> missing.
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>> I do also see the URL for repo sync in Spacewalk, but don't
> > >> >> >>>>>>> understand
> > >> >> >>>>>>> what
> > >> >> >>>>>>> the URL should be for Red hat version 5.2.  I put in this:
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>> http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/5/i386/
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>> And it said repository sync scheduled, but I see no evidence it
> > >> >> >>>>>>> actually
> > >> >> >>>>>>> did
> > >> >> >>>>>>> anything...  okay wait, before I hit send I went and looked again and
> > >> >> >>>>>>> it
> > >> >> >>>>>>> does look like it did something, just not what I wanted it to.  So
> > >> >> >>>>>>> maybe
> > >> >> >>>>>>> the
> > >> >> >>>>>>> URL above is just incorrect?  How do I setup a local Red Hat 5.2
> > >> >> >>>>>>> repo?
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>> Any help appreciated.
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>> Robert Kuropkat
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>> _______________________________________________
> > >> >> >>>>>>> Spacewalk-list mailing list
> > >> >> >>>>>>> Spacewalk-list at redhat.com
> > >> >> >>>>>>> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/spacewalk-list
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>> _______________________________________________
> > >> >> >>>>> Spacewalk-list mailing list
> > >> >> >>>>> Spacewalk-list at redhat.com
> > >> >> >>>>> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/spacewalk-list
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>>
> > >> >> >>>>
> > >> >> >>>>
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>> _______________________________________________
> > >> >> >>> Spacewalk-list mailing list
> > >> >> >>> Spacewalk-list at redhat.com
> > >> >> >>> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/spacewalk-list
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>> _______________________________________________
> > >> >> >>> Spacewalk-list mailing list
> > >> >> >>> Spacewalk-list at redhat.com
> > >> >> >>> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/spacewalk-list
> > >> >> >>>
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> _______________________________________________
> > >> >> >> Spacewalk-list mailing list
> > >> >> >> Spacewalk-list at redhat.com
> > >> >> >> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/spacewalk-list
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >> _______________________________________________
> > >> >> >> Spacewalk-list mailing list
> > >> >> >> Spacewalk-list at redhat.com
> > >> >> >> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/spacewalk-list
> > >> >> >>
> > >> >> >
> > >> >> > _______________________________________________
> > >> >> > Spacewalk-list mailing list
> > >> >> > Spacewalk-list at redhat.com
> > >> >> > https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/spacewalk-list
> > >> >> >
> > >> >>
> > >> >>
> > >> >>
> > >> >
> > >> >
> > >> > _______________________________________________
> > >> > Spacewalk-list mailing list
> > >> > Spacewalk-list at redhat.com
> > >> > https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/spacewalk-list
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> > > https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/spacewalk-list
> > >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
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