Registering SUSE Linux Enterprise Clients

This section contains information about registering clients running SUSE Linux Enterprise operating systems.

Use the instructions in this chapter for preparing all SUSE Linux Enterprise products, including:

  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP

  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop

  • SUSE Linux Enterprise

  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time

You can also use these instructions for older SUSE Linux Enterprise versions and service packs.

1. Add Software Channels

In the following section, descriptions often default to the x86_64 architecture. Replace it with other architectures if appropriate.

Before you register SUSE Linux Enterprise clients to your Uyuni Server, you need to add the required software channels, and synchronize them.

The products you need for this procedure are:

Table 1. SLE Products - WebUI
OS Version Product Name

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 x86_64

Procedure: Adding Software Channels
  1. In the Uyuni Web UI, navigate to Admin  Setup Wizard  Products.

  2. Locate the appropriate products for your client operating system and architecture using the search bar, and check the appropriate product. This will automatically check all mandatory channels. Also all recommended channels are checked as long as the include recommended toggle is turned on. Click the arrow to see the complete list of related products, and ensure that any extra products you require are checked.

  3. Click Add Products and wait until the products have finished synchronizing.

Alternatively, you can add channels at the command prompt. The channels you need for this procedure are:

Table 2. SLE Products - CLI
OS Version Base Channel

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6

sle-product-sles15-sp6-pool-x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5

sle-product-sles15-sp5-pool-x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4

sle-product-sles15-sp4-pool-x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3

sle-product-sles15-sp3-pool-x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2

sle-product-sles15-sp2-pool-x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1

sle-product-sles15-sp1-pool-x86_64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5

sle-product-sles15-sp5-pool-x86_64

To find channel names of older products, at the command prompt on the Uyuni Server, as root, use the mgr-sync command:

mgr-sync list --help

Then specify the argument you are interested in. For example, channels:

mgr-sync list channels [-c]
Procedure: Adding Software Channels at the Command Prompt
  1. At the command prompt on the Uyuni Server, as root, use the mgr-sync command to add the appropriate channels:

    mgr-sync add channel <channel_label_1>
    mgr-sync add channel <channel_label_2>
    mgr-sync add channel <channel_label_n>
  2. Synchronization starts automatically. If you want to synchronize the channels manually, use:

    mgr-sync sync --with-children <channel_name>
  3. Ensure the synchronization is complete before continuing.

To add the client tools, add these channels from the command prompt:

Table 3. SUSE Linux Enterprise Channels - CLI
OS Version Client Channel

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6

sles15-sp6-uyuni-client

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5

sles15-sp5-uyuni-client

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4

sles15-sp4-uyuni-client

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3

sles15-sp3-uyuni-client

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2

sles15-sp2-uyuni-client

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1

sles15-sp1-uyuni-client

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5

sles12-sp5-uyuni-client

Procedure: Adding Software Channels at the Command Prompt
  1. At the command prompt on the Uyuni Server, as root, use the spacewalk-common-channels command to add the appropriate channels:

    spacewalk-common-channels \
    <base_channel_label> \
    <child_channel_label_1> \
    <child_channel_label_2> \
    ... <child_channel_label_n>
  2. If automatic synchronization is turned off, synchronize the channels:

    spacewalk-repo-sync -p <base_channel_label>
  3. Ensure the synchronization is complete before continuing.

2. Check Synchronization Status

Procedure: Checking Synchronization Progress from the Web UI
  1. In the Uyuni Web UI, navigate to Software  Manage  Channels, then click the channel associated to the repository.

  2. Navigate to the Repositories tab, then click Sync and check Sync Status.

Procedure: Checking Synchronization Progress from the Command Prompt
  1. At the command prompt on the Uyuni Server, as root, use the tail command to check the synchronization log file:

    tail -f /var/log/rhn/reposync/<channel-label>.log
  2. Each child channel generates its own log during the synchronization progress. You need to check all the base and child channel log files to be sure that the synchronization is complete.

SUSE Linux Enterprise channels can be very large. Synchronization can sometimes take several hours.

3. Manage GPG Keys

Clients use GPG keys to check the authenticity of software packages before they are installed. Only trusted software can be installed on clients.

Trusting a GPG key is important for security on clients. It is the task of the administrator to decide which keys are needed and can be trusted. Because a software channel cannot be used when the GPG key is not trusted, the decision of assigning a channel to a client depends on the decision of trusting the key.

For more information about GPG keys, see GPG Keys.

Use the same GPG key for both SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 clients. The correct key is called sle12-gpg-pubkey-39db7c82.key.

4. Register Clients

To register your clients, you need a bootstrap repository. By default, bootstrap repositories are automatically created, and regenerated daily for all synchronized products. You can manually create the bootstrap repository from the command prompt, using this command:

mgr-create-bootstrap-repo

For more information on registering your clients, see Client Registration.