RHEL Systems Registration Guide

Introduction

The aim of this article is to guide you towards the best registration option for your Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment. Depending on the version and update of your newly installed RHEL server, there are several options.

Quick View Matrix

If you know your RHEL Version and the Subscription Management / Registration Technology you are using, then the links in this table will take you directly to the content that explains that registration method. Choose which method to use by cross referencing your RHEL Version with the technology you will use to register.

If you are unsure which RHEL Version you are running or whether you are using a Red Hat Satellite Server, please see the notes after the table for more information.

Determining the RHEL release

1. Run the following command

   cat /etc/redhat-release
   

2. You will see something similar to

   Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 6.2 (Santiago)
   

3. Use these numbers to determine your version

   • Where the Version or Major number in the example above would be 6
   • Where the Update or Minor number in the example above would be 2

Special Considerations for an HTTP Proxy

If you need to use an HTTP Proxy such as squid to connect to Red Hat Subscription Management, or Red Hat Satellite, then there are additional steps that must be completed before you register the system.

• For Red Hat Subscription Management, the http proxy details must be present in /etc/rhsm/rhsm.conf

      # an http proxy server to use
      proxy_hostname = <ip or fqdn>
  
      # port for http proxy server
      proxy_port = <network port in use (often 3128 or 8080)>
  
      # user name for authenticating to an http proxy, if needed
      proxy_user = <http proxy username (if required)>
  
      # password for basic http proxy auth, if needed
      proxy_password = <http proxy password (if required)>
  

• For more information on configuring and debugging an HTTP Proxy with registration tools, please review:

  • How can I access Red Hat Satellite or Proxy server via an HTTP proxy?
  • How to access Red Hat Subscription Manager (RHSM) through a firewall or proxy
  • This content is not included.How to update packages with (yum/up2date/satellite-sync/rhn_register) on a server registered via RHN Classic through a firewall
  • How to troubleshoot subscription-manager and yum issues ?

Determining the Presence of a Red Hat Satellite or Satellite Proxy

Ideally, you should confirm the presence of Satellite or Proxy server with your organisation's Lead System Administrator, if this course of action is not available, then, subject to your organisation's permissions, you may be able to see if you have a Satellite or Proxy subscription at the This content is not included.Subscription Management Utilization page.

• If you have the Satellite or Proxy address, but have no login details, then you must speak with your Satellite Administrator, as we are unable to provide these details.

Available Registration Technology

There are many available methods to register your system. They can be grouped together by whether or not they are hosted by Red Hat or if they are hosted by your own organisation within your firewall.

Hosted by Red Hat

For Hosted registration, systems can be registered to Red Hat Subscription Management (RHSM) in Customer Portal via Red Hat Subscription Manager which is the new registration tool that is supported in RHEL 5.7 and later, 6.1 and later and RHEL 7.

Hosted on Site

The available on-premise methods are:

• Red Hat Satellite
• Red Hat Satellite Proxy connecting to Red Hat Satellite as upstream server

All versions and releases of RHEL can register against Satellite (RHEL 7 requires Satellite 5.6 or newer).

Deciding Whether to use a Manual or Kickstart Registration

Although we already categorise registration methods by the technology being used to perform the work, we also categorise the registration by whether or not there will be human interaction with the tools when they are run. A scenario where the Administrator is present at the system, has access to the command line, and is intending to only register one (or very few) systems, is referred to as an Manual registration.

Where the Administrators have (or are setting up) an infrastructure for registration, either via kickstart or other means, that allows a system to be automatically registered, we call that Kickstart registration.

Working with virt-who and Virtual Datacenter subscription

• This content is not included.Working with subscriptions that require virt-who (part 5 of the "Subscription-manager for the former Red Hat Network user" series")
• How to subscribe a VMware or Hyper-V guest using "Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Virtual Datacenter subscription"

Offline Registration to Customer Portal Subscription Management

Some systems may not have internet connectivity, but administrators still want to attach and track the subscriptions for that system. This can be done by manually registering the system via the Customer Portal Subscription Management Web UI, rather than depending on Subscription Manager to perform the registration. This has two major steps, first to create an entry on the subscriptions service and then to configure the system. Refer to Red Hat Subscription Management documentation, This content is not included."Registering an Offline System" for steps to create a system profile on Customer Portal Subscription Management for a disconnected system.

Troubleshooting

• How to troubleshoot subscription-manager and yum issues
• RHSM Subscription Issues Troubleshooting Do's and Don'ts

Learn More

• Red Hat Labs Registration Assistant
  • We also have an online tool to assist you in selecting the most appropriate registration technology for your system. If you would prefer to use this tool, please visit This content is not included.This content is not included.https://access.redhat.com/labs/registrationassistant/.
• Red Hat Subscription Management
  • This content is not included.product documentation - Red Hat Subscription Management
  • Red Hat Subscription Management Migration FAQ
  • This content is not included.Red Hat Subscription Management - Migrating to RHSM
  • Why should I use Red Hat Subscription Management?
  • What subscription management services are offered by RHSM?
  • Understanding Red Hat Subscription Management
  • This content is not included.Subscription-manager for the former Red Hat Network User - a multi-part series
  • How to subscribe a VMware or Hyper-V guest using "Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Virtual Datacenter subscription"
• Red Hat Network (RHN) Classic
  • Red Hat Subscription Management Migration FAQ
  • This content is not included.Red Hat Subscription Management - Migrating to RHSM
  • Learn how to This content is not included.Migrate to Red Hat Subscription Management
    • How to migrate a Red Hat Enterprise Linux System from RHN Classic to RHSM
• Red Hat Satellite
  • This content is not included.Customer Portal product overview Page
  • This content is not included.redhat.com product overview Page
  • Learn what's new with Red Hat Satellite 6.2 (current/latest release of Satellite 6): check out the This content is not included.blog post or read product documentation (including Release Notes).
  • Important Changes Coming to Red Hat Satellite 5
  • Learn what's new with Red Hat Satellite 5.8 (latest release and the best choice for long-term use of Satellite 5 if more time is needed to transition to Satellite 6): check out the This content is not included.blog post or read product documentation (including Release Notes).