How to utilize Activation Keys with Virtual Datacenter (VDC) Subscriptions

Solution Verified - Updated

Environment

  • Red Hat Satellite 6

Issue

  • Using an Activation Key when registering consumes a physical subscription instead of the Virtual Datacenter Entitlement (VDC - Derived SKU)

Resolution

  1. Install and configure virt-who.

  2. Attach Virtual Datacenter subscriptions to VMware ESXi Hosts/Hypervisors in the Satellite WebUI.

  3. Restart virt-who service. After the mapping is completed, the Virtual Datacenter Subscription (DERIVED SKU) will be populated under the "Red Hat Subscriptions" section of the Satellite WebUI.

  4. Create an Activation Key with no subscriptions and Auto-Attach enabled

  5. Register the virtual machine using the newly created Activation Key (Note: If multiple activation keys are used, the primary key with auto-attach and no subscriptions must be the first key in the comma separated list on the CLI):

     # subscription-manager register --activationkey=primaryKey,secondaryKey --org "$ORG"

  6. Disable any auto-activated repositories:

     # subscription-manager repos --disable=*

  7. Enable the necessary repos on the system (refer to the Installation Guide for the list of repos needed for the software being installed):

     # subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-7-server-rpms --enable=example-repo

For more KB articles/solutions related to Virt-who and Virtual Datacenter (VDC) Subscriptions Issues, please refer to the Consolidated Troubleshooting Article for Virt-who and Virtual Datacenter (VDC) Subscriptions Issues

Root Cause

  • Activation Key assigns subscriptions not associated with the Activation Key.
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