Manage custom repositories

Use the RHEL Custom Repository Management dashboard to register and manage standard repositories and satellite repositories.

With the RHEL Custom Repository Management Support, users of Patch Management for Red Hat Native tools sites can:

  • Use the dashboard to register, unregister, add, delete, and import custom repositories and Red Hat Network satellites.
  • Deliver custom software through BigFix. Support for custom repositories leverages on existing local repositories to save bandwidth and improve performance.
Instead of following the current BigFix infrastructure which allows Fixlets in the RHEL native tools to download the patches directly from the Red Hat servers, the Fixlets now allow YUM to download from local repositories.
Ensure that you have met the following requirements:
  • BigFix 9.2 and later versions.
  • RHEL versions 6 and later.
  • Minimum YUM version: YUM 3.2.19-18
  • Subscribe to the Patching Support site.
  • Activate the Repository Configuration - Red Hat Enterprise Linux analysis from the Patching Support site to access the dashboard.
  • Enable the following tasks:
    • Enable custom repository support - Red Hat Enterprise Linux
    • Disable custom repository support - Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  • Users of the custom repository must register the RHSM download plug-in to avoid download errors. Registration is required though the data that the download plug-in generates will not be used. You can register the download plug-in through the Manage Download Plugins dashboard. There is no need to set up the certificates.
Note: The dashboard does not support the creation and maintenance of local repositories. You must create local repositories separately.

Using custom repositories can give you the flexibility to control what can be deployed to the endpoints in your deployment. For example, you can deploy custom software that you are hosting in your custom repositories.

Use the Install packages by using the YUM task from the Patching Support site to install custom software that are in your custom repositories.

Differentiating between repository and satellite

You can use standard and Red Hat Network satellite repositories in the dashboard. For both types of repositories, ensure that the repositories and satellites are updated. Actions might fail if the packages are not available.

Repository
This type refers to standard software repositories, which are storage locations from which users can retrieve packages. The RHEL Custom Repository dashboard does not add physical repositories. You must do this separately. To learn about creating repositories, see the Red Hat documentation: https://access.redhat.com/site/documentation/en-US/.
Satellite
This type refers to the Red Hat Network (RHN) Satellite, a Red Hat product which manages patches and subscriptions. These satellite repostories can mirror the patches from Red Hat. Satellite repositories provide a local copy of the Red Hat patch content repositories which are synched to the Red Hat network.
Note: The dashboard only runs the bootstrap channels. Satellite channels cannot be configured through the dashboard. The channels that the endpoints use must be configured through the satellite servers.