Switching from Red Hat Network to Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN)

Updated: 10 February, 2011

Purpose

This document describes how to connect to the Oracle Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) to obtain software updates. It outlines the steps needed to switch a server installed with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 4 or Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server version 3, Update 8 or Update 9 from Red Hat Network(RHN) to Unbreakable Linux Network(ULN).

Activating a Server installed with Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server

If you have a server installed with Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server, you need to perform the following steps to obtain software updates via Oracle's Unbreakable Linux Network:

Verifying Minimum Software Requirements

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Oracle's uln_register program will allow you to switch to ULN if you are running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

Oracle's up2date program will allow you to switch to ULN if you are running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 up to and including Update 6

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4

Oracle's up2date program will allow you to switch to ULN if you are running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 up to and including Update 8

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3

Oracle's up2date program will allow you to switch to ULN if you are running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 Update 8 or later

Ensure you have a valid support Oracle Linux Services Agreement

Support contracts for Oracle Linux can be purchased through the Oracle Unbreakable Linux Store, from your sales representative or via an authorized reseller.

Downloading the packages required to register your system to ULN

A new version of the packages has been made available to allow access to ULN, you can find these packages here:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3

Installing Registration Packages on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

  1. Ensure you have downloaded the required packages listed above.
  2. To upgrade the existing packages already on your server, use the following command (assuming both the tar files are in the current directory):
    # tar -xzf uln_register.tgz 
    # tar -xzf uln_register-gnome.tgz (only if rhn-setup-gnome is already installed)
    # cd uln_migrate 
    # rpm -Uvh *.rpm
           

Installing up2date on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

  1. Ensure you have downloaded the appropriate up2date RPM(s) listed above for your server's architecture
  2. To upgrade the existing up2date packages already on your server, use the following command:
    # rpm -Uvh up2date-5.10.1-40.8.*.rpm up2date-gnome-5.10.1-40.8.*.rpm
Note: if you don't have up2date-gnome installed, use the following command:
# rpm -Uvh up2date-5.10.1-40.8.*.rpm

Installing up2date on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4

  1. Ensure you have downloaded the appropriate up2date RPM(s) listed above for your server's architecture
  2. To upgrade the existing up2date packages already on your server, use the following command:
    # rpm -Uvh up2date-4.8.1-40.1.*.rpm up2date-gnome-4.8.1-40.1.*.rpm
Note: if you don't have up2date-gnome installed, use the following command:
# rpm -Uvh up2date-4.8.1-40.1.*.rpm

Installing up2date on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3

  1. Ensure you have downloaded the appropriate up2date RPM(s) listed above for your server's architecture
  2. Upgrade the existing up2date packages already on your machine via rpm:
    # rpm -Uvh up2date-4.5.5-40.7.*.rpm up2date-gnome-4.5.5-40.7.*.rpm 
Note: if you don't have up2date-gnome installed, use the following command:

# rpm -Uvh up2date-4.5.5-40.7.*.rpm

Import Oracle's GPG Key (not required for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6)

To import Oracle's GPG key, run the following command as the root user:

  rpm --import /usr/share/rhn/RPM-GPG-KEY

Create a ULN Account

Before you can register a server, you must first create a ULN account. You can create a ULN account here: linux.oracle.com/register

Register your system with ULN

To register your system, run the following command as the root user in a terminal window or on the command line:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

  uln_register

Follow the instructions on the screen and provide the requested information. uln_register will also collect machine information and upload it to our server.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

  up2date --register

Follow the instructions on the screen and provide the requested information. up2date will also collect machine information and upload it to our server.

Known Issues

up2date -u on ia64 results in RPM error (Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and 5 only)

You may see the following harmless error for the first time you run up2date -u on a ia64 server after switching to ULN:

There was a fatal RPM error. The message was:
Failed running rpm transaction
Please run up2date -p if you see this error.

Previous custom configurations

If you have previously customized your configuration file /etc/sysconfig/rhn/up2date, installing above mentioned packages will leave your configuration file intact. Configuration file designed to work with ULN will be placed in /etc/sysconfig/rhn/up2date.rpmnew To register with ULN, please put the appropriate configuration file in place as follows:

 cd /etc/sysconfig/rhn
 cp up2date up2date.bak
 cp up2date.rpmnew up2date

Additional Assistance

You can get help in the following ways: