Configuration of UP2DATE for Red Hat 9.0 with a Red Hat Subscription Account


This tutorial is for setting up the use of the UP2DATE faciilty using a Red Hat Network subscription account. This author believes that it is the easiest way to maintain the operating system, and show my support for the product!

  1. To run UP2DATE, you must be logged in as root.
  2. To set up the RHN client side application, either select it from the start up list, or perform the action when the system is booted for the first time after an installation.
  3. The first screen that is presented is the RHN registration welcome page;



    If you do not have a user id or subscription, you can register a "Demo" account. If you do have a Red Hat subscription, have your username and password ready, because you are going to need it. Click on the "Foreward" button in the lower right to continue.
  4. The next screen is for user registration;



    Enter the user name and password of your Red Hat RHN account, or register a new account. To register a new account, simply fill in a user name, select a strong password, and enter a valid email address. Red Hat will email confirmation of the demo account to you later. You can also convert the demo account to a paid subscription, as well.
  5. Part of the registration process involves the creation of a hardware profile for the operating system that you are running. One of the ways that Red Hat does it's lisencing is by hardware profile and operating system level.



    The hardware profile that is being submitted for your system is shown. Click on the Forward button in the lower right hand side of the pop up window to continue.
  6. The next part of the registration process involves the creation of a system software profile for the operating system that you are running. One of the ways that Red Hat does it's lisencing is by hardware profile and operating system level.



    The system software profile that is being submitted for your system is shown. Click on the Forward button in the lower right hand side of the pop up window to continue.
  7. The final part of the registration process involves the creation of a system RPM package profile for the operating system that you are running.



    The system package profile that is being submitted for your system is shown. Click on the Forward button in the lower right hand side of the pop up window to continue.
  8. The next screen is the confirmation screen that the profiles are being transmitted to Red Hat for compilation, and maintenance determination;




    Click on the "Forward" button in the lower right side of the pop up to continue, and you will see Red Hat sending the profiles.
  9. The next step in the process is the channel selection. If you are already a subscription holder, this will be pre-chosen for you;



    Click on the "Forward" button in the lower right side of the pop up to continue.
  10. Once the channels are selected, the UP2DATE script will determine any necessary packages that are needed to update, or correct issues in your installation;



    There is no input required from you during this phase, just sit back and watch it work!
  11. Once all available packages fixes are resolved, a list of the updates available will be displayed in a list for your selection;



    If you are unsure, or this is the first UP2DATE pass after an installation, it is recommended that you select all packages. In most cases, it's unwise to pick and choose, unless you are an expert user.
    Click on the "Forward" button in the lower right side of the pop up to continue.
  12. Once package dependencies are resolved (You will see a momentary pop up), the download of the packages will commence;



    There is no input required by you during this process. How long the download takes is porportional to the amount of data that has to be downloaded, and the speed of your network connections. When the download is compelete,
    click on the "Forward" button in the Lower right of the pop up to continue. Don't worry, Linux will not let you click the button until it's all done!
  13. The next step is to install the packages that were downloaded;



    There is no input required by you during this process. How long the installation takes is porportional to the amount of data that has to be installed. When the installation is compelete,
    click on the "Fowrward" button in the Lower right of the pop up to continue. Don't worry, Linux will not let you click the button until it's all done!
  14. Finally, a summary screen is presented to show what packages were installed.



    That's it! Click on the Exit button to finish, and close the window! Some updates may require that you boot the computer, while others may not. If so instructed to reboot, please do so.