To ensure proper interaction between the Satellite Server and the host, use the timedatectl command and the chronyd tool to verify the date and time synchronization on both systems.

[root@host ~]# timedatectl
               Local time: Sat 2022-07-02 00:46:59 UTC
           Universal time: Sat 2022-07-02 00:46:59 UTC
                 RTC time: Sat 2022-07-02 00:46:59
                Time zone: Etc/UTC (UTC, +0000)
System clock synchronized: yes
              NTP service: active
          RTC in local TZ: no
[root@host ~]# chronyc -n tracking
Reference ID    : AABB9E51 (170.187.158.81)
Stratum         : 3
Ref time (UTC)  : Sat Jul 02 00:48:11 2022
System time     : 0.000105229 seconds fast of NTP time
Last offset     : +0.000024272 seconds
RMS offset      : 0.000482713 seconds
Frequency       : 3.516 ppm fast
Residual freq   : -0.001 ppm
Skew            : 0.049 ppm
Root delay      : 0.079555474 seconds
Root dispersion : 0.002648601 seconds
Update interval : 1029.6 seconds
Leap status     : Normal

On the host, update the subscription-manager and dnf packages to the latest versions.

[root@host ~]# dnf update subscription-manager dnf

To use the registration method by installing the RPM consumer certificate, download the RPM from the Satellite Server. Satellite generates this RPM package when you install it and provides correctly signed certificates for secure communication between the content host and Satellite Server. The consumer certificate RPM updates the content source location of the host and allows the host to download content from the specified content source in Satellite.

[root@host ~]# dnf localinstall \
  http://satellite.example.com/pub/katello-ca-consumer-latest.noarch.rpm

The method of generating a curl command to run on the host uses two templates: the global registration template and the host initial configuration template. To set up these templates by default, navigate to Administer → Settings and click the Provisioning tab.

To generate a curl command, as the admin user on the Satellite Server web UI, ensure that the correct organization and location are set, and navigate to Hosts → Register Host. You can customize different options for the host registry in this menu, such as Host Group, Activation Keys, Lifecycle environment, and Capsule. After you select the chosen options, click Generate.

Run the curl command as the root user on the host to register.

[root@host ~]# curl -sS https://satellite.example.com/register ...

To register the host by installing the downloaded RPM with the consumer certificate, clean old registration data from the host.

[root@host ~]# subscription-manager clean

Register the host to a chosen organization on Satellite Server by using a username and password with sufficient privileges. For example, enter the authentication information for the admin user on Satellite Server.

[root@host ~]# subscription-manager register --org organization_label
Registering to: satellite.example.com:443/rhsm
Username: admin
Password: password
The system has been registered with ID: f134704d-3b8d-4a03-b0c1-e2b8491c4bdc
The registered system name is: host.example.com

After registering to Satellite Server, a host gains access to the repository contents.

The remote execution feature works as the preferred way to manage the package content on hosts. Remote execution uses the SSH service and SSH keys for authenticating connections. The SSH service must be enabled and running on the target host for the remote execution feature to work. To run commands in a remote host, you must first define them as a job template. You can run this job template multiple times and you can customize the job with variables in your commands for more granular control over the jobs that you run, besides the use of host facts and parameters to populate the variable values.

However, in this Satellite version, you can still use the Katello agent to manage packages and errata on managed hosts. The Katello Agent is deprecated and will be removed in a future Satellite version.

Install and use the Katello agent to manage packages and errata on the managed host.

[root@host ~]# dnf install katello-agent

To verify the successful registration of a host to Satellite Server, ensure that the organization and location context are set. Then, navigate to Hosts → Content Hosts. If the registration was successful, then the host is listed in the table.

Activation keys simplify initial content host configuration and apply it consistently across hosts for repeated use, providing a method to automate host registration. You can create these keys by associating them with different lifecycle environments and content views. Activation Keys are discussed in a later section in this chapter.

Using the --environment option overrides the environment lifecycle and content view that the activation key defines.

[root@host ~]# subscription-manager register --org organization_label \
 --environment Development/MyView \
 --activationkey MyKey

Creating and managing activation keys is discussed in a later section.

Subscriptions originate from the subscription manifest that is uploaded to an organization.

Simple Content Access changes subscription management from a per-system model to a per-organization model. When this optional feature is enabled for a Satellite organization, entitlement subscriptions no longer need to be individually attached to each host for each required repository. Instead, an organization's entitled repositories are enabled at the organization level, and become available for immediate use on all registered hosts in that organization, with necessary limitations from your content views.

In the per-system model, hosts must be attached to subscriptions to access product content. To modify a content host's subscription, on the Satellite web UI as the admin user, use the context menu to select the registered host's organization. Click Hosts → Content Hosts and click the name of the host to modify. In the Subscriptions section, make the changes to the host's subscription.

To remove a subscription, select its checkbox on the List/Remove tab and click Remove Selected. To add a subscription, select its checkbox on the Add tab and click Add Selected.

Subscriptions grant hosts access to Red Hat products and their repositories. Not all repositories are enabled by default. Select which repositories to enable for a host by modifying the product content settings in the Satellite web UI.

Use the context menu to select the registered host's organization. Navigate to Hosts → Content Hosts and click the name of the host to modify. Then, click the Repository Sets tab. The available products and repositories are displayed. Update the status entry and select the checkbox next to the repository to modify. Then, select the appropriate setting from the Select Action list.

[root@host ~]# subscription-manager refresh
All local data refreshed