Satellite 6 refers to provisioning provider platforms as compute resources, which can be categorized into three provisioning types: bare metal, virtualization, and cloud. Each provisioning type has unique technical implementation features that determine the available tools and methods for provisioning hosts on each platform.

Most platforms also use their own form of a compute profile, where users can predefine hardware, such as CPUs, memory, and storage. The following narrative describes the provisioning types; lists the supported compute resources for each; and provides a brief summary of the contrasting provisioning characteristics:

For PXELinux provisioning, Satellite is capable of working with both BIOS and UEFI firmware and interfaces. Satellite can initially discover available blank hosts, and detect and store their hardware as a ready-to-provision host list.

To configure Satellite to work with a provisioning provider, navigate to Infrastructure → Compute Resources and click Create Compute Resource to create a provider connection. Enter a name to identify the resource, and select the provider type from the Provider list.

Figure 9.1: Provider types for compute resources

The platform type selection determines all the remaining fields on this screen. Typically, a compute resource connection requires a URL for the platform location, a username and password with sufficient privileges, and the needed security and structure information to deploy systems to the correct data centers, clusters, or projects on the platform.

The information that Satellite stores in compute profiles is specific to the platform that you create it for. To configure a compute profile, navigate to Infrastructure → Compute Profiles and click Create Compute Profile. Choose an existing compute resource that defines the provider connection for which you want to use the compute profile. The selected compute resource determines the remaining fields on this screen. Typically, a compute profile specifies the CPU, memory, storage allocation, network interface configuration, an image to use, and additional platform-specific parameters.

Throughout this course, you create resources that are necessary for successful provisioning. The following list summarizes these necessary resources:

You must ensure that those provisioning resources are available in the correct organization and location provisioning contexts. When these resources are ready, host provisioning begins by creating a host in the Satellite web UI.

To provision a host, you first create a host resource in Satellite Server for that host. The host resource groups all the resources that you prepared previously, such as the domain, the subnet, and the operating system. These resources define the templates to use for provisioning. The host resource can also provide an activation key for registration.

When you have similar hosts to create, Red Hat recommends that you first create a host group resource. A host group provides default values for all the provisioning parameters. Creating a host resource involves selecting the appropriate host group and setting the few remaining specific parameters.

Host groups simplify the host creation process and support consistent provisioning.

To create a host group, navigate to Configure → Host Groups, and then click Create Host Group. Choose a descriptive name for the host group, complete the form, and then click Submit.

You can do the same from the command line by using the hammer hostgroup create command. Run the hammer hostgroup create --help command to list all the parameters that you can define in a host group.

You can nest host groups in hierarchies. The idea is to create a base, or parent, host group that contains all the generic parameters for your organization. Then, you create nested, or child, host groups under that parent, to provide more specific settings (for example, to configure web servers or database servers).

Unattended provisioning is the simplest form of host provisioning. Enter the host details on Satellite and network boot your host. Satellite automatically manages the PXE configuration, organizes networking services, and provides the operating system and configuration for the host.

To create a host for unattended provisioning, navigate to Hosts → Create Host and enter a name for the new host. Ensure that the organizations and locations are set to your provisioning context requirements. Select a host group from the Host Group list for information to populate this screen. Configure networking parameters by editing the interface settings, including a fully qualified domain name and a MAC address, and ensure that the Managed, Primary, and Provision options are selected for the first interface.

Verify that the Operating System tab's fields contain valid values. Click Resolve in the Provisioning template to confirm that the new host can identify the right provisioning templates to use. Click the Parameters tab, and ensure that a parameter exists that provides an activation key. If the parameter does not exist, then add an activation key. Click Submit to save the host details.

You can accomplish the same task from the command line:

[root@demo_satellite]# hammer host create --name unattended_hostname \
--organization example --location location1 \
--hostgroup host_group1 --mac aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff \
--build true --enabled true --managed true

The created host entry includes all necessary provisioning settings and parameters for PXE to boot the bare-metal host. When network-booted, the host uses PXE to interact with the relevant Capsule Server DHCP service. From the DHCP service, the host obtains its assigned IP address and the needed information to load the boot image from the configured TFTP service. Then, the Capsule Server installs the operating system from the assigned Kickstart tree.

As part of the provisioning process, Satellite creates the DNS forward and reverse resolution records in the DNS service's zones. When the installation completes, the host uses the activation key to register to Satellite, and to install the necessary configuration and management tools from the Red Hat Satellite Tools repository. The host is now running and accessible on the network.

When the host configuration screen is completed in the Satellite web UI, the host detail page is displayed. On this page, click Boot disk to select the appropriate boot disk type to generate an iPXE boot image. You can write the generated image to CD, DVD, USB stick, or memory cards, and then boot it locally from the host to initiate bare-metal provisioning. Because the Host image uses user-defined static networking information, it does not require DHCP or TFTP services. This method is then suitable for network environments where administrators who perform provisioning do not have the necessary access or control over network infrastructure.