Hello, and welcome to today's video presentation on Enabling Oracle Ksplice (online mode) using
Oracle Linux 8.
In this video, we will show how to register an Oracle Linux 8 system for online mode updates
with the Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) and install the Oracle Ksplice packages.
So let us get started.
Oracle Ksplice addresses a specific problem for system administrators when patching Linux
systems.
Traditional patching requires a system administrator to obtain and install the updated RPMs, schedule
system downtime, and reboot the server to consume specific updated packages.
This process has become more difficult and costly as environments are more complex, with
many interdependencies.
Further, users expect the services and applications to remain undisrupted as possible.
Oracle Ksplice updates the running operating system without requiring a reboot.
A Ksplice update takes effect immediately upon applying, which is different from a traditional
on-disk change that requires a subsequent reboot.
Ksplice provides a way to update the running systems with the latest kernel and critical
user-space security and bug fix updates.
Oracle creates each Ksplice update from a package update that originates either from
Oracle or from the open-source community.
Despite these Ksplice fixes, system administrators still require on-disk updates to ensure all
packages are at the most recent version.
The system uses on-disk updates if there is a restart of the hardware or processes.
On-disk updates are handled by subscribing to Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) or by using
a local ULN mirror and running DNF.
When applying Oracle Ksplice updates, multiple methods exist depending on your architecture.
The first choice to make is the online mode or offline mode.
The online mode requires the system to have access to the internet and connect to the
Oracle Unbreakable Linux Network.
Offline mode does not require access to the network but expects the system administrator
to either set up a ULN mirror or make the Ksplice update locally available.
Offline mode also expects the installation of the offline versions of the Ksplice packages.
In this video, we will focus on the online mode; therefore, the setup and registration
using offline mode are out of scope.
The next choice to make is which client package to use to manage updates.
Oracle provides two Ksplice clients, both using the same configuration file.
The Enhanced Client supports both kernel and user-space updates along with patching the
Xen hypervisor on Oracle VM Server Release 3.4.5 and later.
Meanwhile, the Uptrack Client only supports updating the kernel.
After installing the packages, the system administrator configures the client to apply
the patches manually using the different Ksplice client commands or sets the client to install
the updates automatically.
Details on executing these client commands are available in our other Ksplice videos.
Now that we covered an overview of Oracle Ksplice, let us install it.
To install and use Oracle Ksplice, we will need to register with the Unbreakable Linux
Network (ULN).
Open a browser and go to linux.oracle.com.
If you do not yet have an account on ULN, click the Register link on the right.
This link will redirect you to linux.oracle.com/register.
Pick the appropriate button based on if you have an Oracle Single Signon Account or not.
Since I already have an account, I will return to the main page and click on the Sign In
link.
Log in with your Oracle Single Signon Account credentials.
Once logged into ULN, verify your Customer Support Identifier, also known as a CSI, is
linked to your account.
In the upper right corner, click on Profile.
Under the My CSIs section, you should have your Oracle Linux CSI listed.
If not, click the Add Row button.
Double click in the field, enter or paste your CSI and then click the Save button.
If you need additional information on CSI Administration, more details exist in the
Oracle Linux Documentation.
Now return to your system's terminal to register the system with ULN.
Install the ULN registration package by typing sudo dnf install rhn-setup.
Next, start the registration process by typing sudo uln_register.
Typing this command will open a text user interface (tui) and prompt for your registration
information.
Use the TAB, Arrow, Spacebar, and Enter keys to move through the interface.
Read the registration instructions and then TAB to the Next button and hit ENTER.
Enter your Oracle Single Signon Login, Single Signon Password, and CSI to the appropriate
text fields.
TAB to the Next button and hit ENTER.
Type a profile name.
By default, the registration will use the system hostname.
I accepted the default.
Choose to include, the default option, or not include information about hardware and
network.
Use the TAB key to navigate to the [*] selection.
Press the SPACEBAR to deselect this option if you do not want to include the hardware
and network data in your Profile.
Once a choice has been made, TAB to Next button and hit ENTER.
Registration includes all RPM packages installed on the system in the System Profile as a default.
If there are any you wish to deselect, move through the list using TAB and ARROW keys.
Use SPACEBAR to select or deselect.
Once you are done making choices, TAB to the Next button, and hit ENTER.
Read the collecting information summary and hit ENTER on the Next button.
Now the registration process uploads the Profile to the Unbreakable Linux Network.
Next, you get a prompt asking if you want to Configure rootless updates.
Confirming yes will enable the main Ksplice channel in ULN.
Accept the default of Yes.
Tab to the OK button and hit ENTER.
Review your subscription details and then TAB to the OK button and hit ENTER.
The registration process reminds you to run a dnf update.
TAB to the Finish button and hit ENTER.
That completes the registration step.
Once the terminal returns to the prompt, go back to the browser.
In the browser, refresh the ULN page, if necessary, and go to the Home page.
On the Home page, the Oracle Linux 8 system we just registered will display under Recently
Registered Systems.
Click the system name.
This step redirects to the Systems >> System Details page.
The page displays the system-specific details, subscribed channels, and available errata.
In the Subscribed Channels pane, click Manage Subscriptions button on the right.
From the Available box under Subscriptions >> Channels, double click the Ksplice aware
user-space packages option to add it to the Subscribed box.
Click the Save Subscriptions button.
If you need additional information on using ULN, you can read more details in the Oracle
Linux Documentation.
Now with both of the Ksplice channels added, go back to the system's terminal.
Install Ksplice by typing sudo dnf install ksplice uptrack -y.
This command will install both the Enhanced and Uptrack Client packages along with any
dependencies.
During installation, DNF will display a message that the system is receiving updates from
ULN.
For the Enhanced Client, install the Ksplice aware versions of the user-space libraries.
Type sudo dnf --disablerepo=* --enablerepo=ol8_x86_64_userspace_ksplice update.
The Enhanced Client also needs the glibc* and openssl* patterns.
Install the pattern packages by typing sudo dnf install uptrack-updates-$(uname -r).
That completes the installation of all necessary packages.
Ksplice keeps its configuration in /etc/uptrack/uptrack.conf.
Review the file by typing sudo tail -n 25 /etc/uptrack/uptrack.conf.
If you want to install all available updates
at boot time automatically, edit the configuration and uncomment the option upgrade_on_reboot
= yes.
If you want to apply updates via a scheduled cron job automatically, edit the configuration
and set the option autoinstall = no to yes.
To finalize the installation, reboot the system by typing sudo systemctl reboot.
Thank you for watching this video and enjoy exploring the benefits of Oracle Ksplice.
Additional information is available on Ksplice and other Linux topics in the Oracle Linux
8 Documentation or Oracle Linux Learning Library.