Errata Notifications And Scheduled Package Installations; Security, Quality Assurance, And Red Hat Network; Before You Begin - Red Hat NETWORK 3.2 - MANAGEMENT Reference Manual

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verify local configuration files against those stored by RHN, and deploy files from RHN. Further,
custom configuration channels can be created to help manage this process.
Snapshot Rollbacks — Provisioning-level users have the ability to revert the package profile, con-
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figuration files, and RHN settings of systems. This is possible because snapshots are captured when-
ever an action takes place on a system. These snapshots identify groups, channels, packages, and
configuration files.
Custom System Information — Provisioning customers may identify any type of information they
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choose about their systems. This differs from the more rigorous System Profile information and the
completely arbitrary Notes in that it allows you to develop specific keys of your choosing and then
assign searchable values for that key to each Provisioning-entitled system. For instance, this feature
would allow you to identify the cubicle in which each system is located.
1.5. Errata Notifications and Scheduled Package Installations
You can configure the Red Hat Network to send you email notifications of new and updated software
packages as soon as the packages are available through RHN. You can also schedule package installs
or package updates. The benefits include:
Reduced time and effort required by system administrators to stay on top of the Red Hat Errata list
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Minimized security vulnerabilities in your network by providing the patches as soon as Red Hat
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releases them
Filtered list of package updates (packages not relevant to your network are not included)
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Reliable method of managing multiple systems with similar configurations
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1.6. Security, Quality Assurance, and Red Hat Network

Red Hat Network provides significant benefits to your network including security and quality assur-
ance. All transactions made between you and Red Hat Network are encrypted, and all RPM packages
are signed with Red Hat's GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) signature to ensure authenticity.
Red Hat Network incorporates the following security measures:
1. Your System Profile available at http://rhn.redhat.com is accessible only with an RHN-verified
username and password.
2. A Digital Certificate is written to the client system after registration and is used to authenticate
the system during each transaction between the client and Red Hat Network. The file is only
readable by the root user on the client system.
3. All notifications and information messages are signed by Red Hat with an electronic signature
using GPG. RPM can be used to verify the authenticity of the package before it is installed.
4. All transactions are encrypted using a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection.
5. All packages are tested and verified by the Red Hat Quality Assurance Team before they are
added to the Red Hat Errata list and Red Hat Network.
Tip
Refer to https://rhn.redhat.com/help/faq/ for a list of Frequently Asked Questions.
Chapter 1. What is Red Hat Network?