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Chapter 4. Red Hat Network Website
4.6. Channels
If you click the Channels tab on the top navigation bar, the Channels category and links appear. The
pages in the Channels category enable you to view and manage the channels and packages associated
with your systems. In addition, you can obtain ISO images here.
4.6.1. Software Channels
The Software Channels page is the first to appear in the Channels category. A software channel is a
list of Red Hat Linux packages grouped by use. Channels are used to choose packages to be installed
on a system.
There are two types of software channels: base channels and child channels. A base channel consists
of a list of packages based on a specific architecture and Red Hat Linux release. For example, all the
packages in Red Hat Linux 7.1 for the x86 architecture is a base channel. The list of packages in Red
Hat Linux 7.1 for the Itanium architecture is a different base channel. A child channel is a channel
associated with a base channel but contains extra packages. For example, an organization can create a
child channel associated with Red Hat Linux 7.1 for the x86 architecture that contains extra packages
needed only for the organization, such as a custom engineering application.
A system must be subscribed to one base channel only. This base channel is assigned automatically
during registration based upon the Red Hat Linux release and system architecture selected. In the case
of public free channels (RHL 6.2, 7.x, 8.0), the action will succeed. In the case of Red Hat Enterprise
Linux AS and other paid base channels, this action will fail if an associated entitlement doesn't exist.
A system can be subscribed to multiple child channels of its base channel. Only packages included in
a system's subscribed channels can be installed or updated on that system. Some customers, such as
those using RHN Satellite and Proxy, have channel management authority. This authority, granted by
RHN as a separate role to certain customers, gives them the ability to create and manage their own
custom channels.
Channels can be further broken down by their relevance to your systems. Two such lists emerge:
Relevant and All.
4.6.1.1. Relevant Channels
As shown in Figure 4-6, the Relevant Channels page is shown by default when you click Software
Channels in the left navigation bar. It displays a list of channels now associated with your systems.
Links within this list go to different tabs of the Software Channel Details page. Clicking on a channel
name takes you to the Details tab. Clicking on the packages number takes you to the Packages tab.
And clicking on the systems number takes you to the Subscribed Systems tab. Refer to Section
4.6.1.3 Software Channel Details for details.
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