Red Hat Satellite Deployment Playbook

This Ansible playbook automates the deployment of Red Hat Satellite 6.16 on RHEL 9. It handles the complete installation process including system preparation, package installation, and post-installation configuration.

Requirements

System Requirements

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.x
• Minimum 20GB RAM
• Minimum 4 CPU cores
• A valid Red Hat subscription, including the free tier, with Satellite entitlements
• Network connectivity to Red Hat's CDN

Ansible Requirements

• Ansible 2.9 or later
• Python 3.x
• firewalld module
• Access to target system with sudo privileges

Pre-Installation Steps

Before running the playbook, ensure:

1. The target system is registered with Red Hat Subscription Manager
2. Required repositories are available
3. The system meets minimum hardware requirements
4. Network connectivity is properly configured

What the Playbook Does

Pre-Tasks

1. Verifies system requirements (RAM, CPU)
2. Disables all repositories
3. Enables required RHEL and Satellite repositories based on system architecture. i.e., ARM or x86
4. Updates all system packages
5. Installs Satellite and chronyd packages
6. Configures firewall ports (80, 443, 5647, 8140, 9090)
7. Enables and starts chronyd service

Main Tasks

1. Runs Satellite installer with configuration for:
   • Admin username and password
   • Initial organization and location
   • Ansible plugin
   • Discovery plugin
2. Waits for services to start
3. Performs post-installation health checks

Post-Installation Verification

1. Verifies Satellite services are operational
2. Runs comprehensive health checks
3. Verifies web interface accessibility
4. Collects diagnostic information if any checks fail

Configuration Variables

Key variables that can be customized:

satellite_admin_username: "admin"
satellite_admin_password: "changeme123"
satellite_organization: "Default Organization"
satellite_location: "Default Location"
required_memory_gb: 20
required_cpu_cores: 4

Usage

1. Update your inventory file with the target host:

[satellite]
satellite.example.com ansible_host=192.168.1.6

2. Run the playbook:

ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini satellite-deploy.yml

Post-Installation Steps

After successful deployment:

1. Access the web UI at https://your-satellite-hostname
2. Log in with the configured admin credentials
3. Configure repositories and sync plans
4. Add content views and activation keys

Troubleshooting

If installation fails, the playbook collects diagnostic information including:

• Satellite installer logs
• Foreman logs
• PostgreSQL status
• Service status

Common issues can be diagnosed using:

satellite-maintain health check
satellite-maintain service status

Firewall Configuration

The playbook configures the following ports:

• 80/tcp (HTTP)
• 443/tcp (HTTPS)
• 5647/tcp (Puppet)
• 8140/tcp (Puppet CA)
• 9090/tcp (Smart Proxy)

Support

For additional support:

• Consult the Red Hat Satellite Documentation
• Contact Red Hat Support