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7/29/2019 Management eBook
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1 ManagingLinuxinaVirtualorCloudEnvironment
THE KEYtoLinuxManagement
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3 LifecycleManagement101
THISCHAPTERINCLUDES: Theimportanceofprocess Whatislifecyclemanagement RedHatNetworkSatellite
yourmissioncontrol
PROCESS: LOVE IT OR HATE IT (LEARN TO LOVE IT)
Engineers,programmers,andsystemadministratorshavealove-hate
relationshipwithprocess.Theyloveknowingexactlyhowsomething
shouldbedoneandthateverystepcanbetracked.Almostanyonecan
followawell-designedanddetailedprocess.However,theyhatethe
limitedfreedomthatseemstoaccompanythatprocesspreferring
do-it-yourselfapproachesandimmediatequickxes.Thefreedomofablank
pagecanbefunandexciting,butprocessiswhatkeepsyoufromgetting
those3a.m.phonecallstellingyouthatsomethingisseriouslywrong.
Whenanyorganizationmovesbeyondasingle,simpleLinuxserver,
itquicklybecomesclearthattheyneedsomesortofprocesstohelp
decidehoweachservershouldbeprovisioned,congured,andupdated.
Morethanafewhavefollowedthetried-and-truemethodofhandingasystemadministratoraprintoutandtellinghim,Goandbuildthis.See
youinacoupleofdays.
Doesthatreallysoundlikeagoodideaespeciallywhenyouretalkingabout
morethanahandfulofservers?Itgetsworsewhenyoustartthinking
abouthundredsofphysicalserversandTHOUSANDSofvirtualones.
Seriously. You need a process. You need procedures.You need lifecycle management.
CHAPTER 1LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT 101
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LifecycleManagement101 4
WHAT IS LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT?
Lifecyclemanagementisaprocessandtoolsetthatisdesignedto
provideasystematicandrepeatablemethodformanagingeachstage
ofasystemfromconceptionthroughproduction.Afullyrealized
lifecyclemanagementplanincludes:
Systemdesignrequirementsandstandards
Systemandsoftwarelicenseandsubscriptionmanagement
Provisionstandardsandapproaches
Testingandqualityassuranceproceduresandstandards
Productionimplementationsteps
Usage/demandmonitoringandmethodsforreallocation
ofservices
Accesscontrolandsecurity
Complianceandauditingplansandapproaches
Updateandpatchmanagement
Systemmonitoringandalertmethods
Decommissioningandrepositioningplans
Thekeytooperatinganenterpriseenvironmentusingalifecycle
managementapproachisthis:aclearsetofproceduresandatoolset
toexecuteit.Aplanwithoutthetoolscannotbeimplemented,while
toolswithoutaplanwillprovideunpredictableresults.
Asuccessfullifecyclemanagementapproachisthecombinationofa
thoroughandworkablesetofprocedurescombinedwiththerighttoolset.
USE RED HAT NETWORK SATELLITE TO MAKELIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT WORK FOR YOU
So,nowyouvegottheplan,howdoyouputthatplanintoaction?
IfyoureusingRedHatEnterpriseLinux, theansweriseasy:
RedHatNetwork(RHN)Satellite.
RHNSatellitecanbecomethemission controlforyoursystems
throughoutthelifecycleofyourproject.Usingitsweb-basedinterface,
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5 LifecycleManagement101
youcaneasilyprovisionhundredsofserversinamatterofminutes,
keepingthemerror-free,up-to-date,patched,andfullycompliant
allwhiletrackingeveryactionperformed.Youcangrouptheminto
channels,controlaccess,andmonitoreverything.Jobsthatordinarily
takedaysforteamsofsystemadministratorstocompletecannowbe
managedbyoneadministratorinjustminutes.
Whatwouldyoudowithallofthatfreetime?Justthinkofall
thosehumanresourcesthatarenowunchainedfromthedrudgery
ofupdatingandbabysittingsystems.Youcouldbuildnewcustom
applicationsthatyourusershavebeenbeggingfor.Youcouldrewrite
thatancient,butcriticalsystemthatyouvebeennursingalong.
Oryoucouldexpand,scaleup,andgobig.
Theresalottoloveaboutprocessprocessandlifecyclemanagement
canopenuprealfreedom,especiallyifyouuseRHNSatellitetomake
itallhappen.
TELL ME MORE
Wanttolearnmore?Thereareloadsofmaterialsincludingwhitepapers,
casestudies,anddetailedinformationallconvenientlyorganizedon
ourwebsite.Justvisitredhat.com/rhn andgetwiththeprogram.
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PitfallsofaDo-it-Yourself(DIY)ManagementSolution 6
THISCHAPTERINCLUDES:Opensource,freedom,andyourenterprisesystemsWhatarethepitfallsofDIY?RedHatNetworkSatellite:ThecureforDIY
OPEN SOURCE, FREEDOM, AND YOUR ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS
Forengineers,oneofthemostexcitingthingsaboutLinuxisthe
completefreedomtochangeanything.Asinglesystemadministrator,
withenoughtimeandaccesstotheInternet,shouldbeabletobuild,
x,orchangeabsolutelyeverything.WorkingwithLinuxsystemsisa
littlelikebeingasettlerintheWildWest:Justrollupyoursleevesand
digin.Sowhynotdoityourself?
Well,guesswhat,cowboy?Timeistheonethingthatyoudonthavein
unlimitedquantities.
Doingityourselfisaterricwaytolearnandexplore.ManyLinux
administratorsanddevelopersstartoutbybuildingtheirownsystemsathomeandarecontinuallyexperimenting.Thatsterric,butwhen
youcarrythatintoanenterpriseenvironment,evenasmallone,you
begintodiscoverthatitsnotliketheWildWest.Itsmorelikeajungle
lledwithatangleofvines,bottomlesspits,andnastysurprises.
ADIYapproachisagoodwaytolearn;buttobuildandmanagea
systemtorunyourbusiness,youneedprocess,automation,andthe
righttools.YouneedtheoppositeofDIY.
CHAPTER 2PITFALLS OF A DO-IT-YOURSELF (DIY)
MANAGEMENT SOLUTION
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7 PitfallsofaDo-it-Yourself(DIY)ManagementSolution
WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS OF DIY?
Buildasystemovertime,withasuccessionofdo-it-yourselfers,and
whatdoyoutypicallynd?LetslisteninonafewtypicalITquestions
andndout:
NotonlydoDIYsystemsgetthosequickxesthatpopupunexpectedly,
butitcanalsoresultinaproblemknownintechnicaltermsasabigballofmud.Abigballofmudcanalsocontainmoundsofspaghetti
code,whichisjustasunpleasantasitsounds.Thesesystemsarefull
ofundocumentedscripts,patches,andsystemsthatarevirtually
impossibletoscaleuporaudit.
IDONTKNOW,BUTDONTMESSWITHIT.
WHATDOESTHISSCRIPTDO?
OH,WEHAVENTHADTHATINAGES.
NOWHEREIGUESS.
WHEREDOESTHISPROGRAMCALLGO?
THREEDAYS,MAYBEFIVE,
IFNOTHINGELSEGOESWRONG.
HOWLONGWILLITTAKETOBUILD
ANOTHERSERVER?
LETSJUSTHOPETHATNEVERHAPPENS.
IFSTEVEGETSHITBYABUS,
HOWDOWEUPDATETHISSERVER?
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PitfallsofaDo-it-Yourself(DIY)ManagementSolution 8
Thekeytounderstandingwhatyouneedtosuccessfullyrunyour
organizationssystemsisrecognizingthelimitationsofyourexisting
DIYsystem.DIYsystemsaredifculttomaintain,andyoucantjust
throwbodiesatthisproblem.IfyouhaveaDIYsystem,itshardtotrain
someonenewonhowitworksbecausealotofsolutionsarecreated
onthey.Andbigissues,likecomplianceaudits,canbeenormously
painful,time-consuming,andultimatelyabudget-breakingexpense.
WhiletalesoftheWildWestmightsoundlikefun,whatmost
organizationsreallyneedandwantiscalm,predictable,and
reliableresultseverytimeandwithoutdrama.
RED HAT NETWORK SATELLITE: THE CURE FOR DIY
Process,procedure,andlifecyclemanagementmaysoundlikealossof
freedomtothedevoteddo-it-yourselfer,butthetruthisclear:Thisisthe
onlywaytobreakfreefromthedrudgeryofmaintainingaDIYsystem.
RedHatNetwork(RHN)SatelliteaddresseseachpitfalloftheDIY
approachandsetsorganizationsonapathofsane,relaxedmanagement.
WithDIY,youhavechaosthatcanbarelybecontained.
However,RHNSatelliteholdsdownthefortforyou.
DIY RHN SATELLITE
Creatingandtestingnew
systemstakesdaysorlonger
andwithunknownerrors.
Provisionnewsystemsin
minutes100%errorfree.
Scalingcanbeslowandis
alwaysdifcult.
Addhundredsofnew,
perfectlycongured
serversinminuteswith
justafewclicks.
Systemsaremaintainedby
spaghetticode,ducttape,
oradministratorJedimind
tricks(orjustbruteforce).
Easy-to-usewebinterface
tocontroleverythingwith
afewclicks.
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9 PitfallsofaDo-it-Yourself(DIY)ManagementSolution
DIY RHN SATELLITE
Scripts,code,andoperations
areallmaintainedthrough
oraltradition.Nothingiswrittendown.
Fullydocumentedpractice
andprocedures.
Itisverydifculttohireand
trainnewpersonnel.
Professionaltraining
availablefromRedHat.
Whocanyoucallwhen
somethinghasgonewrong?
24X7supportfrom
RedHatengineers.
ManyDIYsystemsstartasanattempttofullycustomizean
environmentforaspecicenterprise.Thatsagreatgoal,but
maintainingandgrowingaDIYsystemistypicallyverydifcult.Unless
everyelementisapproachedwithcarefulplanning,fulldocumentation,
andcontinualmaintenancewithupgrades,itsvirtuallyimpossibleto
keepitfrommorphingovertimeintothatbigballofmudthatyour
staffwillthenworkdayandnighttoprevent.
Perhapsthebiggestsurprise:Whenyoueliminatethebigballofmud,
yoursystemadministratorshavemorefreedomtodothethings
theyreallylove,likebuildingthosenewapplicationsthatcanhelp
yourorganizationbecomemoreproductive,grow,andprosper.RHN
SatelliteistheidealtooltotransformyourRedHatEnterpriseLinux
environmentintosomethingthatseasytomanage,grow,andscale
withoutasinglespeckofmud.
TELL ME MORE
Wanttolearnmore?Thereareloadsofmaterialsincludingwhitepapers,
casestudies,anddetailedinformationallconvenientlyorganizedon
ourwebsite.Justvisitredhat.com/rhn andgetwiththeprogram.
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ManagingLinuxinaVirtualorCloudEnvironment 10
THISCHAPTERINCLUDES:Hey,you,getoffmycloudWhatexactlyisthecloud?Headintheclouds,feetontheground,andusingRedHatNetworkSatellitetomanageitall
HEY, YOU, GET OFF MY CLOUD
Youknowsomethingishappeningwhenevenconsumersstartdropping
computingterminologyintodailyconversation.Everybodyseemsto
betalkingaboutit.Cloudcomputingisthelatest,greatestthing.And
whoknows?Runningsystemsinthecloudmaybejustthethingtohelp
controlcostsandofferupunlimitedprocessingpowertosmallandlarge
enterprisesalike.
Backintheday,youhadyourdatacenteranenormousopenspace
withraisedoors,brightlights,andthedroneofairconditioning.Even
thebiggestenterprisescouldgetbyprettyeasilychurningthrough
batchjobsovernight,processingorders,invoicing,andpayroll
allonthebigmachinessittingintheirowndatacenters.Lifewasgood(although
thoseplatterdriveswereprettyheavy).Now,multinationalcorporations
operateoutofwhatsometimeslookslikeanapartmentonerackof
bladeserversmayrepresentallofthehardwaretheydirectlyown.
Youcallthatadatacenter?
Therearenomoresimplebatchjobstoprocessovernight:The
demandforservicescontinuestoskyrocket,andemployeeshavemorecomputingpowerontheirdesktopsorintheirpocketsthanthose
giantdatacentersofthirtyyearsagoeverdid.Evenyourcustomers
aremakingincreasingdemandsonyoursystemssurngyoursitefor
information,buyingthingsfromyou,andusingthosenewservicesyou
CHAPTER 3MANAGING LINUX IN A VIRTUAL
OR CLOUD ENVIRONMENT
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11 ManagingLinuxinaVirtualorCloudEnvironment
rolledout.Someorganizations,maybeyours,havetobuildsystems
aroundasinglepeakseasonoreventduringtheyear,suchastaxtime,
holidayshopping,ortheSuperBowlcreatingsystemsspecictothat
peakdemand.
Sowhenyouheartalkofthecloud,itsoundsinteresting.Scary,maybe,
butinteresting.
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE CLOUD?
Cloudcomputingisthenextgenerationofvirtualsystems.Itnotonly
abstractsthehardwarelayer,butalsoaddsanautomationlayer.Suddenlyyounolongercarewhereyoursystemsphysicallyreside.Buttheresmore
toitthanjustthat.Letsbreakdowntherangeofpossibilities:
PHYSICALHARDWARE
Thisisagenerictermfortheactualphysicalcomputerthatyoucan
touchtheactualserver.
VIRTUALMACHINE
Thisisanabstractedcomputer.Onephysicalhardwareservercanrun
multiplevirtualmachines.Virtualmachinescanbesetupandoperated
justlikeaphysicalserverandtypicallyare.Virtualmachinesareoften
treatedjustliketheirphysicalcounterparts,rarelychanging.
PRIVATECLOUDS
Thesearebanksofvirtualmachinesthatyourenterpriseownsandoperates,allwaitingtobeprovisionedandused,butonlyasneeds
dictate.Allofthesearehousedsafelyinsideyourenterpriserewall.
Forexample,youmighthave12physicalmachinesand120virtual
servers,butyouuseonly30ofthesevirtualserversatanygiven
moment.Theother90areavailabletobeusedasneeded.Acrossthe
dayandweek,theseserverscanbeusedforanumberofdifferent
servicesandcanchangefromhourtohour,sometimesasoftenastwo
orthreetimesanhour,dependingondemand.Privatecloudsaddan
automationlayertovirtualization,sothatyounolongercareorknow
exactlywhichonemachineyoursystemisrunningon.
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ManagingLinuxinaVirtualorCloudEnvironment 12
PUBLICCLOUDS
Theseareevenlargerbanksofpotentialserversthatsitoutsideyour
rewallandarenotownedoroperatedbyyourenterprise.Theyre
available,foraprice,tomeetdemandbeyondwhatyoucanhandleon
yourownsystems.Ifyoureconcernedaboutprivacyandsecurity,this
soundsscary(andyourconcernsarejustied).
HYBRIDCLOUDS
Theseareacombinationoftheprivateandpublicclouds,butalso
includetheextensionofyourprivatenetworkandmanagementtools
intothesystemsbeyondyourrewall.Thismaysoundlessintimidating,
buthowexactlydoyoudothat?
Cloudcomputingisntsodifculttounderstand.Butmanagingsystems
runninginitmightbeespeciallyifyourestrugglingtokeepyour
current,non-cloudyphysicalsystemsrunningsmoothly.
ThekeytocreatingandmanagingRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystems,
runningeithervirtuallyorinacloud,isthis:Youneedaclearplanand
atoolsetthatdoesntcareifyouremanagingarackofbladeserversorthousandsofvirtualservers.Youneedatoolthatwillallowyouto
deploysystemsandservicesinminutes,notdays,andthenremove
themfromserviceanddeployothersminuteslater.Orbetteryet,make
itallhappenautomaticallyandunattended.
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13 ManagingLinuxinaVirtualorCloudEnvironment
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS, FEET ON THE GROUND, AND USINGRED HAT NETWORK SATELLITE TO MANAGE IT ALL
Unfortunately,theresnowaytomanageadynamicallychanging
cloudenvironmentmanually.Youdonthavedaystobuildandtest
serversyouneedthemNOW.RedHatNetwork(RHN)Satelliteallows
youtoswiftlydeploynewRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystemsanywhere.
Thatmeansonacomputersittingrightnexttoyou,ononeofthe
manyvirtualserversonyourrackofblades,orsomewherewithinyour
privatecloud.Andheresthepayoff:RHNSatellitecanprovisionthat
newserverinminutesandhaveitinfullproductionand100percent
error-free.UsingRHNSatelliteyoucandeployevenhundredsofnew
serversinthatsamefewminutes,anywhere,insideyournetworkor
inthecloud.
Thecloudisntyourproblem.Theproblemishavingtheright
serversattherighttime.RHNSatelliteisthewayyoucandeploy
yourRedHatEnterpriseLinuxserverseasily,quickly,and100percent
righteverytime.
Whenthedemandpeakpasses,youcantakethoseserversyounolongerneedoutofproductionandputcompletelydifferentsystemsin
theirplace,baseduponwhatscurrentlyneeded.UsingRHNSatellites
web-basedinterface,thesesystemscanbemonitored,updated,
maintained,andremovedfromserviceeasily.Alternately,systemscanbe
deployedandremovedinacompletelyunattended,automatedfashion.
Butprovisioningisjustonesmallpieceofthepuzzle.RedHat
EnterpriseLinuxsystemsrunninginthecloudneedthesamecare
andfeedingasthoserunninginatraditionaldatacenter.Theystill
needtobeupdated,congured,andmeetanynecessaryauditand
compliancestandards.RHNSatellitemakessurethatallofyour
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystemsareupdated,patched,andfully
compliantnomatterwheretheyarerunning.
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ManagingLinuxinaVirtualorCloudEnvironment 14
Therearealotofthingstomanageinthecloud,andRHNSatellite
handlesallofthem:
Sprawl
Churn
Patchandupdatemanagement
Rapiddeploymentrequirements
Subscriptionmanagement
ThebenetsofimplementingaprivatecloudforanenterpriseLinux
infrastructurearesignicant;however,youcantgettothesebenets
withouttheuseofasystemsmanagementtoolandapproach.
RHNSatelliteprovidesthosetoolswithasimpleinterfacethatallowssystemadministratorstodesign,build,andmaintainaprivatecloud
fortheenterprisewithrelativeease.RHNSatellitegivesorganizations
theabilitytoeliminatetheissuesofclutterandchurninahighly
virtualenvironmentandprovidesacleartoolsetwithwhichtorapidly
provision,update,monitor,andmanagesystemswithinaprivatecloud.
Itsthetooltokeepyougroundedwhileyoursystemsbecomefully
cloud-based.
RHNSatellitecanbeimplementedonbaremetaltoprovisionall
enterprisesystemsorcanbeimplementedwithinavirtualmachineand
usedtoprovisiononlyvirtualguests.Itcanmanageacombinationof
physical,virtual,andcloud-basedsystemsbothwithintheenterprise
environmentaswellasextendedintoanexternalcloudviaavirtual
privatenetwork.ForusersofRedHatEnterpriseLinux,RHNSatellite
istheclearchoiceforbuildingandoperatingRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystemsinaprivatecloud.
TELL ME MORE
Wanttolearnmore?Thereareloadsofmaterialsincludingwhitepapers,
casestudies,anddetailedinformationallconvenientlyorganizedon
ourwebsite.Justvisitredhat.com/rhn andgetwiththeprogram.
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15 OvercomingtheComplexitiesofaLinuxSystem
THISCHAPTERINCLUDES:Nobodysaidthiswouldbeeasy,butyouvegottobekiddingmeExactlyhowcomplex?ComplexsystemsserviceseasilymanagedwithRedHatNetworkSatellite
NOBODY SAID THIS WOULD BE EASY,BUT YOUVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME
Howdidthingsgetthiscomplex?Youstartwithanice,cleanLinux
installandnowlookatit.Wasntconvertingtoopensourcesoftware
andhavingthefreedomofLinuxsupposedtomakethingseasier?
Butwhosaidbuildingandmanaginganenterprisedatainfrastructure
waseasy?
ManyITorganizationsarecaughtbetweentwoconictingdemands:
providemoreandmoreservices,whichareinnitelyfaster,andreduce
costs.Howisthatevenpossible?Ifyouwantmoreservices,thatll
costmoremoney,right?Whataboutthecloud?Heresahint:Moving
tothecloudisnotfree.AndfartoomanyITorganizationshavetheir
handsfullmerelymaintainingwhattheyhave.Youknow,thatmassof
spaghetticodethatjustbarelygetsbyasitis.
Andwhatwouldyoudoifuppermanagementsentwordtodaythat
theyneedyoutoscaleupyoursystemsbyafactorofvebytheend
ofthemonth?Couldyoudoit?
CHAPTER 4OVERCOMING THE COMPLEXITIES
OF A LINUX SYSTEM
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OvercomingtheComplexitiesofaLinuxSystem 16
EXACTLY HOW COMPLEX?
Heresasimpletesttondouthowcomplexyoursystemsare.Pick
aserver,anyserver.Howlongwouldittakeforyoutobuildanother
one,justlikeit,andputitintoproduction?Andbeforeyoustartthat,
isthatservercompletelyup-to-datewithpatchesanderrata?Isitfully
compliantwithallofthestandardsrequired?Coulditpassanexternal
audit?Couldyoubuild,say,tenmoreofthem?Howlongwouldthattake?
Andthatwasjustforonerandomlyselectedserver.Nowletslook
atyourentireinfrastructurecanyoupointtoanygivenserverand
state,withfullassurance,thatits100percentup-to-dateandfully
compliant?Howdoyouknowthat?Whatservicesarerunningonwhichphysicalorvirtualservers?
AsforthatscalingthingletssaythattheCIOsendswordthatyou
havetoprepareforaseasonaldemandpeak,andtheyaresendingyou
threenewsystemadministrators,freshoutofschool.Howlongwillit
takeyoutotrainthemsotheycanactuallyhelp?Ordoyoujusttell
themtostayoutofthewaybecauseitseasiertojustdoityourself?
Nowletsmakethingsinteresting:Pickyourmostseniortechnician,
whomyoudependonthemost,tokeepyoursystemsrunning
smoothly.Letspretendthatthiskeypersonjustwonthelottery.
Ofcourse,youllneverseethatpersonagainorbeabletoreachhim
onthebeachinTahiti.Everythingstillokay?
COMPLEX SYSTEMS SERVICES EASILY MANAGED WITHRED HAT NETWORK SATELLITE
Believeitornot,itdoesnthavetobethatcomplex.Youcanreducecosts
anddramaticallyscaleupyourofferings.Youjustcantdoitmanually.
RedHatNetwork(RHN)Satellitecanhelpyoudealwithallofthosecomplex
scenarios.Needtoscaleup?Noproblem.Justhavethemtellyouhowmany
serversandwheretoputthem.Tenminuteslater,youllhavethoseservers
inproduction.Wantahundredmore?Justanother10minutes.Thatkey
personwhowonthelottery?Sendsunblockyoullbene.Andthose
threenewsystemadministrators?Youllhavethemtrainedandproductive
inafewdays,managingtheirowngroupofservers.How is that possible?
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17 OvercomingtheComplexitiesofaLinuxSystem
ThekeyfeaturesofRHNSatelliteprovidethebasisforagreatly
simpliedmanagementprocess:
1.PROVISIONINGBYTEMPLATE
AttheheartofRHNSatelliteistheabilitytofullyprovisionanew
server,fromOStoapplicationsanddata,inamatterofminutes.From
manuallybuildingandtestinganewserverinahit-and-missfashionto
completeanderror-freespin-up,thischangecanhavedramaticeffects
onanorganizationssystems.Enterprisesthathavehaddifculty
managingahandfulofsystemscannowcreate,literally,hundredsof
perfectlyconguredsystemsinminutes,andasingleadministrator
caneasilymanagethem.Aserveronlyhastobebuilt,congured,andtestedonce,andthenusedasatemplatetomakeasmanyidentical
serversasnecessary.
2.SECURITYANDCOMPLIANCEMANAGEMENT
Formanyorganizations,agreatdealofadministratortimeisspent
researchingnewpatchesandupdates,lookingfornewxes,andthen
determiningiftheyarerequiredandwhatimpacttheymayhave.
UsingRHNSatellite,anadministratorcanreviewasimpleweb-basedviewonceadayandknoweverypatchandupdatethatappliestothe
enterprisessystems.Fromthere,itseasytodecidewhichpatchesto
applyandwhen.Theupdateprocessbecomesvirtuallyautomatic.
3.VIRTUALIZATIONMANAGEMENTANDDYNAMICPROVISIONING
Asanorganizationrespondstotheadditionaldemandsofgrowthand
requestsforservices,virtualizationbecomesanincreasinglyimportant
approach.RHNSatellitecanbeusedtoassistinnotonlyprovisioningvirtualservers,butcanalsobeusedtobuildaresponsetochangingdemands.
Buildyourownprivatecloudormoveintothepubliccloudeasily.
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OvercomingtheComplexitiesofaLinuxSystem 18
RHNSatellitecanbeconguredtoautomaticallyprovisionsystems
inresponsetospeciedrequirements,timing,orsystemstates.For
example,anadministratorcanspecifyawebserverloadlevelatwhich
totriggertheprovisioningofadditionalwebservers.Withinminutes,
asinglenewvirtualserver(orevenhundreds)canbeonline.When
thepeakdemandisover,thosesystemscanbeautomatically
re-provisionedforuseofotherservices.Thiscanallowanorganization
torespondtochangingdemandswithoutacostlyoverbuildingofits
physicalinfrastructure.
TELL ME MORE
Wanttolearnmore?Thereareloadsofmaterialsincludingwhitepapers,
casestudies,anddetailedinformationallconvenientlyorganizedon
ourwebsite.Justvisitredhat.com/rhn andgetwiththeprogram.
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19 8TipsforIntegratingManagementintoyourEnterprise
THISCHAPTERINCLUDES:ManagetheentireLinuxenvironment,notjustindividualserversBeexibleandresponsivetotheconstantlychangingneedsoftheorganization
PreparetorapidlyscaleupordownBeparanoidaboutsecurityandcomplianceApproachmanagementsolutionswithaneyeoncostcontrolsEliminatekeypersonneldependenciesFuture-proofyourenvironmentUseasingletooltomanageeverything
ITS TIME TO RAISE YOUR GAME A NOTCH.
EIGHT NOTCHES, ACTUALLY.
Managinganenterpriseenvironmentiscomplextheresnogetting
aroundthat.Butthatdoesntmeanithastobedifcultorcostly.
Aconvenient,predictableapproachtomanagingaLinuxenvironment
isntjustpossibleitsnecessaryforyourITorganizationtomeetthe
increasingdemandsofyourenterprise.
Hereareeighttipswevelearnedfromourcustomersthatwillhelpyou
unlockthepotentialofyourLinuxsystems:
MANAGETHEENTIRELINUXENVIRONMENT,
NOTJUSTINDIVIDUALSERVERS
Anenterpriseenvironmentismorethanjustabunchofservers,although
thatsthewaysomeITdepartmentsthinkofit.Systemadministratorsareresponsibleforindividualservers,whereeachadministratorhandles
ahandfulofsystems.Howwellthingsworkcanvaryfromonesystem
administratortoanother,servertoserver.Thatsareallimittogrowth.
CHAPTER 58 TIPS FOR INTEGRATING MANAGEMENT
INTO YOUR ENTERPRISE
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8TipsforIntegratingManagementintoyourEnterprise 20
Whenanorganizationdecidestomanagetheenvironmentasasingle,
functionalwhole,thepicturechangesdramatically.Securitythreats,
updates,andcomplianceissuesaredealtwithfortheentiresystemrather
thanserverbyserver.Andtheenvironmentcanbemanagedtoreactto
changingdemand,notinamatterofdaysorweeks,buthourtohour.
BEFLEXIBLEANDRESPONSIVETOTHECONSTANTLYCHANGING
NEEDSOFTHEORGANIZATION
Yourinternalandexternalusersneedandwantchangeduringtheday,
week,andtimeofyear.Afewyearsago,youwouldhavedesignedyour
entiresystemaroundthesepeaks.Now,youcanbuildtoappropriately
meettheneedsofyourorganization.
Thesecretistobeabletorapidlyprovisionwhatyouneed,whenyou
needit.Onethingtonote:Youcantmanuallyaddandremoveservers
fastenoughtomeetthischangingdemand.
PREPARETORAPIDLYSCALEUPORDOWN
Changingservicesandprovisioningisonething,buttheneweconomic
realitiescanalsomeanthatyoumighthavetochangenotjustthe
compositionofyoursystems,butyourentiresystemtoscaleupordownwhenfacedwithmergers,acquisitions,orchangingbusinessmodels.
Younolongerhavemonthstoreactthetimeframeisyesterday.
Youcanaccomplishthisifyoucantreathundredsorthousandsof
systemsinthesamewayyouwouldtreatasingleserver.Youwillneed
togroupthemtogetherandbeabletoprovisionasmanyasyouneed
orremovetheonesthatarenolongerneeded,eitherre-provisioning
themorremovingthemfromserviceentirely.
BEPARANOIDABOUTSECURITYANDCOMPLIANCE
Thethreatstoyoursystemsarereal.Identitytheft,creditcardfraud,
healthcareregulations,andevenindustrialespionagearenotjustthe
ITversionsoftheboogeymantheyrereal,andtheycanbecareer-
andbusiness-endingevents.Gettingsecurityandcompliancerightthe
rsttimeisallaboutavoidingcareerlimitingmoves.
TheonlypossibilityofreliefistoknowthatALLofyoursystemsare
properlyupdated,patched,andcompliant.Buthowdoyouknowthat,and
howdoyoukeepup?Centralizedpatchmanagementandauditcapabilities
arentjustnicetohavetheyreoneofyournewtoplinerequirements.
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21 8TipsforIntegratingManagementintoyourEnterprise
APPROACHMANAGEMENTSOLUTIONSWITHANEYEONCOSTCONTROLS
Thepurseisnolongerbottomless:Everythingintheenterpriseisnow
subjecttocostscrutiny.EvenwhenITisaskedtodomore,muchmore,
youknowyouwontbegivenablankchecktogetitdone.Infact,youmaybeaskedtodomorewithless.
Youcantdoanythingextrawithlessmoneyifyouhavetoaddnew
humanresourcestodealwithyourgrowingandcomplexsystems.
However,youcancontrolcostsifyoucanmanageyoursystems
centrallyanduniformly.Thekeyistochangethevalueofthevariable
inthissimpleequation:
Amazing.Youresuddenlydoingmorewithless,andlovingit.
ELIMINATEKEYPERSONNELDEPENDENCIES
Therstthingthatanysystemanalystorconsultantlooksforinany
situationisthis:Wherearethefailurepoints?ForITorganizations,thatpointisfrequentlythesamethingasitsgreateststrengthitsbest,
mostskilled,andexperiencedpeople.
Anditsnotjustthepersonitsthelackofdocumentation,procedures,
oranythingelsethatcouldhelptotrainnewstafformakereplacinga
keyindividuallessstressful.Eliminatingkeypersonneldependencies
meansbuildingsystemsthatarentdependentonkeypeoplewhomay
leavetheorganizationorassumenewresponsibilities.
1SystemadministratortoXservers.
IfyourcurrentsystemsarerepresentedbyX = 24,whatwouldyourcostsavingsbeifyoucould
changethattoX = 100?Or300?Or1,000?
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8TipsforIntegratingManagementintoyourEnterprise 22
FUTURE-PROOFYOURENVIRONMENT
Whoknowswhatthefuturebrings?Theresonethingthatscertain
aboutthefutureofyourITenvironment:Itwillneedtochange.The
technologieswillchange.Theuserdemandswillchange,theservices
theyrequirewillchange,andtheratethatthosechangesareexpected
willcontinuetoaccelerate.
Youcanfuture-proofyoursystemsbybasingallsystemsonmodelsand
templatesallofwhichcanberevised,updated,orreplacedquicklyand
easily.Whenthefuturearrives,buildandtestanewserver,thenprovision
hundredsmoreinminutes.Futureshockbecomesathingofthepast.
USEASINGLETOOLTOMANAGEEVERYTHINGTherealkeyistouseasingletooltomanageeverything.Ideally,this
willbeasingletoolthataddressesallofthesystemmanagement
issuesforyourRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystems.Thetypicaldo-it-
yourself(DIY)approachmaysolveasingleproblem,butitcanrarely
addresseverysystemmanagementneed.AndfewDIYsolutionsare
maintainedovertime.
Ifyoureseriousaboutputtingtheseeighttipstoworkforyou,thereisasingle,simpleanswer:RedHatNetwork(RHN)Satellite.RHNSatellite
canprovideyourITorganizationwithasingle,easy-to-useinterface
thatyoucanusetomanageallofyourRedHatEnterpriseLinux
systemseasilyandefciently.Usingthefullydocumentedweb-based
GUI,yoursystemadministratorscanmanagehundredsorthousands
ofserverswheretheyonlymanagedahandfulbefore.Systemscan
beprovisionedinjustminutes,completelyup-to-dateanderrorfree.
Andconcernsoversecurityandcompliancecanbequieted,ifnot
completelyeliminated.
TELL ME MORE
Wanttolearnmore?Thereareloadsofmaterialsincludingwhitepapers,
casestudies,anddetailedinformationallconvenientlyorganizedon
ourwebsite.Justvisitredhat.com/rhn andgetwiththeprogram.
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23 Best-of-BreedManagementSolution:RedHatNetworkSatellite
THISCHAPTERINCLUDES:Youhavethekeys.Nowwhat?Howdoyouknowwhatsbest-of-breed?Needproof?RHNSatelliteusersspeakup
YOU HAVE THE KEYS. NOW WHAT?
Overthelastfewchapterswevereviewedtheissuesthatmany
ITorganizationsface:
Coveringthebenetsoflifecyclemanagement
Mappingoutthepitfallsofdo-it-yourself(DIY)solutions Surveyingthepossibilitiesandopportunitiesofvirtualizationand
cloudcomputingenvironments
Layingouttheapproachesthatcanhelpanorganizationovercome
complexitiesevenpresentingeighttipsforintegratingsystems
managementintoyourenterprisesystems
Itmaysoundlikealottohandle,butRedHatNetwork(RHN)Satelliteis
uniquelydesignedtomeettheneedsoforganizationsrunningRedHat
EnterpriseLinux.Itsmorethanjustahandytoolitsthebestsolution
availableformanagingRedHatEnterpriseLinux.Period.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHATS BEST-OF-BREED?
Itseasytomakehyperbolicmarketingclaims.Anyonecanshoutout
extraordinaryfeaturesorcapabilities.ButthedifferenceisthatRHN
Satellitecandeliver.
Letsreviewthefacts:
RHNSatelliteisdesigned,built,andmaintainedbyRedHat.Itwas
designedtomanageRedHatEnterpriseLinuxbythesameteam
thatdesigns,builds,andmaintainsRedHatEnterpriseLinux.
CHAPTER 6BEST-OF-BREED MANAGEMENT SOLUTION:
RED HAT NETWORK SATELLITE
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Best-of-BreedManagementSolution:RedHatNetworkSatellite 24
RHNSatelliteisbackedby24x7RedHatsupport.
RedHatprovidesfulltraininganddocumentationforRHN
Satellite.Trainyourexistingstaffornewhiresandspinthemupto
productiveresourcesindayssavingyourorganizationhundreds
ofunproductivegureitoutyourselfhours.
RHNSatelliteincludesextensiveAPIsupport,meaningyoucan
connecttoothersystemsandtakeadvantageofRHNSatellites
featurestomeettheneedsofyourorganization.RHNSatellite
canbeintegratedwithothermanagementframeworks,andwhen
customizationisneeded,thepowerandexibilityofRHNSatellite
isthere,thewayyouwantit.
RedHatoffersbothprofessionalservicesandtrainingforRHN
Satellite.IfyouneedtohireanewRHNSatelliteadministrator,all
thatyouneedtodotogethimuptospeedissendhimtoaRedHat
trainingcourse.
Givenadedicatedstaffandenoughtimeandmoney,youmightbeable
tobuildyourownDIYsolutiontomanageyourRedHatEnterpriseLinux
systems.However,RHNSatelliteisreadytodayandbuildsuponRedHats
continuingexpertiseinmanagingLinuxsystems.Astechnologyandneedcontinuetoevolve,RHNSatellitewillbefullyup-to-dateand
supported,whichDIYsystemsneverseemtomanage.
NEED PROOF? RHN SATELLITE USERS SPEAK UP
ThebestevidencethatRHNSatellitecanworkforyoumaycomedirectly
fromyourpeers
peoplewhoareimprovingtheirorganizationsusingthispowerfultoolset.Herearejustafewtestimonials:
DANIELKINON
Senior Systems Administrator for Choice Hotels
DanestimatedthatbeforeusingRHNSatellite,hespentover360
hoursor45workingdayseveryyearpatchingandupdatingthe
ChoiceHotelsRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystems.AfterimplementingRHNSatellite,thatwasreducedtoatotalof24hoursjustthree
workingdaysspreadoutovertheentireyear.ImplementingRedHat
NetworkSatellitewasagreatexperience.Imabletodelegatetomy
newadministrator,andImworkingmuchfewerhours.
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JACKVELAZQUEZ
Senior Systems Engineer for the
Open Systems Team at Florida Hospital
OurRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystemshavebeenveryresilient
andhavesurvivedthemostcatastrophicconditionswithgreat
stability.WeveneverhadaproblemwithourRedHatEnterpriseLinux
serversitsreallyaself-sufcientdatacenter,saidVelazquez.
RedHatNetworkSatellitemakessystemmanagementeasy,
enablingustodeploynewapplicationsandsecuritypatchesto
allserversatonce.
ThereareplentymorewhowillsingRHNSatellitespraises,butthe
bestevidencewillcomefromyourowneyes.Isntittimeforyoutotry
outthisbest-of-breedsolutionforyourself?
TELL ME MORE
Wanttolearnmore?Thereareloadsofmaterialsincludingwhitepapers,casestudies,anddetailedinformationallconvenientlyorganizedon
ourwebsite.Justvisitredhat.com/rhn andgetwiththeprogram.
25 Best-of-BreedManagementSolution:RedHatNetworkSatellite
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