Red Hat Network Module and Architecture Overview Tables

Red Hat Network lets you choose among three modules that determine your level of service Update, Management, and Provisioning, and three architectures that enhance the functionality of your module (Hosted, Proxy, and Satellite).

Module comparison table

Red Hat Network Feature Update Management Provisioning Monitoring
Simple Web User Interface - Intuitive web interface makes your systems management simple.
yes
yes
yes
yes
Priority Email Notification - RHN users get the first notifications and first availability to new errata and updates, guaranteeing their systems are up to date.
yes
yes
no
no
Errata Information - Features a full list of all errata for user's systems, complete with versions, packages, and other important information.
yes
yes
no
no
RPM Dependency Checking - With our database of over 1 million dependencies, users can be sure software downloads have the necessary packages to be stable for your configuration.
yes
yes
no
no
Auto Update A server does not have to be updated each time a new errata is administered—it will simply download and install content on its own.
yes
no
no
no
Systems Grouping - Allows maintenance of groups rather than individual systems.
no
yes
no
no
Systems Permissions - Group your systems according to your needs and then assign permissions to different administrators.
no
yes
no
no
Scheduled Actions - Schedule a certain errata update for a system or group.
no
yes
no
no
Systems Search - Search your systems or workgroups by packages, errata, or systems specifications. Use our Advanced Search for even more granularity in your search.
no
yes
no
no
Package Profile Comparison - Users can compare two systems directly against each other, or build a package profile to compare against. Results let you see the differences on both machines.
no
yes
no
no
Bare Metal Provisioning - Automatically provision a system using kickstart to deploy OS, packages, and activation keys (groups, channels, policies and permissions) of your choice.
no
no
yes
no
Existing State Provisioning - Automatically provision a system to take on the state of an existing system or a predefined installation.
no
no
yes
no
Multi State Rollback (includes snapshot based recovery) - RHN records the state of all of your systems every time an action is applied to them, serving as a repository for state information. Multi State Rollback allows your system to return to a previous state or configuration instantly.
no
no
yes
no
Configuration Management - Easily configure text files for individual or groups of systems. Combine with Kickstart actions to enable a complete provisioning action.
no
no
yes
no
RPM Based Application Provisioning - More than just OS provisioning, RHN allows application-based provisioning for all RPM based applications--completely integrated with the rest of RHN.
no
no
yes
no
Kickstart Configuration Writer - Write Kickstart configuration scripts with our tool, or point to an existing system and have RHN create the script to provision that system.
no
no
yes
no
Probes: Dozens of low-impact probes can be set for a system,allowing for information to be collected about the performance of systems,network, logs, and applications.
no
no
no
yes
Custom probes: Create custom probes to monitor additional applications.
no
no
no
yes
Probe suites: Group probes together and deploy them to many systems at once.
no
no
no
yes
Notifications: Receive email or pager notices when a probe reaches a pre-defined warning or critical threshold.
no
no
no
yes
Reporting: View graphs of probe performance over time.
no
no
no
yes

All Functionality shown here available in the Hosted Architecture. Additional functionality for Management and Provisioning Modules can be obtained through either the Proxy or Satellite Architecture.

Architecture comparison table

Red Hat Network Feature Hosted Satellite*
Simple Web User Interface - Intuitive web interface makes your systems management simple.
yes
yes
Hosted Database Repository - Information about your systems, policies, and profiles is stored and hosted by the RHN database.
yes
Satellite uses Local database - see below
Custom Channels - Create custom channels (either OS or third-party RPM-based applications) for distribution through RHN.
no
yes
Local Package Caching - Content is cached locally on your network for faster downloads and easier distribution.
no
yes
Single Port Access - Manage all your outbound and inbound connections between RHN and your systems through a single system port.
no
yes
Local Database Repository - All information about your systems, policies, and profiles is stored locally on your infrastructure.
no
yes
Channel Cloning and Management Tools - Easily create, clone, or customize your own channels with our Channel Management tools.
no
yes
Channel Permissions - Create custom channels and then assign management permissions to each of them.
no
yes
Errata Cloning and Management - Easily create, clone, or customize your own errata. Very useful for enterprise customers with multiple environments (either physical or logical) that require customized information or packages in their errata.
no
yes
Instant Update - Administrators can push updates out to managed systems rather than wait for individual systems to check in.
no
yes
Complete Off Network Capability - Take RHN completely off the public Internet for complete security. At the customer's request, Red Hat can provide physical media to your enterprise, alleviating the need for Internet downloads.
no
yes
API Access Layer - Write command line scripts or use scriptedinformation from other applications to easily integrate RHN into your existinginfrastructure.
no
yes
Bare Metal PXE Boot Provisioning** - Kickstart systems in tandem with PXE boot images.
no
yes
Integrated Network Install Tree** - Store all default boot images, network install trees, and packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux - all integrated with your complete RHN solution.
no
yes
Configuration Management Profiles** - Store configuration management profiles in an integrated directory for easier deployment.
no
yes

* Please note that Satellite requires Management Module functionality

** Requires Provisioning Module Entitlements