Chapter 1. Red Hat Network Overview 5
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.
1.8. Before You Begin
By default, all the software packages you need to use Red Hat Network are installed with Red Hat
distributions. However, if you chose not to install them during the installation process, you will need
to obtain the Red Hat Update Agent (up2date) and possibly the Red Hat Network Registration
Client (rhn_register). In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, registration functionality is built into the
Red Hat Update Agent, while Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 users will need the Red Hat Network
Registration Client.
Warning
The SSL certificate packaged with older versions of the Red Hat Update Agent and the Red Hat
Network Registration Client reached its end of life August 28, 2003. Users attempting to connect
using this certificate will receive SSL connection or certificate verification errors. You may view and
obtain the versions of theseapplications containing new certificates at theRHN Client Software page.
In the RHN website, click Help at the top-right corner, Get RHN Software in the left navigation bar,
and scroll down to examine the packages and versions.
To determine the versions of the client applications installed, run the rpm -q command followed by
the package name. For instance, for the Red Hat Network Registration Client, type the following
command:
rpm -q rhn_register
If the Red Hat Network Registration Client is installed, it will return something similar to:
rhn_register-2.9.3-1
The version number might differ slightly.
If you do not have the Red Hat Network Registration Client installed, the command will return:
package rhn_register is not installed
Perform this check for every package in Table 1-1 relevant to your system. Remember, only Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 2.1 users need the separate Red Hat Network Registration Client. If you prefer to
use the command line versions, you do not have to install the two packages ending in gnome.
Package Name Description
rhn_register Provides the Red Hat Network Registration Client program and the
text mode interface
