How to register and subscribe a system to the Red Hat Customer Portal using Red Hat Subscription-Man

https://access.redhat.com/solutions/253273

Environment

Red Hat Enterprise Linux(RHEL) 5.7 and newer
Red Hat Enterprise Linux(RHEL) 6.1 and newer
Red Hat Enterprise Linux(RHEL) 7.0 and newer
Red Hat Subscription Management
Red Hat Subscription-Manager
Red Hat Customer Portal

Issue

How to register a new Red Hat Enterprise Linux system to the Customer Portal using Red Hat Subscription-Manager
How to un-register a system using Red Hat Subscription-Manager
How to register a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server to a specific subscription using its pool-id
How to update or migrate registered server from RHN Classic to RHSM?
What is Subscription-Manager and how do I register a RHEL system so that I can install packages or updates with yum?
How do I register my system to RHSM using Subscription-Manager, to be able to install packages using yum?
We are not able to install the packges from yum, how to register a system to RHSM to access the packages?
I'm trying to find rhn_register with RHEL 7.0 but it's missing. How do I register a RHEL7 server for updates?
How to register with rhsm

Resolution

Red Hat Subscription Management allows users to track their subscription quantity and consumption.

NOTE: With Red Hat Subscription-Manager, registration and utilization of a subscription is actually a two-part process.
First register a system, then apply a subscription.

Red Hat Labs Registration Assistant

We have an online tool to assist you in selecting the most appropriate registration technology for your system. If you would prefer to use this tool, please visit https://access.redhat.com/labs/registrationassistant/.

Register and automatically subscribe in one step

Use the following command to register the system, then automatically associate any available subscription matching that system:

# subscription-manager register --username <username> --password <password> --auto-attach

If the command is unable to attach a subscription, it will indicate that in the output. Then, you can attach the subscription from the Customer Portal, instead (see the next section).

Register first, then attach a subscription in the Customer Portal

Use the following command to register a system without immediately attaching a subscription:

# subscription-manager register

Attach a specific subscription through the Customer Portal

After registration, you can assign a subscription to the registered system from the Customer Portal by referring this article.

After this, refresh the information on your machine using the following command. Be sure to run this any time you add or change the attached subscription from the Customer Portal:

# subscription-manager refresh

Attach a subscription from any available that match the system

After registration, use the following command to attach any available subscription that matches the current system.

# subscription-manager attach --auto

Register with a specific pool

After registration, use the following command to attach a subscription from a specific pool:

# subscription-manager attach --pool=<POOL_ID>

(You can find which pools are available with subscription-manager list --available)
Note: With subscription-manager-1.1.9-1 or later, attach option has been replacing the subscribe option. For more information, please refer to following article: RHBA-2013-0350

If you are not sure of the pool ID needed, these and details such as expiration dates can be viewed using the following command:

# subscription-manager list --available --all

Using Virtual Data Center? You may find this solution helpful: How to subscribe a VMware or Hyper-V guest using "Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Virtual Datacenter subscription"

Registration via GUI

# subscription-manager-gui

Systems can also be registered with Customer Portal Subscription Management during the firstboot process or as part of the kickstart setup (both described in the Installation Guide)

Connecting through a HTTP Proxy or Firewall

How to access Red Hat Subscription Manager (RHSM) through a firewall or proxy

Offline Registration

Some systems may not have internet connectivity, but administrators still want to attach and track the subscriptions for that system. This can be done by manually registering the system using the Customer Portal.

Unregistering a system

# subscription-manager remove --all
# subscription-manager unregister
# subscription-manager clean

Also see How to delete System Profiles for those registered with Red Hat Subscription Manager (RHSM)?

Migrating from RHN Classic to RHSM

How to migrate a Red Hat Enterprise Linux System from RHN Classic to RHSM
Subscription-manager for the former Red Hat Network User - a 7-part series
Additional instructions on registering, unregistering, and reregistering a system using Red Hat Subscription Management can be found in documentation
- RHEL 6: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Deployment Guide
- RHEL 7: System Administrator's Guide
- Subscription Management: Red Hat Subscription Management documentation.
  - Including Using and Configuring Red Hat Subscription Manager
- Subscription-manager for the former Red Hat Network User - a 7-part series

Troubleshooting

Having trouble? Please see these solutions for first steps to resolve common issues:
* How to troubleshoot subscription-manager and yum issues
* RHSM Subscription Issues Troubleshooting Do's and Don'ts

RHEL Systems Registration Guide

This document is part of a collection covering RHEL System Registration.
- If this is not the right solution for your registration needs or;
- If you wish to make a different registration choice;
  - then you can return to the RHEL Systems Registration Guide.