SUSE Manager 4 Deployment and Initial Configuration

This course is intended to teach the student the purpose, features, and benefits of SUSE Manager (SUMA) 4.x. The course will present the architecture of a SUMA System and the requirements for successfully installing these architectural components.  

You will learn how to deploy and configure these architectural components of a SUSE Manager (SUMA) 4.x system in a step-by-step fashion. Specifically, you will learn how to install and configure the SUMA Server, all types of SUMA Proxy Server, and the Salt Minion code for target client servers. 

This training will enable you to setup a functional SUMA system to begin exploring the myriad of management capabilities SUMA provides for your managed client servers. Regardless of the size of your organization, this course will get you up and running with a fully functional SUSE Manager 4.x system. 

This course prepares students for the SUSE Certified Deployment Specialist (SCDS) in SUSE Manager 4 certification exam.

Downloadable course description document

Course Information

Delivery Method: eLearning, Instructor Led Training

Course Duration: 3 days

Course Level: Beginner

Key Objectives

During this course you will learn the following: 

• Understand the system management challenges and need for a comprehensive systems management solution 
• Understand the benefits of SUSE Manager 4.3 
• Learn about the new product features introduced in SUSE Manager 4.3 
• Understand the different tiers of a fully deployed SUSE Manager system and learn the major software components of SUSE Manager and how they relate to one another 
• Understand the purpose of the Hub Server in very large SUSE Manager deployments 
• Learn the hardware and software requirements for installing the various tiers of the SUSE Manager system 
• Understand how to perform an on-line and disconnected installation of SUSE Manager Server 
• Understand the purpose of the two stages (Initial Setup and SUMA Administrative Setup) of the SUMA setup procedure 
• Learn how to perform the Initial Setup whether your SUMA Server was installed in “text only” or “graphical mode” 
• Perform the SUMA Administrative Setup using the SUMA Web UI 
• Understand the importance of the SUSE Customer Center (SCC) in providing patch and update content for your SUMA Server 
• Learn how to sync SCC provided content down to your SUMA Server using the Web UI’s Setup Wizard and be able to monitor the progress of the synchronization process 
• Understand the pre-installation issues and hardware and software requirements for the three different types of SUMA 4.3 Proxy Server 
• Install a Traditional SUMA 4.3 Proxy Server and register the Proxy as a Salt Minion 
• Understand how to configure a Traditional SUMA 4.3 Proxy Server to make it function as a Proxy Server for downstream client servers 
• Learn how to install the Podman and Helm-based versions of the SUMA Proxy Server; which are new in SUSE Manager 4.3 
• Understand the purpose of the Client Registration Process and what occurs during Registration 
• Understand the planning you need to do prior to registering target client systems, in particular how to make SCC channel content available once systems have been registered 
• Learn how to manually create Bootstrap Repositories required for Client Registration 
• Create and configure System Groups and Activation Keys and learn the best practices for doing so. 
• Learn the different methods that can be used to Register target client servers 
• Perform Client Registration using multiple methods 
• Understand what a Salt Key is and the methods to accept pending Salt Keys at your SUMA Server 
• Understand how to create and implement a Content Lifecycle Management strategy to manage patches and updates for registered client systems 

Audience Summary

This course is designed for those that are new to SUSE Manager. In particular for: 

• system architects leading the deployment of SUSE Manager across their organization 
• Linux system administrators who want an efficient and effective way to manage their Linux servers centrally rather than individually as a bunch of separate servers 

Course Prerequisites

Attendees should have: 

• familiarity with the Linux Command Line 
• at least a year of Linux System Administration experience 
• and some bash scripting skills.  

SUSE Certified Administrator (SCA) in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 or above, or the equivalent level of experience is recommended. 

Course Outline

Labs will be performed on SUSE Manager v4.3.2. 

• Section 1: Course Introduction 
• Section 2: Introduction to SUSE Manager 
  • Addressing the Need for Systems Management 
  • SUSE Manager: Commitment to Open Source 
  • Benefits of SUSE Manager 
  • New Features in SUSE Manager 4.3 
• Section 3: Architecture and Installation of SUSE Manager 
  • Understand the Architecture of SUSE Manager 4.x 
  • Understand Installation Requirements of SUSE Manager 4.x 
  • Perform an Online Installation of SUSE Manager 4.x Server 
• Section 4: Initial Setup and Configuration of SUSE Manager Server 
  • Understand the Purpose of the SUSE Manager Setup Procedure 
  • Perform the SUSE Manager Setup Procedure 
  • Sync Products from the SCC 
• Section 5: Installation and Configuration of SUMA Manager Proxy Server 
  • Understand the Purpose of the SUSE Manager Proxy Server 
  • Understand Pre-Installation Considerations and Installation Requirements of a SUSE Manager Proxy Server 
  • Perform a SUSE Manager Traditional Proxy Server Installation 
  • Register a SUSE Manager Traditional Proxy Server as a Salt Minion 
  • Learn how to Configure a SUSE Manager Proxy Server 
  • Learn how to install the Helm-based SUSE Manager Proxy Server, and configure an administrative workstation for managing the Kubernetes Cluster running on the Proxy Server Host. 
• Section 6: Registering Client Systems 
  • Understand the Purpose of Client Registration 
  • Plan and Prepare to Register Client Systems 
  • Configure Activation Keys 
  • Overview of the Registration Methods 
  • Use the Various Registration Methods 
  • Accept Pending Salt Keys 
• Section 7: Introduction to Content Lifecycle Management 
  • Understand the Content Lifecycle Management (CLM) Terminology 
  • Understand CLM Relation Operations 
  • Implement a CLM Strategy