Getting Started with SUSE Manager for Retail › Administration

Getting Started with SUSE Manager for Retail

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5 Administration

5.1 Administration
5.2 Branch server mass configuration
5.3 Deploying terminals
5.4 Terminal Names
5.5 Terminal mass configuration
5.6 Example YAML file for mass configuration

5.1 Administration #

This sections contains notes on administering your SUSE Manager for Retail installation. For general administration tasks, see the SUSE Manager documentation at https://www.suse.com/documentation/suse-manager-3/

5.2 Branch server mass configuration #

Branch servers are configured individually using formulas. If you are working in an environment with many branch servers, you might find it easier to configure the terminals automatically with a pre-defined configuration file, rather than configuring each branch server individually.

5.2.1 Configure multiple branch servers #

This procedure requires the python-susemanager-retail package, which is provided with SUSE Manager for Retail. Install the python-susemanager-retail package on the SUSE Manager server.

Procedure: Configuring multiple branch servers #

Create a YAML file describing the infrastructure you intend to install. An example YAML file is at the end of this chapter, for you to reference.
On a clean SUSE Manager installation, import the YAML file you have created:
```
retail_yaml --from-yaml filename.yaml
```
You can use the retail_yaml --help command for additional options.

If you need to change your configuration, you can edit the YAML file at any time, and use the retail_yaml --from-yaml command to upload the new configuration.

Use the empty profiles together with activation keys to onboard all the systems of your infrastructure. Use an activation key to assign the channels listed in Configuring Server.

5.3 Deploying terminals #

For hardware requirements, see Point-of-Service Terminals.

Before terminals can be deployed, ensure you have prepared a saltboot based OS image. For how to build OS images, see https://www.suse.com/documentation/suse-manager-3/3.2/susemanager-advanced-topics/html/book.suma.advanced.topics/at.images.html#at.images.kiwi.

Each terminal requires a specific hardware type, which contains information about the product name and terminal manufacturer. However, the SUSE Manager database does not have this information to begin with. In order to tell SUSE Manager what image to deploy on each terminal, you can set hardware type groups. After you have created your new hardware type group, you can apply the saltboot-formula to the group and configure it for your environment.

After you have registered new terminals, always check the SUSE Manager Web UI to ensure your terminal has connected successfully to the branch server, and you have not connected directly to the SUSE Manager server by mistake.

5.3.1 Create a Hardware Type group #

Hardware types allow you to group devices according to manufacturer and device name, so that all devices of a particular type can be managed as one.

You will need to create appropriate hardware types in your system.

Empty profiles can be assigned to a hardware type group either before or after registration. If an empty profile is not assigned to a hardware type group before registration, it will be assigned to group that best matches the product information available to it.

For this procedure, you will require the system manufacturer name and product name for your terminal.

Procedure: Creating a Hardware Type group #

Determine the hardware type group name. Prefix the name with HWTYPE:, followed by the system manufacturer name and product name, separated by a hyphen. For example:
```
HWTYPE:POSVendor-Terminal1
```
Important
Only use colons (:), hyphens (-) or underscores (_) in hardware type group names. Spaces and other non-alphanumeric characters will be removed when the name is processed.
In the SUSE Manager Web UI, navigate to Systems → Overview, and click on the Groups tab.
Click the Create new button.
In the Create System Group dialog, create a new system group, using the hardware type group name you created earlier.

5.4 Terminal Names #

In the SUSE Manager Web UI, terminals have a standard naming format which allows you to match the physical device with its record. By default, the name uses this format:

BranchName.Manufacturer-ProductName-SerialNumber-MachineID

For example:

B002.TOSHIBA-6140100-41BA03X-c643

You can adjust this behavior by toggling the DISABLE_HOSTNAME_ID and DISABLE_UNIQUE_SUFFIX parameters in the PXE formula settings. For more information about the PXE formula, see PXE Formula.

5.5 Terminal mass configuration #

If you are working in an environment with many terminals, you might find it easier to configure the terminals automatically with a pre-defined configuration file, rather than configuring each terminal individually.

In order to do this, you will need to have your infrastructure planned out ahead of time, including the IP addresses, hostnames, and domain names of branch servers and terminals. You will also require the hardware (MAC) addresses of each terminal.

Note

The settings specified in the configuration file cannot always be successfully applied. In cases where there is a conflict, SUSE Manager will ignore the request in the file. This is especially important when designating hostnames. You should always check the details have been applied as expected after using this configuration method.

5.5.1 Configure multiple terminals #

Procedure: Configuring multiple terminals #

Create a YAML file describing the infrastructure you intend to install, specifying the hardware address for each terminal. An example YAML file is at the end of this chapter, for you to reference.
On a clean SUSE Manager installation, import the YAML file you have created:
```
retail_yaml --from-yaml filename.yaml
```
You can use the retail_yaml --help command for additional options.
In the SUSE Manager Web UI, check that your systems are listed and displaying correctly, and the formulas you require are available.
Create activation keys for each of your branch servers, connect them using bootstrap, and configure them as proxy servers. For further information on these steps, see the SUSE Manager documentation.
Apply highstate to apply your configuration changes. In the States tab, click Apply Highstate.
Connect your terminals according to your infrastructure plan.

If you need to change your configuration, you can edit the YAML file at any time, and use the retail_yaml --from-yaml command to upload the new configuration.

If you have a current configuration that you would like to export to a YAML file, use:

retail_yaml --to-yaml filename.yaml

This can be a good way to create a basic mass configuration file. However it is important to check the file before using it, as some mandatory configuration entries will be missing.

Important

When you are designing your configuration and creating the YAML file, ensure the branch server ID matches the fully qualified hostname, and the Salt ID. If these do not match, the bootstrap script could fail.

5.6 Example YAML file for mass configuration #

You can use the retail_yaml command to import configuration parameters from a pre-prepared YAML file. This section contains a commented example YAML file for you to reference.

Example: YAML mass terminal configuration file.

branches:
# there are 2 possible setups: with / without dedicated NIC
#
# with dedicated NIC
  branchserver1.branch1.cz:     # salt ID of branch server
    branch_prefix: branch1      # optional, default guessed from salt id
    server_name: branchserver1  # optional, default guessed from salt id
    server_domain: branch1.cz   # optional, default guessed from salt id
    nic: eth1                   # nic used for connecting terminals, default taken from hw info in SUMA
    dedicated_nic: true         # set to true if the terminals are on separate network
    salt_cname: branchserver1.branch1.cz      # hostname of salt master / broker for terminals, mandatory
    configure_firewall: true    # modify firewall configuration
    branch_ip: 192.168.2.1      # default for dedicated NIC: 192.168.1.1
    netmask: 255.255.255.0      # default for dedicated NIC: 255.255.255.0
    dyn_range:                  # default for dedicated NIC: 192.168.1.10 - 192.168.1.250
        - 192.168.2.10
        - 192.168.2.250
# without dedicated NIC
# the DHCP formula is not used, DHCP is typically provided by a router
# the network parameters can be autodetected if the machine is already connected to SUSE Manager
  branchserver2.branch2.cz:     # salt ID of branch server
    branch_prefix: branch2      # optional, default guessed from salt id
    server_name: branchserver2  # optional, default guessed from salt id
    server_domain: branch2.cz   # optional, default guessed from salt id
    salt_cname: branchserver2.branch1.cz      # FQDN of salt master / broker for terminals, mandatory
    branch_ip: 192.168.2.1      # optional, default taken from SUMA data if the machine is registered
    netmask: 255.255.255.0      # optional, default taken from SUMA data if the machine is registered
    exclude_formulas:           # optional, do not configure listed formulas
      - dhcp                    # without dedicated NIC the dhcp service is typically provided by a router
    hwAddress: 11:22:33:44:55:66 # optional, required to connect pre-configured entry with particular machine
                                 # during onboarding
    terminals:                       # configuration of static terminal entries
      hostname1:                     # hostname
        hwAddress: aa:aa:aa:bb:bb:bb # required as unique id of a terminal
        IP: 192.168.2.50             # required for static dhcp and dns entry
        saltboot:                    # optional, alternative 1: configure terminal-specific pillar data
          partitioning:              # partitioning pillar as described in saltboot documentation
            disk1:
              device: /dev/sda
              disklabel: msdos
              partitions:
                p1:
                  flags: swap
                  format: swap
                  size_MiB: 2000.0
                p2:
                  image: POS_Image_JeOS6
                  mountpoint: /
              type: DISK
      hostname2:                     # hostname
        hwAddress: aa:aa:aa:bb:bb:cc # required as unique id of a terminal
        IP: 192.168.2.51             # required for static dhcp and dns entry
        hwtype: IBMCORPORATION-4838910 # optional, alternative 2: assign the terminal to hwtype group
        # if neither of hwtype nor saltboot is specified, a group is assigned according to hwtype
        # reported by bios on the first boot
hwtypes:
  IBMCORPORATION-4838910:      # HWTYPE string (manufacturer-model) as returned by bios
    description: 4838-910       # freetext description
    saltboot:
      partitioning:             # partitioning pillar as described in saltboot documentation
        disk1:
          device: /dev/sda
          disklabel: msdos
          partitions:
            p1:
              flags: swap
              format: swap
              size_MiB: 1000.0
            p2:
              image: POS_Image_JeOS6
              mountpoint: /
          type: DISK
  TOSHIBA-6140100:
    description: HWTYPE:TOSHIBA-6140100
    saltboot:
      partitioning:
        disk1:
          device: /dev/sda
          disklabel: msdos
          partitions:
            p1:
              flags: swap
              format: swap
              size_MiB: 1000.0
            p2:
              image: POS_Image_JeOS6
              mountpoint: /
          type: DISK

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