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documentation.suse.com / SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro Documentation / Deployment Guide / Raw image deployment / Deploying raw images
Applies to SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1

6 Deploying raw images

  

SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro provides raw images that can be directly deployed to your device storage—a memory card, USB flash drive, or a hard disk. The options for which type of device you can deploy the image to depend on your particular hardware—follow your vendor documentation.

To initially configure the deployed image, you need to prepare the configuration data as described in Procedure 6.2, “Preparing the configuration device.” and you need to copy the configuration data to a device (for example USB disk). The device needs to be connected to your host running SLE Micro during its first boot.

To prepare the setup, you need two separate devices. One for the raw disk image, where SLE Micro runs, and another one that serves as a configuration media.

Procedure 6.1: Preparing the raw disk image
  

  1. Download the raw image and decompress it: 

    > xz -d DOWNLOADED_IMAGE.raw.xz

  2. Copy the decompressed image to the device where SLE Micro will run: 

    > dd if=DOWNLOADED_IMAGE.raw of=/dev/sdX

The following procedure describes how to prepare the configuration device (usually a USB flash disk).

Procedure 6.2: Preparing the configuration device.
  

  1. Format the disk to any file system supported by SLE Micro: Ext3, Ext4, etc.: 

    > sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdY

  2. Set the device label to either ignition (when either Ignition or Combustion is used) or combustion (when only Combustion is used). For the Ext4 file system: 

    > sudo e2label /dev/sdY ignition

    You can use any type of configuration storage media that your virtualization system or your hardware supports—ISO image, a USB flash disk, etc.

  3. Mount the device: 

    > sudo mount /dev/sdY /mnt

  4. Create the directory structure as mentioned in Chapter 7, Configuring with Ignition or Chapter 8, Configuring with Combustion, depending on the configuration tool used: 

    > sudo mkdir -p /mnt/ignition/

    or: 

    > sudo mkdir -p /mnt/combustion/

  5. Prior to booting for the first time, prepare all elements of the configuration that will be used by Ignition or Combustion. To login to your system, you need to provide a password for root or set up passwordless authentication, otherwise the system will not be accessible after the first boot.

After the first boot, you need to register your SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro instance by using the command line tool SUSEConnect. For details, refer to Section 6.1, “Registration”.

SLE Micro has available extension for live patching. To use this extension, you need to add the extension to your subscription from the installed system. For details, refer to Section 6.2, “Managing extensions”.

6.1 Registration

  

Registering the system is possible from the command line using SUSEConnect. For information that goes beyond the scope of this section, refer to the inline documentation with SUSEConnect --help

Procedure 6.3: Product registration with SUSEConnect
  

  1. To register SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro with SUSE Customer Center, run SUSEConnect as follows: 

    # SUSEConnect -r REGISTRATION_CODE -e EMAIL_ADDRESS

    To register with a local registration server, additionally provide the URL to the server: 

    # SUSEConnect -r REGISTRATION_CODE -e EMAIL_ADDRESS \
--url "https://suse_register.example.com/"

    Replace REGISTRATION_CODE with the registration code you received with your copy of SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro. Replace EMAIL_ADDRESS with the e-mail address associated with the SUSE account you or your organization uses to manage subscriptions.

  2. SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro is now registered.

6.2 Managing extensions

  

SLE Micro supports the kernel live patching extension. Bear in mind that the extension might require additional subscription.

Note
Note: SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching availability

The SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching extension is available only for the x86 (except for the real-time kernel) and IBM Z architectures.

As the extension activation or deactivation is performed as a transactional-update and thus creates a new snapshot, you need to restart your system to boot to the new snapshot and apply the changes.

6.2.1 Activating SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching

  

To active the SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching proceed as follows:

  1. List available extensions by running: 

    # transactional-update --quiet register -list-extensions

  2. The output provides you with a command regarding how to activate the live patching extension. You can skip this step if you activated the extension during the manual installation. 

    # transactional-update register -p sle-module-live-patching/15.3/x86_64 \
  -r registration code

  3. After activating the SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching extension, configure libzypp in the /etc/zypp/zypp.conf file as follows:

    multiversion = provides:multiversion(kernel)

    to keep the current kernel running while patching the system, otherwise you may get dependency conflicts while kernel updates are being applied.

    multiversion.kernels = latest

    after applying the live patch, a cleanup of kernels is performed in the new snapshot. If not set, the snapshot keeps the previous kernel and performs kernel updates also on the previous kernel.

  4. Additionally, set LIVEPATCH_KERNEL='always' in the /etc/sysconfig/livepatching file.

    Note
    Note: Matching version of the kernel-default-livepatch and kernel

    To ensure that the live patches will be installed even after the kernel upgrade, install the matching version of the kernel-default-livepatch package.

  5. Now install the extension by running: 

    # transactional-update pkg install kernel-default-livepatch

  6. Reboot your system to switch to the new snapshot.

6.2.2 Deactivating SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching

  

To deactivate the extension, run the following command: 

# transactional-update register -d \
  -p sle-module-live-patching/15.3/x86_64