Red Hat Satellite 6.2 Adds Docker Deployment

Red Hat today announced its Satellite 6.2 update, providing users with new capabilities for Red Hat server management. Among the key new features is a container host provisioning capability that enables administrators with new power for container deployment.

“We can deploy containers by connecting directly to the docker daemon on the host,” Rich Jerrido, Satellite Principal Product Manager at Red Hat, told eWEEK.

The ability to directly provision containers doesn’t come from the open-source Docker project, which has a project known asDocker Machine, but rather it comes from the open-source Foreman project.

Specifically there is a Foreman Docker project (https://github.com/theforeman/foreman-docker) from which the code has been pulled for use in Satellite 6.2.

Another key capability in Satellite 6.2 is expanded remote execution features for server and application management. Jerrido noted that remote execution in Satellite 6.1 and previous releases focused on a subset of Satellite’s functions, mainly errata and package installation.

“In Satellite 6.2, we expand remote execution by adding a new transport (SSH) as well as giving it new features,” Jerrido said.

New Remote Execution Capabilities in Satellite 6.2

Among the new remote execution capabilities in Satellite 6.2 is the ability to run arbitrary commands. Additionally, Satellite 6.2 features the ability to reboot and power off servers.

Jerrido also noted that the new update can now create “pre-canned” jobs supported by permissions to limit who can run/modify them.

Finding servers on a distributed network is also being improved with new discovery options.

“Discovery now supports running from an ISO or USB Drive,” Jerrido explained. “This allows us to support environments which require static IP addressing or otherwise cannot support DHCP/PXE.”

Looking Ahead at the Red Hat Satellite Roadmap

Looking forward there are a few possible items on the Red Hat Satellite roadmap for future releases.

At the top of Jerrido’s list is even more integration with Red Hat’s overall software portfolio with a focus on tighter integration with other products such as Ansible Tower, CloudForms and OpenShift.

[Source: Serverwatch]