Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Configuring basic system settings

Set up the essential functions of your system and customize your system
environment

Last Updated: 2024-05-01

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings
Set up the essential functions of your system and customize your system environment
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Abstract
Perform basic system administration tasks, configure the environment settings, register your
system, and configure network access and system security. Administer users, groups, and file
permissions. Use system roles for managing system configurations interface on multiple RHEL
systems. Use systemd for efficient service management. Configure the Network Time Protocol
(NTP) with chrony. Backup and restore your system by using ReaR.
 Table of Contents

Table of Contents
. . . . . . . . . .OPEN
MAKING . . . . . . SOURCE
. . . . . . . . . .MORE
. . . . . . .INCLUSIVE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . FEEDBACK
PROVIDING . . . . . . . . . . . . ON
. . . .RED
. . . . .HAT
. . . . .DOCUMENTATION
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. . . . . . . . . . . . .

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 1.. .CONFIGURING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .AND
. . . . .MANAGING
. . . . . . . . . . . . .BASIC
. . . . . . .NETWORK
. . . . . . . . . . .ACCESS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1. CONFIGURING THE NETWORK AND HOST NAME IN THE GRAPHICAL INSTALLATION MODE 8
1.2. CONFIGURING AN ETHERNET CONNECTION BY USING NMCLI 9
1.3. CONFIGURING AN ETHERNET CONNECTION BY USING NMTUI 12
1.4. MANAGING NETWORKING IN THE RHEL WEB CONSOLE 15
1.5. MANAGING NETWORKING USING RHEL SYSTEM ROLES 16
1.6. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 17

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 2.
. . REGISTERING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE
. . . . . SYSTEM
. . . . . . . . . .AND
. . . . .MANAGING
. . . . . . . . . . . . SUBSCRIPTIONS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
..............
2.1. REGISTERING THE SYSTEM AFTER THE INSTALLATION 18
2.2. REGISTERING SUBSCRIPTIONS WITH CREDENTIALS IN THE WEB CONSOLE 19
2.3. REGISTERING A SYSTEM USING RED HAT ACCOUNT ON GNOME 20
2.4. REGISTERING A SYSTEM USING AN ACTIVATION KEY ON GNOME 21

. . . . . . . . . . . 3.
CHAPTER . . ACCESSING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .THE
. . . . RED
. . . . . HAT
. . . . . SUPPORT
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
..............
3.1. OBTAINING RED HAT SUPPORT THROUGH RED HAT CUSTOMER PORTAL 24
3.2. TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS USING SOSREPORT 24

. . . . . . . . . . . 4.
CHAPTER . . .CHANGING
. . . . . . . . . . . .BASIC
. . . . . . .ENVIRONMENT
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SETTINGS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
..............
4.1. CONFIGURING THE DATE AND TIME 26
4.1.1. Displaying the current date and time 26
4.2. CONFIGURING THE SYSTEM LOCALE 26
4.3. CONFIGURING THE KEYBOARD LAYOUT 27
4.4. CHANGING THE FONT SIZE IN TEXT CONSOLE MODE 28
4.5. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 29

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 5.
. . USING
. . . . . . . .SECURE
. . . . . . . . .COMMUNICATIONS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BETWEEN
. . . . . . . . . . .TWO
. . . . . SYSTEMS
. . . . . . . . . . . WITH
. . . . . . OPENSSH
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
..............
5.1. SSH AND OPENSSH 30
5.2. CONFIGURING AND STARTING AN OPENSSH SERVER 31
5.3. SETTING AN OPENSSH SERVER FOR KEY-BASED AUTHENTICATION 33
5.4. GENERATING SSH KEY PAIRS 34
5.5. USING SSH KEYS STORED ON A SMART CARD 35
5.6. MAKING OPENSSH MORE SECURE 36
5.7. CONNECTING TO A REMOTE SERVER USING AN SSH JUMP HOST 40
5.8. CONNECTING TO REMOTE MACHINES WITH SSH KEYS USING SSH-AGENT 41
5.9. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 42

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 6.
. . .CONFIGURING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BASIC
. . . . . . . SYSTEM
. . . . . . . . . .SECURITY
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
..............
6.1. ENABLING THE FIREWALLD SERVICE 43
6.2. MANAGING BASIC SELINUX SETTINGS 44
6.3. ENSURING THE REQUIRED STATE OF SELINUX 44
6.4. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 45

. . . . . . . . . . . 7.
CHAPTER . . INTRODUCTION
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TO
. . . RHEL
. . . . . . SYSTEM
. . . . . . . . . .ROLES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
..............

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 8.
. . .TROUBLESHOOTING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PROBLEMS
. . . . . . . . . . . . BY
. . . .USING
. . . . . . . LOG
. . . . . FILES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
..............
8.1. SERVICES HANDLING SYSLOG MESSAGES 49
8.2. SUBDIRECTORIES STORING SYSLOG MESSAGES 49
8.3. INSPECTING LOG FILES USING THE WEB CONSOLE 49
8.4. VIEWING LOGS USING THE COMMAND LINE 50

1
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

8.5. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 51

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 9.
. . .MANAGING
. . . . . . . . . . . . USERS
. . . . . . . .AND
. . . . .GROUPS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
..............
9.1. INTRODUCTION TO MANAGING USER AND GROUP ACCOUNTS 52
9.1.1. Introduction to users and groups 52
9.1.2. Configuring reserved user and group IDs 52
9.1.3. User private groups 53
9.2. GETTING STARTED WITH MANAGING USER ACCOUNTS 53
9.2.1. Managing accounts and groups using command line tools 54
9.2.2. System user accounts managed in the web console 55
9.2.3. Adding new accounts using the web console 55
9.3. MANAGING USERS FROM THE COMMAND LINE 56
9.3.1. Adding a new user from the command line 56
9.3.2. Adding a new group from the command line 57
9.3.3. Adding a user to a supplementary group from the command line 57
9.3.4. Creating a group directory 58
9.3.5. Removing a user on the command line 59
9.4. MANAGING USER ACCOUNTS IN THE WEB CONSOLE 60
9.4.1. System user accounts managed in the web console 61
9.4.2. Adding new accounts using the web console 61
9.4.3. Enforcing password expiration in the web console 62
9.4.4. Terminating user sessions in the web console 62
9.5. EDITING USER GROUPS USING THE COMMAND LINE 63
9.5.1. Primary and supplementary user groups 63
9.5.2. Listing the primary and supplementary groups of a user 63
9.5.3. Changing the primary group of a user 64
9.5.4. Adding a user to a supplementary group from the command line 65
9.5.5. Removing a user from a supplementary group 66
9.5.6. Changing all of the supplementary groups of a user 66
9.6. CHANGING AND RESETTING THE ROOT PASSWORD 67
9.6.1. Changing the root password as the root user 67
9.6.2. Changing or resetting the forgotten root password as a non-root user 68
9.6.3. Resetting the root password on boot 68

. . . . . . . . . . . 10.
CHAPTER . . . MANAGING
. . . . . . . . . . . . .SUDO
. . . . . . .ACCESS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
..............
10.1. USER AUTHORIZATIONS IN SUDOERS 70
10.2. GRANTING SUDO ACCESS TO A USER 71
10.3. ENABLING UNPRIVILEGED USERS TO RUN CERTAIN COMMANDS 72

. . . . . . . . . . . 11.
CHAPTER . . .MANAGING
. . . . . . . . . . . . FILE
. . . . . SYSTEM
. . . . . . . . . .PERMISSIONS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
..............
11.1. MANAGING FILE PERMISSIONS 75
11.1.1. Base file permissions 75
11.1.2. User file-creation mode mask 77
11.1.3. Default file permissions 78
11.1.4. Changing file permissions using symbolic values 79
11.1.5. Changing file permissions using octal values 81
11.2. MANAGING THE ACCESS CONTROL LIST 81
11.2.1. Displaying the current Access Control List 81
11.2.2. Setting the Access Control List 81
11.3. MANAGING THE UMASK 82
11.3.1. Displaying the current value of the umask 82
11.3.2. Displaying the default bash umask 83
11.3.3. Setting the umask using symbolic values 84
11.3.4. Setting the umask using octal values 85

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 Table of Contents

11.3.5. Changing the default umask for the non-login shell 85

11.3.6. Changing the default umask for the login shell 86
11.3.7. Changing the default umask for a specific user 86
11.3.8. Setting default permissions for newly created home directories 86

. . . . . . . . . . . 12.
CHAPTER . . . MANAGING
. . . . . . . . . . . . .SYSTEMD
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
..............
12.1. SYSTEMD UNIT FILES LOCATIONS 88
12.2. MANAGING SYSTEM SERVICES WITH SYSTEMCTL 89
12.2.1. Listing system services 89
12.2.2. Displaying system service status 90
12.2.3. Starting a system service 93
12.2.4. Stopping a system service 93
12.2.5. Restarting a system service 94
12.2.6. Enabling a system service to start at boot 95
12.2.7. Disabling a system service to start at boot 95
12.3. BOOTING INTO A TARGET SYSTEM STATE 96
12.3.1. Target unit files 96
12.3.2. Changing the default target to boot into 97
12.3.3. Changing the current target 98
12.3.4. Booting to rescue mode 98
12.3.5. Troubleshooting the boot process 99
12.4. SHUTTING DOWN, SUSPENDING, AND HIBERNATING THE SYSTEM 100
12.4.1. System shutdown 100
12.4.2. Scheduling a system shutdown 100
12.4.3. Shutting down the system using the systemctl command 101
12.4.4. Restarting the system 101
12.4.5. Optimizing power consumption by suspending and hibernating the system 102
12.4.6. Overview of the power management commands with systemctl 103
12.4.7. Changing how your system behaves when you press the power button 103

. . . . . . . . . . . 13.
CHAPTER . . . CONFIGURING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TIME
. . . . . .SYNCHRONIZATION
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
...............
13.1. USING THE CHRONY SUITE TO CONFIGURE NTP 105
13.1.1. Introduction to chrony suite 105
13.1.2. Using chronyc to control chronyd 105
13.2. USING CHRONY 106
13.2.1. Managing chrony 106
13.2.2. Checking if chrony is synchronized 107
13.2.3. Manually adjusting the System Clock 108
13.2.4. Disabling a chrony dispatcher script 108
13.2.5. Setting up chrony for a system in an isolated network 109
13.2.6. Configuring remote monitoring access 110
13.2.7. Managing time synchronization using RHEL system roles 111
13.2.8. Additional resources 112
13.3. CHRONY WITH HW TIMESTAMPING 112
13.3.1. Verifying support for hardware timestamping 113
13.3.2. Enabling hardware timestamping 114
13.3.3. Configuring client polling interval 114
13.3.4. Enabling interleaved mode 114
13.3.5. Configuring server for large number of clients 114
13.3.6. Verifying hardware timestamping 115
13.3.7. Configuring PTP-NTP bridge 116
13.4. OVERVIEW OF NETWORK TIME SECURITY (NTS) IN CHRONY 116
13.4.1. Enabling Network Time Security (NTS) in the client configuration file 117

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

13.4.2. Enabling Network Time Security (NTS) on the server 118

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 14.
. . . RECOVERING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .AND
. . . . . RESTORING
. . . . . . . . . . . . .A
. . SYSTEM
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
...............
14.1. SETTING UP REAR 120
14.2. USING A REAR RESCUE IMAGE ON THE 64-BIT IBM Z ARCHITECTURE 121

4
Table of Contents

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

MAKING OPEN SOURCE MORE INCLUSIVE

Red Hat is committed to replacing problematic language in our code, documentation, and web
properties. We are beginning with these four terms: master, slave, blacklist, and whitelist. Because of the
enormity of this endeavor, these changes will be implemented gradually over several upcoming releases.
For more details, see our CTO Chris Wright’s message .

6
 PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON RED HAT DOCUMENTATION

PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON RED HAT DOCUMENTATION

We appreciate your feedback on our documentation. Let us know how we can improve it.

Submitting feedback through Jira (account required)

1. Log in to the Jira website.

2. Click Create in the top navigation bar

3. Enter a descriptive title in the Summary field.

4. Enter your suggestion for improvement in the Description field. Include links to the relevant
parts of the documentation.

5. Click Create at the bottom of the dialogue.

7
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

CHAPTER 1. CONFIGURING AND MANAGING BASIC NETWORK

ACCESS
This section describes only basic options on how to configure network settings in Red Hat
Enterprise Linux.

1.1. CONFIGURING THE NETWORK AND HOST NAME IN THE

GRAPHICAL INSTALLATION MODE
Follow the steps in this procedure to configure your network and host name.

Procedure

1. From the Installation Summary window, click Network and Host Name.

2. From the list in the left-hand pane, select an interface. The details are displayed in the right-
hand pane.

NOTE

There are several types of network device naming standards used to identify
network devices with persistent names, for example, em1 and wl3sp0. For
information about these standards, see the Configuring and managing networking
document.

3. Toggle the ON/OFF switch to enable or disable the selected interface.

NOTE

The installation program automatically detects locally accessible interfaces, and

you cannot add or remove them manually.

4. Click + to add a virtual network interface, which can be either: Team (deprecated), Bond, Bridge,
or VLAN.

5. Click - to remove a virtual interface.

6. Click Configure to change settings such as IP addresses, DNS servers, or routing configuration
for an existing interface (both virtual and physical).

7. Type a host name for your system in the Host Name field.

NOTE
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 CHAPTER 1. CONFIGURING AND MANAGING BASIC NETWORK ACCESS

NOTE

The host name can either be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) in the
format hostname.domainname, or a short host name without the domain.
Many networks have a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service
that automatically supplies connected systems with a domain name. To allow
the DHCP service to assign the domain name to this system, specify only the
short host name.

When using static IP and host name configuration, it depends on the planned
system use case whether to use a short name or FQDN. Red Hat Identity
Management configures FQDN during provisioning but some 3rd party
software products may require short name. In either case, to ensure
availability of both forms in all situations, add an entry for the host in
/etc/hosts in the format IP FQDN short-alias.

The value localhost means that no specific static host name for the target
system is configured, and the actual host name of the installed system is
configured during the processing of the network configuration, for example,
by NetworkManager using DHCP or DNS.

Host names can only contain alphanumeric characters and - or .. Host name
should be equal to or less than 64 characters. Host names cannot start or
end with - and .. To be compliant with DNS, each part of a FQDN should be
equal to or less than 63 characters and the FQDN total length, including dots,
should not exceed 255 characters.

8. Click Apply to apply the host name to the installer environment.

9. Alternatively, in the Network and Hostname window, you can choose the Wireless option. Click
Select network in the right-hand pane to select your wifi connection, enter the password if
required, and click Done.

Additional resources

Performing an advanced RHEL 9 installation

1.2. CONFIGURING AN ETHERNET CONNECTION BY USING NMCLI

If you connect a host to the network over Ethernet, you can manage the connection’s settings on the
command line by using the nmcli utility.

Prerequisites

A physical or virtual Ethernet Network Interface Controller (NIC) exists in the server’s
configuration.

Procedure

1. List the NetworkManager connection profiles:

# nmcli connection show

NAME UUID TYPE DEVICE
Wired connection 1 a5eb6490-cc20-3668-81f8-0314a27f3f75 ethernet enp1s0

By default, NetworkManager creates a profile for each NIC in the host. If you plan to connect
9
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

By default, NetworkManager creates a profile for each NIC in the host. If you plan to connect
this NIC only to a specific network, adapt the automatically-created profile. If you plan to
connect this NIC to networks with different settings, create individual profiles for each network.

2. If you want to create an additional connection profile, enter:

# nmcli connection add con-name <connection-name> ifname <device-name> type

ethernet

Skip this step to modify an existing profile.

3. Optional: Rename the connection profile:

# nmcli connection modify "Wired connection 1" connection.id "Internal-LAN"

On hosts with multiple profiles, a meaningful name makes it easier to identify the purpose of a
profile.

4. Display the current settings of the connection profile:

# nmcli connection show Internal-LAN

...
connection.interface-name: enp1s0
connection.autoconnect: yes
ipv4.method: auto
ipv6.method: auto
...

5. Configure the IPv4 settings:

To use DHCP, enter:

# nmcli connection modify Internal-LAN ipv4.method auto

Skip this step if ipv4.method is already set to auto (default).

To set a static IPv4 address, network mask, default gateway, DNS servers, and search
domain, enter:

# nmcli connection modify Internal-LAN ipv4.method manual ipv4.addresses

192.0.2.1/24 ipv4.gateway 192.0.2.254 ipv4.dns 192.0.2.200 ipv4.dns-search
example.com

6. Configure the IPv6 settings:

To use stateless address autoconfiguration (SLAAC), enter:

# nmcli connection modify Internal-LAN ipv6.method auto

Skip this step if ipv6.method is already set to auto (default).

To set a static IPv6 address, network mask, default gateway, DNS servers, and search
domain, enter:

10
 CHAPTER 1. CONFIGURING AND MANAGING BASIC NETWORK ACCESS

# nmcli connection modify Internal-LAN ipv6.method manual ipv6.addresses

2001:db8:1::fffe/64 ipv6.gateway 2001:db8:1::fffe ipv6.dns 2001:db8:1::ffbb
ipv6.dns-search example.com

7. To customize other settings in the profile, use the following command:

# nmcli connection modify <connection-name> <setting> <value>

Enclose values with spaces or semicolons in quotes.

8. Activate the profile:

# nmcli connection up Internal-LAN

Verification

1. Display the IP settings of the NIC:

# ip address show enp1s0

2: enp1s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP
group default qlen 1000
link/ether 52:54:00:17:b8:b6 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 192.0.2.1/24 brd 192.0.2.255 scope global noprefixroute enp1s0
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 2001:db8:1::fffe/64 scope global noprefixroute
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

2. Display the IPv4 default gateway:

# ip route show default

default via 192.0.2.254 dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102

3. Display the IPv6 default gateway:

# ip -6 route show default

default via 2001:db8:1::ffee dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102 pref medium

4. Display the DNS settings:

# cat /etc/resolv.conf
search example.com
nameserver 192.0.2.200
nameserver 2001:db8:1::ffbb

If multiple connection profiles are active at the same time, the order of nameserver entries
depend on the DNS priority values in these profile and the connection types.

5. Use the ping utility to verify that this host can send packets to other hosts:

# ping <host-name-or-IP-address>

Troubleshooting

11
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

Verify that the network cable is plugged-in to the host and a switch.

Check whether the link failure exists only on this host or also on other hosts connected to the
same switch.

Verify that the network cable and the network interface are working as expected. Perform
hardware diagnosis steps and replace defect cables and network interface cards.

If the configuration on the disk does not match the configuration on the device, starting or
restarting NetworkManager creates an in-memory connection that reflects the configuration of
the device. For further details and how to avoid this problem, see the NetworkManager
duplicates a connection after restart of NetworkManager service solution.

Additional resources

nm-settings(5) man page

1.3. CONFIGURING AN ETHERNET CONNECTION BY USING NMTUI

If you connect a host to the network over Ethernet, you can manage the connection’s settings in a text-
based user interface by using the nmtui application. Use nmtui to create new profiles and to update
existing ones on a host without a graphical interface.

NOTE

In nmtui:

Navigate by using the cursor keys.

Press a button by selecting it and hitting Enter.

Select and clear checkboxes by using Space.

Prerequisites

A physical or virtual Ethernet Network Interface Controller (NIC) exists in the server’s
configuration.

Procedure

1. If you do not know the network device name you want to use in the connection, display the
available devices:

# nmcli device status

DEVICE TYPE STATE CONNECTION
enp1s0 ethernet unavailable --
...

2. Start nmtui:

# nmtui

3. Select Edit a connection, and press Enter.

12
 CHAPTER 1. CONFIGURING AND MANAGING BASIC NETWORK ACCESS

4. Choose whether to add a new connection profile or to modify an existing one:

To create a new profile:

i. Press Add.

ii. Select Ethernet from the list of network types, and press Enter.

To modify an existing profile, select the profile from the list, and press Enter.

5. Optional: Update the name of the connection profile.

On hosts with multiple profiles, a meaningful name makes it easier to identify the purpose of a
profile.

6. If you create a new connection profile, enter the network device name into the Device field.

7. Depending on your environment, configure the IP address settings in the IPv4 configuration
and IPv6 configuration areas accordingly. For this, press the button next to these areas, and
select:

Disabled, if this connection does not require an IP address.

Automatic, if a DHCP server dynamically assigns an IP address to this NIC.

Manual, if the network requires static IP address settings. In this case, you must fill further
fields:

i. Press Show next to the protocol you want to configure to display additional fields.

ii. Press Add next to Addresses, and enter the IP address and the subnet mask in
Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) format.
If you do not specify a subnet mask, NetworkManager sets a /32 subnet mask for IPv4
addresses and /64 for IPv6 addresses.

iii. Enter the address of the default gateway.

iv. Press Add next to DNS servers, and enter the DNS server address.

v. Press Add next to Search domains, and enter the DNS search domain.

Figure 1.1. Example of an Ethernet connection with static IP address settings

13
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

Figure 1.1. Example of an Ethernet connection with static IP address settings

8. Press OK to create and automatically activate the new connection.

9. Press Back to return to the main menu.

10. Select Quit, and press Enter to close the nmtui application.

Verification

1. Display the IP settings of the NIC:

# ip address show enp1s0

2: enp1s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP
group default qlen 1000
link/ether 52:54:00:17:b8:b6 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

14
 CHAPTER 1. CONFIGURING AND MANAGING BASIC NETWORK ACCESS

inet 192.0.2.1/24 brd 192.0.2.255 scope global noprefixroute enp1s0

valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 2001:db8:1::fffe/64 scope global noprefixroute
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

2. Display the IPv4 default gateway:

# ip route show default

default via 192.0.2.254 dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102

3. Display the IPv6 default gateway:

# ip -6 route show default

default via 2001:db8:1::ffee dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102 pref medium

4. Display the DNS settings:

# cat /etc/resolv.conf
search example.com
nameserver 192.0.2.200
nameserver 2001:db8:1::ffbb

If multiple connection profiles are active at the same time, the order of nameserver entries
depend on the DNS priority values in these profile and the connection types.

5. Use the ping utility to verify that this host can send packets to other hosts:

# ping <host-name-or-IP-address>

Troubleshooting

Verify that the network cable is plugged-in to the host and a switch.

Check whether the link failure exists only on this host or also on other hosts connected to the
same switch.

Verify that the network cable and the network interface are working as expected. Perform
hardware diagnosis steps and replace defect cables and network interface cards.

If the configuration on the disk does not match the configuration on the device, starting or
restarting NetworkManager creates an in-memory connection that reflects the configuration of
the device. For further details and how to avoid this problem, see the NetworkManager
duplicates a connection after restart of NetworkManager service solution.

Additional resources

Configuring NetworkManager to avoid using a specific profile to provide a default gateway

Configuring the order of DNS servers

1.4. MANAGING NETWORKING IN THE RHEL WEB CONSOLE

In the web console, the Networking menu enables you:

15
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

To display currently received and sent packets

To display the most important characteristics of available network interfaces

To display content of the networking logs.

To add various types of network interfaces (bond, team, bridge, VLAN)

Figure 1.2. Managing Networking in the RHEL web console

1.5. MANAGING NETWORKING USING RHEL SYSTEM ROLES

You can configure the networking connections on multiple target machines using the network role.

The network role allows to configure the following types of interfaces:

Ethernet

Bridge

Bonded

VLAN

MacVLAN

InfiniBand

The required networking connections for each host are provided as a list within the
network_connections variable.

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 CHAPTER 1. CONFIGURING AND MANAGING BASIC NETWORK ACCESS


WARNING

The network role updates or creates all connection profiles on the target system
exactly as specified in the network_connections variable. Therefore, the network
role removes options from the specified profiles if the options are only present on
the system but not in the network_connections variable.

The following example shows how to apply the network role to ensure that an Ethernet connection with
the required parameters exists:

An example playbook applying the network role to set up an Ethernet connection with the
required parameters

# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
---
- hosts: managed-node-01.example.com
vars:
network_connections:

# Create one Ethernet profile and activate it.

# The profile uses automatic IP addressing
# and is tied to the interface by MAC address.
- name: prod1
state: up
type: ethernet
autoconnect: yes
mac: "00:00:5e:00:53:00"
mtu: 1450

roles:
- rhel-system-roles.network

Additional resources

Preparing a control node and managed nodes to use RHEL system roles

1.6. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Configuring and managing networking

17
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

CHAPTER 2. REGISTERING THE SYSTEM AND MANAGING

SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscriptions cover products installed on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, including the operating system
itself.

You can use a subscription to Red Hat Content Delivery Network to track:

Registered systems

Products installed on your systems

Subscriptions attached to the installed products

2.1. REGISTERING THE SYSTEM AFTER THE INSTALLATION

Use the following procedure to register your system if you have not registered it during the installation
process already.

Prerequisites

A valid user account in the Red Hat Customer Portal.

See the Create a Red Hat Login page.

An active subscription for the RHEL system.

For more information about the installation process, see Performing a standard RHEL 9
installation.

Procedure

1. Register and automatically subscribe your system in one step:

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

auto-attach
Registering to: subscription.rhsm.redhat.com:443/subscription
The system has been registered with ID: 37to907c-ece6-49ea-9174-20b87ajk9ee7
The registered system name is: client1.idm.example.com
Installed Product Current Status:
Product Name: Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64
Status: Subscribed

The command prompts you to enter your Red Hat Customer Portal user name and password.

If the registration process fails, you can register your system with a specific pool. For guidance
on how to do it, proceed with the following steps:

a. Determine the pool ID of a subscription that you require:

# subscription-manager list --available

This command displays all available subscriptions for your Red Hat account. For every
subscription, various characteristics are displayed, including the pool ID.

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 CHAPTER 2. REGISTERING THE SYSTEM AND MANAGING SUBSCRIPTIONS

b. Attach the appropriate subscription to your system by replacing pool_id with the pool ID
determined in the previous step:

# subscription-manager attach --pool=pool_id

NOTE

To register the system with Red Hat Insights, you can use the rhc connect utility. See
Setting up remote host configuration .

Additional resources

Understanding autoattaching subscriptions on the Customer Portal

Understanding the manual registration and subscription on the Customer Portal

2.2. REGISTERING SUBSCRIPTIONS WITH CREDENTIALS IN THE WEB

CONSOLE
Use the following steps to register a newly installed Red Hat Enterprise Linux with account credentials
using the RHEL web console.

Prerequisites

A valid user account on the Red Hat Customer Portal.

See the Create a Red Hat Login page.

Active subscription for your RHEL system.

Procedure

1. Log in to the RHEL web console. For details, see Logging in to the web console .

2. In the Health filed in the Overview page, click the Not registered warning, or click
Subscriptions in the main menu to move to page with your subscription information.

3. In the Overview filed, click Register.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

4. In the Register system dialog box, select that you want to register using your account
credentials.

5. Enter your username.

6. Enter your password.

7. Optionally, enter your organization’s name or ID.

If your account belongs to more than one organization on the Red Hat Customer Portal, you
have to add the organization name or organization ID. To get the org ID, go to your Red Hat
contact point.

If you do not want to connect your system to Red Hat Insights, clear the Insights check box.

8. Click the Register button.

At this point, your Red Hat Enterprise Linux Enterprise Linux system has been successfully registered.

2.3. REGISTERING A SYSTEM USING RED HAT ACCOUNT ON GNOME

Follow the steps in this procedure to enroll your system with your Red Hat account.

Prerequisites

20
 CHAPTER 2. REGISTERING THE SYSTEM AND MANAGING SUBSCRIPTIONS

A valid account on Red Hat customer portal.

See the Create a Red Hat Login page for new user registration.

Procedure

1. Open the system menu, which is accessible from the upper-right screen corner, and click
Settings.

2. Go to About → Subscription.

3. If you are not using the Red Hat server:

a. In the Registration Server section, select Custom Address.

b. Enter the server address in the URL field.

4. In the Registration Type section, select Red Hat Account.

5. In the Registration Details section:

Enter your Red Hat account user name in the Login field.

Enter your Red Hat account password in the Password field.

Enter the name of your organization in the Organization field.

6. Click Register.

2.4. REGISTERING A SYSTEM USING AN ACTIVATION KEY ON GNOME

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

Follow the steps in this procedure to register your system with an activation key. You can get the
activation key from your organization administrator.

Prerequisites

Activation key or keys.

See the Activation Keys page for creating new activation keys.

Procedure

1. Open the system menu, which is accessible from the upper-right screen corner, and click
Settings.

2. Go to About → Subscription.

3. If you are not using the Red Hat server:

a. In the Registration Server section, select Custom Address.

b. Enter the server address in the URL field.

4. In the Registration Type section, select Activation Keys.

5. Under Registration Details:

Enter your activation keys in the Activation Keys field.

Separate your keys by a comma (,).

Enter the name or ID of your organization in the Organization field.

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 CHAPTER 2. REGISTERING THE SYSTEM AND MANAGING SUBSCRIPTIONS

6. Click Register.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

CHAPTER 3. ACCESSING THE RED HAT SUPPORT

This section describes how to effectively troubleshoot your problems using Red Hat support and
sosreport.

To obtain support from Red Hat, use the Red Hat Customer Portal, which provides access to everything
available with your subscription.

3.1. OBTAINING RED HAT SUPPORT THROUGH RED HAT CUSTOMER

PORTAL
The following section describes how to use the Red Hat Customer Portal to get help.

Prerequisites

A valid user account on the Red Hat Customer Portal. See Create a Red Hat Login .

An active subscription for the RHEL system.

Procedure

1. Access Red Hat support:

a. Open a new support case.

b. Initiate a live chat with a Red Hat expert.

c. Contact a Red Hat expert by making a call or sending an email.

3.2. TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS USING SOSREPORT

The sosreport command collects configuration details, system information and diagnostic information
from a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system.

The following section describes how to use the sosreport command to produce reports for your support
cases.

Prerequisites

A valid user account on the Red Hat Customer Portal. See Create a Red Hat Login .

An active subscription for the RHEL system.

A support-case number.

Procedure

1. Install the sos package:

# dnf install sos

NOTE
24
 CHAPTER 3. ACCESSING THE RED HAT SUPPORT

NOTE

The default minimal installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux does not include the
sos package, which provides the sosreport command.

2. Generate a report:

# sosreport

3. Attach the report to your support case.

See the How can I attach a file to a Red Hat support case? Red Hat Knowledgebase article for
more information.

Note that when attaching the report, you are prompted to enter the number of the relevant
support case.

Additional resources

What is an sosreport and how to create one in Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

25
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

CHAPTER 4. CHANGING BASIC ENVIRONMENT SETTINGS

Configuration of basic environment settings is a part of the installation process. The following sections
guide you when you change them later. The basic configuration of the environment includes:

Date and time

System locales

Keyboard layout

Language

4.1. CONFIGURING THE DATE AND TIME

Accurate timekeeping is important for several reasons. In Red Hat Enterprise Linux, timekeeping is
ensured by the NTP protocol, which is implemented by a daemon running in user space. The user-space
daemon updates the system clock running in the kernel. The system clock can keep time by using
various clock sources.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 and later versions use the chronyd daemon to implement NTP. chronyd is
available from the chrony package. For more information, see Using the chrony suite to configure NTP .

4.1.1. Displaying the current date and time

To display the current date and time, use either of these steps.

Procedure

1. Enter the date command:

$ date
Mon Mar 30 16:02:59 CEST 2020

2. To see more details, use the timedatectl command:

$ timedatectl
Local time: Mon 2020-03-30 16:04:42 CEST
Universal time: Mon 2020-03-30 14:04:42 UTC
RTC time: Mon 2020-03-30 14:04:41
Time zone: Europe/Prague (CEST, +0200)
System clock synchronized: yes
NTP service: active
RTC in local TZ: no

Additional resources

Configuring time settings using the web console

man date(1) and man timedatectl(1)

4.2. CONFIGURING THE SYSTEM LOCALE

System-wide locale settings are stored in the /etc/locale.conf file that is read at early boot by the
26
 CHAPTER 4. CHANGING BASIC ENVIRONMENT SETTINGS

System-wide locale settings are stored in the /etc/locale.conf file that is read at early boot by the
systemd daemon. Every service or user inherits the locale settings configured in /etc/locale.conf, unless
individual programs or individual users override them.

Procedure

To list available system locale settings:

$ localectl list-locales
C.utf8
aa_DJ
aa_DJ.iso88591
aa_DJ.utf8
...

To display the current status of the system locales settings:

$ localectl status

To set or change the default system locale settings, use a localectl set-locale sub-command as
the root user. For example:

# localectl set-locale LANG=en_US

Additional resources

man localectl(1), man locale(7), and man locale.conf(5)

4.3. CONFIGURING THE KEYBOARD LAYOUT

The keyboard layout settings control the layout used on the text console and graphical user interfaces.

Procedure

To list available keymaps:

$ localectl list-keymaps
ANSI-dvorak
al
al-plisi
amiga-de
amiga-us
...

To display the current status of keymaps settings:

$ localectl status
...
VC Keymap: us
...

To set or change the default system keymap. For example:

27
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

# localectl set-keymap us

Additional resources

man localectl(1), man locale(7), and man locale.conf(5)

4.4. CHANGING THE FONT SIZE IN TEXT CONSOLE MODE

You can change the font size in the virtual console by using the setfont command.

Enter the setfont command with the name of the font, for example:

# setfont /usr/lib/kbd/consolefonts/LatArCyrHeb-19.psfu.gz

NOTE

The setfont command searches for multiple hard-coded paths by default. Therefore,
setfont does not require the full name and path to the font.

To double the size of the font horizontally and vertically, enter the setfont command with -d
parameter:

# setfont -d LatArCyrHeb-16

NOTE

The maximum font size that you can double is 16x16 pixel.

To preserve the selected font during the reboot of the system, use the FONT variable in the
/etc/vconsole.conf file, for example:

# cat /etc/vconsole.conf
KEYMAP="us"
FONT="eurlatgr"

You can find various fonts in the kbd-misc package, which is installed with the`kbd` package.
For example, the font LatArCyrHeb has many variants:

# rpm -ql kbd-misc | grep LatAr

/usr/lib/kbd/consolefonts/LatArCyrHeb-08.psfu.gz
/usr/lib/kbd/consolefonts/LatArCyrHeb-14.psfu.gz
/usr/lib/kbd/consolefonts/LatArCyrHeb-16+.psfu.gz
/usr/lib/kbd/consolefonts/LatArCyrHeb-16.psfu.gz
/usr/lib/kbd/consolefonts/LatArCyrHeb-19.psfu.gz

NOTE

The maximum supported font size by the virtual console is 32 pixels. You can reduce the
font readability problem by using smaller resolution for the console.

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 CHAPTER 4. CHANGING BASIC ENVIRONMENT SETTINGS

4.5. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Performing a standard RHEL 9 installation

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

CHAPTER 5. USING SECURE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN

TWO SYSTEMS WITH OPENSSH
SSH (Secure Shell) is a protocol which provides secure communications between two systems using a
client-server architecture and allows users to log in to server host systems remotely. Unlike other
remote communication protocols, such as FTP or Telnet, SSH encrypts the login session, which prevents
intruders to collect unencrypted passwords from the connection.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux includes the basic OpenSSH packages: the general openssh package, the
openssh-server package and the openssh-clients package. Note that the OpenSSH packages require
the OpenSSL package openssl-libs, which installs several important cryptographic libraries that enable
OpenSSH to provide encrypted communications.

5.1. SSH AND OPENSSH

SSH (Secure Shell) is a program for logging into a remote machine and executing commands on that
machine. The SSH protocol provides secure encrypted communications between two untrusted hosts
over an insecure network. You can also forward X11 connections and arbitrary TCP/IP ports over the
secure channel.

The SSH protocol mitigates security threats, such as interception of communication between two
systems and impersonation of a particular host, when you use it for remote shell login or file copying.
This is because the SSH client and server use digital signatures to verify their identities. Additionally, all
communication between the client and server systems is encrypted.

A host key authenticates hosts in the SSH protocol. Host keys are cryptographic keys that are
generated automatically when OpenSSH is first installed, or when the host boots for the first time.

OpenSSH is an implementation of the SSH protocol supported by Linux, UNIX, and similar operating
systems. It includes the core files necessary for both the OpenSSH client and server. The OpenSSH
suite consists of the following user-space tools:

ssh is a remote login program (SSH client).

sshd is an OpenSSH SSH daemon.

scp is a secure remote file copy program.

sftp is a secure file transfer program.

ssh-agent is an authentication agent for caching private keys.

ssh-add adds private key identities to ssh-agent.

ssh-keygen generates, manages, and converts authentication keys for ssh.

ssh-copy-id is a script that adds local public keys to the authorized_keys file on a remote SSH
server.

ssh-keyscan gathers SSH public host keys.

NOTE
30
 CHAPTER 5. USING SECURE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN TWO SYSTEMS WITH OPENSSH

NOTE

In RHEL 9, the Secure copy protocol (SCP) is replaced with the SSH File Transfer
Protocol (SFTP) by default. This is because SCP has already caused security issues, for
example CVE-2020-15778.

If SFTP is unavailable or incompatible in your scenario, you can use the -O option to force
use of the original SCP/RCP protocol.

For additional information, see the OpenSSH SCP protocol deprecation in Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 9 article.

Two versions of SSH currently exist: version 1, and the newer version 2. The OpenSSH suite in RHEL
supports only SSH version 2. It has an enhanced key-exchange algorithm that is not vulnerable to
exploits known in version 1.

OpenSSH, as one of core cryptographic subsystems of RHEL, uses system-wide crypto policies. This
ensures that weak cipher suites and cryptographic algorithms are disabled in the default configuration.
To modify the policy, the administrator must either use the update-crypto-policies command to adjust
the settings or manually opt out of the system-wide crypto policies.

The OpenSSH suite uses two sets of configuration files: one for client programs (that is, ssh, scp, and
sftp), and another for the server (the sshd daemon).

System-wide SSH configuration information is stored in the /etc/ssh/ directory. User-specific SSH
configuration information is stored in ~/.ssh/ in the user’s home directory. For a detailed list of
OpenSSH configuration files, see the FILES section in the sshd(8) man page.

Additional resources

Man pages listed by using the man -k ssh command

Using system-wide cryptographic policies

5.2. CONFIGURING AND STARTING AN OPENSSH SERVER

Use the following procedure for a basic configuration that might be required for your environment and
for starting an OpenSSH server. Note that after the default RHEL installation, the sshd daemon is
already started and server host keys are automatically created.

Prerequisites

The openssh-server package is installed.

Procedure

1. Start the sshd daemon in the current session and set it to start automatically at boot time:

# systemctl start sshd

# systemctl enable sshd

2. To specify different addresses than the default 0.0.0.0 (IPv4) or :: (IPv6) for the
ListenAddress directive in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config configuration file and to use a slower
dynamic network configuration, add the dependency on the network-online.target target unit

31
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

to the sshd.service unit file. To achieve this, create the

/etc/systemd/system/sshd.service.d/local.conf file with the following content:

[Unit]
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target

3. Review if OpenSSH server settings in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config configuration file meet the
requirements of your scenario.

4. Optionally, change the welcome message that your OpenSSH server displays before a client
authenticates by editing the /etc/issue file, for example:

Welcome to ssh-server.example.com
Warning: By accessing this server, you agree to the referenced terms and conditions.

Ensure that the Banner option is not commented out in /etc/ssh/sshd_config and its value
contains /etc/issue:

# less /etc/ssh/sshd_config | grep Banner

Banner /etc/issue

Note that to change the message displayed after a successful login you have to edit the
/etc/motd file on the server. See the pam_motd man page for more information.

5. Reload the systemd configuration and restart sshd to apply the changes:

# systemctl daemon-reload
# systemctl restart sshd

Verification

1. Check that the sshd daemon is running:

# systemctl status sshd

● sshd.service - OpenSSH server daemon
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/sshd.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Mon 2019-11-18 14:59:58 CET; 6min ago
Docs: man:sshd(8)
man:sshd_config(5)
Main PID: 1149 (sshd)
Tasks: 1 (limit: 11491)
Memory: 1.9M
CGroup: /system.slice/sshd.service
└─1149 /usr/sbin/sshd -D -oCiphers=aes128-ctr,aes256-ctr,aes128-cbc,aes256-cbc -
oMACs=hmac-sha2-256,>

Nov 18 14:59:58 ssh-server-example.com systemd[1]: Starting OpenSSH server daemon...

Nov 18 14:59:58 ssh-server-example.com sshd[1149]: Server listening on 0.0.0.0 port 22.
Nov 18 14:59:58 ssh-server-example.com sshd[1149]: Server listening on :: port 22.
Nov 18 14:59:58 ssh-server-example.com systemd[1]: Started OpenSSH server daemon.

2. Connect to the SSH server with an SSH client.

32
 CHAPTER 5. USING SECURE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN TWO SYSTEMS WITH OPENSSH

# ssh [email protected]
ECDSA key fingerprint is SHA256:dXbaS0RG/UzlTTku8GtXSz0S1++lPegSy31v3L/FAEc.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
Warning: Permanently added 'ssh-server-example.com' (ECDSA) to the list of known hosts.

[email protected]'s password:

Additional resources

sshd(8) and sshd_config(5) man pages.

5.3. SETTING AN OPENSSH SERVER FOR KEY-BASED

AUTHENTICATION
To improve system security, enforce key-based authentication by disabling password authentication on
your OpenSSH server.

Prerequisites

The openssh-server package is installed.

The sshd daemon is running on the server.

Procedure

1. Open the /etc/ssh/sshd_config configuration in a text editor, for example:

# vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config

2. Change the PasswordAuthentication option to no:

PasswordAuthentication no

On a system other than a new default installation, check that PubkeyAuthentication no has not
been set and the KbdInteractiveAuthentication directive is set to no. If you are connected
remotely, not using console or out-of-band access, test the key-based login process before
disabling password authentication.

3. To use key-based authentication with NFS-mounted home directories, enable the

use_nfs_home_dirs SELinux boolean:

# setsebool -P use_nfs_home_dirs 1

4. Reload the sshd daemon to apply the changes:

# systemctl reload sshd

Additional resources

sshd(8), sshd_config(5), and setsebool(8) man pages.

33
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

5.4. GENERATING SSH KEY PAIRS

Use this procedure to generate an SSH key pair on a local system and to copy the generated public key
to an OpenSSH server. If the server is configured accordingly, you can log in to the OpenSSH server
without providing any password.

IMPORTANT

If you complete the following steps as root, only root is able to use the keys.

Procedure

1. To generate an ECDSA key pair for version 2 of the SSH protocol:

$ ssh-keygen -t ecdsa
Generating public/private ecdsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/joesec/.ssh/id_ecdsa):
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /home/joesec/.ssh/id_ecdsa.
Your public key has been saved in /home/joesec/.ssh/id_ecdsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:Q/x+qms4j7PCQ0qFd09iZEFHA+SqwBKRNaU72oZfaCI
[email protected]
The key's randomart image is:
+---[ECDSA 256]---+
|.oo..o=++ |
|.. o .oo . |
|. .. o. o |
|....o.+... |
|o.oo.o +S . |
|.=.+. .o |
|E.*+. . . . |
|.=..+ +.. o |
| . oo*+o. |
+----[SHA256]-----+

You can also generate an RSA key pair by using the -t rsa option with the ssh-keygen
command or an Ed25519 key pair by entering the ssh-keygen -t ed25519 command.

2. To copy the public key to a remote machine:

$ ssh-copy-id [email protected]
/usr/bin/ssh-copy-id: INFO: attempting to log in with the new key(s), to filter out any that are
already installed
[email protected]'s password:
...
Number of key(s) added: 1

Now try logging into the machine, with: "ssh '[email protected]'" and check to
make sure that only the key(s) you wanted were added.

If you do not use the ssh-agent program in your session, the previous command copies the
most recently modified ~/.ssh/id*.pub public key if it is not yet installed. To specify another
public-key file or to prioritize keys in files over keys cached in memory by ssh-agent, use the

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 CHAPTER 5. USING SECURE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN TWO SYSTEMS WITH OPENSSH

ssh-copy-id command with the -i option.

NOTE

If you reinstall your system and want to keep previously generated key pairs, back up the
~/.ssh/ directory. After reinstalling, copy it back to your home directory. You can do this
for all users on your system, including root.

Verification

1. Log in to the OpenSSH server without providing any password:

$ ssh [email protected]
Welcome message.
...
Last login: Mon Nov 18 18:28:42 2019 from ::1

Additional resources

ssh-keygen(1) and ssh-copy-id(1) man pages.

5.5. USING SSH KEYS STORED ON A SMART CARD

Red Hat Enterprise Linux enables you to use RSA and ECDSA keys stored on a smart card on OpenSSH
clients. Use this procedure to enable authentication using a smart card instead of using a password.

Prerequisites

On the client side, the opensc package is installed and the pcscd service is running.

Procedure

1. List all keys provided by the OpenSC PKCS #11 module including their PKCS #11 URIs and save
the output to the keys.pub file:

$ ssh-keygen -D pkcs11: > keys.pub

$ ssh-keygen -D pkcs11:
ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2E...KKZMzcQZzx
pkcs11:id=%02;object=SIGN%20pubkey;token=SSH%20key;manufacturer=piv_II?module-
path=/usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so
ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAA...J0hkYnnsM=
pkcs11:id=%01;object=PIV%20AUTH%20pubkey;token=SSH%20key;manufacturer=piv_II?
module-path=/usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so

2. To enable authentication using a smart card on a remote server (example.com), transfer the
public key to the remote server. Use the ssh-copy-id command with keys.pub created in the
previous step:

$ ssh-copy-id -f -i keys.pub [email protected]

3. To connect to example.com using the ECDSA key from the output of the ssh-keygen -D
command in step 1, you can use just a subset of the URI, which uniquely references your key, for
example:

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

$ ssh -i "pkcs11:id=%01?module-path=/usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so" example.com

Enter PIN for 'SSH key':
[example.com] $

4. You can use the same URI string in the ~/.ssh/config file to make the configuration permanent:

$ cat ~/.ssh/config
IdentityFile "pkcs11:id=%01?module-path=/usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so"
$ ssh example.com
Enter PIN for 'SSH key':
[example.com] $

Because OpenSSH uses the p11-kit-proxy wrapper and the OpenSC PKCS #11 module is
registered to PKCS#11 Kit, you can simplify the previous commands:

$ ssh -i "pkcs11:id=%01" example.com

Enter PIN for 'SSH key':
[example.com] $

If you skip the id= part of a PKCS #11 URI, OpenSSH loads all keys that are available in the proxy module.
This can reduce the amount of typing required:

$ ssh -i pkcs11: example.com

Enter PIN for 'SSH key':
[example.com] $

Additional resources

Fedora 28: Better smart card support in OpenSSH

p11-kit(8), opensc.conf(5), pcscd(8), ssh(1), and ssh-keygen(1) man pages

5.6. MAKING OPENSSH MORE SECURE

The following tips help you to increase security when using OpenSSH. Note that changes in the
/etc/ssh/sshd_config OpenSSH configuration file require reloading the sshd daemon to take effect:

# systemctl reload sshd

IMPORTANT

The majority of security hardening configuration changes reduce compatibility with

clients that do not support up-to-date algorithms or cipher suites.

Disabling insecure connection protocols

To make SSH truly effective, prevent the use of insecure connection protocols that are replaced
by the OpenSSH suite. Otherwise, a user’s password might be protected using SSH for one
session only to be captured later when logging in using Telnet. For this reason, consider
disabling insecure protocols, such as telnet, rsh, rlogin, and ftp.

Enabling key-based authentication and disabling password-based authentication

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 CHAPTER 5. USING SECURE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN TWO SYSTEMS WITH OPENSSH

Disabling passwords for authentication and allowing only key pairs reduces the attack surface
and it also might save users’ time. On clients, generate key pairs using the ssh-keygen tool and
use the ssh-copy-id utility to copy public keys from clients on the OpenSSH server. To disable
password-based authentication on your OpenSSH server, edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config and
change the PasswordAuthentication option to no:

PasswordAuthentication no

Key types

Although the ssh-keygen command generates a pair of RSA keys by default, you can instruct it
to generate ECDSA or Ed25519 keys by using the -t option. The ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital
Signature Algorithm) offers better performance than RSA at the equivalent symmetric key
strength. It also generates shorter keys. The Ed25519 public-key algorithm is an implementation
of twisted Edwards curves that is more secure and also faster than RSA, DSA, and ECDSA.
OpenSSH creates RSA, ECDSA, and Ed25519 server host keys automatically if they are missing.
To configure the host key creation in RHEL, use the [email protected] instantiated
service. For example, to disable the automatic creation of the RSA key type:

# systemctl mask [email protected]

NOTE

In images with cloud-init enabled, the ssh-keygen units are automatically

disabled. This is because the ssh-keygen template service can interfere with the
cloud-init tool and cause problems with host key generation. To prevent these
problems the etc/systemd/system/[email protected]/disable-sshd-
keygen-if-cloud-init-active.conf drop-in configuration file disables the ssh-
keygen units if cloud-init is running.

To exclude particular key types for SSH connections, comment out the relevant lines in
/etc/ssh/sshd_config, and reload the sshd service. For example, to allow only Ed25519 host
keys:

# HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key
# HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key

IMPORTANT

The Ed25519 algorithm is not FIPS-140-compliant, and OpenSSH does not work
with Ed25519 keys in FIPS mode.

Non-default port

By default, the sshd daemon listens on TCP port 22. Changing the port reduces the exposure
of the system to attacks based on automated network scanning and therefore increase security
through obscurity. You can specify the port using the Port directive in the
/etc/ssh/sshd_config configuration file.
You also have to update the default SELinux policy to allow the use of a non-default port. To do
so, use the semanage tool from the policycoreutils-python-utils package:

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

# semanage port -a -t ssh_port_t -p tcp <port_number>

Furthermore, update firewalld configuration:

# firewall-cmd --add-port <port_number>/tcp

# firewall-cmd --remove-port=22/tcp
# firewall-cmd --runtime-to-permanent

In the previous commands, replace <port_number> with the new port number specified using the
Port directive.

Root login

PermitRootLogin is set to prohibit-password by default. This enforces the use of key-based

authentication instead of the use of passwords for logging in as root and reduces risks by
preventing brute-force attacks.


WARNING

Enabling logging in as the root user is not a secure practice because the
administrator cannot audit which users run which privileged commands. For
using administrative commands, log in and use sudo instead.

Using the X Security extension

The X server in Red Hat Enterprise Linux clients does not provide the X Security extension.
Therefore, clients cannot request another security layer when connecting to untrusted SSH
servers with X11 forwarding. Most applications are not able to run with this extension enabled
anyway.
By default, the ForwardX11Trusted option in the /etc/ssh/ssh_config.d/50-redhat.conf file is
set to yes, and there is no difference between the ssh -X remote_machine (untrusted host)
and ssh -Y remote_machine (trusted host) command.

If your scenario does not require the X11 forwarding feature at all, set the X11Forwarding
directive in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config configuration file to no.

Restricting access to specific users, groups, or domains

The AllowUsers and AllowGroups directives in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config configuration file

server enable you to permit only certain users, domains, or groups to connect to your OpenSSH
server. You can combine AllowUsers and AllowGroups to restrict access more precisely, for
example:

AllowUsers *@192.168.1.* *@10.0.0.* !*@192.168.1.2

AllowGroups example-group

The previous configuration lines accept connections from all users from systems in 192.168.1.*
and 10.0.0.* subnets except from the system with the 192.168.1.2 address. All users must be in
the example-group group. The OpenSSH server denies all other connections.

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 CHAPTER 5. USING SECURE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN TWO SYSTEMS WITH OPENSSH

The OpenSSH server permits only connections that pass all Allow and Deny directives in
/etc/ssh/sshd_config. For example, if the AllowUsers directive lists a user that is not part of a
group listed in the AllowGroups directive, then the user cannot log in.

Note that using allowlists (directives starting with Allow) is more secure than using blocklists
(options starting with Deny) because allowlists block also new unauthorized users or groups.

Changing system-wide cryptographic policies

OpenSSH uses RHEL system-wide cryptographic policies, and the default system-wide
cryptographic policy level offers secure settings for current threat models. To make your
cryptographic settings more strict, change the current policy level:

# update-crypto-policies --set FUTURE

Setting system policy to FUTURE


WARNING

If your system communicates on the internet, you might face

interoperability problems due to the strict setting of the FUTURE policy.

You can also disable only specific ciphers for the SSH protocol through the system-wide cryptographic
policies. See the Customizing system-wide cryptographic policies with subpolicies section in the
Security hardening document for more information.

To opt out of the system-wide cryptographic policies for your OpenSSH server, specify the
cryptographic policy in a drop-in configuration file located in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/ directory,
with a two-digit number prefix smaller than 50, so that it lexicographically precedes the 50-redhat.conf
file, and with a .conf suffix, for example, 49-crypto-policy-override.conf.

See the sshd_config(5) man page for more information.

To opt out of system-wide cryptographic policies for your OpenSSH client, perform one of the following
tasks:

For a given user, override the global ssh_config with a user-specific configuration in the
~/.ssh/config file.

For the entire system, specify the cryptographic policy in a drop-in configuration file located in
the /etc/ssh/ssh_config.d/ directory, with a two-digit number prefix smaller than 50, so that it
lexicographically precedes the 50-redhat.conf file, and with a .conf suffix, for example, 49-
crypto-policy-override.conf.

Additional resources

sshd_config(5), ssh-keygen(1), crypto-policies(7), and update-crypto-policies(8) man pages.

Using system-wide cryptographic policies in the Security hardening document.

How to disable specific algorithms and ciphers for ssh service only article.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

5.7. CONNECTING TO A REMOTE SERVER USING AN SSH JUMP HOST

Use this procedure for connecting your local system to a remote server through an intermediary server,
also called jump host.

Prerequisites

A jump host accepts SSH connections from your local system.

A remote server accepts SSH connections only from the jump host.

Procedure

1. Define the jump host by editing the ~/.ssh/config file on your local system, for example:

Host jump-server1
HostName jump1.example.com

The Host parameter defines a name or alias for the host you can use in ssh commands. The
value can match the real host name, but can also be any string.

The HostName parameter sets the actual host name or IP address of the jump host.

2. Add the remote server jump configuration with the ProxyJump directive to ~/.ssh/config file
on your local system, for example:

Host remote-server
HostName remote1.example.com
ProxyJump jump-server1

3. Use your local system to connect to the remote server through the jump server:

$ ssh remote-server

The previous command is equivalent to the ssh -J jump-server1 remote-server command if

you omit the configuration steps 1 and 2.

NOTE

You can specify more jump servers and you can also skip adding host definitions to the
configurations file when you provide their complete host names, for example:

$ ssh -J jump1.example.com,jump2.example.com,jump3.example.com
remote1.example.com

Change the host name-only notation in the previous command if the user names or SSH
ports on the jump servers differ from the names and ports on the remote server, for
example:

$ ssh -J
[email protected]:75,[email protected]:75,[email protected]
xample.com:75 [email protected]:220

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 CHAPTER 5. USING SECURE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN TWO SYSTEMS WITH OPENSSH

Additional resources

ssh_config(5) and ssh(1) man pages.

5.8. CONNECTING TO REMOTE MACHINES WITH SSH KEYS USING

SSH-AGENT
To avoid entering a passphrase each time you initiate an SSH connection, you can use the ssh-agent
utility to cache the private SSH key. The private key and the passphrase remain secure.

Prerequisites

You have a remote host with SSH daemon running and reachable through the network.

You know the IP address or hostname and credentials to log in to the remote host.

You have generated an SSH key pair with a passphrase and transferred the public key to the
remote machine.

For more information, see Generating SSH key pairs .

Procedure

1. Optional: Verify you can use the key to authenticate to the remote host:

a. Connect to the remote host using SSH:

$ ssh [email protected] hostname

b. Enter the passphrase you set while creating the key to grant access to the private key.

$ ssh [email protected] hostname

host.example.com

2. Start the ssh-agent.

$ eval $(ssh-agent)
Agent pid 20062

3. Add the key to ssh-agent.

$ ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa
Enter passphrase for ~/.ssh/id_rsa:
Identity added: ~/.ssh/id_rsa ([email protected])

Verification

Optional: Log in to the host machine using SSH.

$ ssh [email protected]

Last login: Mon Sep 14 12:56:37 2020

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

Note that you did not have to enter the passphrase.

5.9. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

sshd(8), ssh(1), scp(1), sftp(1), ssh-keygen(1), ssh-copy-id(1), ssh_config(5),
sshd_config(5), update-crypto-policies(8), and crypto-policies(7) man pages.

OpenSSH Home Page

Configuring SELinux for applications and services with non-standard configurations

Controlling network traffic using firewalld

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 CHAPTER 6. CONFIGURING BASIC SYSTEM SECURITY

CHAPTER 6. CONFIGURING BASIC SYSTEM SECURITY

Computer security is the protection of computer systems and their hardware, software, information, and
services from theft, damage, disruption, and misdirection. Ensuring computer security is an essential
task, in particular in enterprises that process sensitive data and handle business transactions.

This section covers only the basic security features that you can configure after installation of the
operating system.

6.1. ENABLING THE FIREWALLD SERVICE

A firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic
according to configured security rules. A firewall typically establishes a barrier between a trusted secure
internal network and another outside network.

The firewalld service, which provides a firewall in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, is automatically enabled
during installation.

To enable the firewalld service, follow this procedure.

Procedure

Display the current status of firewalld:

$ systemctl status firewalld

● firewalld.service - firewalld - dynamic firewall daemon
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/firewalld.service; disabled; vendor preset:
enabled)
Active: inactive (dead)
...

If firewalld is not enabled and running, switch to the root user, and start the firewalld service
and enable to start it automatically after the system restarts:

# systemctl enable --now firewalld

Verification steps

Check that firewalld is running and enabled:

$ systemctl status firewalld

● firewalld.service - firewalld - dynamic firewall daemon
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/firewalld.service; enabled; vendor preset:
enabled)
Active: active (running)
...

Additional resources

Using and configuring firewalld

man firewalld(1)

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

6.2. MANAGING BASIC SELINUX SETTINGS

Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) is an additional layer of system security that determines which
processes can access which files, directories, and ports. These permissions are defined in SELinux
policies. A policy is a set of rules that guide the SELinux security engine.

SELinux has two possible states:

Disabled

Enabled

When SELinux is enabled, it runs in one of the following modes:

Enabled

Enforcing

Permissive

In enforcing mode, SELinux enforces the loaded policies. SELinux denies access based on SELinux
policy rules and enables only the interactions that are explicitly allowed. Enforcing mode is the safest
SELinux mode and is the default mode after installation.

In permissive mode, SELinux does not enforce the loaded policies. SELinux does not deny access, but
reports actions that break the rules to the /var/log/audit/audit.log log. Permissive mode is the default
mode during installation. Permissive mode is also useful in some specific cases, for example when
troubleshooting problems.

Additional resources

Using SELinux

6.3. ENSURING THE REQUIRED STATE OF SELINUX

By default, SELinux operates in enforcing mode. However, in specific scenarios, you can set SELinux to
permissive mode or even disable it.

IMPORTANT

Red Hat recommends to keep your system in enforcing mode. For debugging purposes,
you can set SELinux to permissive mode.

Follow this procedure to change the state and mode of SELinux on your system.

Procedure

1. Display the current SELinux mode:

$ getenforce

2. To temporarily set SELinux:

a. To Enforcing mode:

44
 CHAPTER 6. CONFIGURING BASIC SYSTEM SECURITY

# setenforce Enforcing

b. To Permissive mode:

# setenforce Permissive

NOTE

After reboot, SELinux mode is set to the value specified in the

/etc/selinux/config configuration file.

3. To set SELinux mode to persist across reboots, modify the SELINUX variable in the
/etc/selinux/config configuration file.
For example, to switch SELinux to enforcing mode:

# This file controls the state of SELinux on the system.

# SELINUX= can take one of these three values:
# enforcing - SELinux security policy is enforced.
# permissive - SELinux prints warnings instead of enforcing.
# disabled - No SELinux policy is loaded.
SELINUX=enforcing
...


WARNING

Disabling SELinux reduces your system security. Avoid disabling SELinux

using the SELINUX=disabled option in the /etc/selinux/config file
because this can result in memory leaks and race conditions causing kernel
panics. Instead, disable SELinux by adding the selinux=0 parameter to the
kernel command line. For more information, see Changing SELinux modes
at boot time.

Additional resources

Changing SELinux states and modes

6.4. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Generating SSH key pairs

Setting an OpenSSH server for key-based authentication

Security hardening

Using SELinux

Securing networks

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

CHAPTER 7. INTRODUCTION TO RHEL SYSTEM ROLES

By using RHEL system roles, you can remotely manage the system configurations of multiple RHEL
systems across major versions of RHEL.

Important terms and concepts

The following describes important terms and concepts in an Ansible environment:

Control node
A control node is the system from which you run Ansible commands and playbooks. Your control
node can be an Ansible Automation Platform, Red Hat Satellite, or a RHEL 9, 8, or 7 host. For more
information, see Preparing a control node on RHEL 9 .
Managed node
Managed nodes are the servers and network devices that you manage with Ansible. Managed nodes
are also sometimes called hosts. Ansible does not have to be installed on managed nodes. For more
information, see Preparing a managed node .
Ansible playbook
In a playbook, you define the configuration you want to achieve on your managed nodes or a set of
steps for the system on the managed node to perform. Playbooks are Ansible’s configuration,
deployment, and orchestration language.
Inventory
In an inventory file, you list the managed nodes and specify information such as IP address for each
managed node. In the inventory, you can also organize the managed nodes by creating and nesting
groups for easier scaling. An inventory file is also sometimes called a hostfile.

Available roles on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 control node

On a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 control node, the rhel-system-roles package provides the following
roles:

Role name Role description Chapter title

certificate Certificate Issuance and Requesting certificates by using RHEL system roles
Renewal

cockpit Web console Installing and configuring web console with the
cockpit RHEL system role

crypto_policies System-wide Setting a custom cryptographic policy across

cryptographic policies systems

firewall Firewalld Configuring firewalld by using system roles

ha_cluster HA Cluster Configuring a high-availability cluster by using

system roles

kdump Kernel Dumps Configuring kdump by using RHEL system roles

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 CHAPTER 7. INTRODUCTION TO RHEL SYSTEM ROLES

Role name Role description Chapter title

kernel_settings Kernel Settings Using Ansible roles to permanently configure kernel

parameters

logging Logging Using the logging system role

metrics Metrics (PCP) Monitoring performance by using RHEL system roles

network Networking Using the network RHEL system role to manage

InfiniBand connections

nbde_client Network Bound Disk Using the nbde_client and nbde_server system roles
Encryption client

nbde_server Network Bound Disk Using the nbde_client and nbde_server system roles
Encryption server

postfix Postfix Variables of the postfix role in system roles

postgresql PostgreSQL Installing and configuring PostgreSQL by using the

postgresql RHEL system role

selinux SELinux Configuring SELinux by using system roles

ssh SSH client Configuring secure communication with the ssh

system roles

sshd SSH server Configuring secure communication with the ssh

system roles

storage Storage Managing local storage by using RHEL system roles

tlog Terminal Session Configuring a system for session recording by using

Recording the tlog RHEL system role

timesync Time Synchronization Configuring time synchronization by using RHEL

system roles

vpn VPN Configuring VPN connections with IPsec by using the

vpn RHEL system role

Additional resources

Automating system administration by using RHEL system roles

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) system roles

/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.<role_name>/README.md file

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

/usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/<role_name>/ directory

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 CHAPTER 8. TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS BY USING LOG FILES

CHAPTER 8. TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS BY USING LOG

FILES
Log files contain messages about the system, including the kernel, services, and applications running on
it. These contain information that helps troubleshoot issues or monitor system functions. The logging
system in Red Hat Enterprise Linux is based on the built-in syslog protocol. Particular programs use
this system to record events and organize them into log files, which are useful when auditing the
operating system and troubleshooting various problems.

8.1. SERVICES HANDLING SYSLOG MESSAGES

The following two services handle syslog messages:

The systemd-journald daemon

The Rsyslog service

The systemd-journald daemon collects messages from various sources and forwards them to Rsyslog
for further processing. The systemd-journald daemon collects messages from the following sources:

Kernel

Early stages of the boot process

Standard and error output of daemons as they start up and run

Syslog

The Rsyslog service sorts the syslog messages by type and priority and writes them to the files in the
/var/log directory. The /var/log directory persistently stores the log messages.

8.2. SUBDIRECTORIES STORING SYSLOG MESSAGES

The following subdirectories under the /var/log directory store syslog messages.

/var/log/messages - all syslog messages except the following

/var/log/secure - security and authentication-related messages and errors

/var/log/maillog - mail server-related messages and errors

/var/log/cron - log files related to periodically executed tasks

/var/log/boot.log - log files related to system startup

8.3. INSPECTING LOG FILES USING THE WEB CONSOLE

Follow the steps in this procedure to inspect the log files using the RHEL web console.

Procedure

1. Log into the RHEL web console. For details see Logging in to the web console .

2. Click Logs.

Figure 8.1. Inspecting the log files in the RHEL 9 web console
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

Figure 8.1. Inspecting the log files in the RHEL 9 web console

8.4. VIEWING LOGS USING THE COMMAND LINE

The Journal is a component of systemd that helps to view and manage log files. It addresses problems
connected with traditional logging, closely integrated with the rest of the system, and supports various
logging technologies and access management for the log files.

You can use the journalctl command to view messages in the system journal using the command line,
for example:

$ journalctl -b | grep kvm

May 15 11:31:41 localhost.localdomain kernel: kvm-clock: Using msrs 4b564d01 and 4b564d00
May 15 11:31:41 localhost.localdomain kernel: kvm-clock: cpu 0, msr 76401001, primary cpu clock
...

Table 8.1. Viewing system information

Command Description

journalctl Shows all collected journal entries.

journalctl FILEPATH Shows logs related to a specific file. For example, the
journalctl /dev/sda command displays logs related
to the /dev/sda file system.

journalctl -b Shows logs for the current boot.

journalctl -k -b -1 Shows kernel logs for the current boot.

Table 8.2. Viewing information about specific services

Command Description

journalctl -b Filters log to show entries matching the systemd

_SYSTEMD_UNIT=<name.service> service.

journalctl -b Combines matches. For example, this command

_SYSTEMD_UNIT=<name.service> shows logs for systemd-units that match
_PID=<number> <name.service> and the PID <number>.

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 CHAPTER 8. TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS BY USING LOG FILES

Command Description

journalctl -b The plus sign (+) separator combines two expressions

_SYSTEMD_UNIT=<name.service> in a logical OR. For example, this command shows all
_PID=<number> + messages from the <name.service> service
_SYSTEMD_UNIT=<name2.service> process with the PID plus all messages from the
<name2.service> service (from any of its
processes).

journalctl -b This command shows all entries matching either

_SYSTEMD_UNIT=<name.service> expression, referring to the same field. Here, this
_SYSTEMD_UNIT=<name2.service> command shows logs matching a systemd-unit
<name.service> or a systemd-unit
<name2.service> .

Table 8.3. Viewing logs related to specific boots

Command Description

journalctl --list-boots Shows a tabular list of boot numbers, their IDs, and
the timestamps of the first and last message
pertaining to the boot. You can use the ID in the next
command to view detailed information.

journalctl --boot=ID Shows information about the specified boot ID.

_SYSTEMD_UNIT=<name.service>

8.5. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

man journalctl(1)

Configuring a remote logging solution

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Configuring basic system settings

CHAPTER 9. MANAGING USERS AND GROUPS

Preventing unauthorized access to files and processes requires an accurate user and group
management. If you do not manage accounts centrally or you require a user account or group only on a
specific system, you can create them locally on this host.

9.1. INTRODUCTION TO MANAGING USER AND GROUP ACCOUNTS

The control of users and groups is a core element of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) system
administration. Each RHEL user has distinct login credentials and can be assigned to various groups to
customize their system privileges.

9.1.1. Introduction to users and groups

A user who creates a file is the owner of that file and the group owner of that file. The file is assigned
separate read, write, and execute permissions for the owner, the group, and those outside that group.
The file owner can be changed only by the root user. Access permissions to the file can be changed by
both the root user and the file owner. A regular user can change group ownership of a file they own to a
group of which they are a member of.

Each user is associated with a unique numerical identification number called user ID (UID). Each group is
associated with a group ID (GID). Users within a group share the same permissions to read, write, and
execute files owned by that group.

9.1.2. Configuring reserved user and group IDs

RHEL reserves user and group IDs below 1000 for system users and groups. You can find the reserved
user and group IDs in the setup package. To view reserved user and group IDs, use:

cat /usr/share/doc/setup*/uidgid

It is recommended to assign IDs to the new users and groups starting at 5000, as the reserved range
can increase in the future.

To make the IDs assigned to new users start at 5000 by default, modify the UID_MIN and GID_MIN
parameters in the /etc/login.defs file.

Procedure
To modify and make the IDs assigned to new users start at 5000 by default:

1. Open the /etc/login.defs file in an editor of your choice.

2. Find the lines that define the minimum value for automatic UID selection.

# Min/max values for automatic uid selection in useradd

#
UID_MIN 1000

3. Modify the UID_MIN value to start at 5000.

# Min/max values for automatic uid selection in useradd

#
UID_MIN 5000

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 CHAPTER 9. MANAGING USERS AND GROUPS

4. Find the lines that define the minimum value for automatic GID selection.

# Min/max values for automatic gid selection in groupadd

#
GID_MIN 1000

5. Modify the GID_MIN value to start at 5000.

# Min/max values for automatic gid selection in groupadd

#
GID_MIN 5000

The dynamically assigned UIDs and GIDs for the regular users now start at 5000.

NOTE

The UID’s and GID’s of users and groups created before you changed the
UID_MIN and GID_MIN values do not change.

This will allow new user’s group to have same 5000+ ID as UID and GID.


WARNING

Do not raise IDs reserved by the system above 1000 by changing

SYS_UID_MAX to avoid conflict with systems that retain the 1000 limit.

9.1.3. User private groups

RHEL uses the user private group (UPG) system configuration, which makes UNIX groups easier to
manage. A user private group is created whenever a new user is added to the system. The user private
group has the same name as the user for which it was created and that user is the only member of the
user private group.

UPGs simplify the collaboration on a project between multiple users. In addition, UPG system
configuration makes it safe to set default permissions for a newly created file or directory, as it allows
both the user, and the group this user is a part of, to make modifications to the file or directory.

A list of all groups is stored in the /etc/group configuration file.

9.2. GETTING STARTED WITH MANAGING USER ACCOUNTS

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a multi-user operating system, which enables multiple users on different
computers to access a single system installed on one machine. Every user operates under its own
account, and managing user accounts thus represents a core element of Red Hat Enterprise Linux
system administration.

The following are the different types of user accounts:

Normal user accounts:

Normal accounts are created for users of a particular system. Such accounts can be added,
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Normal accounts are created for users of a particular system. Such accounts can be added,
removed, and modified during normal system administration.

System user accounts:

System user accounts represent a particular applications identifier on a system. Such accounts
are generally added or manipulated only at software installation time, and they are not modified
later.


WARNING

System accounts are presumed to be available locally on a system. If these

accounts are configured and provided remotely, such as in the instance of
an LDAP configuration, system breakage and service start failures can
occur.

For system accounts, user IDs below 1000 are reserved. For normal accounts, you can use IDs
starting at 1000. However, the recommended practice is to assign IDs starting at 5000. For
assigning IDs, see the /etc/login.defs file.

Group:
A group is an entity which ties together multiple user accounts for a common purpose, such as
granting access to particular files.

9.2.1. Managing accounts and groups using command line tools

Use the following basic command-line tools to manage user accounts and groups.

To display user and group IDs:

$ id
uid=1000(example.user) gid=1000(example.user) groups=1000(example.user),10(wheel)
context=unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t:s0-s0:c0.c1023

To create a new user account:

# useradd example.user

To assign a new password to a user account belonging to example.user:

# passwd example.user

To add a user to a group:

# usermod -a -G example.group example.user

Additional resources

man useradd(8), man passwd(1), and man usermod(8)

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9.2.2. System user accounts managed in the web console

With user accounts displayed in the RHEL web console you can:

Authenticate users when accessing the system.

Set the access rights to the system.

The RHEL web console displays all user accounts located in the system. Therefore, you can see at least
one user account just after the first login to the web console.

After logging into the RHEL web console, you can perform the following operations:

Create new users accounts.

Change their parameters.

Lock accounts.

Terminate user sessions.

9.2.3. Adding new accounts using the web console

Use the following steps for adding user accounts to the system and setting administration rights to the
accounts through the RHEL web console.

Prerequisites

The RHEL web console must be installed and accessible. For details, see Installing the web
console.

Procedure

1. Log in to the RHEL web console.

2. Click Accounts.

3. Click Create New Account.

4. In the Full Name field, enter the full name of the user.
The RHEL web console automatically suggests a user name from the full name and fills it in the
User Name field. If you do not want to use the original naming convention consisting of the first
letter of the first name and the whole surname, update the suggestion.

5. In the Password/Confirm fields, enter the password and retype it for verification that your
password is correct.
The color bar below the fields shows you the security level of the entered password, which does
not allow you to create a user with a weak password.

6. Click Create to save the settings and close the dialog box.

7. Select the newly created account.

8. In the Groups drop-down menu, select the groups that you want to add to the new account.

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Now you can see the new account in the Accounts settings and you can use its credentials to
connect to the system.

9.3. MANAGING USERS FROM THE COMMAND LINE

You can manage users and groups using the command-line interface (CLI). This enables you to add,
remove, and modify users and user groups in Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment.

9.3.1. Adding a new user from the command line

You can use the useradd utility to add a new user.

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure

To add a new user, use:

# useradd options username

Replace options with the command-line options for the useradd command, and replace
username with the name of the user.

Example 9.1. Adding a new user

To add the user sarah with user ID 5000, use:

# useradd -u 5000 sarah

Verification steps

To verify the new user is added, use the id utility.

# id sarah

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The output returns:

uid=5000(sarah) gid=5000(sarah) groups=5000(sarah)

Additional resources

useradd man page

9.3.2. Adding a new group from the command line

You can use the groupadd utility to add a new group.

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure

To add a new group, use:

# groupadd options group-name

Replace options with the command-line options for the groupadd command, and replace
group-name with the name of the group.

Example 9.2. Adding a new group

To add the group sysadmins with group ID 5000, use:

# groupadd -g 5000 sysadmins

Verification steps

To verify the new group is added, use the tail utility.

# tail /etc/group

The output returns:

sysadmins:x:5000:

Additional resources

groupadd man page

9.3.3. Adding a user to a supplementary group from the command line

You can add a user to a supplementary group to manage permissions or enable access to certain files or
devices.

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Prerequisites

root access

Procedure

To add a group to the supplementary groups of the user, use:

# usermod --append -G group-name username

Replace group-name with the name of the group, and replace username with the name of the
user.

Example 9.3. Adding a user to a supplementary group

To add the user sysadmin to the group system-administrators, use:

# usermod --append -G system-administrators sysadmin

Verification steps

To verify the new groups is added to the supplementary groups of the user sysadmin, use:

# groups sysadmin

The output displays:

sysadmin : sysadmin system-administrators

9.3.4. Creating a group directory

Under the UPG system configuration, you can apply the set-group identification permission (setgid bit)
to a directory. The setgid bit makes managing group projects that share a directory simpler. When you
apply the setgid bit to a directory, files created within that directory are automatically assigned to a
group that owns the directory. Any user that has the permission to write and execute within this group
can now create, modify, and delete files in the directory.

The following section describes how to create group directories.

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure

1. Create a directory:

# mkdir directory-name

Replace directory-name with the name of the directory.

2. Create a group:

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# groupadd group-name

Replace group-name with the name of the group.

3. Add users to the group:

# usermod --append -G group-name username

Replace group-name with the name of the group, and replace username with the name of the
user.

4. Associate the user and group ownership of the directory with the group-name group:

# chgrp group-name directory-name

Replace group-name with the name of the group, and replace directory-name with the name of
the directory.

5. Set the write permissions to allow the users to create and modify files and directories and set
the setgid bit to make this permission be applied within the directory-name directory:

# chmod g+rwxs directory-name

Replace directory-name with the name of the directory.

Now all members of the group-name group can create and edit files in the directory-name
directory. Newly created files retain the group ownership of group-name group.

Verification steps

To verify the correctness of set permissions, use:

# ls -ld directory-name

Replace directory-name with the name of the directory.

The output returns:

drwxrwsr-x. 2 root group-name 6 Nov 25 08:45 directory-name

9.3.5. Removing a user on the command line

You can remove a user account using the command line. In addition to removing the user account, you
can optionally remove the user data and metadata, such as their home directory and configuration files.

Prerequisites

You have root access.

The user currently exists.

Ensure that the user is logged out:

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# loginctl terminate-user user-name

Procedure

To only remove the user account, and not the user data:

# userdel user-name

To remove the user, the data, and the metadata:

a. Remove the user, their home directory, their mail spool, and their SELinux user mapping:

# userdel --remove --selinux-user user-name

b. Remove additional user metadata:

# rm -rf /var/lib/AccountsService/users/user-name

This directory stores information that the system needs about the user before the home
directory is available. Depending on the system configuration, the home directory might not
be available until the user authenticates at the login screen.

IMPORTANT

If you do not remove this directory and you later recreate the same user, the
recreated user will still use certain settings inherited from the removed user.

Additional resources

The userdel(8) man page.

9.4. MANAGING USER ACCOUNTS IN THE WEB CONSOLE

The RHEL web console offers a graphical interface that enables you to execute a wide range of
administrative tasks without accessing your terminal directly. For example, you can add, edit or remove
system user accounts.

After reading this section, you will know:

From where the existing accounts come from.

How to add new accounts.

How to set password expiration.

How and when to terminate user sessions.

Prerequisites

Set up the RHEL web console. For details, see Getting started using the RHEL web console .

Log in to the RHEL web console with an account that has administrator permissions assigned.
For details, see Logging in to the RHEL web console .

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9.4.1. System user accounts managed in the web console

With user accounts displayed in the RHEL web console you can:

Authenticate users when accessing the system.

Set the access rights to the system.

The RHEL web console displays all user accounts located in the system. Therefore, you can see at least
one user account just after the first login to the web console.

After logging into the RHEL web console, you can perform the following operations:

Create new users accounts.

Change their parameters.

Lock accounts.

Terminate user sessions.

9.4.2. Adding new accounts using the web console

Use the following steps for adding user accounts to the system and setting administration rights to the
accounts through the RHEL web console.

Prerequisites

The RHEL web console must be installed and accessible. For details, see Installing the web
console.

Procedure

1. Log in to the RHEL web console.

2. Click Accounts.

3. Click Create New Account.

4. In the Full Name field, enter the full name of the user.
The RHEL web console automatically suggests a user name from the full name and fills it in the
User Name field. If you do not want to use the original naming convention consisting of the first
letter of the first name and the whole surname, update the suggestion.

5. In the Password/Confirm fields, enter the password and retype it for verification that your
password is correct.
The color bar below the fields shows you the security level of the entered password, which does
not allow you to create a user with a weak password.

6. Click Create to save the settings and close the dialog box.

7. Select the newly created account.

8. In the Groups drop-down menu, select the groups that you want to add to the new account.

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Now you can see the new account in the Accounts settings and you can use its credentials to
connect to the system.

9.4.3. Enforcing password expiration in the web console

By default, user accounts have set passwords to never expire. You can set system passwords to expire
after a defined number of days. When the password expires, the next login attempt will prompt for a
password change.

Procedure

1. Log in to the RHEL 9 web console.

2. Click Accounts.

3. Select the user account for which you want to enforce password expiration.

4. Click edit on the Password line.

5. In the Password expiration dialog box, select Require password change every …​ days and
enter a positive whole number representing the number of days after which the password
expires.

6. Click Change.
The web console immediately shows the date of the future password change request on the
Password line.

9.4.4. Terminating user sessions in the web console

A user creates user sessions when logging into the system. Terminating user sessions means to log the
user out from the system. It can be helpful if you need to perform administrative tasks sensitive to
configuration changes, for example, system upgrades.

In each user account in the RHEL 9web console, you can terminate all sessions for the account except
for the web console session you are currently using. This prevents you from loosing access to your
system.

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Procedure

1. Log in to the RHEL 9 web console.

2. Click Accounts.

3. Click the user account for which you want to terminate the session.

4. Click Terminate Session.

If the Terminate Session button is inactive, the user is not logged in to the system.

The RHEL web console terminates the sessions.

9.5. EDITING USER GROUPS USING THE COMMAND LINE

A user belongs to a certain set of groups that allow a logical collection of users with a similar access to
files and folders. You can edit the primary and supplementary user groups from the command line to
change the user’s permissions.

9.5.1. Primary and supplementary user groups

A group is an entity which ties together multiple user accounts for a common purpose, such as granting
access to particular files.

On Linux, user groups can act as primary or supplementary. Primary and supplementary groups have the
following properties:

Primary group

Every user has just one primary group at all times.

You can change the user’s primary group.

Supplementary groups

You can add an existing user to an existing supplementary group to manage users with the
same security and access privileges within the group.

Users can be members of zero or multiple supplementary groups.

9.5.2. Listing the primary and supplementary groups of a user

You can list the groups of users to see which primary and supplementary groups they belong to.

Procedure

Display the names of the primary and any supplementary group of a user:

$ groups user-name

Replace user-name with the name of the user. If you do not provide a user name, the command
displays the group membership for the current user. The first group is the primary group
followed by the optional supplementary groups.

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Example 9.4. Listing of groups for user sarah:

$ groups sarah

The output displays:

sarah : sarah wheel developer

User sarah has a primary group sarah and is a member of supplementary groups wheel and
developer.

Example 9.5. Listing of groups for user marc:

$ groups marc

The output displays:

marc : marc

User marc has only a primary group marc and no supplementary groups.

9.5.3. Changing the primary group of a user

You can change the primary group of an existing user to a new group.

Prerequisites:

1. root access

2. The new group must exist

Procedure

Change the primary group of a user:

# usermod -g group-name user-name

Replace group-name with the name of the new primary group, and replace user-name with the
name of the user.

NOTE

When you change a user’s primary group, the command also automatically
changes the group ownership of all files in the user’s home directory to the new
primary group. You must fix the group ownership of files outside of the user’s
home directory manually.

Example 9.6. Example of changing the primary group of a user:

If the user sarah belongs to the primary group sarah1, and you want to change the primary
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If the user sarah belongs to the primary group sarah1, and you want to change the primary
group of the user to sarah2, use:

# usermod -g sarah2 sarah

Verification steps

Verify that you changed the primary group of the user:

$ groups sarah

The output displays:

sarah : sarah2

9.5.4. Adding a user to a supplementary group from the command line

You can add a user to a supplementary group to manage permissions or enable access to certain files or
devices.

Prerequisites

root access

Procedure

To add a group to the supplementary groups of the user, use:

# usermod --append -G group-name username

Replace group-name with the name of the group, and replace username with the name of the
user.

Example 9.7. Adding a user to a supplementary group

To add the user sysadmin to the group system-administrators, use:

# usermod --append -G system-administrators sysadmin

Verification steps

To verify the new groups is added to the supplementary groups of the user sysadmin, use:

# groups sysadmin

The output displays:

sysadmin : sysadmin system-administrators

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9.5.5. Removing a user from a supplementary group

You can remove an existing user from a supplementary group to limit their permissions or access to files
and devices.

Prerequisites

root access

Procedure

Remove a user from a supplementary group:

# gpasswd -d user-name group-name

Replace user-name with the name of the user, and replace group-name with the name of the
supplementary group.

Example 9.8. Removing user from a supplementary group

If the user sarah has a primary group sarah2, and belongs to the secondary groups wheel
and developers, and you want to remove that user from the group developers, use:

# gpasswd -d sarah developers

Verification steps

Verify that you removed the user sarah from the secondary group developers:

$ groups sarah

The output displays:

sarah : sarah2 wheel

9.5.6. Changing all of the supplementary groups of a user

You can overwrite the list of supplementary groups that you want the user to remain a member of.

Prerequisites

root access

The supplementary groups must exist

Procedure

Overwrite a list of user’s supplementary groups:

# usermod -G group-names username

Replace group-names with the name of one or more supplementary groups. To add the user to
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Replace group-names with the name of one or more supplementary groups. To add the user to
several supplementary groups at once, separate the group names using commas and no
intervening spaces. For example: wheel,developer.

Replace user-name with the name of the user.

IMPORTANT

If the user is currently a member of a group that you do not specify, the
command removes the user from the group.

Example 9.9. Changing the list of supplementary groups of a user

If the user sarah has a primary group sarah2, and belongs to the supplementary group
wheel, and you want the user to belong to three more supplementary groups developer,
sysadmin, and security, use:

# usermod -G wheel,developer,sysadmin,security sarah

Verification steps

Verify that you set the list of the supplementary groups correct:

# groups sarah

The output displays:

sarah : sarah2 wheel developer sysadmin security

9.6. CHANGING AND RESETTING THE ROOT PASSWORD

If the existing root password is no longer satisfactory or is forgotten, you can change or reset it both as
the root user and a non-root user.

9.6.1. Changing the root password as the root user

You can use the passwd command to change the root password as the root user.

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure

To change the root password, use:

# passwd

You are prompted to enter your current password before you can change it.

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9.6.2. Changing or resetting the forgotten root password as a non-root user

You can use the passwd command to change or reset the forgotten root password as a non-root user.

Prerequisites

You are able to log in as a non-root user.

You are a member of the administrative wheel group.

Procedure

To change or reset the root password as a non-root user that belongs to the wheel group, use:

$ sudo passwd root

You are prompted to enter your current non-root password before you can change the root
password.

9.6.3. Resetting the root password on boot

If you are unable to log in as a non-root user or do not belong to the administrative wheel group, you can
reset the root password on boot by switching into a specialized chroot jail environment.

Procedure

1. Reboot the system and, on the GRUB 2 boot screen, press the e key to interrupt the boot
process.
The kernel boot parameters appear.

load_video
set gfx_payload=keep
insmod gzio
linux ($root)/vmlinuz-5.14.0-70.22.1.e19_0.x86_64 root=/dev/mapper/rhel-root ro crash\
kernel=auto resume=/dev/mapper/rhel-swap rd.lvm.lv/swap rhgb quiet
initrd ($root)/initramfs-5.14.0-70.22.1.e19_0.x86_64.img $tuned_initrd

2. Go to the end of the line that starts with linux.

linux ($root)/vmlinuz-5.14.0-70.22.1.e19_0.x86_64 root=/dev/mapper/rhel-root ro crash\

kernel=auto resume=/dev/mapper/rhel-swap rd.lvm.lv/swap rhgb quiet

Press Ctrl+e to jump to the end of the line.

3. Add rd.break to the end of the line that starts with linux.

linux ($root)/vmlinuz-5.14.0-70.22.1.e19_0.x86_64 root=/dev/mapper/rhel-root ro crash\

kernel=auto resume=/dev/mapper/rhel-swap rd.lvm.lv/swap rhgb quiet rd.break

4. Press Ctrl+x to start the system with the changed parameters.

The switch_root prompt appears.

5. Remount the file system as writable:

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mount -o remount,rw /sysroot

The file system is mounted as read-only in the /sysroot directory. Remounting the file system
as writable allows you to change the password.

6. Enter the chroot environment:

chroot /sysroot

The sh-4.4# prompt appears.

7. Reset the root password:

passwd

Follow the instructions displayed by the command line to finalize the change of the root
password.

8. Enable the SELinux relabeling process on the next system boot:

touch /.autorelabel

9. Exit the chroot environment:

exit

10. Exit the switch_root prompt:

exit

11. Wait until the SELinux relabeling process is finished. Note that relabeling a large disk might take
a long time. The system reboots automatically when the process is complete.

Verification steps

1. To verify that the root password is successfully changed, log in as a normal user and open the
Terminal.

2. Run the interactive shell as root:

$ su

3. Enter your new root password.

4. Print the user name associated with the current effective user ID:

# whoami

The output returns:

root

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CHAPTER 10. MANAGING SUDO ACCESS

System administrators can grant sudo access to allow non-root users to execute administrative
commands that are normally reserved for the root user. As a result, non-root users can execute such
commands without logging in to the root user account.

10.1. USER AUTHORIZATIONS IN SUDOERS

The /etc/sudoers file specifies which users can use the sudo command to execute other commands.
The rules can apply to individual users and user groups. You can also define rules for groups of hosts,
commands, and even users more easily by using aliases. Default aliases are defined in the first part of the
/etc/sudoers file.

When a user enters a command with sudo for which the user does not have authorization, the system
records a message that contains the string <username> : user NOT in sudoers to the journal log.

The default /etc/sudoers file provides information and examples of authorizations. You can activate a
specific example rule by uncommenting the corresponding line. The section with user authorizations is
marked with the following introduction:

## Next comes the main part: which users can run what software on
## which machines (the sudoers file can be shared between multiple
## systems).

You can create new sudoers authorizations and modify existing authorizations by using the following
format:

<username> <hostname.example.com>=(<run_as_user>:<run_as_group>) <path/to/command>

Where:

<username> is the user that enters the command, for example, user1. If the value starts with %,
it defines a group, for example, %group1.

<hostname.example.com> is the name of the host on which the rule applies.

The section (<run_as_user>:<run_as_group>) defines the user or group as which the

command is executed. If you omit this section, <username> can execute the command as root.

<path/to/command> is the complete absolute path to the command. You can also limit the user
to only performing a command with specific options and arguments by adding those options
after the command path. If you do not specify any options, the user can use the command with
all options.

You can apply the rule to all users, hosts, or commands by replacing any of these variables with ALL.


WARNING

With overly permissive rules, such as ALL ALL=(ALL) ALL, all users can run all
commands as all users on all hosts. This presents serious security risks.

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You can specify the arguments negatively by using the ! operator. For example, !root specifies all users
except root. Note that allowing specific users, groups, and commands is more secure than disallowing
specific users, groups, and commands. This is because allow rules also block new unauthorized users or
groups.


WARNING

Avoid using negative rules for commands because users can overcome such rules by
renaming commands with the alias command.

The system reads the /etc/sudoers file from beginning to end. Therefore, if the file contains multiple
entries for a user, the entries are applied in order. In case of conflicting values, the system uses the last
match, even if it is not the most specific match.

To preserve the rules during system updates and for easier fixing of errors, enter new rules by creating
new files in the /etc/sudoers.d/ directory instead of entering rules directly to the /etc/sudoers file. The
system reads the files in the /etc/sudoers.d directory when it reaches the following line in the
/etc/sudoers file:

#includedir /etc/sudoers.d

Note that the number sign (#) at the beginning of this line is part of the syntax and does not mean the
line is a comment. The names of files in that directory must not contain a period and must not end with a
tilde (~).

Additional resources

sudo(8) and sudoers(5) man pages

10.2. GRANTING SUDO ACCESS TO A USER

System administrators can allow non-root users to execute administrative commands by granting them
sudo access. The sudo command provides users with administrative access without using the password
of the root user.

When users need to perform an administrative command, they can precede that command with sudo. If
the user has authorization for the command, the command is executed as if they were root.

Be aware of the following limitations:

Only users listed in the /etc/sudoers configuration file can use the sudo command.

The command is executed in the shell of the user, not in the root shell.

Prerequisites

You have root access to the system.

Procedure

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1. As root, open the /etc/sudoers file.

# visudo

The /etc/sudoers file defines the policies applied by the sudo command.

2. In the /etc/sudoers file, find the lines that grant sudo access to users in the administrative
wheel group.

## Allows people in group wheel to run all commands

%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL

3. Make sure the line that starts with %wheel is not commented out with the number sign ( #).

4. Save any changes, and exit the editor.

5. Add users you want to grant sudo access to into the administrative wheel group.

# usermod --append -G wheel <username>

Replace <username> with the name of the user.

Verification steps

Verify that the user is in the administrative wheel group:

# id <username>
uid=5000(<username>) gid=5000(<username>) groups=5000(<username>),10(wheel)

Additional resources

sudo(8), visudo(8), and sudoers(5) man pages

10.3. ENABLING UNPRIVILEGED USERS TO RUN CERTAIN COMMANDS

As an administrator, you can allow unprivileged users to enter certain commands on specific
workstations by configuring a policy in the /etc/sudoers.d/ directory.

Prerequisites

You have root access to the system.

Procedure

1. As root, create a new sudoers.d directory under /etc/:

# mkdir -p /etc/sudoers.d/

2. Create a new file in the /etc/sudoers.d directory:

# visudo -f /etc/sudoers.d/<filename>

The file opens automatically.

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3. Add the following line to the /etc/sudoers.d/<filename> file:

<username> <hostname.example.com> = (<run_as_user>:<run_as_group>)

<path/to/command>

Replace <username> with the name of the user.

Replace <hostname.example.com> with the URL of the host.

Replace (<run_as_user>:<run_as_group>) with the user or group as which the command

can be executed. If you omit this section, <username> can execute the command as root.

Replace <path/to/command> with the complete absolute path to the command. You can
also limit the user to only performing a command with specific options and arguments by
adding those options after the command path. If you do not specify any options, the user
can use the command with all options.

To allow two and more commands on the same host on one line, you can list them separated
by a comma followed by a space.
For example, to allow user1 to execute the dnf and reboot commands on
host1.example.com, enter user1 host1.example.com = /bin/dnf, /sbin/reboot.

4. Optional: To receive email notifications every time the user attempts to use sudo privileges,
add the following lines to the file:

Defaults mail_always
Defaults mailto="<[email protected]>"

5. Save the changes, and exit the editor.

Verification

1. To verify if a user can run a command with sudo privileges, switch the account:

# su <username> -

2. As the user, enter the command with the sudo command:

$ sudo <command>
[sudo] password for <username>:

Enter the user’s sudo password.

3. If the privileges are configured correctly, the system displays the list of commands and options.
For example, with the dnf command, it shows the following output:

...
usage: dnf [options] COMMAND
...

If the system returns the error message <username> is not in the sudoers file. This incident
will be reported, the file for <username> in /etc/sudoers.d/ does not exist.

If the system returns the error message <username> is not allowed to run sudo on

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If the system returns the error message <username> is not allowed to run sudo on
<host.example.com>, the configuration was not completed correctly. Ensure that you are
logged in as root and that the configuration was performed correctly.

If the system returns the error message Sorry, user <username> is not allowed to execute
'<path/to/command>' as root on <host.example.com>., the command is not correctly defined
in the rule for the user.

Additional resources

sudo(8), visudo(8), and sudoers(5) man pages

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CHAPTER 11. MANAGING FILE SYSTEM PERMISSIONS

File system permissions control the ability of user and group accounts to read, modify, and execute the
contents of the files and to enter directories. Set permissions carefully to protect your data against
unauthorized access.

11.1. MANAGING FILE PERMISSIONS

Every file or directory has three levels of ownership:

User owner (u).

Group owner (g).

Others (o).

Each level of ownership can be assigned the following permissions:

Read (r).

Write (w).

Execute (x).

Note that the execute permission for a file allows you to execute that file. The execute permission for a
directory allows you to access the contents of the directory, but not execute it.

When a new file or directory is created, the default set of permissions are automatically assigned to it.
The default permissions for a file or directory are based on two factors:

Base permission.

The user file-creation mode mask (umask).

11.1.1. Base file permissions

Whenever a new file or directory is created, a base permission is automatically assigned to it. Base
permissions for a file or directory can be expressed in symbolic or octal values.

Permission Symbolic value Octal value

No permission --- 0

Execute --x 1

Write -w- 2

Write and execute -wx 3

Read r-- 4

Read and execute r-x 5

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Read and write rw- 6

Read, write, execute rwx 7

The base permission for a directory is 777 (drwxrwxrwx), which grants everyone the permissions to
read, write, and execute. This means that the directory owner, the group, and others can list the
contents of the directory, create, delete, and edit items within the directory, and descend into it.

Note that individual files within a directory can have their own permission that might prevent you from
editing them, despite having unrestricted access to the directory.

The base permission for a file is 666 (-rw-rw-rw-), which grants everyone the permissions to read and
write. This means that the file owner, the group, and others can read and edit the file.

Example 11.1. Permissions for a file

If a file has the following permissions:

$ ls -l
-rwxrw----. 1 sysadmins sysadmins 2 Mar 2 08:43 file

- indicates it is a file.

rwx indicates that the file owner has permissions to read, write, and execute the file.

rw- indicates that the group has permissions to read and write, but not execute the file.

--- indicates that other users have no permission to read, write, or execute the file.

. indicates that the SELinux security context is set for the file.

Example 11.2. Permissions for a directory

If a directory has the following permissions:

$ ls -dl directory
drwxr-----. 1 sysadmins sysadmins 2 Mar 2 08:43 directory

d indicates it is a directory.

rwx indicates that the directory owner has the permissions to read, write, and access the
contents of the directory.
As a directory owner, you can list the items (files, subdirectories) within the directory, access
the content of those items, and modify them.

r-x indicates that the group has permissions to read the content of the directory, but not
write - create new entries or delete files. The x permission means that you can also access
the directory using the cd command.

--- indicates that other users have no permission to read, write, or access the contents of the
directory.

As someone who is not a user owner, or as group owner of the directory, you cannot list the

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As someone who is not a user owner, or as group owner of the directory, you cannot list the
items within the directory, access information about those items, or modify them.

. indicates that the SELinux security context is set for the directory.

NOTE

The base permission that is automatically assigned to a file or directory is not the default
permission the file or directory ends up with. When you create a file or directory, the base
permission is altered by the umask. The combination of the base permission and the
umask creates the default permission for files and directories.

11.1.2. User file-creation mode mask

The user file-creation mode mask (umask) is variable that controls how file permissions are set for newly
created files and directories. The umask automatically removes permissions from the base permission
value to increase the overall security of a Linux system. The umask can be expressed in symbolic or octal
values.

Permission Symbolic value Octal value

Read, write, and execute rwx 0

Read and write rw- 1

Read and execute r-x 2

Read r-- 3

Write and execute -wx 4

Write -w- 5

Execute --x 6

No permissions --- 7

The default umask for both a standard user and for a root user is 0022.

The first digit of the umask represents special permissions (sticky bit, ). The last three digits of the
umask represent the permissions that are removed from the user owner ( u), group owner (g), and
others (o) respectively.

Example 11.3. Applying the umask when creating a file

The following example illustrates how the umask with an octal value of 0137 is applied to the file with
the base permission of 777, to create the file with the default permission of 640.

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11.1.3. Default file permissions

The default permissions are set automatically for all newly created files and directories. The value of the
default permissions is determined by applying the umask to the base permission.

Example 11.4. Default permissions for a directory

When a standard user or a root user creates a new directory, the umask is set to 022 (rwxr-xr-x),
and the base permissions for a directory are set to 777 (rwxrwxrwx). This brings the default
permissions to 755 (rwxr-xr-x).

Symbolic value Octal value

Base permission rwxrwxrwx 777

Umask rwxr-xr-x 022

Default permission rwxr-xr-x 755

This means that the directory owner can list the contents of the directory, create, delete, and edit
items within the directory, and descend into it. The group and others can only list the contents of the
directory and descend into it.

Example 11.5. Default permissions for a file

When a standard user or a root user creates a new file, the umask is set to 022 (rwxr-xr-x), and the
base permissions for a file are set to 666 (rw-rw-rw-). This brings the default permissions to 644 (-rw-
r—​r--).

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Symbolic value Octal value

Base permission rw-rw-rw- 666

Umask rwxr-xr-x 022

Default permission rw-r—​r-- 644

This means that the file owner can read and edit the file, while the group and others can only read
the file.

NOTE

For security reasons, regular files cannot have execute permissions by default, even if the
umask is set to 000 (rwxrwxrwx). However, directories can be created with execute
permissions.

11.1.4. Changing file permissions using symbolic values

You can use the chmod utility with symbolic values (a combination letters and signs) to change file
permissions for a file or directory.

You can assign the following permissions:

Read (r)

Write (w)

Execute (x)

Permissions can be assigned to the following levels of ownership:

User owner (u)

Group owner (g)

Other (o)

All (a)

To add or remove permissions you can use the following signs:

+ to add the permissions on top of the existing permissions

- to remove the permissions from the existing permission

= to remove the existing permissions and explicitly define the new ones

Procedure

To change the permissions for a file or directory, use:

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$ chmod <level><operation><permission> file-name

Replace <level> with the level of ownership you want to set the permissions for. Replace
<operation> with one of the signs. Replace <permission> with the permissions you want to
assign. Replace file-name with the name of the file or directory. For example, to grant everyone
the permissions to read, write, and execute (rwx) my-script.sh, use the chmod a=rwx my-
script.sh command.

See Base file permissions for more details.

Verification steps

To see the permissions for a particular file, use:

$ ls -l file-name

Replace file-name with the name of the file.

To see the permissions for a particular directory, use:

$ ls -dl directory-name

Replace directory-name with the name of the directory.

To see the permissions for all the files within a particular directory, use:

$ ls -l directory-name

Replace directory-name with the name of the directory.

Example 11.6. Changing permissions for files and directories

To change file permissions for my-file.txt from -rw-rw-r-- to -rw------, use:

1. Display the current permissions for my-file.txt:

$ ls -l my-file.txt
-rw-rw-r--. 1 username username 0 Feb 24 17:56 my-file.txt

2. Remove the permissions to read, write, and execute (rwx) the file from group owner ( g)
and others (o):

$ chmod go= my-file.txt

Note that any permission that is not specified after the equals sign (=) is automatically
prohibited.

3. Verify that the permissions for my-file.txt were set correctly:

$ ls -l my-file.txt
-rw-------. 1 username username 0 Feb 24 17:56 my-file.txt

To change file permissions for my-directory from drwxrwx--- to drwxrwxr-x, use:

1. Display the current permissions for my-directory:

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1. Display the current permissions for my-directory:

$ ls -dl my-directory
drwxrwx---. 2 username username 4096 Feb 24 18:12 my-directory

2. Add the read and execute (r-x) access for all users ( a):

$ chmod o+rx my-directory

3. Verify that the permissions for my-directory and its content were set correctly:

$ ls -dl my-directory
drwxrwxr-x. 2 username username 4096 Feb 24 18:12 my-directory

11.1.5. Changing file permissions using octal values

You can use the chmod utility with octal values (numbers) to change file permissions for a file or
directory.

Procedure

To change the file permissions for an existing file or directory, use:

$ chmod octal_value file-name

Replace file-name with the name of the file or directory. Replace octal_value with an octal value.
See Base file permissions for more details.

11.2. MANAGING THE ACCESS CONTROL LIST

Each file and directory can only have one user owner and one group owner at a time. If you want to grant
a user permissions to access specific files or directories that belong to a different user or group while
keeping other files and directories private, you can utilize Linux Access Control Lists (ACLs).

11.2.1. Displaying the current Access Control List

You can use the getfacl utility to display the current ACL.

Procedure

To display the current ACL for a particular file or directory, use:

$ getfacl file-name

Replace file-name with the name of the file or directory.

11.2.2. Setting the Access Control List

You can use the setfacl utility to set the ACL for a file or directory.

Prerequisites

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root access.

Procedure

To set the ACL for a file or directory, use:

# setfacl -m u:username:symbolic_value file-name

Replace username with the name of the user, symbolic_value with a symbolic value, and file-name with
the name of the file or directory. For more information see the setfacl man page.

Example 11.7. Modifying permissions for a group project

The following example describes how to modify permissions for the group-project file owned by the
root user that belongs to the root group so that this file is:

Not executable by anyone.

The user andrew has the rw- permissions.

The user susan has the --- permissions.

Other users have the r-- permissions.

Procedure

# setfacl -m u:andrew:rw- group-project

# setfacl -m u:susan:--- group-project

Verification steps

To verify that the user andrew has the rw- permission, the user susan has the ---
permission, and other users have the r-- permission, use:

$ getfacl group-project

The output returns:

# file: group-project
# owner: root
# group: root
user:andrew:rw-
user:susan:---
group::r--
mask::rw-
other::r--

11.3. MANAGING THE UMASK

You can use the umask utility to display, set, or change the current or default value of the umask.

11.3.1. Displaying the current value of the umask

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You can use the umask utility to display the current value of the umask in symbolic or octal mode.

Procedure

To display the current value of the umask in symbolic mode, use:

$ umask -S

To display the current value of the umask in the octal mode, use:

$ umask

NOTE

When displaying the umask in octal mode, you may notice it displayed as a four
digit number (0002 or 0022). The first digit of the umask represents a special bit
(sticky bit, SGID bit, or SUID bit). If the first digit is set to 0, the special bit is not
set.

11.3.2. Displaying the default bash umask

There are a number of shells you can use, such as bash, ksh, zsh and tcsh. Those shells can behave as
login or non-login shells. You can invoke the login shell by opening a native or a GUI terminal.

To determine whether you are executing a command in a login or a non-login shell, use the echo $0
command.

Example 11.8. Determining if you are working in a login or a non-login bash shell

If the output of the echo $0 command returns bash, you are executing the command in a
non-login shell.

$ echo $0
bash

The default umask for the non-login shell is set in the /etc/bashrc configuration file.

If the output of the echo $0 command returns -bash, you are executing the command in a
login shell.

# echo $0
-bash

The default umask for the login shell is set in the /etc/login.defs configuration file.

Procedure

To display the default bash umask for the non-login shell, use:

$ grep umask /etc/bashrc

The output returns:

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# By default, we want umask to get set. This sets it for non-login shell.
umask 002
umask 022

To display the default bash umask for the login shell, use:

$ grep "UMASK" /etc/login.defs

The output returns:

# UMASK is also used by useradd(8) and newusers(8) to set the mode for new
UMASK 022
# If HOME_MODE is not set, the value of UMASK is used to create the mode.

11.3.3. Setting the umask using symbolic values

You can use the umask utility with symbolic values (a combination letters and signs) to set the umask
for the current shell session

You can assign the following permissions:

Read (r)

Write (w)

Execute (x)

Permissions can be assigned to the following levels of ownership:

User owner (u)

Group owner (g)

Other (o)

All (a)

To add or remove permissions you can use the following signs:

+ to add the permissions on top of the existing permissions

- to remove the permissions from the existing permission

= to remove the existing permissions and explicitly define the new ones

NOTE

Any permission that is not specified after the equals sign (=) is automatically
prohibited.

Procedure

To set the umask for the current shell session, use:

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$ umask -S <level><operation><permission>

Replace <level> with the level of ownership you want to set the umask for. Replace
<operation> with one of the signs. Replace <permission> with the permissions you want to
assign. For example, to set the umask to u=rwx,g=rwx,o=rwx, use umask -S a=rwx.

See User file-creation mode for more details.

NOTE

The umask is only valid for the current shell session.

11.3.4. Setting the umask using octal values

You can use the umask utility with octal values (numbers) to set the umask for the current shell session.

Procedure

To set the umask for the current shell session, use:

$ umask octal_value

Replace octal_value with an octal value. See User file-creation mode mask for more details.

NOTE

The umask is only valid for the current shell session.

11.3.5. Changing the default umask for the non-login shell

You can change the default bash umask for standard users by modifying the /etc/bashrc file.

Prerequisites

root access

Procedure

1. As root, open the /etc/bashrc file in the editor.

2. Modify the following sections to set a new default bash umask:

if [ $UID -gt 199 ] && [ “id -gn” = “id -un” ]; then

umask 002
else
umask 022
fi

Replace the default octal value of the umask (002) with another octal value. See User file-
creation mode mask for more details.

3. Save the changes and exit the editor.

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11.3.6. Changing the default umask for the login shell

You can change the default bash umask for the root user by modifying the /etc/login.defs file.

Prerequisites

root access

Procedure

1. As root, open the /etc/login.defs file in the editor.

2. Modify the following sections to set a new default bash umask:

# Default initial "umask" value used by login(1) on non-PAM enabled systems.

# Default "umask" value for pam_umask(8) on PAM enabled systems.
# UMASK is also used by useradd(8) and newusers(8) to set the mode for new
# home directories if HOME_MODE is not set.
# 022 is the default value, but 027, or even 077, could be considered
# for increased privacy. There is no One True Answer here: each sysadmin
# must make up their mind.

UMASK 022

Replace the default octal value of the umask (022) with another octal value. See User file-
creation mode mask for more details.

3. Save the changes and exit the editor.

11.3.7. Changing the default umask for a specific user

You can change the default umask for a specific user by modifying the .bashrc for that user.

Procedure

Append the line that specifies the octal value of the umask into the .bashrc file for the
particular user.

$ echo 'umask octal_value' >> /home/username/.bashrc

Replace octal_value with an octal value and replace username with the name of the user. See
User file-creation mode mask for more details.

11.3.8. Setting default permissions for newly created home directories

You can change the permission modes for home directories of newly created users by modifying the
/etc/login.defs file.

Procedure

1. As root, open the /etc/login.defs file in the editor.

2. Modify the following section to set a new default HOME_MODE:

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# HOME_MODE is used by useradd(8) and newusers(8) to set the mode for new
# home directories.
# If HOME_MODE is not set, the value of UMASK is used to create the mode.
HOME_MODE 0700

Replace the default octal value (0700) with another octal value. The selected mode will be used
to create the permissions for the home directory.

3. If HOME_MODE is set, save the changes and exit the editor.

4. If HOME_MODE is not set, modify the UMASK to set the mode for the newly created home
directories:

# Default initial "umask" value used by login(1) on non-PAM enabled systems.

# Default "umask" value for pam_umask(8) on PAM enabled systems.
# UMASK is also used by useradd(8) and newusers(8) to set the mode for new
# home directories if HOME_MODE is not set.
# 022 is the default value, but 027, or even 077, could be considered
# for increased privacy. There is no One True Answer here: each sysadmin
# must make up their mind.

UMASK 022

Replace the default octal value (022) with another octal value. See User file-creation mode
mask for more details.

5. Save the changes and exit the editor.

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CHAPTER 12. MANAGING SYSTEMD

As a system administrator, you can manage critical aspects of your system with systemd. Serving as a
system and service manager for Linux operating systems, systemd software suite provides tools and
services for controlling, reporting, and system initialization. Key features of systemd include:

Parallel start of system services during boot

On-demand activation of daemons

Dependency-based service control logic

The basic object that systemd manages is a systemd unit, a representation of system resources and
services. A systemd unit consists of a name, type and a configuration file that defines and manages a
particular task. You can use unit files to configure system behavior. See the following examples of
various systemd unit types:

Service
Controls and manages individual system services.
Target
Represents a group of units that define system states.
Device
Manages hardware devices and their availability.
Mount
Handles file system mounting.
Timer
Schedules tasks to run at specific intervals.

NOTE

To display all available unit types:

# systemctl -t help

12.1. SYSTEMD UNIT FILES LOCATIONS

You can find the unit configuration files in one of the following directories:

Table 12.1. systemd unit files locations

Directory Description

/usr/lib/systemd/system/ systemd unit files distributed with installed RPM

packages.

/run/systemd/system/ systemd unit files created at run time. This

directory takes precedence over the directory with
installed service unit files.

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Directory Description

/etc/systemd/system/ systemd unit files created by using the systemctl

enable command as well as unit files added for
extending a service. This directory takes precedence
over the directory with runtime unit files.

The default configuration of systemd is defined during the compilation and you can find the
configuration in the /etc/systemd/system.conf file. By editing this file, you can modify the default
configuration by overriding values for systemd units globally.

For example, to override the default value of the timeout limit, which is set to 90 seconds, use the
DefaultTimeoutStartSec parameter to input the required value in seconds.

DefaultTimeoutStartSec=required value

12.2. MANAGING SYSTEM SERVICES WITH SYSTEMCTL

As a system administrator, you can manage system services by using the systemctl utility. You can
perform various tasks, such as starting, stopping, restarting running services, enabling and disabling
services to start at boot, listing available services, and displaying system services statuses.

12.2.1. Listing system services

You can list all currently loaded service units and display the status of all available service units.

Procedure
Use the systemctl command to perform any of the following tasks:

List all currently loaded service units:

$ systemctl list-units --type service

UNIT LOAD ACTIVE SUB DESCRIPTION
abrt-ccpp.service loaded active exited Install ABRT coredump hook
abrt-oops.service loaded active running ABRT kernel log watcher
abrtd.service loaded active running ABRT Automated Bug Reporting Tool
...
systemd-vconsole-setup.service loaded active exited Setup Virtual Console
tog-pegasus.service loaded active running OpenPegasus CIM Server

LOAD = Reflects whether the unit definition was properly loaded.

ACTIVE = The high-level unit activation state, or a generalization of SUB.
SUB = The low-level unit activation state, values depend on unit type.

46 loaded units listed. Pass --all to see loaded but inactive units, too.
To show all installed unit files use 'systemctl list-unit-files'

By default, the systemctl list-units command displays only active units. For each service unit
file, the command provides an overview of the following parameters:

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UNIT
The full name of the service unit
LOAD
The load state of the configuration file
ACTIVE or SUB
The current high-level and low-level unit file activation state
DESCRIPTION
A short description of the unit’s purpose and functionality

List all loaded units regardless of their state, by using the following command with the --all or
-a command line option:

$ systemctl list-units --type service --all

List the status (enabled or disabled) of all available service units:

$ systemctl list-unit-files --type service

UNIT FILE STATE
abrt-ccpp.service enabled
abrt-oops.service enabled
abrtd.service enabled
...
wpa_supplicant.service disabled
ypbind.service disabled

208 unit files listed.

For each service unit, this command displays:

UNIT FILE
The full name of the service unit
STATE
The information whether the service unit is enabled or disabled to start automatically during
boot

Additional resources

Displaying system service status

12.2.2. Displaying system service status

You can inspect any service unit to get detailed information and verify the state of the service, whether
it is enabled to start during boot or currently running. You can also view services that are ordered to start
after or before a particular service unit.

Procedure
Use the systemctl command to perform any of the following tasks:

Display detailed information about a service unit that corresponds to a system service:

$ systemctl status <name>.service

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Replace <name> with the name of the service unit you want to inspect (for example, gdm).

This command displays the following information:

The name of the selected service unit followed by a short description

One or more fields described in Available service unit information

The execution of the service unit: if the unit is executed by the root user

The most recent log entries

Table 12.2. Available service unit information

Field Description

Loaded Information whether the service unit has been

loaded, the absolute path to the unit file, and a
note whether the unit is enabled to start
during boot.

Active Information whether the service unit is running

followed by a time stamp.

Main PID The process ID and the name of the

corresponding system service.

Status Additional information about the

corresponding system service.

Process Additional information about related

processes.

CGroup Additional information about related control

groups (cgroups).

Example 12.1. Displaying service status

The service unit for the GNOME Display Manager is named gdm.service. To determine the
current status of this service unit, type the following at a shell prompt:

# systemctl status gdm.service

gdm.service - GNOME Display Manager
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/gdm.service; enabled)
Active: active (running) since Thu 2013-10-17 17:31:23 CEST; 5min ago
Main PID: 1029 (gdm)
CGroup: /system.slice/gdm.service
├─1029 /usr/sbin/gdm
└─1047 /usr/bin/Xorg :0 -background none -verbose -auth /r...

Oct 17 17:31:23 localhost systemd[1]: Started GNOME Display Manager.

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Verify that a particular service unit is running:

$ systemctl is-active <name>.service

Determine whether a particular service unit is enabled to start during boot:

$ systemctl is-enabled <name>.service

NOTE

Both systemctl is-active and systemctl is-enabled commands return an exit

status of 0 if the specified service unit is running or enabled.

Check what services systemd orders to start before the specified service unit

# systemctl list-dependencies --after <name>.service

For example, to view the list of services ordered to start before gdm, enter:

# systemctl list-dependencies --after gdm.service

gdm.service
├─dbus.socket
├─[email protected]
├─livesys.service
├─plymouth-quit.service
├─system.slice
├─systemd-journald.socket
├─systemd-user-sessions.service
└─basic.target
[output truncated]

Check what services systemd orders to start after the specified service unit:

# systemctl list-dependencies --before <name>.service

For example, to view the list of services systemd orders to start after gdm, enter:

# systemctl list-dependencies --before gdm.service

gdm.service
├─dracut-shutdown.service
├─graphical.target
│ ├─systemd-readahead-done.service
│ ├─systemd-readahead-done.timer
│ └─systemd-update-utmp-runlevel.service
└─shutdown.target
├─systemd-reboot.service
└─final.target
└─systemd-reboot.service

Additional resources

Listing system services

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12.2.3. Starting a system service

You can start system service in the current session by using the start command.

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure

Start a system service in the current session:

# systemctl start <name>.service

Replace <name> with the name of the service unit you want to start (for example,
httpd.service).

NOTE

In systemd, positive and negative dependencies between services exist. Starting

a particular service may require starting one or more other services (positive
dependency) or stopping one or more services ( negative dependency).

When you attempt to start a new service, systemd resolves all dependencies
automatically, without explicit notification to the user. This means that if you are
already running a service, and you attempt to start another service with a
negative dependency, the first service is automatically stopped.

For example, if you are running the postfix service, and you attempt to start the
sendmail service, systemd first automatically stops postfix, because these two
services are conflicting and cannot run on the same port.

Additional resources

systemctl(1) man page

Enabling a system service to start at boot

Displaying system service status

12.2.4. Stopping a system service

If you want to stop a system service in the current session, use the stop command.

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure

Stop a system service:

# systemctl stop <name>.service

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Replace <name> with the name of the service unit you want to stop (for example, bluetooth).

Additional resources

systemctl(1) man page

Disabling a system service to start at boot

Displaying system service status

12.2.5. Restarting a system service

You can restart system service in the current session using the restart command to perform the
following actions:

Stop the selected service unit in the current session and immediately start it again.

Restart a service unit only if the corresponding service is already running.

Reload configuration of a system service without interrupting its execution.

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure

Restart a system service:

# systemctl restart <name>.service

Replace <name> with the name of the service unit you want to restart (for example, httpd).

NOTE

If the selected service unit is not running, this command starts it too.

Optional: Restart a service unit only if the corresponding service is already running:

# systemctl try-restart <name>.service

Optional: Reload the configuration without interrupting service execution:

# systemctl reload <name>.service

NOTE

System services that do not support this feature, ignore this command. To restart
such services, use the reload-or-restart and reload-or-try-restart commands
instead.

Additional resources

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systemctl man page

Displaying system service status

12.2.6. Enabling a system service to start at boot

You can enable a service to start automatically at boot, these changes apply with the next reboot.

Prerequisites

Root access

The service you want to enable must not be masked. If you have a masked service, unmask it
first:

# systemctl unmask <name>.service

Procedure

Enable a service to start at boot:

# systemctl enable <name>.service

Replace <name> with the name of the service unit you want to enable (for example, httpd).

Optional: You can also enable and start a service by using a single command:

# systemctl enable --now <name>.service

Additional resources

systemctl (1) man page

Displaying system service status

Starting a system service

12.2.7. Disabling a system service to start at boot

You can prevent a service unit from starting automatically at boot time. If you disable a service, it will not
start at boot, but you can start it manually. You can also mask a service, so that it cannot be started
manually. Masking is a way of disabling a service that makes the service permanently unusable until it is
unmasked again.

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure

Disable a service to start at boot:

# systemctl disable <name>.service

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Replace <name> with the name of the service unit you want to disable (for example,
bluetooth).

Optional: If you want to make a service permanently unusable, mask the service:

# systemctl mask <name>.service

This command replaces the /etc/systemd/system/name.service file with a symbolic link to

/dev/null, rendering the actual unit file inaccessible to systemd.

Additional resources

systemctl (1) man page

Displaying system service status

Stopping a system service

12.3. BOOTING INTO A TARGET SYSTEM STATE

As a system administrator, you can control the boot process of your system, and define the state you
want your system to boot into. This is called a systemd target, and it is a set of systemd units that your
system starts to reach a certain level of functionality. While working with systemd targets, you can view
the default target, select a target at runtime, change the default boot target, boot into emergency or
rescue target.

12.3.1. Target unit files

Targets in systemd are groups of related units that act as synchronization points during the start of your
system. Target unit files, which end with the .target file extension, represent the systemd targets. The
purpose of target units is to group together various systemd units through a chain of dependencies.

Consider the following examples:

The graphical.target unit for starting a graphical session, starts system services such as the
GNOME Display Manager (gdm.service) or Accounts Service (accounts-daemon.service),
and also activates the multi-user.target unit.

Similarly, the multi-user.target unit starts other essential system services such as
NetworkManager (NetworkManager.service) or D-Bus (dbus.service) and activates another
target unit named basic.target.

You can set the following systemd targets as default or current targets:

Table 12.3. Common systemd targets

rescue unit target that pulls in the base system and spawns a rescue shell

multi-user unit target for setting up a multi-user system

graphical unit target for setting up a graphical login screen

emergency unit target that starts an emergency shell on the main console

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Additional resources

systemd.special(7) man page

systemd.target(5) man page

12.3.2. Changing the default target to boot into

When a system starts, systemd activates the default.target symbolic link, which points to the true
target unit. You can find the currently selected default target unit in the
/etc/systemd/system/default.target file. Each target represents a certain level of functionality and is
used for grouping other units. Additionally, target units serve as synchronization points during boot. You
can change the default target your system boots into. When you set a default target unit, the current
target remains unchanged until the next reboot.

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure

1. Determine the current default target unit systemd uses to start the system:

# systemctl get-default
graphical.target

2. List the currently loaded targets:

# systemctl list-units --type target

3. Configure the system to use a different target unit by default:

# systemctl set-default <name>.target

Replace <name> with the name of the target unit you want to use by default.

Example:
# systemctl set-default multi-user.target
Removed /etc/systemd/system/default.target
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/default.target -> /usr/lib/systemd/system/multi-
user.target

4. Verify the default target unit:

# systemctl get-default
multi-user.target

5. Apply the changes by rebooting:

# reboot

Additional resources

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systemctl(1) man page

systemd.special(7) man page

bootup(7) man page

12.3.3. Changing the current target

On a running system, you can change the target unit in the current boot without reboot. If you switch to
a different target, systemd starts all services and their dependencies that this target requires, and stops
all services that the new target does not enable. Isolating a different target affects only the current boot.

Procedure

1. Optional: Determine the current target:

# systemctl get-default
graphical.target

2. Optional: Display the list of targets you can select:

# systemctl list-units --type target

NOTE

You can only isolate targets that have the AllowIsolate=yes option set in the
unit files.

3. Change to a different target unit in the current boot:

# systemctl isolate <name>.target

Replace <name> with the name of the target unit you want to use in the current boot.

Example:
# systemctl isolate multi-user.target

This command starts the target unit named multi-user and all dependent units, and immediately
stops all other unit.

Additional resources

systemctl(1) man page

12.3.4. Booting to rescue mode

You can boot to the rescue mode that provides a single-user environment for troubleshooting or repair
if the system cannot get to a later target, and the regular booting process fails. In rescue mode, the
system attempts to mount all local file systems and start certain important system services, but it does
not activate network interfaces.

Prerequisites

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Root access

Procedure

To enter the rescue mode, change the current target in the current session:

# systemctl rescue

Broadcast message from root@localhost on pts/0 (Fri 2023-03-24 18:23:15 CEST):

The system is going down to rescue mode NOW!

NOTE

This command is similar to systemctl isolate rescue.target, but it also sends an

informative message to all users that are currently logged into the system.

To prevent systemd from sending a message, enter the following command with
the --no-wall command-line option:

# systemctl --no-wall rescue

Troubleshooting steps
If your system is not able to enter the rescue mode, you can boot to emergency mode, which provides
the most minimal environment possible. In emergency mode, the system mounts the root file system
only for reading, does not attempt to mount any other local file systems, does not activate network
interfaces, and only starts a few essential services.

12.3.5. Troubleshooting the boot process

As a system administrator, you can select a non-default target at boot time to troubleshoot the boot
process. Changing the target at boot time affects only a single boot. You can boot to emergency mode,
which provides the most minimal environment possible.

Procedure

1. Reboot the system, and interrupt the boot loader menu countdown by pressing any key except
the Enter key, which would initiate a normal boot.

2. Move the cursor to the kernel entry that you want to start.

3. Press the E key to edit the current entry.

4. Move to the end of the line that starts with linux and press Ctrl+E to jump to the end of the line:

linux ($root)/vmlinuz-5.14.0-70.22.1.e19_0.x86_64 root=/dev/mapper/rhel-root ro crash\

kernel=auto resume=/dev/mapper/rhel-swap rd.lvm.lv/swap rhgb quiet

5. To choose an alternate boot target, append the systemd.unit= parameter to the end of the line
that starts with linux:

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linux ($root)/vmlinuz-5.14.0-70.22.1.e19_0.x86_64 root=/dev/mapper/rhel-root ro crash\

kernel=auto resume=/dev/mapper/rhel-swap rd.lvm.lv/swap rhgb quiet
systemd.unit=<name>.target

Replace <name> with the name of the target unit you want to use. For example,
systemd.unit=emergency.target

6. Press Ctrl+X to boot with these settings.

12.4. SHUTTING DOWN, SUSPENDING, AND HIBERNATING THE

SYSTEM
As a system administrator, you can use different power management options to manage power
consumption, perform a proper shutdown to ensure that all data is saved, or restart the system to apply
changes and updates.

12.4.1. System shutdown

To shut down the system, you can either use the systemctl utility directly, or call this utility through the
shutdown command.

Using the shutdown has the following advantages:

You can schedule a shutdown by using the time argument. This also gives users warning that a
system shutdown has been scheduled.

You can cancel the shutdown.

Additional resources

Overview of the power management commands with systemctl

12.4.2. Scheduling a system shutdown

As a system administrator, you can schedule a delayed shutdown to give users time to save their work
and log off the system. Use the shutdown command to perform the following operations:

Shut down the system and power off the machine at a certain time

Shut down and halt the system without powering off the machine

Cancel a pending shutdown

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure
Use the shutdown command to perform any of the following tasks:

Specify the time at which you want to shut down the system and power off the machine:

# shutdown --poweroff hh:mm

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Where hh:mm is the time in the 24-hour time notation. To prevent new logins, the /run/nologin
file is created 5 minutes before system shutdown.

When you use the time argument, you can notify users logged in to the system of the planned
shutdown by specifying an optional wall message, for example shutdown --poweroff 13:59
"Attention. The system will shut down at 13:59".

Shut down and halt the system after a delay, without powering off the machine:

# shutdown --halt +m

Where +m is the delay time in minutes. You can use the now keyword as an alias for +0.

Cancel a pending shutdown:

# shutdown -c

Additional resources

shutdown(8) manual page

Shutting down the system using the systemctl command

12.4.3. Shutting down the system using the systemctl command

As a system administrator, you can shut down the system and power off the machine or shut down and
halt the system without powering off the machine by using the systemctl command.

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure
Use the systemctl command to perform any of the following tasks:

Shut down the system and power off the machine:

# systemctl poweroff

Shut down and halt the system without powering off the machine:

# systemctl halt

NOTE

By default, running either of these commands causes systemd to send an informative

message to all users that are currently logged into the system. To prevent systemd from
sending this message, run the selected command with the --no-wall command line
option.

12.4.4. Restarting the system

When you restart the system, systemd stops all running programs and services, the system shuts down,

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When you restart the system, systemd stops all running programs and services, the system shuts down,
and then immediately starts again. Restarting the system can be helpful in the following situations:

After installing new software or updates

After making changes to system settings

When troubleshooting system issues

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure

Restart the system:

# systemctl reboot

NOTE

By default, when you use this command, systemd sends an informative message to all
users that are currently logged into the system. To prevent systemd from sending this
message, run this command with the --no-wall option.

12.4.5. Optimizing power consumption by suspending and hibernating the system

As a system administrator, you can manage power consumption, save energy on your systems, and
preserve the current state of your system. To do so, apply one of the following modes:

Suspend
Suspending saves the system state in RAM and with the exception of the RAM module, powers off
most of the devices in the machine. When you turn the machine back on, the system then restores its
state from RAM without having to boot again. Because the system state is saved in RAM and not on
the hard disk, restoring the system from suspend mode is significantly faster than from hibernation.
However, the suspended system state is also vulnerable to power outages.
Hibernate
Hibernating saves the system state on the hard disk drive and powers off the machine. When you
turn the machine back on, the system then restores its state from the saved data without having to
boot again. Because the system state is saved on the hard disk and not in RAM, the machine does
not have to maintain electrical power to the RAM module. However, as a consequence, restoring the
system from hibernation is significantly slower than restoring it from suspend mode.
Hybrid sleep
This combines elements of both hibernation and suspending. The system first saves the current
state on the the hard disk drive, and enters a low-power state similar to suspending, which allows the
system to resume more quickly. The benefit of hybrid sleep is that if the system loses power during
the sleep state, it can still recover the previous state from the saved image on the hard disk, similar to
hibernation.
Suspend-then-hibernate
This mode first suspends the system, which results in saving the current system state to RAM and
putting the system in a low-power mode. The system hibernates if it remains suspended for a
specific period of time that you can define in the HibernateDelaySec parameter. Hibernation saves

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the system state to the hard disk drive and shuts down the system completely. The suspend-then-
hibernate mode provides the benefit of conserving battery power while you are still able to quickly
resume work. Additionally, this mode ensures that your data is saved in case of a power failure.

Prerequisites

Root access

Procedure
Choose the appropriate method for power saving:

Suspend the system:

# systemctl suspend

Hibernate the system:

# systemctl hibernate

Hibernate and suspend the system:

# systemctl hybrid-sleep

Suspend and then hibernate the system:

# systemctl suspend-then-hibernate

12.4.6. Overview of the power management commands with systemctl

You can use the following list of the systemctl commands to control the power management of your
system.

Table 12.4. Overview of the systemctl power management commands

systemctl command Description

systemctl halt Halts the system.

systemctl poweroff Powers off the system.

systemctl reboot Restarts the system.

systemctl suspend Suspends the system.

systemctl hibernate Hibernates the system.

systemctl hybrid-sleep Hibernates and suspends the system.

12.4.7. Changing how your system behaves when you press the power button

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When you press the power button on your computer, it shuts down the system by default. You can
customize this behavior according to your preferences.

Prerequisites

Administrative access.

Procedure

1. Open the /etc/systemd/logind.conf configuration file.

2. Look for the line that says HandlePowerKey=poweroff.

3. If the line starts with the # symbol, remove it to enable the setting.

4. Replace poweroff with one of the following options:

poweroff to shut down the computer.

reboot for a system reboot.

halt to initiate a system halt.

kexec for a kexec-based reboot.

suspend to suspend the system.

hibernate to initiate system hibernation.

ignore to do nothing.

For example, to reboot the system upon pressing the power button, use this setting:

HandlePowerKey=reboot

5. Save your changes and close the editor.

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CHAPTER 13. CONFIGURING TIME SYNCHRONIZATION

Accurate timekeeping in an IT environment is important. A consistent time across all network devices
improves the traceability of log files and certain protocols rely on synchronized clocks. For example,
Kerberos uses time stamps to prevent replay attacks.

13.1. USING THE CHRONY SUITE TO CONFIGURE NTP

Accurate timekeeping is important for several reasons in IT. In networking for example, accurate time
stamps in packets and logs are required. In Linux systems, the NTP protocol is implemented by a
daemon running in user space.

The user space daemon updates the system clock running in the kernel. The system clock can keep time
by using various clock sources. Usually, the Time Stamp Counter (TSC) is used. The TSC is a CPU
register which counts the number of cycles since it was last reset. It is very fast, has a high resolution,
and there are no interruptions.

Starting with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, the NTP protocol is implemented by the chronyd daemon,
available from the repositories in the chrony package.

The following sections describe how to use the chrony suite to configure NTP.

13.1.1. Introduction to chrony suite

chrony is an implementation of the Network Time Protocol (NTP). You can use chrony:

To synchronize the system clock with NTP servers

To synchronize the system clock with a reference clock, for example a GPS receiver

To synchronize the system clock with a manual time input

As an NTPv4(RFC 5905) server or peer to provide a time service to other computers in the
network

chrony performs well in a wide range of conditions, including intermittent network connections, heavily
congested networks, changing temperatures (ordinary computer clocks are sensitive to temperature),
and systems that do not run continuously, or run on a virtual machine.

Typical accuracy between two machines synchronized over the Internet is within a few milliseconds, and
for machines on a LAN within tens of microseconds. Hardware timestamping or a hardware reference
clock may improve accuracy between two machines synchronized to a sub-microsecond level.

chrony consists of chronyd, a daemon that runs in user space, and chronyc, a command line program
which can be used to monitor the performance of chronyd and to change various operating parameters
when it is running.

The chrony daemon, chronyd, can be monitored and controlled by the command line utility chronyc.
This utility provides a command prompt which allows entering a number of commands to query the
current state of chronyd and make changes to its configuration. By default, chronyd accepts only
commands from a local instance of chronyc, but it can be configured to accept monitoring commands
also from remote hosts. The remote access should be restricted.

13.1.2. Using chronyc to control chronyd

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You can control chronyd by using the chronyc command line utility.

Procedure

1. To make changes to the local instance of chronyd using the command line utility chronyc in
interactive mode, enter the following command as root:

# chronyc

chronyc must run as root if some of the restricted commands are to be used.

The chronyc command prompt will be displayed as follows:

chronyc>

2. To list all of the commands, type help.

3. Alternatively, the utility can also be invoked in non-interactive command mode if called together
with a command as follows:

chronyc command

NOTE

Changes made using chronyc are not permanent, they will be lost after a chronyd
restart. For permanent changes, modify /etc/chrony.conf.

13.2. USING CHRONY

The following sections describe how to install, start, and stop chronyd, and how to check if chrony is
synchronized. Sections also describe how to manually adjust System Clock.

13.2.1. Managing chrony

The following procedure describes how to install, start, stop, and check the status of chronyd.

Procedure

1. The chrony suite is installed by default on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. To ensure that it is, run the
following command as root:

# dnf install chrony

The default location for the chrony daemon is /usr/sbin/chronyd. The command line utility will
be installed to /usr/bin/chronyc.

2. To check the status of chronyd, issue the following command:

$ systemctl status chronyd

chronyd.service - NTP client/server
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/chronyd.service; enabled)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2013-06-12 22:23:16 CEST; 11h ago

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3. To start chronyd, issue the following command as root:

# systemctl start chronyd

To ensure chronyd starts automatically at system start, issue the following command as root:

# systemctl enable chronyd

4. To stop chronyd, issue the following command as root:

# systemctl stop chronyd

To prevent chronyd from starting automatically at system start, issue the following command
as root:

# systemctl disable chronyd

13.2.2. Checking if chrony is synchronized

The following procedure describes how to check if chrony is synchronized with the use of the tracking,
sources, and sourcestats commands.

Procedure

1. To check chrony tracking, issue the following command:

$ chronyc tracking
Reference ID : CB00710F (ntp-server.example.net)
Stratum :3
Ref time (UTC) : Fri Jan 27 09:49:17 2017
System time : 0.000006523 seconds slow of NTP time
Last offset : -0.000006747 seconds
RMS offset : 0.000035822 seconds
Frequency : 3.225 ppm slow
Residual freq : 0.000 ppm
Skew : 0.129 ppm
Root delay : 0.013639022 seconds
Root dispersion : 0.001100737 seconds
Update interval : 64.2 seconds
Leap status : Normal

2. The sources command displays information about the current time sources that chronyd is
accessing. To check chrony sources, issue the following command:

$ chronyc sources
210 Number of sources = 3
MS Name/IP address Stratum Poll Reach LastRx Last sample
===========================================================================
====
#* GPS0 0 4 377 11 -479ns[ -621ns] /- 134ns
^? a.b.c 2 6 377 23 -923us[ -924us] +/- 43ms
^ d.e.f 1 6 377 21 -2629us[-2619us] +/- 86ms

You can specify the optional -v argument to print more verbose information. In this case, extra
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You can specify the optional -v argument to print more verbose information. In this case, extra
caption lines are shown as a reminder of the meanings of the columns.

3. The sourcestats command displays information about the drift rate and offset estimation
process for each of the sources currently being examined by chronyd. To check chrony source
statistics, issue the following command:

$ chronyc sourcestats
210 Number of sources = 1
Name/IP Address NP NR Span Frequency Freq Skew Offset Std Dev
===========================================================================
====
abc.def.ghi 11 5 46m -0.001 0.045 1us 25us

The optional argument -v can be specified, meaning verbose. In this case, extra caption lines are
shown as a reminder of the meanings of the columns.

Additional resources

chronyc(1) man page

13.2.3. Manually adjusting the System Clock

The following procedure describes how to manually adjust the System Clock.

Procedure

1. To step the system clock immediately, bypassing any adjustments in progress by slewing, issue
the following command as root:

# chronyc makestep

If the rtcfile directive is used, the real-time clock should not be manually adjusted. Random adjustments
would interfere with chrony's need to measure the rate at which the real-time clock drifts.

13.2.4. Disabling a chrony dispatcher script

The chrony dispatcher script manages the online and offline state of the NTP servers. As a system
administrator, you can disable the dispatcher script to keep chronyd polling the servers constantly.

If you enable NetworkManager on your system to manage networking configuration, the

NetworkManager executes the chrony dispatcher script during interface reconfiguration, stop or start
operations. However, if you configure certain interfaces or routes outside of NetworkManager, you can
encounter the following situation:

1. The dispatcher script might run when no route to the NTP servers exists, causing the NTP
servers to switch to the offline state.

2. If you establish the route later, the script does not run again by default, and the NTP servers
remain in the offline state.

To ensure that chronyd can synchronize with your NTP servers, which have separately managed
interfaces, disable the dispatcher script.

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Prerequisites

You installed NetworkManager on your system and enabled it.

Root access

Procedure

1. To disable the chrony dispatcher script, create a symlink to /dev/null:

# ln -s /dev/null /etc/NetworkManager/dispatcher.d/20-chrony-onoffline

NOTE

After this change, the NetworkManager cannot execute the dispatcher script,
and the NTP servers remain in the online state at all times.

13.2.5. Setting up chrony for a system in an isolated network

For a network that is never connected to the Internet, one computer is selected to be the primary
timeserver. The other computers are either direct clients of the server, or clients of clients. On the
server, the drift file must be manually set with the average rate of drift of the system clock. If the server
is rebooted, it will obtain the time from surrounding systems and calculate an average to set its system
clock. Thereafter it resumes applying adjustments based on the drift file. The drift file will be updated
automatically when the settime command is used.

The following procedure describes how to set up chrony for a system in an isolated network.

Procedure

1. On the system selected to be the server, using a text editor running as root, edit
/etc/chrony.conf as follows:

driftfile /var/lib/chrony/drift
commandkey 1
keyfile /etc/chrony.keys
initstepslew 10 client1 client3 client6
local stratum 8
manual
allow 192.0.2.0

Where 192.0.2.0 is the network or subnet address from which the clients are allowed to connect.

2. On the systems selected to be direct clients of the server, using a text editor running as root,
edit the /etc/chrony.conf as follows:

server ntp1.example.net
driftfile /var/lib/chrony/drift
logdir /var/log/chrony
log measurements statistics tracking
keyfile /etc/chrony.keys
commandkey 24

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local stratum 10
initstepslew 20 ntp1.example.net
allow 192.0.2.123

Where 192.0.2.123 is the address of the server, and ntp1.example.net is the host name of the
server. Clients with this configuration will resynchronize with the server if it restarts.

On the client systems which are not to be direct clients of the server, the /etc/chrony.conf file should be
the same except that the local and allow directives should be omitted.

In an isolated network, you can also use the local directive that enables a local reference mode, which
allows chronyd operating as an NTP server to appear synchronized to real time, even when it was never
synchronized or the last update of the clock happened a long time ago.

To allow multiple servers in the network to use the same local configuration and to be synchronized to
one another, without confusing clients that poll more than one server, use the orphan option of the
local directive which enables the orphan mode. Each server needs to be configured to poll all other
servers with local. This ensures that only the server with the smallest reference ID has the local
reference active and other servers are synchronized to it. When the server fails, another one will take
over.

13.2.6. Configuring remote monitoring access

chronyc can access chronyd in two ways:

Internet Protocol, IPv4 or IPv6.

Unix domain socket, which is accessible locally by the root or chrony user.

By default, chronyc connects to the Unix domain socket. The default path is
/var/run/chrony/chronyd.sock. If this connection fails, which can happen for example when chronyc is
running under a non-root user, chronyc tries to connect to 127.0.0.1 and then ::1.

Only the following monitoring commands, which do not affect the behavior of chronyd, are allowed from
the network:

activity

manual list

rtcdata

smoothing

sources

sourcestats

tracking

waitsync

The set of hosts from which chronyd accepts these commands can be configured with the cmdallow
directive in the configuration file of chronyd, or the cmdallow command in chronyc. By default, the
commands are accepted only from localhost (127.0.0.1 or ::1).

All other commands are allowed only through the Unix domain socket. When sent over the network,

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All other commands are allowed only through the Unix domain socket. When sent over the network,
chronyd responds with a Not authorised error, even if it is from localhost.

The following procedure describes how to access chronyd remotely with chronyc.

Procedure

1. Allow access from both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses by adding the following to the
/etc/chrony.conf file:

bindcmdaddress 0.0.0.0

or

bindcmdaddress ::

2. Allow commands from the remote IP address, network, or subnet by using the cmdallow
directive.
Add the following content to the /etc/chrony.conf file:

cmdallow 192.168.1.0/24

3. Open port 323 in the firewall to connect from a remote system:

# firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=323/udp

Optionally, you can open port 323 permanently using the --permanent option:

# firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-port=323/udp

4. If you opened port 323 permanently, reload the firewall configuration:

# firewall-cmd --reload

Additional resources

chrony.conf(5) man page

13.2.7. Managing time synchronization using RHEL system roles

You can manage time synchronization on multiple target machines using the timesync role. The
timesync role installs and configures an NTP or PTP implementation to operate as an NTP or PTP client
to synchronize the system clock.

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
WARNING

The timesync role replaces the configuration of the given or detected provider
service on the managed host. Previous settings are lost, even if they are not
specified in the role variables. The only preserved setting is the choice of provider if
the timesync_ntp_provider variable is not defined.

The following example shows how to apply the timesync role in a situation with just one pool of servers.

Example 13.1. An example playbook applying the timesync role for a single pool of servers

---
- hosts: timesync-test
vars:
timesync_ntp_servers:
- hostname: 2.rhel.pool.ntp.org
pool: yes
iburst: yes
roles:
- rhel-system-roles.timesync

For a detailed reference on timesync role variables, install the rhel-system-roles package, and see the
README.md or README.html files in the /usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/timesync directory.

Additional resources

Preparing a control node and managed nodes to use RHEL system roles

13.2.8. Additional resources

chronyc(1) man page

chronyd(8) man page

Frequently Asked Questions

13.3. CHRONY WITH HW TIMESTAMPING

Hardware timestamping is a feature supported in some Network Interface Controller (NICs) which
provides accurate timestamping of incoming and outgoing packets. NTP timestamps are usually created
by the kernel and chronyd with the use of the system clock. However, when HW timestamping is
enabled, the NIC uses its own clock to generate the timestamps when packets are entering or leaving
the link layer or the physical layer. When used with NTP, hardware timestamping can significantly
improve the accuracy of synchronization. For best accuracy, both NTP servers and NTP clients need to
use hardware timestamping. Under ideal conditions, a sub-microsecond accuracy may be possible.

Another protocol for time synchronization that uses hardware timestamping is PTP.

Unlike NTP, PTP relies on assistance in network switches and routers. If you want to reach the best
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Unlike NTP, PTP relies on assistance in network switches and routers. If you want to reach the best
accuracy of synchronization, use PTP on networks that have switches and routers with PTP support, and
prefer NTP on networks that do not have such switches and routers.

The following sections describe how to:

Verify support for hardware timestamping

Enable hardware timestamping

Configure client polling interval

Enable interleaved mode

Configure server for large number of clients

Verify hardware timestamping

Configure PTP-NTP bridge

13.3.1. Verifying support for hardware timestamping

To verify that hardware timestamping with NTP is supported by an interface, use the ethtool -T
command. An interface can be used for hardware timestamping with NTP if ethtool lists the
SOF_TIMESTAMPING_TX_HARDWARE and SOF_TIMESTAMPING_TX_SOFTWARE capabilities
and also the HWTSTAMP_FILTER_ALL filter mode.

Example 13.2. Verifying support for hardware timestamping on a specific interface

# ethtool -T eth0

Output:

Timestamping parameters for eth0:

Capabilities:
hardware-transmit (SOF_TIMESTAMPING_TX_HARDWARE)
software-transmit (SOF_TIMESTAMPING_TX_SOFTWARE)
hardware-receive (SOF_TIMESTAMPING_RX_HARDWARE)
software-receive (SOF_TIMESTAMPING_RX_SOFTWARE)
software-system-clock (SOF_TIMESTAMPING_SOFTWARE)
hardware-raw-clock (SOF_TIMESTAMPING_RAW_HARDWARE)
PTP Hardware Clock: 0
Hardware Transmit Timestamp Modes:
off (HWTSTAMP_TX_OFF)
on (HWTSTAMP_TX_ON)
Hardware Receive Filter Modes:
none (HWTSTAMP_FILTER_NONE)
all (HWTSTAMP_FILTER_ALL)
ptpv1-l4-sync (HWTSTAMP_FILTER_PTP_V1_L4_SYNC)
ptpv1-l4-delay-req (HWTSTAMP_FILTER_PTP_V1_L4_DELAY_REQ)
ptpv2-l4-sync (HWTSTAMP_FILTER_PTP_V2_L4_SYNC)
ptpv2-l4-delay-req (HWTSTAMP_FILTER_PTP_V2_L4_DELAY_REQ)
ptpv2-l2-sync (HWTSTAMP_FILTER_PTP_V2_L2_SYNC)
ptpv2-l2-delay-req (HWTSTAMP_FILTER_PTP_V2_L2_DELAY_REQ)

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ptpv2-event (HWTSTAMP_FILTER_PTP_V2_EVENT)
ptpv2-sync (HWTSTAMP_FILTER_PTP_V2_SYNC)
ptpv2-delay-req (HWTSTAMP_FILTER_PTP_V2_DELAY_REQ)

13.3.2. Enabling hardware timestamping

To enable hardware timestamping, use the hwtimestamp directive in the /etc/chrony.conf file. The
directive can either specify a single interface, or a wildcard character can be used to enable hardware
timestamping on all interfaces that support it. Use the wildcard specification in case that no other
application, like ptp4l from the linuxptp package, is using hardware timestamping on an interface.
Multiple hwtimestamp directives are allowed in the chrony configuration file.

Example 13.3. Enabling hardware timestamping by using the hwtimestamp directive

hwtimestamp eth0
hwtimestamp eth1
hwtimestamp *

13.3.3. Configuring client polling interval

The default range of a polling interval (64-1024 seconds) is recommended for servers on the Internet.
For local servers and hardware timestamping, a shorter polling interval needs to be configured in order
to minimize offset of the system clock.

The following directive in /etc/chrony.conf specifies a local NTP server using one second polling
interval:

server ntp.local minpoll 0 maxpoll 0

13.3.4. Enabling interleaved mode

NTP servers that are not hardware NTP appliances, but rather general purpose computers running a
software NTP implementation, like chrony, will get a hardware transmit timestamp only after sending a
packet. This behavior prevents the server from saving the timestamp in the packet to which it
corresponds. In order to enable NTP clients receiving transmit timestamps that were generated after
the transmission, configure the clients to use the NTP interleaved mode by adding the xleave option to
the server directive in /etc/chrony.conf:

server ntp.local minpoll 0 maxpoll 0 xleave

13.3.5. Configuring server for large number of clients

The default server configuration allows a few thousands of clients at most to use the interleaved mode
concurrently. To configure the server for a larger number of clients, increase the clientloglimit directive
in /etc/chrony.conf. This directive specifies the maximum size of memory allocated for logging of
clients' access on the server:

clientloglimit 100000000

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13.3.6. Verifying hardware timestamping

To verify that the interface has successfully enabled hardware timestamping, check the system log. The
log should contain a message from chronyd for each interface with successfully enabled hardware
timestamping.

Example 13.4. Log messages for interfaces with enabled hardware timestamping

chronyd[4081]: Enabled HW timestamping on eth0

chronyd[4081]: Enabled HW timestamping on eth1

When chronyd is configured as an NTP client or peer, you can have the transmit and receive
timestamping modes and the interleaved mode reported for each NTP source by the chronyc ntpdata
command:

Example 13.5. Reporting the transmit, receive timestamping and interleaved mode for each NTP
source

# chronyc ntpdata

Output:

Remote address : 203.0.113.15 (CB00710F)

Remote port : 123
Local address : 203.0.113.74 (CB00714A)
Leap status : Normal
Version :4
Mode : Server
Stratum :1
Poll interval : 0 (1 seconds)
Precision : -24 (0.000000060 seconds)
Root delay : 0.000015 seconds
Root dispersion : 0.000015 seconds
Reference ID : 47505300 (GPS)
Reference time : Wed May 03 13:47:45 2017
Offset : -0.000000134 seconds
Peer delay : 0.000005396 seconds
Peer dispersion : 0.000002329 seconds
Response time : 0.000152073 seconds
Jitter asymmetry: +0.00
NTP tests : 111 111 1111
Interleaved : Yes
Authenticated : No
TX timestamping : Hardware
RX timestamping : Hardware
Total TX : 27
Total RX : 27
Total valid RX : 27

Example 13.6. Reporting the stability of NTP measurements

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# chronyc sourcestats

With hardware timestamping enabled, stability of NTP measurements should be in tens or hundreds
of nanoseconds, under normal load. This stability is reported in the Std Dev column of the output of
the chronyc sourcestats command:

Output:

210 Number of sources = 1

Name/IP Address NP NR Span Frequency Freq Skew Offset Std Dev
ntp.local 12 7 11 +0.000 0.019 +0ns 49ns

13.3.7. Configuring PTP-NTP bridge

If a highly accurate Precision Time Protocol (PTP) primary timeserver is available in a network that does
not have switches or routers with PTP support, a computer may be dedicated to operate as a PTP client
and a stratum-1 NTP server. Such a computer needs to have two or more network interfaces, and be
close to the primary timeserver or have a direct connection to it. This will ensure highly accurate
synchronization in the network.

Configure the ptp4l and phc2sys programs from the linuxptp packages to use one interface to
synchronize the system clock using PTP.

Configure chronyd to provide the system time using the other interface:

Example 13.7. Configuring chronyd to provide the system time using the other interface

bindaddress 203.0.113.74
hwtimestamp eth1
local stratum 1

13.4. OVERVIEW OF NETWORK TIME SECURITY (NTS) IN CHRONY

Network Time Security (NTS) is an authentication mechanism for Network Time Protocol (NTP),
designed to scale substantial clients. It verifies that the packets received from the server machines are
unaltered while moving to the client machine. Network Time Security (NTS) includes a Key
Establishment (NTS-KE) protocol that automatically creates the encryption keys used between the
server and its clients.


WARNING

NTS is not compatible with the FIPS and OSPP profile. When you enable the FIPS
and OSPP profile, chronyd that is configured with NTS can abort with a fatal
message. You can disable the OSPP profile and FIPS mode for chronyd service by
adding the GNUTLS_FORCE_FIPS_MODE=0 to the /etc/sysconfig/chronyd file.

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13.4.1. Enabling Network Time Security (NTS) in the client configuration file
By default, Network Time Security (NTS) is not enabled. You can enable NTS in the /etc/chrony.conf.
For that, perform the following steps:

Prerequisites

Server with the NTS support

Procedure
In the client configuration file:

1. Specify the server with the nts option in addition to the recommended iburst option.

For example:
server time.example.com iburst nts
server nts.netnod.se iburst nts
server ptbtime1.ptb.de iburst nts

2. To avoid repeating the Network Time Security-Key Establishment (NTS-KE) session during
system boot, add the following line to chrony.conf, if it is not present:

ntsdumpdir /var/lib/chrony

3. To disable synchronization with Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers provided by DHCP,
comment out or remove the following line in chrony.conf, if it is present:

sourcedir /run/chrony-dhcp

4. Save your changes.

5. Restart the chronyd service:

systemctl restart chronyd

Verification

Verify if the NTS keys were successfully established:

# chronyc -N authdata

Name/IP address Mode KeyID Type KLen Last Atmp NAK Cook CLen
================================================================
time.example.com NTS 1 15 256 33m 0 0 8 100
nts.sth1.ntp.se NTS 1 15 256 33m 0 0 8 100
nts.sth2.ntp.se NTS 1 15 256 33m 0 0 8 100

The KeyID, Type, and KLen should have non-zero values. If the value is zero, check the system
log for error messages from chronyd.

Verify the client is making NTP measurements:

# chronyc -N sources

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MS Name/IP address Stratum Poll Reach LastRx Last sample

=========================================================
time.example.com 3 6 377 45 +355us[ +375us] +/- 11ms
nts.sth1.ntp.se 1 6 377 44 +237us[ +237us] +/- 23ms
nts.sth2.ntp.se 1 6 377 44 -170us[ -170us] +/- 22ms

The Reach column should have a non-zero value; ideally 377. If the value rarely gets 377 or
never gets to 377, it indicates that NTP requests or responses are getting lost in the network.

Additional resources

chrony.conf(5) man page

13.4.2. Enabling Network Time Security (NTS) on the server

If you run your own Network Time Protocol (NTP) server, you can enable the server Network Time
Security (NTS) support to facilitate its clients to synchronize securely.

If the NTP server is a client of other servers, that is, it is not a Stratum 1 server, it should use NTS or
symmetric key for its synchronization.

Prerequisites

Server private key in PEM format

Server certificate with required intermediate certificates in PEM format

Procedure

1. Specify the private key and the certificate file in chrony.conf. For example:

ntsserverkey /etc/pki/tls/private/<ntp-server.example.net>.key
ntsservercert /etc/pki/tls/certs/<ntp-server.example.net>.crt

2. Ensure that both the key and certificate files are readable by the chrony system user, by setting
the group ownership. For example:

# chown :chrony /etc/pki/tls//<ntp-server.example.net>.

3. Ensure the ntsdumpdir /var/lib/chrony directive is present in the chrony.conf.

4. Restart the chronyd service:

# systemctl restart chronyd

IMPORTANT

If the server has a firewall, it needs to allow both the UDP 123 and TCP 4460
ports for NTP and Network Time Security-Key Establishment (NTS-KE).

Verification

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Perform a quick test from a client machine with the following command:

$ chronyd -Q -t 3 'server

ntp-server.example.net iburst nts maxsamples 1'

2021-09-15T13:45:26Z chronyd version 4.1 starting (+CMDMON +NTP +REFCLOCK +RTC
+PRIVDROP +SCFILTER +SIGND +ASYNCDNS +NTS +SECHASH +IPV6 +DEBUG)
2021-09-15T13:45:26Z Disabled control of system clock
2021-09-15T13:45:28Z System clock wrong by 0.002205 seconds (ignored)
2021-09-15T13:45:28Z chronyd exiting

The System clock wrong message indicates the NTP server is accepting NTS-KE connections
and responding with NTS-protected NTP messages.

Verify the NTS-KE connections and authenticated NTP packets observed on the server:

# chronyc serverstats

NTP packets received :7

NTP packets dropped :0
Command packets received : 22
Command packets dropped : 0
Client log records dropped : 0
NTS-KE connections accepted: 1
NTS-KE connections dropped : 0
Authenticated NTP packets: 7

If the value of the NTS-KE connections accepted and Authenticated NTP packets field is a
non-zero value, it means that at least one client was able to connect to the NTS-KE port and
send an authenticated NTP request.

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CHAPTER 14. RECOVERING AND RESTORING A SYSTEM

To recover and restore a system using an existing backup, Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides the Relax-
and-Recover (ReaR) utility.

You can use the utility as a disaster recovery solution and also for system migration.

The utility enables you to perform the following tasks:

Produce a bootable image and restore the system from an existing backup, using the image.

Replicate the original storage layout.

Restore user and system files.

Restore the system to a different hardware.

Additionally, for disaster recovery, you can also integrate certain backup software with ReaR.

Setting up ReaR involves the following high-level steps:

1. Install ReaR.

2. Modify ReaR configuration file, to add backup method details.

3. Create rescue system.

4. Generate backup files.

14.1. SETTING UP REAR

Use the following steps to install the package for using the Relax-and-Recover (ReaR) utility, create a
rescue system, configure and generate a backup.

Prerequisites

Necessary configurations as per the backup restore plan are ready.

Note that you can use the NETFS backup method, a fully-integrated and built-in method with
ReaR.

Procedure

1. Install the ReaR utility by running the following command:

# dnf install rear

2. Modify the ReaR configuration file in an editor of your choice, for example:

# vi /etc/rear/local.conf

3. Add the backup setting details to /etc/rear/local.conf. For example, in the case of the NETFS
backup method, add the following lines:

BACKUP=NETFS
BACKUP_URL=backup.location

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Replace backup.location by the URL of your backup location.

4. To configure ReaR to keep the previous backup archive when the new one is created, also add
the following line to the configuration file:

NETFS_KEEP_OLD_BACKUP_COPY=y

5. To make the backups incremental, meaning that only the changed files are backed up on each
run, add the following line:

BACKUP_TYPE=incremental

6. Create a rescue system:

# rear mkrescue

7. Take a backup as per the restore plan. For example, in the case of the NETFS backup method,
run the following command:

# rear mkbackuponly

Alternatively, you can create the rescue system and the backup in a single step by running the
following command:

# rear mkbackup

This command combines the functionality of the rear mkrescue and rear mkbackuponly
commands.

14.2. USING A REAR RESCUE IMAGE ON THE 64-BIT IBM Z

ARCHITECTURE
Basic Relax and Recover (ReaR) functionality is now available on the 64-bit IBM Z architecture as a
Technology Preview. You can create a ReaR rescue image on IBM Z only in the z/VM environment.
Backing up and recovering logical partitions (LPARs) has not been tested.

IMPORTANT

ReaR on the 64-bit IBM Z architecture is supported only with the rear package version
2.6-17.el9 or later. Earlier versions are available as a Technology Preview feature only. For
more information about the support scope of Red Hat Technology Preview features, see
https://access.redhat.com/support/offerings/techpreview.

The only output method currently available is Initial Program Load (IPL). IPL produces a kernel and an
initial RAM disk (initrd) that can be used with the zIPL boot loader.

Prerequisites

ReaR is installed.

To install ReaR, run the dnf install rear command

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Procedure
Add the following variables to the /etc/rear/local.conf to configure ReaR for producing a rescue image
on the 64-bit IBM Z architecture:

1. To configure the IPL output method, add OUTPUT=IPL.

2. To configure the backup method and destination, add BACKUP and BACKUP_URL variables.
For example:

BACKUP=NETFS

BACKUP_URL=nfs://<nfsserver name>/<share path>

IMPORTANT

The local backup storage is currently not supported on the 64-bit IBM Z
architecture.

3. Optionally, you can also configure the OUTPUT_URL variable to save the kernel and initrd files.
By default, the OUTPUT_URL is aligned with BACKUP_URL.

4. To perform backup and rescue image creation:

# rear mkbackup

5. This creates the kernel and initrd files at the location specified by the BACKUP_URL or
OUTPUT_URL (if set) variable, and a backup using the specified backup method.

6. To recover the system, use the ReaR kernel and initrd files created in step 3, and boot from a
Direct Attached Storage Device (DASD) or a Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP)-attached SCSI
device prepared with the zipl boot loader, kernel, and initrd. For more information, see Using a
Prepared DASD.

7. When the rescue kernel and initrd get booted, it starts the ReaR rescue environment. Proceed
with system recovery.


WARNING

Currently, the rescue process reformats all the DASDs (Direct Attached Storage
Devices) connected to the system. Do not attempt a system recovery if there is any
valuable data present on the system storage devices. This also includes the device
prepared with the zipl boot loader, ReaR kernel, and initrd that were used to boot
into the rescue environment. Ensure to keep a copy.

Additional resources

Installing under z/VM

Using a Prepared DASD

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