Manage Channels

The Overview page of the Manage Software Channels menu lists all available channels including custom, distribution-based, and child channels.

To clone an existing channel, click the Clone Channel link. Select the channel to be cloned from the drop-down box, select whether to clone the current state (including patches) or the original state (without patches). You can also select specific patches to use for cloning. Then click the Create Channel button. In the next screen select options for the new channel, including base architecture and GPG, then click Create Channel.

GPG Key URL

The GPG key URL may be either an internal file location such as file:/// or you may use an external URL.

To create a new channel, click the Create Channel link. Select the appropriate options for the new channel, including base architecture and GPG options, then click Create Channel. Note that a channel created in this manner is blank, containing no packages. You must either upload software packages or add packages from other repositories. You may also choose to include patches in your custom channel.

Enable GPG Check

Enable GPG Check is automatically selected when creating a new channel. If you would like to add custom packages and applications to your channel, make sure you deselect this box or you cannot install/add unsigned packages. Keep in mind this is a security risk for packages from an untrusted source.

Channel Details

This page lists the settings made during channel creation.

Managers

SUSE Manager administrators and channel administrators may alter or delete any channel.

If you delete a channel that has been assigned to a set of clients, it will trigger an immediate update of the channel state for any clients associated with the deleted channel. This is to ensure that the changes are reflected accurately in the repository file.

To grant other users rights to alter or delete this channel, check the box next to the user’s name and click Update.

To allow all users to manage the channel, click the Select All button at the bottom of the list then click Update. To remove a user’s right to manage the channel, uncheck the box next to their name and click Update.

Patches

Channel managers can list, remove, clone, and add patches to their custom channel. Custom channels not cloned from a distribution may not contain patches until packages are available. Only patches that match the base architecture and apply to a package in that channel may be added. Finally, only cloned or custom patches may be added to custom channels. Patches may be included in a cloned channel if they are selected during channel creation.

The Sync tab lists patches that were updated since they were originally cloned in the selected cloned channel. More specifically, a patch is listed here if and only if:

  • it is a cloned patch,

  • it belongs to the selected cloned channel,

  • it has already been published in the selected cloned channel,

  • it does not contain a package that the original patch has, or it has at least one package with a different version with regard to the corresponding one in the original patch, or both.

  • Clicking the Sync Patches button opens a confirmation page in which a subset of those patches can be selected for synchronization.

  • Clicking the Confirm button in the confirmation page results in such patches being copied over from the original channel to the cloned channel, thus updating corresponding packages.

Packages

As with patches, administrators can list, remove, compare, and add packages to a custom channel.

To list all packages in the channel, click the List / Remove Packages link. Check the box to the left of any package you want to remove, then click Remove Packages.

To add packages, click the Add Packages link. From the drop-down box activate a channel from which to add packages and click View to continue. Check the box to the left of any package you want to add to the custom channel, then click Add Packages.

To compare packages in the current channel with those in another, select a channel from the drop-down box and click Compare. Packages in both channels are compared, including architecture and the latest version of packages. The results are displayed on the next screen.

To make the two channels identical, click the Merge Differences button. In the next dialog, resolve any conflicts. Preview Merge allows you to review the changes before applying them to the channels. Select those packages that you want to merge. Click Merge Packages then Confirm to perform the merge.

Repositories

On the Repositories page, assign software repositories to the channel and synchronize repository content:

  • Add/Remove lists configured repositories, which can be added and removed by selecting the check box next to the repository name and clicking Update Repositories.

  • Sync lists configured repositories. The synchronization schedule can be set using the drop-down boxes, or an immediate synchronization can be performed by clicking Sync Now.

The Manage Repositories tab to the left shows all assigned repositories. Click a name to see details and possibly delete a repository.

Channel with multiple repositories and comps files

Some repositories have a comps file associated with them. Comps files are used to define how packages are grouped within the repository. If you are synchronizing multiple repositories within the same channel, the comps file of the most recently synchronized repository will be used for the entire channel. If you want to access all your repository comps files, you will need to map each repository to a different channel.