SUSE Manager Proxy 5.0 and SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 5.0

Release Notes
2024-05-17 14:18:48 +0400
Table of Contents

  * Version revision history
  * About SUSE Manager Proxy 5.0
      + Containerization
  * System requirements
  * SUSE Manager Proxy distribution
  * Installation and setup
  * Upgrade from previous version
  * SUSE Manager Server versions
  * Major Changes Since SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3
      + Release candidate
      + Beta 2 release
          o mgr-bootstrap tool removed from the Proxy
      + Beta 1 release
          o Salt 3006.0
          o Base system changed
      + Dropped features
          o Traditional Stack has been removed
      + Deprecated features
  * Known issues
      + Locale issue during installation
  * Keep Informed
  * Providing feedback
  * Resources
  * Legal Notices
  * Colophon

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Version revision history

  * May, 2024: 5.0 Release candidate

  * 24th April, 2024: 5.0 Beta 2 release

  * 1st March, 2024: 5.0 Beta 1 release

About SUSE Manager Proxy 5.0

SUSE Manager Proxy offers mirroring proxy support tailored for large and
distributed environments.

The Proxy operates transparently, appearing as a managed client to the SUSE
Manager Server and as a server to the managed clients.

Managed clients communicate exclusively with the Proxy, which then relays
requests to the SUSE Manager Server.

All software packages that pass through the SUSE Manager Proxy are cached,
allowing subsequent client requests for these packages to be resolved directly
from the cache.

Containerization

SUSE Manager 5.0 represents a significant evolution with its delivery in
containers, offering enhanced modularity and efficiency. In version 4.3, the
SUSE Manager Proxy and Retail Branch Server were containerized. However, with
this release, the SUSE Manager Server is now delivered in containers.

This shift allows for improved portability, simplifying deployment and
management in modern container-centric environments. By containerizing the
Server, flexibility is increased and it becomes easier to adapt to various
infrastructure setups. This is the first step toward further modularization,
preparing SUSE Manager Server for resilience and scalability. Future versions
of SUSE Manager are expected to continue this journey.

Containerization streamlines deployment and management processes, resulting in
better resilience and improved infrastructure availability. These changes
reflect a commitment to delivering a more adaptable and efficient solution for
managing different environments.

These enhancements are expected to greatly benefit users, providing them with a
more flexible and efficient SUSE Manager.

System requirements

The SUSE Manager Proxy was previously available for x86_64 architecture only,
but now it supports AArch64 architecture as well.

It is advisable to have a minimum of 8 GB of RAM and approximately 50 GB of
disk space per distribution or channel. Additional disk space should be
considered for storing images for retail terminals.

For more details on system requirements, see the Installation Guide on https://
documentation.suse.com/suma/5.0/.

SUSE Manager Proxy distribution

SUSE Manager Server, Proxy, and Retail Branch Server will be packaged in
containers, accessible through the SUSE Registry.

The SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server and SUSE Manager Proxy extensions are
both built on top of SLE Micro, equipped with the necessary tools to manage
Retail Branch Server and Proxy, respectively.

Installation and setup

To install SUSE Manager Proxy 5.0 , you should use the mgrpxy tool provided as
part of the SUSE Manager Proxy extension on top of SLE Micro 5.5.

For more details on installing and configuring SUSE Manager Proxy 5.0, see the
Installation Guide on https://documentation.suse.com/suma/5.0/en/suse-manager/
installation-and-upgrade/container-deployment/suma/proxy-deployment-suma.html

Important Only the containerized versions of SUSE Manager Proxy and Retail
          Branch server will be available for SUSE Manager 5.0.

Upgrade from previous version

In version 4.3, we provide support for both containerized and regular proxies.
However, there's no direct in-place migration path from SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3
to SUSE Manager 5.0 Proxy . In this case, you'll need to set up a new Proxy and
transition your clients to the new Proxy.

For detailed guidance on upgrading, please refer to the Upgrade Guide available
at https://documentation.suse.com/suma/5.0/en/suse-manager/
installation-and-upgrade/proxy-intro.html

SUSE Manager Server versions

SUSE Manager Proxy 5.0 is compatible only with SUSE Manager 5.0 Server.

However, SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 is backward compatible and can still function
with SUSE Manager 5.0 Server. So, there's no immediate need to migrate all
proxies if it's not feasible.

The product is designed for optimal performance when used in a scenario where
all components ? SUSE Manager Server, SUSE Manager Proxy, and Retail Branch
Server ? are of the same version. It's generally advised to avoid using mixed
versions long-term in production environments.

Major Changes Since SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3

Release candidate

Improvements around mgrpxy tool and bug fixing.

Beta 2 release

mgr-bootstrap tool removed from the Proxy

The mgr-bootstrap tool has been taken out from the Proxy and will be removed
from the Server as well in future. Overall, several tools on both the Server
and Proxy will be phased out in favor of the API or integrated into mgrpxy/
mgradm.

If users wish to create a bootstrap script to register against the Proxy, they
can do so using the following command from the Server container:

mgr-boostrap --hostname $proxyfqdn

Beta 1 release

Salt 3006.0

For SUSE Manager 5.0, we're sticking with version 3006.0. The reason behind
this decision is that it's a long-term support (LTS) version. Our plan is to
upgrade to the next LTS version, which will be 3008.0 when it will be
available. We won't be transitioning to short-term support (STS) versions.

Throughout this process, we'll ensure that all critical bug fixes, including
CVEs, L3 fixes, and essential features needed for SUSE Manager, are provided
and addressed.

Base system changed

SUSE Manager 4.3 was built on SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP4, but for SUSE
Manager 5.0, we've shifted to SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 as the base
system. This change was made because SLE Micro is better suited for container
workloads and has a longer lifecycle. Additionally, the SLE Micro subscription
for the Proxy will now be included in the SUSE Manager subscription,
eliminating the need for customers to purchase the underlying OS subscription
separately.

Dropped features

Traditional Stack has been removed

Starting with the SUSE Manager 4.3 release, the traditional stack was marked as
deprecated. Now, with the release of SUSE Manager 5.0, we are completely
removing support for the traditional stack. This means that we will not support
traditional clients and proxies based on traditional stack anymore.

For additional details on migrating traditional clients to Salt clients, please
refer to Migrate traditional clients to Salt clients.

Deprecated features

None

Known issues

Locale issue during installation

During the Proxy installation process, users may encounter an error similar to
the following:

Error: cannot inspect host values: cannot inspect host data. cannot read config: While parsing config: line `[
....
....
"status":"Not Registered"}]` doesn't match format

This error is often caused by incorrect locale settings. You can check for this
issue by running the following command:

transactional-update register --status

and see if you get the error message like this

Failed to set locale. Fix your system.

Workaround:

To resolve this issue, you can either remove SendEnv LANG LC_* from /etc/ssh/
ssh_config, or set the following environment variable before restarting the
installation:

env LC_ALL=C LC_MESSAGES=C LANG=C

The fix will be included in the next milestone release.

Keep Informed

You can stay up-to-date regarding information about SUSE Manager and SUSE
products:

  * Check the newest SUSE Manager 5.0 release notes

  * Read the SUSE Blog

  * Use the SUSE Best Practices for SUSE Manager

  * Join the upstream Uyuni community and monthly community meetings

  * Join the channels users and devel at Gitter to chat with upstream
    community.

Providing feedback

If you encounter a bug in any SUSE product, please report it through your SUSE
Customer Service or Sales representatives

Resources

Latest product documentation: https://documentation.suse.com/suma/5.0/.

Technical product information for SUSE Manager: https://www.suse.com/products/
suse-manager/

These release notes are available online: https://www.suse.com/releasenotes/

Visit https://www.suse.com for the latest Linux product news from SUSE.

Visit https://www.suse.com/source-code/ for additional information on the
source code of SUSE Linux Enterprise products.

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Colophon

Thank you for using SUSE Manager Proxy and/or SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server
in your business.

Your SUSE Manager Team.

Last updated 2024-05-17 14:18:48 +0400
