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Using the SA patch importer for Oracle Enterprise Linux

The SA Patch Importer for Oracle Enterprise Linux can be run from the command line, or can be part of a cron job, which runs the import on the recurring basis. By default, the importer will import the packages for the subscribed channels from the ULN and create the corresponding software policies for each of the imported channels.

A full set of command line options gives you full control over the import action. For example, you can:

  • Selectively enable or disable one or more channels at runtime
  • Decide whether to import the packages without creating the corresponding software policies
  • Add new channels to a supported platform
  • Remove channels from a supported platform
  • View supported channels for the supported platforms
  • Do a dry run on the import to see what actions will be performing

The following table describes the command line options for uln_import:

Command Line Options for uln_import

Option

Description

--version

Show the version number of this program and exit.

-h, --help

Show this help message and exit.

-E LABEL [LABEL...], --enable=LABEL [LABEL...]

Enable a previously disabled channel; multiple labels may be provided; use 'all' to enable all configured channels.

A channel can be disabled by setting the ‘enabled=0’ in the channel section in the configuration file, /etc/opt/opsware/patch_importer/uln_import.conf.

Use this option to dynamically enable it at run time.

-D LABEL [LABEL...], --disable=LABEL [LABEL...]

Disable a previously enabled channel at run time; multiple labels may be provided; use 'all' to disable all configured channels.

Using 'all' will effectively disabled all channels, which means no channels will be imported. It’s as good as running a no-op.

This option does not permanently disabled channels; it only disables the given channels for this particular run.

-m MODE, --mode=MODE

Import mode: 'channel', 'erratum', 'errata', 'all' [default: all]

--source=SUPPORTED_SOURCES

Source: 'uln', 'all' [default: all]

-c FILE, --conf=FILE

Configuration file [default: none]

Use this option to specify an alternative configuration file.

--packages_only

Don't create policies, download packages only.

-n, --preview

Show what would be done (dry-run).

-s, --silent

Display errors only.

-v, --verbose

Debug mode.

Debug messages are available in the log file.

--show_conf

Show configuration settings and exit.

--show_labels

Show default RHN channel labels and exit.

--hide_passwords

Rewrite the configuration file hiding any plain-text passwords and exit.

--show_platform_labels

List the platforms and their supported channel labels; may use the --platform_name option to filter the platforms to be displayed.

--add_platform_label

Add channel labels to a given platform; must use the --platform_name option to specify a platform, along with the labels to be added.

--remove_platform_label

Remove channel labels from a given platform; must use the --platform_name option to specify a platform, along with the labels to be removed.

--platform_name=PLATFORM_NAME

Specify the platform name; when used with --show_platform_labels option, it will be used as a name filter; when used with --add_platform_label option, it must be an exact match; when used with --remove_platform_label option, it must be an exact match.

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