RHN Classic, RHSM, and Satellite

There are some conceptual differences between Red Hat Subscription Management and RHN Classic, and this translates into differences in the way that subscriptions are defined. In older subscription models — the model used by RHN Classic and Satellite 5 — a system required channel entitlements which granted access to sets of content and software – commonly known as channels.

Red Hat Subscription Management and Satellite 6 uses public-key infrastructure (PKI) certificates to uniquely identify the system, the products on the system, and their attached subscriptions.

The old and new subscription models are fundamentally different. The old rhn_import tool is associated with the old subscription model and thus is only capable of importing content from RHN Classic, and Satellite 5. To support Red Hat Customer Portal and Satellite 6 with the new subscription model — that is RHSM — a new tool has been added.