SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4

Administration Guide
Administration Guide
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4

This guide covers system administration tasks like maintaining, monitoring and customizing
an initially installed system.

Publication Date: July 30, 2026

[Link]

Copyright © 2006–2026 SUSE LLC and contributors. All rights reserved.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
License, Version 1.2 or (at your option) version 1.3; with the Invariant Section being this copyright notice and license. A
copy of the license version 1.2 is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation License”.
For SUSE trademarks, see [Link] . All third-party trademarks are the property of their
respective owners. Trademark symbols (®, ™ etc.) denote trademarks of SUSE and its affiliates. Asterisks (*) denote third-
party trademarks.

All information found in this book has been compiled with utmost attention to detail. However, this does not guarantee
complete accuracy. Neither SUSE LLC, its affiliates, the authors nor the translators shall be held liable for possible errors
or the consequences thereof.
 Contents

Preface xxiv
1 Available documentation xxiv

2 Improving the documentation xxv

3 Documentation conventions xxvi

4 Support xxviii
Support statement for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server xxviii • Technology
previews xxix

I COMMON TASKS 1

1 Bash and Bash scripts 2

1.1 What is “the shell”? 2
Bash configuration files 2 • The directory structure 5

1.2 Writing shell scripts 9

1.3 Redirecting command events 10

1.4 Using aliases 11

1.5 Using variables in Bash 11

Using argument variables 12 • Using variable substitution 13

1.6 Grouping and combining commands 14

1.7 Working with common flow constructs 15

The if control command 15 • Creating loops with the for command 16

1.8 More information 16

2 sudo basics 17
2.1 Basic sudo usage 17
Running a single command 17 • Starting a shell 18

iv Administration Guide
 2.2 Configuring sudo 19
Editing the configuration files 19 • Basic sudoers configuration
syntax 20 • Basic sudoers rules 21

2.3 sudo use cases 23

Using sudo without root password 23 • Using sudo with [Link]
applications 24

2.4 More information 25

3 Using YaST 26
3.1 YaST interface overview 26

3.2 YaST modules and configuration files 26

3.3 Useful key combinations 28

4 YaST in text mode 29

4.1 Navigation in modules 30

4.2 Advanced key combinations 31

4.3 Restriction of key combinations 32

4.4 YaST command line options 32

Installing packages from the command line 33 • Working with individual
modules 33 • Command line parameters of YaST modules 33

5 Changing language and country settings with

YaST 57
5.1 Changing the system language 57
Modifying system languages with YaST 58 • Switching the default
system language 60 • Switching languages for standard X and GNOME
applications 61

5.2 Changing the country and time settings 61

6 Managing users with YaST 64

6.1 User and group administration dialog 64

v Administration Guide
 6.2 Managing user accounts 66

6.3 Additional options for user accounts 68

Automatic login and passwordless login 68 • Enforcing password
policies 69 • Managing quotas 69

6.4 Changing default settings for local users 72

6.5 Assigning users to groups 72

6.6 Managing groups 73

6.7 Changing the user authentication method 74

6.8 Default system users 76

6.9 Default system groups 78

6.10 Reserved user and group IDs 79

7 YaST online update 81

7.1 The online update dialog 82

7.2 Installing patches 83

7.3 Viewing retracted patches 84

7.4 Automatic online update 85

8 Installing or removing software 88

8.1 Definition of terms 88

8.2 Registering an installed system 89

Registering with YaST 90 • Registering with SUSEConnect 90

8.3 Using the YaST software manager 90

Searching software 91 • Installing and removing packages
or patterns 93 • Updating packages 94 • Package
dependencies 96 • Handling of package recommendations 97

8.4 Managing software repositories and services 98

Adding software repositories 98 • Managing repository
properties 100 • Managing repository keys 101

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 8.5 The GNOME package updater 101

8.6 Updating packages with GNOME Software 104

9 Managing software with command line tools 105

9.1 Using Zypper 105
General usage 105 • Using Zypper subcommands 106 • Installing
and removing software with Zypper 107 • Updating
software with Zypper 111 • Identifying processes and
services using deleted files 117 • Managing repositories
with Zypper 118 • Querying repositories and packages with
Zypper 121 • Showing lifecycle information 123 • Configuring
Zypper 123 • Troubleshooting 124 • Zypper rollback feature on Btrfs file
system 124 • More information 124

9.2 RPM—the package manager 124

Verifying package authenticity 125 • Managing packages: install,
update, and uninstall 125 • Delta RPM packages 127 • RPM
queries 127 • Installing and compiling source packages 130 • Compiling
RPM packages with build 132 • Tools for RPM archives and the RPM
database 132

10 System recovery and snapshot management with

Snapper 133
10.1 Default setup 133
Default settings 135 • Types of snapshots 135 • Directories that are
excluded from snapshots 136 • Customizing the setup 136

10.2 Using Snapper to undo changes 140

Undoing YaST and Zypper changes 141 • Using Snapper to restore
files 146

10.3 System rollback by booting from snapshots 147

Snapshots after rollback 150 • Accessing and identifying snapshot boot
entries 150 • Limitations 152

vii Administration Guide

 10.4 Enabling Snapper in user home directories 153
Installing pam_snapper and creating users 154 • Removing
users 154 • Manually enabling snapshots in home directories 155

10.5 Creating and modifying Snapper configurations 155

Managing existing configurations 157

10.6 Manually creating and managing snapshots 160

Snapshot metadata 160 • Creating snapshots 162 • Modifying snapshot
metadata 163 • Deleting snapshots 163

10.7 Automatic snapshot clean-up 164

Cleaning up numbered snapshots 165 • Cleaning up timeline
snapshots 167 • Cleaning up snapshot pairs that do not
differ 168 • Cleaning up manually created snapshots 168 • Adding disk
quota support 169

10.8 Showing exclusive disk space used by snapshots 170

10.9 Frequently asked questions 171

11 Live kernel patching with KLP 173

11.1 Advantages of Kernel Live Patching 173

11.2 Kernel Live Patching overview 173

Kernel Live Patching scope 175 • Kernel Live Patching limitations 175

11.3 Activating Kernel Live Patching using YaST 175

11.4 Activating Kernel Live Patching from the command line 176

11.5 Performing Kernel Live Patching 176

Checking expiration date of the live patch 177

11.6 Troubleshooting Kernel Live Patching issues 178

Manual patch downgrade 178

12 User space live patching 179

12.1 About user space live patching 179
Prerequisites 179 • Supported libraries 180 • Using libpulp 180

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 12.2 More information 182

13 Transactional updates 183

13.1 Limitations of technology preview 183

13.2 Enabling transactional-update 185

13.3 Managing automatic updates 185

13.4 The transactional-update command 186

13.5 Troubleshooting 188

14 Remote graphical sessions with VNC 189

14.1 The vncviewer client 189
Connecting using the vncviewer CLI 189 • Connecting using the vncviewer
GUI 190 • Notification of unencrypted connections 190

14.2 Remmina: the remote desktop client 190

Installation 190 • Main window 191 • Adding remote
sessions 191 • Starting remote sessions 193 • Editing, copying, and
deleting saved sessions 194 • Running remote sessions from the command
line 194

14.3 Configuring one-time sessions on the VNC server 195

Available configurations 196 • Initiating a one-time VNC
session 197 • Configuring one-time VNC sessions 197

14.4 Configuring persistent VNC server sessions 198

VNC session initiated using vncserver 199 • VNC session initiated using
vncmanager 200

14.5 Configuring encryption on the VNC server 203

14.6 Compatibility with Wayland 205

15 File copying with RSync 206

15.1 Conceptual overview 206

15.2 Basic syntax 206

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 15.3 Copying files and directories locally 207

15.4 Copying files and directories remotely 208

15.5 Configuring and using an rsync server 208

15.6 More information 211

II BOOTING A LINUX SYSTEM 212

16 Introduction to the boot process 213

16.1 Terminology 213

16.2 The Linux boot process 214

The initialization and boot loader phase 214 • The kernel phase 215 • The
init on initramfs phase 218 • The systemd phase 220

17 UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) 221

17.1 Secure boot 221
Implementation on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 222 • MOK (Machine
Owner Key) 224 • Booting a custom kernel 225 • Using non-inbox
drivers 227 • Features and limitations 227

17.2 The Secure Boot Revocation List 228

How to apply an online Revocation List update 229 • How to apply an online
Revocation List update 230

17.3 More information 231

18 The boot loader GRUB 2 232

18.1 Main differences between GRUB legacy and GRUB 2 232

18.2 Configuration file structure 232

The file /boot/grub2/[Link] 233 • The file /etc/default/
grub 234 • Scripts in /etc/grub.d 237 • Mapping between BIOS
drives and Linux devices 238 • Editing menu entries during the boot
procedure 239 • Setting a boot password 240 • Authorized access to
boot menu entries 241

x Administration Guide
 18.3 Configuring the boot loader with YaST 242
Boot loader location and boot code options 243 • Adjusting the disk
order 245 • Configuring advanced options 245

18.4 Differences in terminal usage on IBM Z 248

Limitations 248 • Key combinations 249

18.5 Helpful GRUB 2 commands 251

18.6 Rescue mode 252

18.7 More information 253

19 The systemd daemon 254

19.1 The systemd concept 254
Unit file 254

19.2 Basic usage 255

Managing services in a running system 256 • Permanently enabling/disabling
services 258

19.3 System start and target management 259

Targets compared to runlevels 259 • Debugging system start-
up 263 • System V compatibility 266

19.4 Managing services with YaST 266

19.5 Customizing systemd 268

Where are unit files stored? 268 • Override with drop-in
files 268 • Creating drop-in files manually 269 • Converting xinetd
services to systemd 271 • Creating custom targets 272

19.6 Advanced usage 273

Cleaning temporary directories 273 • System
log 274 • Snapshots 274 • Loading kernel modules 274 • Performing
actions before loading a service 275 • Kernel control groups
(cgroups) 276 • Terminating services (sending signals) 277 • Important
notes on the D-Bus service 277 • Debugging services 278

xi Administration Guide
 19.7 systemd timer units 279
systemd timer types 279 • systemd timers and service
units 279 • Practical example 280 • Managing systemd timers 281

19.8 More information 281

III SYSTEM 283

20 32-bit and 64-bit applications in a 64-bit system

environment 284
20.1 Runtime support 284

20.2 Kernel specifications 285

21 journalctl: Query the systemd journal 286

21.1 Making the journal persistent 286

21.2 journalctl: Useful switches 286

21.3 Filtering the journal output 287

Filtering based on a boot number 287 • Filtering based on time
interval 288 • Filtering based on fields 289

21.4 Investigating systemd errors 289

21.5 Journald configuration 291

Changing the journal size limit 291 • Forwarding the journal to /dev/
ttyX 291 • Forwarding the journal to syslog facility 291

21.6 Using YaST to filter the systemd journal 292

21.7 Viewing logs in GNOME 293

22 update-alternatives: Managing multiple versions of

commands and files 294
22.1 Overview 294

22.2 Use cases 296

22.3 Getting an overview of alternatives 296

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 22.4 Viewing details on specific alternatives 296

22.5 Setting the default version of alternatives 297

22.6 Installing custom alternatives 298

22.7 Defining dependent alternatives 300

23 Basic networking 302

23.1 IP addresses and routing 304
IP addresses 304 • Netmasks and routing 305

23.2 IPv6—the next generation Internet 307

Advantages 307 • Address types and structure 309 • Coexistence of IPv4
and IPv6 313 • Configuring IPv6 314 • More information 314

23.3 Name resolution 315

23.4 Configuring a network connection with YaST 316

Configuring the network card with YaST 317 • IBM Z: configuring network
devices 327

23.5 Configuring a network connection manually 329

The wicked network configuration 329 • Configuration files 336 • Testing
the configuration 347 • Unit files and start-up scripts 351

23.6 Basic router setup 352

23.7 Setting up bonding devices 353

Hotplugging of bond ports 356

23.8 Setting up team devices for Network Teaming 357

Use case: load balancing with Network Teaming 361 • Use case: failover with
Network Teaming 362 • Use case: VLAN over team device 363

23.9 Configuring a network bridge device 364

Manually configure network bridge 365

23.10 Software-defined networking with Open vSwitch 366

Advantages of Open vSwitch 366 • Installing Open
vSwitch 367 • Overview of Open vSwitch daemons and
utilities 367 • Creating a bridge with Open vSwitch 368 • Using

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 Open vSwitch directly with KVM 369 • Using Open vSwitch with
libvirt 371 • More information 372

24 Printer operation 373

24.1 The CUPS workflow 374

24.2 Methods and protocols for connecting printers 375

24.3 Installing the software 375

24.4 Network printers 376

24.5 Configuring CUPS with command line tools 377

24.6 Printing from the command line 378

24.7 Special features in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 378

CUPS and firewall 379 • Browsing for network printers 379 • PPD files in
various packages 380

24.8 Troubleshooting 380

Printers without standard printer language support 381 • No
suitable PPD file available for a PostScript printer 381 • Network
printer connections 382 • Defective printouts without error
message 384 • Disabled queues 384 • CUPS browsing: deleting print
jobs 384 • Defective print jobs and data transfer errors 385 • Debugging
CUPS 385 • More information 386

25 Graphical user interface 387

25.1 X Window System 387

25.2 Installing and configuring fonts 388

Showing installed fonts 389 • Viewing fonts 389 • Querying
fonts 389 • Installing fonts 390 • Configuring the appearance of
fonts 391

25.3 GNOME configuration for administrators 399

The dconf system 399 • System-wide configuration 400 • More
information 401

xiv Administration Guide

 25.4 Switching between Intel and NVIDIA Optimus GPUs with SUSE
Prime 401
Prerequisites 401 • Installing and using SUSE Prime 402 • Installing
NVIDIA drivers 402

26 Accessing file systems with FUSE 403

26.1 Configuring FUSE 403

26.2 Mounting an NTFS partition 403

26.3 More information 404

27 Installing multiple kernel versions 405

27.1 Enabling and configuring multiversion support 405
Automatically deleting unused kernels 406 • Use case: Deleting an
old kernel after reboot only 407 • Use case: Keeping older kernels as
fallback 407 • Use case: Keeping a specific kernel version 408

27.2 Installing/removing multiple kernel versions with YaST 408

27.3 Installing/removing multiple kernel versions with Zypper 409

28 Managing kernel modules 412

28.1 Listing loaded modules with lsmod and modinfo 412

28.2 Adding and removing kernel modules 413

Loading kernel modules automatically on boot 413 • Blacklisting kernel
modules with modprobe 414

29 Dynamic kernel device management with udev 415

29.1 The /dev directory 415

29.2 Kernel uevents and udev 415

29.3 Drivers, kernel modules and devices 416

29.4 Booting and initial device setup 416

29.5 Monitoring the running udev daemon 417

xv Administration Guide
 29.6 Influencing kernel device event handling with udev rules 418
Using operators in udev rules 420 • Using substitutions in udev
rules 420 • Using udev match keys 421 • Using udev assign keys 422

29.7 Persistent device naming 424

29.8 Files used by udev 425

29.9 More information 425

30 Special system features 427

30.1 Information about special software packages 427
The bash package and /etc/profile 427 • The cron
package 428 • Stopping cron status messages 429 • Log files:
package logrotate 429 • The locate command 429 • The ulimit
command 429 • The free command 430 • Man pages and info
pages 431 • Selecting man pages using the man command 431 • Settings
for GNU Emacs 431

30.2 Virtual consoles 432

30.3 Keyboard mapping 432

30.4 Language and country-specific settings 433

System-wide locale settings 434 • Some examples 435 • Locale
settings in ~/.i18n 436 • Settings for language support 436 • More
information 437

31 Using NetworkManager 438

31.1 Use cases for NetworkManager 438

31.2 Enabling or disabling NetworkManager 438

31.3 Configuring network connections 439

Managing wired network connections 441 • Managing wireless network
connections 441 • Configuring your Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card as an access
point 442 • NetworkManager and VPN 442

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 31.4 NetworkManager and security 444
User and system connections 444 • Storing passwords and
credentials 445 • Firewall zones 445

31.5 Frequently asked questions 445

31.6 Troubleshooting 447

31.7 More information 448

IV HARDWARE CONFIGURATION 449

32 Setting up your system keyboard layout 450

33 Setting up sound cards 451

34 Setting up a printer 454

34.1 Configuring printers 454
Adding drivers with YaST 456 • Editing a local printer configuration 457

34.2 Configuring printing via the network with YaST 457

Using CUPS 457 • Using print servers other than CUPS 459

34.3 Sharing printers over the network 459

35 Power management 460

35.1 Power saving functions 460

35.2 Advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI) 461

Controlling the CPU performance 462 • Troubleshooting 462

35.3 Rest for the hard disk 463

35.4 Troubleshooting 465

CPU frequency does not work 465

36 Persistent memory 466

36.1 Introduction 466

36.2 Terms 468

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 36.3 Use cases 470
PMEM with DAX 470 • PMEM with BTT 471

36.4 Tools for managing persistent memory 471

36.5 Setting up persistent memory 472

Viewing available NVDIMM storage 472 • Configuring the storage as a
single PMEM namespace with DAX 474 • Creating a PMEM namespace with
BTT 476 • Placing the file system journal on PMEM/BTT 477

36.6 More information 477

V SERVICES 479

37 Service management with YaST 480

38 Time synchronization with NTP 482

38.1 Configuring an NTP client with YaST 482
NTP daemon start 483 • Type of the configuration source 483 • Configure
time servers 484

38.2 Manually configuring NTP in the network 485

38.3 Configure chronyd at runtime using chronyc 486

38.4 Dynamic time synchronization at runtime 487

38.5 Setting up a local reference clock 487

38.6 Clock synchronization to an external time reference (ETR) 488

39 The domain name system 489

39.1 DNS terminology 489

39.2 Installation 490

39.3 Configuration with YaST 490

Wizard configuration 490 • Expert configuration 493

39.4 Starting the BIND name server 501

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 39.5 The /etc/[Link] configuration file 503
Important configuration options 504 • Logging 505 • Zone entries 505

39.6 Zone files 507

39.7 Dynamic update of zone data 510

39.8 Secure transactions 510

39.9 DNS security 512

39.10 More information 512

40 DHCP 513
40.1 Configuring a DHCP server with YaST 514
Initial configuration (wizard) 514 • DHCP server configuration (expert) 518

40.2 DHCP software packages 523

40.3 The DHCP server dhcpd 524

Clients with fixed IP addresses 525 • The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
version 526

40.4 More information 527

41 SLP 528
41.1 The SLP front-end slptool 528

41.2 Providing services via SLP 529

Setting up an SLP installation server 531

41.3 More information 531

42 The Apache HTTP server 532

42.1 Quick start 532
Requirements 532 • Installation 533 • Start 533

42.2 Configuring Apache 534

Apache configuration files 534 • Configuring Apache
manually 537 • Configuring Apache with YaST 542

42.3 Starting and stopping Apache 548

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 42.4 Installing, activating, and configuring modules 550
Module installation 550 • Activation and deactivation 551 • Base and
extension modules 551 • Multiprocessing modules 554 • External
modules 555 • Compilation 556

42.5 Enabling CGI scripts 557

Apache configuration 557 • Running an example script 558 • CGI
troubleshooting 558

42.6 Setting up a secure Web server with SSL 559

Creating an SSL certificate 559 • Configuring Apache with SSL 563

42.7 Running multiple Apache instances on the same server 565

42.8 Avoiding security problems 568

Up-to-date software 568 • DocumentRoot permissions 568 • File system
access 569 • CGI scripts 569 • User directories 569

42.9 Troubleshooting 570

42.10 More information 571

Apache 2.4 571 • Apache
modules 571 • Development 572 • Miscellaneous sources 572

43 Setting up an FTP server with YaST 573

43.1 Starting the FTP server 573

43.2 FTP general settings 574

43.3 FTP performance settings 575

43.4 Authentication 575

43.5 Expert settings 576

43.6 More information 576

44 Squid caching proxy server 577

44.1 Some facts about proxy servers 577
Squid and security 578 • Multiple caches 578 • Caching Internet
objects 579

xx Administration Guide
 44.2 System requirements 579
RAM 579 • CPU 580 • Size of the disk cache 580 • Hard disk/SSD
architecture 580

44.3 Basic usage of Squid 581

Starting Squid 581 • Checking whether Squid is working 581 • Stopping,
reloading, and restarting Squid 583 • Removing Squid 584 • Local DNS
server 584

44.4 The YaST Squid module 585

44.5 The Squid configuration file 586

General configuration options 587 • Options for access controls 589

44.6 Configuring a transparent proxy 592

44.7 Using the Squid cache manager CGI interface ([Link]) 593

44.8 Cache report generation with Calamaris 595

44.9 More Information 596

45 Web Based Enterprise Management using SFCB 597

45.1 Introduction and basic concept 597

45.2 Setting up SFCB 598

Starting, stopping and checking status for SFCB 599 • Ensuring secure
access 599

45.3 SFCB CIMOM configuration 602

Environment variables 602 • Command line options 603 • SFCB
configuration file 604

45.4 Advanced SFCB tasks 615

Installing CMPI providers 615 • Testing SFCB 619 • Command line CIM
client: wbemcli 621

45.5 More information 623

xxi Administration Guide

 VI TROUBLESHOOTING 624

46 Help and documentation 625

46.1 Documentation directory 626
Release notes 626 • Package documentation 626

46.2 Man pages 627

46.3 Info pages 628

46.4 Online resources 629

47 Gathering system information for support 630

47.1 Displaying current system information 630

47.2 Collecting system information with supportconfig 631

Creating a service request number 631 • Upload targets 632 • Creating
a supportconfig archive with YaST 632 • Creating a supportconfig
archive from command line 635 • Understanding the output of
supportconfig 635 • Common supportconfig options 636 • Overview of
the archive content 637

47.3 Submitting information to Global Technical Support 641

47.4 Analyzing system information 643

SCA command line tool 643 • SCA appliance 645 • Developing custom
analysis patterns 656

47.5 Gathering information during the installation 656

47.6 Support of kernel modules 657

Technical background 658 • Working with unsupported modules 658

47.7 More information 659

48 Common problems and their solutions 660

48.1 Finding and gathering information 660

48.2 Boot problems 663

The GRUB 2 boot loader fails to load 663 • No graphical login 663 • Root
Btrfs partition cannot be mounted 664 • Force checking root

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 partitions 664 • Disable swap to enable booting 664 • GRUB 2 fails during
reboot on a dual-boot system 664

48.3 Login problems 665

Valid user name and password combinations fail 665 • Valid user name
and password not accepted 666 • Login to encrypted home partition
fails 668 • GNOME desktop has issues 668

48.4 Network problems 669

NetworkManager problems 673

48.5 Data problems 673

Managing partition images 673 • Using the rescue system 674

48.6 IBM Z: using initrd as a rescue system 681

48.7 IBM Z: After a kernel update the system boots into the previous
kernel 682

A An example network 683

B GNU licenses 684

xxiii Administration Guide

Preface

1 Available documentation
Online documentation
Our documentation is available online at [Link] . Browse or download
the documentation in various formats.

Note: Latest updates

The latest updates are usually available in the English-language version of this documenta-
tion.

SUSE Knowledgebase
If you run into an issue, check out the Technical Information Documents (TIDs) that are available
online at [Link] . Search the SUSE Knowledgebase for known so-
lutions driven by customer need.

Release notes
For release notes, see [Link] .

In your system
For offline use, the release notes are also available under /usr/share/doc/release-notes on
your system. The documentation for individual packages is available at /usr/share/doc/pack-
ages.
Many commands are also described in their manual pages. To view them, run man, followed by a
specific command name. If the man command is not installed on your system, install it with sudo
zypper install man.

xxiv Available documentation | SLES 15 SP4

2 Improving the documentation
Your feedback and contributions to this documentation are welcome. The following channels for giving
feedback are available:

Service requests and support

For services and support options available for your product, see [Link]
port/ .
To open a service request, you need a SUSE subscription registered at SUSE Customer Center. Go
to [Link] , log in, and click Create New.

Bug reports
Report issues with the documentation at [Link] .
To simplify this process, click the Report an issue icon next to a headline in the HTML version
of this document. This preselects the right product and category in Bugzilla and adds a link to the
current section. You can start typing your bug report right away.
A Bugzilla account is required.

Contributions
To contribute to this documentation, click the Edit source document icon next to a headline in the
HTML version of this document. This will take you to the source code on GitHub, where you can
open a pull request.
A GitHub account is required.

Note: Edit source document only available for English

The Edit source document icons are only available for the English version of each document.
For all other languages, use the Report an issue icons instead.

For more information about the documentation environment used for this documentation, see the
repository's README.

Mail
You can also report errors and send feedback concerning the documentation to doc-
team@[Link]. Include the document title, the product version, and the publication date of the
document. Additionally, include the relevant section number and title (or provide the URL) and
provide a concise description of the problem.

xxv Improving the documentation | SLES 15 SP4

3 Documentation conventions
The following notices and typographic conventions are used in this document:

/etc/passwd: Directory names and file names

PLACEHOLDER: Replace PLACEHOLDER with the actual value

PATH: An environment variable

ls, --help: Commands, options, and parameters

user: The name of a user or group

package_name: The name of a software package

Alt , Alt – F1 : A key to press or a key combination. Keys are shown in uppercase as on a key-
board.

File, File Save As: menu items, buttons

AMD/Intel This paragraph is only relevant for the AMD64/Intel 64 architectures. The arrows mark
the beginning and the end of the text block.
IBM Z, POWER This paragraph is only relevant for the architectures IBM Z and POWER. The arrows
mark the beginning and the end of the text block.

Chapter 1, “Example chapter”: A cross-reference to another chapter in this guide.

Commands that must be run with root privileges. You can also prefix these commands with the
sudo command to run them as a non-privileged user:

# command
> sudo command

Commands that can be run by non-privileged users:

> command

Commands can be split into two or multiple lines by a backslash character (\) at the end of a line.
The backslash informs the shell that the command invocation will continue after the end of the line:

> echo a b \
c d

xxvi Documentation conventions | SLES 15 SP4

 A code block that shows both the command (preceded by a prompt) and the respective output re-
turned by the shell:

> command
output

Notices

Warning: Warning notice

Vital information you must be aware of before proceeding. Warns you about security issues,
potential loss of data, damage to hardware, or physical hazards.

Important: Important notice

Important information you should be aware of before proceeding.

Note: Note notice

Additional information, for example about differences in software versions.

Tip: Tip notice

Helpful information, like a guideline or a piece of practical advice.

Compact Notices

Additional information, for example about differences in software versions.

Helpful information, like a guideline or a piece of practical advice.

xxvii Documentation conventions | SLES 15 SP4

4 Support
Find the support statement for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and general information about technology
previews below. For details about the product lifecycle, see [Link] . For the
virtualization support status, see Book “Virtualization Guide”, Chapter 7 “Virtualization limits and support”.
If you are entitled to support, find details on how to collect information for a support ticket at https://
[Link]/sles-15/html/SLES-all/[Link] .

4.1 Support statement for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

To receive support, you need an appropriate subscription with SUSE. To view the specific support offers
available to you, go to [Link] and select your product.
The support levels are defined as follows:

L1
Problem determination, which means technical support designed to provide compatibility informa-
tion, usage support, ongoing maintenance, information gathering and basic troubleshooting using
available documentation.

L2
Problem isolation, which means technical support designed to analyze data, reproduce customer
problems, isolate a problem area and provide a resolution for problems not resolved by Level 1 or
prepare for Level 3.

L3
Problem resolution, which means technical support designed to resolve problems by engaging en-
gineering to resolve product defects which have been identified by Level 2 Support.

For contracted customers and partners, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is delivered with L3 support for all
packages, except for the following:

Technology previews.

Sound, graphics, fonts, and artwork.

Packages that require an additional customer contract.

Some packages shipped as part of the module Workstation Extension are L2-supported only.

Packages with names ending in -devel (containing header files and similar developer resources)
will only be supported together with their main packages.

xxviii Support | SLES 15 SP4

SUSE will only support the usage of original packages. That is, packages that are unchanged and not
recompiled.

4.2 Technology previews

Technology previews are packages, stacks, or features delivered by SUSE to provide glimpses into up-
coming innovations. Technology previews are included for your convenience to give you a chance to test
new technologies within your environment. We would appreciate your feedback. If you test a technology
preview, please contact your SUSE representative and let them know about your experience and use cases.
Your input is helpful for future development.
Technology previews have the following limitations:

Technology previews are still in development. Therefore, they may be functionally incomplete, un-
stable, or otherwise not suitable for production use.

Technology previews are not supported.

Technology previews may only be available for specific hardware architectures.

Details and functionality of technology previews are subject to change. As a result, upgrading to
subsequent releases of a technology preview may be impossible and require a fresh installation.

SUSE may discover that a preview does not meet customer or market needs, or does not comply
with enterprise standards. Technology previews can be removed from a product at any time. SUSE
does not commit to providing a supported version of such technologies in the future.

For an overview of technology previews shipped with your product, see the release notes at https://
[Link]/releasenotes .

xxix Technology previews | SLES 15 SP4

 I Common tasks

1 Bash and Bash scripts 2

2 sudo basics 17

3 Using YaST 26

4 YaST in text mode 29

5 Changing language and country settings with YaST 57

6 Managing users with YaST 64

7 YaST online update 81

8 Installing or removing software 88

9 Managing software with command line tools 105

10 System recovery and snapshot management with Snapper 133

11 Live kernel patching with KLP 173

12 User space live patching 179

13 Transactional updates 183

14 Remote graphical sessions with VNC 189

15 File copying with RSync 206

1 Bash and Bash scripts

Today, many people use computers with a graphical user interface (GUI) like GNOME. Al-
though GUIs offer many features, they are limited when performing automated task execu-
tion. Shells complement GUIs well, and this chapter gives an overview of some aspects of
shells, in this case the Bash shell.

1.1 What is “the shell”?

Traditionally, the Linux shell is Bash (Bourne again Shell). When this chapter speaks about “the shell”
it means Bash. There are more shells available (ash, csh, ksh, zsh, …), each employing different features
and characteristics.

1.1.1 Bash configuration files

A shell can be invoked as an:

1. Interactive login shell. This is used when logging in to a machine, invoking Bash with the --
login option or when logging in to a remote machine with SSH.

2. Interactive non-login shell. This is normally the case when starting xterm, konsole, gnome-ter-
minal, or similar command line interface (CLI) tools.

3. Non-interactive non-login shell. This is invoked when invoking a shell script at the command
line.

Depending on the type of shell you use, different configuration files will be read. The following tables
show the login and non-login shell configuration files.

Tip
Bash looks for its configuration files in a specific order depending on the type of shell where it is
run. Find more details on the Bash man page (man 1 bash). Search for the headline INVOCATION.

2 What is “the shell”? | SLES 15 SP4

TABLE 1.1: BASH CONFIGURATION FILES FOR LOGIN SHELLS

File Description

/etc/profile Do not modify this file, otherwise your modifica-

tions may be destroyed during your next update!

/etc/[Link] Use this file if you extend /etc/profile

/etc/profile.d/ Contains system-wide configuration files for spe-

cific programs

~/.profile Insert user specific configuration for login shells

here

Note that the login shell also sources the configuration files listed under Table 1.2, “Bash configuration
files for non-login shells”.

TABLE 1.2: BASH CONFIGURATION FILES FOR NON-LOGIN SHELLS

/etc/[Link] Do not modify this file, otherwise your modifica-

tions may be destroyed during your next update!

/etc/[Link] Use this file to insert your system-wide modifica-

tions for Bash only

~/.bashrc Insert user specific configuration here

Additionally, Bash uses some more files:

TABLE 1.3: SPECIAL FILES FOR BASH

File Description

~/.bash_history Contains a list of all commands you have typed

~/.bash_logout Executed when logging out

~/.alias User defined aliases of frequently used com-

mands. See man 1 alias for more details about
defining aliases.

3 Bash configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

No-Login Shells
There are special shells that block users from logging into the system: /bin/false and /sbin/nologin.
Both fail silently when the user attempts to log into the system. This was intended as a security measure
for system users, though modern Linux operating systems have more effective tools for controlling system
access, such as PAM and AppArmor.
The default on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is to assign /bin/bash to human users, and /bin/false
or /sbin/nologin to system users. The nobody user has /bin/bash for historical reasons, as it is a
minimally-privileged user that used to be the default for system users. However, whatever little bit of
security gained by using nobody is lost when multiple system users use it. It should be possible to change
it to /sbin/nologin; the fastest way to test it is change it and see if it breaks any services or applications.
Use the following command to list which shells are assigned to all users, system and human users, in /
etc/passwd. The output varies according to the services and users on your system:

> sort -t: -k 7 /etc/passwd | awk -F: '{print $1"\t" $7}' | column -t
tux /bin/bash
nobody /bin/bash
root /bin/bash
avahi /bin/false
chrony /bin/false
dhcpd /bin/false
dnsmasq /bin/false
ftpsecure /bin/false
lightdm /bin/false
mysql /bin/false
postfix /bin/false
rtkit /bin/false
sshd /bin/false
tftp /bin/false
unbound /bin/false
bin /sbin/nologin
daemon /sbin/nologin
ftp /sbin/nologin
lp /sbin/nologin
mail /sbin/nologin
man /sbin/nologin
nscd /sbin/nologin
polkitd /sbin/nologin
pulse /sbin/nologin
qemu /sbin/nologin
radvd /sbin/nologin
rpc /sbin/nologin
statd /sbin/nologin
svn /sbin/nologin

4 Bash configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

 systemd-coredump /sbin/nologin
systemd-network /sbin/nologin
systemd-timesync /sbin/nologin
usbmux /sbin/nologin
vnc /sbin/nologin
wwwrun /sbin/nologin
messagebus /usr/bin/false
scard /usr/sbin/nologin

1.1.2 The directory structure

The following table provides a short overview of the most important higher-level directories that you find
on a Linux system. Find more detailed information about the directories and important subdirectories in
the following list.

TABLE 1.4: OVERVIEW OF A STANDARD DIRECTORY TREE

Directory Contents

/ Root directory—the starting point of the directory tree.

/bin Essential binary files, such as commands that are needed by both the sys-
tem administrator and normal users. Usually also contains the shells, such as
Bash.

/boot Static files of the boot loader.

/dev Files needed to access host-specific devices.

/etc Host-specific system configuration files.

/home Holds the home directories of all users who have accounts on the system.
However, root's home directory is not located in /home but in /root.

/lib Essential shared libraries and kernel modules.

/media Mount points for removable media.

/mnt Mount point for temporarily mounting a file system.

/opt Add-on application software packages.

5 The directory structure | SLES 15 SP4

 Directory Contents

/root Home directory for the superuser root.

/sbin Essential system binaries.

/srv Data for services provided by the system.

/tmp Temporary files.

/usr Secondary hierarchy with read-only data.

/var Variable data such as log files.

/windows Only available if you have both Microsoft Windows* and Linux installed on
your system. Contains the Windows data.

The following list provides more detailed information and gives some examples of which files and subdi-
rectories can be found in the directories:

/bin
Contains the basic shell commands that may be used both by root and by other users. These com-
mands include ls, mkdir, cp, mv, rm and rmdir. /bin also contains Bash, the default shell in
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

/boot
Contains data required for booting, such as the boot loader, the kernel, and other data that is used
before the kernel begins executing user-mode programs.

/dev
Holds device files that represent hardware components.

/etc
Contains local configuration files that control the operation of programs like the X Window Sys-
tem. The /etc/init.d subdirectory contains LSB init scripts that can be executed during the boot
process.

6 The directory structure | SLES 15 SP4

/home/USERNAME
Holds the private data of every user who has an account on the system. The files located here can
only be modified by their owner or by the system administrator. By default, your e-mail directory
and personal desktop configuration are located here in the form of hidden files and directories, such
as .gconf/ and .config.

Note: Home directory in a network environment

If you are working in a network environment, your home directory may be mapped to a
directory in the file system other than /home.

/lib
Contains the essential shared libraries needed to boot the system and to run the commands in the
root file system. The Windows equivalent for shared libraries are DLL files.

/media
Contains mount points for removable media, such as CD-ROMs, flash disks, and digital cameras
(if they use USB). /media generally holds any type of drive except the hard disk of your system.
When your removable medium has been inserted or connected to the system and has been mounted,
you can access it from here.

/mnt
This directory provides a mount point for a temporarily mounted file system. root may mount file
systems here.

/opt
Reserved for the installation of third-party software. Optional software and larger add-on program
packages can be found here.

/root
Home directory for the root user. The personal data of root is located here.

/run
A tmpfs directory used by systemd and various components. /var/run is a symbolic link to /run.

/sbin
As the s indicates, this directory holds utilities for the superuser. /sbin contains the binaries essen-
tial for booting, restoring and recovering the system in addition to the binaries in /bin.

/srv
Holds data for services provided by the system, such as FTP and HTTP.

7 The directory structure | SLES 15 SP4

/tmp
This directory is used by programs that require temporary storage of files.

Important: Cleaning up /tmp at boot time

Data stored in /tmp is not guaranteed to survive a system reboot. It depends, for example,
on settings made in /etc/tmpfiles.d/[Link].

/usr
/usr has nothing to do with users, but is the acronym for Unix system resources. The data in /usr is
static, read-only data that can be shared among various hosts compliant with the Filesystem Hi-
erarchy Standard (FHS). This directory contains all application programs including the graph-
ical desktops such as GNOME and establishes a secondary hierarchy in the file system. /usr holds
several subdirectories, such as /usr/bin, /usr/sbin, /usr/local, and /usr/share/doc.

/usr/bin
Contains generally accessible programs.

/usr/sbin
Contains programs reserved for the system administrator, such as repair functions.

/usr/local
In this directory the system administrator can install local, distribution-independent extensions.

/usr/share/doc
Holds various documentation files and the release notes for your system. In the manual subdirectory
find an online version of this manual. If more than one language is installed, this directory may
contain versions of the manuals for different languages.
Under packages find the documentation included in the software packages installed on your sys-
tem. For every package, a subdirectory /usr/share/doc/packages/PACKAGENAME is created
that often holds README files for the package and sometimes examples, configuration files or
additional scripts.
If HOWTOs are installed on your system /usr/share/doc also holds the howto subdirectory in
which to find additional documentation on many tasks related to the setup and operation of Linux
software.

8 The directory structure | SLES 15 SP4

/var
Whereas /usr holds static, read-only data, /var is for data which is written during system operation
and thus is variable data, such as log files or spooling data. For an overview of the most important
log files you can find under /var/log/, refer to Table 48.1, “Log files”.

1.2 Writing shell scripts

Shell scripts provide a convenient way to perform a wide range of tasks: collecting data, searching for a
word or phrase in a text and other useful things. The following example shows a small shell script that
prints a text:

EXAMPLE 1.1: A SHELL SCRIPT PRINTING A TEXT

#!/bin/sh 1

# Output the following line: 2

echo "Hello World" 3

1 The first line begins with the Shebang characters (#!) which indicate that this file is a script. The
interpreter, specified after the Shebang, executes the script. In this case, the specified interpreter is
/bin/sh.

2 The second line is a comment beginning with the hash sign. We recommend that you comment
difficult lines. With proper commenting, you can remember the purpose and function of the line.
Also, other readers will hopefully understand your script. Commenting is considered good practice
in the development community.
3 The third line uses the built-in command echo to print the corresponding text.

Before you can run this script, there are a few prerequisites:

1. Every script should contain a Shebang line (as in the example above). If the line is missing, you
need to call the interpreter manually.

2. You can save the script wherever you want. However, it is a good idea to save it in a directory where
the shell can find it. The search path in a shell is determined by the environment variable PATH.
Usually a normal user does not have write access to /usr/bin. Therefore it is recommended to
save your scripts in the users' directory ~/bin/. The above example gets the name [Link].

3. The script needs executable permissions. Set the permissions with the following command:

> chmod +x ~/bin/[Link]

9 Writing shell scripts | SLES 15 SP4

If you have fulfilled all of the above prerequisites, you can execute the script in the following ways:

1. As absolute path. The script can be executed with an absolute path. In our case, it is ~/bin/
[Link].

2. Everywhere. If the PATH environment variable contains the directory where the script is located,
you can execute the script with [Link].

1.3 Redirecting command events

Each command can use three channels, either for input or output:

Standard output. This is the default output channel. Whenever a command prints something, it
uses the standard output channel.

Standard input. If a command needs input from users or other commands, it uses this channel.

Standard error. Commands use this channel for error reporting.

To redirect these channels, there are the following possibilities:

Command > File

Saves the output of the command into a file, an existing file will be deleted. For example, the ls
command writes its output into the file [Link]:

> ls > [Link]

Command >> File

Appends the output of the command to a file. For example, the ls command appends its output to
the file [Link]:

> ls >> [Link]

Command < File

Reads the file as input for the given command. For example, the read command reads in the content
of the file into the variable:

> read a < foo

10 Redirecting command events | SLES 15 SP4

Command1 | Command2
Redirects the output of the left command as input for the right command. For example, the cat
command outputs the content of the /proc/cpuinfo file. This output is used by grep to filter only
those lines which contain cpu:

> cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep cpu

Every channel has a file descriptor: 0 (zero) for standard input, 1 for standard output and 2 for standard
error. It is allowed to insert this file descriptor before a < or > character. For example, the following line
searches for a file starting with foo, but suppresses its errors by redirecting it to /dev/null:

> find / -name "foo*" 2>/dev/null

1.4 Using aliases

An alias is a shortcut definition of one or more commands. The syntax for an alias is:

alias NAME=DEFINITION

For example, the following line defines an alias lt that outputs a long listing (option -l), sorts it by
modification time (-t), and prints it in reverse sorted order (-r):

> alias lt='ls -ltr'

To view all alias definitions, use alias. Remove your alias with unalias and the corresponding alias
name.

1.5 Using variables in Bash

A shell variable can be global or local. Global variables, or environment variables, can be accessed in all
shells. In contrast, local variables are visible in the current shell only.
To view all environment variables, use the printenv command. If you need to know the value of a
variable, insert the name of your variable as an argument:

> printenv PATH

A variable, be it global or local, can also be viewed with echo:

> echo $PATH

11 Using aliases | SLES 15 SP4

To set a local variable, use a variable name followed by the equal sign, followed by the value:

> PROJECT="SLED"

Do not insert spaces around the equal sign, otherwise you get an error. To set an environment variable,
use export:

> export NAME="tux"

To remove a variable, use unset:

> unset NAME

The following table contains some common environment variables which can be used in you shell scripts:
TABLE 1.5: USEFUL ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

HOME the home directory of the current user

HOST the current host name

LANG when a tool is localized, it uses the language from

this environment variable. English can also be set
to C

PATH the search path of the shell, a list of directories

separated by colon

PS1 specifies the normal prompt printed before each

command

PS2 specifies the secondary prompt printed when you

execute a multi-line command

PWD current working directory

USER the current user

1.5.1 Using argument variables

For example, if you have the script [Link] you can execute it like this:

> [Link] "Tux Penguin" 2000

12 Using argument variables | SLES 15 SP4

To access all the arguments which are passed to your script, you need positional parameters. These are
$1 for the first argument, $2 for the second, and so on. You can have up to nine parameters. To get the
script name, use $0.
The following script [Link] prints all arguments from 1 to 4:

#!/bin/sh
echo \"$1\" \"$2\" \"$3\" \"$4\"

If you execute this script with the above arguments, you get:

"Tux Penguin" "2000" "" ""

1.5.2 Using variable substitution

Variable substitutions apply a pattern to the content of a variable either from the left or right side. The
following list contains the possible syntax forms:

${VAR#pattern}
removes the shortest possible match from the left:

> file=/home/tux/book/[Link].bz2
> echo ${file#*/}
home/tux/book/[Link].bz2

${VAR##pattern}
removes the longest possible match from the left:

> file=/home/tux/book/[Link].bz2
> echo ${file##*/}
[Link].bz2

${VAR%pattern}
removes the shortest possible match from the right:

> file=/home/tux/book/[Link].bz2
> echo ${file%.*}
/home/tux/book/[Link]

${VAR%%pattern}
removes the longest possible match from the right:

> file=/home/tux/book/[Link].bz2
> echo ${file%%.*}
/home/tux/book/book

13 Using variable substitution | SLES 15 SP4

${VAR/pattern_1/pattern_2}
substitutes the content of VAR from the PATTERN_1 with PATTERN_2:

> file=/home/tux/book/[Link].bz2
> echo ${file/tux/wilber}
/home/wilber/book/[Link].bz2

1.6 Grouping and combining commands

Shells allow you to concatenate and group commands for conditional execution. Each command returns
an exit code which determines the success or failure of its operation. If it is 0 (zero) the command was
successful, everything else marks an error which is specific to the command.
The following list shows, how commands can be grouped:

Command1 ; Command2
executes the commands in sequential order. The exit code is not checked. The following line displays
the content of the file with cat and then prints its file properties with ls regardless of their exit
codes:

> cat [Link] ; ls -l [Link]

Command1 && Command2

runs the right command, if the left command was successful (logical AND). The following line
displays the content of the file and prints its file properties only, when the previous command was
successful (compare it with the previous entry in this list):

> cat [Link] && ls -l [Link]

Command1 || Command2
runs the right command, when the left command has failed (logical OR). The following line creates
only a directory in /home/wilber/bar when the creation of the directory in /home/tux/foo has
failed:

> mkdir /home/tux/foo || mkdir /home/wilber/bar

funcname(){ ... }
creates a shell function. You can use the positional parameters to access its arguments. The following
line defines the function hello to print a short message:

> hello() { echo "Hello $1"; }

14 Grouping and combining commands | SLES 15 SP4

 You can call this function like this:

> hello Tux

which prints:

Hello Tux

1.7 Working with common flow constructs

To control the flow of your script, a shell has while, if, for and case constructs.

1.7.1 The if control command

The if command is used to check expressions. For example, the following code tests whether the current
user is Tux:

if test $USER = "tux"; then

echo "Hello Tux."
else
echo "You are not Tux."
fi

The test expression can be as complex or simple as possible. The following expression checks if the file
[Link] exists:

if test -e /tmp/[Link] ; then

echo "Found [Link]"
fi

The test expression can also be abbreviated in square brackets:

if [ -e /tmp/[Link] ] ; then
echo "Found [Link]"
fi

Find more useful expressions at [Link] .

15 Working with common flow constructs | SLES 15 SP4

1.7.2 Creating loops with the for command
The for loop allows you to execute commands to a list of entries. For example, the following code prints
some information about PNG files in the current directory:

for i in *.png; do
ls -l $i
done

1.8 More information

Important information about Bash is provided in the man pages man bash. More about this topic can be
found in the following list:

[Link] —Bash Guide for Beginners

[Link] —BASH Programming - Introduction

HOW-TO

[Link] —Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide

[Link] —Sh - the Bourne Shell

16 Creating loops with the for command | SLES 15 SP4

2 sudo basics

Running certain commands requires root privileges. However, for security reasons and to avoid mistakes,
it is not recommended to log in as root. A safer approach is to log in as a regular user, and then use sudo
to run commands with elevated privileges.
On SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, sudo is configured to work similarly to su. However, sudo provides
a flexible mechanism that allows users to run commands with privileges of any other user. This can be
used to assign roles with specific privileges to certain users and groups. For example, it is possible to
allow members of the group users to run a command with the privileges of user wilber. Access to
the command can be further restricted by disallowing any command options. While su always requires
the root password for authentication with PAM, sudo can be configured to authenticate with your own
credentials. This means that the users do not need to share the root password, which improves security.

2.1 Basic sudo usage

The following chapter provides an introduction to basic usage of sudo.

2.1.1 Running a single command

As a regular user, you can run any command as root by adding sudo before it. This prompts you to
provide the root password. If authenticated successfully, this runs the command as root:

> id -un 1

tux
> sudo id -un
root's password: 2

root
> id -un
tux 3

> sudo id -un

4

root

1 The id -un command prints the login name of the current user.
2 The password is not shown during input, neither as clear text nor as masking characters.
3 Only commands that start with sudo run with elevated privileges.

17 Basic sudo usage | SLES 15 SP4

 4 The elevated privileges persist for a certain period of time, so you do not need to provide the root
password again.

Tip: I/O redirection

When using sudo, I/O redirection does not work:

> sudo echo s > /proc/sysrq-trigger

bash: /proc/sysrq-trigger: Permission denied
> sudo cat < /proc/1/maps
bash: /proc/1/maps: Permission denied

In the example above, only the echo and cat commands run with elevated privileges. The redirec-
tion is done by the user's shell with user privileges. To perform redirection with elevated privileges,
either start a shell as in Section 2.1.2, “Starting a shell” or use the dd utility:

echo s | sudo dd of=/proc/sysrq-trigger

sudo dd if=/proc/1/maps | cat

2.1.2 Starting a shell

Using sudo every time to run a command with elevated privileges is not always practical. While you can
use the sudo bash command, it is recommended to use one of the built-in mechanisms to start a shell:

sudo -s (<command>)
Starts a shell specified by the SHELL environment variable or the target user's default shell. If a
command is specified, it is passed to the shell (with the -c option). Otherwise the shell runs in
interactive mode.

tux:~ > sudo -s

root's password:
root:/home/tux # exit
tux:~ >

sudo -i (<command>)
Similar to -s, but starts the shell as a login shell. This means that the shell's start-up files (.profile
etc.) are processed, and the current working directory is set to the target user's home directory.

tux:~ > sudo -i

18 Starting a shell | SLES 15 SP4

 root's password:
root:~ # exit
tux:~ >

Tip: Environment variables

By default, sudo does not propagate environment variables. This behavior can be changed using
the env_reset option (see Useful flags and options).

2.2 Configuring sudo

sudo provides a wide range on configurable options.

Note: Locked yourself out of sudo

If you accidentally locked yourself out of sudo, use su - and the root password to start a root
shell. To fix the error, run visudo.

2.2.1 Editing the configuration files

The main policy configuration file for sudo is /etc/sudoers. As it is possible to lock yourself out of the
system if the file is malformed, it is strongly recommended to use visudo for editing. It prevents editing
conflicts and checks for syntax errors before saving the modifications.
You can use another editor instead of vi by setting the EDITOR environment variable, for example:

sudo EDITOR=/usr/bin/nano visudo

Keep in mind that the /etc/sudoers file is supplied by the system packages, and modifications done
directly in the file may break updates. Therefore, it is recommended to put custom configuration into files
in the /etc/sudoers.d/ directory. Use the following command to create or edit a file:

sudo visudo -f /etc/sudoers.d/NAME

The command bellow opens the file using a different editor (in this case, nano):

sudo EDITOR=/usr/bin/nano visudo -f /etc/sudoers.d/NAME

19 Configuring sudo | SLES 15 SP4

 Note: Ignored files in /etc/sudoers.d
The #includedir directive in /etc/sudoers ignores files that end with the ~ (tilde) character
or contain the . (dot) character.

For more information on the visudo command, run man 8 visudo.

2.2.2 Basic sudoers configuration syntax

The sudoers configuration files contain two types of options: strings and flags. While strings can contain
any value, flags can be turned either ON or OFF. The most important syntax constructs for sudoers con-
figuration files are as follows:

# Everything on a line after # is ignored 1

Defaults !insults # Disable the insults flag 2

Defaults env_keep += "DISPLAY HOME" # Add DISPLAY and HOME to env_keep

tux ALL = NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/frobnicate, PASSWD: /usr/bin/journalctl 3

1 There are two exceptions: #include and #includedir are regular commands.
2 Remove the ! character to set the desired flag to ON.
3 See Section 2.2.3, “Basic sudoers rules”.

USEFUL FLAGS AND OPTIONS

targetpw
This flag controls whether the invoking user is required to enter the password of the target user (ON)
(for example root) or the invoking user (OFF).

Defaults targetpw # Turn targetpw flag ON

rootpw
If set, sudo prompts for the root password. The default is OFF.

Defaults !rootpw # Turn rootpw flag OFF

env_reset
If set, sudo constructs a minimal environment with TERM, PATH, HOME, MAIL, SHELL, LOGNAME,
USER, USERNAME, and SUDO_*. Additionally, variables listed in env_keep are imported from the
calling environment. The default is ON.

20 Basic sudoers configuration syntax | SLES 15 SP4

 Defaults env_reset # Turn env_reset flag ON

env_keep
List of environment variables to keep when the env_reset flag is ON.

# Set env_keep to contain EDITOR and PROMPT

Defaults env_keep = "EDITOR PROMPT"
Defaults env_keep += "JRE_HOME" # Add JRE_HOME
Defaults env_keep -= "JRE_HOME" # Remove JRE_HOME

env_delete
List of environment variables to remove when the env_reset flag is OFF.

# Set env_delete to contain EDITOR and PROMPT

Defaults env_delete = "EDITOR PROMPT"
Defaults env_delete += "JRE_HOME" # Add JRE_HOME
Defaults env_delete -= "JRE_HOME" # Remove JRE_HOME

The Defaults token can also be used to create aliases for a collection of users, hosts, and commands.
Furthermore, it is possible to apply an option only to a specific set of users.
For detailed information about the /etc/sudoers configuration file, consult man 5 sudoers.

2.2.3 Basic sudoers rules

Each rule follows the following scheme ([] marks optional parts):

#Who Where As whom Tag What

User_List Host_List = [(User_List)] [NOPASSWD:|PASSWD:] Cmnd_List

SUDOERS RULE SYNTAX

User_List
One or several (separated by comma) identifiers: either a user name, a group in the format %GROUP-
NAME, or a user ID in the format #UID. Negation can be specified with the ! prefix.

Host_List
One or several (separated by comma) identifiers: either a (fully qualified) host name or an IP address.
Negation can be specified with the ! prefix. ALL is a common choice for Host_List.

21 Basic sudoers rules | SLES 15 SP4

NOPASSWD:|PASSWD:
The user is not prompted for a password when running commands matching Cmd_List after
NOPASSWD:.
PASSWD is the default. It only needs to be specified when both PASSWD and NOPASSWD are on the
same line:

tux ALL = PASSWD: /usr/bin/foo, NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/bar

Cmnd_List
One or several (separated by comma) specifiers: A path to an executable, followed by an optional
allowed argument.

/usr/bin/foo # Anything allowed

/usr/bin/foo bar # Only "/usr/bin/foo bar" allowed
/usr/bin/foo "" # No arguments allowed

ALL can be used as User_List, Host_List, and Cmnd_List.

A rule that allows tux to run all commands as root without entering a password:

tux ALL = NOPASSWD: ALL

A rule that allows tux to run systemctl restart apache2:

tux ALL = /usr/bin/systemctl restart apache2

A rule that allows tux to run wall as admin with no arguments:

tux ALL = (admin) /usr/bin/wall ""

Warning: Unsafe rules

Do not use rules like ALL ALL = ALL without Defaults targetpw. Otherwise anyone can
run commands as root.

Important: Winbind and sudo

When specifying the group name in the sudoers file, make sure that you use the NetBIOS domain
name instead of the realm, for example:

%DOMAIN\\GROUP_NAME ALL = (ALL) ALL

22 Basic sudoers rules | SLES 15 SP4

 Keep in mind that when using winbindd, the format also depends on the winbind separator
option in the [Link] file. By default, it is \. If it is changed, for example, to +, then the account
format in the sudoers file must be DOMAIN+GROUP_NAME.

2.3 sudo use cases

While the default configuration works for standard usage scenarios, you can customize the default con-
figuration to meet your specific needs.

2.3.1 Using sudo without root password

By design, members of the group wheel can run all commands with sudo as root. The following procedure
explains how to add a user account to the wheel group.

1. Verify that the wheel group exists:

> getent group wheel

If the previous command returned no result, install the system-group-wheel package that creates
the wheel group:

> sudo zypper install system-group-wheel

2. Add your user account to the group wheel.

If your user account is not already a member of the wheel group, add it using the sudo usermod
-a -G wheel USERNAME command. Log out and log in again to enable the change. Verify that
the change was successful by running the groups USERNAME command.

3. Authenticate with the user account's normal password.

Create the file /etc/sudoers.d/userpw using the visudo command (see Section 2.2.1, “Editing
the configuration files”) and add the following:

Defaults !targetpw

4. Select a new default rule.

Depending on whether you want users to re-enter their passwords, uncomment the appropriate line
in /etc/sudoers and comment out the default rule.

23 sudo use cases | SLES 15 SP4

 ## Uncomment to allow members of group wheel to execute any command
# %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL

## Same thing without a password

# %wheel ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL

5. Make the default rule more restrictive.

Comment out or remove the allow-everything rule in /etc/sudoers:

ALL ALL=(ALL) ALL # WARNING! Only use this together with 'Defaults targetpw'!

Warning: Dangerous rule in sudoers

Do not skip this step. Otherwise any user can execute any command as root!

6. Test the configuration.

Run sudo as member and non-member of wheel.

tux:~ > groups

users wheel
tux:~ > sudo id -un
tux's password:
root
wilber:~ > groups
users
wilber:~ > sudo id -un
wilber is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported.

2.3.2 Using sudo with [Link] applications

Starting graphical applications with sudo usually results in the following error:

> sudo xterm

xterm: Xt error: Can't open display: %s
xterm: DISPLAY is not set

A simple workaround is to use xhost to temporarily allow the root user to access the local user's X session.
This is done using the following command:

xhost si:localuser:root

24 Using sudo with [Link] applications | SLES 15 SP4

The command below removes the granted access:

xhost -si:localuser:root

Warning: Potential security issue

Running graphical applications with root privileges has security implications. It is recommended
to enable root access for a graphical application only as an exception. It is also recommended to
revoke the granted root access as soon as the graphical application is closed.

2.4 More information

The sudo --help command offers a brief overview of the available command line options, while the
man sudoers command provides detailed information about sudoers and its configuration.

25 More information | SLES 15 SP4

3 Using YaST

YaST is a SUSE Linux Enterprise Server tool that provides a graphical interface for all essential installation
and system configuration tasks. Whether you need to update packages, configure a printer, modify firewall
settings, set up an FTP server, or partition a hard disk—you can do it using YaST. Written in Ruby, YaST
features an extensible architecture that makes it possible to add new functionality via modules.
Additional information about YaST is available on the project's official Web site at [Link]
[Link]/ .

3.1 YaST interface overview

YaST has two graphical interfaces: one for use with graphical desktop environments like KDE and
GNOME, and an ncurses-based pseudo-graphical interface for use on systems without an X server (see
Chapter 4, YaST in text mode).

In the graphical version of YaST, all modules in YaST are grouped by category, and the navigation sidebar
allows you to quickly access modules in the desired category. The search field at the top makes it possible
to find modules by their names. To find a specific module, enter its name into the search field, and you
should see the modules that match the entered string as you type.

Important: List of installed YaST modules

The list of installed modules for the ncurses-based and GUI version of YaST may differ. Before
starting any YaST module, verify that it is installed for the version of YaST that you are using.

3.2 YaST modules and configuration files

In SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15, YaST modules act as a front-end that writes to specific back-end
configuration files. Most system-wide settings are stored in /etc/sysconfig/. The sysconfig module
is the heart of YaST legacy. Many modules write to variables here, which are then read by system scripts
during boot or service start. To verify exactly which file was changed during a YaST session, check the
log at /var/log/YaST2/y2log. Note that while you can manually edit a file, running a YaST module
afterward can sometimes overwrite manual changes if the module does not recognize the manual syntax.

26 YaST interface overview | SLES 15 SP4

The following table maps the most common YaST modules to the primary configuration files they modify:

TABLE 3.1: YAST MODULES AND PRIMARY CONFIGURATION FILES

YaST module Primary configuration files affected

Network Settings yast2 lan /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-*, /etc/

[Link], /etc/hostname /etc/routes,
/etc/NetworkManager/system-connec-
tions/*

Boot Loader yast2 bootloader /etc/default/grub, /boot/grub2/

[Link], /etc/sysconfig/bootloader

User and Group Management yast2 users /etc/passwd, /etc/group, /etc/shadow,

/etc/[Link].d/[Link] If you
have configured LDAP or Active Directory via
YaST, it will also interface with files like /etc/
[Link] and /etc/sssd/[Link]
to manage network-based identities.

Security yast2 security /etc/selinux/config, /etc/ssg-ap-

ply/[Link]

Software Repositories repositories /etc/zypp/repos.d/*.repo

Service Manager services-manager /etc/systemd/system/, /usr/lib/sys-

temd/system/

NTP Configuration ntp-client /etc/[Link]

DNS Server dns-server /etc/[Link], /var/lib/named/

DHCP Server dhcp-server /etc/[Link], /etc/sysconfig/dhcpd

Partitioning partitioner /etc/fstab, /etc/crypttab

Note that YaST uses the firewall-cmd utility to modify the configuration files.

27 YaST modules and configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

3.3 Useful key combinations
The graphical version of YaST supports keyboard shortcuts

Print Screen

Take and save a screenshot. It may not work on certain desktop environments.

Shift – F4
Enable and disable the color palette optimized for visually-impaired users.

Shift – F7
Enable/disable logging of debug messages.

Shift – F8
Open a file dialog to save log files to a user-defined location.

Ctrl – Shift – Alt – D

Send a DebugEvent. YaST modules can react to this by executing special debugging actions. The
result depends on the specific YaST module.

Ctrl – Shift – Alt – M

Start and stop macro recorder.

Ctrl – Shift – Alt – P

Replay macro.

Ctrl – Shift – Alt – S

Show style sheet editor.

Ctrl – Shift – Alt – T

Dump widget tree to the log file.

Ctrl – Shift – Alt – X

Open a terminal window (xterm). Useful for installation process via VNC.

Ctrl – Shift – Alt – Y

Show widget tree browser.

28 Useful key combinations | SLES 15 SP4

4 YaST in text mode

The ncurses-based pseudo-graphical YaST interface is designed primarily to help system administrators to
manage systems without an X server. The interface offers several advantages compared to the conventional
GUI. You can navigate the ncurses interface using the keyboard, and there are keyboard shortcuts for
practically all interface elements. The ncurses interface is light on resources, and runs fast even on modest
hardware. You can run the ncurses-based version of YaST via an SSH connection, so you can administer
remote systems. Keep in mind that the minimum supported size of the terminal emulator in which to run
YaST is 80x25 characters.

FIGURE 4.1: MAIN WINDOW OF YAST IN TEXT MODE

To launch the ncurses-based version of YaST, open the terminal and run the sudo yast2 command.
Use the →| or arrow keys to navigate between interface elements like menu items, fields, and buttons.
All menu items and buttons in YaST can be accessed using the appropriate function keys or keyboard
shortcuts. For example, you can cancel the current operation by pressing F9 , while the F10 key can be
used to accept the changes. Each menu item and button in YaST's ncurses-based interface has a highlighted
letter in its label. This letter is part of the keyboard shortcut assigned to the interface element. For example,
the letter Q is highlighted in the Quit button. This means that you can activate the button by pressing
Alt – Alt+Q .

29 | SLES 15 SP4
 Tip: Refreshing YaST dialogs
If a YaST dialog gets corrupted or distorted (for example, while resizing the window), press
Ctrl – L to refresh and restore its contents.

4.1 Navigation in modules

The following description of the control elements in the YaST modules assumes that all function keys
and Alt key combinations work and are not assigned to different global functions. Read Section 4.3,
“Restriction of key combinations” for information about possible exceptions.

Moving between buttons and selection lists

Use →| to move between the buttons and frames containing selection lists. To navigate in the
opposite direction, use Alt – →| or Shift – →| combinations.

Navigating in selection lists

Use the arrow keys ( ↑ and ↓ ) to move through the individual elements in an active frame con-
taining a selection list. If individual entries are longer than the frame's width, use Shift – → or
Shift – ← to scroll horizontally. If the arrow key causes the selection to move to another frame,
use Ctrl – E or Ctrl – A instead.

Working with buttons, radio buttons, and check boxes

To select items with empty square brackets (check boxes) or empty parentheses (radio buttons),
press Space or Enter . Alternatively, radio buttons and check boxes can be selected directly with
Alt – highlighted_letter . In this case, you do not need to confirm with Enter . If you navigate to
an item with →| , press Enter to execute the selected action or activate the respective menu item.

Function keys
The function keys (from F1 to F12 ) enable quick access to the various buttons. Available function
key combinations (FX) are shown in the bottom line of the YaST screen. Which function keys are
actually mapped to which buttons depend on the active YaST module, because the different modules
offer different buttons (Details, Info, Add, Delete, etc.). Use F10 for Accept, OK, Next, and Finish.
Press F1 to access the YaST help.

30 Navigation in modules | SLES 15 SP4

Using the navigation tree
Some YaST modules use a navigation tree in the left part of the window to select configuration
dialogs. Use the arrow keys ( ↑ and ↓ ) to navigate in the tree. Use Space to open or close tree
items. In the ncurses mode, Enter must be pressed after a selection in the navigation tree to show
the selected dialog. This is an intentional behavior to save time-consuming redraws when browsing
through the navigation tree.

Selecting software in the software installation module

Use the filters on the left side to list packages matching the specified string. Installed packages are
marked with the letter i. To change the status of a package, press Space or Enter . Alternatively,
use the Actions menu to select the needed status change (install, delete, update, taboo, or lock).

FIGURE 4.2: THE SOFTWARE INSTALLATION MODULE

4.2 Advanced key combinations

The ncurses-based version of YaST offers several advanced key combinations.

Shift – F1
List advanced hotkeys.

Shift – F4
Change color schema.

31 Advanced key combinations | SLES 15 SP4

Ctrl –Q
Quit the application.

Ctrl –L
Refresh screen.

Ctrl –D F1

List advanced hotkeys.

Ctrl –D Shift –D
Dump dialog to the log file as a screenshot.

Ctrl –D Shift –Y
Open YDialogSpy to see the widget hierarchy.

4.3 Restriction of key combinations

If your window manager uses global Alt combinations, the Alt combinations in YaST might not work.
Keys like Alt or Shift can also be occupied by the settings of the terminal.

Using Alt instead of Esc

Alt shortcuts can be executed with Esc instead of Alt . For example, Esc – H replaces
Alt – H . (Press Esc , then press H .)

Backward and forward navigation with Ctrl – F and Ctrl –B

If the Alt and Shift combinations are taken over by the window manager or the terminal, use
the combinations Ctrl – F (forward) and Ctrl – B (backward) instead.

Restriction of function keys

The function keys ( F1 ... F12 ) are also used for functions. Certain function keys might be taken
over by the terminal and may not be available for YaST. However, the Alt key combinations and
function keys should always be fully available on a text-only console.

4.4 YaST command line options

Besides the text mode interface, YaST provides a command line interface. To get a list of YaST command
line options, use the following command:

> sudo yast -h

32 Restriction of key combinations | SLES 15 SP4

4.4.1 Installing packages from the command line
If you know the package name, and the package is provided by an active installation repository, you can
use the command line option -i to install the package:

> sudo yast -i package_name

or

> sudo yast --install -i package_name

package_name can be a single short package name (for example gvim) installed with dependency check-
ing, or the full path to an RPM package, which is installed without dependency checking.
While YaST offers basic functionality for managing software from the command line, consider using Zyp-
per for more advanced package management tasks. Find more information on using Zypper in Section 9.1,
“Using Zypper”.

4.4.2 Working with individual modules

To save time, you can start individual YaST modules using the following command:

> sudo yast module_name

View a list of all modules available on your system with yast -l or yast --list.

4.4.3 Command line parameters of YaST modules

To use YaST functionality in scripts, YaST provides command line support for individual modules. How-
ever, not all modules have command line support. To display the available options of a module, use the
following command:

> sudo yast module_name help

If a module does not provide command line support, it is started in a text mode with the following message:

This YaST module does not support the command line interface.

The following sections describe all YaST modules with command line support, along with a brief expla-
nation of all their commands and available options.

33 Installing packages from the command line | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Common YaST module commands
All YaST modules support the following commands:

help
Lists all the module's supported commands with their description:

> sudo yast lan help

longhelp
Same as help, but adds a detailed list of all command's options and their descriptions:

> sudo yast lan longhelp

xmlhelp
Same as longhelp, but the output is structured as an XML document and redirected to a file:

> sudo yast lan xmlhelp xmlfile=/tmp/yast_lan.xml

interactive
Enters the interactive mode. This lets you run the module's commands without prefixing them with
sudo yast. Use exit to leave the interactive mode.

[Link] yast add-on

Adds a new add-on product from the specified path:

> sudo yast add-on [Link]

You can use the following protocols to specify the source path: http:// ftp:// nfs:// disk:// cd:// or dvd://.

[Link] yast audit-laf

Displays and configures the Linux Audit Framework. Refer to the Book “Security and Hardening Guide”
for more details. yast audit-laf accepts the following commands:

set
Sets an option:

> sudo yast audit-laf set log_file=/tmp/[Link]

34 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

 For a complete list of options, run yast audit-laf set help.

show
Displays settings of an option:

> sudo yast audit-laf show diskspace

space_left: 75
space_left_action: SYSLOG
admin_space_left: 50
admin_space_left_action: SUSPEND
action_mail_acct: root
disk_full_action: SUSPEND
disk_error_action: SUSPEND

For a complete list of options, run yast audit-laf show help.

[Link] yast dhcp-server

Manages the DHCP server and configures its settings. yast dhcp-server accepts the following com-
mands:

disable
Disables the DHCP server service.

enable
Enables the DHCP server service.

host
Configures settings for individual hosts.

interface
Specifies to which network interface to listen to:

> sudo yast dhcp-server interface current

Selected Interfaces: eth0
Other Interfaces: bond0, pbu, eth1

For a complete list of options, run yast dhcp-server interface help.

options
Manages global DHCP options. For a complete list of options, run yast dhcp-server options
help.

35 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

status
Prints the status of the DHCP service.

subnet
Manages the DHCP subnet options. For a complete list of options, run yast dhcp-server subnet
help.

[Link] yast dns-server

Manages the DNS server configuration. yast dns-server accepts the following commands:

acls
Displays access control list settings:

> sudo yast dns-server acls show

ACLs:
-----
Name Type Value
----------------------------
any Predefined
localips Predefined
localnets Predefined
none Predefined

dnsrecord
Configures zone resource records:

> sudo yast dnsrecord add zone=[Link] query=[Link] type=NS

value=ns3

For a complete list of options, run yast dns-server dnsrecord help.

forwarders
Configures DNS forwarders:

> sudo yast dns-server forwarders add ip=[Link]

> sudo yast dns-server forwarders show
[...]
Forwarder IP
------------
[Link]

For a complete list of options, run yast dns-server forwarders help.

36 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

host
Handles 'A' and its related 'PTR' record at once:

> sudo yast dns-server host show zone=[Link]

For a complete list of options, run yast dns-server host help.

logging
Configures logging settings:

> sudo yast dns-server logging set updates=no transfers=yes

For a complete list of options, run yast dns-server logging help.

mailserver
Configures zone mail servers:

> sudo yast dns-server mailserver add zone=[Link] mx=mx1 priority=100

For a complete list of options, run yast dns-server mailserver help.

nameserver
Configures zone name servers:

> sudo yast dns-server nameserver add zone=[Link] ns=ns1

For a complete list of options, run yast dns-server nameserver help.

soa
Configures the start of authority (SOA) record:

> sudo yast dns-server soa set zone=[Link] serial=2006081623 ttl=2D3H20S

For a complete list of options, run yast dns-server soa help.

startup
Manages the DNS server service:

> sudo yast dns-server startup atboot

For a complete list of options, run yast dns-server startup help.

transport
Configures zone transport rules. For a complete list of options, run yast dns-server transport
help.

37 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

zones
Manages DNS zones:

> sudo yast dns-server zones add name=[Link] zonetype=master

For a complete list of options, run yast dns-server zones help.

[Link] yast disk

Prints information about all disks or partitions. The only supported command is list followed by either
of the following options:

disks
Lists all configured disks in the system:

> sudo yast disk list disks

Device | Size | FS Type | Mount Point | Label | Model
---------+------------+---------+-------------+-------+-------------
/dev/sda | 119.24 GiB | | | | SSD 840
/dev/sdb | 60.84 GiB | | | | WD1003FBYX-0

partitions
Lists all partitions in the system:

> sudo yast disk list partitions

Device | Size | FS Type | Mount Point | Label | Model
---------------+------------+---------+-------------+-------+------
/dev/sda1 | 1.00 GiB | Ext2 | /boot | |
/dev/sdb1 | 1.00 GiB | Swap | swap | |
/dev/sdc1 | 698.64 GiB | XFS | /mnt/extra | |
/dev/vg00/home | 580.50 GiB | Ext3 | /home | |
/dev/vg00/root | 100.00 GiB | Ext3 | / | |
[...]

[Link] yast ftp-server

Configures FTP server settings. yast ftp-server accepts the following options:

SSL, TLS
Controls secure connections via SSL and TLS. SSL options are valid for the vsftpd only.

> sudo yast ftp-server SSL enable

> sudo yast ftp-server TLS disable

38 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

access
Configures access permissions:

> sudo yast ftp-server access authen_only

For a complete list of options, run yast ftp-server access help.

anon_access
Configures access permissions for anonymous users:

> sudo yast ftp-server anon_access can_upload

For a complete list of options, run yast ftp-server anon_access help.

anon_dir
Specifies the directory for anonymous users. The directory must already exist on the server:

> sudo yast ftp-server anon_dir set_anon_dir=/srv/ftp

For a complete list of options, run yast ftp-server anon_dir help.

chroot
Controls change root environment (chroot):

> sudo yast ftp-server chroot enable

> sudo yast ftp-server chroot disable

idle-time
Sets the maximum idle time in minutes before FTP server terminates the current connection:

> sudo yast ftp-server idle-time set_idle_time=15

logging
Determines whether to save the log messages into a log file:

> sudo yast ftp-server logging enable

> sudo yast ftp-server logging disable

max_clients
Specifies the maximum number of concurrently connected clients:

> sudo yast ftp-server max_clients set_max_clients=1500

max_clients_ip
Specifies the maximum number of concurrently connected clients via IP:

> sudo yast ftp-server max_clients_ip set_max_clients=20

39 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

max_rate_anon
Specifies the maximum data transfer rate permitted for anonymous clients (KB/s):

> sudo yast ftp-server max_rate_anon set_max_rate=10000

max_rate_authen
Specifies the maximum data transfer rate permitted for locally authenticated users (KB/s):

> sudo yast ftp-server max_rate_authen set_max_rate=10000

port_range
Specifies the port range for passive connection replies:

> sudo yast ftp-server port_range set_min_port=20000 set_max_port=30000

For a complete list of options, run yast ftp-server port_range help.

show
Displays FTP server settings.

startup
Controls the FTP start-up method:

> sudo yast ftp-server startup atboot

For a complete list of options, run yast ftp-server startup help.

umask
Specifies the file umask for authenticated:anonymous users:

> sudo yast ftp-server umask set_umask=177:077

welcome_message
Specifies the text to display when someone connects to the FTP server:

> sudo yast ftp-server welcome_message set_message="hello everybody"

[Link] yast http-server

Configures the HTTP server (Apache2). yast http-server accepts the following commands:

configure
Configures the HTTP server host settings:

> sudo yast http-server configure host=main servername=[Link] \

40 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

 serveradmin=admin@[Link]

For a complete list of options, run yast http-server configure help.

hosts
Configures virtual hosts:

> sudo yast http-server hosts create servername=[Link] \

serveradmin=admin@[Link] documentroot=/var/www

For a complete list of options, run yast http-server hosts help.

listen
Specifies the ports and network addresses where the HTTP server should listen:

> sudo yast http-server listen add=81

> sudo yast http-server listen list
Listen Statements:
==================
:80
:81
> sudo yast http-server delete=80

For a complete list of options, run yast http-server listen help.

mode
Enables or disables the wizard mode:

> sudo yast http-server mode wizard=on

modules
Controls the Apache2 server modules:

> sudo yast http-server modules enable=php5,rewrite

> sudo yast http-server modules disable=ssl
> sudo http-server modules list
[...]
Enabled rewrite
Disabled ssl
Enabled php5
[...]

41 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] yast kdump
Configures kdump settings. For more information on kdump, refer to the Book “System Analysis and Tuning
Guide”, Chapter 20 “Kexec and Kdump”, Section 20.7 “Basic Kdump configuration”. yast kdump accepts
the following commands:

copykernel
Copies the kernel into the dump directory.

customkernel
Specifies the kernel_string part of the name of the custom kernel. The naming scheme is /boot/
vmlinu[zx]-kernel_string[.gz].

> sudo yast kdump customkernel kernel=kdump

For a complete list of options, run yast kdump customkernel help.

dumpformat
Specifies the (compression) format of the dump kernel image. Available formats are 'none', 'ELF',
'compressed', or 'lzo':

> sudo yast kdump dumpformat dump_format=ELF

dumplevel
Specifies the dump level number in the range from 0 to 31:

> sudo yast kdump dumplevel dump_level=24

dumptarget
Specifies the destination for saving dump images:

> sudo kdump dumptarget taget=ssh server=name_server port=22 \

dir=/var/log/dump user=user_name

For a complete list of options, run yast kdump dumptarget help.

immediatereboot
Controls whether the system should reboot immediately after saving the core in the kdump kernel:

> sudo yast kdump immediatereboot enable

> sudo yast kdump immediatereboot disable

keepolddumps
Specifies how many old dump images are kept. Specify zero to keep them all:

> sudo yast kdump keepolddumps no=5

42 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

kernelcommandline
Specifies the command line that needs to be passed off to the kdump kernel:

> sudo yast kdump kernelcommandline command="ro root=LABEL=/"

kernelcommandlineappend
Specifies the command line that you need to append to the default command line string:

> sudo yast kdump kernelcommandlineappend command="ro root=LABEL=/"

notificationcc
Specifies an e-mail address for sending copies of notification messages:

> sudo yast kdump notificationcc email="user1@[Link] user2@[Link]"

notificationto
Specifies an e-mail address for sending notification messages:

> sudo yast kdump notificationto email="user1@[Link] user2@[Link]"

show
Displays kdump settings:

> sudo yast kdump show

Kdump is disabled
Dump Level: 31
Dump Format: compressed
Dump Target Settings
target: file
file directory: /var/crash
Kdump immediate reboots: Enabled
Numbers of old dumps: 5

smtppass
Specifies the file with the plain text SMTP password used for sending notification messages:

> sudo yast kdump smtppass pass=/path/to/file

smtpserver
Specifies the SMTP server host name used for sending notification messages:

> sudo yast kdump smtpserver server=[Link]

smtpuser
Specifies the SMTP user name used for sending notification messages:

> sudo yast kdump smtpuser user=smtp_user

43 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

startup
Enables or disables start-up options:

> sudo yast kdump startup enable alloc_mem=128,256

> sudo yast kdump startup disable

[Link] yast keyboard

Configures the system keyboard for virtual consoles. It does not affect the keyboard settings in graphical
desktop environments, such as GNOME or KDE. yast keyboard accepts the following commands:

list
Lists all available keyboard layouts.

set
Activates new keyboard layout setting:

> sudo yast keyboard set layout=czech

summary
Displays the current keyboard configuration.

[Link] yast lan

Configures network cards. yast lan accepts the following commands:

add
Configures a new network card:

> sudo yast lan add name=vlan50 ethdevice=eth0 bootproto=dhcp

For a complete list of options, run yast lan add help.

delete
Deletes an existing network card:

> sudo yast lan delete id=0

edit
Changes the configuration of an existing network card:

> sudo yast lan edit id=0 bootproto=dhcp

44 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

list
Displays a summary of network card configuration:

> sudo yast lan list

id name, bootproto
0 Ethernet Card 0, NONE
1 Network Bridge, DHCP

[Link] yast language

Configures system languages. yast language accepts the following commands:

list
Lists all available languages.

set
Specifies the main system languages and secondary languages:

> sudo yast language set lang=cs_CZ languages=en_US,es_ES no_packages

[Link] yast mail

Displays the configuration of the mail system:

> sudo yast mail summary

[Link] yast nfs

Controls the NFS client. yast nfs accepts the following commands:

add
Adds a new NFS mount:

> sudo yast nfs add spec=remote_host:/path/to/nfs/share file=/local/mount/point

For a complete list of options, run yast nfs add help.

delete
Deletes an existing NFS mount:

> sudo yast nfs delete spec=remote_host:/path/to/nfs/share file=/local/mount/point

45 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

 For a complete list of options, run yast nfs delete help.

edit
Changes an existing NFS mount:

> sudo yast nfs edit spec=remote_host:/path/to/nfs/share \

file=/local/mount/point type=nfs4

For a complete list of options, run yast nfs edit help.

list
Lists existing NFS mounts:

> sudo yast nfs list

Server Remote File System Mount Point Options
----------------------------------------------------------------
[Link] /mnt /nfs/mnt nfs
[Link] /home/tux/nfs_share /nfs/tux nfs

[Link] yast nfs-server

Configures the NFS server. yast nfs-server accepts the following commands:

add
Adds a directory to export:

> sudo yast nfs-server add mountpoint=/nfs/export hosts=*.allowed_hosts.com

For a complete list of options, run yast nfs-server add help.

delete
Deletes a directory from the NFS export:

> sudo yast nfs-server delete mountpoint=/nfs/export

set
Specifies additional parameters for the NFS server:

> sudo yast nfs-server set enablev4=yes security=yes

For a complete list of options, run yast nfs-server set help.

start
Starts the NFS server service:

> sudo yast nfs-server start

46 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

stop
Stops the NFS server service:

> sudo yast nfs-server stop

summary
Displays a summary of the NFS server configuration:

> sudo yast nfs-server summary

NFS server is enabled
NFS Exports
* /mnt
* /home

NFSv4 support is enabled.

The NFSv4 domain for idmapping is localdomain.
NFS Security using GSS is enabled.

[Link] yast nis

Configures the NIS client. yast nis accepts the following commands:

configure
Changes global settings of a NIS client:

> sudo yast nis configure server=[Link] broadcast=yes

For a complete list of options, run yast nis configure help.

disable
Disables the NIS client:

> sudo yast nis disable

enable
Enables your machine as NIS client:

> sudo yast nis enable server=[Link] broadcast=yes automounter=yes

For a complete list of options, run yast nis enable help.

find
Shows available NIS servers for a given domain:

> sudo yast nis find domain=[Link]

47 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

summary
Displays a configuration summary of a NIS client.

[Link] yast nis-server

Configures a NIS server. yast nis-server accepts the following commands:

master
Configures a NIS master server:

> sudo yast nis-server master domain=[Link] yppasswd=yes

For a complete list of options, run yast nis-server master help.

slave
Configures a NIS worker server:

> sudo yast nis-server slave domain=[Link] master_ip=[Link]

For a complete list of options, run yast nis-server slave help.

stop
Stops a NIS server:

> sudo yast nis-server stop

summary
Displays a configuration summary of a NIS server:

> sudo yast nis-server summary

[Link] yast proxy

Configures proxy settings. yast proxy accepts the following commands:

authentication
Specifies the authentication options for proxy:

> sudo yast proxy authentication username=tux password=secret

For a complete list of options, run yast proxy authentication help.

48 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

enable, disable
Enables or disables proxy settings.

set
Changes the current proxy settings:

> sudo yast proxy set https=[Link]

For a complete list of options, run yast proxy set help.

summary
Displays proxy settings.

[Link] yast rdp

Controls remote desktop settings. yast rdp accepts the following commands:

allow
Allows remote access to the server's desktop:

> sudo yast rdp allow set=yes

list
Displays the remote desktop configuration summary.

[Link] yast samba-client

Configures the Samba client settings. yast samba-client accepts the following commands:

configure
Changes global settings of Samba:

> sudo yast samba-client configure workgroup=FAMILY

isdomainmember
Checks whether the machine is a member of a domain:

> sudo yast samba-client isdomainmember domain=SMB_DOMAIN

joindomain
Makes the machine a member of a domain:

> sudo yast samba-client joindomain domain=SMB_DOMAIN user=username password=pwd

49 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

winbind
Enables or disables Winbind services (the winbindd daemon):

> sudo yast samba-client winbind enable

> sudo yast samba-client winbind disable

[Link] yast samba-server

Configures Samba server settings. yast samba-server accepts the following commands:

backend
Specifies the back-end for storing user information:

> sudo yast samba-server backend smbpasswd

For a complete list of options, run yast samba-server backend help.

configure
Configures global settings of the Samba server:

> sudo yast samba-server configure workgroup=FAMILY description='Home server'

For a complete list of options, run yast samba-server configure help.

list
Displays a list of available shares:

> sudo yast samba-server list

Status Type Name
==============================
Disabled Disk profiles
Enabled Disk print$
Enabled Disk homes
Disabled Disk groups
Enabled Disk movies
Enabled Printer printers

role
Specifies the role of the Samba server:

> sudo yast samba-server role standalone

For a complete list of options, run yast samba-server role help.

50 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

service
Enables or disables the Samba services (smb and nmb):

> sudo yast samba-server service enable

> sudo yast samba-server service disable

share
Manipulates a single Samba share:

> sudo yast samba-server share name=movies browseable=yes guest_ok=yes

For a complete list of options, run yast samba-server share help.

[Link] yast security

Controls the security level of the host. yast security accepts the following commands:

level
Specifies the security level of the host:

> sudo yast security level server

For a complete list of options, run yast security level help.

set
Sets the value of a specific option:

> sudo yast security set passwd=sha512 crack=yes

For a complete list of options, run yast security set help.

summary
Displays a summary of the current security configuration:

sudoyast security summary

[Link] yast sound

Configures sound card settings. yast sound accepts the following commands:

add
Configures a new sound card. Without any parameters, the command adds the first detected card.

51 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

 > sudo yast sound add card=0 volume=75

For a complete list of options, run yast sound add help.

channels
Lists available volume channels of a sound card:

> sudo yast sound channels card=0

Master 75
PCM 100

modules
Lists all available sound kernel modules:

> sudo yast sound modules

snd-atiixp ATI IXP AC97 controller (snd-atiixp)
snd-atiixp-modem ATI IXP MC97 controller (snd-atiixp-modem)
snd-virtuoso Asus Virtuoso driver (snd-virtuoso)
[...]

playtest
Plays a test sound on a sound card:

> sudo yast sound playtest card=0

remove
Removes a configured sound card:

> sudo yast sound remove card=0

> sudo yast sound remove all

set
Specifies new values for a sound card:

> sudo yast sound set card=0 volume=80

show
Displays detailed information about a sound card:

> sudo yast sound show card=0

Parameters of card 'ThinkPad X240' (using module snd-hda-intel):

align_buffer_size
Force buffer and period sizes to be multiple of 128 bytes.
bdl_pos_adj

52 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

 BDL position adjustment offset.
beep_mode
Select HDA Beep registration mode (0=off, 1=on) (default=1).
Default Value: 0
enable_msi
Enable Message Signaled Interrupt (MSI)
[...]

summary
Prints a configuration summary for all sound cards on the system:

> sudo yast sound summary

volume
Specifies the volume level of a sound card:

sudoyast sound volume card=0 play

[Link] yast sysconfig

Controls the variables in files under /etc/sysconfig. yast sysconfig accepts the following com-
mands:

clear
Sets empty value to a variable:

> sudo yast sysconfig clear=POSTFIX_LISTEN

Tip: Variable in multiple files

If the variable is available in several files, use the VARIABLE_NAME$FILE_NAME syntax:

> sudo yast sysconfig clear=CONFIG_TYPE$/etc/sysconfig/mail

details
Displays detailed information about a variable:

> sudo yast sysconfig details variable=POSTFIX_LISTEN

Description:
Value:
File: /etc/sysconfig/postfix

53 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

 Possible Values: Any value
Default Value:
Configuration Script: postfix
Description:
Comma separated list of IP's
NOTE: If not set, LISTEN on all interfaces

list
Displays summary of modified variables. Use all to list all variables and their values:

> sudo yast sysconfig list all

AOU_AUTO_AGREE_WITH_LICENSES="false"
AOU_ENABLE_CRONJOB="true"
AOU_INCLUDE_RECOMMENDS="false"
[...]

set
Sets a value for a variable:

> sudo yast sysconfig set DISPLAYMANAGER=gdm

Tip: Variable in multiple files

If the variable is available in several files, use the VARIABLE_NAME$FILE_NAME syntax:

> sudo yast sysconfig set CONFIG_TYPE$/etc/sysconfig/mail=advanced

[Link] yast tftp-server

Configures a TFTP server. yast tftp-server accepts the following commands:

directory
Specifies the directory of the TFTP server:

> sudo yast tftp-server directory path=/srv/tftp

> sudo yast tftp-server directory list
Directory Path: /srv/tftp

status
Controls the status of the TFTP server service:

> sudo yast tftp-server status disable

54 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

 > sudo yast tftp-server status show
Service Status: false
> sudo yast tftp-server status enable

[Link] yast timezone

Configures the time zone. yast timezone accepts the following commands:

list
Lists all available time zones grouped by region:

> sudo yast timezone list

Region: Africa
Africa/Abidjan (Abidjan)
Africa/Accra (Accra)
Africa/Addis_Ababa (Addis Ababa)
[...]

set
Specifies new values for the time zone configuration:

> sudo yast timezone set timezone=Europe/Prague hwclock=local

summary
Displays the time zone configuration summary:

> sudo yast timezone summary

Current Time Zone: Europe/Prague
Hardware Clock Set To: Local time
Current Time and Date: Mon 12. March 2018, 11:36:21 CET

[Link] yast users

Manages user accounts. yast users accepts the following commands:

add
Adds a new user:

> sudo yast users add username=user1 password=secret home=/home/user1

For a complete list of options, run yast users add help.

55 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

delete
Deletes an existing user account:

> sudo yast users delete username=user1 delete_home

For a complete list of options, run yast users delete help.

edit
Changes an existing user account:

> sudo yast users edit username=user1 password=new_secret

For a complete list of options, run yast users edit help.

list
Lists existing users filtered by user type:

> sudo yast users list system

For a complete list of options, run yast users list help.

show
Displays details about a user:

> sudo yast users show username=wwwrun

Full Name: WWW daemon apache
List of Groups: www
Default Group: wwwrun
Home Directory: /var/lib/wwwrun
Login Shell: /sbin/nologin
Login Name: wwwrun
UID: 456

For a complete list of options, run yast users show help.

56 Command line parameters of YaST modules | SLES 15 SP4

5 Changing language and country settings with YaST

This chapter explains how to configure language and country settings. You can change the
language globally for the whole system, individually for certain users or desktops, or tem-
porarily for single applications. Additionally, you can configure secondary languages and ad-
just the date and country settings.
Working in different countries or having to work in a multilingual environment requires your computer
to be set up to support this. SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server can handle different locales in parallel. A
locale is a set of parameters that defines the language and country settings reflected in the user interface.
The main system language was selected during installation and keyboard and time zone settings were ad-
justed. However, you can install additional languages on your system and determine which of the installed
languages should be the default.
For those tasks, use the YaST language module as described in Section 5.1, “Changing the system lan-
guage”. Install secondary languages to get optional localization if you need to start applications or desktops
in languages other than the primary one.
In addition, the YaST timezone module allows you to adjust your country and timezone settings accord-
ingly. It also lets you synchronize your system clock against a time server. For details, refer to Section 5.2,
“Changing the country and time settings”.

5.1 Changing the system language

Depending on how you use your desktop and whether you want to switch the entire system to another
language or only the desktop environment itself, there are several ways to do this:

Changing the system language globally

Proceed as described in Section 5.1.1, “Modifying system languages with YaST” and Section 5.1.2,
“Switching the default system language” to install additional localized packages with YaST and to
set the default language. Changes are effective after the next login. To ensure that the entire system
reflects the change, reboot the system or close and restart all running services, applications, and
programs.

57 Changing the system language | SLES 15 SP4

Changing the language for the desktop only
Provided you have previously installed the desired language packages for your desktop environment
with YaST as described below, you can switch the language of your desktop using the desktop's
control center. After the X server has been restarted, your entire desktop reflects your new choice
of language. Applications not belonging to your desktop framework are not affected by this change
and may still appear in the language that was set in YaST.

Temporarily switching languages for one application only

You can also run a single application in another language (that has already been installed with
YaST). To do so, start it from the command line by specifying the language code as described in
Section 5.1.3, “Switching languages for standard X and GNOME applications”.

5.1.1 Modifying system languages with YaST

YaST has two different language categories:

Primary Language
The primary language set in YaST applies to the entire system, including YaST and the desktop en-
vironment. This language is used whenever available unless you manually specify another language.

Secondary Languages
Install secondary languages to make your system multilingual. Languages installed as secondary
languages can be selected manually for a specific situation. For example, use a secondary language
to start an application in a certain language to do word processing in this language.

Before installing additional languages, determine which of them should be the default system language
(primary language).
To access the YaST language module, start YaST and click System Language. Alternatively, start the
Languages dialog directly by running sudo yast2 language & from a command line.

58 Modifying system languages with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

PROCEDURE 5.1: INSTALLING ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES

When installing additional languages, YaST also allows you to set different locale settings for the
user root, see Step 4. The option Locale Settings for User root determines how the locale variables
(LC_*) in the file /etc/sysconfig/language are set for root. You can set them to the same
locale as for normal users. Alternatively, you can keep it unaffected by any language changes, or
only set the variable RC_LC_CTYPE to the same values as for the normal users. The RC_LC_CTYPE
variable sets the localization for language-specific function calls.

1. To add languages in the YaST language module, select the Secondary Languages you want to install.

2. To make a language the default language, set it as Primary Language.

3. Additionally, adapt the keyboard to the new primary language and adjust the time zone, if appro-
priate.

Tip: Advanced settings

For advanced keyboard or time zone settings, select Hardware System Keyboard Layout
or System Date and Time in YaST to start the respective dialogs. For more information,
refer to Chapter 32, Setting up your system keyboard layout and Section 5.2, “Changing the
country and time settings”.

59 Modifying system languages with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

 4. To change language settings specific to the user root, click Details.

a. Set Locale Settings for User root to the desired value. For more information, click Help.

b. Decide if you want to Use UTF-8 Encoding for root or not.

5. If your locale was not included in the list of primary languages available, try specifying it with
Detailed Locale Setting. However, some localization may be incomplete.

6. Confirm your changes in the dialogs with OK. If you have selected secondary languages, YaST
installs the localized software packages for the additional languages.

The system is now multilingual. However, to start an application in a language other than the primary
one, you need to set the desired language explicitly as explained in Section 5.1.3, “Switching languages
for standard X and GNOME applications”.

5.1.2 Switching the default system language

To globally change the default language of a system, use the following procedure:

1. Start the YaST language module.

2. Select the desired new system language as Primary Language.

Important: Deleting former system languages

If you switch to a different primary language, the localized software packages for the former
primary language will be removed from the system. To switch the default system language
but keep the former primary language as an additional language, add it as Secondary Lan-
guage by selecting the respective check box.

3. Adjust the keyboard and time zone options as desired.

4. Confirm your changes with OK.

5. After YaST has applied the changes, restart current X sessions (for example, by logging out and
logging in again) to make YaST and the desktop applications reflect your new language settings.

60 Switching the default system language | SLES 15 SP4

5.1.3 Switching languages for standard X and GNOME applications
After you have installed the respective language with YaST, you can run a single application in another
language.
Start the application from the command line by using the following command:

LANG=LANGUAGE application

For example, to start f-spot in German, run LANG=de_DE f-spot. For other languages, use the appropriate
language code. Get a list of all language codes available with the locale -av command.

5.2 Changing the country and time settings

Using the YaST date and time module, adjust your system date, clock and time zone information to the
area you are working in. To access the YaST module, start YaST and click System Date and Time.
Alternatively, start the Clock and Time Zone dialog directly by running sudo yast2 timezone & from
a command line.

First, select a general region, such as Europe. Choose an appropriate country that matches the one you
are working in, for example, Germany.

61 Switching languages for standard X and GNOME applications | SLES 15 SP4

Depending on which operating systems run on your workstation, adjust the hardware clock settings ac-
cordingly:

If you run another operating system on your machine, such as Microsoft Windows*, it is likely your
system does not use UTC, but local time. In this case, deactivate Hardware Clock Set To UTC.

If you only run Linux on your machine, set the hardware clock to UTC and have the switch from
standard time to daylight saving time performed automatically.

Important: Set the hardware clock to UTC

The switch from standard time to daylight saving time (and vice versa) can only be performed
automatically when the hardware clock (CMOS clock) is set to UTC. This also applies if you
use automatic time synchronization with NTP, because automatic synchronization will only be
performed if the time difference between the hardware and system clock is less than 15 minutes.
Since a wrong system time can cause serious problems (missed backups, dropped mail messages,
mount failures on remote file systems, etc.) it is strongly recommended to always set the hardware
clock to UTC.

You can change the date and time manually or opt for synchronizing your machine against an NTP server,
either permanently or only for adjusting your hardware clock.

PROCEDURE 5.2: MANUALLY ADJUSTING TIME AND DATE

1. In the YaST timezone module, click Other Settings to set date and time.

2. Select Manually and enter date and time values.

3. Confirm your changes.

PROCEDURE 5.3: SETTING DATE AND TIME WITH NTP SERVER

1. Click Other Settings to set date and time.

2. Select Synchronize with NTP Server.

3. Enter the address of an NTP server, if not already populated.

62 Changing the country and time settings | SLES 15 SP4

 4. With the Configure button, you can open the advanced NTP configuration. For details, see Sec-
tion 38.1, “Configuring an NTP client with YaST”.

5. Confirm your changes.

63 Changing the country and time settings | SLES 15 SP4

6 Managing users with YaST
During installation, you may have created a local user for your system. With the YaST module User and
Group Management you can add users or edit existing ones. It also lets you configure your system to
authenticate users with a network server.

6.1 User and group administration dialog

To administer users or groups, start YaST and click Security and Users User and Group Management.
Alternatively, start the User and Group Administration dialog directly by running sudo yast2 users
& from a command line.

FIGURE 6.1: YAST USER AND GROUP ADMINISTRATION

Every user is assigned a system-wide user ID (UID). Apart from the users that can log in to your machine,
there are also several system users for internal use only. Each user is assigned to one or more groups.
Similar to system users, there are also system groups for internal use.

64 User and group administration dialog | SLES 15 SP4

Depending on the set of users you choose to view and modify, the dialog (local users, network users,
system users), the main window shows several tabs. These allow you to execute the following tasks:

Managing user accounts

From the Users tab create, modify, delete or temporarily disable user accounts as described in Sec-
tion 6.2, “Managing user accounts”. Learn about advanced options like enforcing password policies,
using encrypted home directories, or managing disk quotas in Section 6.3, “Additional options for
user accounts”.

Changing default settings

Local user accounts are created according to the settings defined on the Defaults for New Users tab.
Learn how to change the default group assignment, or the default path and access permissions for
home directories in Section 6.4, “Changing default settings for local users”.

Assigning users to groups

Learn how to change the group assignment for individual users in Section 6.5, “Assigning users to
groups”.

Managing groups
From the Groups tab, you can add, modify, or delete existing groups. Refer to Section 6.6, “Managing
groups” for information on how to do this.

Changing the user authentication method

When your machine is connected to a network that provides user authentication methods like NIS
or LDAP, you can choose between several authentication methods on the Authentication Settings
tab. For more information, refer to Section 6.7, “Changing the user authentication method”.

For user and group management, the dialog provides similar functionality. You can easily switch between
the user and group administration view by choosing the appropriate tab at the top of the dialog.
Filter options allow you to define the set of users or groups you want to modify: On the Users or Group
tab, click Set Filter to view and edit users or groups. They are listed according to certain categories, such
as Local Users or LDAP Users, if applicable. With Set Filter Customize Filter you can also set up and
use a custom filter.
Depending on the filter you choose, not all of the following options and functions will be available from
the dialog.

65 User and group administration dialog | SLES 15 SP4

6.2 Managing user accounts
YaST lets you create, modify, delete or temporarily disable user accounts. Do not modify user accounts
unless you are an experienced user or administrator.

Note: Changing user IDs of existing users

File ownership is bound to the user ID, not to the user name. After a user ID change, the files in
the user's home directory are automatically adjusted to reflect this change. However, after an ID
change, the user no longer owns the files they created elsewhere in the file system unless the file
ownership for those files is manually modified.

In the following, learn how to set up default user accounts. For further options, refer to Section 6.3, “Ad-
ditional options for user accounts”.

PROCEDURE 6.1: ADDING OR MODIFYING USER ACCOUNTS

1. Open the YaST User and Group Administration dialog and click the Users tab.

2. With Set Filter define the set of users you want to manage. The dialog lists users in the system and
the groups the users belong to.

3. To modify options for an existing user, select an entry and click Edit.
To create a new user account, click Add.

4. Enter the appropriate user data on the first tab, such as Username (which is used for login) and
Password. This data is sufficient to create a new user. If you click OK now, the system will auto-
matically assign a user ID and set all other values according to the default.

5. Activate Receive System Mail if you want any kind of system notifications to be delivered to this
user's mailbox. This creates a mail alias for root and the user can read the system mail without
having to first log in as root.
The mails sent by system services are stored in the local mailbox /var/spool/mail/USERNAME,
where USERNAME is the login name of the selected user. To read e-mails, you can use the mail
command.

6. To adjust further details such as the user ID or the path to the user's home directory, do so on the
Details tab.
If you need to relocate the home directory of an existing user, enter the path to the new home
directory there and move the contents of the current home directory with Move to New Location.
Otherwise, a new home directory is created without any of the existing data.

66 Managing user accounts | SLES 15 SP4

 7. To force users to regularly change their password or set other password options, switch to Pass-
word Settings and adjust the options. For more details, refer to Section 6.3.2, “Enforcing password
policies”.

8. If all options are set according to your wishes, click OK.

9. Click OK to close the administration dialog and to save the changes. A newly added user can now
log in to the system using the login name and password you created.
Alternatively, to save all changes without exiting the User and Group Administration dialog, click
Expert Options Write Changes Now.

Warning: Do not rename the root account

While it is technically possible to rename the root account, certain applications, scripts or third-
party products may rely on the existence of a user called root. While such a configuration always
targets individual environments, necessary adjustments could be overwritten by vendor updates,
so this becomes an ongoing task, not a one-time setting. This is especially true in very complex
setups involving third-party applications, where it needs to be verified with every involved vendor
whether a rename of the root account is supported.
As the implications for renaming the root account cannot be foreseen, SUSE does not support
renaming the root account.
Usually, the idea behind renaming the root account is to hide it or make it unpredictable. However,
/etc/passwd requires 644 permissions for regular users, so any user of the system can retrieve
the login name for the user ID 0. For better ways to secure the root account, refer to Book “Security
and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 14 “User management”, Section 14.5 “Restricting root logins” and
Book “Security and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 14 “User management”, Section 14.5.3 “Restricting
SSH logins”.

Tip: Matching user IDs

It is useful to match the (local) user ID to the ID in the network. For example, a new (local) user
on a laptop should be integrated into a network environment with the same user ID. This ensures
that the file ownership of the files the user creates “offline” is the same as if they had created them
directly on the network.

PROCEDURE 6.2: DISABLING OR DELETING USER ACCOUNTS

1. Open the YaST User and Group Administration dialog and click the Users tab.

67 Managing user accounts | SLES 15 SP4

 2. To temporarily disable a user account without deleting it, select the user from the list and click
Edit. Activate Disable User Login. The user cannot log in to your machine until you enable the
account again.

3. To delete a user account, select the user from the list and click Delete. Choose if you also want to
delete the user's home directory or to retain the data.

6.3 Additional options for user accounts

In addition to the settings for a default user account, SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server offers further options.
For example, options to enforce password policies, use encrypted home directories or define disk quotas
for users and groups.

6.3.1 Automatic login and passwordless login

If you use the GNOME desktop environment you can configure Auto Login for a certain user and Pass-
wordless Login for all users. Auto login causes a user to become automatically logged in to the desktop
environment on boot. This functionality can only be activated for one user at a time. Login without pass-
word allows all users to log in to the system after they have entered their user name in the login manager.

Warning: Security risk

Enabling Auto Login or Passwordless Login on a machine that can be accessed by more than one
person is a security risk. Without the need to authenticate, any user can gain access to your system
and your data. If your system contains confidential data, do not use this functionality.

To activate auto login or login without password, access these functions in the YaST User and Group
Administration with Expert Options Login Settings.

68 Additional options for user accounts | SLES 15 SP4

6.3.2 Enforcing password policies
On any system with multiple users, it is a good idea to enforce at least basic password security policies.
Users should change their passwords regularly and use strong passwords that cannot easily be exploited.
For local users, proceed as follows:

PROCEDURE 6.3: CONFIGURING PASSWORD SETTINGS

1. Open the YaST User and Group Administration dialog and select the Users tab.

2. Select the user for which to change the password options and click Edit.

3. Switch to the Password Settings tab. The user's last password change is displayed on the tab.

4. To make the user change their password at next login, activate Force Password Change.

5. To enforce password rotation, set a Maximum Number of Days for the Same Password and a Min-
imum Number of Days for the Same Password.

6. To remind the user to change their password before it expires, set the number of Days before Pass-
word Expiration to Issue Warning.

7. To restrict the period of time the user can log in after their password has expired, change the value
in Days after Password Expires with Usable Login.

8. You can also specify a certain expiration date for the complete account. Enter the Expiration Date in
YYYY-MM-DD format. Note that this setting is not password-related but rather applies to the account
itself.

9. For more information about the options and about the default values, click Help.

10. Apply your changes with OK.

6.3.3 Managing quotas

To prevent system capacities from being exhausted without notification, system administrators can set up
quotas for users or groups. Quotas can be defined for one or more file systems and restrict the amount
of disk space that can be used and the number of inodes (index nodes) that can be created there. Inodes
are data structures on a file system that store basic information about a regular file, directory, or other file
system object. They store all attributes of a file system object (like user and group ownership, read, write,
or execute permissions), except file name and contents.

69 Enforcing password policies | SLES 15 SP4

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server allows usage of soft and hard quotas. Additionally, grace intervals can
be defined that allow users or groups to temporarily violate their quotas by certain amounts.

Soft quota
Defines a warning level at which users are informed that they are nearing their limit. Administrators
will urge the users to clean up and reduce their data on the partition. The soft quota limit is usually
lower than the hard quota limit.

Hard quota
Defines the limit at which write requests are denied. When the hard quota is reached, no more data
can be stored and applications may crash.

Grace period
Defines the time between the overflow of the soft quota and a warning being issued. Usually set to
a rather low value of one or several hours.

PROCEDURE 6.4: ENABLING QUOTA SUPPORT FOR A PARTITION

To configure quotas for certain users and groups, you need to enable quota support for the respective
partition in the YaST Expert Partitioner first.

Note: Quotas for Btrfs partitions

Quotas for Btrfs partitions are handled differently. For more information, see Book “Storage
Administration Guide”, Chapter 1 “Overview of file systems in Linux”, Section 1.2.5 “Btrfs
quota support for subvolumes”.

1. In YaST, select System Partitioner and click Yes to proceed.

2. In the Expert Partitioner, select the partition for which to enable quotas and click Edit.

3. Click Fstab Options and activate Enable Quota Support. If the quota package is not already in-
stalled, it will be installed when you confirm the respective message with Yes.

4. Confirm your changes and leave the Expert Partitioner.

5. Make sure the service quotaon is running by entering the following command:

> sudo systemctl status [Link]

It should be marked as being active. If this is not the case, start it with the command systemctl
start [Link].

70 Managing quotas | SLES 15 SP4

PROCEDURE 6.5: SETTING UP QUOTAS FOR USERS OR GROUPS

Now you can define soft or hard quotas for specific users or groups and set time periods as grace
intervals.

1. In the YaST User and Group Administration, select the user or the group you want to set the quotas
for and click Edit.

2. On the Plug-Ins tab, select the Manage User Quota entry and click Launch to open the Quota
Configuration dialog.

3. From File System, select the partition to which the quota should apply.

4. Below Size Limits, restrict the amount of disk space. Enter the number of 1 KB blocks the user or
group may have on this partition. Specify a Soft Limit and a Hard Limit value.

5. Additionally, you can restrict the number of inodes the user or group may have on the partition.
Below Inodes Limits, enter a Soft Limit and Hard Limit.

6. You can only define grace intervals if the user or group has already exceeded the soft limit specified
for size or inodes. Otherwise, the time-related text boxes are not activated. Specify the time period
for which the user or group is allowed to exceed the limits set above.

7. Confirm your settings with OK.

71 Managing quotas | SLES 15 SP4

 8. Click OK to close the administration dialog and save the changes.
Alternatively, to save all changes without exiting the User and Group Administration dialog, click
Expert Options Write Changes Now.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server also ships command line tools like repquota or warnquota. System
administrators can use these tools to control the disk usage or send e-mail notifications to users exceeding
their quota. Using quota_nld, administrators can also forward kernel messages about exceeded quotas
to D-BUS. For more information, refer to the repquota, the warnquota and the quota_nld man page.

6.4 Changing default settings for local users

When creating new local users, several default settings are used by YaST. These include, for example, the
group the user belongs to, or the access permissions of the user's home directory. You can change these
default settings to meet your requirements:

1. Open the YaST User and Group Administration dialog and select the Defaults for New Users tab.

2. To change the group the new users should automatically belong to, select another group from De-
fault Group.

3. If you do not want to use /home/USERNAME as the default path for new users' home directories,
modify the Path Prefix for Home Directory.

4. To change the default permission modes for newly created home directories, adjust the umask value
in Umask for Home Directory. For more information about umask, refer to Book “Security and
Hardening Guide”, Chapter 19 “Access control lists in Linux” and to the umask man page.

5. For information about the individual options, click Help.

6. Apply your changes with OK.

6.5 Assigning users to groups

Local users are assigned to several groups according to the default settings, which you can access from
the User and Group Administration dialog on the Defaults for New Users tab. In the following, learn how
to modify an individual user's group assignment. If you need to change the default group assignments for
new users, refer to Section 6.4, “Changing default settings for local users”.

72 Changing default settings for local users | SLES 15 SP4

PROCEDURE 6.6: CHANGING A USER'S GROUP ASSIGNMENT

1. Open the YaST User and Group Administration dialog and click the Users tab. It lists users and
the groups the users belong to.

2. Click Edit and switch to the Details tab.

3. To change the group the user belongs to, click Default Group and select the group from the list.

4. To assign the user additional secondary groups, activate the corresponding check boxes in the Ad-
ditional Groups list.

5. Click OK to apply your changes.

6. Click OK to close the administration dialog and save the changes.

Alternatively, to save all changes without exiting the User and Group Administration dialog, click
Expert Options Write Changes Now.

6.6 Managing groups

With YaST you can also easily add, modify, or delete groups.

PROCEDURE 6.7: CREATING AND MODIFYING GROUPS

1. Open the YaST User and Group Management dialog and click the Groups tab.

2. With Set Filter define the set of groups you want to manage. The dialog lists groups in the system.

3. To create a new group, click Add.

4. To modify an existing group, select the group and click Edit.

5. In the following dialog, enter or change the data. The list on the right shows an overview of all
available users and system users which can be members of the group.

73 Managing groups | SLES 15 SP4

 6. To add existing users to a new group select them from the list of possible Group Members by
checking the corresponding box. To remove them from the group deactivate the box.

7. Click OK to apply your changes.

8. Click OK to close the administration dialog and save the changes.

Alternatively, to save all changes without exiting the User and Group Administration dialog, click
Expert Options Write Changes Now.

To delete a group, it must not contain any group members. To delete a group, select it from the list and click
Delete. Click OK to close the administration dialog and save the changes. Alternatively, to save all changes
without exiting the User and Group Administration dialog, click Expert Options Write Changes Now.

6.7 Changing the user authentication method

When your machine is connected to a network, you can change the authentication method. The following
options are available:

NIS
Users are administered centrally on a NIS server for all systems in the network. For details, see Book
“Security and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 3 “Using NIS”.

74 Changing the user authentication method | SLES 15 SP4

SSSD
The System Security Services Daemon (SSSD) can locally cache user data and then allow users to use
the data, even if the real directory service is (temporarily) unreachable. For details, see Book “Security
and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 4 “Setting up authentication clients using YaST”, Section 4.2 “SSSD”.

Samba
SMB authentication is often used in mixed Linux and Windows networks. For details, see Book
“Storage Administration Guide”, Chapter 20 “Samba” .

To change the authentication method, proceed as follows:

1. Open the User and Group Administration dialog in YaST.

2. Click the Authentication Settings tab to show an overview of the available authentication methods
and the current settings.

3. To change the authentication method, click Configure and select the authentication method you
want to modify. This takes you directly to the client configuration modules in YaST. For information
about the configuration of the appropriate client, refer to the following sections:

NIS: Book “Security and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 3 “Using NIS”, Section 3.2 “Configuring NIS
clients”

LDAP: Book “Security and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 4 “Setting up authentication clients using
YaST”, Section 4.1 “Configuring an authentication client with YaST”

Samba: Book “Storage Administration Guide”, Chapter 20 “Samba”, Section 20.5.1 “Configuring a
Samba client with YaST”

SSSD: Book “Security and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 4 “Setting up authentication clients using
YaST”, Section 4.2 “SSSD”

4. After accepting the configuration, return to the User and Group Administration overview.

5. Click OK to close the administration dialog.

75 Changing the user authentication method | SLES 15 SP4

6.8 Default system users
By default, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server creates user names, which cannot be deleted. These users are
typically defined in the Linux Standard Base (see [Link] ).
The following list provides the common user names and their purpose:

COMMON USER NAMES INSTALLED BY DEFAULT

bin,
daemon
Legacy user, included for compatibility with legacy applications. New applications should no longer
use this user name.

gdm
Used by GNOME Display Manager (GDM) to provide graphical logins and manage local and remote
displays.

lp
Used by the Printer daemon for Common Unix Printing System (CUPS).

mail
User reserved for mailer programs like sendmail or postfix.

man
Used by man to access man pages.

messagebus
Used to access D-Bus (desktop bus), a software bus for inter-process communication. Daemon is
dbus-daemon.

nobody
User that owns no files and is in no privileged groups. Nowadays, its use is limited as it is recom-
mended by Linux Standard Base to provide a separate user account for each daemon.

nscd
Used by the Name Service Caching Daemon. This daemon is a lookup service to improve perfor-
mance with NIS and LDAP. Daemon is nscd.

polkitd
Used by the PolicyKit Authorization Framework, which defines and handles authorization requests
for unprivileged processes. Daemon is polkitd.

76 Default system users | SLES 15 SP4

postfix
Used by the Postfix mailer.

pulse
Used by the Pulseaudio sound server.

root
Used by the system administrator, providing all appropriate privileges.

rpc
Used by the rpcbind command, an RPC port mapper.

rtkit
Used by the rtkit package providing a D-Bus system service for real time scheduling mode.

salt
User for parallel remote execution provided by Salt. Daemon is named salt-master.

scard
User for communication with smart cards and readers. Daemon is named pcscd.

srvGeoClue
Used by the GeoClue D-Bus service to provide location information.

sshd
Used by the Secure Shell daemon (SSH) to ensure secured and encrypted communication over an
insecure network.

statd
Used by the Network Status Monitor protocol (NSM), implemented in the [Link] daemon, to
listen for reboot notifications.

systemd-coredump
Used by the /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-coredump command to acquire, save, and process
core dumps.

systemd-timesync
Used by the /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-timesyncd command to synchronize the local sys-
tem clock with a remote Network Time Protocol (NTP) server.

77 Default system users | SLES 15 SP4

6.9 Default system groups
By default, SLE creates multiple user groups that are used by system services. The following list describes
examples of required and common optional groups.

root
Administrative group with all privileges.

bin
Included for compatibility with legacy applications. New applications should not use this group.

daemon
Previously used to limit daemons' access to the system. Daemons should run under their own UID/
GID now to separate daemons from one another.

audio
Privileges for audio devices.

gdm
Privileges for the GNOME Display Manager.

chrony
Privileges for the time synchronization service.

kvm
Privileges for the QEMU machine emulator toolkit.

libvirt
Privileges for virtualization stack.

lp
Privileges for printer operation.

mail
Privileges for mail services.

man
Privileges specific to manual pages and the man command.

sshd
Privileges for SSH communication protocol daemon.

78 Default system groups | SLES 15 SP4

6.10 Reserved user and group IDs
When a user creates a file, they automatically become the owner of that file. Additionally, the file is
associated with a group, and the creating user's primary group typically becomes the group owner. Files
are assigned separate read, write and execute permissions. The root user can change the file owner.
Both the root user and the file owner can change access permissions to the file. A regular user can change
the group ownership of a file they own only if they are a member of that group.
Every user has a UID (unique user ID), which is a numerical identification number. Additionally, each
group is associated with a GID (group ID). Users belonging to a group share the same read, write
and execute permissions for any files owned by that group. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server reserves the
following user and group IDs:

0: reserved for root user

1-999: reserved for system users

1000-60000: reserved for regular users

60001-60513: reserved for systemd homed

60514-60577: reserved for systemd nspawn user mapping

60578-61183: unused

61184-65519 : reserved for systemd dynamic service users

65520-65533 : unused

65534-65534 : reserved for nobody user

65535-65535 : reserved for 16 bit-1

65536-524287 : unused

524288-1879048191 : reserved for systemd nspawn containers

1879048192-2147483647 : unused

2147483648-4294967295 : do not use

For more information on UIDs and GIDs, see:

[Link]

[Link]
stable/accounts/posix_accounts_and_groups.html#gid-number-generation

79 Reserved user and group IDs | SLES 15 SP4

 Important
A new IPA deployment can use the following UID ranges:

65536-524287 : unused

1879048192-2147483647 : unused

80 Reserved user and group IDs | SLES 15 SP4

7 YaST online update

SUSE offers a continuous stream of software security updates for your product. By default, the update
applet is used to keep your system up to date. Refer to Section 8.5, “The GNOME package updater” for
further information on the update applet. This chapter covers the alternative tool for updating software
packages: YaST Online Update.
The current patches for SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server are available from an update software repository.
If you have registered your product during the installation, an update repository is already configured. If
you have not registered SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, you can do so by starting the Product Registration
in YaST. Alternatively, you can manually add an update repository from a source you trust. To add or
remove repositories, start the Repository Manager with Software Software Repositories in YaST. Learn
more about the Repository Manager in Section 8.4, “Managing software repositories and services”.

Note: Error on accessing the update catalog

If you are not able to access the update catalog, this might be because of an expired subscription.
Normally, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server comes with a one-year or three-year subscription, during
which you have access to the update catalog. This access will be denied after the subscription ends.
If an access to the update catalog is denied, you will see a warning message prompting you to visit
the SUSE Customer Center and check your subscription. The SUSE Customer Center is available
at [Link] .

Note: Firewall settings for receiving updates

By default, the firewall on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server only blocks incoming connections. If
your system is behind another firewall that blocks outgoing traffic, make sure to allow connections
to [Link] and [Link] on ports 80 and 443 in order to re-
ceive updates.

SUSE provides updates with different relevance levels:

Security updates
Fix severe security hazards and should always be installed.

Recommended updates
Fix issues that could compromise your computer.

81 | SLES 15 SP4
Optional updates
Fix non-security relevant issues or provide enhancements.

7.1 The online update dialog

To open the YaST Online Update dialog, start YaST and select Software Online Update. Alternatively,
start it from the command line with yast2 online_update.
The Online Update window consists of four sections.

FIGURE 7.1: YAST ONLINE UPDATE

The Summary section on the left lists the available patches for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. The patches
are sorted by security relevance: security, recommended, and optional. You can change the view of
the Summary section by selecting one of the following options from Show Patch Category:

Needed patches (default view)

Non-installed patches that apply to packages installed on your system.

Unneeded patches
Patches that either apply to packages not installed on your system, or patches that have requirements
which have already have been fulfilled (because the relevant packages have already been updated
from another source).

82 The online update dialog | SLES 15 SP4

All patches
All patches available for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

Each list entry in the Summary section consists of a symbol and the patch name. For an overview of the
possible symbols and their meaning, press Shift – F1 . Actions required by Security and Recommend-
ed patches are automatically preset. These actions are Autoinstall, Autoupdate and Autodelete.

If you install an up-to-date package from a repository other than the update repository, the requirements
of a patch for this package may be fulfilled with this installation. In this case a check mark is displayed
in front of the patch summary. The patch will be visible in the list until you mark it for installation. This
will in fact not install the patch (because the package already is up to date), but mark the patch as having
been installed.
Select an entry in the Summary section to view a short Patch Description at the bottom left corner of the
dialog. The upper right section lists the packages included in the selected patch (a patch can consist of
several packages). Click an entry in the upper right section to view details about the respective package
that is included in the patch.

7.2 Installing patches

The YaST Online Update dialog allows you to either install all available patches at once or manually select
the desired patches. You may also revert patches that have been applied to the system.
By default, all new patches (except optional ones) that are currently available for your system are already
marked for installation. They will be applied automatically once you click Accept or Apply. If one or
multiple patches require a system reboot, you will be notified about this before the patch installation starts.
You can then either decide to continue with the installation of the selected patches, skip the installation of
all patches that need rebooting and install the rest, or go back to the manual patch selection.

PROCEDURE 7.1: APPLYING PATCHES WITH YAST ONLINE UPDATE

1. Start YaST and select Software Online Update.

2. To automatically apply all new patches (except optional ones) that are currently available for
your system, click Apply or Accept.

3. First modify the selection of patches that you want to apply:

a. Use the respective filters and views that the interface provides. For details, refer to Section 7.1,
“The online update dialog”.

83 Installing patches | SLES 15 SP4

 b. Select or deselect patches according to your needs and wishes by right-clicking the patch and
choosing the respective action from the context menu.

Important: Always apply security updates

Do not deselect any security-related patches without a very good reason. These
patches fix severe security hazards and prevent your system from being exploited.

c. Most patches include updates for several packages. To change actions for single packages,
right-click a package in the package view and choose an action.

d. To confirm your selection and apply the selected patches, proceed with Apply or Accept.

4. After the installation is complete, click Finish to leave the YaST Online Update. Your system is
now up to date.

7.3 Viewing retracted patches

Maintenance updates are carefully tested to minimize the risk of introducing a bug. If a patch proves to
contain a bug, it is automatically retracted. A new update (with a higher version number) is issued to
revert the buggy patch, and is blocked from being installed again. You can see retracted patches, and their
history, on the Package Classification tab.

84 Viewing retracted patches | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 7.2: VIEWING RETRACTED PATCHES AND HISTORY

7.4 Automatic online update

You may configure automatic updates with a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule with YaST. Install the
yast2-online-update-configuration package.

By default, updates are downloaded as delta RPMs. Since rebuilding RPM packages from delta RPMs is
a memory- and processor-intensive task, certain setups or hardware configurations might require you to
disable the use of delta RPMs for the sake of performance.
Some patches, such as kernel updates or packages requiring license agreements, require user interaction,
which would cause the automatic update procedure to stop. You can configure skipping patches that require
user interaction.
Use the Patches tab in the YaST Software module to review available and installed patches, including
references to bug reports and CVE bulletins.

PROCEDURE 7.2: CONFIGURING THE AUTOMATIC ONLINE UPDATE

1. After installation, start YaST and select Software Online Update. Choose Configuration Online
Update. If the yast2-online-update-configuration is not installed, you will be prompted
to do that.

85 Automatic online update | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 7.3: YAST ONLINE UPDATE CONFIGURATION

Alternatively, start the module with yast2 online_update_configuration from the command
line.

2. Choose the update interval: Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.

3. Sometimes patches may require the attention of the administrator, for example when restarting crit-
ical services. For example, this might be an update for Docker Open Source Engine that requires all
containers to be restarted. Before these patches are installed, the user is informed about the conse-
quences and is asked to confirm the installation of the patch. Such patches are called “Interactive
Patches”.
When installing patches automatically, it is assumed that you have accepted the installation of in-
teractive patches. If you prefer to review these patches before they get installed, check Skip Inter-
active Patches. In this case, interactive patches will be skipped during automated patching. Make
sure to periodically run a manual online update, to check whether interactive patches are waiting
to be installed.

4. To automatically accept any license agreements, activate Agree with Licenses.

5. To automatically install all packages recommended by updated packages, activate Include Recom-
mended Packages.

6. To disable the use of delta RPMs (for performance reasons), un-check Use Delta RPMs.

86 Automatic online update | SLES 15 SP4

 7. To filter the patches by category (such as security or recommended), check Filter by Category and
add the appropriate patch categories from the list. Only patches of the selected categories will be
installed. It is a good practice to enable only automatic Security updates, and to manually review
all others. Patching is usually reliable, but you may wish to test non-security patches, and roll them
back if you encounter any problems.

Packagemanager and YaST supply patches for package management and YaST features and
modules.

Security patches provide crucial updates and bugfixes.

Recommended patches are optional bugfixes and enhancements.

Optional are new packages.

Other is equivalent to miscellaneous.

Document is unused.

8. Confirm your configuration by clicking OK.

The automatic online update does not automatically restart the system afterward. If there are package
updates that require a system reboot, you need to do this manually.

87 Automatic online update | SLES 15 SP4

8 Installing or removing software

Use YaST's software management module to search for software components you want to
add or remove. YaST resolves all dependencies for you. To install packages not shipped with
the installation media, add software repositories to your setup and let YaST manage them.
Keep your system up-to-date by managing software updates with the update applet.
Change the software collection of your system with the YaST Software Manager. This YaST module is
available in two flavors: a graphical variant for X Window and a text-based variant to be used on the
command line. The graphical flavor is described here—for details on the text-based YaST, see Chapter 4,
YaST in text mode.

Note: Confirmation and review of changes

When installing, updating, or removing packages, any changes in the Software Manager are only
applied after clicking Accept or Apply. YaST maintains a list with all actions, allowing you to
review and modify your changes before applying them to the system.

8.1 Definition of terms

The following terms are important for understanding installing and removing software in SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server.

Repository
A local or remote directory containing packages, plus additional information about these packages
(package metadata).

(Repository) alias/repository name

A short name for a repository (called Alias within Zypper and Repository Name within YaST). It
can be chosen by the user when adding a repository and must be unique.

Repository description files

Each repository provides files describing content of the repository (package names, versions, etc.).
These repository description files are downloaded to a local cache that is used by YaST.

Product
Represents a whole product, for example SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server.

88 Definition of terms | SLES 15 SP4

Pattern
A pattern is an installable group of packages dedicated to a certain purpose. For example, the Laptop
pattern contains all packages that are needed in a mobile computing environment. Patterns define
package dependencies (such as required or recommended packages) and come with a preselection
of packages marked for installation. This ensures that the most important packages needed for a
certain purpose are available on your system after installation of the pattern. If necessary, you can
manually select or deselect packages within a pattern.

Package
A package is a compressed file in rpm format that contains the files for a particular program.

Patch
A fix or compilation of fixes released by SUSE to correct operation defects (program bugs) in SUSE
products. A patch can contain one or multiple files to replace or enhance existing executables, pro-
grams, applications or documents.
A patch consists of one or more packages and may be applied by delta RPMs. It may also introduce
dependencies to packages that are not installed yet.

Resolvable
A generic term for product, pattern, package, or patch. The most commonly used type of resolvable
is a package or a patch.

Delta RPM
A delta RPM consists only of the binary diff between two defined versions of a package, and there-
fore has the smallest download size. Before being installed, the full RPM package is rebuilt on the
local machine.

Package dependencies
Certain packages are dependent on other packages, such as shared libraries. In other terms, a package
may require other packages—if the required packages are not available, the package cannot be
installed. In addition to dependencies (package requirements) that must be fulfilled, some packages
recommend other packages. These recommended packages are only installed if they are actually
available, otherwise they are ignored and the package recommending them is installed nevertheless.

8.2 Registering an installed system

If you skipped registration during installation or want to re-register your system, you can register the
system at any time. Use the YaST module Product Registration or the command line tool SUSEConnect.

89 Registering an installed system | SLES 15 SP4

8.2.1 Registering with YaST
To register the system, start YaST and switch to Software, then Product Registration.
By default the system is registered with the SUSE Customer Center. If your organization provides local
registration servers, you can either choose one from the list of auto-detected servers or provide the URL
manually.

8.2.2 Registering with SUSEConnect

To register from the command line, use the command

> sudo SUSEConnect -r REGISTRATION_CODE -e EMAIL_ADDRESS

Replace REGISTRATION_CODE with the registration code you received with your copy of SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server. Replace EMAIL_ADDRESS with the e-mail address associated with the SUSE account
you or your organization uses to manage subscriptions.
To register with a local registration server, also provide the URL to the server:

> sudo SUSEConnect -r REGISTRATION_CODE -e EMAIL_ADDRESS --url "URL"

8.3 Using the YaST software manager

Start the software manager from the YaST Control Center by choosing Software Software Management.

90 Registering with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

8.3.1 Searching software
The YaST software manager can install packages or patterns from all currently enabled repositories. It
offers different views and filters to make it easier to find the software you are searching for. The Search
view is the default view of the window. To change view, click View and select one of the following entries
from the drop-down box. The selected view opens in a new tab.

VIEWS FOR SEARCHING PACKAGES OR PATTERNS

Patterns
Lists all patterns available for installation on your system.

Package Groups
Lists all packages sorted by groups such as Graphics, Programming, or Security.

Languages
A filter to list all packages needed to add a new system language.

Repositories
A filter to list packages by repository. To select more than one repository, hold the Ctrl key while
clicking repository names. The “pseudo repository” @System lists all packages currently installed.

91 Searching software | SLES 15 SP4

Services
Shows which packages belong to a certain module or extension. Select an entry (for example,
Basesystem or High Availability) to display a list of packages that belong to this module or
extension.

Search
Lets you search for a package according to certain criteria. Enter a search term and press Enter .
Refine your search by specifying where to Search In and by changing the Search Mode. For example,
if you do not know the package name but only the name of the application that you are searching
for, try including the package Description in the search process.

Installation Summary
If you have already selected packages for installation, update or removal, this view shows the
changes that will be applied to your system when you click Accept. To filter for packages with a
certain status in this view, activate or deactivate the respective check boxes. Press Shift – F1 for
details on the status flags.

Tip: Finding packages not belonging to an active repository

To list all packages that do not belong to an active repository, choose View Repositories @Sys-
tem and then choose Secondary Filter Unmaintained Packages. This is useful, for example, if you
have deleted a repository and want to make sure no packages from that repository remain installed.

Tip: Searching software online

The online search feature allows searching for packages across all registered and unregistered mod-
ules and extensions.

PROCEDURE 8.1: SEARCHING SOFTWARE ONLINE

To search for software packages online, perform the following steps:

1. Open the online search window with Extras Search Online.

2. Enter a Package Name and press Enter or click Search. YaST contacts the SUSE Customer
Center and shows the results in a table, including the module or extension of each package.
Select a package to see additional details.

92 Searching software | SLES 15 SP4

 3. Select one or more packages for installation by clicking the corresponding table row and
Toggle Selection. Alternatively, you can double-click a row. If the package belongs to an
unregistered module or extension, YaST asks for confirmation to register it.

4. Click Next, review the changes, and install the packages.

8.3.2 Installing and removing packages or patterns

Certain packages are dependent on other packages, such as shared libraries. On the other hand, some pack-
ages cannot coexist with others on the system. If possible, YaST automatically resolves these dependen-
cies or conflicts. If your choice results in a dependency conflict that cannot be automatically solved, you
need to solve it manually as described in Section 8.3.4, “Package dependencies”.

Note: Removal of packages

When removing any packages, by default YaST only removes the selected packages. If you want
YaST to also remove any other packages that become unneeded after removal of the specified
package, select Options Cleanup when deleting packages from the main menu.

1. Search for packages as described in Section 8.3.1, “Searching software”.

2. The packages found are listed in the right pane. To install a package or remove it, right-click it and
choose Install or Delete. If the relevant option is not available, check the package status indicated
by the symbol in front of the package name—press Shift – F1 for help.

Tip: Applying an action to all packages listed

To apply an action to all packages listed in the right pane, go to the main menu and choose
an action from Package All in This List.

3. To install a pattern, right-click the pattern name and choose Install.

4. It is not possible to remove a pattern. Instead, select the packages for the pattern you want to remove
and mark them for removal.

5. To select more packages, repeat the steps mentioned above.

93 Installing and removing packages or patterns | SLES 15 SP4

 6. Before applying your changes, you can review or modify them by clicking View Installation Sum-
mary. By default, all packages that will change status are listed.

7. To revert the status for a package, right-click the package and select one of the following entries:
Keep if the package was scheduled to be deleted or updated, or Do Not Install if it was scheduled
for installation. To abandon all changes and quit the Software Manager, click Cancel and Abandon.

8. When you are finished, click Accept to apply your changes.

9. In case YaST found dependencies on other packages, a list of packages that have additionally been
chosen for installation, update, or removal is presented. Click Continue to accept them.
After all selected packages are installed, updated, or removed, the YaST Software Manager auto-
matically closes.

Note: Installing source packages

Installing source packages with YaST Software Manager is not possible at the moment. Use the
command line tool zypper for this purpose. For more information, see Section [Link], “Installing
or downloading source packages”.

8.3.3 Updating packages

Instead of updating individual packages, you can also update all installed packages or all packages from
a certain repository. When mass updating packages, the following aspects are generally considered:

priorities of the repositories that provide the package,

architecture of the package (for example, AMD64/Intel 64),

version number of the package,

package vendor.

Which of the aspects has the highest importance for choosing the update candidates depends on the re-
spective update option you choose.

1. To update all installed packages to the latest version, choose Package All Packages Update if
Newer Version Available from the main menu.
All repositories are checked for possible update candidates, using the following policy: YaST first
tries to restrict the search to packages with the same architecture and vendor as the installed one. If
the search is positive, the “best” update candidate from those is selected according to the process

94 Updating packages | SLES 15 SP4

 below. However, if no comparable package of the same vendor can be found, the search is expanded
to all packages with the same architecture. If still no comparable package can be found, all packages
are considered and the “best” update candidate is selected according to the following criteria:

1. Repository priority: Prefer the package from the repository with the highest priority.

2. If more than one package results from this selection, choose the one with the “best” architec-
ture (best choice: matching the architecture of the installed one).

If the resulting package has a higher version number than the installed one, the installed package
will be updated and replaced with the selected update candidate.
This option tries to avoid changes in architecture and vendor for the installed packages, but under
certain circumstances, they are tolerated.

Note: Update unconditionally

If you choose Package All Packages Update Unconditionally instead, the same criteria
apply but any candidate package found is installed unconditionally. Thus, choosing this op-
tion might actually lead to downgrading some packages.

2. To make sure that the packages for a mass update derive from a certain repository:

a. Choose the repository from which to update as described in Section 8.3.1, “Searching software”
.

b. On the right hand side of the window, click Switch system packages to the versions in this
repository. This explicitly allows YaST to change the package vendor when replacing the
packages.
When you proceed with Accept, all installed packages will be replaced by packages deriving
from this repository, if available. This may lead to changes in vendor and architecture and
even to downgrading some packages.

c. To refrain from this, click Cancel switching system packages to the versions in this repository.
Note that you can only cancel this until you click the Accept button.

3. Before applying your changes, you can review or modify them by clicking View Installation Sum-
mary. By default, all packages that will change status, are listed.

4. If all options are set according to your wishes, confirm your changes with Accept to start the mass
update.

95 Updating packages | SLES 15 SP4

8.3.4 Package dependencies
Most packages are dependent on other packages. If a package, for example, uses a shared library, it is
dependent on the package providing this library. On the other hand, some packages cannot coexist, causing
a conflict (for example, you can only install one mail transfer agent: sendmail or postfix). When installing
or removing software, the Software Manager makes sure no dependencies or conflicts remain unsolved
to ensure system integrity.
In case there exists only one solution to resolve a dependency or a conflict, it is resolved automatically.
Multiple solutions always cause a conflict which needs to be resolved manually. If solving a conflict
involves a vendor or architecture change, it also needs to be solved manually. When clicking Accept to
apply any changes in the Software Manager, you get an overview of all actions triggered by the automatic
resolver which you need to confirm.
By default, dependencies are automatically checked. A check is performed every time you change a pack-
age status (for example, by marking a package for installation or removal). This is generally useful, but
can become exhausting when manually resolving a dependency conflict. To disable this function, go to
the main menu and deactivate Dependencies Autocheck. Manually perform a dependency check with
Dependencies Check Now. A consistency check is always performed when you confirm your selection
with Accept.
To review a package's dependencies, right-click it and choose Show Solver Information. A map showing
the dependencies opens. Packages that are already installed are displayed in a green frame.

Note: Manually solving package conflicts

Unless you are very experienced, follow the suggestions YaST makes when handling package
conflicts, otherwise you may not be able to resolve them. Keep in mind that every change you make
potentially triggers other conflicts, so you can easily end up with a steadily increasing number of
conflicts. In case this happens, Cancel the Software Manager, Abandon all your changes and start
again.

96 Package dependencies | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 8.1: CONFLICT MANAGEMENT OF THE SOFTWARE MANAGER

8.3.5 Handling of package recommendations

In addition to the hard dependencies required to run a program (for example a certain library), a package
can also have weak dependencies, which add for example extra functionality or translations. These weak
dependencies are called package recommendations.
When installing a new package, recommended packages are still installed by default. When updating
an existing package, missing recommendations will not be installed automatically. To change this, set
PKGMGR_RECOMMENDED="yes" in /etc/sysconfig/yast2. To install all missing recommendations
for already installed packages, start YaST Software Manager and choose Extras Install All Matching
Recommended Packages.
To disable the installation of recommended packages when installing new packages, deactivate Depen-
dencies Install Recommended Packages in the YaST Software Manager. When using the command-line
tool Zypper to install packages, use the option --no-recommends.

97 Handling of package recommendations | SLES 15 SP4

8.4 Managing software repositories and services
To install third-party software, add software repositories to your system. By default, the product reposito-
ries such as SUSE Linux Enterprise Server-DVD 15 SP4 and a matching update repository are automati-
cally configured after you have registered your system. For more information about registration, see Book
“Deployment Guide”, Chapter 8 “Installation steps”, Section 8.7 “Registration” or Book “Upgrade Guide”,
Chapter 4 “Upgrading offline”, Section 4.8 “Registering your system”. Depending on the initially selected
product, an additional repository containing translations, dictionaries, etc. might also be configured.
To manage repositories, start YaST and select Software Software Repositories. The Configured Software
Repositories dialog opens. Here, you can also manage subscriptions to so-called Services by changing the
View at the right corner of the dialog to All Services. A Service in this context is a Repository Index Service
(RIS) that can offer one or more software repositories. Such a Service can be changed dynamically by its
administrator or vendor.
Each repository provides files describing content of the repository (package names, versions, etc.). These
repository description files are downloaded to a local cache that is used by YaST. To ensure their integrity,
software repositories can be signed with the GPG Key of the repository maintainer. Whenever you add a
new repository, YaST offers the ability to import its key.

Warning: Trusting external software sources

Before adding external software repositories to your list of repositories, make sure this repository
can be trusted. SUSE is not responsible for any problems arising from software installed from third-
party software repositories.

8.4.1 Adding software repositories

You can either add repositories from DVD/CD, a USB flash drive, a local directory, an ISO image, or
a network source.
To add repositories from the Configured Software Repositories dialog in YaST proceed as follows:

1. Click Add.

98 Managing software repositories and services | SLES 15 SP4

 2. Select one of the options listed in the dialog:

FIGURE 8.2: ADDING A SOFTWARE REPOSITORY

To scan your network for installation servers announcing their services via SLP, select Scan
Using SLP and click Next.

To add a repository from a removable medium, choose the relevant option and insert the medi-
um or connect the USB device to the machine, respectively. Click Next to start the installation.

For the majority of repositories, you will be asked to specify the path (or URL) to the media
after selecting the respective option and clicking Next. Specifying a Repository Name is op-
tional. If none is specified, YaST will use the product name or the URL as repository name.

The option Download Repository Description Files is activated by default. If you deactivate the
option, YaST will automatically download the files later, if needed.

3. Depending on the repository you have added, you may be prompted to import the repository's GPG
key or asked to agree to a license.
After confirming these messages, YaST will download and parse the metadata. It will add the repos-
itory to the list of Configured Repositories.

4. If needed, adjust the repository Properties as described in Section 8.4.2, “Managing repository prop-
erties”.

5. Confirm your changes with OK to close the configuration dialog.

99 Adding software repositories | SLES 15 SP4

 6. After having successfully added the repository, the software manager starts and you can install
packages from this repository. For details, refer to Chapter 8, Installing or removing software.

8.4.2 Managing repository properties

The Configured Software Repositories overview of the Software Repositories lets you change the follow-
ing repository properties:

Status
The repository status can either be Enabled or Disabled. You can only install packages from repos-
itories that are enabled. To turn a repository off temporarily, select it and deactivate Enable. You
can also double-click a repository name to toggle its status. To remove a repository completely,
click Delete.

Refresh
When refreshing a repository, its content description (package names, versions, etc.) is downloaded
to a local cache that is used by YaST. It is sufficient to do this once for static repositories such as
CDs or DVDs, whereas repositories whose content changes often should be refreshed frequently.
The easiest way to keep a repository's cache up to date is to choose Automatically Refresh. To do a
manual refresh click Refresh and select one of the options.

Keep Downloaded Packages

Packages from remote repositories are downloaded before being installed. By default, they are delet-
ed upon successful installation. Activating Keep Downloaded Packages prevents the deletion of
downloaded packages. The download location is configured in /etc/zypp/[Link], by default
it is /var/cache/zypp/packages.

Priority
The Priority of a repository is a value between 1 and 200, with 1 being the highest priority and
200 the lowest priority. Any new repositories that are added with YaST get a priority of 99 by
default. If you do not care about a priority value for a certain repository, you can also set the value
to 0 to apply the default priority to that repository (99). If a package is available in more than one
repository, then the repository with the highest priority takes precedence. This is useful to avoid
downloading packages unnecessarily from the Internet by giving a local repository (for example,
a DVD) a higher priority.

100 Managing repository properties | SLES 15 SP4

 Important: Priority compared to version
The repository with the highest priority takes precedence in any case. Therefore, make sure
that the update repository always has the highest priority, otherwise you might install an
outdated version that will not be updated until the next online update.

Name and URL

To change a repository name or its URL, select it from the list with a single-click and then click Edit.

8.4.3 Managing repository keys

To ensure their integrity, software repositories can be signed with the GPG Key of the repository main-
tainer. Whenever you add a new repository, YaST offers to import its key. Verify it as you would do with
any other GPG key and make sure it does not change. If you detect a key change, something might be
wrong with the repository. Disable the repository as an installation source until you know the cause of
the key change.
To manage all imported keys, click GPG Keys in the Configured Software Repositories dialog. Select an
entry with the mouse to show the key properties at the bottom of the window. Add, Edit, or Delete keys
with a click on the respective buttons.

8.5 The GNOME package updater

SUSE offers a continuous stream of software security patches and updates for your product. They can
be installed using tools available with your desktop or by running the YaST online update module. This
section describes how to update the system from the GNOME desktop using the Package Updater.
Contrary to the YaST Online Update module, the GNOME Package Updater not only offers to install
patches from the update repositories, but also new versions of packages that are already installed. (Patches
fix security issues or malfunctions; the functionality and version number is usually not changed. New ver-
sions of a package increase the version number and usually add functionality or introduce major changes.)
Whenever new patches or package updates are available, GNOME shows a notification in the notification
area or on the lock screen.

101 Managing repository keys | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 8.3: UPDATE NOTIFICATION ON GNOME DESKTOP

To configure the notification settings for the Package Updater, start GNOME Settings and choose Noti-
fications Package Updater.

PROCEDURE 8.2: INSTALLING PATCHES AND UPDATES WITH THE GNOME PACKAGE UPDATER

1. To install the patches and updates, click the notification message. This opens the GNOME Pack-
age Updater. Alternatively, open the updater from Activities by typing package U and choosing
Package Updater.

102 The GNOME package updater | SLES 15 SP4

 2. Updates are sorted into four categories:

Security updates (patches)

Fix severe security hazards and should always be installed.

Recommended updates (patches)

Fix issues that could compromise your computer. Installing them is strongly recommended.

Optional updates (patches)

Fix non-security relevant issues or provide enhancements.

Other updates
New versions of packages that are installed.

All available updates are preselected for installation. If you do not want to install all updates, deselect
unwanted updates first. It is strongly recommended to always install all security and recommended
updates.
To get detailed information on an update, click its title and then Details. The information will be
displayed in a box beneath the package list.

3. Click Install Updates to start the installation.

4. Some updates may require restarting the machine or logging out. Check the message that is dis-
played after the installation for instructions.

103 The GNOME package updater | SLES 15 SP4

8.6 Updating packages with GNOME Software
In addition to the GNOME Package Updater, GNOME provides GNOME Software which has the follow-
ing functionality:

Install, update, and remove software delivered as an RPM via PackageKit

Install, update, and remove software delivered as a Flatpak

Install, update, and remove GNOME shell extensions ([Link] )

Update firmware for hardware devices using Linux Vendor Firmware Service (LVFS, https://
[Link] )

In addition to this, GNOME Software provides screenshots, ratings, and reviews for software.

FIGURE 8.4: GNOME SOFTWARE—UPDATES VIEW

GNOME Software has the following differences to other tools provided on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server:

Unlike YaST or Zypper, for installing software packaged as an RPM, GNOME Software is restricted
to software that provides AppStream metadata. This includes most desktop applications.

While the GNOME Package Updater updates packages within the running system (forcing you to
restart the respective applications), GNOME Software downloads the updates but only applies them
at the next reboot of the system.

104 Updating packages with GNOME Software | SLES 15 SP4

9 Managing software with command line tools

This chapter describes Zypper and RPM, two command line tools for managing software.
For a definition of the terminology used in this context (for example, repository, patch,
or update) refer to Section 8.1, “Definition of terms”.

9.1 Using Zypper

Zypper is a command line package manager for installing, updating, and removing packages. It also man-
ages repositories. It is especially useful for accomplishing remote software management tasks or managing
software from shell scripts.

9.1.1 General usage

The general syntax of Zypper is:

zypper [--global-options] COMMAND [--command-options] [arguments]

The components enclosed in brackets are not required. See zypper help for a list of general options and
all commands. To get help for a specific command, type zypper help COMMAND.

Zypper commands
The simplest way to execute Zypper is to type its name, followed by a command. For example, to
apply all needed patches to the system, use:

> sudo zypper patch

Global options
Additionally, you can choose from one or more global options by typing them immediately before
the command:

> sudo zypper --non-interactive patch

In the above example, the option --non-interactive means that the command is run without
asking anything (automatically applying the default answers).

Command-specific options
To use options that are specific to a particular command, type them immediately after the command:

> sudo zypper patch --auto-agree-with-licenses

105 Using Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

 In the above example, --auto-agree-with-licenses is used to apply all needed patches to a
system without you being asked to confirm any licenses. Instead, licenses will be accepted automat-
ically.

Arguments
Some commands require one or more arguments. For example, when using the command install,
you need to specify which package or which packages you want to install:

> sudo zypper install mplayer

Some options also require a single argument. The following command will list all known patterns:

> zypper search -t pattern

You can combine all of the above. For example, the following command will install the mc and vim
packages from the factory repository while being verbose:

> sudo zypper -v install --from factory mc vim

The --from option keeps all repositories enabled (for solving any dependencies) while requesting the
package from the specified repository. --repo is an alias for --from, and you may use either one.
Most Zypper commands have a dry-run option that does a simulation of the given command. It can be
used for test purposes.

> sudo zypper remove --dry-run MozillaFirefox

Zypper supports the global --userdata STRING option. You can specify a string with this option, which
gets written to Zypper's log files and plug-ins (such as the Btrfs plug-in). It can be used to mark and identify
transactions in log files.

> sudo zypper --userdata STRING patch

9.1.2 Using Zypper subcommands

Zypper subcommands are executables that are stored in the directory specified by the zypper_execdir
configuration option. It is /usr/lib/zypper/commands by default. If a subcommand is not found there,
Zypper automatically searches the rest of your $PATH locations for it. This lets you create your own local
extensions and store them in user space.
Executing subcommands in the Zypper shell, and using global Zypper options are not supported.
List your available subcommands:

> zypper help subcommand

106 Using Zypper subcommands | SLES 15 SP4

[...]
Available zypper subcommands in '/usr/lib/zypper/commands'

appstream-cache
lifecycle
migration
search-packages

Zypper subcommands available from elsewhere on your $PATH

log Zypper logfile reader

(/usr/sbin/zypper-log)

View the help screen for a subcommand:

> zypper help appstream-cache

9.1.3 Installing and removing software with Zypper

To install or remove packages, use the following commands:

> sudo zypper install PACKAGE_NAME

> sudo zypper remove PACKAGE_NAME

Warning: Do not remove mandatory system packages

Do not remove mandatory system packages like glibc , zypper , kernel . If they are removed,
the system can become unstable or stop working altogether.

[Link] Selecting which packages to install or remove

There are various ways to address packages with the commands zypper install and zypper remove.

By exact package name

> sudo zypper install MozillaFirefox

By exact package name and version number

> sudo zypper install MozillaFirefox-52.2

By repository alias and package name

> sudo zypper install mozilla:MozillaFirefox

107 Installing and removing software with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

 Where mozilla is the alias of the repository from which to install.

By package name using wild cards

You can select all packages that have names starting or ending with a certain string. Use wild cards
with care, especially when removing packages. The following command will install all packages
starting with “Moz”:

> sudo zypper install 'Moz*'

Tip: Removing all -debuginfo packages

When debugging a problem, you sometimes need to temporarily install a lot of -debuginfo
packages which give you more information about running processes. After your debugging
session finishes and you need to clean the environment, run the following:

> sudo zypper remove '*-debuginfo'

By capability
For example, to install a package without knowing its name, capabilities come in handy. The fol-
lowing command will install the package MozillaFirefox:

> sudo zypper install firefox

By capability, hardware architecture, or version

Together with a capability, you can specify a hardware architecture and a version:

The name of the desired hardware architecture is appended to the capability after a full
stop. For example, to specify the AMD64/Intel 64 architectures (which in Zypper is named
x86_64), use:

> sudo zypper install 'firefox.x86_64'

Versions must be appended to the end of the string and must be preceded by an operator: <
(lesser than), <= (lesser than or equal), = (equal), >= (greater than or equal), > (greater than).

> sudo zypper install 'firefox>=74.2'

You can also combine a hardware architecture and version requirement:

> sudo zypper install 'firefox.x86_64>=74.2'

108 Installing and removing software with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

By path to the RPM file
You can also specify a local or remote path to a package:

> sudo zypper install /tmp/install/[Link]

> sudo zypper install [Link]

[Link] Combining installation and removal of packages

To install and remove packages simultaneously, use the +/- modifiers. To install emacs and simultane-
ously remove vim , use:

> sudo zypper install emacs -vim

To remove emacs and simultaneously install vim , use:

> sudo zypper remove emacs +vim

To prevent the package name starting with the - being interpreted as a command option, always use it as
the second argument. If this is not possible, precede it with --:

> sudo zypper install -emacs +vim # Wrong

> sudo zypper install vim -emacs # Correct
> sudo zypper install -- -emacs +vim # Correct
> sudo zypper remove emacs +vim # Correct

[Link] Cleaning up dependencies of removed packages

If (together with a certain package), you automatically want to remove any packages that become unneeded
after removing the specified package, use the --clean-deps option:

> sudo zypper rm --clean-deps PACKAGE_NAME

[Link] Using Zypper in scripts

By default, Zypper asks for a confirmation before installing or removing a selected package, or when a
problem occurs. You can override this behavior using the --non-interactive option. This option must
be given before the actual command (install, remove, and patch), as can be seen in the following:

> sudo zypper --non-interactive install PACKAGE_NAME

This option allows the use of Zypper in scripts and cron jobs.

109 Installing and removing software with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Installing or downloading source packages
To install the corresponding source package of a package, use:

> zypper source-install PACKAGE_NAME

When executed as root, the default location to install source packages is /usr/src/packages/ and ~/
rpmbuild when run as user. These values can be changed in your local rpm configuration.

This command will also install the build dependencies of the specified package. If you do not want this,
add the switch -D:

> sudo zypper source-install -D PACKAGE_NAME

To install only the build dependencies use -d.

> sudo zypper source-install -d PACKAGE_NAME

Of course, this will only work if you have the repository with the source packages enabled in your repos-
itory list (it is added by default, but not enabled). See Section 9.1.6, “Managing repositories with Zypper”
for details on repository management.
A list of all source packages available in your repositories can be obtained with:

> zypper search -t srcpackage

You can also download source packages for all installed packages to a local directory. To download source
packages, use:

> zypper source-download

The default download directory is /var/cache/zypper/source-download. You can change it using

the --directory option. To only show missing or extraneous packages without downloading or deleting
anything, use the --status option. To delete extraneous source packages, use the --delete option. To
disable deleting, use the --no-delete option.

[Link] Installing packages from disabled repositories

Normally you can only install or refresh packages from enabled repositories. The --plus-content TAG
option helps you specify repositories to be refreshed, temporarily enabled during the current Zypper ses-
sion, and disabled after it completes.
For example, to enable repositories that may provide additional -debuginfo or -debugsource pack-
ages, use --plus-content debug. You can specify this option multiple times.

110 Installing and removing software with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

To temporarily enable such 'debug' repositories to install a specific -debuginfo package, use the option
as follows:

> sudo zypper --plus-content debug \

install "debuginfo(build-id)=eb844a5c20c70a59fc693cd1061f851fb7d046f4"

The build-id string is reported by gdb for missing debuginfo packages.

Note: Disabled installation media

Repositories from the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installation media are still configured but
disabled after successful installation. You can use the --plus-content option to install packages
from the installation media instead of the online repositories. Before calling zypper, ensure the
media is available, for example by inserting the DVD into the computer's drive.

[Link] Utilities
To verify whether all dependencies are still fulfilled and to repair missing dependencies, use:

> zypper verify

In addition to dependencies that must be fulfilled, some packages “recommend” other packages. These
recommended packages are only installed if actually available and installable. In case recommended pack-
ages were made available after the recommending package has been installed (by adding additional pack-
ages or hardware), use the following command:

> sudo zypper install-new-recommends

This command is very useful after plugging in a Web cam or Wi-Fi device. It will install drivers for
the device and related software, if available. Drivers and related software are only installable if certain
hardware dependencies are fulfilled.

9.1.4 Updating software with Zypper

There are three different ways to update software using Zypper: by installing patches, by installing a new
version of a package or by updating the entire distribution. The latter is achieved with zypper dist-
upgrade. Upgrading SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is discussed in Book “Upgrade Guide”, Chapter 1
“Upgrade paths and methods”.

111 Updating software with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Installing all needed patches
Patching SUSE Linux Enterprise is the most reliable way to install new versions of installed packages. It
guarantees that all required packages with correct versions are installed and ensures that package versions
considered as conflicting are omitted.
To install all officially released patches that apply to your system, run:

> sudo zypper patch

All patches available from repositories configured on your computer are checked for their relevance to
your installation. If they are relevant (and not classified as optional or feature), they are installed
immediately. If zypper patch succeeds, it is guaranteed that no vulnerable version package is installed
unless you confirm the exception. Note that the official update repository is only available after registering
your SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installation.
If a patch that is about to be installed includes changes that require a system reboot, you will be warned
before.
The plain zypper patch command does not apply patches from third party repositories. To update also
the third party repositories, use the with-update command option as follows:

> sudo zypper patch --with-update

To install also optional patches, use:

> sudo zypper patch --with-optional

To install all patches relating to a specific Bugzilla issue, use:

> sudo zypper patch --bugzilla=NUMBER

To install all patches relating to a specific CVE database entry, use:

> sudo zypper patch --cve=NUMBER

For example, to install a security patch with the CVE number CVE-2010-2713, execute:

> sudo zypper patch --cve=CVE-2010-2713

To install only patches which affect Zypper and the package management itself, use:

> sudo zypper patch --updatestack-only

Bear in mind that other command options that would also update other repositories will be dropped if you
use the updatestack-only command option.

112 Updating software with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Listing patches
To find out whether patches are available, Zypper allows viewing the following information:

Number of needed patches

To list the number of needed patches (patches that apply to your system but are not yet installed),
use patch-check:

> zypper patch-check

Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
5 patches needed (1 security patch)

This command can be combined with the --updatestack-only option to list only the patches
which affect Zypper and the package management itself.

List of needed patches

To list all needed patches (patches that apply to your system but are not yet installed), use zypper
list-patches.

List of all patches

To list all patches available for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, regardless of whether they are already
installed or apply to your installation, use zypper patches.

It is also possible to list and install patches relevant to specific issues. To list specific patches, use the
zypper list-patches command with the following options:

By Bugzilla issues
To list all needed patches that relate to Bugzilla issues, use the option --bugzilla.
To list patches for a specific bug, you can also specify a bug number: --bugzilla=NUMBER. To
search for patches relating to multiple Bugzilla issues, add commas between the bug numbers, for
example:

> zypper list-patches --bugzilla=972197,956917

By CVE number
To list all needed patches that relate to an entry in the CVE database (Common Vulnerabilities and
Exposures), use the option --cve.
To list patches for a specific CVE database entry, you can also specify a CVE number: --cve=NUM-
BER. To search for patches relating to multiple CVE database entries, add commas between the CVE
numbers, for example:

> zypper list-patches --cve=CVE-2016-2315,CVE-2016-2324

113 Updating software with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

List retracted patches
In the SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 codestream, some patches are automatically retracted. Maintenance
updates are carefully tested, because there is a risk that an update contains a new bug. If an update
proves to contain a bug, a new update (with a higher version number) is issued to revert the buggy
update, and the buggy update is blocked from being installed again. You can list retracted patches
with zypper:

> zypper lp --all |grep retracted

SLE-Module-Basesystem15-SP3-Updates | SUSE-SLE-Module-Basesystem-15-SP3-2021-1965
| recommended | important | --- | retracted | Recommended update for multipath-
tools
SLE-Module-Basesystem15-SP3-Updates | SUSE-SLE-Module-Basesystem-15-SP3-2021-2689
| security | important | --- | retracted | Security update for cpio
SLE-Module-Basesystem15-SP3-Updates | SUSE-SLE-Module-Basesystem-15-SP3-2021-3655
| security | important | reboot | retracted | Security update for the Linux
Kernel

See complete information on a retracted (or any) patch:

> zypper patch-info SUSE-SLE-Product-SLES-15-2021-2689

Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

Information for patch SUSE-SLE-Product-SLES-15-2021-2689:

---------------------------------------------------------
Repository : SLE-Product-SLES15-LTSS-Updates
Name : SUSE-SLE-Product-SLES-15-2021-2689
Version : 1
Arch : noarch
Vendor : maint-coord@[Link]
Status : retracted
Category : security
Severity : important
Created On : Mon 16 Aug 2021 03:44:00 AM PDT
Interactive : ---
Summary : Security update for cpio
Description :
This update for cpio fixes the following issues:

It was possible to trigger Remote code execution due to a integer overflow

(CVE-2021-38185, bsc#1189206)

UPDATE:
This update was buggy and could lead to hangs, so it has been retracted.
There will be a follow up update.
[...]

114 Updating software with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

Patch with conflicting packages

Information for patch openSUSE-SLE-15.3-2022-333:

-------------------------------------------------
Repository : Update repository with updates from SUSE Linux Enterprise 15
Name : openSUSE-SLE-15.3-2022-333
Version : 1
Arch : noarch
Vendor : maint-coord@[Link]
Status : needed
Category : security
Severity : important
Created On : Fri Feb 4 09:30:32 2022
Interactive : reboot
Summary : Security update for xen
Description :
This update for xen fixes the following issues:

- CVE-2022-23033: Fixed guest_physmap_remove_page not removing the p2m mappings.

(XSA-393) (bsc#1194576)
- CVE-2022-23034: Fixed possible DoS by a PV guest Xen while unmapping a grant.
(XSA-394) (bsc#1194581)
- CVE-2022-23035: Fixed insufficient cleanup of passed-through device IRQs.
(XSA-395) (bsc#1194588)
Provides : patch:openSUSE-SLE-15.3-2022-333 = 1
Conflicts : [22]
[Link] < 4.14.3_06-150300.3.18.2
[Link] < 4.14.3_06-150300.3.18.2
xen.x86_64 < 4.14.3_06-150300.3.18.2
xen-devel.x86_64 < 4.14.3_06-150300.3.18.2
[Link] < 4.14.3_06-150300.3.18.2
[...]

The above patch conflicts with the affected or vulnerable versions of 22 packages. If any of these af-
fected or vulnerable packages are installed, it triggers a conflict, and the patch is classified as needed.
zypper patch tries to install all available patches. If it encounters problems, it reports them, thus
informing you that not all updates are installed. The conflict can be resolved by either updating the
affected or vulnerable packages or by removing them. Because SUSE update repositories also ship
fixed packages, updating is a standard way to resolve conflicts. If the package cannot be updated—
for example, because of dependency issues or package locks—it is deleted after the user's approval.

To list all patches regardless of whether they are needed, use the option --all additionally. For example,
to list all patches with a CVE number assigned, use:

> zypper list-patches --all --cve

115 Updating software with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

Issue | No. | Patch | Category | Severity | Status
------+---------------+-------------------+-------------+-----------+----------
cve | CVE-2019-0287 | SUSE-SLE-Module.. | recommended | moderate | needed
cve | CVE-2019-3566 | SUSE-SLE-SERVER.. | recommended | moderate | not needed
[...]

[Link] Installing new package versions

If a repository contains only new packages, but does not provide patches, zypper patch does not show
any effect. To update all installed packages with newer available versions, use the following command:

> sudo zypper update

Important
zypper update ignores problematic packages. For example, if a package is locked, zypper
update omits the package, even if a higher version of it is available. Conversely, zypper patch
reports a conflict if the package is considered vulnerable.

To update individual packages, specify the package with either the update or install command:

> sudo zypper update PACKAGE_NAME

> sudo zypper install PACKAGE_NAME

A list of all new installable packages can be obtained with the command:

> zypper list-updates

Note that this command only lists packages that match the following criteria:

has the same vendor like the already installed package,

is provided by repositories with at least the same priority than the already installed package,

is installable (all dependencies are satisfied).

A list of all new available packages (regardless whether installable or not) can be obtained with:

> sudo zypper list-updates --all

To find out why a new package cannot be installed, use the zypper install or zypper update
command as described above.

116 Updating software with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Identifying orphaned packages

Whenever you remove a repository from Zypper or upgrade your system, some packages can get in an
“orphaned” state. These orphaned packages belong to no active repository anymore. The following com-
mand gives you a list of these:

> sudo zypper packages --orphaned

With this list, you can decide if a package is still needed or can be removed safely.

9.1.5 Identifying processes and services using deleted files

When patching, updating, or removing packages, there may be running processes on the system which
continue to use files having been deleted by the update or removal. Use zypper ps to list processes using
deleted files. In case the process belongs to a known service, the service name is listed, making it easy to
restart the service. By default zypper ps shows a table:

> zypper ps
PID | PPID | UID | User | Command | Service | Files
------+------+-----+-------+--------------+--------------+-------------------
814 | 1 | 481 | avahi | avahi-daemon | avahi-daemon | /lib64/ld-2.19.s->
| | | | | | /lib64/libdl-2.1->
| | | | | | /lib64/libpthrea->
| | | | | | /lib64/libc-2.19->
[...]

PID: ID of the process

PPID: ID of the parent process
UID: ID of the user running the process
Login: Login name of the user running the process
Command: Command used to execute the process
Service: Service name (only if command is associated with a system service)
Files: The list of the deleted files
The output format of zypper ps can be controlled as follows:

zypper ps-s
Create a short table not showing the deleted files.

> zypper ps -s
PID | PPID | UID | User | Command | Service
------+------+------+---------+--------------+--------------

117 Identifying processes and services using deleted files | SLES 15 SP4
 814 | 1 | 481 | avahi | avahi-daemon | avahi-daemon
817 | 1 | 0 | root | irqbalance | irqbalance
1567 | 1 | 0 | root | sshd | sshd
1761 | 1 | 0 | root | master | postfix
1764 | 1761 | 51 | postfix | pickup | postfix
1765 | 1761 | 51 | postfix | qmgr | postfix
2031 | 2027 | 1000 | tux | bash |

zypper ps-ss
Show only processes associated with a system service.

PID | PPID | UID | User | Command | Service

------+------+------+---------+--------------+--------------
814 | 1 | 481 | avahi | avahi-daemon | avahi-daemon
817 | 1 | 0 | root | irqbalance | irqbalance
1567 | 1 | 0 | root | sshd | sshd
1761 | 1 | 0 | root | master | postfix
1764 | 1761 | 51 | postfix | pickup | postfix
1765 | 1761 | 51 | postfix | qmgr | postfix

zypper ps-sss
Only show system services using deleted files.

avahi-daemon
irqbalance
postfix
sshd

zypper ps--print "systemctl status %s"

Show the commands to retrieve status information for services which might need a restart.

systemctl status avahi-daemon

systemctl status irqbalance
systemctl status postfix
systemctl status sshd

For more information about service handling refer to Chapter 19, The systemd daemon.

9.1.6 Managing repositories with Zypper

All installation or patch commands of Zypper rely on a list of known repositories. To list all repositories
known to the system, use the command:

> zypper repos

118 Managing repositories with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

The result will look similar to the following output:
EXAMPLE 9.1: ZYPPER—LIST OF KNOWN REPOSITORIES

> zypper repos

# | Alias | Name | Enabled | Refresh
--+--------------+---------------+---------+--------
1 | SLEHA-15-GEO | SLEHA-15-GEO | Yes | No
2 | SLEHA-15 | SLEHA-15 | Yes | No
3 | SLES15 | SLES15 | Yes | No

When specifying repositories in various commands, an alias, URI or repository number from the zypper
repos command output can be used. A repository alias is a short version of the repository name for use
in repository handling commands. Note that the repository numbers can change after modifying the list
of repositories. The alias will never change by itself.
By default, details such as the URI or the priority of the repository are not displayed. Use the following
command to list all details:

> zypper repos -d

[Link] Adding repositories

To add a repository, run

> sudo zypper addrepo URI ALIAS

URI can either be an Internet repository, a network resource, a directory or a CD or DVD (see https://
[Link]/openSUSE:Libzypp_URIs for details). The ALIAS is a shorthand and unique identifier
of the repository. You can freely choose it, with the only exception that it needs to be unique. Zypper will
issue a warning if you specify an alias that is already in use.

[Link] Refreshing repositories

zypper enables you to fetch changes in packages from configured repositories. To fetch the changes, run:

> sudo zypper refresh

Note: Default behavior of zypper

By default, some commands perform refresh automatically, so you do not need to run the com-
mand explicitly.

119 Managing repositories with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

The refresh command enables you to view changes also in disabled repositories, by using the --plus-
content option:

> sudo zypper --plus-content refresh

This option fetches changes in repositories, but keeps the disabled repositories in the same state—disabled.

[Link] Removing repositories

To remove a repository from the list, use the command zypper removerepo together with the alias or
number of the repository you want to delete. For example, to remove the repository SLEHA-12-GEO from
Example 9.1, “Zypper—list of known repositories”, use one of the following commands:

> sudo zypper removerepo 1

> sudo zypper removerepo "SLEHA-12-GEO"

[Link] Modifying repositories

Enable or disable repositories with zypper modifyrepo. You can also alter the repository's properties
(such as refreshing behavior, name or priority) with this command. The following command will enable
the repository named updates, turn on auto-refresh and set its priority to 20:

> sudo zypper modifyrepo -er -p 20 'updates'

Modifying repositories is not limited to a single repository—you can also operate on groups:

-a: all repositories

-l: local repositories
-t: remote repositories
-m TYPE: repositories of a certain type (where TYPE can be one of the following: http, https, ftp, cd,
dvd, dir, file, cifs, smb, nfs, hd, iso)

To rename a repository alias, use the renamerepo command. The following example changes the alias
from Mozilla Firefox to firefox:

> sudo zypper renamerepo 'Mozilla Firefox' firefox

120 Managing repositories with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

9.1.7 Querying repositories and packages with Zypper
Zypper offers various methods to query repositories or packages. To get lists of all products, patterns,
packages or patches available, use the following commands:

> zypper products

> zypper patterns
> zypper packages
> zypper patches

To query all repositories for certain packages, use search. To get information regarding particular pack-
ages, use the info command.

[Link] Searching for software

The zypper search command works on package names, or, optionally, on package summaries and
descriptions. Strings wrapped in / are interpreted as regular expressions. By default, the search is not case-
sensitive.

Simple search for a package name containing fire

> zypper search "fire"

Simple search for the exact package MozillaFirefox

> zypper search --match-exact "MozillaFirefox"

Also search in package descriptions and summaries

> zypper search -d fire

Only display packages not already installed

> zypper search -u fire

Display packages containing the string fir not followed be e

> zypper se "/fir[^e]/"

121 Querying repositories and packages with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Searching for packages across all SLE modules
To search for packages both within and outside of currently enabled SLE modules, use the search-
packages subcommand. This command contacts the SUSE Customer Center and searches all modules
for matching packages, for example:

> zypper search-packages package1 package2

zypper search-packages provides the following options:

Search for an exact match of your search string: -x, --match-exact

Group the results by module (default: group by package): -g, --group-by-module

Display more detailed information about packages: -d, --details

Output search results in XML: --xmlout

[Link] Searching for specific capability

To search for packages which provide a special capability, use the command what-provides. For ex-
ample, if you want to know which package provides the Perl module SVN::Core, use the following com-
mand:

> zypper what-provides 'perl(SVN::Core)'

The what-provides PACKAGE_NAME is similar to rpm -q --whatprovides PACKAGE_NAME, but

RPM is only able to query the RPM database (that is the database of all installed packages). Zypper, on
the other hand, will tell you about providers of the capability from any repository, not only those that are
installed.

[Link] Showing package information

To query single packages, use info with an exact package name as an argument. This displays detailed
information about a package. In case the package name does not match any package name from reposito-
ries, the command outputs detailed information for non-package matches. If you request a specific type
(by using the -t option) and the type does not exist, the command outputs other available matches but
without detailed information.
If you specify a source package, the command displays binary packages built from the source package. If
you specify a binary package, the command outputs the source packages used to build the binary package.

122 Querying repositories and packages with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

To also show what is required/recommended by the package, use the options --requires and --rec-
ommends:

> zypper info --requires MozillaFirefox

9.1.8 Showing lifecycle information

SUSE products are generally supported for 10 years. Often, you can extend that standard lifecycle by using
the extended support offerings of SUSE which add three years of support. Depending on your product,
find the exact support lifecycle at [Link] .
To check the lifecycle of your product and the supported package, use the zypper lifecycle command
as shown below:

# zypper lifecycle
Product end of support
Codestream: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 2028-07-31
Product: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 n/a*

Module end of support

Basesystem Module n/a*
Desktop Applications Module n/a*
Server Applications Module n/a*

Package end of support if different from product:

autofs Now, installed 5.1.3-7.3.1, update available
5.1.3-7.6.1

9.1.9 Configuring Zypper

Zypper now comes with a configuration file, allowing you to permanently change Zypper's behavior (ei-
ther system-wide or user-specific). For system-wide changes, edit /etc/zypp/[Link]. For user-
specific changes, edit ~/.[Link]. If ~/.[Link] does not yet exist, you can use /etc/
zypp/[Link] as a template: copy it to ~/.[Link] and adjust it to your liking. Refer to the
comments in the file for help about the available options.

123 Showing lifecycle information | SLES 15 SP4

9.1.10 Troubleshooting
If you have trouble accessing packages from configured repositories (for example, Zypper cannot find
a certain package even though you know it exists in one of the repositories), refreshing the repositories
may help:

> sudo zypper refresh

If that does not help, try

> sudo zypper refresh -fdb

This forces a complete refresh and rebuild of the database, including a forced download of raw metadata.

9.1.11 Zypper rollback feature on Btrfs file system

If the Btrfs file system is used on the root partition and snapper is installed, Zypper automatically calls
snapper when committing changes to the file system to create appropriate file system snapshots. These
snapshots can be used to revert any changes made by Zypper. See Chapter 10, System recovery and snap-
shot management with Snapper for more information.

9.1.12 More information

For more information on managing software from the command line, enter zypper help, zypper
help COMMAND or refer to the zypper(8) man page. For a complete and detailed command reference,
cheat sheets with the most important commands, and information on how to use Zypper in scripts and
applications, refer to [Link] . A list of software changes for the
latest SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version can be found at [Link]
per_versions .

9.2 RPM—the package manager

RPM (RPM Package Manager) is used for managing software packages. Its main commands are rpm and
rpmbuild. The powerful RPM database can be queried by the users, system administrators and package
builders for detailed information about the installed software.
rpm has five modes: installing, uninstalling (or updating) software packages, rebuilding the RPM database,
querying RPM bases or individual RPM archives, integrity checking of packages and signing packages.
rpmbuild can be used to build installable packages from pristine sources.

124 Troubleshooting | SLES 15 SP4

Installable RPM archives are packed in a special binary format. These archives consist of the program
files to install and certain meta information used during the installation by rpm to configure the software
package or stored in the RPM database for documentation purposes. RPM archives normally have the
extension .rpm.

Tip: Software development packages

For several packages, the components needed for software development (libraries, headers, include
files, etc.) have been put into separate packages. These development packages are only needed if
you want to compile software yourself (for example, the most recent GNOME packages). They can
be identified by the name extension -devel, such as the packages alsa-devel and gimp-devel.

9.2.1 Verifying package authenticity

RPM packages have a GPG signature. To verify the signature of an RPM package, use the command
rpm --checksig [Link] to determine whether the package originates from SUSE or from
another trustworthy facility. This is especially recommended for update packages from the Internet.
While fixing issues in the operating system, you might need to install a Problem Temporary Fix (PTF) into
a production system. The packages provided by SUSE are signed against a special PTF key. However, in
contrast to SUSE Linux Enterprise 11, this key is not imported by default on SUSE Linux Enterprise 12
systems. To manually import the key, use the following command:

> sudo rpm --import \

/usr/share/doc/packages/suse-build-key/suse_ptf_key.asc

After importing the key, you can install PTF packages on your system.

9.2.2 Managing packages: install, update, and uninstall

Normally, the installation of an RPM archive is quite simple: rpm -i [Link]. With this command
the package is installed, but only if its dependencies are fulfilled and if there are no conflicts with other
packages. With an error message, rpm requests those packages that need to be installed to meet dependency
requirements. In the background, the RPM database ensures that no conflicts arise—a specific file can
only belong to one package. By choosing different options, you can force rpm to ignore these defaults,
but this is only for experts. Otherwise, you risk compromising the integrity of the system and possibly
jeopardize the ability to update the system.

125 Verifying package authenticity | SLES 15 SP4

The options -U or --upgrade and -F or --freshen can be used to update a package (for example,
rpm -F [Link]). This command removes the files of the old version and immediately installs the
new files. The difference between the two versions is that -U installs packages that previously did not
exist in the system, while -F merely updates previously installed packages. When updating, rpm updates
configuration files carefully using the following strategy:

If a configuration file was not changed by the system administrator, rpm installs the new version of
the appropriate file. No action by the system administrator is required.

If a configuration file was changed by the system administrator before the update, rpm saves the
changed file with the extension .rpmorig or .rpmsave (backup file) and installs the version from
the new package. This is done only if the originally installed file and the newer version are different.
If this is the case, compare the backup file (.rpmorig or .rpmsave) with the newly installed file
and make your changes again in the new file. Afterward, delete all .rpmorig and .rpmsave files
to avoid problems with future updates.

.rpmnew files appear if the configuration file already exists and if the noreplace label was spec-
ified in the .spec file.

Following an update, .rpmsave and .rpmnew files should be removed after comparing them, so they
do not obstruct future updates. The .rpmorig extension is assigned if the file has not previously been
recognized by the RPM database.
Otherwise, .rpmsave is used. In other words, .rpmorig results from updating from a foreign format to
RPM. .rpmsave results from updating from an older RPM to a newer RPM. .rpmnew does not disclose
any information to whether the system administrator has made any changes to the configuration file. A list
of these files is available in /var/adm/rpmconfigcheck. Some configuration files (like /etc/httpd/
[Link]) are not overwritten to allow continued operation.

The -U switch is not only an equivalent to uninstalling with the -e option and installing with the -i option.
Use -U whenever possible.
To remove a package, enter rpm -e PACKAGE. This command only deletes the package if there are no
unresolved dependencies. It is theoretically impossible to delete Tcl/Tk, for example, as long as another
application requires it. Even in this case, RPM calls for assistance from the database. If such a deletion
is, for whatever reason, impossible (even if no additional dependencies exist), it may be helpful to rebuild
the RPM database using the option --rebuilddb.

126 Managing packages: install, update, and uninstall | SLES 15 SP4

9.2.3 Delta RPM packages
Delta RPM packages contain the difference between an old and a new version of an RPM package. Ap-
plying a delta RPM onto an old RPM results in a completely new RPM. It is not necessary to have a copy
of the old RPM because a delta RPM can also work with an installed RPM. The delta RPM packages are
even smaller in size than patch RPMs, which is an advantage when transferring update packages over the
Internet. The drawback is that update operations with delta RPMs involved consume considerably more
CPU cycles than plain or patch RPMs.
The makedeltarpm and applydelta binaries are part of the delta RPM suite (package deltarpm) and
help you create and apply delta RPM packages. With the following commands, you can create a delta
RPM called [Link]. The following command assumes that [Link] and [Link] are present:

> sudo makedeltarpm [Link] [Link] [Link]

Using applydeltarpm, you can reconstruct the new RPM from the file system if the old package is
already installed:

> sudo applydeltarpm [Link] [Link]

To derive it from the old RPM without accessing the file system, use the -r option:

> sudo applydeltarpm -r [Link] [Link] [Link]

See /usr/share/doc/packages/deltarpm/README for technical details.

9.2.4 RPM queries

With the -q option rpm initiates queries, making it possible to inspect an RPM archive (by adding the
option -p) and to query the RPM database of installed packages. Several switches are available to specify
the type of information required. See Table 9.1, “Essential RPM query options”.

TABLE 9.1: ESSENTIAL RPM QUERY OPTIONS

-i Package information

-l File list

-f FILE Query the package that contains the file FILE (the
full path must be specified with FILE)

-s File list with status information (implies -l)

127 Delta RPM packages | SLES 15 SP4

 -d List only documentation files (implies -l)

-c List only configuration files (implies -l)

--dump File list with complete details (to be used with -l,
-c, or -d)

--provides List features of the package that another package

can request with --requires

--requires, -R Capabilities the package requires

--scripts Installation scripts (preinstall, postinstall, unin-

stall)

For example, the command rpm -q -i wget displays the information shown in Example 9.2, “rpm -
q -i wget”.

EXAMPLE 9.2: rpm -q -i wget

Name : wget
Version : 1.14
Release : 17.1
Architecture: x86_64
Install Date: Mon 30 Jan 2017 14:01:29 CET
Group : Productivity/Networking/Web/Utilities
Size : 2046483
License : GPL-3.0+
Signature : RSA/SHA256, Thu 08 Dec 2016 07:48:44 CET, Key ID 70af9e8139db7c82
Source RPM : [Link]
Build Date : Thu 08 Dec 2016 07:48:34 CET
Build Host : sheep09
Relocations : (not relocatable)
Packager : [Link]
Vendor : SUSE LLC <[Link]
URL : [Link]
Summary : A Tool for Mirroring FTP and HTTP Servers
Description :
Wget enables you to retrieve WWW documents or FTP files from a server.
This can be done in script files or via the command line.
Distribution: SUSE Linux Enterprise 15

The option -f only works if you specify the complete file name with its full path. Provide as many file
names as desired. For example:

> rpm -q -f /bin/rpm /usr/bin/wget

128 RPM queries | SLES 15 SP4

rpm-4.14.1-lp151.13.10.x86_64
wget-1.19.5-lp151.4.1.x86_64

If only part of the file name is known, use a shell script as shown in Example 9.3, “Script to search for
packages”. Pass the partial file name to the script shown as a parameter when running it.

EXAMPLE 9.3: SCRIPT TO SEARCH FOR PACKAGES

#! /bin/sh
for i in $(rpm -q -a -l | grep $1); do
echo "\"$i\" is in package:"
rpm -q -f $i
echo ""
done

The command rpm -q --changelog PACKAGE displays a detailed list of change information about a
specific package, sorted by date.
With the installed RPM database, verification checks can be made. Initiate these with -V, or --verify.
With this option, rpm shows all files in a package that have been changed since installation. rpm uses eight
character symbols to give some hints about the following changes:

TABLE 9.2: RPM VERIFY OPTIONS

5 MD5 check sum

S File size

L Symbolic link

T Modification time

D Major and minor device numbers

U Owner

G Group

M Mode (permissions and file type)

In the case of configuration files, the letter c is printed. For example, for changes to /etc/wgetrc (wget
package):

> rpm -V wget

S.5....T c /etc/wgetrc

129 RPM queries | SLES 15 SP4

The files of the RPM database are placed in /var/lib/rpm. If the partition /usr has a size of 1 GB,
this database can occupy nearly 30 MB, especially after a complete update. If the database is much larger
than expected, it is useful to rebuild the database with the option --rebuilddb. Before doing this, make
a backup of the old database. The cron script [Link] makes daily copies of the database (packed
with gzip) and stores them in /var/adm/backup/rpmdb. The number of copies is controlled by the
variable MAX_RPMDB_BACKUPS (default: 5) in /etc/sysconfig/backup. The size of a single backup
is approximately 1 MB for 1 GB in /usr.

9.2.5 Installing and compiling source packages

All source packages carry a .[Link] extension (source RPM).

Note: Installed source packages

Source packages can be copied from the installation medium to the hard disk and unpacked with
YaST. They are not, however, marked as installed ([i]) in the package manager. This is because
the source packages are not entered in the RPM database. Only installed operating system software
is listed in the RPM database. When you “install” a source package, only the source code is added
to the system.

The following directories must be available for rpm and rpmbuild in /usr/src/packages (unless you
specified custom settings in a file like /etc/rpmrc):

SOURCES
for the original sources (.tar.bz2 or .[Link] files, etc.) and for distribution-specific adjustments
(mostly .diff or .patch files)

SPECS
for the .spec files, similar to a meta Makefile, which control the build process

BUILD
all the sources are unpacked, patched and compiled in this directory

RPMS
where the completed binary packages are stored

SRPMS
here are the source RPMs

130 Installing and compiling source packages | SLES 15 SP4

When you install a source package with YaST, all the necessary components are installed in /usr/src/
packages: the sources and the adjustments in SOURCES and the relevant .spec file in SPECS.

Warning: System integrity

Do not experiment with system components (glibc, rpm, etc.), because this endangers the stability
of your system.

The following example uses the [Link] package. After installing the source package, you should
have files similar to those in the following list:

/usr/src/packages/SOURCES/[Link].bz2
/usr/src/packages/SOURCES/[Link]
/usr/src/packages/SPECS/[Link]

rpmbuild -bX /usr/src/packages/SPECS/[Link] starts the compilation. X is a wild card for

various stages of the build process (see the output of --help or the RPM documentation for details). The
following is merely a brief explanation:

-bp
Prepare sources in /usr/src/packages/BUILD: unpack and patch.

-bc
Do the same as -bp, but with additional compilation.

-bi
Do the same as -bp, but with additional installation of the built software. Caution: if the package
does not support the BuildRoot feature, you might overwrite configuration files.

-bb
Do the same as -bi, but with the additional creation of the binary package. If the compile was
successful, the binary should be in /usr/src/packages/RPMS.

-ba
Do the same as -bb, but with the additional creation of the source RPM. If the compilation was
successful, the binary should be in /usr/src/packages/SRPMS.

--short-circuit
Skip some steps.

The binary RPM created can now be installed with rpm -i or, preferably, with rpm -U. Installation with
rpm makes it appear in the RPM database.

131 Installing and compiling source packages | SLES 15 SP4

Keep in mind that the BuildRoot directive in the spec file is deprecated. If you still need this feature,
use the --buildroot option as a workaround.

9.2.6 Compiling RPM packages with build

The danger with many packages is that unwanted files are added to the running system during the build
process. To prevent this use build, which creates a defined environment in which the package is built.
To establish this chroot environment, the build script must be provided with a complete package tree.
This tree can be made available on the hard disk, via NFS, or from DVD. Set the position with build
--rpms DIRECTORY. Unlike rpm, the build command looks for the .spec file in the source directory.
To build wget (like in the above example) with the DVD mounted in the system under /media/dvd, use
the following commands as root:

# cd /usr/src/packages/SOURCES/
# mv ../SPECS/[Link] .
# build --rpms /media/dvd/suse/ [Link]

Subsequently, a minimum environment is established at /var/tmp/build-root. The package is built

in this environment. Upon completion, the resulting packages are located in /var/tmp/build-root/
usr/src/packages/RPMS.

The build script offers several additional options. For example, cause the script to prefer your own RPMs,
omit the initialization of the build environment or limit the rpm command to one of the above-mentioned
stages. Access additional information with build --help and by reading the build man page.

9.2.7 Tools for RPM archives and the RPM database

Midnight Commander (mc) can display the contents of RPM archives and copy parts of them. It represents
archives as virtual file systems, offering all usual menu options of Midnight Commander. Display the
HEADER with F3 . View the archive structure with the cursor keys and Enter . Copy archive components
with F5 .
A full-featured package manager is available as a YaST module. For details, see Chapter 8, Installing or
removing software.

132 Compiling RPM packages with build | SLES 15 SP4

10 System recovery and snapshot management with
Snapper

Snapper allows creating and managing file system snapshots. File system snapshots allow
keeping a copy of the state of a file system at a certain point of time. The standard setup of
Snapper is designed to allow rolling back system changes. However, you can also use it to
create on-disk backups of user data. As the basis for this functionality, Snapper uses the Btrfs
file system or thinly-provisioned LVM volumes with an XFS or Ext4 file system.
Snapper has a command line interface and a YaST interface. Snapper lets you create and manage file
system snapshots on the following types of file systems:

Btrfs, a copy-on-write file system for Linux that natively supports file system snapshots of subvol-
umes. (Subvolumes are separately mountable file systems within a physical partition.)
You can also boot from Btrfs snapshots. For more information, see Section 10.3, “System rollback
by booting from snapshots”.

Thinly-provisioned LVM volumes formatted with XFS or Ext4.

Using Snapper, you can perform the following tasks:

Undo system changes made by zypper and YaST. See Section 10.2, “Using Snapper to undo
changes” for details.

Restore files from previous snapshots. See Section 10.2.2, “Using Snapper to restore files” for details.

Do a system rollback by booting from a snapshot. See Section 10.3, “System rollback by booting
from snapshots” for details.

Manually create and manage snapshots, within the running system. See Section 10.6, “Manually
creating and managing snapshots” for details.

10.1 Default setup

Snapper on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is set up as an undo and recovery tool for system changes. By
default, the root partition (/) of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is formatted with Btrfs. Taking snapshots
is automatically enabled if the root partition (/) is big enough (more than approximately 16 GB). By
default, snapshots are disabled on partitions other than /.

133 Default setup | SLES 15 SP4

 Tip: Enabling Snapper in the installed system
If you disabled Snapper during the installation, you can enable it at any time later. To do so, create
a default Snapper configuration for the root file system by running:

> sudo snapper -c root create-config /

Afterward enable the different snapshot types as described in Section [Link], “Disabling/enabling
snapshots”.

Note that on a Btrfs root file system, snapshots require a file system with subvolumes configured
as proposed by the installer and a partition size of at least 16 GB.

When a snapshot is created, both the snapshot and the original point to the same blocks in the file system.
So, initially a snapshot does not occupy additional disk space. If data in the original file system is modified,
changed data blocks are copied while the old data blocks are kept for the snapshot. Therefore, a snapshot
occupies the same amount of space as the data modified. So, over time, the amount of space a snapshot
allocates, constantly grows. As a consequence, deleting files from a Btrfs file system containing snap-
shots may not free disk space!

Note: Snapshot location

Snapshots always reside on the same partition or subvolume on which the snapshot has been taken.
It is not possible to store snapshots on a different partition or subvolume.

As a result, partitions containing snapshots need to be larger than partitions not containing snapshots. The
exact amount depends strongly on the number of snapshots you keep and the amount of data modifications.
As a rule of thumb, give partitions twice as much space as you normally would. To prevent disks from
running out of space, old snapshots are automatically cleaned up. Refer to Section [Link], “Controlling
snapshot archiving” for details.

134 Default setup | SLES 15 SP4

10.1.1 Default settings

Disks larger than 16 GB

Configuration file: /etc/snapper/configs/root

USE_SNAPPER=yes

TIMELINE_CREATE=no

Disks smaller than 16 GB

Configuration file: not created

USE_SNAPPER=no

TIMELINE_CREATE=yes

10.1.2 Types of snapshots

Although snapshots themselves do not differ in a technical sense, we distinguish between three types of
snapshots, based on the events that trigger them:

Timeline snapshots
A single snapshot is created every hour. Using the YaST OS installation method (default), timeline
snapshots are enabled, except for the root file system. You can configure timeline snapshots to be
taken at different intervals: hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. Old snapshots are automati-
cally deleted. By default, the first snapshot of the last ten days, months and years is kept.

Installation snapshots
Whenever one or more packages are installed with Zypper or YaST, three installation snapshots are
created. In case an important system component such as the kernel has been installed, the snapshot
pair is marked as important. Old snapshots are automatically deleted. Installation snapshots are en-
abled by default.

Administration snapshots
Whenever you make changes to the system using Zypper or YaST, a pair of snapshots is created: one
prior to the system change (“pre”) and the other one after the system change (“post”). Old snapshots
are automatically deleted. Administration snapshots are enabled by default.

135 Default settings | SLES 15 SP4

10.1.3 Directories that are excluded from snapshots
Some directories need to be excluded from snapshots for different reasons. The following list shows all
directories that are excluded:

/boot/grub2/i386-pc, /boot/grub2/x86_64-efi, /boot/grub2/powerpc-ieee1275, /boot/

grub2/s390x-emu
A rollback of the boot loader configuration is not supported. The directories listed above are archi-
tecture-specific. The first two directories are present on AMD64/Intel 64 machines, the latter two
on IBM POWER and on IBM Z, respectively.

/home
If /home does not reside on a separate partition, it is excluded to avoid data loss on rollbacks.

/opt
Third-party products usually get installed to /opt. It is excluded to avoid uninstalling these appli-
cations on rollbacks.

/srv
Contains data for Web and FTP servers. It is excluded to avoid data loss on rollbacks.

/tmp
All directories containing temporary files and caches are excluded from snapshots.

/usr/local
This directory is used when manually installing software. It is excluded to avoid uninstalling these
installations on rollbacks.

/var
This directory contains many variable files, including logs, temporary caches, third party products
in /var/opt, and is the default location for virtual machine images and databases. Therefore this
subvolume is created to exclude all of this variable data from snapshots and has Copy-On-Write
disabled.

10.1.4 Customizing the setup

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server comes with a reasonable default setup, which should be sufficient for most
use cases. However, all aspects of taking automatic snapshots and snapshot keeping can be configured
according to your needs.

136 Directories that are excluded from snapshots | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Disabling/enabling snapshots

Each of the three snapshot types (timeline, installation, administration) can be enabled or disabled inde-
pendently.

Disabling/enabling timeline snapshots

Enabling. snapper -c root set-config "TIMELINE_CREATE=yes"

Disabling. snapper -c root set-config "TIMELINE_CREATE=no"

Using the YaST OS installation method (default), timeline snapshots are enabled, except for the
root file system.

Disabling/enabling installation snapshots

Enabling: Install the package snapper-zypp-plugin

Disabling: Uninstall the package snapper-zypp-plugin

Installation snapshots are enabled by default.

Disabling/enabling administration snapshots

Enabling: Set USE_SNAPPER to yes in /etc/sysconfig/yast2.

Disabling: Set USE_SNAPPER to no in /etc/sysconfig/yast2.

Administration snapshots are enabled by default.

[Link] Controlling installation snapshots

Taking snapshot pairs upon installing packages with YaST or Zypper is handled by the snapper-zypp-
plugin. An XML configuration file, /etc/snapper/[Link] defines, when to make snap-
shots. By default the file looks like the following:

1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

2 <snapper-zypp-plugin-conf>
3 <solvables>
4 <solvable match="w" 1 important="true" 2 >kernel-* 3 </solvable>
5 <solvable match="w" important="true">dracut</solvable>
6 <solvable match="w" important="true">glibc</solvable>
7 <solvable match="w" important="true">systemd*</solvable>
8 <solvable match="w" important="true">udev</solvable>
9 <solvable match="w">*</solvable> 4

10 </solvables>
11 </snapper-zypp-plugin-conf>

137 Customizing the setup | SLES 15 SP4

 1 The match attribute defines whether the pattern is a Unix shell-style wild card (w) or a Python regular
expression (re).
2 If the given pattern matches and the corresponding package is marked as important (for example
kernel packages), the snapshot will also be marked as important.
3 Pattern to match a package name. Based on the setting of the match attribute, special characters are
either interpreted as shell wild cards or regular expressions. This pattern matches all package names
starting with kernel-.
4 This line unconditionally matches all packages.
With this configuration snapshot, pairs are made whenever a package is installed (line 9). When the kernel,
dracut, glibc, systemd, or udev packages marked as important are installed, the snapshot pair will also be
marked as important (lines 4 to 8). All rules are evaluated.
To disable a rule, either delete it or deactivate it using XML comments. To prevent the system from making
snapshot pairs for every package installation for example, comment line 9:

1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

2 <snapper-zypp-plugin-conf>
3 <solvables>
4 <solvable match="w" important="true">kernel-*</solvable>
5 <solvable match="w" important="true">dracut</solvable>
6 <solvable match="w" important="true">glibc</solvable>
7 <solvable match="w" important="true">systemd*</solvable>
8 <solvable match="w" important="true">udev</solvable>
9 <!-- <solvable match="w">*</solvable> -->
10 </solvables>
11 </snapper-zypp-plugin-conf>

[Link] Creating and mounting new subvolumes

Creating a new subvolume underneath the / hierarchy and permanently mounting it is supported. Such
a subvolume will be excluded from snapshots. You need to make sure not to create it inside an existing
snapshot, since you would not be able to delete snapshots anymore after a rollback.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is configured with the /@/ subvolume which serves as an independent root
for permanent subvolumes such as /opt, /srv, /home and others. Any new subvolumes you create and
permanently mount need to be created in this initial root file system.
To do so, run the following commands. In this example, a new subvolume /usr/important is created
from /dev/sda2.

> sudo mount /dev/sda2 -o subvol=@ /mnt

138 Customizing the setup | SLES 15 SP4

> sudo btrfs subvolume create /mnt/usr/important
> sudo umount /mnt

The corresponding entry in /etc/fstab needs to look like the following:

/dev/sda2 /usr/important btrfs subvol=@/usr/important 0 0

Tip: Disable copy-on-write (cow)

A subvolume may contain files that constantly change, such as virtualized disk images, database
files, or log files. If so, consider disabling the copy-on-write feature for this volume, to avoid
duplication of disk blocks. Use the nodatacow mount option in /etc/fstab to do so:

/dev/sda2 /usr/important btrfs nodatacow,subvol=@/usr/important 0 0

To alternatively disable copy-on-write for single files or directories, use the command chattr
+C PATH.

[Link] Controlling snapshot archiving

Snapshots occupy disk space. To prevent disks from running out of space and thus causing system outages,
old snapshots are automatically deleted. By default, up to ten important installation and administration
snapshots and up to ten regular installation and administration snapshots are kept. If these snapshots occupy
more than 50% of the root file system size, additional snapshots will be deleted. A minimum of four
important and two regular snapshots are always kept.
Refer to Section 10.5.1, “Managing existing configurations” for instructions on how to change these values.

[Link] Using Snapper on thinly provisioned LVM volumes

Apart from snapshots on Btrfs file systems, Snapper also supports taking snapshots on thinly-provisioned
LVM volumes (snapshots on regular LVM volumes are not supported) formatted with XFS, Ext4 or Ext3.
For more information and setup instructions on LVM volumes, refer to Book “Deployment Guide”, Chap-
ter 10 “Expert Partitioner”, Section 10.2 “LVM configuration”.

To use Snapper on a thinly-provisioned LVM volume you need to create a Snapper configuration for it.
On LVM it is required to specify the file system with --fstype=lvm(FILESYSTEM). ext3, etx4 or
xfs are valid values for FILESYSTEM. Example:

> sudo snapper -c lvm create-config --fstype="lvm(xfs)" /thin_lvm

139 Customizing the setup | SLES 15 SP4

You can adjust this configuration according to your needs as described in Section 10.5.1, “Managing ex-
isting configurations”.

10.2 Using Snapper to undo changes

Snapper on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is preconfigured to serve as a tool that lets you undo changes
made by zypper and YaST. For this purpose, Snapper is configured to create a pair of snapshots before and
after each run of zypper and YaST. Snapper also lets you restore system files that have been accidentally
deleted or modified. Timeline snapshots for the root partition need to be enabled for this purpose—see
Section [Link], “Disabling/enabling snapshots” for details.

By default, automatic snapshots as described above are configured for the root partition and its subvol-
umes. To make snapshots available for other partitions such as /home for example, you can create custom
configurations.

Important: Undoing changes compared to rollback

When working with snapshots to restore data, it is important to know that there are two fundamen-
tally different scenarios Snapper can handle:

Undoing changes
When undoing changes as described in the following, two snapshots are being compared and
the changes between these two snapshots are made undone. Using this method also allows
to explicitly select the files that should be restored.

Rollback
When doing rollbacks as described in Section 10.3, “System rollback by booting from snap-
shots”, the system is reset to the state at which the snapshot was taken.

When undoing changes, it is also possible to compare a snapshot against the current system. When
restoring all files from such a comparison, this will have the same result as doing a rollback. How-
ever, using the method described in Section 10.3, “System rollback by booting from snapshots” for
rollbacks should be preferred, since it is faster and allows you to review the system before doing
the rollback.

140 Using Snapper to undo changes | SLES 15 SP4

 Warning: Data consistency
There is no mechanism to ensure data consistency when creating a snapshot. Whenever a file (for
example, a database) is written at the same time as the snapshot is being created, it will result in
a corrupted or partly written file. Restoring such a file will cause problems. Furthermore, some
system files such as /etc/mtab must never be restored. Therefore it is strongly recommended to
always closely review the list of changed files and their diffs. Only restore files that really belong
to the action you want to revert.

10.2.1 Undoing YaST and Zypper changes

If you set up the root partition with Btrfs during the installation, Snapper—preconfigured for doing roll-
backs of YaST or Zypper changes—will automatically be installed. Every time you start a YaST module
or a Zypper transaction, two snapshots are created: a “pre-snapshot” capturing the state of the file system
before the start of the module and a “post-snapshot” after the module has been finished.
Using the YaST Snapper module or the snapper command line tool, you can undo the changes made by
YaST/Zypper by restoring files from the “pre-snapshot”. Comparing two snapshots the tools also allow
you to see which files have been changed. You can also display the differences between two versions of
a file (diff).

PROCEDURE 10.1: UNDOING CHANGES USING THE YAST SNAPPER MODULE

1. Start the Snapper module from the Miscellaneous section in YaST or by entering yast2 snapper.

2. Make sure Current Configuration is set to root. This is always the case unless you have manually
added own Snapper configurations.

3. Choose a pair of pre- and post-snapshots from the list. Both, YaST and Zypper snapshot pairs are
of the type Pre & Post. YaST snapshots are labeled as zypp(y2base) in the Description column;
Zypper snapshots are labeled zypp(zypper).

141 Undoing YaST and Zypper changes | SLES 15 SP4

 4. Click Show Changes to open the list of files that differ between the two snapshots.

5. Review the list of files. To display a “diff” between the pre- and post-version of a file, select it
from the list.

142 Undoing YaST and Zypper changes | SLES 15 SP4

 6. To restore one or more files, select the relevant files or directories by activating the respective check
box. Click Restore Selected and confirm the action by clicking Yes.

To restore a single file, activate its diff view by clicking its name. Click Restore From First and
confirm your choice with Yes.

143 Undoing YaST and Zypper changes | SLES 15 SP4

PROCEDURE 10.2: UNDOING CHANGES USING THE snapper COMMAND

1. Get a list of YaST and Zypper snapshots by running snapper list -t pre-post. YaST snap-
shots are labeled as yast MODULE_NAME in the Description column; Zypper snapshots are labeled
zypp(zypper).

> sudo snapper list -t pre-post

Pre # | Post # | Pre Date | Post Date | Description
------+--------+-------------------------------+-------------------------------+--------------
311 | 312 | Tue 06 May 2018 14:05:46 CEST | Tue 06 May 2018 14:05:52 CEST | zypp(y2base)
340 | 341 | Wed 07 May 2018 16:15:10 CEST | Wed 07 May 2018 16:15:16 CEST | zypp(zypper)
342 | 343 | Wed 07 May 2018 16:20:38 CEST | Wed 07 May 2018 16:20:42 CEST | zypp(y2base)
344 | 345 | Wed 07 May 2018 16:21:23 CEST | Wed 07 May 2018 16:21:24 CEST | zypp(zypper)
346 | 347 | Wed 07 May 2018 16:41:06 CEST | Wed 07 May 2018 16:41:10 CEST | zypp(y2base)
348 | 349 | Wed 07 May 2018 16:44:50 CEST | Wed 07 May 2018 16:44:53 CEST | zypp(y2base)
350 | 351 | Wed 07 May 2018 16:46:27 CEST | Wed 07 May 2018 16:46:38 CEST | zypp(y2base)

2. Get a list of changed files for a snapshot pair with snapper status PRE..POST. Files with content
changes are marked with c, files that have been added are marked with + and deleted files are
marked with -.

> sudo snapper status 350..351

+..... /usr/share/doc/packages/mikachan-fonts
+..... /usr/share/doc/packages/mikachan-fonts/COPYING
+..... /usr/share/doc/packages/mikachan-fonts/[Link]
c..... /usr/share/fonts/truetype/[Link]
c..... /usr/share/fonts/truetype/[Link]
+..... /usr/share/fonts/truetype/#####-[Link]
+..... /usr/share/fonts/truetype/#####-[Link]
+..... /usr/share/fonts/truetype/#####-[Link]
+..... /usr/share/fonts/truetype/#####.ttf
c..... /var/cache/fontconfig/7ef2298fde41cc6eeb7af42e48b7d293-x86_64.cache-4
c..... /var/lib/rpm/Basenames
c..... /var/lib/rpm/Dirnames
c..... /var/lib/rpm/Group
c..... /var/lib/rpm/Installtid
c..... /var/lib/rpm/Name
c..... /var/lib/rpm/Packages
c..... /var/lib/rpm/Providename
c..... /var/lib/rpm/Requirename
c..... /var/lib/rpm/Sha1header
c..... /var/lib/rpm/Sigmd5

3. To display the diff for a certain file, run snapper diff PRE..POST FILENAME. If you do not specify
FILENAME, a diff for all files will be displayed.

> sudo snapper diff 350..351 /usr/share/fonts/truetype/[Link]

144 Undoing YaST and Zypper changes | SLES 15 SP4

 --- /.snapshots/350/snapshot/usr/share/fonts/truetype/[Link] 2014-04-23
15:58:57.000000000 +0200
+++ /.snapshots/351/snapshot/usr/share/fonts/truetype/[Link] 2014-05-07
16:46:31.000000000 +0200
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-1174
+1486
ds=y:ai=0.2:[Link] -b&h-luxi mono-bold-i-normal--0-0-0-0-c-0-iso10646-1
ds=y:ai=0.2:[Link] -b&h-luxi mono-bold-i-normal--0-0-0-0-c-0-iso8859-1
[...]

4. To restore one or more files run snapper -v undochange PRE..POST FILENAMES. If you do not
specify a FILENAMES, all changed files will be restored.

> sudo snapper -v undochange 350..351

create:0 modify:13 delete:7
undoing change...
deleting /usr/share/doc/packages/mikachan-fonts
deleting /usr/share/doc/packages/mikachan-fonts/COPYING
deleting /usr/share/doc/packages/mikachan-fonts/[Link]
deleting /usr/share/fonts/truetype/#####-[Link]
deleting /usr/share/fonts/truetype/#####-[Link]
deleting /usr/share/fonts/truetype/#####-[Link]
deleting /usr/share/fonts/truetype/#####.ttf
modifying /usr/share/fonts/truetype/[Link]
modifying /usr/share/fonts/truetype/[Link]
modifying /var/cache/fontconfig/7ef2298fde41cc6eeb7af42e48b7d293-x86_64.cache-4
modifying /var/lib/rpm/Basenames
modifying /var/lib/rpm/Dirnames
modifying /var/lib/rpm/Group
modifying /var/lib/rpm/Installtid
modifying /var/lib/rpm/Name
modifying /var/lib/rpm/Packages
modifying /var/lib/rpm/Providename
modifying /var/lib/rpm/Requirename
modifying /var/lib/rpm/Sha1header
modifying /var/lib/rpm/Sigmd5
undoing change done

145 Undoing YaST and Zypper changes | SLES 15 SP4

 Warning: Reverting user additions
Reverting user additions via undoing changes with Snapper is not recommended. Since certain
directories are excluded from snapshots, files belonging to these users will remain in the file system.
If a user with the same user ID as a deleted user is created, this user will inherit the files. Therefore
it is strongly recommended to use the YaST User and Group Management tool to remove users.

10.2.2 Using Snapper to restore files

Apart from the installation and administration snapshots, Snapper creates timeline snapshots. You can use
these backup snapshots to restore files that have accidentally been deleted or to restore a previous version
of a file. By using Snapper's diff feature you can also find out which modifications have been made at
a certain point of time.
Being able to restore files is especially interesting for data, which may reside on subvolumes or partitions
for which snapshots are not taken by default. To be able to restore files from home directories, for example,
create a separate Snapper configuration for /home doing automatic timeline snapshots. See Section 10.5,
“Creating and modifying Snapper configurations” for instructions.

Warning: Restoring files compared to rollback

Snapshots taken from the root file system (defined by Snapper's root configuration), can be used
to do a system rollback. The recommended way to do such a rollback is to boot from the snapshot
and then perform the rollback. See Section 10.3, “System rollback by booting from snapshots” for
details.
Performing a rollback would also be possible by restoring all files from a root file system snapshot
as described below. However, this is not recommended. You may restore single files, for example
a configuration file from the /etc directory, but not the complete list of files from the snapshot.
This restriction only affects snapshots taken from the root file system!

PROCEDURE 10.3: RESTORING FILES USING THE YAST SNAPPER MODULE

1. Start the Snapper module from the Miscellaneous section in YaST or by entering yast2 snapper.

2. Choose the Current Configuration from which to choose a snapshot.

3. Select a timeline snapshot from which to restore a file and choose Show Changes. Timeline snap-
shots are of the type Single with a description value of timeline.

146 Using Snapper to restore files | SLES 15 SP4

 4. Select a file from the text box by clicking the file name. The difference between the snapshot version
and the current system is shown. Activate the check box to select the file for restore. Do so for all
files you want to restore.

5. Click Restore Selected and confirm the action by clicking Yes.

PROCEDURE 10.4: RESTORING FILES USING THE snapper COMMAND

1. Get a list of timeline snapshots for a specific configuration by running the following command:

> sudo snapper -c CONFIG list -t single | grep timeline

CONFIG needs to be replaced by an existing Snapper configuration. Use snapper list-configs

to display a list.

2. Get a list of changed files for a given snapshot by running the following command:

> sudo snapper -c CONFIG status SNAPSHOT_ID..0

Replace SNAPSHOT_ID by the ID for the snapshot from which you want to restore the file(s).

3. Optionally list the differences between the current file version and the one from the snapshot by
running

> sudo snapper -c CONFIG diff SNAPSHOT_ID..0 FILE NAME

If you do not specify <FILE NAME>, the difference for all files are shown.

4. To restore one or more files, run

> sudo snapper -c CONFIG -v undochange SNAPSHOT_ID..0 FILENAME1 FILENAME2

If you do not specify file names, all changed files will be restored.

10.3 System rollback by booting from snapshots

The GRUB 2 version included on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server can boot from Btrfs snapshots. Together
with Snapper's rollback feature, this allows to recover a misconfigured system. Only snapshots created for
the default Snapper configuration (root) are bootable.

147 System rollback by booting from snapshots | SLES 15 SP4

 Important: Supported configuration
As of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 system rollbacks are only supported if the default
subvolume configuration of the root partition has not been changed.

When booting a snapshot, the parts of the file system included in the snapshot are mounted read-only; all
other file systems and parts that are excluded from snapshots are mounted read-write and can be modified.

Important: Undoing changes compared to rollback

When working with snapshots to restore data, it is important to know that there are two fundamen-
tally different scenarios Snapper can handle:

Undoing changes
When undoing changes as described in Section 10.2, “Using Snapper to undo changes”, two
snapshots are compared and the changes between these two snapshots are reverted. Using
this method also allows to explicitly exclude selected files from being restored.

Rollback
When doing rollbacks as described in the following, the system is reset to the state at which
the snapshot was taken.

To do a rollback from a bootable snapshot, the following requirements must be met. When doing a default
installation, the system is set up accordingly.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A ROLLBACK FROM A BOOTABLE SNAPSHOT

The root file system needs to be Btrfs. Booting from LVM volume snapshots is not supported.

The root file system needs to be on a single device. To check, run sudo /sbin/btrfs filesystem
show. It needs to report Total devices 1. If more than 1 device is listed, your setup is not
supported.

Note: Directories excluded from snapshots

Directories that are excluded from snapshots such as /srv (see Section 10.1.3, “Directories
that are excluded from snapshots” for a full list) may reside on separate devices.

148 System rollback by booting from snapshots | SLES 15 SP4

 The system needs to be bootable via the installed boot loader.

Only contents of the subvolume / will be rolled back. It is not possible to include other subvolumes.

To perform a rollback from a bootable snapshot, do as follows:

1. Boot the system. In the boot menu choose Bootable snapshots and select the snapshot you want to
boot. The list of snapshots is listed by date—the most recent snapshot is listed first.

2. Log in to the system. Carefully check whether everything works as expected. Note that you cannot
write to any directory that is part of the snapshot. Data you write to other directories will not get
lost, regardless of what you do next.

3. Depending on whether you want to perform the rollback or not, choose your next step:

a. If the system is in a state where you do not want to do a rollback, reboot to boot into the
current system state. You can then choose a different snapshot, or start the rescue system.

b. To perform the rollback, run

> sudo snapper rollback

and reboot afterward. On the boot screen, choose the default boot entry to reboot into the
reinstated system. A snapshot of the file system status before the rollback is created. The
default subvolume for root will be replaced with a fresh read-write snapshot. For details, see
Section 10.3.1, “Snapshots after rollback”.
It is useful to add a description for the snapshot with the -d option. For example:

New file system root since rollback on DATE TIME

Tip: Rolling back to a specific installation state

If snapshots are not disabled during installation, an initial bootable snapshot is created at the end
of the initial system installation. You can go back to that state at any time by booting this snapshot.
The snapshot can be identified by the description after installation.
A bootable snapshot is also created when starting a system upgrade to a service pack or a new
major release (provided snapshots are not disabled).

149 System rollback by booting from snapshots | SLES 15 SP4

10.3.1 Snapshots after rollback
Before a rollback is performed, a snapshot of the running file system is created. The description references
the ID of the snapshot that was restored in the rollback.
Snapshots created by rollbacks receive the value number for the Cleanup attribute. The rollback snapshots
are therefore automatically deleted when the set number of snapshots is reached. Refer to Section 10.7,
“Automatic snapshot clean-up” for details. If the snapshot contains important data, extract the data from
the snapshot before it is removed.

[Link] Example of rollback snapshot

For example, after a fresh installation the following snapshots are available on the system:

# snapper --iso list

Type | # | | Cleanup | Description | Userdata
-------+---+ ... +---------+-----------------------+--------------
single | 0 | | | current |
single | 1 | | | first root filesystem |
single | 2 | | number | after installation | important=yes

After running sudo snapper rollback snapshot 3 is created and contains the state of the system before
the rollback was executed. Snapshot 4 is the new default Btrfs subvolume and thus the system after a
reboot.

# snapper --iso list

Type | # | | Cleanup | Description | Userdata
-------+---+ ... +---------+-----------------------+--------------
single | 0 | | | current |
single | 1 | | number | first root filesystem |
single | 2 | | number | after installation | important=yes
single | 3 | | number | rollback backup of #1 | important=yes
single | 4 | | | |

10.3.2 Accessing and identifying snapshot boot entries

To boot from a snapshot, reboot your machine and choose Start Bootloader from a read-only snapshot. A
screen listing all bootable snapshots opens. The most recent snapshot is listed first, the oldest last. Use the
keys ↓ and ↑ to navigate and press Enter to activate the selected snapshot. Activating a snapshot
from the boot menu does not reboot the machine immediately, but rather opens the boot loader of the
selected snapshot.

150 Snapshots after rollback | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 10.1: BOOT LOADER: SNAPSHOTS

Warning: Booting Xen from a Btrfs snapshot using UEFI

currently fails
Refer to [Link] for more details.

Each snapshot entry in the boot loader follows a naming scheme which makes it possible to identify it
easily:

[*] 1 OS 2 (KERNEL 3 ,DATE 4 TTIME 5 ,DESCRIPTION 6 )

1 If the snapshot was marked important, the entry is marked with a *.

2 Operating system label.
4 Date in the format YYYY-MM-DD.
5 Time in the format HH:MM.
6 This field contains a description of the snapshot. In case of a manually created snapshot this is the
string created with the option --description or a custom string (see Tip: Setting a custom descrip-
tion for boot loader snapshot entries). In case of an automatically created snapshot, it is the tool that
was called, for example zypp(zypper) or yast_sw_single. Long descriptions may be truncated,
depending on the size of the boot screen.

151 Accessing and identifying snapshot boot entries | SLES 15 SP4

 Tip: Setting a custom description for boot loader snapshot
entries
It is possible to replace the default string in the description field of a snapshot with a custom
string. This is for example useful if an automatically created description is not sufficient, or a user-
provided description is too long. To set a custom string STRING for snapshot NUMBER, use the
following command:

> sudo snapper modify --userdata "bootloader=STRING" NUMBER

The description should be no longer than 25 characters—everything that exceeds this size will not
be readable on the boot screen.

10.3.3 Limitations
A complete system rollback, restoring the complete system to the identical state as it was in when a snap-
shot was taken, is not possible.

[Link] Directories excluded from snapshots

Root file system snapshots do not contain all directories. See Section 10.1.3, “Directories that are excluded
from snapshots” for details and reasons. As a general consequence, data from these directories is not
restored, resulting in the following limitations.

Add-ons and third-party software may be unusable after a rollback

Applications and add-ons installing data in subvolumes excluded from the snapshot, such as /opt,
may not work after a rollback, if others parts of the application data are also installed on subvolumes
included in the snapshot. Re-install the application or the add-on to solve this problem.

File access problems

If an application had changed file permissions and/or ownership in between snapshot and current
system, the application may not be able to access these files. Reset permissions and/or ownership
for the affected files after the rollback.

Incompatible data formats

If a service or an application has established a new data format in between snapshot and current
system, the application may not be able to read the affected data files after a rollback.

152 Limitations | SLES 15 SP4

Subvolumes with a mixture of code and data
Subvolumes like /srv may contain a mixture of code and data. A rollback may result in non-func-
tional code. A downgrade of the PHP version, for example, may result in broken PHP scripts for
the Web server.

User data
If a rollback removes users from the system, data that is owned by these users in directories excluded
from the snapshot, is not removed. If a user with the same user ID is created, this user will inherit
the files. Use a tool like find to locate and remove orphaned files.

[Link] No rollback of boot loader data

A rollback of the boot loader is not possible, since all “stages” of the boot loader must fit together. This
cannot be guaranteed when doing rollbacks of /boot.

10.4 Enabling Snapper in user home directories

You may enable snapshots for users' /home directories, which supports a number of use cases:

Individual users may manage their own snapshots and rollbacks.

System users, for example database, system, and network admins who want to track copies of con-
figuration files, documentation, and so on.

Samba shares with home directories and Btrfs back-end.

Each user's directory is a Btrfs subvolume of /home. It is possible to set this up manually (see Sec-
tion 10.4.3, “Manually enabling snapshots in home directories”). However, a more convenient way is to
use pam_snapper. The pam_snapper package installs the pam_snapper.so module and helper scripts,
which automate user creation and Snapper configuration.
pam_snapper provides integration with the useradd command, pluggable authentication modules
(PAM), and Snapper. By default it creates snapshots at user login and logout, and also creates time-based
snapshots as some users remain logged in for extended periods of time. You may change the defaults using
the normal Snapper commands and configuration files.

153 Enabling Snapper in user home directories | SLES 15 SP4

10.4.1 Installing pam_snapper and creating users
The easiest way is to start with a new /home directory formatted with Btrfs, and no existing users. Install
pam_snapper:

# zypper in pam_snapper

Add this line to /etc/pam.d/common-session:

session optional pam_snapper.so

Use the /usr/lib/pam_snapper/pam_snapper_useradd.sh script to create a new user and home

directory. By default the script performs a dry run. Edit the script to change DRYRUN=1 to DRYRUN=0.
Now you can create a new user:

# /usr/lib/pam_snapper/pam_snapper_useradd.sh \
username group passwd=password
Create subvolume '/home/username'
useradd: warning: the home directory already exists.
Not copying any file from skel directory into it.

The files from /etc/skel will be copied into the user's home directory at their first login. Verify that the
user's configuration was created by listing your Snapper configurations:

# snapper list --all

Config: home_username, subvolume: /home/username
Type | # | Pre # | Date | User | Cleanup | Description | Userdata
-------+---+-------+------+------+---------+-------------+---------
single | 0 | | | root | | current |

Over time, this output will become populated with a list of snapshots, which the user can manage with
the standard Snapper commands.

10.4.2 Removing users

Remove users with the /usr/lib/pam_snapper/pam_snapper_userdel.sh script. By default it per-
forms a dry run, so edit it to change DRYRUN=1 to DRYRUN=0. This removes the user, the user's home
subvolume, Snapper configuration, and deletes all snapshots.

# /usr/lib/pam_snapper/pam_snapper_userdel.sh username

154 Installing pam_snapper and creating users | SLES 15 SP4

10.4.3 Manually enabling snapshots in home directories
These are the steps for manually setting up users' home directories with Snapper. /home must be formatted
with Btrfs, and the users not yet created.

# btrfs subvol create /home/username

# snapper -c home_username create-config /home/username
# sed -i -e "s/ALLOW_USERS=\"\"/ALLOW_USERS=\"username\"/g" \
/etc/snapper/configs/home_username
# yast users add username=username home=/home/username password=password
# chown [Link] /home/username
# chmod 755 /home/username/.snapshots

10.5 Creating and modifying Snapper configurations

The way Snapper behaves is defined in a configuration file that is specific for each partition or Btrfs
subvolume. These configuration files reside under /etc/snapper/configs/.
In case the root file system is big enough (approximately 12 GB), snapshots are automatically enabled
for the root file system / upon installation. The corresponding default configuration is named root. It
creates and manages the YaST and Zypper snapshot. See Section [Link], “Configuration data” for a list
of the default values.

Note: Minimum root file system size for enabling snapshots

As explained in Section 10.1, “Default setup”, enabling snapshots requires additional free space in
the root file system. The amount depends on the amount of packages installed and the amount of
changes made to the volume that is included in snapshots. The snapshot frequency and the number
of snapshots that get archived also matter.
There is a minimum root file system size that is required to automatically enable snapshots during
the installation. Currently this size is approximately 12 GB. This value may change in the future,
depending on architecture and the size of the base system. It depends on the values for the following
tags in the file /[Link] from the installation media:

<root_base_size>
<btrfs_increase_percentage>

It is calculated with the following formula: ROOT_BASE_SIZE * (1 + BTRFS_INCREASE_PER-

CENTAGE/100)

155 Manually enabling snapshots in home directories | SLES 15 SP4

 Keep in mind that this value is a minimum size. Consider using more space for the root file system.
As a rule of thumb, double the size you would use when not having enabled snapshots.

You may create your own configurations for other partitions formatted with Btrfs or existing subvolumes
on a Btrfs partition. In the following example we will set up a Snapper configuration for backing up the
Web server data residing on a separate, Btrfs-formatted partition mounted at /srv/www.
After a configuration has been created, you can either use snapper itself or the YaST Snapper module
to restore files from these snapshots. In YaST you need to select your Current Configuration, while you
need to specify your configuration for snapper with the global switch -c (for example, snapper -c
myconfig list).

To create a new Snapper configuration, run snapper create-config:

> sudo snapper -c www-data 1 create-config /srv/www 2

1 Name of configuration file.

2 Mount point of the partition or Btrfs subvolume on which to take snapshots.
This command will create a new configuration file /etc/snapper/configs/www-data with reasonable
default values (taken from /etc/snapper/config-templates/default). Refer to Section 10.5.1,
“Managing existing configurations” for instructions on how to adjust these defaults.

Tip: Configuration defaults

Default values for a new configuration are taken from /etc/snapper/config-templates/de-
fault. To use your own set of defaults, create a copy of this file in the same directory and adjust
it to your needs. To use it, specify the -t option with the create-config command:

> sudo snapper -c www-data create-config -t MY_DEFAULTS /srv/www

156 Creating and modifying Snapper configurations | SLES 15 SP4

10.5.1 Managing existing configurations
The snapper command offers several subcommands for managing existing configurations. You can list,
show, delete and modify them:

Listing configurations
Use the subcommand snapper list-configs to get all existing configurations:

> sudo snapper list-configs

Config | Subvolume
-------+----------
root | /
usr | /usr
local | /local

Showing a configuration
Use the subcommand snapper -c CONFIG get-config to display the specified configuration.
Replace CONFIG with one of the configuration names shown by snapper list-configs. For
more information about the configuration options, see Section [Link], “Configuration data”.
To display the default configuration, run:

> sudo snapper -c root get-config

Modifying a configuration
Use the subcommand snapper -c CONFIG set-config OPTION=VALUE to modify an option in
the specified configuration. Replace CONFIG with one of the configuration names shown by snap-
per list-configs. Possible values for OPTION and VALUE are listed in Section [Link], “Con-
figuration data”.

Deleting a configuration
Use the subcommand snapper -c CONFIG delete-config to delete a configuration. Replace
CONFIG with one of the configuration names shown by snapper list-configs.

[Link] Configuration data

Each configuration contains a list of options that can be modified from the command line. The follow-
ing list provides details for each option. To change a value, run snapper -c CONFIG set-config
"KEY=VALUE".

ALLOW_GROUPS, ALLOW_USERS
Granting permissions to use snapshots to regular users. See Section [Link], “Using Snapper as
regular user” for more information.

157 Managing existing configurations | SLES 15 SP4

 The default value is "".

BACKGROUND_COMPARISON
Defines whether pre and post snapshots should be compared in the background after creation.
The default value is "yes".

EMPTY_*
Defines the clean-up algorithm for snapshots pairs with identical pre and post snapshots. See Sec-
tion 10.7.3, “Cleaning up snapshot pairs that do not differ” for details.

FSTYPE
File system type of the partition. Do not change.
The default value is "btrfs".

NUMBER_*
Defines the clean-up algorithm for installation and admin snapshots. See Section 10.7.1, “Cleaning
up numbered snapshots” for details.

QGROUP / SPACE_LIMIT
Adds quota support to the clean-up algorithms. See Section 10.7.5, “Adding disk quota support” for
details.

SUBVOLUME
Mount point of the partition or subvolume to snapshot. Do not change.
The default value is "/".

SYNC_ACL
If Snapper is used by regular users (see Section [Link], “Using Snapper as regular user”), the users
must be able to access the .snapshot directories and to read files within them. If SYNC_ACL is
set to yes, Snapper automatically makes them accessible using ACLs for users and groups from the
ALLOW_USERS or ALLOW_GROUPS entries.
The default value is "no".

TIMELINE_CREATE
If set to yes, hourly snapshots are created. Valid values: yes, no.
The default value is "no".

TIMELINE_CLEANUP / TIMELINE_LIMIT_*
Defines the clean-up algorithm for timeline snapshots. See Section 10.7.2, “Cleaning up timeline
snapshots” for details.

158 Managing existing configurations | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Using Snapper as regular user

By default Snapper can only be used by root. However, there are cases in which certain groups or users
need to be able to create snapshots or undo changes by reverting to a snapshot:

Web site administrators who want to take snapshots of /srv/www

Users who want to take a snapshot of their home directory

For these purposes, you can create Snapper configurations that grant permissions to users or/and groups.
The corresponding .snapshots directory needs to be readable and accessible by the specified users. The
easiest way to achieve this is to set the SYNC_ACL option to yes.

PROCEDURE 10.5: ENABLING REGULAR USERS TO USE SNAPPER

Note that all steps in this procedure need to be run by root.

1. If a Snapper configuration does not exist yet, create one for the partition or subvolume on which
the user should be able to use Snapper. Refer to Section 10.5, “Creating and modifying Snapper
configurations” for instructions. Example:

> sudo snapper --config web_data create /srv/www

2. The configuration file is created under /etc/snapper/configs/CONFIG, where CONFIG is the

value you specified with -c/--config in the previous step (for example /etc/snapper/con-
figs/web_data). Adjust it according to your needs. For more information, see Section 10.5.1,
“Managing existing configurations”.

3. Set values for ALLOW_USERS and/or ALLOW_GROUPS to grant permissions to users and/or groups,
respectively. Multiple entries need to be separated by Space . To grant permissions to the user
www_admin for example, run:

> sudo snapper -c web_data set-config "ALLOW_USERS=www_admin" SYNC_ACL="yes"

4. The given Snapper configuration can now be used by the specified user(s) and/or group(s). You can
test it with the list command, for example:

www_admin:~ > snapper -c web_data list

159 Managing existing configurations | SLES 15 SP4

10.6 Manually creating and managing snapshots
Snapper is not restricted to creating and managing snapshots automatically by configuration; you can also
create snapshot pairs (“before and after”) or single snapshots manually using either the command-line tool
or the YaST module.
All Snapper operations are carried out for an existing configuration (see Section 10.5, “Creating and mod-
ifying Snapper configurations” for details). You can only take snapshots of partitions or volumes for which
a configuration exists. By default the system configuration (root) is used. To create or manage snapshots
for your own configuration you need to explicitly choose it. Use the Current Configuration drop-down
box in YaST or specify the -c on the command line (snapper -c MYCONFIG COMMAND).

10.6.1 Snapshot metadata

Each snapshot consists of the snapshot itself and some metadata. When creating a snapshot you also need to
specify the metadata. Modifying a snapshot means changing its metadata—you cannot modify its content.
Use snapper list to show existing snapshots and their metadata:

snapper --config home list

Lists snapshots for the configuration home. To list snapshots for the default configuration (root), use
snapper -c root list or snapper list.

snapper list -a
Lists snapshots for all existing configurations.

snapper list -t pre-post

Lists all pre and post snapshot pairs for the default (root) configuration.

snapper list -t single

Lists all snapshots of the type single for the default (root) configuration.

The following metadata is available for each snapshot:

Type: Snapshot type, see Section [Link], “Snapshot types” for details. This data cannot be changed.

Number: Unique number of the snapshot. This data cannot be changed.

Pre Number: Specifies the number of the corresponding pre snapshot. For snapshots of type post
only. This data cannot be changed.

Description: A description of the snapshot.

160 Manually creating and managing snapshots | SLES 15 SP4

 Userdata: An extended description where you can specify custom data in the form of a comma-sep-
arated key=value list: reason=testing, project=foo. This field is also used to mark a snapshot
as important (important=yes) and to list the user that created the snapshot (user=tux).

Cleanup-Algorithm: Cleanup-algorithm for the snapshot, see Section 10.7, “Automatic snapshot
clean-up” for details.

[Link] Snapshot types

Snapper knows three different types of snapshots: pre, post, and single. Physically they do not differ, but
Snapper handles them differently.

pre
Snapshot of a file system before a modification. Each pre snapshot corresponds to a post snapshot.
For example, this is used for the automatic YaST/Zypper snapshots.

post
Snapshot of a file system after a modification. Each post snapshot corresponds to a pre snapshot.
For example, this is used for the automatic YaST/Zypper snapshots.

single
Stand-alone snapshot. For example, this is used for the automatic hourly snapshots. This is the default
type when creating snapshots.

[Link] Cleanup algorithms

Snapper provides three algorithms to clean up old snapshots. The algorithms are executed in a daily cron
job. It is possible to define the number of different types of snapshots to keep in the Snapper configuration
(see Section 10.5.1, “Managing existing configurations” for details).

number
Deletes old snapshots when a certain snapshot count is reached.

timeline
Deletes old snapshots having passed a certain age, but keeps several hourly, daily, monthly, and
yearly snapshots.

empty-pre-post
Deletes pre/post snapshot pairs with empty diffs.

161 Snapshot metadata | SLES 15 SP4

10.6.2 Creating snapshots
To create a snapshot, run snapper create or click Create in the YaST module Snapper. The following
examples explain how to create snapshots from the command line. The YaST interface for Snapper is not
explicitly described here but provides equivalent functionality.

Tip: Snapshot description

Always specify a meaningful description to later be able to identify its purpose. You can also
specify additional information via the option --userdata.

snapper create --from 17 --description "with package2"

Creates a stand-alone snapshot (type single) from an existing snapshot, which is specified by the
snapshot's number from snapper list. (This applies to Snapper version 0.8.4 and newer.)

snapper create --description "Snapshot for week 2 2014"

Creates a stand-alone snapshot (type single) for the default (root) configuration with a description.
Because no cleanup-algorithm is specified, the snapshot will never be deleted automatically.

snapper --config home create --description "Cleanup in ~tux"

Creates a stand-alone snapshot (type single) for a custom configuration named home with a descrip-
tion. Because no cleanup-algorithm is specified, the snapshot will never be deleted automatically.

snapper --config home create --description "Daily data backup" --cleanup-algo-

rithm timeline>
Creates a stand-alone snapshot (type single) for a custom configuration named home with a descrip-
tion. The snapshot will automatically be deleted when it meets the criteria specified for the timeline
cleanup-algorithm in the configuration.

snapper create --type pre --print-number --description "Before the Apache config
cleanup" --userdata "important=yes"
Creates a snapshot of the type pre and prints the snapshot number. First command needed to create
a pair of snapshots used to save a “before” and “after” state. The snapshot is marked as important.

snapper create --type post --pre-number 30 --description "After the Apache

config cleanup" --userdata "important=yes"
Creates a snapshot of the type post paired with the pre snapshot number 30. Second command
needed to create a pair of snapshots used to save a “before” and “after” state. The snapshot is marked
as important.

162 Creating snapshots | SLES 15 SP4

snapper create --command COMMAND --description "Before and after COMMAND"
Automatically creates a snapshot pair before and after running COMMAND. This option is only avail-
able when using snapper on the command line.

10.6.3 Modifying snapshot metadata

Snapper allows you to modify the description, the cleanup algorithm, and the user data of a snapshot. All
other metadata cannot be changed. The following examples explain how to modify snapshots from the
command line. It should be easy to adopt them when using the YaST interface.
To modify a snapshot on the command line, you need to know its number. Use snapper list to display
all snapshots and their numbers.
The YaST Snapper module already lists all snapshots. Choose one from the list and click Modify.

snapper modify --cleanup-algorithm "timeline" 10

Modifies the metadata of snapshot 10 for the default (root) configuration. The cleanup algorithm
is set to timeline.

snapper --config home modify --description "daily backup" -cleanup-algorithm

"timeline" 120
Modifies the metadata of snapshot 120 for a custom configuration named home. A new description
is set and the cleanup algorithm is unset.

10.6.4 Deleting snapshots

To delete a snapshot with the YaST Snapper module, choose a snapshot from the list and click Delete.
To delete a snapshot with the command-line tool, you need to know its number. Get it by running snapper
list. To delete a snapshot, run snapper delete NUMBER.

Deleting the current default subvolume snapshot is not allowed.

When deleting snapshots with Snapper, the freed space will be claimed by a Btrfs process running in the
background. Thus the visibility and the availability of free space is delayed. In case you need space freed
by deleting a snapshot to be available immediately, use the option --sync with the delete command.

Tip: Deleting snapshot pairs

When deleting a pre snapshot, you should always delete its corresponding post snapshot (and
vice versa).

163 Modifying snapshot metadata | SLES 15 SP4

snapper delete 65
Deletes snapshot 65 for the default (root) configuration.

snapper -c home delete 89 90

Deletes snapshots 89 and 90 for a custom configuration named home.

snapper delete --sync 23

Deletes snapshot 23 for the default (root) configuration and makes the freed space available im-
mediately.

Tip: Delete unreferenced snapshots

Sometimes the Btrfs snapshot is present but the XML file containing the metadata for Snapper is
missing. In this case the snapshot is not visible for Snapper and needs to be deleted manually:

btrfs subvolume delete /.snapshots/SNAPSHOTNUMBER/snapshot

rm -rf /.snapshots/SNAPSHOTNUMBER

Tip: Old snapshots occupy more disk space

If you delete snapshots to free space on your hard disk, make sure to delete old snapshots first. The
older a snapshot is, the more disk space it occupies.

Snapshots are also automatically deleted by a daily cron job. Refer to Section [Link], “Cleanup algo-
rithms” for details.

10.7 Automatic snapshot clean-up

Snapshots occupy disk space and over time the amount of disk space occupied by the snapshots may
become large. To prevent disks from running out of space, Snapper offers algorithms to automatically
delete old snapshots. These algorithms differentiate between timeline snapshots and numbered snapshots
(administration plus installation snapshot pairs). You can specify the number of snapshots to keep for
each type.
In addition to that, you can optionally specify a disk space quota, defining the maximum amount of disk
space the snapshots may occupy. It is also possible to automatically delete pre and post snapshots pairs
that do not differ.

164 Automatic snapshot clean-up | SLES 15 SP4

A clean-up algorithm is always bound to a single Snapper configuration, so you need to configure algo-
rithms for each configuration. To prevent certain snapshots from being automatically deleted, refer to Q:.
The default setup (root) is configured to do clean-up for numbered snapshots and empty pre and post
snapshot pairs. Quota support is enabled—snapshots may not occupy more than 50% of the available disk
space of the root partition. Timeline snapshots are disabled by default, therefore the timeline clean-up
algorithm is also disabled.

10.7.1 Cleaning up numbered snapshots

Cleaning up numbered snapshots—administration plus installation snapshot pairs—is controlled by the
following parameters of a Snapper configuration.

NUMBER_CLEANUP
Enables or disables clean-up of installation and admin snapshot pairs. If enabled, snapshot pairs
are deleted when the total snapshot count exceeds a number specified with NUMBER_LIMIT and/
or NUMBER_LIMIT_IMPORTANT and an age specified with NUMBER_MIN_AGE. Valid values: yes
(enable), no (disable).
The default value is "yes".
Example command to change or set:

> sudo snapper -c CONFIG set-config "NUMBER_CLEANUP=no"

NUMBER_LIMIT / NUMBER_LIMIT_IMPORTANT
Defines how many regular and/or important installation and administration snapshot pairs to keep.
Ignored if NUMBER_CLEANUP is set to "no".
The default value is "2-10" for NUMBER_LIMIT and "4-10" for NUMBER_LIMIT_IMPORTANT. The
cleaning algorithms delete snapshots above the specified maximum value, without taking the snap-
shot and file system space into account. The algorithms also delete snapshots above the minimum
value until the limits for the snapshot and file system are reached.
Example command to change or set:

> sudo snapper -c CONFIG set-config "NUMBER_LIMIT=10"

165 Cleaning up numbered snapshots | SLES 15 SP4

 Important: Ranged compared to constant values
In case quota support is enabled (see Section 10.7.5, “Adding disk quota support”) the limit
needs to be specified as a minimum-maximum range, for example 2-10. If quota support
is disabled, a constant value, for example 10, needs to be provided, otherwise cleaning-up
will fail with an error.

NUMBER_MIN_AGE
Defines the minimum age in seconds a snapshot must have before it can automatically be deleted.
Snapshots younger than the value specified here will not be deleted, regardless of how many exist.
The default value is "1800".
Example command to change or set:

> sudo snapper -c CONFIG set-config "NUMBER_MIN_AGE=864000"

Note: Limit and age

NUMBER_LIMIT, NUMBER_LIMIT_IMPORTANT and NUMBER_MIN_AGE are always evaluated.
Snapshots are only deleted when all conditions are met.
If you always want to keep the number of snapshots defined with NUMBER_LIMIT* regardless of
their age, set NUMBER_MIN_AGE to 0.
The following example shows a configuration to keep the last 10 important and regular snapshots
regardless of age:

NUMBER_CLEANUP=yes
NUMBER_LIMIT_IMPORTANT=10
NUMBER_LIMIT=10
NUMBER_MIN_AGE=0

On the other hand, if you do not want to keep snapshots beyond a certain age, set NUMBER_LIMIT*
to 0 and provide the age with NUMBER_MIN_AGE.
The following example shows a configuration to only keep snapshots younger than ten days:

NUMBER_CLEANUP=yes
NUMBER_LIMIT_IMPORTANT=0
NUMBER_LIMIT=0
NUMBER_MIN_AGE=864000

166 Cleaning up numbered snapshots | SLES 15 SP4

10.7.2 Cleaning up timeline snapshots
Cleaning up timeline snapshots is controlled by the following parameters of a Snapper configuration.

TIMELINE_CLEANUP
Enables or disables clean-up of timeline snapshots. If enabled, snapshots are deleted when the total
snapshot count exceeds a number specified with TIMELINE_LIMIT_* and an age specified with
TIMELINE_MIN_AGE. Valid values: yes, no.
The default value is "yes".
Example command to change or set:

> sudo snapper -c CONFIG set-config "TIMELINE_CLEANUP=yes"

TIMELINE_LIMIT_DAILY, TIMELINE_LIMIT_HOURLY, TIMELINE_LIMIT_MONTHLY,

TIMELINE_LIMIT_WEEKLY, TIMELINE_LIMIT_YEARLY
Number of snapshots to keep for hour, day, month, week, and year.
The default value for each entry is "10", except for TIMELINE_LIMIT_WEEKLY, which is set to
"0" by default.

TIMELINE_MIN_AGE
Defines the minimum age in seconds a snapshot must have before it can automatically be deleted.
The default value is "1800".

EXAMPLE 10.1: EXAMPLE TIMELINE CONFIGURATION

TIMELINE_CLEANUP="yes"
TIMELINE_CREATE="yes"
TIMELINE_LIMIT_DAILY="7"
TIMELINE_LIMIT_HOURLY="24"
TIMELINE_LIMIT_MONTHLY="12"
TIMELINE_LIMIT_WEEKLY="4"
TIMELINE_LIMIT_YEARLY="2"
TIMELINE_MIN_AGE="1800"

This example configuration enables hourly snapshots which are automatically cleaned up.
TIMELINE_MIN_AGE and TIMELINE_LIMIT_* are always both evaluated. In this example, the
minimum age of a snapshot before it can be deleted is set to 30 minutes (1800 seconds). Since we cre-
ate hourly snapshots, this ensures that only the latest snapshots are kept. If TIMELINE_LIMIT_DAI-
LY is set to not zero, this means that the first snapshot of the day is kept, too.

SNAPSHOTS TO BE KEPT

Hourly: The last 24 snapshots that have been made.

167 Cleaning up timeline snapshots | SLES 15 SP4

 Daily: The first daily snapshot that has been made is kept from the last seven days.

Monthly: The first snapshot made on the last day of the month is kept for the last twelve
months.

Weekly: The first snapshot made on the last day of the week is kept from the last four weeks.

Yearly: The first snapshot made on the last day of the year is kept for the last two years.

10.7.3 Cleaning up snapshot pairs that do not differ

As explained in Section 10.1.2, “Types of snapshots”, whenever you run a YaST module or execute Zypper,
a pre snapshot is created on start-up and a post snapshot is created when exiting. In case you have not
made any changes there will be no difference between the pre and post snapshots. Such “empty” snapshot
pairs can be automatically be deleted by setting the following parameters in a Snapper configuration:

EMPTY_PRE_POST_CLEANUP
If set to yes, pre and post snapshot pairs that do not differ will be deleted.
The default value is "yes".

EMPTY_PRE_POST_MIN_AGE
Defines the minimum age in seconds a pre and post snapshot pair that does not differ must have
before it can automatically be deleted.
The default value is "1800".

10.7.4 Cleaning up manually created snapshots

Snapper does not offer custom clean-up algorithms for manually created snapshots. However, you can
assign the number or timeline clean-up algorithm to a manually created snapshot. If you do so, the snapshot
will join the “clean-up queue” for the algorithm you specified. You can specify a clean-up algorithm when
creating a snapshot, or by modifying an existing snapshot:

snapper create --description "Test" --cleanup-algorithm number

Creates a stand-alone snapshot (type single) for the default (root) configuration and assigns the
number clean-up algorithm.

snapper modify --cleanup-algorithm "timeline" 25

Modifies the snapshot with the number 25 and assigns the clean-up algorithm timeline.

168 Cleaning up snapshot pairs that do not differ | SLES 15 SP4

10.7.5 Adding disk quota support
In addition to the number and/or timeline clean-up algorithms described above, Snapper supports quotas.
You can define what percentage of the available space snapshots are allowed to occupy. This percentage
value always applies to the Btrfs subvolume defined in the respective Snapper configuration.
Btrfs quotas are applied to subvolumes, not to users. You may apply disk space quotas to users and groups
(for example, with the quota command) in addition to using Btrfs quotas.
If Snapper was enabled during the installation, quota support is automatically enabled. In case you man-
ually enable Snapper at a later point in time, you can enable quota support by running snapper set-
up-quota. This requires a valid configuration (see Section 10.5, “Creating and modifying Snapper con-
figurations” for more information).

Quota support is controlled by the following parameters of a Snapper configuration.

QGROUP
The Btrfs quota group used by Snapper. If not set, run snapper setup-quota. If already set,
only change if you are familiar with man 8 btrfs-qgroup. This value is set with snapper set-
up-quota and should not be changed.

SPACE_LIMIT
Limit of space snapshots are allowed to use in fractions of 1 (100%). Valid values range from 0 to
1 (0.1 = 10%, 0.2 = 20%, ...).

The following limitations and guidelines apply:

Quotas are only activated in addition to an existing number and/or timeline clean-up algorithm. If
no clean-up algorithm is active, quota restrictions are not applied.

With quota support enabled, Snapper will perform two clean-up runs if required. The first run will
apply the rules specified for number and timeline snapshots. Only if the quota is exceeded after this
run, the quota-specific rules will be applied in a second run.

Even if quota support is enabled, Snapper will always keep the number of snapshots specified
with the NUMBER_LIMIT* and TIMELINE_LIMIT* values, even if the quota will be exceed-
ed. It is therefore recommended to specify ranged values (MIN-MAX) for NUMBER_LIMIT* and
TIMELINE_LIMIT* to ensure the quota can be applied.
If, for example, NUMBER_LIMIT=5-20 is set, Snapper will perform a first clean-up run and reduce
the number of regular numbered snapshots to 20. In case these 20 snapshots exceed the quota, Snap-
per will delete the oldest ones in a second run until the quota is met. A minimum of five snapshots
will always be kept, regardless of the amount of space they occupy.

169 Adding disk quota support | SLES 15 SP4

10.8 Showing exclusive disk space used by snapshots
Snapshots share data, for efficient use of storage space, so using ordinary commands like du and df will
not measure used disk space accurately. When you want to free up disk space on Btrfs with quotas enabled,
you need to know how much exclusive disk space is used by each snapshot, rather than shared space.
Snapper 0.6 and up reports the used disk space for each snapshot in the Used Space column:

# snapper --iso list

# | Type | Pre # | Date | User | Used Space | Cleanup | Description
| Userdata
----+--------+-------+---------------------+------+------------+---------
+-----------------------+--------------
0 | single | | | root | | | current
|
1* | single | | 2019-07-22 13:08:38 | root | 16.00 KiB | | first root
filesystem |
2 | single | | 2019-07-22 14:21:05 | root | 14.23 MiB | number | after
installation | important=yes
3 | pre | | 2019-07-22 14:26:03 | root | 144.00 KiB | number | zypp(zypper)
| important=no
4 | post | 3 | 2019-07-22 14:26:04 | root | 112.00 KiB | number |
| important=no
5 | pre | | 2019-07-23 08:19:36 | root | 128.00 KiB | number | zypp(zypper)
| important=no
6 | post | 5 | 2019-07-23 08:19:43 | root | 80.00 KiB | number |
| important=no
7 | pre | | 2019-07-23 08:20:50 | root | 256.00 KiB | number | yast sw_single
|
8 | pre | | 2019-07-23 08:23:22 | root | 112.00 KiB | number |
zypp(ruby.ruby2.5) | important=no
9 | post | 8 | 2019-07-23 08:23:35 | root | 64.00 KiB | number |
| important=no
10 | post | 7 | 2019-07-23 08:24:05 | root | 16.00 KiB | number |
|

The btrfs command provides another view of space used by snapshots:

# btrfs qgroup show -p /

qgroupid rfer excl parent
-------- ---- ---- ------
0/5 16.00KiB 16.00KiB ---
[...]
0/272 3.09GiB 14.23MiB 1/0
0/273 3.11GiB 144.00KiB 1/0
0/274 3.11GiB 112.00KiB 1/0
0/275 3.11GiB 128.00KiB 1/0

170 Showing exclusive disk space used by snapshots | SLES 15 SP4

0/276 3.11GiB 80.00KiB 1/0
0/277 3.11GiB 256.00KiB 1/0
0/278 3.11GiB 112.00KiB 1/0
0/279 3.12GiB 64.00KiB 1/0
0/280 3.12GiB 16.00KiB 1/0
1/0 3.33GiB 222.95MiB ---

The qgroupid column displays the identification number for each subvolume, assigning a qgroup level/ID
combination.
The rfer column displays the total amount of data referred to in the subvolume.
The excl column displays the exclusive data in each subvolume.
The parent column shows the parent qgroup of the subvolumes.
The final item, 1/0, shows the totals for the parent qgroup. In the above example, 222.95 MiB will be
freed if all subvolumes are removed. Run the following command to see which snapshots are associated
with each subvolume:

# btrfs subvolume list -st /

ID gen top level path
-- --- --------- ----
267 298 266 @/.snapshots/1/snapshot
272 159 266 @/.snapshots/2/snapshot
273 170 266 @/.snapshots/3/snapshot
274 171 266 @/.snapshots/4/snapshot
275 287 266 @/.snapshots/5/snapshot
276 288 266 @/.snapshots/6/snapshot
277 292 266 @/.snapshots/7/snapshot
278 296 266 @/.snapshots/8/snapshot
279 297 266 @/.snapshots/9/snapshot
280 298 266 @/.snapshots/10/snapshot

Doing an upgrade from one service pack to another results in snapshots occupying a lot of disk space on the
system subvolumes. Manually deleting these snapshots after they are no longer needed is recommended.
See Section 10.6.4, “Deleting snapshots” for details.

10.9 Frequently asked questions

Q: Why does Snapper never show changes in /var/log, /tmp and other directories?
A: For some directories we decided to exclude them from snapshots. See Section 10.1.3, “Directories
that are excluded from snapshots” for a list and reasons. To exclude a path from snapshots we create
a subvolume for that path.

171 Frequently asked questions | SLES 15 SP4

Q: Can I boot a snapshot from the boot loader?
A: Yes—refer to Section 10.3, “System rollback by booting from snapshots” for details.

Q: Can a snapshot be protected from deletion?

A: Currently Snapper does not offer means to prevent a snapshot from being deleted manually. How-
ever, you can prevent snapshots from being automatically deleted by clean-up algorithms. Manually
created snapshots (see Section 10.6.2, “Creating snapshots”) have no clean-up algorithm assigned
unless you specify one with --cleanup-algorithm. Automatically created snapshots always ei-
ther have the number or timeline algorithm assigned. To remove such an assignment from one
or more snapshots, proceed as follows:

1. List all available snapshots:

> sudo snapper list -a

2. Memorize the number of the snapshot(s) you want to prevent from being deleted.

3. Run the following command and replace the number placeholders with the number(s) you
memorized:

> sudo snapper modify --cleanup-algorithm "" #1 #2 #n

4. Check the result by running snapper list -a again. The entry in the column Cleanup
should now be empty for the snapshots you modified.

Q: Where can I get more information on Snapper?

A: See the Snapper home page at [Link] .

172 Frequently asked questions | SLES 15 SP4

11 Live kernel patching with KLP

This document describes the basic principles of the Kernel Live Patching (KLP) technology,
and provides usage guidelines for the SLE Live Patching service.
KLP makes it possible to apply the latest security updates to Linux kernels without rebooting. This max-
imizes system uptime and availability, which is especially important for mission-critical systems.
The information provided in this document relates to the AMD64/Intel 64, POWER, and IBM Z archi-
tectures.

11.1 Advantages of Kernel Live Patching

KLP offers several benefits.

Keeping a large number of servers automatically up to date is essential for organizations obtaining
or maintaining certain compliance certifications. KLP can help achieve compliance, while reducing
the need for costly maintenance windows.

Companies that work with service-level agreement contracts must guarantee a specific level of their
system accessibility and uptime. Live patching makes it possible to patch systems without incurring
downtime.

Since KLP is part of the standard system update mechanism, there is no need for specialized training
or introduction of complicated maintenance routines.

11.2 Kernel Live Patching overview

Kernel live patches are delivered as packages with modified code that are separate from the main kernel
package. The live patches are cumulative, so the latest patch contains all fixes from the previous ones for
the kernel package. Each kernel live package is tied to the exact kernel revision for which it is issued. The
live patch package version number increases with every addition of fixes.

Note: Live patches and the running kernel

To determine the kernel patching status, use the klp -v patches command. The uname com-
mand's output does not change for patched kernels.

173 Advantages of Kernel Live Patching | SLES 15 SP4

 Important: Live patches compared to kernel updates
Live patches contain only critical fixes, and they do not replace regular kernel updates that require
a reboot. Consider live patches as temporary measures that protect the kernel until a proper kernel
update and a reboot are performed.

The diagram below illustrates the overall relationship between live patches and kernel updates. The list
of CVEs and defect reports addressed by the currently active live patch can be viewed using the klp -
v patches command.

It is possible to have multiple versions of the kernel package installed along with their live patches. These
packages do not conflict. You can install updated kernel packages along with live patches for the running
kernel. In this case, you may be prompted to reboot the system. Users with SLE Live Patching subscrip-
tions are eligible for technical support as long as there are live patch updates for the running kernel (see
Section 11.5.1, “Checking expiration date of the live patch”).

With KLP activated, every kernel update comes with a live patch package. This live patch does not contain
any fixes and serves as a seed for future live patches for the corresponding kernel. These empty seed
patches are called initial patches.

174 Kernel Live Patching overview | SLES 15 SP4

11.2.1 Kernel Live Patching scope
The scope of SLE Live Patching includes fixes for SUSE Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS;
SUSE CVSS is based on the CVSS v3.0 system) level 7+ vulnerabilities and bug fixes related to system
stability or data corruption. However, it may not be technically feasible to create live patches for all fixes
that fall under the specified categories. SUSE therefore reserves the right to skip fixes in situations where
creating a kernel live patch is not possible for technical reasons. Currently, over 95% of qualifying fixes
are released as live patches. For more information on CVSS (the base for the SUSE CVSS rating), see
Common Vulnerability Scoring System SIG ([Link] .

11.2.2 Kernel Live Patching limitations

KLP involves replacing functions and gracefully handling replacement of interdependent function sets.
This is done by redirecting calls to old code to updated code in a different memory location. Changes in
data structures make the situation more complicated, as the data remain in place and cannot be extended
or reinterpreted. While there are techniques that allow indirect alteration of data structures, some fixes
cannot be converted to live patches. In this situation, a system restart is the only way to apply the fixes.

11.3 Activating Kernel Live Patching using YaST

To activate KLP on your system, you need to have active SLES and SLE Live Patching subscriptions. Visit
SUSE Customer Center ([Link] to check the status of your subscriptions and obtain a
registration code for the SLE Live Patching subscription.
To activate Kernel Live Patching on your system, follow these steps:

1. Run the yast2 registration command and click Select Extensions.

2. Select SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 in the list of available extensions and click Next.

3. Confirm the license terms and click Next.

4. Enter your SLE Live Patching registration code and click Next.

5. Check the Installation Summary and selected Patterns. The patterns Live Patching and SLE
Live Patching Lifecycle Data should be automatically selected for installation along with
additional packages to satisfy dependencies.

6. Click Accept to complete the installation. This will install the base Kernel Live Patching components
on your system, the initial live patch, and the required dependencies.

175 Kernel Live Patching scope | SLES 15 SP4

11.4 Activating Kernel Live Patching from the
command line
To activate Kernel Live Patching, you need to have active SLES and SLES Live Patching subscriptions.
Visit SUSE Customer Center ([Link] to check the status of your subscriptions and
obtain a registration code for the SLES Live Patching subscription.

1. Run sudo SUSEConnect --list-extensions. Note the exact activation command for SLES
Live Patching. Example command output (abbreviated):

$ SUSEConnect --list-extensions
...
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP4 x86_64
Activate with: SUSEConnect -p sle-module-live-patching/15.4/x86_64 \
-r ADDITIONAL REGCODE

2. Activate SLES Live Patching using the obtained command followed by -r

LIVE_PATCHING_REGISTRATION_CODE, for example:

SUSEConnect -p sle-module-live-patching/15.4/x86_64 \
-r LIVE_PATCHING_REGISTRATION_CODE

3. Install the required packages and dependencies using the command zypper install -t pattern
lp_sles

At this point, the system has already been live-patched.

Here is how the process works behind the scenes: When the package installation system detects that there
is an installed kernel that can be live-patched, and that there is a live patch for it in the software channel,
the system selects the live patch for installation. The kernel then receives the live patch fixes as part of
the package installation. The kernel gets live-patched even before the product installation is complete.

11.5 Performing Kernel Live Patching

Kernel live patches are installed as part of regular system updates. However, there are several things you
should be aware of.

176 Activating Kernel Live Patching from the command line | SLES 15 SP4
 The kernel is live-patched if a kernel-livepatch-* package has been installed for the running
kernel. You can use the command zypper se --details kernel-livepatch-* to check what
kernel live patch packages are installed on your system.

When the kernel-default package is installed, the update manager prompts you to reboot
the system. To prevent this message from appearing, you can filter out kernel updates from
the patching operation. This can be done by adding package locks with Zypper. SUSE Man-
ager also makes it possible to filter channel contents (see Live Patching with SUSE Man-
ager ([Link]
tration/[Link]) ).

You can check patching status using the klp status command. To examine installed patches, run
the klp -v patches command.

Keep in mind that while there may be multiple kernel packages installed on the system, only one of
them is running at any given time. Similarly, there may be multiple live patch packages installed,
but only one live patch is loaded into the kernel.

The active live patch is included in the initrd. This means that in case of an unexpected reboot,
the system comes up with the live patch fixes applied, so there is no need to perform patching again.

11.5.1 Checking expiration date of the live patch

Make sure that the lifecycle-data-sle-module-live-patching is installed, then run the zypper
lifecycle command. You should see expiration dates for live patches in the Package end of support
if different from product section of the output.

Every live patch receives updates for 13 months from the release of the underlying kernel package. The
Maintained kernels, patch updates and lifecycle ([Link]
rent-patches/) page allows you to check expiration dates based on the running kernel version without
installing the product extension.

177 Checking expiration date of the live patch | SLES 15 SP4

11.6 Troubleshooting Kernel Live Patching issues

11.6.1 Manual patch downgrade

If you find the latest live patch problematic, you can downgrade the currently installed live patch back
to its previous version. We recommend performing patch downgrade before the system starts exhibiting
issues. Keep in mind that a system with kernel warnings or kernel error traces in the system log may not be
suitable for the patch downgrade procedure. If you are unsure whether the system meets the requirements
for a patch downgrade, contact SUSE Technical Support for help.

PROCEDURE 11.1: MANUAL PATCH DOWNGRADE

1. Identify the running live patch using the klp -v patches command. You can see the currently
running patch on the line starting with RPM:. For example:

RPM: kernel-livepatch-5_3_18-24_29-default-2-2.1.x86_64

The 5_3_18-24_29-default in the example above denotes the exact running kernel version.

2. Use the command zypper search -s kernel-livepatch-RUNNING_KERNEL_VERSION-

default to search for previous versions of the patch. The command returns a list of available
package versions. Keep in mind that for every new live patch package release, the version number
increases by one. Make sure that you choose the version number one release lower than the current
one.

3. Install the desired version with the command zypper in --oldpackage ker-
nel-livepatch-RUNNING_KERNEL_VERSION-default=DESIRED_VERSION.

178 Troubleshooting Kernel Live Patching issues | SLES 15 SP4

12 User space live patching

This chapter describes the basic principles and usage of user space live patching.

12.1 About user space live patching

User space live patching (ULP) refers to the process of applying patches to the libraries used by a running
process without interrupting them. Every time a security fix is available as a live patch, customer services
will be secured after applying the live patch without restarting the processes.
Live patching operations are performed using the ulp tool that is part of libpulp. libpulp is a frame-
work that consists of the [Link] library and the ulp binary that makes libraries live patchable and
applies live patches.

Tip
You can run the ulp command either as a normal user or a privileged user via the sudo mecha-
nism. The difference is that running ulp via sudo lets you view information of processes or patch
processes that are running by root.

Tip: Install libpulp-load-default

The libpulp-load-default automates the requirements and manual steps mentioned in Sec-
tion 12.1.1, “Prerequisites” and Section 12.1.3, “Using libpulp”. If you install the package, you
can skip those sections.

12.1.1 Prerequisites
For ULP to work, two requirements must be met.

Install the ULP on your system by running:

> sudo zypper in libpulp0 libpulp-tools

Applications with desired live patch support must be launched preloading the [Link].0 li-
brary. See Section 12.1.3, “Using libpulp” for more details.

179 About user space live patching | SLES 15 SP4

12.1.2 Supported libraries
Currently, only glibc and openssl (openssl1_1) are supported. Additional packages will be available
after they are prepared for live patching. To receive glibc and openssl live patches, install both glibc-
livepatches and openssl-1_1-livepatches packages:

> zypper install glibc-livepatches openssl-1_1-livepatches

12.1.3 Using libpulp

To enable live patching on an application, you need to preload the [Link].0 library when starting
the application:

> LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib64/[Link].0 APPLICATION_CMD

[Link] Checking if a library is live patchable

To check whether a library is live patchable, use the following command:

> ulp livepatchable PATH_TO_LIBRARY

[Link] Checking if a .so file is a live patch container

A shared object (.so) is a live patch container if it contains the ULP patch description embedded into it.
You can verify it with the following command:

> readelf -S SHARED_OBJECT | grep .ulp

If the output shows that there are both .ulp and .[Link] sections in the shared object, then it is a live
patch container.

[Link] Applying live patches

Live patches are applied using the ulp trigger command, for example:

> ulp trigger -p PID [Link]

180 Supported libraries | SLES 15 SP4

Replace PID with the process ID of the running process that uses the library to be patched and
[Link] with the actual live patch file. The command returns one of the following status messages:

SUCCESS
The live patching operation was successful.

SKIPPED
The patch was skipped because it was not designed for any library that is loaded in the process.

ERROR
An error occurred, and you can retrieve more information by inspecting the libpulp internal mes-
sage buffer. See Section [Link], “View internal message queue” for more information.

It is also possible to apply multiple live patches by using wildcards, for example:

> ulp trigger '*.so'

The command tries to apply every patch in the current folder to every process that have the libpulp
library loaded. If the patch is not suitable for the process, it is automatically skipped. In the end, the tool
shows how many patches it successfully applied to how many processes.

[Link] Reverting live patches

You can use the ulp trigger command to revert live patches. There are two ways to revert live patches.
You can revert a live patch by using the --revert switch and passing the live patch container:

> ulp trigger -p PID --revert [Link]

Alternatively, it is possible to remove all patches associated with a particular library, for example:

> ulp trigger -p PID --revert-all=LIBRARY

In the example, LIBRARY refers to the actual library, such as [Link].1.1.

The latter approach can be useful when the source code of the original live patch is not available. Or you
want to remove a specific old patch and apply a new one while the target application is still running a
secure code, for example:

> ulp trigger -p PID --revert-all=[Link].1.1 new_livepatch2.so

181 Using libpulp | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] View applied patches
It is possible to verify which applications have live patches applied by running:

> ulp patches

The output shows which libraries are live patchable and patches loaded in programs, as well which bugs
the patch addresses:

PID: 10636, name: test

Livepatchable libraries:
in /lib64/[Link].6:
livepatch: libc_livepatch1.so
bug labels: jsc#SLE-0000
in /usr/lib64/[Link].0:

It is also possible to see which functions are patched by the live patch:

> ulp dump [Link]

[Link] View internal message queue

Log messages from [Link] are stored in a buffer inside the library and are not displayed unless
requested by the user. To show these messages, run:

> ulp messages -p PID

12.2 More information

Further information about libpulp is available in the project's Git repository ([Link]
libpulp) .

182 More information | SLES 15 SP4

13 Transactional updates

Transactional updates are available in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server as a technology pre-
view, for updating SLES when the root file system is read-only. Transactional updates are
atomic (all updates are applied only if all updates succeed) and support rollbacks. It does not
affect a running system as no changes are activated until after the system is rebooted. As re-
boots are disruptive, the admin must decide if a reboot is more expensive than disturbing
running services. If reboots are too expensive then do not use transactional updates.
Transactional updates are run daily by the transactional-update script. The script
checks for available updates. If there are any updates, it creates a new snapshot of the root
file system in the background, and then fetches updates from the release channels. After the
new snapshot is completely updated, it is marked as active and will be the new default root
file system after the next reboot of the system. When transactional-update is set to run
automatically (which is the default behavior) it also reboots the system. Both the time that
the update runs and the reboot maintenance window are configurable.
Only packages that are part of the snapshot of the root file system can be updated. If pack-
ages contain files that are not part of the snapshot, the update could fail or break the system.
RPMs that require a license to be accepted cannot be updated.

13.1 Limitations of technology preview

As a technology preview, there are certain limitations in functionality. The following packages will not
work with transactional-update:

The nginx default [Link] page may not be available

tomcat-webapps and tomcat-admin-webapps

phpMyAdmin

sca-appliance-*

mpi-selector

emacs works except for Emacs games

183 Limitations of technology preview | SLES 15 SP4

 bind and bind-chrootenv

docbook*

sblim-sfcb*

texlive*

iso_ent

openjade

opensp

pcp

plymouth

postgresql-server-10

pulseaudio-gdm-hooks

smartmontools

The updater component of the system installer does not work with a read-only file system as it has no
support for transactional updates.
Further considerations:

In general it is a good idea to minimize the time between updating the system and rebooting the
machine.

Only one update can be applied at a time. Be sure to reboot after an update, and before the next
update is applied.

update-alternatives should not be run after a transactional update until the machine has been
rebooted.

Do not create new system users or system groups after a transactional update until after reboot. It is
acceptable to create normal users and groups (UID > 1000, GID > 1000).

YaST is not yet aware of transactional updates. If a YaST module needs to install additional pack-
ages, this will not work. Normal system operations only modifying configuration files in /etc will
work.

184 Limitations of technology preview | SLES 15 SP4

 For php7-fastcgi, you must manually create a symbolic link, /srv/www/cgi-bin/php, that
points to /usr/bin/php-cgi.

ntpis part of the Legacy Module for migration from older SLES versions. It is not supported on a
new SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installation, and has been replaced by chrony. If you continue
to use ntp, a fresh installation is required to work correctly with transactional updates.

sblim-sfcb: The whole sblim ecosystem is incompatible with transactional update.

btrfs-defrag from the btrfsmaintenance package does not work with a read-only root file
system.

For btrfs-balance, the variable BTRFS_BALANCE_MOUNTPOINTS in /etc/sysconfig/btrf-

smaintenance must be changed from / to /.snapshots.

For btrfs-scrub, the variable BTRFS_SCRUB_MOUNTPOINTS in /etc/sysconfig/btrfs-

maintenance must be changed from / to /.snapshots.

13.2 Enabling transactional-update

You must enable the Transactional Server Module during system installation, and then select the Transac-
tional Server System Role. Installing any package from the Transactional Server Module later in a running
system is NOT supported and may break the system.
Note that changing the subvolume layout of the root partition, or putting sub-directories or subvolumes
of the root partition on their own partitions (except /home, /var, /srv, and /opt) is not supported, and
will most likely break the system.

13.3 Managing automatic updates

Automatic updates are controlled by a [Link] that runs once per day. This applies all updates,
and informs rebootmgrd that the machine should be rebooted. You may adjust the time when the update
runs, see [Link](5). To adjust the maintenance window, which is when rebootmgrd reboots the
system, see rebootmgrd(8).
You can disable automatic transactional updates with this command:

# systemctl --now disable [Link]

185 Enabling transactional-update | SLES 15 SP4

13.4 The transactional-update command
The transactional-update command enables atomic installation or removal of updates; updates are
applied only if all of them can be successfully installed. transactional-update creates a snapshot of
your system before the update is applied, and you can restore this snapshot. All changes become active
only after reboot.

--continue
The --continue option is for making multiple changes to an existing snapshot without rebooting.
The default transactional-update behavior is to create a new snapshot from the current root file
system. If you forget something, such as installing a new package, you have to reboot to apply your
previous changes, run transactional-update again to install the forgotten package, and reboot
again. You cannot run the transactional-update command multiple times without rebooting
to add more changes to the snapshot, because that creates separate independent snapshots that do
not include changes from the previous snapshots.
Use the --continue option to make as many changes as you want without rebooting. A separate
snapshot is made each time, and each snapshot contains all the changes you made in the previous
snapshots, plus your new changes. Repeat this process as many times as you want, and when the
final snapshot includes everything you want reboot the system, and your final snapshot becomes
the new root file system.
Another useful feature of the --continue option is you may select any existing snapshot as the base
for your new snapshot. The following example demonstrates running transactional-update to
install a new package in a snapshot based on snapshot 13, and then running it again to install another
package:

# transactional-update pkg install package_1

# transactional-update --continue 13 pkg install package_2

The --continue [num] option calls snapper create --from, see Section 10.6.2, “Creating
snapshots”.

186 The transactional-update command | SLES 15 SP4

cleanup
If the current root file system is identical to the active root file system (after a reboot, before trans-
actional-update creates a new snapshot with updates), all old snapshots without a cleanup algo-
rithm get a cleanup algorithm set. This ensures that old snapshots will be deleted by Snapper. (See
the section about cleanup algorithms in snapper(8).) This also removes all unreferenced (and thus
unused) /etc overlay directories in /var/lib/overlay:

# transactional-update cleanup

pkg in/install
Installs individual packages from the available channels using the zypper install command.
This command can also be used to install Program Temporary Fix (PTF) RPM files.

# transactional-update pkg install package_name

or

# transactional-update pkg install rpm1 rpm2

pkg rm/remove
Removes individual packages from the active snapshot using the zypper remove command. This
command can also be used to remove PTF RPM files.

# transactional-update pkg remove package_name

pkg up/update
Updates individual packages from the active snapshot using the zypper update command. Only
packages that are part of the snapshot of the base file system can be updated.

# transactional-update pkg update package_name

up/update
If there are new updates available, a new snapshot is created and zypper up/update updates the
snapshot.

# transactional-update up

dup
If there are new updates available, a new snapshot is created and zypper dup –no-allow-ven-
dor-change updates the snapshot. The snapshot is activated afterwards and becomes the new root
file system after reboot.

187 The transactional-update command | SLES 15 SP4

 # transactional-update dup

patch
If there are new updates available, a new snapshot is created and zypper patch updates the snap-
shot.

# transactional-update patch

rollback
This sets the default subvolume. On systems with a read-write file system snapper rollback
is called. On a read-only file system and without any argument, the current system is set to a new
default root file system. If you specify a number, that snapshot is used as the default root file system.
On a read-only file system, it does not create any additional snapshots.

# transactional-update rollback snapshot_number

[Link]
This creates a new GRUB2 configuration. Sometimes it is necessary to adjust the boot configuration,
for example adding additional kernel parameters. Edit /etc/default/grub, run transaction-
al-update [Link], and then reboot to activate the change. You must immediately reboot, or
the new GRUB2 configuration will be overwritten with the default by the next transactional-update.

# transactional-update [Link]

reboot
This parameter triggers a reboot after the action is completed.

# transactional-update dup reboot

--help
This prints a help screen with options and subcommands.

# transactional-update --help

13.5 Troubleshooting
If the upgrade fails, run supportconfig to collect log data. Provide the resulting files, including /var/
log/[Link] to SUSE Support.

188 Troubleshooting | SLES 15 SP4

14 Remote graphical sessions with VNC

Virtual Network Computing (VNC) enables you to access a remote computer via a graphi-
cal desktop, and run remote graphical applications. VNC is platform-independent and access-
es the remote machine from any operating system. This chapter describes how to connect to
a VNC server with the desktop clients vncviewer and Remmina, and how to operate a VNC
server.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server supports two different kinds of VNC sessions: One-time ses-
sions that “live” as long as the VNC connection from the client is kept up, and persistent ses-
sions that “live” until they are explicitly terminated.
A VNC server can offer both kinds of sessions simultaneously on different ports, but an open
session cannot be converted from one type to the other.

14.1 The vncviewer client

To connect to a VNC service provided by a server, a client is needed. The default in SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server is vncviewer, provided by the tigervnc package.

14.1.1 Connecting using the vncviewer CLI

To start your VNC viewer and initiate a session with the server, use the command:

> vncviewer [Link]

Instead of the VNC display number you can also specify the port number with two colons:

> vncviewer [Link]::5901

Note: Display and port number

The actual display or port number you specify in the VNC client must be the same as the display or
port number picked by the vncserver command on the target machine. See Section 14.4, “Con-
figuring persistent VNC server sessions” for further info.

189 The vncviewer client | SLES 15 SP4

14.1.2 Connecting using the vncviewer GUI
By running vncviewer without specifying --listen or a host to connect to, it will show a window to
ask for connection details. Enter the host into the VNC server field like in Section 14.1.1, “Connecting
using the vncviewer CLI” and click Connect.

FIGURE 14.1: VNCVIEWER

14.1.3 Notification of unencrypted connections

The VNC protocol supports different kinds of encrypted connections, not to be confused with password
authentication. If a connection does not use TLS, the text “(Connection not encrypted!)” can be seen in
the window title of the VNC viewer.

14.2 Remmina: the remote desktop client

Remmina is a modern and feature rich remote desktop client. It supports several access methods, for
example VNC, SSH, RDP, and Spice.

14.2.1 Installation
To use Remmina, verify whether the remmina package is installed on your system, and install it if not.
Remember to install the VNC plug-in for Remmina as well:

# zypper in remmina remmina-plugin-vnc

190 Connecting using the vncviewer GUI | SLES 15 SP4

14.2.2 Main window
Run Remmina by entering the remmina command.

FIGURE 14.2: REMMINA'S MAIN WINDOW

The main application window shows the list of stored remote sessions. Here you can add and save a
new remote session, quick-start a new session without saving it, start a previously saved session, or set
Remmina's global preferences.

14.2.3 Adding remote sessions

To add and save a new remote session, click in the top left of the main window. The Remote Desktop
Preference window opens.

191 Main window | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 14.3: REMOTE DESKTOP PREFERENCE

Complete the fields that specify your newly added remote session profile. The most important are:

Name
Name of the profile. It will be listed in the main window.

Protocol
The protocol to use when connecting to the remote session, for example VNC.

Server
The IP or DNS address and display number of the remote server.

User name, password

Credentials to use for remote authentication. Leave empty for no authentication.

Color depth, quality

Select the best options according to your connection speed and quality.

Select the Advanced tab to enter more specific settings.

192 Adding remote sessions | SLES 15 SP4

 Tip: Disable encryption
If the communication between the client and the remote server is not encrypted, activate Disable
encryption, otherwise the connection fails.

Select the SSH tab for advanced SSH tunneling and authentication options.
Confirm with Save. Your new profile will be listed in the main window.

14.2.4 Starting remote sessions

You can either start a previously saved session, or quick-start a remote session without saving the con-
nection details.

[Link] Quick-starting remote sessions

To start a remote session quickly without adding and saving connection details, use the drop-down box
and text box at the top of the main window.

FIGURE 14.4: QUICK-STARTING

Select the communication protocol from the drop-down box, for example 'VNC', then enter the VNC server
DNS or IP address followed by a colon and a display number, and confirm with Enter .

[Link] Opening saved remote sessions

To open a specific remote session, double-click it from the list of sessions.

[Link] Remote sessions window

Remote sessions are opened in tabs of a separate window. Each tab hosts one session. The toolbar on the
left of the window helps you manage the windows/sessions, such as toggle fullscreen mode, resize the
window to match the display size of the session, send specific keystrokes to the session, take screenshots
of the session, or set the image quality.

193 Starting remote sessions | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 14.5: REMMINA VIEWING REMOTE SESSION

14.2.5 Editing, copying, and deleting saved sessions

To edit a saved remote session, right-click its name in Remmina's main window and select Edit. Refer to
Section 14.2.3, “Adding remote sessions” for the description of the relevant fields.

To copy a saved remote session, right-click its name in Remmina's main window and select Copy. In the
Remote Desktop Preference window, change the name of the profile, optionally adjust relevant options,
and confirm with Save.
To Delete a saved remote session, right-click its name in Remmina's main window and select Delete.
Confirm with Yes in the next dialog.

14.2.6 Running remote sessions from the command line

If you need to open a remote session from the command line or from a batch file without first opening the
main application window, use the following syntax:

> remmina -c profile_name.remmina

194 Editing, copying, and deleting saved sessions | SLES 15 SP4

Remmina's profile files are stored in the .local/share/remmina/ directory in your home directory.
To determine which profile file belongs to the session you want to open, run Remmina, click the session
name in the main window, and read the path to the profile file in the window's status line at the bottom.

FIGURE 14.6: READING PATH TO THE PROFILE FILE

While Remmina is not running, you can rename the profile file to a more reasonable file name, such
as [Link]. You can even copy the profile file to your custom directory and run it using the
remmina -c command from there.

14.3 Configuring one-time sessions on the VNC

server
A one-time session is initiated by the remote client. It starts a graphical login screen on the server. This
way you can choose the user which starts the session and, if supported by the login manager, the desktop
environment. When you terminate the client connection to such a VNC session, all applications started
within that session will be terminated, too. One-time VNC sessions cannot be shared, but it is possible to
have multiple sessions on a single host at the same time.

PROCEDURE 14.1: ENABLING ONE-TIME VNC SESSIONS

1. Start YaST Network Services Remote Administration (VNC).

2. Check Allow Remote Administration Without Session Management.

3. Activate Enable access using a web browser if you plan to access the VNC session in a Web browser
window.

195 Configuring one-time sessions on the VNC server | SLES 15 SP4

 4. If necessary, also check Open Port in Firewall (for example, when your network interface is con-
figured to be in the External Zone). If you have more than one network interface, restrict opening
the firewall ports to a specific interface via Firewall Details.

5. Confirm your settings with Next.

6. In case not all needed packages are available yet, you need to approve the installation of missing
packages.

Tip: Restart the display manager

YaST makes changes to the display manager settings. You need to log out of your current
graphical session and restart the display manager for the changes to take effect.

FIGURE 14.7: REMOTE ADMINISTRATION

14.3.1 Available configurations

The default configuration on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server serves sessions with a resolution of 1024x768
pixels at a color depth of 16-bit. The sessions are available on ports 5901 for “regular” VNC viewers
(equivalent to VNC display 1) and on port 5801 for Web browsers.
Other configurations can be made available on different ports, see Section 14.3.3, “Configuring one-time
VNC sessions”.

196 Available configurations | SLES 15 SP4

VNC display numbers and X display numbers are independent in one-time sessions. A VNC display num-
ber is manually assigned to every configuration that the server supports (:1 in the example above). When-
ever a VNC session is initiated with one of the configurations, it automatically gets a free X display number.
By default, both the VNC client and server try to communicate securely via a self-signed SSL certificate,
which is generated after installation. You can either use the default one, or replace it with your own. When
using the self-signed certificate, you need to confirm its signature before the first connection—both in the
VNC viewer and the Web browser.

Tip
Some VNC clients refuse to establish a secure connection via the default self-signed certificate.
For example, the Vinagre client verifies the certification against the GnuTLS global trust store and
fails if the certificate is self-signed. In such a case, either use an encryption method other than
x509, or generate a properly signed certificate for the VNC server and import it to the client's
system trust store.

14.3.2 Initiating a one-time VNC session

To connect to a one-time VNC session, a VNC viewer must be installed, see also Section 14.1, “The
vncviewer client”. Alternatively use a JavaScript-capable Web browser to view the VNC session by en-
tering the following URL: [Link]

14.3.3 Configuring one-time VNC sessions

You can skip this section, if you do not need or want to modify the default configuration.
One-time VNC sessions are started via the systemd socket [Link]. By default it offers six config-
uration blocks: three for VNC viewers (vnc1 to vnc3), and three serving a JavaScript client (vnchttpd1
to vnchttpd3). By default only vnc1 and vnchttpd1 are active.
To activate the VNC server socket at boot time, run the following command:

> sudo systemctl enable [Link]

To start the socket immediately, run:

> sudo systemctl start [Link]

197 Initiating a one-time VNC session | SLES 15 SP4

The Xvnc server can be configured via the server_args option. For a list of options, see Xvnc --help.
When adding custom configurations, make sure they are not using ports that are already in use by other
configurations, other services, or existing persistent VNC sessions on the same host.
Activate configuration changes by entering the following command:

> sudo systemctl reload [Link]

Important: Firewall and VNC ports

When activating Remote Administration as described in Procedure 14.1, “Enabling one-time VNC
sessions”, the ports 5801 and 5901 are opened in the firewall. If the network interface serving
the VNC sessions is protected by a firewall, you need to manually open the respective ports when
activating additional ports for VNC sessions. See Book “Security and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 23
“Masquerading and firewalls” for instructions.

14.4 Configuring persistent VNC server sessions

A persistent session can be accessed from multiple clients simultaneously. This is ideal for demonstration
purposes where one client has full access and all other clients have view-only access. Another use case
are training sessions where the trainer might need access to the trainee's desktop.

Tip: Connecting to a persistent VNC session

To connect to a persistent VNC session, a VNC viewer must be installed. Refer to Section 14.1,
“The vncviewer client” for more details. Alternatively use a JavaScript-capable Web browser to
view the VNC session by entering the following URL: [Link]

There are two types of persistent VNC sessions:

VNC session initiated using vncserver

VNC session initiated using vncmanager

198 Configuring persistent VNC server sessions | SLES 15 SP4

14.4.1 VNC session initiated using vncserver
This type of persistent VNC session is initiated on the server. The session and all applications started in this
session run regardless of client connections until the session is terminated. Access to persistent sessions
is protected by two possible types of passwords:

a regular password that grants full access or

an optional view-only password that grants a non-interactive (view-only) access.

A session can have multiple client connections of both kinds at once.

PROCEDURE 14.2: STARTING A PERSISTENT VNC SESSION USING vncserver

1. Open a shell and make sure you are logged in as the user that should own the VNC session.

2. If the network interface serving the VNC sessions is protected by a firewall, you need to manually
open the port used by your session in the firewall. If starting multiple sessions you may alternatively
open a range of ports. See Book “Security and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 23 “Masquerading and
firewalls” for details on how to configure the firewall.
vncserver uses the ports 5901 for display :1, 5902 for display :2, and so on. For persistent
sessions, the VNC display and the X display usually have the same number.

3. To start a session with a resolution of 1024x768 pixel and with a color depth of 16-bit, enter the
following command:

vncserver -alwaysshared -geometry 1024x768 -depth 16

The vncserver command picks an unused display number when none is given and prints its choice.
See man 1 vncserver for more options.

When running vncserver for the first time, it asks for a password for full access to the session. If needed,
you can also provide a password for view-only access to the session.
The password(s) you are providing here are also used for future sessions started by the same user. They
can be changed with the vncpasswd command.

Important: Security considerations

Make sure to use strong passwords of significant length (eight or more characters). Do not share
these passwords.

199 VNC session initiated using vncserver | SLES 15 SP4

To terminate the session shut down the desktop environment that runs inside the VNC session from the
VNC viewer as you would shut it down if it was a regular local X session.
If you prefer to manually terminate a session, open a shell on the VNC server and make sure you are
logged in as the user that owns the VNC session you want to terminate. Run the following command to
terminate the session that runs on display :1: vncserver -kill :1

[Link] Configuring persistent VNC sessions

Persistent VNC sessions can be configured by editing $HOME/.vnc/xstartup. By default this shell script
starts the same GUI/window manager it was started from. In SUSE Linux Enterprise Server this will either
be GNOME or IceWM. If you want to start your session with a window manager of your choice, set the
variable WINDOWMANAGER:

WINDOWMANAGER=gnome vncserver -geometry 1024x768

WINDOWMANAGER=icewm vncserver -geometry 1024x768

Note: One configuration for each user

Persistent VNC sessions are configured in a single per-user configuration. Multiple sessions started
by the same user will all use the same start-up and password files.

14.4.2 VNC session initiated using vncmanager

PROCEDURE 14.3: ENABLING PERSISTENT VNC SESSIONS

1. Start YaST Network Services Remote Administration (VNC).

2. Activate Allow Remote Administration With Session Management.

3. Activate Enable access using a web browser if you plan to access the VNC session in a Web browser
window.

4. If necessary, also check Open Port in Firewall (for example, when your network interface is con-
figured to be in the External Zone). If you have more than one network interface, restrict opening
the firewall ports to a specific interface via Firewall Details.

5. Confirm your settings with Next.

200 VNC session initiated using vncmanager | SLES 15 SP4

 6. In case not all needed packages are available yet, you need to approve the installation of missing
packages.

Tip: Restart the display manager

YaST makes changes to the display manager settings. You need to log out of your current
graphical session and restart the display manager for the changes to take effect.

[Link] Configuring persistent VNC sessions

After you enable the VNC session management as described in Procedure 14.3, “Enabling persistent
VNC sessions”, you can normally connect to the remote session with your favorite VNC viewer, such as
vncviewer or Remmina. You will be presented with the login screen. After you log in, the 'VNC' icon
will appear in the system tray of your desktop environment. Click the icon to open the VNC Session win-
dow. If it does not appear or if your desktop environment does not support icons in the system tray, run
vncmanager-controller manually.

FIGURE 14.8: VNC SESSION SETTINGS

201 VNC session initiated using vncmanager | SLES 15 SP4

There are several settings that influence the VNC session's behavior:

Non-persistent, private
This is equivalent to a one-time session. It is not visible to others and will be terminated after you
disconnect from it. Refer to Section 14.3, “Configuring one-time sessions on the VNC server” for
more information.

Persistent, visible
The session is visible to other users and keeps running even after you disconnect from it.

Session name
Here you can specify the name of the persistent session so that it is easily identified when recon-
necting.

No password required
The session will be freely accessible without having to log in under user credentials.

Require user login

You need to log in with a valid user name and password to access the session. Lists the valid user
names in the Allowed users text box.

Allow one client at a time

Prevents multiple users from joining the session at the same time.

Allow multiple clients at a time

Allows multiple users to join the persistent session at the same time. Useful for remote presentations
or training sessions.

Confirm with OK.

202 VNC session initiated using vncmanager | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Joining persistent VNC sessions
After you set up a persistent VNC session as described in Section [Link], “Configuring persistent VNC
sessions”, you can join it with your VNC viewer. After your VNC client connects to the server, you will
be prompted to choose whether you want to create a new session, or join the existing one:

FIGURE 14.9: JOINING A PERSISTENT VNC SESSION

After you click the name of the existing session, you may be asked for login credentials, depending on
the persistent session settings.

14.5 Configuring encryption on the VNC server

If the VNC server is set up properly, all communication between the VNC server and the client is encrypted.
The authentication happens at the beginning of the session; the actual data transfer only begins afterward.
Whether for a one-time or a persistent VNC session, security options are configured via the -security-
types parameter of the /usr/bin/Xvnc command located on the server_args line. The -securi-
tytypes parameter selects both authentication method and encryption. It has the following options:

AUTHENTICATIONS

None, TLSNone, x509None

No authentication.

203 Configuring encryption on the VNC server | SLES 15 SP4

VncAuth, TLSVnc, x509Vnc
Authentication using custom password.

Plain, TLSPlain, x509Plain

Authentication using PAM to verify user's password.

ENCRYPTIONS

None, vncAuth, plain

No encryption.

TLSNone, TLSVnc, TLSPlain

Anonymous TLS encryption. Everything is encrypted, but there is no verification of the remote host.
So you are protected against passive attackers, but not against man-in-the-middle attackers.

X509None, x509Vnc, x509Plain

TLS encryption with certificate. If you use a self-signed certificate, you will be asked to verify it on
the first connection. On subsequent connections you will be warned only if the certificate changed.
So you are protected against everything except man-in-the-middle on the first connection (similar
to typical SSH usage). If you use a certificate signed by a certificate authority matching the machine
name, then you get full security (similar to typical HTTPS usage).

Tip
Some VNC clients refuse to establish a secure connection via the default self-signed certifi-
cate. For example, the Vinagre client verifies the certification against the GnuTLS global
trust store and fails if the certificate is self-signed. In such a case, either use an encryption
method other than x509, or generate a properly signed certificate for the VNC server and
import it to the client's system trust store.

Tip: Path to certificate and key

With X509 based encryption, you need to specify the path to the X509 certificate and the
key with -X509Cert and -X509Key options.

If you select multiple security types separated by comma, the first one supported and allowed by both
client and server will be used. That way you can configure opportunistic encryption on the server. This is
useful if you need to support VNC clients that do not support encryption.

204 Configuring encryption on the VNC server | SLES 15 SP4

On the client, you can also specify the allowed security types to prevent a downgrade attack if you are
connecting to a server which you know has encryption enabled (although our vncviewer will warn you
with the "Connection not encrypted!" message in that case).

14.6 Compatibility with Wayland

The Remote Administration (VNC) feature relies on X11 and may result in an empty screen if Wayland
is enabled. The display manager must be configured to use X11 instead of Wayland. For gdm, edit /etc/
gdm/[Link]. In the [daemon] section, add WaylandEnable=false to the configuration file.
When logging in, the user must choose an X11-compatible session as well. If you wish to remove the
Wayland option for GNOME, you can remove and lock the gnome-session-wayland package.

205 Compatibility with Wayland | SLES 15 SP4

15 File copying with RSync

Today, a typical user has several computers: home and workplace machines, a laptop, a
smartphone or a tablet. This makes the task of keeping files and documents in synchroniza-
tion across multiple devices all the more important.

Warning: Risk of data loss

Before you start using a synchronization tool, you should familiarize yourself with its features and
functionality. Make sure to back up your important files.

15.1 Conceptual overview

For synchronizing a large amount of data over a slow network connection, Rsync offers a reliable method
of transmitting only changes within files. This applies not only to text files but also binary files. To detect
the differences between files, Rsync subdivides the files into blocks and computes check sums over them.
Detecting changes requires some computing power. So make sure that machines on both ends have enough
resources, including RAM.
Rsync can be particularly useful when large amounts of data containing only minor changes need to be
transmitted regularly. This is often the case when working with backups. Rsync can also be useful for
mirroring staging servers that store complete directory trees of Web servers to a Web server in a DMZ.
Despite its name, Rsync is not a synchronization tool. Rsync is a tool that copies data only in one direction
at a time. It does not and cannot do the reverse. If you need a bidirectional tool which can synchronize
both source and destination, use Csync.

15.2 Basic syntax

Rsync is a command-line tool that has the following basic syntax:

rsync [OPTION] SOURCE [SOURCE]... DEST

You can use Rsync on any local or remote machine, provided you have access and write permissions. It is
possible to have multiple SOURCE entries. The SOURCE and DEST placeholders can be paths, URLs, or both.

206 Conceptual overview | SLES 15 SP4

Below are the most common Rsync options:

-v
Outputs more verbose text

-a
Archive mode; copies files recursively and preserves time stamps, user/group ownership, file per-
missions, and symbolic links

-z
Compresses the transmitted data

Note: Trailing slashes count

When working with Rsync, you should pay particular attention to trailing slashes. A trailing slash
after the directory denotes the content of the directory. No trailing slash denotes the directory itself.

15.3 Copying files and directories locally

The following description assumes that the current user has write permissions to the directory /var/
backup. To copy a single file from one directory on your machine to another path, use the following
command:

> rsync -avz [Link] /var/backup/

The file [Link] is copied to /var/backup/; the absolute path will be /var/backup/back-
[Link].

Do not forget to add the trailing slash after the /var/backup/ directory! If you do not insert the slash,
the file [Link] is copied to /var/backup (file) not inside the directory /var/backup/!
Copying a directory is similar to copying a single file. The following example copies the directory tux/
and its content into the directory /var/backup/:

> rsync -avz tux /var/backup/

Find the copy in the absolute path /var/backup/tux/.

207 Copying files and directories locally | SLES 15 SP4

15.4 Copying files and directories remotely
The Rsync tool is required on both machines. To copy files from or to remote directories requires an IP
address or a domain name. A user name is optional if your current user names on the local and remote
machine are the same.
To copy the file [Link] from your local host to the remote host [Link] with same users
(being local and remote), use the following command:

> rsync -avz [Link] tux@[Link]:

Depending on what you prefer, these commands are also possible and equivalent:

> rsync -avz [Link] [Link]:~

> rsync -avz [Link] [Link]:/home/tux

In all cases with standard configuration, you will be prompted to enter your passphrase of the remote user.
This command will copy [Link] to the home directory of user tux (usually /home/tux).
Copying a directory remotely is similar to copying a directory locally. The following example copies the
directory tux/ and its content into the remote directory /var/backup/ on the [Link] host:

> rsync -avz tux [Link]:/var/backup/

Assuming you have write permissions on the host [Link], you will find the copy in the absolute
path /var/backup/tux.

15.5 Configuring and using an rsync server

Rsync can run as a daemon (rsyncd) listening on default port 873 for incoming connections. This daemon
can receive “copying targets”.
The following description explains how to create an Rsync server on a jupiter host with a backup target.
This target can be used to store your backups. To create an Rsync server, do the following:

PROCEDURE 15.1: SETTING UP AN RSYNC SERVER

1. On jupiter, create a directory to store all your backup files. In this example, we use /var/backup:

# mkdir /var/backup

2. Specify ownership. In this case, the directory is owned by user tux in group users:

# chown [Link] /var/backup

208 Copying files and directories remotely | SLES 15 SP4

 3. Configure the rsyncd daemon.
We will separate the configuration file into a main file and some “modules” which hold your backup
target. This makes it easier to add additional targets later. Global values can be stored in /etc/
rsyncd.d/*.inc files, whereas your modules are placed in /etc/rsyncd.d/*.conf files:

a. Create a directory /etc/rsyncd.d/:

# mkdir /etc/rsyncd.d/

b. In the main configuration file /etc/[Link], add the following lines:

# [Link] main configuration file

log file = /var/log/[Link]
pid file = /var/lock/[Link]

&merge /etc/rsyncd.d 1

&include /etc/rsyncd.d 2

1 Merges global values from /etc/rsyncd.d/*.inc files into the main configuration
file.
2 Loads any modules (or targets) from /etc/rsyncd.d/*.conf files. These files should
not contain any references to global values.

c. Create your module (your backup target) in the file /etc/rsyncd.d/[Link] with
the following lines:

# [Link]: backup module

[backup] 1

uid = tux 2

gid = users 2

path = /var/backup 3

auth users = tux 4

secrets file = /etc/[Link] 5

comment = Our backup target

1 The backup target. You can use any name you like. However, it is a good idea to name
a target according to its purpose and use the same name in your *.conf file.
2 Specifies the user name or group name that is used when the file transfer takes place.
3 Defines the path to store your backups (from Step 1).

209 Configuring and using an rsync server | SLES 15 SP4

 4 Specifies a comma-separated list of allowed users. In its simplest form, it contains the
user names that are allowed to connect to this module. In our case, only user tux is
allowed.
5 Specifies the path of a file that contains lines with user names and plain passwords.

d. Create the /etc/[Link] file with the following content and replace PASSPHRASE:

# user:passwd
tux:PASSPHRASE

e. Make sure the file is only readable by root:

# chmod 0600 /etc/[Link]

4. Start and enable the rsyncd daemon with:

# systemctl enable rsyncd

# systemctl start rsyncd

5. Test the access to your Rsync server:

> rsync jupiter::

You should see a response that looks like this:

backup Our backup target

Otherwise, check your configuration file, firewall and network settings.

The above steps create an Rsync server that can now be used to store backups. The example also creates
a log file listing all connections. This file is stored in /var/log/[Link]. This is useful if you want
to debug your transfers.
To list the content of your backup target, use the following command:

> rsync -avz jupiter::backup

This command lists all files present in the directory /var/backup on the server. This request is also
logged in the log file /var/log/[Link]. To start an actual transfer, provide a source directory.
Use . for the current directory. For example, the following command copies the current directory to your
Rsync backup server:

> rsync -avz . jupiter::backup

210 Configuring and using an rsync server | SLES 15 SP4

By default, Rsync does not delete files and directories when it runs. To enable deletion, the additional
option --delete must be stated. To ensure that no newer files are deleted, the option --update can be
used instead. Any conflicts that arise must be resolved manually.

15.6 More information

Csync
Bidirectional file synchronization tool, see [Link] .

RSnapshot
Creates incremental backups, see [Link] .

Unison
A file synchronization tool similar to CSync but with a graphical interface, see [Link]
bcpierce00/unison .

Rear
A disaster recovery framework, see the Administration Guide of the SUSE Linux Enterprise
High Availability, chapter Disaster Recovery with Rear (Relax-and-Recover) ([Link]
[Link]/sle-ha-15/html/SLE-HA-all/[Link]) .

211 More information | SLES 15 SP4

II Booting a Linux system

16 Introduction to the boot process 213

17 UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) 221

18 The boot loader GRUB 2 232

19 The systemd daemon 254

16 Introduction to the boot process

Booting a Linux system involves different components and tasks. After a firmware and hard-
ware initialization process, which depends on the machine's architecture, the kernel is start-
ed by means of the boot loader GRUB 2. After this point, the boot process is completely con-
trolled by the operating system and handled by systemd. systemd provides a set of “tar-
gets” that boot configurations for everyday usage, maintenance or emergencies.

16.1 Terminology
This chapter uses terms that can be interpreted ambiguously. To understand how they are used here, read
the definitions below:

init
Two different processes are commonly named “init”:

The initramfs process mounting the root file system

The operating system process that starts all other processes that is executed from the real root
file system

In both cases, the systemd program is taking care of this task. It is first executed from the
initramfs to mount the root file system. When that has succeeded, it is re-executed from the root
file system as the initial process. To avoid confusing these two systemd processes, we refer to the
first process as init on initramfs and to the second one as systemd.

initrd/initramfs
An initrd (initial RAM disk) is an image file containing a root file system image which is loaded
by the kernel and mounted from /dev/ram as the temporary root file system. Mounting this file
system requires a file system driver.
Beginning with kernel 2.6.13, the initrd has been replaced by the initramfs (initial RAM file
system), which does not require a file system driver to be mounted. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
exclusively uses an initramfs. However, since the initramfs is stored as /boot/initrd, it is
often called “initrd”. In this chapter we exclusively use the name initramfs.

213 Terminology | SLES 15 SP4

16.2 The Linux boot process
The Linux boot process consists of several stages, each represented by a different component:

1. Section 16.2.1, “The initialization and boot loader phase”

2. Section 16.2.2, “The kernel phase”

3. Section 16.2.3, “The init on initramfs phase”

4. Section 16.2.4, “The systemd phase”

16.2.1 The initialization and boot loader phase

During the initialization phase the machine's hardware is set up and the devices are prepared. This process
differs significantly between hardware architectures.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server uses the boot loader GRUB 2 on all architectures. Depending on the archi-
tecture and firmware, starting the GRUB 2 boot loader can be a multi-step process. The purpose of the
boot loader is to load the kernel and the initial, RAM-based file system (initramfs). For more information
about GRUB 2, refer to Chapter 18, The boot loader GRUB 2.

[Link] Initialization and boot loader phase on AArch64 and AMD64/

Intel 64
After turning on the computer, the BIOS or the UEFI initializes the screen and keyboard, and tests the
main memory. Up to this stage, the machine does not access any mass storage media. Subsequently, the
information about the current date, time, and the most important peripherals are loaded from the CMOS
values. When the boot media and its geometry are recognized, the system control passes from the BIOS/
UEFI to the boot loader.
On a machine equipped with a traditional BIOS, only code from the first physical 512-byte data sector (the
Master Boot Record, MBR) of the boot disk can be loaded. Only a minimal GRUB 2 fits into the MBR. Its
sole purpose is to load a GRUB 2 core image containing file system drivers from the gap between the MBR
and the first partition (MBR partition table) or from the BIOS boot partition (GPT partition table). This
image contains file system drivers and therefore is able to access /boot located on the root file system. /
boot contains additional modules for GRUB 2 core as well as the kernel and the initramfs image. When
it has access to this partition, GRUB 2 loads the kernel and the initramfs image into memory and hands
control over to the kernel.

214 The Linux boot process | SLES 15 SP4

When booting a BIOS system from an encrypted file system that includes an encrypted /boot partition,
you need to enter the password for decryption twice. It is first needed by GRUB 2 to decrypt /boot and
then for systemd to mount the encrypted volumes.
On machines with UEFI the boot process is much simpler than on machines with a traditional BIOS.
The firmware is able to read from a FAT formatted system partition of disks with a GPT partition table.
This EFI system-partition (in the running system mounted as /boot/efi) holds enough space to host a
fully-fledged GRUB 2 which is directly loaded and executed by the firmware.
If the BIOS/UEFI supports network booting, it is also possible to configure a boot server that provides the
boot loader. The system can then be booted via PXE. The BIOS/UEFI acts as the boot loader. It gets the
boot image from the boot server and starts the system. This is completely independent of local hard disks.

[Link] Initialization and boot loader phase on IBM Z

On IBM Z the boot process must be initialized by a boot loader called zipl (z initial program load).
Although zipl supports reading from various file systems, it does not support the SLE default file system
(Btrfs) or booting from snapshots. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server therefore uses a two-stage boot process
that ensures full Btrfs support at boot-time:

1. zipl boots from the partition /boot/zipl, which can be formatted with the Ext2, Ext3, Ext4,
or XFS file system. This partition contains a minimal kernel and an initramfs that are loaded into
memory. The initramfs contains a Btrfs driver (among others) and the boot loader GRUB 2. The
kernel is started with a parameter initgrub, which tells it to start GRUB 2.

2. The kernel mounts the root file system, so /boot becomes accessible. Now GRUB 2 is started from
the initramfs. It reads its configuration from /boot/grub2/[Link] and loads the final kernel
and initramfs from /boot. The new kernel now gets loaded via Kexec.

16.2.2 The kernel phase

When the boot loader has passed on system control, the boot process is the same on all architectures. The
boot loader loads both the kernel and an initial RAM-based file system (initramfs) into memory and
the kernel takes over.
After the kernel has set up memory management and has detected the CPU type and its features, it ini-
tializes the hardware and mounts the temporary root file system from the memory that was loaded with
the initramfs.

215 The kernel phase | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] The initramfs file
initramfs (initial RAM file system) is a small cpio archive that the kernel can load into a RAM disk.
It is located at /boot/initrd. It can be created with a tool called dracut—refer to man 8 dracut
for details.
The initramfs provides a minimal Linux environment that enables the execution of programs before
the actual root file system is mounted. This minimal Linux environment is loaded into memory by BIOS
or UEFI routines and does not have specific hardware requirements other than sufficient memory. The
initramfs archive must always provide an executable named init that executes the systemd daemon
on the root file system for the boot process to proceed.
Before the root file system can be mounted and the operating system can be started, the kernel needs
the corresponding drivers to access the device on which the root file system is located. These drivers
may include special drivers for certain kinds of hard disks or even network drivers to access a network
file system. The needed modules for the root file system are loaded by init on initramfs. After the
modules are loaded, udev provides the initramfs with the needed devices. Later in the boot process,
after changing the root file system, it is necessary to regenerate the devices. This is done by the systemd
unit [Link].

[Link].1 Regenerating the initramfs

Because the initramfs contains drivers, it needs to be updated whenever a new version of one of its
drivers is available. This is done automatically when installing the package containing the driver update.
YaST or zypper will inform you about this by showing the output of the command that generates the
initramfs. However, there are some occasions when you need to regenerate an initramfs manually:

Adding drivers because of hardware changes

If you need to change hardware, for example, hard disks, and this hardware requires different drivers
to be in the kernel at boot time, you must update the initramfs file.
Open or create /etc/[Link].d/[Link] and add the following line (mind the
leading blank space):

force_drivers+=" DRIVER1 "

Replace DRIVER1 with the module name of the driver. If you need to add more than one driver,
list them space-separated:

force_drivers+=" DRIVER1 DRIVER2 "

Proceed with Procedure 16.1, “Generate an initramfs”.

216 The kernel phase | SLES 15 SP4

Moving system directories to a RAID or LVM
Whenever you move swap files, or system directories like /usr in a running system to a RAID
or logical volume, you need to create an initramfs that contains support for software RAID or
LVM drivers.
To do so, create the respective entries in /etc/fstab and mount the new entries (for example with
mount -a and/or swapon -a).
Proceed with Procedure 16.1, “Generate an initramfs”.

Adding disks to an LVM group or Btrfs RAID containing the root file system
Whenever you add (or remove) a disk to a logical volume group or a Btrfs RAID containing the
root file system, you need to create an initramfs that contains support for the enlarged volume.
Follow the instructions at Procedure 16.1, “Generate an initramfs”.
Proceed with Procedure 16.1, “Generate an initramfs”.

Changing kernel variables

If you change the values of kernel variables via the sysctl interface by editing related files (/etc/
[Link] or /etc/sysctl.d/*.conf), the change will be lost on the next system reboot.
Even if you load the values with sysctl --system at runtime, the changes are not saved into
the initramfs file. You need to update it by proceeding as outlined in Procedure 16.1, “Generate
an initramfs”.

Adding or removing swap devices, re-creating swap area

Whenever you add or remove a swap device, or re-create a swap area with a different UUID, up-
date the initramfs as outlined in Procedure 16.1, “Generate an initramfs”. You may also need to
update GRUB_CMDLINE_* variables that include the resume= option in /etc/default/grub, and
then regenerate /boot/grub2/[Link] as outlined in Section 18.2.1, “The file /boot/grub2/
[Link]”.

PROCEDURE 16.1: GENERATE AN INITRAMFS

Note that all commands in the following procedure need to be executed as the root user.

1. Enter your /boot directory:

# cd /boot

2. Generate a new initramfs file with dracut, replacing MY_INITRAMFS with a file name of your
choice:

# dracut MY_INITRAMFS

217 The kernel phase | SLES 15 SP4

 Alternatively, run dracut -f FILENAME to replace an existing init file.

3. (Skip this step if you ran dracut -f in the previous step.) Create a symbolic link from the
initramfs file you created in the previous step to initrd:

# ln -sf MY_INITRAMFS initrd

4. On the IBM Z architecture, additionally run grub2-install.

16.2.3 The init on initramfs phase

The temporary root file system mounted by the kernel from the initramfs contains the executable sys-
temd (which is called init on initramfs in the following, also see Section 16.1, “Terminology”. This
program performs all actions needed to mount the proper root file system. It provides kernel functionality
for the needed file system and device drivers for mass storage controllers with udev.
The main purpose of init on initramfs is to prepare the mounting of and access to the real root file
system. Depending on your system configuration, init on initramfs is responsible for the following
tasks.

Loading kernel modules

Depending on your hardware configuration, special drivers may be needed to access the hardware
components of your computer (the most important component being your hard disk). To access the
final root file system, the kernel needs to load the proper file system drivers.

Providing block special files

The kernel generates device events depending on loaded modules. udev handles these events and
generates the required special block files on a RAM file system in /dev. Without those special files,
the file system and other devices would not be accessible.

Managing RAID and LVM setups

If you configured your system to hold the root file system under RAID or LVM, init on initramfs
sets up LVM or RAID to enable access to the root file system later.

Managing the network configuration

If you configured your system to use a network-mounted root file system (mounted via NFS), init
must make sure that the proper network drivers are loaded and that they are set up to allow access
to the root file system.

218 The init on initramfs phase | SLES 15 SP4

 If the file system resides on a network block device like iSCSI or SAN, the connection to the storage
server is also set up by init on initramfs. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server supports booting from a
secondary iSCSI target if the primary target is not available. For more details regarding configuration
of the booting iSCSI target refer to Book “Storage Administration Guide”, Chapter 15 “Mass storage
over IP networks: iSCSI”, Section 15.3.1 “Using YaST for the iSCSI initiator configuration”.

Note: Handling of mount failures

If the root file system fails to mount from within the boot environment, it must be checked and
repaired before the boot can continue. The file system checker will be automatically started for
Ext3 and Ext4 file systems. The repair process is not automated for XFS and Btrfs file systems,
and the user is presented with information describing the options available to repair the file system.
When the file system has been successfully repaired, exiting the boot environment will cause the
system to retry mounting the root file system. If successful, the boot will continue normally.

[Link] The init on initramfs phase in the installation process

When init on initramfs is called during the initial boot as part of the installation process, its tasks
differ from those mentioned above. Note that the installation system also does not start systemd from
initramfs—these tasks are performed by linuxrc.

Finding the installation medium

When starting the installation process, your machine loads an installation kernel and a special init
containing the YaST installer. The YaST installer is running in a RAM file system and needs to have
information about the location of the installation medium to access it for installing the operating
system.

Initiating hardware recognition and loading appropriate kernel modules

As mentioned in Section [Link], “The initramfs file”, the boot process starts with a minimum set
of drivers that can be used with most hardware configurations. On AArch64, POWER, and AMD64/
Intel 64 machines, linuxrc starts an initial hardware scanning process that determines the set of
drivers suitable for your hardware configuration. On IBM Z, a list of drivers and their parameters
needs to be provided, for example via linuxrc or a parmfile.
These drivers are used to generate a custom initramfs that is needed to boot the system. If the
modules are not needed for boot but for coldplug, the modules can be loaded with systemd; for
more information, see Section 19.6.4, “Loading kernel modules”.

219 The init on initramfs phase | SLES 15 SP4

Loading the installation system
When the hardware is properly recognized, the appropriate drivers are loaded. The udev program
creates the special device files and linuxrc starts the installation system with the YaST installer.

Starting YaST
Finally, linuxrc starts YaST, which starts the package installation and the system configuration.

16.2.4 The systemd phase

After the “real” root file system has been found, it is checked for errors and mounted. If this is successful,
the initramfs is cleaned and the systemd daemon on the root file system is executed. systemd is
Linux's system and service manager. It is the parent process that is started as PID 1 and acts as an init system
which brings up and maintains user space services. See Chapter 19, The systemd daemon for details.

220 The systemd phase | SLES 15 SP4

17 UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is the interface between the firmware that comes with the
system hardware, all the hardware components of the system, and the operating system.
UEFI is becoming more and more available on PC systems and thus is replacing the traditional PC-BIOS.
UEFI, for example, properly supports 64-bit systems and offers secure booting (“Secure Boot”, firmware
version 2.3.1c or better required), which is one of its most important features. Lastly, with UEFI a standard
firmware will become available on all x86 platforms.
UEFI additionally offers the following advantages:

Booting from large disks (over 2 TiB) with a GUID Partition Table (GPT).

CPU-independent architecture and drivers.

Flexible pre-OS environment with network capabilities.

CSM (Compatibility Support Module) to support booting legacy operating systems via a PC-BIOS-
like emulation.

For more information, see [Link] . The

following sections are not meant as a general UEFI overview; these are only hints about how some features
are implemented in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

17.1 Secure boot

In the world of UEFI, securing the bootstrapping process means establishing a chain of trust. The “plat-
form” is the root of this chain of trust; in the context of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, the mainboard and
the on-board firmware could be considered the “platform”. In other words, it is the hardware vendor, and
the chain of trust flows from that hardware vendor to the component manufacturers, the OS vendors, etc.
The trust is expressed via public key cryptography. The hardware vendor puts a so-called Platform Key
(PK) into the firmware, representing the root of trust. The trust relationship with operating system vendors
and others is documented by signing their keys with the Platform Key.
Finally, security is established by requiring that no code will be executed by the firmware unless it has
been signed by one of these “trusted” keys—be it an OS boot loader, some driver located in the flash
memory of some PCI Express card or on disk, or be it an update of the firmware itself.
To use Secure Boot, you need to have your OS loader signed with a key trusted by the firmware, and you
need the OS loader to verify that the kernel it loads can be trusted.

221 Secure boot | SLES 15 SP4

Key Exchange Keys (KEK) can be added to the UEFI key database. This way, you can use other certifi-
cates, as long as they are signed with the private part of the PK.

17.1.1 Implementation on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

Microsoft’s Key Exchange Key (KEK) is installed by default.

Note: GUID partitioning table (GPT) required

The Secure Boot feature is enabled by default on UEFI/x86_64 installations. You can find the
Enable Secure Boot Support option in the Boot Code Options tab of the Boot Loader Settings dialog.
It supports booting when the secure boot is activated in the firmware, while making it possible to
boot when it is deactivated.

FIGURE 17.1: SECURE BOOT SUPPORT

The Secure Boot feature requires that a GUID Partitioning Table (GPT) replaces the old partitioning
with a Master Boot Record (MBR). If YaST detects EFI mode during the installation, it will try
to create a GPT partition. UEFI expects to find the EFI programs on a FAT-formatted EFI System
Partition (ESP).

222 Implementation on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server | SLES 15 SP4

Supporting UEFI Secure Boot requires having a boot loader with a digital signature that the firmware
recognizes as a trusted key. That key is trusted by the firmware a priori, without requiring any manual
intervention.
There are two ways of getting there. One is to work with hardware vendors to have them endorse a SUSE
key, which SUSE then signs the boot loader with. The other way is to go through Microsoft’s Windows
Logo Certification program to have the boot loader certified and have Microsoft recognize the SUSE
signing key (that is, have it signed with their KEK). By now, SUSE got the loader signed by UEFI Signing
Service (that is Microsoft in this case).

FIGURE 17.2: UEFI: SECURE BOOT PROCESS

At the implementation layer, SUSE uses the shim loader which is installed by default. It is a smart solution
that avoids legal issues, and simplifies the certification and signing step considerably. The shim loader’s
job is to load a boot loader such as GRUB 2 and verify it; this boot loader in turn will load kernels signed
by a SUSE key only. SUSE provides this functionality since SLE11 SP3 on fresh installations with UEFI
Secure Boot enabled.
There are two types of trusted users:

First, those who hold the keys. The Platform Key (PK) allows almost everything. The Key Exchange
Key (KEK) allows all a PK can except changing the PK.

Second, anyone with physical access to the machine. A user with physical access can reboot the
machine, and configure UEFI.

223 Implementation on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server | SLES 15 SP4

UEFI offers two types of variables to fulfill the needs of those users:

The first is the so-called “Authenticated Variables”, which can be updated from both within the boot
process (the so-called Boot Services Environment) and the running OS. This can be done only when
the new value of the variable is signed with the same key that the old value of the variable was signed
with. And they can only be appended to or changed to a value with a higher serial number.

The second is the so-called “Boot Services Only Variables”. These variables are accessible to any
code that runs during the boot process. After the boot process ends and before the OS starts, the boot
loader must call the ExitBootServices call. After that, these variables are no longer accessible,
and the OS cannot touch them.

The various UEFI key lists are of the first type, as this allows online updating, adding, and blacklisting
of keys, drivers, and firmware fingerprints. It is the second type of variable, the “Boot Services Only
Variable”, that helps to implement Secure Boot in a secure and open source-friendly manner, and thus
compatible with GPLv3.
SUSE starts with shim—a small and simple EFI boot loader signed by SUSE and Microsoft.
This allows shim to load and execute.
shim then goes on to verify that the boot loader it wants to load is trusted. In a default situation shim
will use an independent SUSE certificate embedded in its body. In addition, shim will allow to “enroll”
additional keys, overriding the default SUSE key. In the following, we call them “Machine Owner Keys”
or MOKs for short.
Next the boot loader will verify and then boot the kernel, and the kernel will do the same on the modules.

17.1.2 MOK (Machine Owner Key)

To replace specific kernels, drivers, or other components that are part of the boot process, you need to use
Machine Owner Keys (MOKs). The mokutil tool can help you to manage MOKs.
You can create a MOK enrollment request with mokutil. The request is stored in a UEFI runtime (RT)
variable called MokNew. During the next boot, the shim boot loader detects MokNew and loads MokMan-
ager, which presents you with several options. You can use the Enroll key from disk and Enroll hash
from disk options to add the key to the MokList. Use the Enroll MOK option to copy the key from the
MokNew variable.

Enrolling a key from disk is usually done when the shim fails to load grub2 and falls back to loading
MokManager. As MokNew does not exist yet, you have the option of locating the key on the UEFI partition.

224 MOK (Machine Owner Key) | SLES 15 SP4

17.1.3 Booting a custom kernel
The following is based on [Link] .
Secure Boot does not prevent you from using a self-compiled kernel. You must sign it with your own
certificate and make that certificate known to the firmware or MOK.

1. Create a custom X.509 key and certificate used for signing:

openssl req -new -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout [Link] \

-out [Link] -nodes -days 666 -subj "/CN=$USER/"

For more information about creating certificates, see [Link]

mage_File_Sign_Tools#Create_Your_Own_Certificate .

2. Package the key and the certificate as a PKCS#12 structure:

> openssl pkcs12 -export -inkey [Link] -in [Link] \

-name kernel_cert -out cert.p12

3. Generate an NSS database for use with pesign:

> certutil -d . -N

4. Import the key and the certificate contained in PKCS#12 into the NSS database:

> pk12util -d . -i cert.p12

5. “Bless” the kernel with the new signature using pesign:

> pesign -n . -c kernel_cert -i arch/x86/boot/bzImage \

-o [Link] -s

6. List the signatures on the kernel image:

> pesign -n . -S -i [Link]

At that point, you can install the kernel in /boot as usual. Because the kernel now has a custom
signature the certificate used for signing needs to be imported into the UEFI firmware or MOK.

7. Convert the certificate to the DER format for import into the firmware or MOK:

> openssl x509 -in [Link] -outform der -out [Link]

225 Booting a custom kernel | SLES 15 SP4

 8. Copy the certificate to the ESP for easier access:

> sudo cp [Link] /boot/efi/

9. Use mokutil to launch the MOK list automatically.

• a. Import the certificate to MOK:

> mokutil --root-pw --import [Link]

The --root-pw option enables usage of the root user directly.

b. Check the list of certificates that are prepared to be enrolled:

> mokutil --list-new

c. Reboot the system; shim should launch MokManager. You need to enter the root pass-
word to confirm the import of the certificate to the MOK list.

d. Check if the newly imported key was enrolled:

> mokutil --list-enrolled

• a. Alternatively, this is the procedure if you want to launch MOK manually:

Reboot

b. In the GRUB 2 menu press the 'c' key.

c. Type:

chainloader $efibootdir/[Link]
boot

d. Select Enroll key from disk.

e. Navigate to the [Link] file and press Enter .

f. Follow the instructions to enroll the key. Normally this should be pressing '0' and then
'y' to confirm.
Alternatively, the firmware menu may provide ways to add a new key to the Signature
Database.

226 Booting a custom kernel | SLES 15 SP4

17.1.4 Using non-inbox drivers
There is no support for adding non-inbox drivers (that is, drivers that do not come with SUSE Linux En-
terprise Server) during installation with Secure Boot enabled. The signing key used for SolidDriver/PLDP
is not trusted by default.
It is possible to install third party drivers during installation with Secure Boot enabled in two different
ways. In both cases:

Add the needed keys to the firmware database via firmware/system management tools before the
installation. This option depends on the specific hardware you are using. Consult your hardware
vendor for more information.

Use a bootable driver ISO from [Link] or your hardware vendor to enroll the
needed keys in the MOK list at first boot.

To use the bootable driver ISO to enroll the driver keys to the MOK list, follow these steps:

1. Burn the ISO image above to an empty CD/DVD medium.

2. Start the installation using the new CD/DVD medium, having the standard installation media at
hand or a URL to a network installation server.
If doing a network installation, enter the URL of the network installation source on the boot com-
mand line using the install= option.
If doing installation from optical media, the installer will first boot from the driver kit and then ask
to insert the first installation disk of the product.

3. An initrd containing updated drivers will be used for installation.

For more information, see [Link] .

17.1.5 Features and limitations

When booting in Secure Boot mode, the following features apply:

Installation to UEFI default boot loader location, a mechanism to keep or restore the EFI boot entry.

Reboot via UEFI.

Xen hypervisor will boot with UEFI when there is no legacy BIOS to fall back to.

UEFI IPv6 PXE boot support.

227 Using non-inbox drivers | SLES 15 SP4

 UEFI videomode support, the kernel can retrieve video mode from UEFI to configure KMS mode
with the same parameters.

UEFI booting from USB devices is supported.

Since SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3, Kexec and Kdump are supported in Secure Boot mode.

When booting in Secure Boot mode, the following limitations apply:

To ensure that Secure Boot cannot be easily circumvented, some kernel features are disabled when
running under Secure Boot.

Boot loader, kernel, and kernel modules must be signed.

Hibernation (suspend on disk) is disabled.

Access to /dev/kmem and /dev/mem is not possible, not even as root user.

Access to the I/O port is not possible, not even as root user. All X11 graphical drivers must use a
kernel driver.

PCI BAR access through sysfs is not possible.

custom_method in ACPI is not available.

debugfs for asus-wmi module is not available.

the acpi_rsdp parameter does not have any effect on the kernel.

17.2 The Secure Boot Revocation List

The UEFI Secure Boot Revocation List, also known as dbx (Secure Boot Forbidden Signature Database), is
a critical security component of a computer's UEFI firmware. It enhances the system security by preventing
the loading and execution of untrusted software during the boot process. dbx is important because it does
the following:

Prevents boot-time malware: dbx stops malicious code from being loaded and executed before
the operating system even starts.

Maintains a chain of trust: Each component verifies the next one in the boot sequence. dbx ensures
that any component in this chain that has been compromised is immediately blocked.

228 The Secure Boot Revocation List | SLES 15 SP4

 Protects against rollback attacks: Helps prevent attackers from rolling back firmware or boot-
loaders to older, vulnerable versions.

Enhanced security: Updating dbx is important to keep your system protected as new vulnerabilities
are discovered. Failing to update it can leave your system exposed to known exploits.

17.2.1 How to apply an online Revocation List update

PREREQUISITES

Secure boot is enabled on your system.

Your system can access the Internet for updates.

1. Check the current version of the Revocation List:

> fwupdmgr get-devices

LENOVO 21AAS05L00
│
├─11th Gen Intel Core™ i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz:
│ Device ID: 4bde70ba4e39b28f9eab1628f9dd6e6244c03027
│ Current version: 0x00000052
│ Vendor: Intel
│ GUIDs: a6bd4ca5-75a6-5796-b564-66b5cab1b11b ← CPUID
\PRO_0&FAM_06&MOD_8D
│ d9dd5e77-df17-5bab-b5ec-22827598bfed ← CPUID
\PRO_0&FAM_06&MOD_8D&STP_1
│ Device Flags: • Internal device
│ Device Requests: • Message

2. Enable the LVFS (Linux Vendor Firmware Service) Revocation List repository:

> fwupdmgr enable-remote lvfs

3. Refresh the repository metadata:

> fwupdmgr refresh

4. Apply the Revocation List update:

> fwupdmgr update

5. To verify after reboot, check the current version:

> fwupdmgr get-devices

229 How to apply an online Revocation List update | SLES 15 SP4

17.2.2 How to apply an online Revocation List update
For an offline revocation list update, you can update the secure Boot revocation list from SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server so that secure boot prevents known security issues. This procedure is safe and ensures
that the update does not prevent your system from booting.

1. Check the current version of the Revocation List:

> fwupdmgr get-devices

LENOVO 21AAS05L00
│
├─11th Gen Intel Core™ i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz:
│ Device ID: 4bde70ba4e39b28f9eab1628f9dd6e6244c03027
│ Current version: 0x00000052
│ Vendor: Intel
│ GUIDs: a6bd4ca5-75a6-5796-b564-66b5cab1b11b ← CPUID
\PRO_0&FAM_06&MOD_8D
│ d9dd5e77-df17-5bab-b5ec-22827598bfed ← CPUID
\PRO_0&FAM_06&MOD_8D&STP_1
│ Device Flags: • Internal device
│ Device Requests: • Message

2. List the updates available from SUSE Linux Enterprise Server:

> ls /usr/share/dbxtool/

3. Choose the most recent update file for your architecture. For example, DBXUpdate-date-archi-
[Link].

4. Install the selected update file:

> fwupdmgr install /usr/share/dbxtool/[Link]

5. To verify after reboot, check the current version:

> fwupdmgr get-devices

230 How to apply an online Revocation List update | SLES 15 SP4

17.3 More information
[Link] —UEFI home page where you can find the current UEFI specifications.

Blog posts by Olaf Kirch and Vojtěch Pavlík (the chapter above is heavily based on these posts):

[Link]

[Link]

[Link]

[Link] —UEFI with openSUSE.

231 More information | SLES 15 SP4

18 The boot loader GRUB 2

This chapter describes how to configure GRUB 2, the boot loader used in SUSE® Linux En-
terprise Server. It is the successor to the traditional GRUB boot loader—now called “GRUB
Legacy”. GRUB 2 has been the default boot loader in SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server since
version 12. A YaST module is available for configuring the most important settings. The
boot procedure as a whole is outlined in Chapter 16, Introduction to the boot process. For
details on Secure Boot support for UEFI machines, see Chapter 17, UEFI (Unified Extensible
Firmware Interface).

18.1 Main differences between GRUB legacy and

GRUB 2
The configuration is stored in different files.

More file systems are supported (for example, Btrfs).

Can directly read files stored on LVM or RAID devices.

The user interface can be translated and altered with themes.

Includes a mechanism for loading modules to support additional features, such as file systems, etc.

Automatically searches for and generates boot entries for other kernels and operating systems, such
as Windows.

Includes a minimal Bash-like console.

18.2 Configuration file structure

The configuration of GRUB 2 is based on the following files:

/boot/grub2/[Link]
This file contains the configuration of the GRUB 2 menu items. It replaces [Link] used in GRUB
Legacy. [Link] should not be edited—it is automatically generated by the command grub2-
mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/[Link].

232 Main differences between GRUB legacy and GRUB 2 | SLES 15 SP4
/boot/grub2/[Link]
This optional file is directly sourced by [Link] at boot time and can be used to add custom items
to the boot menu. Starting with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 these entries are also parsed
when using grub2-once.

/etc/default/grub
This file controls the user settings of GRUB 2 and normally includes additional environmental set-
tings such as backgrounds and themes.

Scripts under /etc/grub.d/

The scripts in this directory are read during execution of the command grub2-mkconfig -o /
boot/grub2/[Link]. Their instructions are integrated into the main configuration file /boot/
grub/[Link].

/etc/sysconfig/bootloader
This configuration file holds certain basic settings like the boot loader type and whether to enable
UEFI Secure Boot support.

/boot/grub2/x86_64-efi, /boot/grub2/power-ieee1275, /boot/grub2/s390x

These configuration files contain architecture-specific options.

GRUB 2 can be controlled in various ways. Boot entries from an existing configuration can be select-
ed from the graphical menu (splash screen). The configuration is loaded from the file /boot/grub2/
[Link] which is compiled from other configuration files (see below). All GRUB 2 configuration files
are considered system files, and you need root privileges to edit them.

Note: Activating configuration changes

After having manually edited GRUB 2 configuration files, you need to run grub2-mkconfig -o /
boot/grub2/[Link] to activate the changes. However, this is not necessary when changing
the configuration with YaST, because YaST automatically runs this command.

18.2.1 The file /boot/grub2/[Link]

The graphical splash screen with the boot menu is based on the GRUB 2 configuration file /boot/grub2/
[Link], which contains information about all partitions or operating systems that can be booted by
the menu.

233 The file /boot/grub2/[Link] | SLES 15 SP4

Every time the system is booted, GRUB 2 loads the menu file directly from the file system. For this reason,
GRUB 2 does not need to be re-installed after changes to the configuration file. [Link] is automatically
rebuilt with kernel installations or removals.
[Link] is compiled from the file /etc/default/grub and scripts found in the /etc/grub.d/ di-
rectory when running the command grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/[Link]. Therefore you
should never edit the file manually. Instead, edit the related source files or use the YaST Boot Loader
module to modify the configuration as described in Section 18.3, “Configuring the boot loader with YaST”.

18.2.2 The file /etc/default/grub

More general options of GRUB 2 belong in this file, such as the time the menu is displayed, or the default
OS to boot. To list all available options, see the output of the following command:

> grep "export GRUB_DEFAULT" -A50 /usr/sbin/grub2-mkconfig | grep GRUB_

You can introduce custom variables and use them later in the scripts found in the /etc/grub.d directory.
After having edited /etc/default/grub, update the main configuration file with grub2-mkconfig -
o /boot/grub2/[Link].

Note: Scope
All options specified in this file are general options that affect all boot entries. Options specific to
a Xen hypervisor include the _XEN_ substring.

Important: Escaping inner quotes

More complex options with spaces require quoting so that they are processed as one option. Such
inner quotes need to be correctly escaped, for example:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_XEN="debug loglevel=9 log_buf_len=5M \"ddebug_query=file

drivers/xen/xen-acpi-processor.c +p\""

GRUB_DEFAULT
Sets the boot menu entry that is booted by default. Its value can be a numeric value, the complete
name of a menu entry, or “saved”.
GRUB_DEFAULT=2 boots the third (counted from zero) boot menu entry.

234 The file /etc/default/grub | SLES 15 SP4

 GRUB_DEFAULT="2>0" boots the first submenu entry of the third top-level menu entry.
GRUB_DEFAULT="Example boot menu entry" boots the menu entry with the title “Example
boot menu entry”.
GRUB_DEFAULT=saved boots the entry specified by the grub2-once or grub2-set-default
commands. While grub2-reboot sets the default boot entry for the next reboot only, grub2-set-
default sets the default boot entry until changed. grub2-editenv list lists the next boot entry.

GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT
Waits the specified number of seconds for the user to press a key. During the period no menu is
shown unless the user presses a key. If no key is pressed during the time specified, the control is
passed to GRUB_TIMEOUT. GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0 first checks whether Shift is pressed and
shows the boot menu if yes, otherwise immediately boots the default menu entry. This is the default
when only one bootable OS is identified by GRUB 2.

GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET
If false is specified, a countdown timer is displayed on a blank screen when the GRUB_HID-
DEN_TIMEOUT feature is active.

GRUB_TIMEOUT
Time period in seconds the boot menu is displayed before automatically booting the default boot
entry. If you press a key, the timeout is cancelled and GRUB 2 waits for you to make the selection
manually. GRUB_TIMEOUT=-1 causes the menu to be displayed until you select the boot entry man-
ually.

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX
Entries on this line are added at the end of the boot entries for normal and recovery modes. Use it
to add kernel parameters to the boot entry.

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT
Same as GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX but the entries are appended in the normal mode only.

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_RECOVERY
Same as GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX but the entries are appended in the recovery mode only.

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_XEN_REPLACE
This entry replaces the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX parameters for all Xen boot entries.

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_XEN_REPLACE_DEFAULT
Same as GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_XEN_REPLACE but it only replaces parameters of
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT.

235 The file /etc/default/grub | SLES 15 SP4

GRUB_CMDLINE_XEN
These entries are passed to the Xen hypervisor Xen menu entries for normal and recovery modes.
For example:

GRUB_CMDLINE_XEN="loglvl=all guest_loglvl=all"

Tip: Xen hypervisor options

Find a complete list of Xen hypervisor options in [Link]
ble/misc/[Link]

GRUB_CMDLINE_XEN_DEFAULT
Same as GRUB_CMDLINE_XEN but the entries are appended in the normal mode only.

GRUB_TERMINAL
Enables and specifies an input/output terminal device. Can be console (PC BIOS and EFI con-
soles), serial (serial terminal), ofconsole (Open Firmware console), or the default gfxterm
(graphics-mode output). It is also possible to enable more than one device by quoting the required
options, for example, GRUB_TERMINAL="console serial".

GRUB_GFXMODE
The resolution used for the gfxterm graphical terminal. You can only use modes supported by your
graphics card (VBE). The default is ‘auto’, which tries to select a preferred resolution. You can
display the screen resolutions available to GRUB 2 by typing videoinfo in the GRUB 2 command
line. The command line is accessed by typing C when the GRUB 2 boot menu screen is displayed.
You can also specify a color depth by appending it to the resolution setting, for example, GRUB_GFX-
MODE=1280x1024x24.

GRUB_BACKGROUND
Set a background image for the gfxterm graphical terminal. The image must be a file readable by
GRUB 2 at boot time, and it must end with the .png, .tga, .jpg, or .jpeg suffix. If necessary,
the image is scaled to fit the screen.

GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER
If this option is set to true, automatic searching for other operating systems is disabled. Only the
kernel images in /boot/ and the options from your own scripts in /etc/grub.d/ are detected.

SUSE_BTRFS_SNAPSHOT_BOOTING
If this option is set to true, GRUB 2 can boot directly into Snapper snapshots. For more information,
see Section 10.3, “System rollback by booting from snapshots”.

236 The file /etc/default/grub | SLES 15 SP4

For a complete list of options, see the GNU GRUB manual ([Link]
al/[Link]#Simple-configuration) .

18.2.3 Scripts in /etc/grub.d

The scripts in this directory are read during execution of the command grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/
grub2/[Link]. Their instructions are incorporated into /boot/grub2/[Link]. The order of menu
items in [Link] is determined by the order in which the files in this directory are run. Files with a lead-
ing numeral are executed first, beginning with the lowest number. 00_header is run before 10_linux,
which would run before 40_custom. If files with alphabetic names are present, they are executed after the
numerically named files. Only executable files generate output to [Link] during execution of grub2-
mkconfig. By default all files in the /etc/grub.d directory are executable.

Tip: Persistent custom content in [Link]

Because /boot/grub2/[Link] is recompiled each time grub2-mkconfig is run, any custom
content is lost. To insert your lines directly into /boot/grub2/[Link] without losing them
after grub2-mkconfig is run, insert them between

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/90_persistent ###

and

### END /etc/grub.d/90_persistent ###

The 90_persistent script ensures that such content is preserved.

A list of the most important scripts follows:

00_header
Sets environmental variables such as system file locations, display settings, themes and previously
saved entries. It also imports preferences stored in the /etc/default/grub. Normally you do not
need to make changes to this file.

10_linux
Identifies Linux kernels on the root device and creates relevant menu entries. This includes the
associated recovery mode option if enabled. Only the latest kernel is displayed on the main menu
page, with additional kernels included in a submenu.

237 Scripts in /etc/grub.d | SLES 15 SP4

30_os-prober
This script uses os-prober to search for Linux and other operating systems and places the results in
the GRUB 2 menu. There are sections to identify specific other operating systems, such as Windows
or macOS.

40_custom
This file provides a simple way to include custom boot entries into [Link]. Make sure that you
do not change the exec tail -n +3 $0 part at the beginning.

The processing sequence is set by the preceding numbers with the lowest number being executed first. If
scripts are preceded by the same number the alphabetical order of the complete name decides the order.

Tip: /boot/grub2/[Link]
If you create /boot/grub2/[Link] and fill it with content, it is automatically included into
/boot/grub2/[Link] right after 40_custom at boot time.

18.2.4 Mapping between BIOS drives and Linux devices

In GRUB Legacy, the [Link] configuration file was used to derive Linux device names from BIOS
drive numbers. The mapping between BIOS drives and Linux devices cannot always be guessed correctly.
For example, GRUB Legacy would get a wrong order if the boot sequence of IDE and SCSI drives is
exchanged in the BIOS configuration.
GRUB 2 avoids this problem by using device ID strings (UUIDs) or file system labels when generating
[Link]. GRUB 2 utilities create a temporary device map on the fly, which is normally sufficient,
particularly for single-disk systems.
However, if you need to override the GRUB 2's automatic device mapping mechanism, create your custom
mapping file /boot/grub2/[Link]. The following example changes the mapping to make DISK
3 the boot disk. GRUB 2 partition numbers start with 1 and not with 0 as in GRUB 2 Legacy.

(hd0) /dev/disk-by-id/DISK3 ID
(hd1) /dev/disk-by-id/DISK1 ID
(hd2) /dev/disk-by-id/DISK2 ID

238 Mapping between BIOS drives and Linux devices | SLES 15 SP4
18.2.5 Editing menu entries during the boot procedure
Being able to directly edit menu entries is useful when the system does not boot anymore because of a
faulty configuration. It can also be used to test new settings without altering the system configuration.

1. In the graphical boot menu, select the entry you want to edit with the arrow keys.

2. Press E to open the text-based editor.

3. Use the arrow keys to move to the line you want to edit.

FIGURE 18.1: GRUB 2 BOOT EDITOR

Now you have two options:

a. Add space-separated parameters to the end of the line starting with linux or linuxefi to
edit the kernel parameters. A complete list of parameters is available at [Link]
[Link]/Linuxrc .

b. Or edit the general options to change, for example, the kernel version. The →| key suggests
all possible completions.

4. Press F10 to boot the system with the changes you made or press Esc to discard your edits and
return to the GRUB 2 menu.

Changes made this way only apply to the current boot process and are not saved permanently.

239 Editing menu entries during the boot procedure | SLES 15 SP4
 Important: Keyboard layout during the boot procedure
The US keyboard layout is the only one available when booting. See Book “Deployment Guide”,
Chapter 12 “Troubleshooting”, Section 12.3 “Booting from installation media fails”, US keyboard
layout.

Note: Boot loader on the installation media

The Boot Loader of the installation media on systems with a traditional BIOS is still GRUB Legacy.
To add boot parameters, select an entry and start typing. Additions you make to the installation
boot entry are permanently saved in the installed system.

Note: Editing GRUB 2 menu entries on IBM Z

Cursor movement and editing commands on IBM Z differ—see Section 18.4, “Differences in ter-
minal usage on IBM Z” for details.

18.2.6 Setting a boot password

Even before the operating system is booted, GRUB 2 enables access to file systems. Users without root
permissions can access files in your Linux system to which they have no access after the system is booted.
To block this kind of access or to prevent users from booting certain menu entries, set a boot password.

Important: Booting requires a password

If set, the boot password is required on every boot, which means the system does not boot auto-
matically.

Proceed as follows to set a boot password. Alternatively use YaST (Protect Boot Loader with Password ).

1. Encrypt the password using grub2-mkpasswd-pbkdf2:

> sudo grub2-mkpasswd-pbkdf2

Password: ****
Reenter password: ****
PBKDF2 hash of your password is grub.pbkdf2.sha512.10000.9CA4611006FE96BC77A...

240 Setting a boot password | SLES 15 SP4

 2. Paste the resulting string into the file /etc/grub.d/40_custom together with the set supe-
rusers command.

set superusers="root"
password_pbkdf2 root grub.pbkdf2.sha512.10000.9CA4611006FE96BC77A...

3. To import the changes into the main configuration file, run:

> sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/[Link]

After you reboot, GRUB 2 prompts you for a user name and a password when trying to boot a menu
entry. Enter root and the password you typed during the grub2-mkpasswd-pbkdf2 command. If the
credentials are correct, the system boots the selected boot entry.
For more information, see [Link] .

18.2.7 Authorized access to boot menu entries

You can configure GRUB 2 to allow access to boot menu entries depending on the level of authorization.
You can configure multiple user accounts protected with passwords and assign them access to different
menu entries. To configure authorization in GRUB 2, follow these steps:

1. Create and encrypt one password for each user account you want to use in GRUB 2. Use the grub2-
mkpasswd-pbkdf2 command as described in Section 18.2.6, “Setting a boot password”.

2. Delete the file /etc/grub.d/10_linux. This prevents outputting the default GRUB 2 menu en-
tries.

3. Edit the /boot/grub2/[Link] file and add custom menu entries manually. The following
template is an example, adjust it to better match your use case:

set superusers=admin
password admin ADMIN_PASSWORD
password maintainer MAINTAINER_PASSWORD

menuentry 'Operational mode' {

insmod ext2
set root=hd0,1
echo 'Loading Linux ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/vda1 $GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT $GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX
mode=operation
echo 'Loading Initrd ...'

241 Authorized access to boot menu entries | SLES 15 SP4

 initrd /boot/initrd
}

menuentry 'Maintenance mode' --users maintainer {

insmod ext2
set root=hd0,1
echo 'Loading Linux ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/vda1 $GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT $GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX
mode=maintenance
echo 'Loading Initrd ...'
initrd /boot/initrd
}

4. Import the changes into the main configuration file:

> sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/[Link]

In the above example:

The GRUB 2 menu has two entries, Operational mode and Maintenance mode.

If no user is specified, both boot menu entries are accessible, but no one can access GRUB 2 com-
mand line or edit existing menu entries.

admin user can access GRUB 2 command line and edit existing menu entries.

maintenance user can select the recovery menu item.

18.3 Configuring the boot loader with YaST

The easiest way to configure general options of the boot loader in your SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
system is to use the YaST module. In the YaST Control Center, select System Boot Loader. The module
shows the current boot loader configuration of your system and allows you to make changes.
Use the Boot Code Options tab to view and change settings related to type, location and advanced loader
settings. You can choose whether to use GRUB 2 in standard or EFI mode.

Important: EFI systems require GRUB2-EFI

If you have an EFI system you can only install GRUB2-EFI, otherwise your system is no longer
bootable.

242 Configuring the boot loader with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

 Important: Reinstalling the boot loader
To reinstall the boot loader, make sure to change a setting in YaST and then change it back. For ex-
ample, to reinstall GRUB2-EFI, select GRUB2 first and then immediately switch back to GRUB2-
EFI.
Otherwise, the boot loader may only be partially reinstalled.

Note: Custom boot loader

To use a boot loader other than the ones listed, select Do Not Install Any Boot Loader. Read the
documentation of your boot loader carefully before choosing this option.

18.3.1 Boot loader location and boot code options

The default location of the boot loader depends on the partition setup and is either the Master Boot Record
(MBR) or the boot sector of the / partition. To modify the location of the boot loader, follow these steps:

PROCEDURE 18.1: CHANGING THE BOOT LOADER LOCATION

1. Select the Boot Code Options tab and then choose one of the following options for Boot Loader
Location:

Boot from Master Boot Record

This installs the boot loader in the MBR of the disk containing the directory /boot. Usually
this will be the disk mounted to /, but if /boot is mounted to a separate partition on a different
disk, the MBR of that disk will be used.

Boot from Root Partition

This installs the boot loader in the boot sector of the / partition.

Custom Root Partition

Use this option to specify the location of the boot loader manually.

2. Click OK to apply the changes.

243 Boot loader location and boot code options | SLES 15 SP4
FIGURE 18.2: BOOT CODE OPTIONS

The Boot Code Options tab includes the following additional options:

Set Active Flag in Partition Table for Boot Partition

Activates the partition that contains the /boot directory. For POWER systems it activates the PReP
partition. Use this option on systems with old BIOS and/or legacy operating systems because they
may fail to boot from a non-active partition. It is safe to leave this option active.

Write Generic Boot Code to MBR

If MBR contains a custom 'non-GRUB' code, this option replaces it with a generic, operating system
independent code. If you deactivate this option, the system may become unbootable.

Enable Trusted Boot Support

Starts TrustedGRUB2, which supports trusted computing functionality (Trusted Platform Module
(TPM)). For more information refer to [Link] .

The Protective MBR flag section includes the following options:

set
This is appropriate for traditional legacy BIOS booting.

remove
This is appropriate for UEFI booting.

244 Boot loader location and boot code options | SLES 15 SP4
do not change
This is usually the best choice if you have an already working system.

In most cases YaST defaults to the appropriate choice.

18.3.2 Adjusting the disk order

If your computer has more than one hard disk, you can specify the boot sequence of the disks. The first
disk in the list is where GRUB 2 will be installed in the case of booting from MBR. It is the disk where
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is installed by default. The rest of the list is a hint for GRUB 2's device
mapper (see Section 18.2.4, “Mapping between BIOS drives and Linux devices”).

Warning: Unbootable system

The default value is usually valid for almost all deployments. If you change the boot order of disks
wrongly, the system may become unbootable on the next reboot. For example, if the first disk in
the list is not part of the BIOS boot order, and the other disks in the list have empty MBRs.

PROCEDURE 18.2: SETTING THE DISK ORDER

1. Open the Boot Code Options tab.

2. Click Edit Disk Boot Order.

3. If more than one disk is listed, select a disk and click Up or Down to reorder the displayed disks.

4. Click OK two times to save the changes.

18.3.3 Configuring advanced options

Advanced boot parameters can be configured via the Boot Loader Options tab.

245 Adjusting the disk order | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Boot Loader Options tab

FIGURE 18.3: BOOT LOADER OPTIONS

Boot Loader Time-Out

Change the value of Time-Out in Seconds by typing in a new value and clicking the appropriate
arrow key with your mouse.

Probe Foreign OS
When selected, the boot loader searches for other systems like Windows or other Linux installations.

Hide Menu on Boot

Hides the boot menu and boots the default entry.

Adjusting the Default Boot Entry

Select the desired entry from the “Default Boot Section” list. Note that the “>” sign in the boot entry
name delimits the boot section and its subsection.

Protect Boot Loader with Password

Protects the boot loader and the system with an additional password. For details on manual configu-
ration, see Section 18.2.6, “Setting a boot password”. If this option is activated, the boot password is
required on every boot, which means the system does not boot automatically. However, if you prefer

246 Configuring advanced options | SLES 15 SP4

 the behavior of GRUB 1, additionally enable Protect Entry Modification Only. With this setting,
anybody is allowed to select a boot entry and boot the system, whereas the password for the GRUB 2
root user is only required for modifying boot entries.

[Link] Kernel Parameters tab

FIGURE 18.4: KERNEL PARAMETERS

Optional Kernel Command Line Parameter

Specify optional kernel parameters here to enable/disable system features, add drivers, etc.

CPU Mitigations
SUSE has released one or more kernel boot command line parameters for all software mitigations
that have been deployed to prevent CPU side-channel attacks. Some of those may result in perfor-
mance loss. Choose one the following options to strike a balance between security and performance,
depending on your setting:

Auto. Enables all mitigations required for your CPU model, but does not protect against cross-CPU
thread attacks. This setting may impact performance to some degree, depending on the workload.

Auto + No SMT. Provides the full set of available security mitigations. Enables all mitigations
required for your CPU model. In addition, it disables Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT) to avoid

247 Configuring advanced options | SLES 15 SP4

 side-channel attacks across multiple CPU threads. This setting may further impact performance,
depending on the workload.

Off. Disables all mitigations. Side-channel attacks against your CPU are possible, depending on the
CPU model. This setting has no impact on performance.

Manual. Does not set any mitigation level. Specify your CPU mitigations manually by using the
kernel command line options.

Use Graphical Console

When checked, the boot menu appears on a graphical splash screen rather than in a text mode. The
resolution of the boot screen is set automatically by default, but you can manually set it via Console
resolution. The graphical theme definition file can be specified with the Console theme file chooser.
Only change this if you want to apply your own, custom-made theme.

Use Serial Console

If your machine is controlled via a serial console, activate this option and specify which COM port
to use at which speed. See info grub or [Link]
l#Serial-terminal

18.4 Differences in terminal usage on IBM Z

On 3215 and 3270 terminals there are some differences and limitations on how to move the cursor and
how to issue editing commands within GRUB 2.

18.4.1 Limitations

Interactivity
Interactivity is strongly limited. Typing often does not result in visual feedback. To see where the
cursor is, type an underscore ( _ ).

Note: 3270 compared to 3215

The 3270 terminal is much better at displaying and refreshing screens than the 3215 terminal.

248 Differences in terminal usage on IBM Z | SLES 15 SP4

Cursor movement
“Traditional” cursor movement is not possible. Alt , Meta , Ctrl and the cursor keys do not
work. To move the cursor, use the key combinations listed in Section 18.4.2, “Key combinations”.

Caret
The caret ( ^ ) is used as a control character. To type a literal ^ followed by a letter, type ^ ,
^ , LETTER.

Enter
The Enter key does not work, use ^ – J instead.

18.4.2 Key combinations

Common Substitutes: ^ –J engage (“Enter”)

^ –L abort, return to previous “state”

^ –I tab completion (in edit and shell

mode)

Keys Available in Menu Mode: ^ –A first entry

^ –E last entry

^ –P previous entry

^ –N next entry

^ –G previous page

^ –C next page

^ –F boot selected entry or enter sub-

menu (same as ^ –J )

E edit selected entry

C enter GRUB-Shell

249 Key combinations | SLES 15 SP4

Keys Available in Edit Mode: ^ –P previous line

^ –N next line

^ –B backward char

^ –F forward char

^ –A beginning of line

^ –E end of line

^ –H backspace

^ –D delete

^ –K kill line

^ –Y yank

^ –O open line

^ –L refresh screen

^ –X boot entry

^ –C enter GRUB-Shell

Keys Available in Command ^ –P previous command

Line Mode:
^ –N next command from history

^ –A beginning of line

^ –E end of line

^ –B backward char

^ –F forward char

250 Key combinations | SLES 15 SP4

 ^ –H backspace

^ –D delete

^ –K kill line

^ –U discard line

^ –Y yank

18.5 Helpful GRUB 2 commands

grub2-mkconfig
Generates a new /boot/grub2/[Link] based on /etc/default/grub and the scripts from
/etc/grub.d/.

EXAMPLE 18.1: USAGE OF GRUB2-MKCONFIG

grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/[Link]

Tip: Syntax check

Running grub2-mkconfig without any parameters prints the configuration to STDOUT
where it can be reviewed. Use grub2-script-check after /boot/grub2/[Link] has
been written to check its syntax.

Important: grub2-mkconfig cannot repair UEFI Secure

Boot tables
If you are using UEFI Secure Boot and your system is not reaching GRUB 2 correctly any-
more, you may need to additionally reinstall the Shim and regenerate the UEFI boot table.
To do so, use:

# shim-install --config-file=/boot/grub2/[Link]

grub2-mkrescue
Creates a bootable rescue image of your installed GRUB 2 configuration.

251 Helpful GRUB 2 commands | SLES 15 SP4

 EXAMPLE 18.2: USAGE OF GRUB2-MKRESCUE

grub2-mkrescue -o save_path/[Link] iso

grub2-script-check
Checks the given file for syntax errors.

EXAMPLE 18.3: USAGE OF GRUB2-SCRIPT-CHECK

grub2-script-check /boot/grub2/[Link]

grub2-once
Set the default boot entry for the next boot only. To get the list of available boot entries use the --
list option.

EXAMPLE 18.4: USAGE OF GRUB2-ONCE

grub2-once number_of_the_boot_entry

Tip: grub2-once help

Call the program without any option to get a full list of all possible options.

18.6 Rescue mode

Rescue mode is a specific root user session for troubleshooting and repairing systems where the booting
process fails. It offers a single-user environment with local file systems and core system services active.
Network interfaces are not activated. To enter the rescue mode, follow these steps.

PROCEDURE 18.3: ENTERING RESCUE MODE

1. Reboot the system. The boot screen appears, offering the GRUB 2 boot menu.

2. Select the menu entry to boot and press e to edit the boot line.

3. Append the following parameter to the line containing the kernel parameters:

[Link]=[Link]

4. Press Ctrl + X to boot with these settings.

5. Enter the password for root.

252 Rescue mode | SLES 15 SP4

 6. Make all the necessary changes.

7. Enter normal operating target again by entering systemctl isolate [Link] or

systemctl isolate [Link] at the command line.

18.7 More information

Extensive information about GRUB 2 is available at [Link] . Also refer
to the grub info page. You can also search for the keyword “GRUB 2” in the Technical Information Search
at [Link] to get information about special issues.

253 More information | SLES 15 SP4

19 The systemd daemon
systemd initializes the system. It has the process ID 1. systemd is started directly by the kernel and
resists signal 9, which normally terminates processes. All other programs are started directly by systemd
or by one of its child processes. systemd is a replacement for the System V init daemon and is fully
compatible with System V init (by supporting init scripts).
The main advantage of systemd is that it considerably speeds up boot time by parallelizing service starts.
Furthermore, systemd only starts a service when it is really needed. Daemons are not started uncondition-
ally at boot time, but when being required for the first time. systemd also supports Kernel Control Groups
(cgroups), creating snapshots, and restoring the system state. For more details see [Link]
[Link]/wiki/Software/systemd/ .

19.1 The systemd concept

The following section explains the concept behind systemd.
systemd is a system and session manager for Linux, compatible with System V and LSB init scripts. The
main features of systemd include:

parallelization capabilities

socket and D-Bus activation for starting services

on-demand starting of daemons

tracking of processes using Linux cgroups

creating snapshots and restoring of the system state

maintains mount and automount points

implements an elaborate transactional dependency-based service control logic

19.1.1 Unit file

A unit configuration file contains information about a service, a socket, a device, a mount point, an auto-
mount point, a swap file or partition, a start-up target, a watched file system path, a timer controlled and
supervised by systemd, a temporary system state snapshot, a resource management slice or a group of
externally created processes.

254 The systemd concept | SLES 15 SP4

“Unit file” is a generic term used by systemd for the following:

Service. Information about a process (for example, running a daemon); file ends with .service

Targets. Used for grouping units and as synchronization points during start-up; file ends with .target

Sockets. Information about an IPC or network socket or a file system FIFO, for socket-based
activation (like inetd); file ends with .socket

Path. Used to trigger other units (for example, running a service when files change); file ends
with .path

Timer. Information about a timer controlled, for timer-based activation; file ends with .timer

Mount point. Normally auto-generated by the fstab generator; file ends with .mount

Automount point. Information about a file system automount point; file ends with .automount

Swap. Information about a swap device or file for memory paging; file ends with .swap

Device. Information about a device unit as exposed in the sysfs/udev(7) device tree; file ends
with .device

Scope / slice. A concept for hierarchically managing resources of a group of processes; file ends
with .scope/.slice

For more information about systemd unit files, see [Link]

temd/man/[Link]

19.2 Basic usage

The System V init system uses several commands to handle services—the init scripts, insserv, telinit
and others. systemd makes it easier to manage services, because there is only one command to handle
most service related tasks: systemctl. It uses the “command plus subcommand” notation like git or
zypper:

systemctl GENERAL OPTIONS SUBCOMMAND SUBCOMMAND OPTIONS

See man 1 systemctl for a complete manual.

Tip: Terminal output and Bash completion

If the output goes to a terminal (and not to a pipe or a file, for example), systemd commands send
long output to a pager by default. Use the --no-pager option to turn off paging mode.

255 Basic usage | SLES 15 SP4

 systemd also supports bash-completion, allowing you to enter the first letters of a subcommand
and then press →| . This feature is only available in the bash shell and requires the installation
of the package bash-completion.

19.2.1 Managing services in a running system

Subcommands for managing services are the same as for managing a service with System V init (start,
stop, ...). The general syntax for service management commands is as follows:

systemd

systemctl reload|restart|start|status|stop|... MY_SERVICE(S)

System V init

rcMY_SERVICE(S) reload|restart|start|status|stop|...

systemd allows you to manage several services in one go. Instead of executing init scripts one after the
other as with System V init, execute a command like the following:

> sudo systemctl start MY_1ST_SERVICE MY_2ND_SERVICE

To list all services available on the system:

> sudo systemctl list-unit-files --type=service

The following table lists the most important service management commands for systemd and System
V init:

TABLE 19.1: SERVICE MANAGEMENT COMMANDS

Task systemd Command System V init

Command

Starting. start start

Stopping. stop stop

Restarting. Shuts down services and starts them restart restart

afterward. If a service is not yet running, it is
started.

256 Managing services in a running system | SLES 15 SP4

Task systemd Command System V init
Command

Restarting conditionally. Restarts services if try-restart try-restart

they are currently running. Does nothing for ser-
vices that are not running.

Reloading. Tells services to reload their con- reload reload

figuration files without interrupting operation.
Use case: Tell Apache to reload a modified
[Link] configuration file. Note that not all
services support reloading.

Reloading or restarting. Reloads services if re- reload-or-restart n/a

loading is supported, otherwise restarts them. If a
service is not yet running, it is started.

Reloading or restarting conditionally. Re- reload-or-try-restart n/a

loads services if reloading is supported, otherwise
restarts them if currently running. Does nothing
for services that are not running.

Getting detailed status information. Lists in- status status

formation about the status of services. The sys-
temd command shows details such as description,
executable, status, cgroup, and messages last is-
sued by a service (see Section 19.6.9, “Debugging
services”). The level of details displayed with the
System V init differs from service to service.

Getting short status information. Shows is-active status

whether services are active or not.

257 Managing services in a running system | SLES 15 SP4

19.2.2 Permanently enabling/disabling services
The service management commands mentioned in the previous section let you manipulate services for the
current session. systemd also lets you permanently enable or disable services, so they are automatically
started when requested or are always unavailable. You can either do this by using YaST, or on the command
line.

[Link] Enabling/disabling services on the command line

The following table lists enabling and disabling commands for systemd and System V init:

Important: Service start

When enabling a service on the command line, it is not started automatically. It is scheduled to be
started with the next system start-up or runlevel/target change. To immediately start a service after
having enabled it, explicitly run systemctl start MY_SERVICE or rc MY_SERVICE start.

TABLE 19.2: COMMANDS FOR ENABLING AND DISABLING SERVICES

Task systemd Command System V init Command

Enabling. systemctl enable insserv

MY_SERVICE(S) MY_SERVICE(S),
chkconfig -a
MY_SERVICE(S)

Disabling. systemctl disable insserv -r

MY_SERVICE(S).service MY_SERVICE(S),
chkconfig -d
MY_SERVICE(S)

Checking. Shows whether a systemctl is-enabled chkconfig MY_SERVICE

service is enabled or not. MY_SERVICE

Re-enabling. Similar to systemctl reenable MY_SERVICE n/a

restarting a service, this com-
mand first disables and then
enables a service. Useful to re-

258 Permanently enabling/disabling services | SLES 15 SP4

 Task systemd Command System V init Command
enable a service with its de-
faults.

Masking. After “disabling” systemctl mask MY_SERVICE n/a

a service, it can still be started
manually. To disable a service,
you need to mask it. Use with
care.

Unmasking. A service that systemctl unmask MY_SERVICE n/a

has been masked can only be
used again after it has been un-
masked.

19.3 System start and target management

The entire process of starting the system and shutting it down is maintained by systemd. From this point
of view, the kernel can be considered a background process to maintain all other processes and adjust CPU
time and hardware access according to requests from other programs.

19.3.1 Targets compared to runlevels

With System V init the system was booted into a so-called “Runlevel”. A runlevel defines how the system is
started and what services are available in the running system. Runlevels are numbered; the most commonly
known ones are 0 (shutting down the system), 3 (multiuser with network) and 5 (multiuser with network
and display manager).
systemd introduces a new concept by using so-called “target units”. However, it remains fully compatible
with the runlevel concept. Target units are named rather than numbered and serve specific purposes. For
example, the targets [Link] and [Link] mount local file systems and swap spaces.
The target [Link] provides a multiuser system with network and display manager capabili-
ties and is equivalent to runlevel 5. Complex targets, such as [Link] act as “meta” targets by
combining a subset of other targets. Since systemd makes it easy to create custom targets by combining
existing targets, it offers great flexibility.

259 System start and target management | SLES 15 SP4

The following list shows the most important systemd target units. For a full list refer to man 7 sys-
[Link].

SELECTED systemd TARGET UNITS

[Link]
The target that is booted by default. Not a “real” target, but rather a symbolic link to another tar-
get like [Link]. Can be permanently changed via YaST (see Section 19.4, “Managing
services with YaST”). To change it for a session, use the kernel parameter [Link]=MY_TAR-
[Link] at the boot prompt.

[Link]
Starts a minimal emergency root shell on the console. Only use it at the boot prompt as sys-
[Link]=[Link].

[Link]
Starts a system with network, multiuser support and a display manager.

[Link]
Shuts down the system.

[Link]
Starts all services necessary for sending and receiving mails.

[Link]
Starts a multiuser system with network.

[Link]
Reboots the system.

[Link]
Starts a single-user root session without network. Basic tools for system administration are avail-
able. The rescue target is suitable for solving multiple system problems, for example, failing logins
or fixing issues with a display driver.

To remain compatible with the System V init runlevel system, systemd provides special targets named
[Link] mapping the corresponding runlevels numbered X.

To inspect the current target, use the command: systemctl get-default

260 Targets compared to runlevels | SLES 15 SP4

TABLE 19.3: SYSTEM V RUNLEVELS AND systemd TARGET UNITS

System V runlev- systemd target Purpose

el

0 [Link], [Link], System shutdown

[Link]

1, S [Link], [Link]- Single-user mode

get,

2 [Link], mul- Local multiuser without remote net-

[Link], work

3 [Link], mul- Full multiuser with network

[Link],

4 [Link] Unused/User-defined

5 [Link], graphi- Full multiuser with network and dis-

[Link], play manager

6 [Link], [Link]- System reboot

get,

Important: systemd ignores /etc/inittab

The runlevels in a System V init system are configured in /etc/inittab. systemd does not use
this configuration. Refer to Section 19.5.5, “Creating custom targets” for instructions on how to
create your own bootable target.

261 Targets compared to runlevels | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Commands to change targets
Use the following commands to operate with target units:

Task systemd Command System V init Command

Change the cur- systemctl isolate MY_TARGET.target telinit X

rent target/runlev-
el

Change to the de- systemctl default n/a

fault target/runlev-
el

Get the current systemctl list-units --type=target who -r

target/runlevel With systemd, there is usually more than one ac- or
tive target. The command lists all currently active runlevel
targets.

persistently Use the Services Manager or run the following Use the Services Manager or
change the default command: change the line
runlevel ln -sf /usr/lib/systemd/system/ id: X:initdefault:
MY_TARGET.target /etc/systemd/system/de- in /etc/inittab
[Link]

Change the de- Enter the following option at the boot prompt Enter the desired runlevel
fault runlevel for [Link]= MY_TARGET.target number at the boot prompt.
the current boot
process

Show a tar- systemctl show -p "Requires" MY_TAR- n/a

get's/runlevel's de- [Link]
pendencies systemctl show -p "Wants" MY_TAR-
[Link]

“Requires” lists the hard dependencies (the ones

that must be resolved), whereas “Wants” lists the
soft dependencies (the ones that get resolved if
possible).

262 Targets compared to runlevels | SLES 15 SP4

19.3.2 Debugging system start-up
systemd offers the means to analyze the system start-up process. You can review the list of all services
and their status (rather than having to parse /var/log/). systemd also allows you to scan the start-up
procedure to find out how much time each service start-up consumes.

[Link] Review start-up of services

To review the complete list of services that have been started since booting the system, enter the command
systemctl. It lists all active services like shown below (shortened). To get more information on a specific
service, use systemctl status MY_SERVICE.

EXAMPLE 19.1: LIST ACTIVE SERVICES

# systemctl
UNIT LOAD ACTIVE SUB JOB DESCRIPTION
[...]
[Link] loaded active exited Login and scanning of iSC+
[Link] loaded active exited Create list of required s+
[Link] loaded active running Virtualization daemon
[Link] loaded active running Name Service Cache Daemon
[Link] loaded active running NTP Server Daemon
[Link] loaded active running Authorization Manager
[Link] loaded active running Postfix Mail Transport Ag+
[Link] loaded active exited /etc/init.d/[Link] Co+
[Link] loaded active running System Logging Service
[...]
LOAD = Reflects whether the unit definition was properly loaded.
ACTIVE = The high-level unit activation state, i.e. generalization of SUB.
SUB = The low-level unit activation state, values depend on unit type.

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

To restrict the output to services that failed to start, use the --failed option:

EXAMPLE 19.2: LIST FAILED SERVICES

# systemctl --failed
UNIT LOAD ACTIVE SUB JOB DESCRIPTION
[Link] loaded failed failed apache
[Link] loaded failed failed Network Manager

263 Debugging system start-up | SLES 15 SP4

 [Link] loaded failed failed Show Plymouth Boot Screen

[...]

[Link] Debug start-up time

To debug system start-up time, systemd offers the systemd-analyze command. It shows the total start-
up time, a list of services ordered by start-up time and can also generate an SVG graphic showing the time
services took to start in relation to the other services.

Listing the system start-up time

# systemd-analyze
Startup finished in 2666ms (kernel) + 21961ms (userspace) = 24628ms

Listing the services start-up time

# systemd-analyze blame
15.000s [Link]
14.879s [Link]
7.646s [Link]
4.940s [Link]
4.921s [Link]
4.640s [Link]
4.519s [Link]
3.921s [Link]
3.466s [Link]
2.774s [Link]
2.591s [Link]
2.137s [Link]
1.954s [Link]
1.528s [Link]
1.378s [Link]
[...]

Services start-up time graphics

# systemd-analyze plot > [Link]

264 Debugging system start-up | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Review the complete start-up process

The commands above list the services that are started and their start-up times. For a more detailed overview,
specify the following parameters at the boot prompt to instruct systemd to create a verbose log of the
complete start-up procedure.

systemd.log_level=debug systemd.log_target=kmsg

Now systemd writes its log messages into the kernel ring buffer. View that buffer with dmesg:

> dmesg -T | less

265 Debugging system start-up | SLES 15 SP4

19.3.3 System V compatibility
systemd is compatible with System V, allowing you to still use existing System V init scripts. However,
there is at least one known issue where a System V init script does not work with systemd out of the
box: starting a service as a different user via su or sudo in init scripts will result in a failure of the script,
producing an “Access denied” error.
When changing the user with su or sudo, a PAM session is started. This session will be terminated after
the init script is finished. As a consequence, the service that has been started by the init script will also be
terminated. To work around this error, proceed as follows:

1. Create a service file wrapper with the same name as the init script plus the file name extension
.service:

[Unit]
Description=DESCRIPTION
After=[Link]

[Service]
User=USER
Type=forking 1

PIDFile=PATH TO PID FILE 1

ExecStart=PATH TO INIT SCRIPT start

ExecStop=PATH TO INIT SCRIPT stop
ExecStopPost=/usr/bin/rm -f PATH TO PID FILE 1

[Install]
WantedBy=[Link] 2

Replace all values written in UPPERCASE LETTERS with appropriate values.

1 Optional—only use if the init script starts a daemon.

2 [Link] also starts the init script when booting into [Link]. If it
should only be started when booting into the display manager, use [Link].

2. Start the daemon with systemctl start APPLICATION.

19.4 Managing services with YaST

Basic service management can also be done with the YaST Services Manager module. It supports starting,
stopping, enabling and disabling services. It also lets you show a service's status and change the default
target. Start the YaST module with YaST System Services Manager.

266 System V compatibility | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 19.1: SERVICES MANAGER

Changing the Default system target

To change the target the system boots into, choose a target from the Default System Target drop-
down box. The most often used targets are Graphical Interface (starting a graphical login screen)
and Multi-User (starting the system in command line mode).

Starting or stopping a service

Select a service from the table. The State column shows whether it is currently running (Active) or
not (Inactive). Toggle its status by choosing Start or Stop.
Starting or stopping a service changes its status for the currently running session. To change its status
throughout a reboot, you need to enable or disable it.

Defining service start-up behavior

Services can either be started automatically at boot time or manually. Select a service from the table.
The Start column shows whether it is currently started Manually or On Boot. Toggle its status by
choosing Start Mode.
To change a service status in the current session, you need to start or stop it as described above.

View a status messages

To view the status message of a service, select it from the list and choose Show Details. The output
is identical to the one generated by the command systemctl -l status MY_SERVICE.

267 Managing services with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

19.5 Customizing systemd
The following sections describe how to customize systemd unit files.

19.5.1 Where are unit files stored?

systemd unit files shipped by SUSE are stored in /usr/lib/systemd/. Customized unit files and unit
file drop-ins are stored in /etc/systemd/.

Warning: Preventing your customization from being overwritten

When customizing systemd, always use the directory /etc/systemd/ instead of /usr/lib/
systemd/. Otherwise your changes will be overwritten by the next update of systemd.

19.5.2 Override with drop-in files

Drop-in files (or drop-ins) are partial unit files that override only specific settings of the unit file. Drop-
ins have higher precedence over main configuration files. The command systemctl edit SERVICE
starts the default text editor and creates a directory with an empty [Link] file in /etc/sys-
temd/system/[Link].d/. The command also ensures that the running systemd process is no-
tified about the changes.
For example, to change the amount of time that the system waits for MariaDB to start, run sudo sys-
temctl edit [Link] and edit the opened file to include the modified lines only:

# Configures the time to wait for start-up/stop

TimeoutSec=300

Adjust the TimeoutSec value and save the changes. To enable the changes, run sudo systemctl dae-
mon-reload.

For further information, refer to the man pages that can be evoked with the man 1 systemctl command.

Warning: Creating a copy of a full unit file

If you use the --full option in the systemctl edit --full SERVICE command, a copy of
the original unit file is created where you can modify specific options. We do not recommend such
customization because when the unit file is updated by SUSE, its changes are overridden by the

268 Customizing systemd | SLES 15 SP4

 customized copy in the /etc/systemd/system/ directory. Moreover, if SUSE provides updates
to distribution drop-ins, they will override the copy of the unit file created with --full. To prevent
this confusion and always have your customization valid, use drop-ins.

19.5.3 Creating drop-in files manually

Apart from using the systemctl edit command, you can create drop-ins manually to have more control
over their priority. Such drop-ins let you extend both unit and daemon configuration files without having
to edit or override the files themselves. They are stored in the following directories:

/etc/systemd/*.conf.d/, /etc/systemd/system/*.service.d/
Drop-ins added and customized by system administrators.

/usr/lib/systemd/*.conf.d/, /usr/lib/systemd/system/*.service.d/
Drop-ins installed by customization packages to override upstream settings. For example, SUSE
ships systemd-default-settings.

Tip
See the man page man 5 [Link] for the full list of unit search paths.

For example, to disable the rate limiting that is enforced by the default setting of systemd-journald,
follow these steps:

1. Create a directory called /etc/systemd/[Link].d.

> sudo mkdir /etc/systemd/[Link].d

Note
The directory name must follow the service name that you want to patch with the drop-in file.

2. In that directory, create a file /etc/systemd/[Link].d/[Link] with

the option that you want to override, for example:

> cat /etc/systemd/[Link].d/[Link]

# Disable rate limiting
RateLimitIntervalSec=0

269 Creating drop-in files manually | SLES 15 SP4

 3. Save your changes and restart the service of the corresponding systemd daemon.

> sudo systemctl restart systemd-journald

Note: Avoiding name conflicts

To avoid name conflicts between your drop-ins and files shipped by SUSE, it is recommended to
prefix all drop-ins with a two-digit number and a dash, for example, [Link].
The following ranges are reserved:

0-19 is reserved for systemd upstream.

20-29 is reserved for systemd shipped by SUSE.

30-39 is reserved for SUSE packages other than systemd.

40-49 is reserved for third party packages.

50 is reserved for unit drop-in files created with systemctl set-property.

Use a two-digit number above this range to ensure that none of the drop-ins shipped by SUSE can
override your own drop-ins.

Tip
You can use systemctl cat $UNIT to list and verify which files are taken into account in the
units configuration.

270 Creating drop-in files manually | SLES 15 SP4

 Tip
Because the configuration of systemd components can be scattered across different places on the
file system, it might be hard to get a global overview. To inspect the configuration of a systemd
component, use the following commands:

systemctl cat UNIT_PATTERN prints configuration files related to one or more systemd
units, for example:

> systemctl cat [Link]

systemd-analyze cat-config DAEMON_NAME_OR_PATH copies the contents of a con-

figuration file and drop-ins for a systemd daemon, for example:

> systemd-analyze cat-config systemd/[Link]

19.5.4 Converting xinetd services to systemd

Since the release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15, the xinetd infrastructure has been removed. This
section outlines how to convert existing custom xinetd service files to systemd sockets.
For each xinetd service file, you need at least two systemd unit files: the socket file (*.socket) and an
associated service file (*.service). The socket file tells systemd which socket to create, and the service
file tells systemd which executable to start.
Consider the following example xinetd service file:

# cat /etc/xinetd.d/example
service example
{
socket_type = stream
protocol = tcp
port = 10085
wait = no
user = user
group = users
groups = yes
server = /usr/libexec/example/exampled
server_args = -auth=bsdtcp exampledump
disable = no
}

271 Converting xinetd services to systemd | SLES 15 SP4

To convert it to systemd, you need the following two matching files:

# cat /usr/lib/systemd/system/[Link]
[Socket]
ListenStream=[Link]:10085
Accept=false

[Install]
WantedBy=[Link]

# cat /usr/lib/systemd/system/[Link]
[Unit]
Description=example

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/libexec/example/exampled -auth=bsdtcp exampledump
User=user
Group=users
StandardInput=socket

For a complete list of the systemd 'socket' and 'service' file options, refer to the [Link] and
[Link] manual pages (man 5 [Link], man 5 [Link]).

19.5.5 Creating custom targets

On System V init SUSE systems, runlevel 4 is unused to allow administrators to create their own runlevel
configuration. systemd allows you to create any number of custom targets. It is suggested to start by
adapting an existing target such as [Link].

1. Copy the configuration file /usr/lib/systemd/system/[Link] to /etc/sys-

temd/system/MY_TARGET.target and adjust it according to your needs.

2. The configuration file copied in the previous step already covers the required (“hard”) dependen-
cies for the target. To also cover the wanted (“soft”) dependencies, create a directory /etc/sys-
temd/system/MY_TARGET.[Link].

3. For each wanted service, create a symbolic link from /usr/lib/systemd/system into /etc/
systemd/system/MY_TARGET.[Link].

4. When you have finished setting up the target, reload the systemd configuration to make the new
target available:

> sudo systemctl daemon-reload

272 Creating custom targets | SLES 15 SP4

19.6 Advanced usage
The following sections cover advanced topics for system administrators. For even more advanced
systemd documentation, refer to Lennart Pöttering's series about systemd for administrators at
[Link] .

19.6.1 Cleaning temporary directories

systemd supports cleaning temporary directories regularly. The configuration from the previous system
version is automatically migrated and active. tmpfiles.d—which is responsible for managing tempo-
rary files—reads its configuration from /etc/tmpfiles.d/*.conf, /run/tmpfiles.d/*.conf, and
/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/*.conf files. Configuration placed in /etc/tmpfiles.d/*.conf overrides
related configurations from the other two directories (/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/*.conf is where pack-
ages store their configuration files).
The configuration format is one line per path containing action and path, and optionally mode, ownership,
age and argument fields, depending on the action. The following example unlinks the X11 lock files:

Type Path Mode UID GID Age Argument

r /tmp/.X[0-9]*-lock

To get the status the tmpfile timer:

> sudo systemctl status [Link]

[Link] - Daily Cleanup of Temporary Directories
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/[Link]; static)
Active: active (waiting) since Tue 2018-04-09 15:30:36 CEST; 1 weeks 6 days ago
Docs: man:tmpfiles.d(5)
man:systemd-tmpfiles(8)

Apr 09 15:30:36 jupiter systemd[1]: Starting Daily Cleanup of Temporary Directories.

Apr 09 15:30:36 jupiter systemd[1]: Started Daily Cleanup of Temporary Directories.

For more information on temporary files handling, see man 5 tmpfiles.d.

273 Advanced usage | SLES 15 SP4

19.6.2 System log
Section 19.6.9, “Debugging services” explains how to view log messages for a given service. However,
displaying log messages is not restricted to service logs. You can also access and query the complete log
messages written by systemd—the so-called “Journal”. Use the command journalctl to display the
complete log messages starting with the oldest entries. Refer to man 1 journalctl for options such as
applying filters or changing the output format.

19.6.3 Snapshots
You can save the current state of systemd to a named snapshot and later revert to it with the isolate
subcommand. This is useful when testing services or custom targets, because it allows you to return to
a defined state at any time. A snapshot is only available in the current session and will automatically be
deleted on reboot. A snapshot name must end in .snapshot.

Create a snapshot

> sudo systemctl snapshot MY_SNAPSHOT.snapshot

Delete a snapshot

> sudo systemctl delete MY_SNAPSHOT.snapshot

View a snapshot

> sudo systemctl show MY_SNAPSHOT.snapshot

Activate a snapshot

> sudo systemctl isolate MY_SNAPSHOT.snapshot

19.6.4 Loading kernel modules

With systemd, kernel modules can automatically be loaded at boot time via a configuration file in /etc/
modules-load.d. The file should be named [Link] and have the following content:

# load module MODULE at boot time

MODULE

274 System log | SLES 15 SP4

In case a package installs a configuration file for loading a kernel module, the file gets installed to /
usr/lib/modules-load.d. If two configuration files with the same name exist, the one in /etc/mod-
ules-load.d tales precedence.

For more information, see the modules-load.d(5) man page.

19.6.5 Performing actions before loading a service

With System V init actions that need to be performed before loading a service, needed to be specified in
/etc/init.d/[Link] . This procedure is no longer supported with systemd. If you need to
do actions before starting services, do the following:

Loading kernel modules

Create a drop-in file in /etc/modules-load.d directory (see man modules-load.d for the
syntax)

Creating Files or Directories, Cleaning-up Directories, Changing Ownership

Create a drop-in file in /etc/tmpfiles.d (see man tmpfiles.d for the syntax)

Other tasks
Create a system service file, for example, /etc/systemd/system/[Link], from the
following template:

[Unit]
Before=NAME OF THE SERVICE YOU WANT THIS SERVICE TO BE STARTED BEFORE
[Service]
Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=true
ExecStart=YOUR_COMMAND
# beware, executable is run directly, not through a shell, check the man pages
# [Link] and [Link] for full syntax
[Install]
# target in which to start the service
WantedBy=[Link]
#WantedBy=[Link]

When the service file is created, you should run the following commands (as root):

> sudo systemctl daemon-reload

> sudo systemctl enable before

Every time you modify the service file, you need to run:

> sudo systemctl daemon-reload

275 Performing actions before loading a service | SLES 15 SP4

19.6.6 Kernel control groups (cgroups)
On a traditional System V init system, it is not always possible to match a process to the service that
spawned it. Some services, such as Apache, spawn a lot of third-party processes (for example, CGI or
Java processes), which themselves spawn more processes. This makes a clear assignment difficult or even
impossible. Additionally, a service may not finish correctly, leaving certain children alive.
systemd solves this problem by placing each service into its own cgroup. cgroups are a kernel feature that
allows aggregating processes and all their children into hierarchical organized groups. systemd names
each cgroup after its service. Since a non-privileged process is not allowed to “leave” its cgroup, this
provides an effective way to label all processes spawned by a service with the name of the service.
To list all processes belonging to a service, use the command systemd-cgls, for example:

EXAMPLE 19.3: LIST ALL PROCESSES BELONGING TO A SERVICE

# systemd-cgls --no-pager
├─1 /usr/lib/systemd/systemd --switched-root --system --deserialize 20
├─[Link]
│ └─[Link]
│ ├─[Link]
│ │ ├─12426 gdm-session-worker [pam/gdm-password]
│ │ ├─15831 gdm-session-worker [pam/gdm-password]
│ │ ├─15839 gdm-session-worker [pam/gdm-password]
│ │ ├─15858 /usr/lib/gnome-terminal-server

[...]

└─[Link]
├─[Link]
│ └─17616 /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-hostnamed
├─[Link]
│ └─1689 /usr/sbin/cron -n
├─[Link]
│ ├─ 1676 /usr/lib/postfix/master -w
│ ├─ 1679 qmgr -l -t fifo -u
│ └─15590 pickup -l -t fifo -u
├─[Link]
│ └─1436 /usr/sbin/sshd -D

[...]

See Book “System Analysis and Tuning Guide”, Chapter 10 “Kernel control groups” for more information
about cgroups.

276 Kernel control groups (cgroups) | SLES 15 SP4

19.6.7 Terminating services (sending signals)
As explained in Section 19.6.6, “Kernel control groups (cgroups)”, it is not always possible to assign a
process to its parent service process in a System V init system. This makes it difficult to terminate a service
and all of its children. Child processes that have not been terminated will remain as zombie processes.
systemd's concept of confining each service into a cgroup makes it possible to clearly identify all child
processes of a service and therefore allows you to send a signal to each of these processes. Use systemctl
kill to send signals to services. For a list of available signals refer to man 7 signals.

Sending SIGTERM to a service

SIGTERM is the default signal that is sent.

> sudo systemctl kill MY_SERVICE

Sending SIGNAL to a service

Use the -s option to specify the signal that should be sent.

> sudo systemctl kill -s SIGNAL MY_SERVICE

Selecting processes
By default the kill command sends the signal to all processes of the specified cgroup. You can
restrict it to the control or the main process. The latter is, for example, useful to force a service
to reload its configuration by sending SIGHUP:

> sudo systemctl kill -s SIGHUP --kill-who=main MY_SERVICE

19.6.8 Important notes on the D-Bus service

The D-Bus service is the message bus for communication between systemd clients and the systemd
manager that is running as pid 1. Even though dbus is a stand-alone daemon, it is an integral part of the
init infrastructure.
Stopping dbus or restarting it in the running system is similar to an attempt to stop or restart PID 1. It
breaks the systemd client/server communication and makes most systemd functions unusable.
Therefore, terminating or restarting dbus is neither recommended nor supported.
Updating the dbus or dbus-related packages requires a reboot. When in doubt whether a reboot is nec-
essary, run the sudo zypper ps -s. If dbus appears among the listed services, you need to reboot
the system.
Keep in mind that dbus is updated even when automatic updates are configured to skip the packages that
require reboot.

277 Terminating services (sending signals) | SLES 15 SP4

19.6.9 Debugging services
By default, systemd is not overly verbose. If a service was started successfully, no output is produced.
In case of a failure, a short error message is displayed. However, systemctl status provides a means
to debug the start-up and operation of a service.
systemd comes with its own logging mechanism (“The Journal”) that logs system messages. This allows
you to display the service messages together with status messages. The status command works similar
to tail and can also display the log messages in different formats, making it a powerful debugging tool.

Show service start-up failure

Whenever a service fails to start, use systemctl status MY_SERVICE to get a detailed error
message:

# systemctl start apache2

Job failed. See system journal and 'systemctl status' for details.
# systemctl status apache2
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/[Link]; disabled)
Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Mon, 04 Apr 2018 16:52:26 +0200; 29s ago
Process: 3088 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/start_apache2 -D SYSTEMD -k start (code=exited,
status=1/FAILURE)
CGroup: name=systemd:/system/[Link]

Apr 04 16:52:26 g144 start_apache2[3088]: httpd2-prefork: Syntax error on line

205 of /etc/apache2/[Link]: Syntax error on li...alHost>

Show last N service messages

The default behavior of the status subcommand is to display the last ten messages a service issued.
To change the number of messages to show, use the --lines=N parameter:

> sudo systemctl status chronyd

> sudo systemctl --lines=20 status chronyd

Show service messages in append mode

To display a “live stream” of service messages, use the --follow option, which works like tail -f:

> sudo systemctl --follow status chronyd

Messages output format

The --output=MODE parameter allows you to change the output format of service messages. The
most important modes available are:

short
The default format. Shows the log messages with a human readable time stamp.

278 Debugging services | SLES 15 SP4

 verbose
Full output with all fields.

cat
Terse output without time stamps.

19.7 systemd timer units

Similar to cron, systemd timer units provide a mechanism for scheduling jobs on Linux. Although sys-
temd timer units serve the same purpose as cron, they offer several advantages.

Jobs scheduled using a timer unit can depend on other systemd services.

Timer units are treated as regular systemd services, so can be managed with systemctl.

Timers can be realtime and monotonic.

Time units are logged to the systemd journal, which makes it easier to monitor and troubleshoot
them.

systemd timer units are identified by the .timer file name extension.

19.7.1 systemd timer types

Timer units can use monotonic and realtime timers.

Similar to cronjobs, realtime timers are triggered on calendar events. Realtime timers are defined
using the option OnCalendar.

Monotonic timers are triggered at a specified time elapsed from a certain starting point. The latter
could be a system boot or system unit activation event. There are several options for defining mo-
notonic timers including OnBootSec, OnUnitActiveSec, and OnTypeSec. Monotonic timers are
not persistent, and they are reset after each reboot.

19.7.2 systemd timers and service units

Every timer unit must have a corresponding systemd unit file it controls. In other words, a .timer file
activates and manages the corresponding .service file. When used with a timer, the .service file does
not require an [Install] section, as the service is managed by the timer.

279 systemd timer units | SLES 15 SP4

19.7.3 Practical example
To understand the basics of systemd timer units, we set up a timer that triggers the [Link] shell script.
First step is to create a systemd service unit that controls the shell script. To do this, open a new text file
for editing and add the following service unit definition:

[Unit]
Description="Foo shell script"

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/[Link]

Save the file under the name [Link] in the directory /etc/systemd/system/.
Next, open a new text file for editing and add the following timer definition:

[Unit]
Description="Run foo shell script"

[Timer]
OnBootSec=5min
OnUnitActiveSec=24h
Unit=[Link]

[Install]
WantedBy=[Link]

The [Timer] section in the example above specifies what service to trigger ([Link]) and when
to trigger it. In this case, the option OnBootSec specifies a monotonic timer that triggers the service five
minutes after the system boot, while the option OnUnitActiveSec triggers the service 24 hours after the
service has been activated (that is, the timer triggers the service once a day). Finally, the option WantedBy
specifies that the timer should start when the system has reached the multi-user target.
Instead of a monotonic timer, you can specify a real-time one using the option OnCalendar. The following
realtime timer definition triggers the related service unit once a week, starting on Monday at 12:00.

[Timer]
OnCalendar=weekly
Persistent=true

The option Persistent=true indicates that the service is triggered immediately after the timer activation
if the timer missed the last start time (for example, because of the system being powered off).

280 Practical example | SLES 15 SP4

The option OnCalendar can also be used to define specific dates times for triggering a service using the
following format: DayOfWeek Year-Month-Day Hour:Minute:Second. The example below triggers
a service at 5am every day:

OnCalendar=*-*-* 5:00:00

You can use an asterisk to specify any value, and commas to list possible values. Use two values separated
by .. to indicate a contiguous range. The following example triggers a service at 6pm on Friday of every
month:

OnCalendar=Fri *-*-1..7 18:00:00

To trigger a service at different times, you can specify several OnCalendar entries:

OnCalendar=Mon..Fri 10:00
OnCalendar=Sat,Sun 22:00

In the example above, a service is triggered at 10am on week days and at 10pm on weekends.
When you are done editing the timer unit file, save it under the name [Link] in the /etc/sys-
temd/system/ directory. To check the correctness of the created unit files, run the following command:

> sudo systemd-analyze verify /etc/systemd/system/foo.*

If the command returns no output, the files have passed the verification successfully.
To start the timer, use the command sudo systemctl start [Link]. To enable the timer on boot,
run the command sudo systemctl enable [Link].

19.7.4 Managing systemd timers

Since timers are treated as regular systemd units, you can manage them using systemctl. You can start
a timer with systemctl start, enable a timer with systemctl enable, and so on. In addition to that,
you can list all active timers using the command systemctl list-timers. To list all timers, including
inactive ones, run the command systemctl list-timers --all.

19.8 More information

For more information on systemd refer to the following online resources:

Homepage
[Link]

281 Managing systemd timers | SLES 15 SP4

systemd for administrators
Lennart Pöttering, one of the systemd authors, has written a series of blog entries (13 at the time
of writing this chapter). Find them at [Link] .

282 More information | SLES 15 SP4

III System

20 32-bit and 64-bit applications in a 64-bit system environment 284

21 journalctl: Query the systemd journal 286

22 update-alternatives: Managing multiple versions of commands and

files 294

23 Basic networking 302

24 Printer operation 373

25 Graphical user interface 387

26 Accessing file systems with FUSE 403

27 Installing multiple kernel versions 405

28 Managing kernel modules 412

29 Dynamic kernel device management with udev 415

30 Special system features 427

31 Using NetworkManager 438

20 32-bit and 64-bit applications in a 64-bit system
environment

SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server is available for several 64-bit platforms. The developers have not ported
all 32-bit applications to 64-bit systems. This chapter offers a brief overview of 32-bit support implemen-
tation on 64-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise Server platforms.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for the 64-bit platforms POWER, IBM Z and AMD64/Intel 64 is designed
so that existing 32-bit applications run in the 64-bit environment “out-of-the-box.” The corresponding
32-bit platforms are POWER for POWER, and x86 for AMD64/Intel 64. This support means that you
can continue to use your preferred 32-bit applications without waiting for a corresponding 64-bit port to
become available. The current POWER system runs most applications in 32-bit mode, but you can run
64-bit applications.

Note: No support for building 32-bit applications

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server does not support compilation of 32-bit applications. It only offers
runtime support for 32-bit binaries.

20.1 Runtime support

Important: Conflicts between application versions

If an application is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit environments, installing both versions may
cause problems. In such cases, decide on one version to install to avoid potential runtime errors.
An exception to this rule is PAM (pluggable authentication modules). SUSE Linux Enterprise Serv-
er uses PAM in the authentication process as a layer that mediates between user and application.
Always install both PAM versions on 64-bit operating systems that also run 32-bit applications.

For correct execution, every application requires a range of libraries. Unfortunately, the names are identical
for the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of these libraries. They must be differentiated from each other in another
way.
To retain compatibility with 32-bit versions, 64-bit and 32-bit libraries are stored in the same location. The
32-bit version of [Link].6 is located under /lib/[Link].6 in both 32-bit and 64-bit environments.

284 Runtime support | SLES 15 SP4

All 64-bit libraries and object files are located in directories called lib64. The 64-bit object files normally
found under /lib and /usr/lib are now found under /lib64 and /usr/lib64. This means that space
is available for 32-bit libraries under /lib and /usr/lib, so the file name for both versions can remain
unchanged.
If the data content of 32-bit subdirectories under /lib does not depend on word size, they are not moved.
This scheme conforms to LSB (Linux Standards Base) and FHS (File System Hierarchy Standard).

20.2 Kernel specifications

The 64-bit kernels for AMD64/Intel 64, POWER and IBM Z offer both a 64-bit and a 32-bit kernel ABI
(application binary interface). The latter is identical to the ABI for the corresponding 32-bit kernel. This
means that communication between both 32-bit and 64-bit applications with 64-bit kernels are identical.
The 32-bit system call emulation for 64-bit kernels does not support all the APIs used by system programs.
This depends on the platform. For this reason, few applications, like lspci, must be compiled on non-
POWER platforms as 64-bit programs to function properly. On IBM Z, not all ioctls are available in the
32-bit kernel ABI.
A 64-bit kernel can only load 64-bit kernel modules. You must compile 64-bit modules specifically for
64-bit kernels. It is not possible to use 32-bit kernel modules with 64-bit kernels.

Tip: Kernel-loadable modules

Some applications require separate kernel-loadable modules. If you intend to use a 32-bit applica-
tion in a 64-bit system environment, contact the provider of the application and SUSE. Make sure
that the 64-bit version of the kernel-loadable module and the 32-bit compiled version of the kernel
API are available for this module.

285 Kernel specifications | SLES 15 SP4

21 journalctl: Query the systemd journal
systemd features its own logging system called journal. There is no need to run a syslog-based service,
as all system events are written to the journal.
The journal itself is a system service managed by systemd. Its full name is [Link]-
vice. It collects and stores logging data by maintaining structured indexed journals based on logging in-
formation received from the kernel, user processes, standard input, and system service errors. The sys-
temd-journald service is on by default:

> sudo systemctl status systemd-journald

[Link] - Journal Service
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/[Link]; static)
Active: active (running) since Mon 2014-05-26 08:36:59 EDT; 3 days ago
Docs: man:[Link](8)
man:[Link](5)
Main PID: 413 (systemd-journal)
Status: "Processing requests..."
CGroup: /[Link]/[Link]
└─413 /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-journald
[...]

21.1 Making the journal persistent

The journal stores log data in /run/log/journal/ by default. Because the /run/ directory is volatile
by nature, log data is lost at reboot. To make the log data persistent, create the directory /var/log/
journal/ and make sure it has the correct access modes and ownership, so the systemd-journald service
can store its data. To switch to persistent logging, execute the following commands:

> sudo mkdir /var/log/journal

> sudo systemd-tmpfiles --create --prefix=/var/log/journal
> sudo journalctl --flush

Any log data stored in /run/log/journal/ will be flushed into /var/log/journal/.

21.2 journalctl: Useful switches

This section introduces several common useful options to enhance the default journalctl behavior. All
switches are described in the journalctl manual page, man 1 journalctl.

286 Making the journal persistent | SLES 15 SP4

 Tip: Messages related to a specific executable
To show all journal messages related to a specific executable, specify the full path to the executable:

> sudo journalctl /usr/lib/systemd/systemd

-f
Shows only the most recent journal messages, and prints new log entries as they are added to the
journal.

Prints the messages and jumps to the end of the journal, so that the latest entries are visible within
the pager.

-r
Prints the messages of the journal in reverse order, so that the latest entries are listed first.

-k
Shows only kernel messages. This is equivalent to the field match _TRANSPORT=kernel (see Sec-
tion 21.3.3, “Filtering based on fields”).

-u
Shows only messages for the specified systemd unit. This is equivalent to the field match
_SYSTEMD_UNIT=UNIT (see Section 21.3.3, “Filtering based on fields”).

> sudo journalctl -u apache2

[...]
Jun 03 10:07:11 pinkiepie systemd[1]: Starting The Apache Webserver...
Jun 03 10:07:12 pinkiepie systemd[1]: Started The Apache Webserver.

21.3 Filtering the journal output

When called without switches, journalctl shows the full content of the journal, the oldest entries listed
first. The output can be filtered by specific switches and fields.

21.3.1 Filtering based on a boot number

journalctl can filter messages based on a specific system boot. To list all available boots, run

287 Filtering the journal output | SLES 15 SP4

 > sudo journalctl --list-boots
-1 097ed2cd99124a2391d2cffab1b566f0 Mon 2014-05-26 08:36:56 EDT—Fri 2014-05-30 05:33:44
EDT
0 156019a44a774a0bb0148a92df4af81b Fri 2014-05-30 05:34:09 EDT—Fri 2014-05-30 06:15:01
EDT

The first column lists the boot offset: 0 for the current boot, -1 for the previous one, -2 for the one prior to
that, etc. The second column contains the boot ID followed by the limiting time stamps of the specific boot.
Show all messages from the current boot:

> sudo journalctl -b

If you need to see journal messages from the previous boot, add an offset parameter. The following example
outputs the previous boot messages:

> sudo journalctl -b -1

Another way is to list boot messages based on the boot ID. For this purpose, use the _BOOT_ID field:

> sudo journalctl _BOOT_ID=156019a44a774a0bb0148a92df4af81b

21.3.2 Filtering based on time interval

You can filter the output of journalctl by specifying the starting and/or ending date. The date speci-
fication should be of the format "2014-06-30 9:17:16". If the time part is omitted, midnight is assumed.
If seconds are omitted, ":00" is assumed. If the date part is omitted, the current day is assumed. Instead
of numeric expression, you can specify the keywords "yesterday", "today", or "tomorrow". They refer
to midnight of the day before the current day, of the current day, or of the day after the current day. If
you specify "now", it refers to the current time. You can also specify relative times prefixed with - or +,
referring to times before or after the current time.
Show only new messages since now, and update the output continuously:

> sudo journalctl --since "now" -f

Show all messages since last midnight till 3:20am:

> sudo journalctl --since "today" --until "3:20"

288 Filtering based on time interval | SLES 15 SP4

21.3.3 Filtering based on fields
You can filter the output of the journal by specific fields. The syntax of a field to be matched is
FIELD_NAME=MATCHED_VALUE, such as _SYSTEMD_UNIT=[Link]. You can specify multi-
ple matches in a single query to filter the output messages even more. See man 7 [Link]-
nal-fields for a list of default fields.

Show messages produced by a specific process ID:

> sudo journalctl _PID=1039

Show messages belonging to a specific user ID:

# journalctl _UID=1000

Show messages from the kernel ring buffer (the same as dmesg produces):

> sudo journalctl _TRANSPORT=kernel

Show messages from the service's standard or error output:

> sudo journalctl _TRANSPORT=stdout

Show messages produced by a specified service only:

> sudo journalctl _SYSTEMD_UNIT=[Link]

If two different fields are specified, only entries that match both expressions at the same time are shown:

> sudo journalctl _SYSTEMD_UNIT=[Link] _PID=1488

If two matches refer to the same field, all entries matching either expression are shown:

> sudo journalctl _SYSTEMD_UNIT=[Link] _SYSTEMD_UNIT=[Link]

You can use the '+' separator to combine two expressions in a logical 'OR'. The following example shows
all messages from the Avahi service process with the process ID 1480 together with all messages from
the D-Bus service:

> sudo journalctl _SYSTEMD_UNIT=[Link] _PID=1480 +

_SYSTEMD_UNIT=[Link]

21.4 Investigating systemd errors

This section introduces a simple example to illustrate how to find and fix the error reported by systemd
during apache2 start-up.

289 Filtering based on fields | SLES 15 SP4

 1. Try to start the apache2 service:

# systemctl start apache2

Job for [Link] failed. See 'systemctl status apache2' and 'journalctl -xn'
for details.

2. Let us see what the service's status says:

> sudo systemctl status apache2

[Link] - The Apache Webserver
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/[Link]; disabled)
Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Tue 2014-06-03 11:08:13 CEST; 7min ago
Process: 11026 ExecStop=/usr/sbin/start_apache2 -D SYSTEMD -DFOREGROUND \
-k graceful-stop (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)

The ID of the process causing the failure is 11026.

3. Show the verbose version of messages related to process ID 11026:

> sudo journalctl -o verbose _PID=11026

[...]
MESSAGE=AH00526: Syntax error on line 6 of /etc/apache2/[Link]:
[...]
MESSAGE=Invalid command 'DocumenttRoot', perhaps misspelled or defined by a module
[...]

4. Fix the typo inside /etc/apache2/[Link], start the apache2 service, and print
its status:

> sudo systemctl start apache2 && systemctl status apache2

[Link] - The Apache Webserver
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/[Link]; disabled)
Active: active (running) since Tue 2014-06-03 11:26:24 CEST; 4ms ago
Process: 11026 ExecStop=/usr/sbin/start_apache2 -D SYSTEMD -DFOREGROUND
-k graceful-stop (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
Main PID: 11263 (httpd2-prefork)
Status: "Processing requests..."
CGroup: /[Link]/[Link]
├─11263 /usr/sbin/httpd2-prefork -f /etc/apache2/[Link] -D [...]
├─11280 /usr/sbin/httpd2-prefork -f /etc/apache2/[Link] -D [...]
├─11281 /usr/sbin/httpd2-prefork -f /etc/apache2/[Link] -D [...]
├─11282 /usr/sbin/httpd2-prefork -f /etc/apache2/[Link] -D [...]
├─11283 /usr/sbin/httpd2-prefork -f /etc/apache2/[Link] -D [...]
└─11285 /usr/sbin/httpd2-prefork -f /etc/apache2/[Link] -D [...]

290 Investigating systemd errors | SLES 15 SP4

21.5 Journald configuration
The behavior of the systemd-journald service can be adjusted by modifying /etc/systemd/jour-
[Link]. This section introduces only basic option settings. For a complete file description, see man
5 [Link]. Note that you need to restart the journal for the changes to take effect with

> sudo systemctl restart systemd-journald

21.5.1 Changing the journal size limit

If the journal log data is saved to a persistent location (see Section 21.1, “Making the journal persistent”),
it uses up to 10% of the file system the /var/log/journal resides on. For example, if /var/log/
journal is located on a 30 GB /var partition, the journal may use up to 3 GB of the disk space. To
change this limit, change (and uncomment) the SystemMaxUse option:

SystemMaxUse=50M

21.5.2 Forwarding the journal to /dev/ttyX

You can forward the journal to a terminal device to inform you about system messages on a preferred
terminal screen, for example /dev/tty12. Change the following journald options to

ForwardToConsole=yes
TTYPath=/dev/tty12

21.5.3 Forwarding the journal to syslog facility

Journald is backward compatible with traditional syslog implementations such as rsyslog. Make sure
the following is valid:

rsyslog is installed.

> sudo rpm -q rsyslog

rsyslog-7.4.8-2.16.x86_64

rsyslog service is enabled.

291 Journald configuration | SLES 15 SP4

 > sudo systemctl is-enabled rsyslog
enabled

Forwarding to syslog is enabled in /etc/systemd/[Link].

ForwardToSyslog=yes

21.6 Using YaST to filter the systemd journal

For an easy way of filtering the systemd journal (without dealing with the journalctl syntax), you can
use the YaST journal module. After installing it with sudo zypper in yast2-journal, start it from
YaST by selecting System Systemd Journal. Alternatively, start it from command line by entering sudo
yast2 journal.

FIGURE 21.1: YAST SYSTEMD JOURNAL

The module displays the log entries in a table. The search box on top allows you to search for entries
that contain certain characters, similar to using grep. To filter the entries by date and time, unit, file, or
priority, click Change filters and set the respective options.

292 Using YaST to filter the systemd journal | SLES 15 SP4

21.7 Viewing logs in GNOME
You can view the journal with GNOME Logs. Start it from the application menu. To view system log
messages, it needs to be run as root, for example with xdg-su gnome-logs. This command can be
executed when pressing Alt – F2 .

293 Viewing logs in GNOME | SLES 15 SP4

22 update-alternatives: Managing multiple ver-
sions of commands and files

Often, there are several versions of the same tool installed on a system. To give administra-
tors a choice and to make it possible to install and use different versions side by side, the al-
ternatives system allows managing such versions consistently.

22.1 Overview
On SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, some programs perform the same or similar tasks. For example, if Java
1.7 and Java 1.8 are both installed on the system, the alternatives system script (update-alternatives)
is called from inside the RPM package. By default, the alternatives system will refer to version 1.8: Higher
versions also have a higher priority. However, the administrator can change the default and can point the
generic name to version 1.7.
The following terminology is used in this chapter:

TERMINOLOGY

Administrative directory
The default /var/lib/rpm/alternatives directory contains information about the current state
of alternatives.

Alternative
The name of a specific file in the file system, which can be made accessible via a generic name
using the alternatives system.

Alternatives directory
The default /etc/alternatives directory containing symbolic links.

Generic name
A name (for example, /usr/bin/edit) that refers to one file out of several available using the
alternatives system.

Link group
A set of related symbolic links that can be updated as a group.

Master link
The link in a link group that determines how the other links in the group are configured.

294 Overview | SLES 15 SP4

Slave link
A link in a link group controlled by the master link.

Symbolic link (symlink)

A file that is a reference to another file in the same file system. The alternatives system uses symbolic
links in the alternatives directory to switch between versions of a file.
Symbolic links in the alternatives directory can be modified by the administrator through the up-
date-alternatives command.

The alternatives system provides the update-alternatives command to create, remove, maintain, and
show information about symbolic links. While these symbolic links usually point to commands, they can
also point to JAR archives, man pages, and other files. Examples in this chapter use commands and man
pages, but they are also applicable to other file types.
The alternatives system uses the alternatives directory to collect links to possible alternatives. When a
new package with an alternative is installed, the new alternative is added to the system. Whether the new
package's alternative is selected as the default depends on its priority and on the mode that is set. Usually,
packages with a higher version also have a higher priority. The alternatives system can operate in two
modes:

Automatic mode. In this mode, the alternatives system ensures that the links in the group point
to the highest priority alternatives appropriate for the group.

Manual mode. In this mode, the alternatives system does not make any changes to the system
administrator's settings.

For example, the java command has the following link hierarchy in the alternatives system:

EXAMPLE 22.1: ALTERNATIVES SYSTEM OF THE java COMMAND

/usr/bin/java 1

-> /etc/alternatives/java 2

-> /usr/lib64/jvm/jre-10-openjdk/bin/java 3

1 The generic name.

2 The symbolic link in the alternatives directory.
3 One of the alternatives.

295 Overview | SLES 15 SP4

22.2 Use cases
By default, the update-alternatives script is called from inside an RPM package. When a package
is installed or removed, the script takes care of all its symbolic links. But you can run it manually from
the command line for:

displaying the current alternatives for a generic name.

changing the defaults of an alternative.

creating a set of related files for an alternative.

22.3 Getting an overview of alternatives

To retrieve the names of all configured alternatives, use:

> ls /var/lib/alternatives

To get an overview of all configured alternatives and their values, use

> sudo update-alternatives --get-selections

asadmin auto /usr/bin/asadmin-2.7
awk auto /usr/bin/gawk
chardetect auto /usr/bin/chardetect-3.6
dbus-launch auto /usr/bin/dbus-launch.x11
default-displaymanager auto /usr/lib/X11/displaymanagers/gdm
[...]

22.4 Viewing details on specific alternatives

The easiest way to check the alternatives is to follow the symbolic links of your command. For example,
if you want to know what the java command is referring to, use the following command:

> readlink --canonicalize /usr/bin/java

/usr/lib64/jvm/jre-10-openjdk/bin/java

If you see the same path (in our example, it is /usr/bin/java), there are no alternatives available for
this command.
To see the full alternatives (including slaves), use the --display option:

> sudo update-alternatives --display java

296 Use cases | SLES 15 SP4

java - auto mode
link best version is /usr/lib64/jvm/jre-1.8.0-openjdk/bin/java
link currently points to /usr/lib64/jvm/jre-1.8.0-openjdk/bin/java
link java is /usr/bin/java
slave [Link] is /usr/share/man/man1/[Link]
slave jre is /usr/lib64/jvm/jre
slave jre_exports is /usr/lib64/jvm-exports/jre
slave keytool is /usr/bin/keytool
slave [Link] is /usr/share/man/man1/[Link]
slave orbd is /usr/bin/orbd
slave [Link] is /usr/share/man/man1/[Link]
[...]

22.5 Setting the default version of alternatives

By default, commands in /usr/bin refer to the alternatives directory with the highest priority. For ex-
ample, by default, the command java shows the following version number:

> java -version

openjdk version "10.0.1" 2018-04-17
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 10.0.1+10-suse-lp150.1.11-x8664)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 10.0.1+10-suse-lp150.1.11-x8664, mixed mode)

To change the default java command to refer to a previous version, run:

> sudo update-alternatives --config java

root's password:
There are 2 choices for the alternative java (providing /usr/bin/java).

Selection Path Priority Status

------------------------------------------------------------
* 0 /usr/lib64/jvm/jre-10-openjdk/bin/java 2005 auto mode
1 /usr/lib64/jvm/jre-1.8.0-openjdk/bin/java 1805 manual mode
2 /usr/lib64/jvm/jre-10-openjdk/bin/java 2005 manual mode
3 /usr/lib64/jvm/jre-11-openjdk/bin/java 0 manual mode

Press <enter> to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number:

Depending on your system and installed versions, the exact Java version number will be different. After
you have selected 1, java shows the following version number:

> java -version

java version "1.8.0_171"
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (IcedTea 3.8.0) (build 1.8.0_171-b11 suse-lp150.2.3.1-x86_64)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.171-b11, mixed mode)

297 Setting the default version of alternatives | SLES 15 SP4

Also, keep in mind the following points:

When working in manual mode and installing another Java version, the alternatives system neither
touches the links nor changes the generic name.

When working in automatic mode and installing another Java version, the alternatives system
changes the Java master link and all slave links (as you can see in Section 22.4, “Viewing details on
specific alternatives”). To check the master-slave relationships, use:

> sudo update-alternatives --display java

22.6 Installing custom alternatives

This section describes how to set up custom alternatives on a system.

Warning: No custom alternatives for python3

Do not install custom alternatives for python3. /usr/bin/python3 does not have update alterna-
tives and always points to specific tested versions. Creating a custom python3 alternative pointing
to a different version—such as python 3.11—breaks dependent system tools.

The example makes the following assumptions:

There are two scripts, foo-2 and foo-3, with similar functionality.

The scripts are stored in the /usr/local/bin directory to avoid any conflicts with the system tools
in /usr/bin.

There is a master link foo that points to either foo-2 or foo-3.

To provide alternatives on your system, follow these steps:

1. Copy your scripts into the /usr/local/bin directory.

2. Make the scripts executable:

> sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/foo-{2,3}

3. Run update-alternatives for both scripts:

> sudo update-alternatives --install \

298 Installing custom alternatives | SLES 15 SP4

 /usr/local/bin/foo 1 \
foo 2 \
/usr/local/bin/foo-2 3 \
200 4

> sudo update-alternatives --install \

/usr/local/bin/foo 1 \
foo 2 \
/usr/local/bin/foo-3 3 \
300 4

The options after --install have the following meanings:

1 The generic name. To avoid confusion, this is usually the script name without any version
numbers.
2 The name of the master link. Must be the same.
3 The path to the original script(s) located in /usr/local/bin.
4 The priority. We give foo-2 a lower priority than foo-3. It is good practice to use a significant
number increase to separate priorities. For example, a priority of 200 for foo-2 and 300 for
foo-3.

4. Check the master link:

> sudo update-alternatives --display foo

foo - auto mode
link best version is /usr/local/bin/foo-3
link currently points to /usr/local/bin/foo-3
link foo is /usr/local/bin/foo
/usr/local/bin/foo-2 - priority 200
/usr/local/bin/foo-3 - priority 300

After you completed the described steps, you can use the master link /usr/local/bin/foo.
If needed, you can install additional alternatives. To remove an alternative, use the following command:

> sudo update-alternatives --remove foo /usr/local/bin/foo-2

After this script has been removed, the alternatives system for the foo group looks like this:

> sudo update-alternatives --display foo

foo - auto mode
link best version is /usr/local/bin/foo-3
link currently points to /usr/local/bin/foo-3
link foo is /usr/local/bin/foo
/usr/local/bin/foo-3 - priority 300

299 Installing custom alternatives | SLES 15 SP4

22.7 Defining dependent alternatives
If you have alternatives, the script itself is not enough. Most commands are not completely stand-alone:
They usually ship with additional files, such as extensions, configurations, or man pages. To create alter-
natives which are dependent on a master link, use slave alternatives.
Let us assume we want to extend our example in Section 22.6, “Installing custom alternatives” and provide
man pages and configuration files:

Two man pages, [Link] and [Link] stored in the /usr/local/man/man1 directory.

Two configuration files, [Link] and [Link], stored in /etc.

Follow these steps to add the additional files to your alternatives:

1. Copy the configuration files into /etc:

> sudo cp foo-{2,3}.conf /etc

2. Copy the man pages into the /usr/local/man/man1 directory:

> sudo cp foo-{2,3}.[Link] /usr/local/man/man1/

3. Add the slave links to the main scripts with the --slave option:

> sudo update-alternatives --install \

/usr/local/bin/foo foo /usr/local/bin/foo-2 200 \
--slave /usr/local/man/man1/[Link] \
[Link] \
/usr/local/man/man1/[Link] \
--slave /etc/[Link] \
[Link] \
/etc/[Link]
> sudo update-alternatives --install \
/usr/local/bin/foo foo /usr/local/bin/foo-3 300 \
--slave /usr/local/man/man1/[Link] \
[Link] \
/usr/local/man/man1/[Link] \
--slave /etc/[Link] \
[Link] \
/etc/[Link]

4. Check the master link:

foo - auto mode

300 Defining dependent alternatives | SLES 15 SP4

 link best version is /usr/local/bin/foo-3
link currently points to /usr/local/bin/foo-3
link foo is /usr/local/bin/foo
slave [Link] is /usr/local/man/man1/[Link]
slave [Link] is /etc/[Link]
/usr/local/bin/foo-2 - priority 200
slave [Link]: /usr/local/man/man1/[Link]
slave [Link]: /etc/[Link]
/usr/local/bin/foo-3 - priority 300
slave [Link]: /usr/local/man/man1/[Link]
slave [Link]: /etc/[Link]

If you change the links with update-alternatives --config foo to foo-2, then all slave links
will change as well.

301 Defining dependent alternatives | SLES 15 SP4

23 Basic networking

Linux offers the necessary networking tools and features for integration into all types of net-
work structures. Network access using a network card can be configured with YaST. Manual
configuration is also possible. In this chapter, only the fundamental mechanisms and the rele-
vant network configuration files are covered.
Linux and other Unix operating systems use the TCP/IP protocol. It is not a single network protocol, but
a family of network protocols that offer various services. The protocols listed in Several protocols in the
TCP/IP protocol family are provided for exchanging data between two machines via TCP/IP. Networks
combined by TCP/IP, comprising a worldwide network, are also called “the Internet.”
RFC stands for Request for Comments. RFCs are documents that describe various Internet protocols and
implementation procedures for the operating system and its applications. The RFC documents describe
the setup of Internet protocols. For more information about RFCs, see [Link] .

SEVERAL PROTOCOLS IN THE TCP/IP PROTOCOL FAMILY

TCP
Transmission Control Protocol: a connection-oriented secure protocol. The data to transmit is first
sent by the application as a stream of data and converted into the appropriate format by the operating
system. The data arrives at the respective application on the destination host in the original data
stream format it was initially sent. TCP determines whether any data has been lost or jumbled during
the transmission. TCP is implemented wherever the data sequence matters.

UDP
User Datagram Protocol: a connectionless, insecure protocol. The data to transmit is sent in the form
of packets generated by the application. The order in which the data arrives at the recipient is not
guaranteed and data loss is possible. UDP is suitable for record-oriented applications. It features a
smaller latency period than TCP.

ICMP
Internet Control Message Protocol: This is not a protocol for the end user, but a special control
protocol that issues error reports and can control the behavior of machines participating in TCP/IP
data transfer. In addition, it provides a special echo mode that can be viewed using the program ping.

IGMP
Internet Group Management Protocol: This protocol controls machine behavior when implementing
IP multicast.

302 | SLES 15 SP4

As shown in Figure 23.1, “Simplified layer model for TCP/IP”, data exchange takes place in different lay-
ers. The actual network layer is the insecure data transfer via IP (Internet protocol). On top of IP, TCP
(transmission control protocol) guarantees, to a certain extent, security of the data transfer. The IP layer
is supported by the underlying hardware-dependent protocol, such as Ethernet.

TCP/IP Model OSI Model

Application Layer

Application Layer Presentation Layer

Session Layer

Transport Layer Transport Layer

Internet Layer Network Layer

Data Link Layer

Network Access Layer
Physical Layer

FIGURE 23.1: SIMPLIFIED LAYER MODEL FOR TCP/IP

The diagram provides one or two examples for each layer. The layers are ordered according to abstraction
levels. The lowest layer is very close to the hardware. The uppermost layer, however, is almost a complete
abstraction from the hardware. Every layer has its own special function. The special functions of each layer
are mostly implicit in their description. The data link and physical layers represent the physical network
used, such as Ethernet.
Almost all hardware protocols work on a packet-oriented basis. The data to transmit is collected into
packets (it cannot be sent all at once). The maximum size of a TCP/IP packet is approximately 64 KB.
Packets are normally quite small, as the network hardware can be a limiting factor. The maximum size

303 | SLES 15 SP4

of a data packet on Ethernet is about fifteen hundred bytes. The size of a TCP/IP packet is limited to this
amount when the data is sent over Ethernet. If more data is transferred, more data packets need to be sent
by the operating system.
For the layers to serve their designated functions, additional information regarding each layer must be
saved in the data packet. This takes place in the header of the packet. Every layer attaches a small block
of data, called the protocol header, to the front of each emerging packet. A sample TCP/IP data packet
traveling over an Ethernet cable is illustrated in Figure 23.2, “TCP/IP Ethernet packet”. The proof sum is
located at the end of the packet, not at the beginning. This simplifies things for the network hardware.

FIGURE 23.2: TCP/IP ETHERNET PACKET

When an application sends data over the network, the data passes through each layer, all implemented in the
Linux kernel except the physical layer. Each layer is responsible for preparing the data so it can be passed
to the next layer. The lowest layer is ultimately responsible for sending the data. The entire procedure is
reversed when data is received. Like the layers of an onion, in each layer the protocol headers are removed
from the transported data. Finally, the transport layer is responsible for making the data available for use
by the applications at the destination. In this manner, one layer only communicates with the layer directly
above or below it. For applications, it is irrelevant whether data is transmitted via a wireless or wired
connection. Likewise, it is irrelevant for the data line which kind of data is transmitted, as long as packets
are in the correct format.

23.1 IP addresses and routing

The discussion in this section is limited to IPv4 networks. For information about IPv6 protocol, the suc-
cessor to IPv4, refer to Section 23.2, “IPv6—the next generation Internet”.

23.1.1 IP addresses
Every computer on the Internet has a unique 32-bit address. These 32 bits (or 4 bytes) are normally written
as illustrated in the second row in Example 23.1, “Writing IP addresses”.

304 IP addresses and routing | SLES 15 SP4

EXAMPLE 23.1: WRITING IP ADDRESSES

IP Address (binary): 11000000 10101000 00000000 00010100

IP Address (decimal): 192. 168. 0. 20

In decimal form, the four bytes are written in the decimal number system, separated by periods. The IP
address is assigned to a host or a network interface. It can be used only once throughout the world. There
are exceptions to this rule, but these are not relevant to the following passages.
The points in IP addresses indicate the hierarchical system. Until the 1990s, IP addresses were strictly
categorized in classes. However, this system proved too inflexible and was discontinued. Now, classless
routing (CIDR, classless interdomain routing) is used.

23.1.2 Netmasks and routing

Netmasks are used to define the address range of a subnet. If two hosts are in the same subnet, they can
reach each other directly. If they are not in the same subnet, they need the address of a gateway that handles
all the traffic for the subnet. To check if two IP addresses are in the same subnet, simply “AND” both
addresses with the netmask. If the result is identical, both IP addresses are in the same local network. If
there are differences, the remote IP address, and thus the remote interface, can only be reached over a
gateway.
To understand how the netmask works, look at Example 23.2, “Linking IP addresses to the netmask”. The
netmask consists of 32 bits that identify how much of an IP address belongs to the network. All those bits
that are 1 mark the corresponding bit in the IP address as belonging to the network. All bits that are 0
mark bits inside the subnet. This means that the more bits are 1, the smaller the subnet is. Because the
netmask always consists of several successive 1 bits, it is also possible to count the number of bits in the
netmask. In Example 23.2, “Linking IP addresses to the netmask” the first net with 24 bits could also be
written as [Link]/24.
EXAMPLE 23.2: LINKING IP ADDRESSES TO THE NETMASK

IP address ([Link]): 11000000 10101000 00000000 00010100

Netmask ([Link]): 11111111 11111111 11111111 00000000
---------------------------------------------------------------
Result of the link: 11000000 10101000 00000000 00000000
In the decimal system: 192. 168. 0. 0

IP address ([Link]): 11010101 10111111 00001111 11001000

Netmask ([Link]): 11111111 11111111 11111111 00000000
---------------------------------------------------------------
Result of the link: 11010101 10111111 00001111 00000000
In the decimal system: 213. 95. 15. 0

305 Netmasks and routing | SLES 15 SP4

To give another example: all machines connected with the same Ethernet cable are usually located in the
same subnet and are directly accessible. Even when the subnet is physically divided by switches or bridges,
these hosts can still be reached directly.
IP addresses outside the local subnet can only be reached if a gateway is configured for the target network.
In the most common case, there is only one gateway that handles all traffic that is external. However, it
is also possible to configure several gateways for different subnets.
If a gateway has been configured, all external IP packets are sent to the appropriate gateway. This gateway
then attempts to forward the packets in the same manner—from host to host—until it reaches the destina-
tion host or the packet's TTL (time to live) expires.

SPECIFIC ADDRESSES

Base Network Address

This is the netmask AND any address in the network, as shown in Example 23.2, “Linking IP ad-
dresses to the netmask” under Result. This address cannot be assigned to any hosts.

Broadcast Address
This could be paraphrased as: “Access all hosts in this subnet.” To generate this, the netmask is
inverted in binary form and linked to the base network address with a logical OR. The above example
therefore results in [Link]. This address cannot be assigned to any hosts.

Local Host
The address [Link] is assigned to the “loopback device” on each host. A connection can be set
up to your own machine with this address and with all addresses from the complete [Link]/8
loopback network as defined with IPv4. With IPv6 there is only one loopback address (::1).

Because IP addresses must be unique all over the world, you cannot select random addresses. There are
three address domains to use if you want to set up a private IP-based network. These cannot get any
connection from the rest of the Internet, because they cannot be transmitted over the Internet. These address
domains are specified in RFC 1597 and listed in Table 23.1, “Private IP address domains”.

TABLE 23.1: PRIVATE IP ADDRESS DOMAINS

Network/Netmask Domain

[Link]/[Link] 10.x.x.x

[Link]/[Link] 172.16.x.x – 172.31.x.x

[Link]/[Link] 192.168.x.x

306 Netmasks and routing | SLES 15 SP4

23.2 IPv6—the next generation Internet

Important: IBM Z: IPv6 support

IPv6 is not supported by the CTC and IUCV network connections of the IBM Z hardware.

Because of the emergence of the World Wide Web (WWW), the Internet has experienced explosive
growth, with an increasing number of computers communicating via TCP/IP in the past fifteen years.
Since Tim Berners-Lee at CERN ([Link] ) invented the WWW in 1990, the number
of Internet hosts has grown from a few thousand to about a hundred million.
As mentioned, an IPv4 address consists of only 32 bits. Also, quite a few IP addresses are lost—they
cannot be used because of the way in which networks are organized. The number of addresses available
in your subnet is two to the power of the number of bits, minus two. A subnet has, for example, 2, 6, or
14 addresses available. To connect 128 hosts to the Internet, for example, you need a subnet with 256 IP
addresses, from which only 254 are usable, because two IP addresses are needed for the structure of the
subnet itself: the broadcast and the base network address.
Under the current IPv4 protocol, DHCP or NAT (network address translation) are the typical mechanisms
used to circumvent the potential address shortage. Combined with the convention to keep private and
public address spaces separate, these methods can certainly mitigate the shortage. To set up a host in an
IPv4 network, you need several address items, such as the host's own IP address, the subnetmask, the
gateway address, and maybe a name server address. All these items need to be known and cannot be
derived from somewhere else.
With IPv6, both the address shortage and the complicated configuration should be a thing of the past. The
following sections tell more about the improvements and benefits brought by IPv6 and about the transition
from the old protocol to the new one.

23.2.1 Advantages
The most important and most visible improvement brought by the IPv6 protocol is the enormous expansion
of the available address space. An IPv6 address is made up of 128 bit values instead of the traditional
32 bits. This provides for as many as several quadrillion IP addresses.
However, IPv6 addresses are not only different from their predecessors with regard to their length. They
also have a different internal structure that may contain more specific information about the systems and
the networks to which they belong. More details about this are found in Section 23.2.2, “Address types
and structure”.

307 IPv6—the next generation Internet | SLES 15 SP4

The following is a list of other advantages of the IPv6 protocol:

Autoconfiguration
IPv6 makes the network “plug and play” capable, which means that a newly configured system
integrates into the (local) network without any manual configuration. The new host uses its automatic
configuration mechanism to derive its own address from the information made available by the
neighboring routers, relying on a protocol called the neighbor discovery (ND) protocol. This method
does not require any intervention on the administrator's part and there is no need to maintain a
central server for address allocation—an additional advantage over IPv4, where automatic address
allocation requires a DHCP server.
Nevertheless if a router is connected to a switch, the router should send periodic advertisements with
flags telling the hosts of a network how they should interact with each other. For more information,
see RFC 2462 and the [Link](5) man page, and RFC 3315.

Mobility
IPv6 makes it possible to assign several addresses to one network interface at the same time. This
allows users to access several networks easily, something that could be compared with the interna-
tional roaming services offered by mobile phone companies. When you take your mobile phone
abroad, the phone automatically logs in to a foreign service when it enters the corresponding area,
so you can be reached under the same number everywhere and can place an outgoing call, as you
would in your home area.

Secure communication
With IPv4, network security is an add-on function. IPv6 includes IPsec as one of its core features,
allowing systems to communicate over a secure tunnel to avoid eavesdropping by outsiders on the
Internet.

Backward compatibility
Realistically, it would be impossible to switch the entire Internet from IPv4 to IPv6 at one time.
Therefore, it is crucial that both protocols can coexist not only on the Internet, but also on one
system. This is ensured by compatible addresses (IPv4 addresses can easily be translated into IPv6
addresses) and by using several tunnels. See Section 23.2.3, “Coexistence of IPv4 and IPv6”. Also,
systems can rely on a dual stack IP technique to support both protocols at the same time, meaning
that they have two network stacks that are completely separate, such that there is no interference
between the two protocol versions.

308 Advantages | SLES 15 SP4

Custom tailored services through multicasting
With IPv4, some services, such as SMB, need to broadcast their packets to all hosts in the local net-
work. IPv6 allows a much more fine-grained approach by enabling servers to address hosts through
multicasting, that is by addressing several hosts as parts of a group. This is different from address-
ing all hosts through broadcasting or each host individually through unicasting. Which hosts are
addressed as a group may depend on the concrete application. There are some predefined groups
to address all name servers (the all name servers multicast group), for example, or all routers (the
all routers multicast group).

23.2.2 Address types and structure

As mentioned, the current IP protocol has two major limitations: there is an increasing shortage of IP
addresses and configuring the network and maintaining the routing tables is becoming a more complex
and burdensome task. IPv6 solves the first problem by expanding the address space to 128 bits. The second
one is mitigated by introducing a hierarchical address structure combined with sophisticated techniques to
allocate network addresses, and multihoming (the ability to assign several addresses to one device, giving
access to several networks).
When dealing with IPv6, it is useful to know about three different types of addresses:

Unicast
Addresses of this type are associated with exactly one network interface. Packets with such an ad-
dress are delivered to only one destination. Accordingly, unicast addresses are used to transfer pack-
ets to individual hosts on the local network or the Internet.

Multicast
Addresses of this type relate to a group of network interfaces. Packets with such an address are
delivered to all destinations that belong to the group. Multicast addresses are mainly used by certain
network services to communicate with certain groups of hosts in a well-directed manner.

Anycast
Addresses of this type are related to a group of interfaces. Packets with such an address are delivered
to the member of the group that is closest to the sender, according to the principles of the underlying
routing protocol. Anycast addresses are used to make it easier for hosts to find out about servers
offering certain services in the given network area. All servers of the same type have the same
anycast address. Whenever a host requests a service, it receives a reply from the server with the
closest location, as determined by the routing protocol. If this server should fail for some reason, the
protocol automatically selects the second closest server, then the third one, and so forth.

309 Address types and structure | SLES 15 SP4

An IPv6 address is made up of eight four-digit fields, each representing 16 bits, written in hexadecimal
notation. They are separated by colons (:). Any leading zero bytes within a given field may be dropped,
but zeros within the field or at its end may not. Another convention is that more than four consecutive zero
bytes may be collapsed into a double colon. However, only one such :: is allowed per address. This kind
of shorthand notation is shown in Example 23.3, “Sample IPv6 address”, where all three lines represent
the same address.
EXAMPLE 23.3: SAMPLE IPV6 ADDRESS

fe80 : 0000 : 0000 : 0000 : 0000 : 10 : 1000 : 1a4

fe80 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 10 : 1000 : 1a4
fe80 : : 10 : 1000 : 1a4

Each part of an IPv6 address has a defined function. The first bytes form the prefix and specify the type
of address. The center part is the network portion of the address, but it may be unused. The end of the
address forms the host part. With IPv6, the netmask is defined by indicating the length of the prefix after a
slash at the end of the address. An address, as shown in Example 23.4, “IPv6 address specifying the prefix
length”, contains the information that the first 64 bits form the network part of the address and the last 64
form its host part. In other words, the 64 means that the netmask is filled with 64 1-bit values from the
left. As with IPv4, the IP address is combined with AND with the values from the netmask to determine
whether the host is located in the same subnet or in another one.
EXAMPLE 23.4: IPV6 ADDRESS SPECIFYING THE PREFIX LENGTH

fe80::10:1000:1a4/64

IPv6 knows about several predefined types of prefixes. Some are shown in Various IPv6 prefixes.
VARIOUS IPV6 PREFIXES

00
IPv4 addresses and IPv4 over IPv6 compatibility addresses. These are used to maintain compatibility
with IPv4. Their use still requires a router able to translate IPv6 packets into IPv4 packets. Several
special addresses, such as the one for the loopback device, have this prefix as well.

2 or 3 as the first digit

Aggregatable global unicast addresses. As is the case with IPv4, an interface can be assigned to form
part of a certain subnet. Currently, there are the following address spaces: 2001::/16 (production
quality address space) and 2002::/16 (6to4 address space).

fe80::/10
Link-local addresses. Addresses with this prefix should not be routed and should therefore only be
reachable from within the same subnet.

310 Address types and structure | SLES 15 SP4

fec0::/10
Site-local addresses. These may be routed, but only within the network of the organization to which
they belong. In effect, they are the IPv6 equivalent of the current private network address space,
such as 10.x.x.x.

ff
These are multicast addresses.

A unicast address consists of three basic components:

Public topology
The first part (which also contains one of the prefixes mentioned above) is used to route packets
through the public Internet. It includes information about the company or institution that provides
the Internet access.

Site topology
The second part contains routing information about the subnet to which to deliver the packet.

Interface ID
The third part identifies the interface to which to deliver the packet. This also allows for the MAC
to form part of the address. Given that the MAC is a globally unique, fixed identifier coded into
the device by the hardware maker, the configuration procedure is substantially simplified. In fact,
the first 64 address bits are consolidated to form the EUI-64 token, with the last 48 bits taken from
the MAC, and the remaining 24 bits containing special information about the token type. This also
makes it possible to assign an EUI-64 token to interfaces that do not have a MAC, such as those
based on point-to-point protocol (PPP).

On top of this basic structure, IPv6 distinguishes between five different types of unicast addresses:

:: (unspecified)
This address is used by the host as its source address when the interface is initialized for the first
time (at which point, the address cannot yet be determined by other means).

::1 (loopback)
The address of the loopback device.

IPv4 compatible addresses

The IPv6 address is formed by the IPv4 address and a prefix consisting of 96 zero bits. This type
of compatibility address is used for tunneling (see Section 23.2.3, “Coexistence of IPv4 and IPv6”) to
allow IPv4 and IPv6 hosts to communicate with others operating in a pure IPv4 environment.

311 Address types and structure | SLES 15 SP4

IPv4 addresses mapped to IPv6
This type of address specifies a pure IPv4 address in IPv6 notation.

Local addresses
There are two address types for local use:

link-local
This type of address can only be used in the local subnet. Packets with a source or target
address of this type should not be routed to the Internet or other subnets. These addresses
contain a special prefix (fe80::/10) and the interface ID of the network card, with the middle
part consisting of zero bytes. Addresses of this type are used during automatic configuration
to communicate with other hosts belonging to the same subnet.

site-local
Packets with this type of address may be routed to other subnets, but not to the wider Internet—
they must remain inside the organization's own network. Such addresses are used for intranets
and are an equivalent of the private address space defined by IPv4. They contain a special
prefix (fec0::/10), the interface ID, and a 16-bit field specifying the subnet ID. Again, the
rest is filled with zero bytes.

As a completely new feature introduced with IPv6, each network interface normally gets several IP ad-
dresses, with the advantage that several networks can be accessed through the same interface. One of these
networks can be configured completely automatically using the MAC and a known prefix with the result
that all hosts on the local network can be reached when IPv6 is enabled (using the link-local address).
With the MAC forming part of it, any IP address used in the world is unique. The only variable parts of the
address are those specifying the site topology and the public topology, depending on the actual network
in which the host is currently operating.
For a host to go back and forth between different networks, it needs at least two addresses. One of them,
the home address, not only contains the interface ID but also an identifier of the home network to which
it normally belongs (and the corresponding prefix). The home address is a static address and, as such, it
does not normally change. Still, all packets destined to the mobile host can be delivered to it, regardless of
whether it operates in the home network or somewhere outside. This is made possible by the completely
new features introduced with IPv6, such as stateless autoconfiguration and neighbor discovery. In addition
to its home address, a mobile host gets one or more additional addresses that belong to the foreign networks
where it is roaming. These are called care-of addresses. The home network has a facility that forwards any
packets destined to the host when it is roaming outside. In an IPv6 environment, this task is performed by

312 Address types and structure | SLES 15 SP4

the home agent, which takes all packets destined to the home address and relays them through a tunnel.
On the other hand, those packets destined to the care-of address are directly transferred to the mobile host
without any special detours.

23.2.3 Coexistence of IPv4 and IPv6

The migration of all hosts connected to the Internet from IPv4 to IPv6 is a gradual process. Both protocols
will coexist for some time to come. The coexistence on one system is guaranteed where there is a dual
stack implementation of both protocols. That still leaves the question of how an IPv6 enabled host should
communicate with an IPv4 host and how IPv6 packets should be transported by the current networks,
which are predominantly IPv4-based. The best solutions offer tunneling and compatibility addresses (see
Section 23.2.2, “Address types and structure”).

IPv6 hosts that are more or less isolated in the (worldwide) IPv4 network can communicate through tun-
nels: IPv6 packets are encapsulated as IPv4 packets to move them across an IPv4 network. Such a con-
nection between two IPv4 hosts is called a tunnel. To achieve this, packets must include the IPv6 desti-
nation address (or the corresponding prefix) and the IPv4 address of the remote host at the receiving end
of the tunnel. A basic tunnel can be configured manually according to an agreement between the hosts'
administrators. This is also called static tunneling.
However, the configuration and maintenance of static tunnels is often too labor-intensive to use them for
daily communication needs. Therefore, IPv6 provides for three different methods of dynamic tunneling:

6over4
IPv6 packets are automatically encapsulated as IPv4 packets and sent over an IPv4 network capable
of multicasting. IPv6 is tricked into seeing the whole network (Internet) as a huge local area network
(LAN). This makes it possible to determine the receiving end of the IPv4 tunnel automatically.
However, this method does not scale very well and is also hampered because IP multicasting is
far from widespread on the Internet. Therefore, it only provides a solution for smaller corporate or
institutional networks where multicasting can be enabled. The specifications for this method are laid
down in RFC 2529.

6to4
With this method, IPv4 addresses are automatically generated from IPv6 addresses, enabling isolated
IPv6 hosts to communicate over an IPv4 network. However, several problems have been reported
regarding the communication between those isolated IPv6 hosts and the Internet. The method is
described in RFC 3056.

313 Coexistence of IPv4 and IPv6 | SLES 15 SP4

IPv6 tunnel broker
This method relies on special servers that provide dedicated tunnels for IPv6 hosts. It is described
in RFC 3053.

23.2.4 Configuring IPv6

To configure IPv6, you normally do not need to make any changes on the individual workstations. IPv6
is enabled by default. To disable or enable IPv6 on an installed system, use the YaST Network Settings
module. On the Global Options tab, select or deselect the Enable IPv6 option as necessary. To enable it
temporarily until the next reboot, enter modprobe -i ipv6 as root. It is impossible to unload the IPv6
module after it has been loaded.
Because of the autoconfiguration concept of IPv6, the network card is assigned an address in the link-
local network. Normally, no routing table management takes place on a workstation. The network routers
can be queried by the workstation, using the router advertisement protocol, for what prefix and gateways
should be implemented. The radvd program can be used to set up an IPv6 router. This program informs the
workstations which prefix to use for the IPv6 addresses and which routers. Alternatively, use zebra/quagga
for automatic configuration of both addresses and routing.
For information about how to set up various types of tunnels using the /etc/sysconfig/network files,
see the man page of ifcfg-tunnel (man ifcfg-tunnel).

23.2.5 More information

The above overview does not cover the topic of IPv6 comprehensively. For a more in-depth look at the
newer protocol, refer to the following online documentation and books:

[Link]
The starting point for everything about IPv6.

[Link]
All information needed to start your own IPv6 network.

[Link]
The list of IPv6-enabled products.

[Link]
Here, find the Linux IPv6-HOWTO and many links related to the topic.

314 Configuring IPv6 | SLES 15 SP4

RFC 2460
The fundamental RFC about IPv6, see [Link] .

IPv6 essentials
A book describing all the important aspects of the topic is IPv6 Essentials by Silvia Hagen (ISBN
0-596-00125-8).

23.3 Name resolution

DNS assists in assigning an IP address to one or more names and assigning a name to an IP address. In
Linux, this conversion is usually carried out by a special type of software known as bind. The machine
that takes care of this conversion is called a name server. The names make up a hierarchical system in
which each name component is separated by a period. The name hierarchy is, however, independent of
the IP address hierarchy described above.
Consider a complete name, such as [Link], written in the format [Link].
A full name, called a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), consists of a host name and a domain name
([Link]). The latter also includes the top level domain or TLD (com).
TLD assignment has become quite confusing for historical reasons. Traditionally, three-letter domain
names are used in the USA. In the rest of the world, the two-letter ISO national codes are the standard.
In addition to that, longer TLDs were introduced in 2000 that represent certain spheres of activity (for
example, .info, .name, .museum).
In the early days of the Internet (before 1990), the file /etc/hosts was used to store the names of all the
machines represented over the Internet. This quickly proved to be impractical in the face of the rapidly
growing number of computers connected to the Internet. For this reason, a decentralized database was
developed to store the host names in a widely distributed manner. This database, similar to the name server,
does not have the data pertaining to all hosts in the Internet readily available, but can dispatch requests
to other name servers.
The top of the hierarchy is occupied by root name servers. These root name servers manage the top lev-
el domains and are run by the Network Information Center (NIC). Each root name server knows about
the name servers responsible for a given top level domain. Information about top level domain NICs is
available at [Link] .
DNS can do more than resolve host names. The name server also knows which host is receiving e-mails
for an entire domain—the mail exchanger (MX).

315 Name resolution | SLES 15 SP4

For your machine to resolve an IP address, it must know about at least one name server and its IP address.
Easily specify such a name server using YaST. The configuration of name server access with SUSE®
Linux Enterprise Server is described in Section [Link], “Configuring host name and DNS”. Setting up
your own name server is described in Chapter 39, The domain name system.
The protocol whois is closely related to DNS. With this program, quickly find out who is responsible
for a given domain.

Note: MDNS and .local domain names

The .local top level domain is treated as link-local domain by the resolver. DNS requests are
sent as multicast DNS requests instead of normal DNS requests. If you already use the .local
domain in your name server configuration, you must switch this option off in /etc/[Link].
For more information, see the [Link] manual page.
To switch off MDNS during installation, use nomdns=1 as a boot parameter.
For more information on multicast DNS, see [Link] .

23.4 Configuring a network connection with YaST

There are many supported networking types on Linux. Most of them use different device names and the
configuration files are spread over several locations in the file system. For a detailed overview of the
aspects of manual network configuration, see Section 23.5, “Configuring a network connection manually”.
All network interfaces with link up (with a network cable connected) are automatically configured. Addi-
tional hardware can be configured any time on the installed system. The following sections describe the
network configuration for all types of network connections supported by SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

Tip: IBM Z: hotpluggable network cards

On IBM Z platforms, hotpluggable network cards are supported, but not their automatic network
integration via DHCP (as is the case on the PC). After they have been detected, you need to man-
ually configure the interface.

316 Configuring a network connection with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

23.4.1 Configuring the network card with YaST
To configure your Ethernet or Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card in YaST, select System Network Settings. After
starting the module, YaST displays the Network Settings dialog with four tabs: Global Options, Overview,
Hostname/DNS and Routing.
The Global Options tab allows you to set general networking options such as the network setup method,
IPv6, and general DHCP options. For more information, see Section [Link], “Configuring global network-
ing options”.

The Overview tab contains information about installed network interfaces and configurations. Any proper-
ly detected network card is listed with its name. You can manually configure new cards, remove or change
their configuration in this dialog. To manually configure a card that was not automatically detected, see
Section [Link], “Configuring an undetected network card”. To change the configuration of an already
configured card, see Section [Link], “Changing the configuration of a network card”.
The Hostname/DNS tab allows to set the host name of the machine and name the servers to be used. For
more information, see Section [Link], “Configuring host name and DNS”.
The Routing tab is used for the configuration of routing. See Section [Link], “Configuring routing” for
more information.

FIGURE 23.3: CONFIGURING NETWORK SETTINGS

317 Configuring the network card with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Configuring global networking options

The Global Options tab of the YaST Network Settings module allows you to set important global net-
working options, such as the use of NetworkManager, IPv6 and DHCP client options. These settings are
applicable for all network interfaces.

Note: NetworkManager provided by workstation extension

NetworkManager is now provided by the SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension. To install
NetworkManager, activate the Workstation Extension repository, and select the NetworkManager
packages.

In the Network Setup Method choose the way network connections are managed. If you want a Network-
Manager desktop applet to manage connections for all interfaces, choose NetworkManager Service. Net-
workManager is well suited for switching between multiple wired and wireless networks. If you do not run
a desktop environment, or if your computer is a Xen server, virtual system, or provides network services
such as DHCP or DNS in your network, use the Wicked Service method. If NetworkManager is used, nm-
applet should be used to configure network options and the Overview, Hostname/DNS and Routing tabs
of the Network Settings module are disabled. For more information on NetworkManager, see the SUSE
Linux Enterprise Desktop documentation.
In the IPv6 Protocol Settings choose whether to use the IPv6 protocol. It is possible to use IPv6 together
with IPv4. By default, IPv6 is enabled. However, in networks not using IPv6 protocol, response times can
be faster with IPv6 protocol disabled. To disable IPv6, deactivate Enable IPv6. If IPv6 is disabled, the
kernel no longer loads the IPv6 module automatically. This setting will be applied after reboot.
In the DHCP Client Options configure options for the DHCP client. The DHCP Client Identifier must be
different for each DHCP client on a single network. If left empty, it defaults to the hardware address of the
network interface. However, if you are running several virtual machines using the same network interface
and, therefore, the same hardware address, specify a unique free-form identifier here.
The Hostname to Send specifies a string used for the host name option field when the DHCP client sends
messages to DHCP server. Some DHCP servers update name server zones (forward and reverse records)
according to this host name (Dynamic DNS). Also, some DHCP servers require the Hostname to Send
option field to contain a specific string in the DHCP messages from clients. Leave AUTO to send the current
host name (that is the one defined in /etc/hostname). Make the option field empty for not sending any
host name.
If you do not want to change the default route according to the information from DHCP, deactivate Change
Default Route via DHCP.

318 Configuring the network card with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Changing the configuration of a network card

To change the configuration of a network card, select a card from the list of the detected cards in Network
Settings Overview in YaST and click Edit. The Network Card Setup dialog appears in which to adjust
the card configuration using the General, Address and Hardware tabs.

[Link].1 Configuring IP addresses

You can set the IP address of the network card or the way its IP address is determined in the Address tab of
the Network Card Setup dialog. Both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are supported. The network card can have
No IP Address (which is useful for bonding devices), a Statically Assigned IP Address (IPv4 or IPv6) or
a Dynamic Address assigned via DHCP or Zeroconf or both.
If using Dynamic Address, select whether to use DHCP Version 4 Only (for IPv4), DHCP Version 6 Only
(for IPv6) or DHCP Both Version 4 and 6.
If possible, the first network card with link that is available during the installation is automatically con-
figured to use automatic address setup via DHCP.

Note: IBM Z and DHCP

On IBM Z platforms, DHCP-based address configuration is only supported with network cards
that have a MAC address. This is only the case with OSA and OSA Express cards.

DHCP should also be used if you are using a DSL line but with no static IP assigned by the ISP (Internet
Service Provider). If you decide to use DHCP, configure the details in DHCP Client Options in the Global
Options tab of the Network Settings dialog of the YaST network card configuration module. If you have a
virtual host setup where different hosts communicate through the same interface, an DHCP Client Iden-
tifier is necessary to distinguish them.
DHCP is a good choice for client configuration but it is not ideal for server configuration. To set a static
IP address, proceed as follows:

1. Select a card from the list of detected cards in the Overview tab of the YaST network card config-
uration module and click Edit.

2. In the Address tab, choose Statically Assigned IP Address.

3. Enter the IP Address. Both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses can be used. Enter the network mask in Subnet
Mask. If the IPv6 address is used, use Subnet Mask for prefix length in format /64.

319 Configuring the network card with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

 Optionally, you can enter a fully qualified Hostname for this address, which will be written to the
/etc/hosts configuration file.

4. Click Next.

5. To activate the configuration, click OK.

Note: Interface activation and link detection

During activation of a network interface, wicked checks for a carrier and only applies the IP
configuration when a link has been detected. If you need to apply the configuration regardless of
the link status (for example, when you want to test a service listening to a certain address), you
can skip link detection by adding the variable LINK_REQUIRED=no to the configuration file of the
interface in /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg.
Additionally, you can use the variable LINK_READY_WAIT=5 to specify the timeout for waiting
for a link in seconds.
For more information about the ifcfg-* configuration files, refer to Section [Link], “/etc/
sysconfig/network/ifcfg-*” and man 5 ifcfg.

If you use the static address, the name servers and default gateway are not configured automatically. To
configure name servers, proceed as described in Section [Link], “Configuring host name and DNS”. To
configure a gateway, proceed as described in Section [Link], “Configuring routing”.

[Link].2 Configuring multiple addresses

A single network device can have multiple IP addresses called aliases or labels.

Note: Aliases are a compatibility feature

Aliases or labels work with IPv4 only. Using iproute2 network interfaces makes it possible to
have one or more addresses.

To set additional addresses for your network card using YaST, proceed as follows:

1. Select a card from the list of detected cards in the Overview tab of the YaST Network Settings dialog
and click Edit.

2. In the Address Additional Addresses tab, click Add.

320 Configuring the network card with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

 3. Enter IPv4 Address Label, IP Address, and Netmask. Note that IP aliases must be added with the
/32 netmask. Do not include the interface name in the alias name.

4. To activate the configuration, confirm the settings.

[Link].3 Changing the device name and udev rules

It is possible to change the device name of the network card when it is used. It is also possible to determine
whether the network card should be identified by udev via its hardware (MAC) address or via the bus ID.
The latter option is preferable in large servers to simplify hotplugging of cards. To set these options with
YaST, proceed as follows:

1. Select a card from the list of detected cards in the Overview tab of the YaST Network Settings dialog
and click Edit.

2. Go to the General tab. The current device name is shown in Udev Rules. Click Change.

3. Select whether udev should identify the card by its MAC Address or Bus ID. The current MAC
address and bus ID of the card are shown in the dialog.

4. To change the device name, check the Change Device Name option and edit the name.

5. To activate the configuration, confirm the settings.

[Link].4 Changing network card kernel driver

For some network cards, several kernel drivers may be available. If the card is already configured, YaST
allows you to select a kernel driver to be used from a list of available suitable drivers. It is also possible
to specify options for the kernel driver. To set these options with YaST, proceed as follows:

1. Select a card from the list of detected cards in the Overview tab of the YaST Network Settings
module and click Edit.

2. Go to the Hardware tab.

3. Select the kernel driver to be used in Module Name. Enter any options for the selected driver in
Options in the form = =VALUE. If more options are used, they should be space-separated.

4. To activate the configuration, confirm the settings.

321 Configuring the network card with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

[Link].5 Activating the network device

If you use the method with wicked, you can configure your device to either start during boot, on cable
connection, on card detection, manually, or never. To change device start-up, proceed as follows:

1. In YaST select a card from the list of detected cards in System Network Settings and click Edit.

2. In the General tab, select the desired entry from Device Activation.
Choose At Boot Time to start the device during the system boot. With On Cable Connection, the
interface is watched for any existing physical connection. With On Hotplug, the interface is set
when available. It is similar to the At Boot Time option, and only differs in that no error occurs if the
interface is not present at boot time. Choose Manually to control the interface manually with ifup.
Choose Never to not start the device. The On NFSroot is similar to At Boot Time, but the interface
does not shut down with the systemctl stop network command; the network service also cares
about the wicked service if wicked is active. Use this if you use an NFS or iSCSI root file system.

3. To activate the configuration, confirm the settings.

Tip: NFS as a root file system

On (diskless) systems where the root partition is mounted via network as an NFS share, you need
to be careful when configuring the network device with which the NFS share is accessible.
When shutting down or rebooting the system, the default processing order is to turn off network
connections, then unmount the root partition. With NFS root, this order causes problems as the root
partition cannot be cleanly unmounted as the network connection to the NFS share is already not
activated. To prevent the system from deactivating the relevant network device, open the network
device configuration tab as described in Section [Link].5, “Activating the network device” and
choose On NFSroot in the Device Activation pane.

[Link].6 Setting up maximum transfer unit size

You can set a maximum transmission unit (MTU) for the interface. MTU refers to the largest allowed
packet size in bytes. A higher MTU brings higher bandwidth efficiency. However, large packets can block
up a slow interface for some time, increasing the lag for further packets.

1. In YaST select a card from the list of detected cards in System Network Settings and click Edit.

2. In the General tab, select the desired entry from the Set MTU list.

3. To activate the configuration, confirm the settings.

322 Configuring the network card with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

[Link].7 PCIe multifunction devices

Multifunction devices that support LAN, iSCSI, and FCoE are supported. The YaST FCoE client (yast2
fcoe-client) shows the private flags in additional columns to allow the user to select the device meant
for FCoE. The YaST network module (yast2 lan) excludes “storage only devices” for network config-
uration.
For more information about FCoE, see Book “Storage Administration Guide”, Chapter 16 “Fibre Channel
storage over Ethernet networks: FCoE”, Section 16.3 “Managing FCoE services with YaST”.

[Link].8 Infiniband configuration for IP-over-InfiniBand (IPoIB)

1. In YaST select the InfiniBand device in System Network Settings and click Edit.

2. In the General tab, select one of the IP-over-InfiniBand (IPoIB) modes: connected (default) or
datagram.

3. To activate the configuration, confirm the settings.

For more information about InfiniBand, see /usr/src/linux/Documentation/infini-

band/[Link].

[Link].9 Configuring the firewall

Without having to perform the detailed firewall setup as described in Book “Security and Hardening Guide”,
Chapter 23 “Masquerading and firewalls”, Section 23.4 “firewalld”, you can determine the basic firewall
configuration for your device as part of the device setup. Proceed as follows:

1. Open the YaST System Network Settings module. In the Overview tab, select a card from the list
of detected cards and click Edit.

2. Enter the General tab of the Network Settings dialog.

3. Determine the Firewall Zone to which your interface should be assigned. The following options
are available:

Firewall disabled
This option is available only if the firewall is disabled and the firewall does not run. Only use
this option if your machine is part of a greater network that is protected by an outer firewall.

323 Configuring the network card with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

 Automatically assign zone
This option is available only if the firewall is enabled. The firewall is running and the interface
is automatically assigned to a firewall zone. The zone which contains the keyword any or the
external zone will be used for such an interface.

Internal zone (unprotected)

The firewall is running, but does not enforce any rules to protect this interface. Use this op-
tion if your machine is part of a greater network that is protected by an outer firewall. It is
also useful for the interfaces connected to the internal network, when the machine has more
network interfaces.

Demilitarized zone
A demilitarized zone is an additional line of defense in front of an internal network and the
(hostile) Internet. Hosts assigned to this zone can be reached from the internal network and
from the Internet, but cannot access the internal network.

External zone
The firewall is running on this interface and fully protects it against other—presumably hos-
tile—network traffic. This is the default option.

4. To activate the configuration, confirm the settings.

[Link] Configuring an undetected network card

If a network card is not detected correctly, the card is not included in the list of detected cards. If you
are sure that your system includes a driver for your card, you can configure it manually. You can also
configure special network device types, such as bridge, bond, TUN or TAP. To configure an undetected
network card (or a special device) proceed as follows:

1. In the System Network Settings Overview dialog in YaST click Add.

2. In the Hardware dialog, set the Device Type of the interface from the available options and Con-
figuration Name. If the network card is a USB device, activate the respective check box and exit
this dialog with Next. Otherwise, you can define the kernel Module Name to be used for the card
and its Options, if necessary.
In Ethtool Options, you can set ethtool options used by ifup for the interface. For information
about available options, see the ethtool manual page.

324 Configuring the network card with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

 If the option string starts with a - (for example, -K INTERFACE_NAME rx on), the second word
in the string is replaced with the current interface name. Otherwise (for example, autoneg off
speed 10) ifup adds -s INTERFACE_NAME to the beginning.

3. Click Next.

4. Configure any needed options, such as the IP address, device activation or firewall zone for the
interface in the General, Address, and Hardware tabs. For more information about the configuration
options, see Section [Link], “Changing the configuration of a network card”.

5. If you selected Wireless as the device type of the interface, configure the wireless connection in
the next dialog.

6. To activate the new network configuration, confirm the settings.

[Link] Configuring host name and DNS

If you did not change the network configuration during installation and the Ethernet card was already
available, a host name was automatically generated for your computer and DHCP was activated. The
same applies to the name service information your host needs to integrate into a network environment. If
DHCP is used for network address setup, the list of domain name servers is automatically filled with the
appropriate data. If a static setup is preferred, set these values manually.
To change the name of your computer and adjust the name server search list, proceed as follows:

1. Go to the Network Settings Hostname/DNS tab in the System module in YaST.

2. Enter the Hostname. Note that the host name is global and applies to all network interfaces.
If you are using DHCP to get an IP address, the host name of your computer will be automatically
set by the DHCP server. You should disable this behavior if you connect to different networks,
because they may assign different host names and changing the host name at runtime may confuse
the graphical desktop. To disable using DHCP to get an IP address deactivate Change Hostname
via DHCP.

3. In Modify DNS Configuration, select the way the DNS configuration (name servers, search list, the
content of the /run/netconfig/[Link] file) is modified.
If the Use Default Policy option is selected, the configuration is handled by the netconfig script
which merges the data defined statically (with YaST or in the configuration files) with data obtained
dynamically (from the DHCP client or NetworkManager). This default policy is usually sufficient.

325 Configuring the network card with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

 If the Only Manually option is selected, netconfig is not allowed to modify the /run/netcon-
fig/[Link] file. However, this file can be edited manually.
If the Custom Policy option is selected, a Custom Policy Rule string defining the merge policy should
be specified. The string consists of a comma-separated list of interface names to be considered a
valid source of settings. Except for complete interface names, basic wild cards to match multiple
interfaces are allowed, as well. For example, eth* ppp? will first target all eth and then all ppp0-
ppp9 interfaces. There are two special policy values that indicate how to apply the static settings
defined in the /etc/sysconfig/network/config file:

STATIC
The static settings need to be merged together with the dynamic settings.

STATIC_FALLBACK
The static settings are used only when no dynamic configuration is available.

For more information, see the man page of netconfig(8) (man 8 netconfig).

4. Enter the Name Servers and fill in the Domain Search list. Name servers must be specified by IP
addresses, such as [Link], not by host names. Names specified in the Domain Search tab are
domain names used for resolving host names without a specified domain. If more than one Domain
Search is used, separate domains with commas or white space.

5. To activate the configuration, confirm the settings.

It is also possible to edit the host name using YaST from the command line. The changes made by YaST
take effect immediately (which is not the case when editing the /etc/hostname file manually). To change
the host name, use the following command:

# yast dns edit hostname=HOSTNAME

To change the name servers, use the following commands:

# yast dns edit nameserver1=[Link]

# yast dns edit nameserver2=[Link]
# yast dns edit nameserver3=[Link]

[Link] Configuring routing

To make your machine communicate with other machines and other networks, routing information must
be given to make network traffic take the correct path. If DHCP is used, this information is automatically
provided. If a static setup is used, this data must be added manually.

326 Configuring the network card with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

 1. In YaST go to Network Settings Routing.

2. Enter the IP address of the Default Gateway (IPv4 and IPv6 if necessary). The default gateway
matches every possible destination, but if a routing table entry exists that matches the required
address, this will be used instead of the default route via the Default Gateway.

3. More entries can be entered in the Routing Table. Enter the Destination network IP address, Gateway
IP address and the Netmask. Select the Device through which the traffic to the defined network will
be routed (the minus sign stands for any device). To omit any of these values, use the minus sign -.
To enter a default gateway into the table, use default in the Destination field.

Note: Route prioritization

If more default routes are used, it is possible to specify the metric option to determine which
route has a higher priority. To specify the metric option, enter - metric NUMBER in Options.
The lowest possible metric is 0. The route with the lowest metric has the highest priority
and is used as default. If the network device is disconnected, its route will be removed and
the next one will be used.

4. If the system is a router, enable IPv4 Forwarding and IPv6 Forwarding in the Network Settings
as needed.

5. To activate the configuration, confirm the settings.

23.4.2 IBM Z: configuring network devices

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for IBM Z supports several types of network interfaces. YaST can be used
to configure all of them.

[Link] The qeth-hsi device

To add a qeth-hsi (HiperSockets) interface to the installed system, start the System Network Settings
module in YaST. Select one of the devices marked Hipersocket to use as the READ device address and
click Edit. Enter the device numbers for the read, write and control channels (example device number
format: 0.0.0800). Then click next. In the Network Address Setup dialog, specify the IP address and
netmask for the new interface and leave the network configuration by clicking Next and OK.

327 IBM Z: configuring network devices | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] The qeth-ethernet device

To add a qeth-ethernet (IBM OSA Express Ethernet Card) interface to the installed system, start the
System Network Settings module in YaST. Select one of the devices marked IBM OSA Express Ethernet
Card to use as the READ device address and click Edit. Enter a device number for the read, write and
control channels (example device number format: 0.0.0700). Enter the needed port name, port number (if
applicable) and some additional options, your IP address, and an appropriate netmask. Leave the network
configuration with Next and OK.

[Link] The ctc device

To add a ctc (IBM parallel CTC Adapter) interface to the installed system, start the System Network
Settings module in YaST. Select one of the devices marked IBM Parallel CTC Adapter to use as your
read channel and click Configure. Choose the Device Settings that fit your devices (usually this would be
Compatibility Mode). Specify both your IP address and the IP address of the remote partner. If needed,
adjust the MTU size with Advanced Detailed Settings. Leave the network configuration with Next and
OK.

Warning: CTC is no longer supported

The use of this interface is deprecated. This interface will not be supported in future versions of
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

[Link] The lcs device

To add an lcs (IBM OSA-2 Adapter) interface to the installed system, start the System Network Settings
module in YaST. Select one of the devices marked IBM OSA-2 Adapter and click Configure. Enter the
needed port number, some additional options, your IP address and an appropriate netmask. Leave the
network configuration with Next and OK.

328 IBM Z: configuring network devices | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] The IUCV device

To add an iucv (IUCV) interface to the installed system, start the System Network Settings module
in YaST. Select a device marked IUCV and click Edit. YaST prompts you for the name of your IUCV
partner (Peer). Enter the name (this entry is case-sensitive) and select Next. Specify both the IP Address
and the Remote IP Address of your partner. If needed, Set MTU size on General tab. Leave the network
configuration with Next and OK.

Warning: IUCV is no longer supported

The use of this interface is deprecated. This interface will not be supported in future versions of
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

23.5 Configuring a network connection manually

Manual configuration of the network software should be the last alternative. Using YaST is recommended.
However, this background information about the network configuration can also assist your work with
YaST.

23.5.1 The wicked network configuration

The tool and library called wicked provides a new framework for network configuration.
One of the challenges with traditional network interface management is that different layers of network
management get jumbled together into one single script, or at most two different scripts. These scripts
interact with each other in a way that is not well defined. This leads to unpredictable issues, obscure con-
straints and conventions, etc. Several layers of special hacks for a variety of different scenarios increase
the maintenance burden. Address configuration protocols are being used that are implemented via dae-
mons like dhcpcd, which interact rather poorly with the rest of the infrastructure. Funky interface naming
schemes that require heavy udev support are introduced to achieve persistent identification of interfaces.
The idea of wicked is to decompose the problem in several ways. None of them is entirely novel, but trying
to put ideas from different projects together is hopefully going to create a better solution overall.

329 Configuring a network connection manually | SLES 15 SP4

One approach is to use a client/server model. This allows wicked to define standardized facilities for
things like address configuration that are well integrated with the overall framework. For example, using
a specific address configuration, the administrator may request that an interface should be configured via
DHCP or IPv4 zeroconf. In this case, the address configuration service simply obtains the lease from its
server and passes it on to the wicked server process that installs the requested addresses and routes.
The other approach to decomposing the problem is to enforce the layering aspect. For any type of network
interface, it is possible to define a dbus service that configures the network interface's device layer—a
VLAN, a bridge, a bonding, or a paravirtualized device. Common functionality, such as address configu-
ration, is implemented by joint services that are layered on top of these device specific services without
having to implement them specifically.
The wicked framework implements these two aspects by using a variety of dbus services, which get at-
tached to a network interface depending on its type. Here is a rough overview of the current object hier-
archy in wicked.
Each network interface is represented via a child object of /org/opensuse/Network/Interfaces.
The name of the child object is given by its ifindex. For example, the loopback interface, which usually
gets ifindex 1, is /org/opensuse/Network/Interfaces/1, the first Ethernet interface registered is /
org/opensuse/Network/Interfaces/2.

Each network interface has a “class” associated with it, which is used to select the dbus interfaces it
supports. By default, each network interface is of class netif, and wickedd will automatically attach all
interfaces compatible with this class. In the current implementation, this includes the following interfaces:

[Link]
Generic network interface functions, such as taking the link up or down, assigning an MTU, etc.

[Link],
[Link],
[Link]
Address configuration services for DHCP, IPv4 zeroconf, etc.

Beyond this, network interfaces may require or offer special configuration mechanisms. For an Ethernet
device, for example, you should be able to control the link speed, offloading of checksumming, etc. To
achieve this, Ethernet devices have a class of their own, called netif-ethernet, which is a subclass of
netif. As a consequence, the dbus interfaces assigned to an Ethernet interface include all the services
listed above, plus the [Link] service available only to objects belonging
to the netif-ethernet class.
Similarly, there exist classes for interface types like bridges, VLANs, bonds, or infinibands.

330 The wicked network configuration | SLES 15 SP4

How do you interact with an interface like VLAN (which is really a virtual network interface that sits on
top of an Ethernet device) that needs to be created first? For this, wicked defines factory interfaces, such
as [Link]. Such a factory interface offers a single function that lets
you create an interface of the requested type. These factory interfaces are attached to the /org/open-
suse/Network/Interfaces list node.

[Link] wicked architecture and features

The wicked service comprises several parts as depicted in Figure 23.4, “wicked architecture”.

FIGURE 23.4: wicked ARCHITECTURE

wicked currently supports the following:

Configuration file back-ends to parse SUSE style /etc/sysconfig/network files.

An internal configuration back-end to represent network interface configuration in XML.

Bring up and shutdown of “normal” network interfaces such as Ethernet or InfiniBand, VLAN,
bridge, bonds, tun, tap, dummy, macvlan, macvtap, hsi, qeth, iucv, and wireless (currently limited
to one wpa-psk/eap network) devices.

A built-in DHCPv4 client and a built-in DHCPv6 client.

331 The wicked network configuration | SLES 15 SP4

 The nanny daemon (enabled by default) helps to automatically bring up configured interfaces when
the device is available (interface hotplugging) and set up the IP configuration when a link (carrier)
is detected. See Section [Link], “Nanny” for more information.

wicked was implemented as a group of DBus services that are integrated with systemd. So the usual
systemctl commands will apply to wicked.

[Link] Using wicked

On SUSE Linux Enterprise, wicked runs by default. If you want to check what is currently enabled and
whether it is running, call:

systemctl status network

If wicked is enabled, you will see something along these lines:

[Link] - wicked managed network interfaces

Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/[Link]; enabled)
...

In case something different is running (for example, NetworkManager) and you want to switch to wicked,
first stop what is running and then enable wicked:

systemctl is-active network && \

systemctl stop network
systemctl enable --force wicked

This enables the wicked services, creates the [Link] to [Link] alias link, and
starts the network at the next boot.
Starting the server process:

systemctl start wickedd

This starts wickedd (the main server) and associated supplicants:

/usr/lib/wicked/bin/wickedd-auto4 --systemd --foreground

/usr/lib/wicked/bin/wickedd-dhcp4 --systemd --foreground
/usr/lib/wicked/bin/wickedd-dhcp6 --systemd --foreground
/usr/sbin/wickedd --systemd --foreground
/usr/sbin/wickedd-nanny --systemd --foreground

Then bringing up the network:

systemctl start wicked

332 The wicked network configuration | SLES 15 SP4

Alternatively use the [Link] alias:

systemctl start network

These commands are using the default or system configuration sources as defined in /etc/wicked/
[Link].

To enable debugging, set WICKED_DEBUG in /etc/sysconfig/network/config, for example:

WICKED_DEBUG="all"

Or, to omit some:

WICKED_DEBUG="all,-dbus,-objectmodel,-xpath,-xml"

Use the client utility to display interface information for all interfaces or the interface specified with IF-
NAME:

wicked show all

wicked show IFNAME

In XML output:

wicked show-xml all

wicked show-xml IFNAME

Bringing up one interface:

wicked ifup eth0

wicked ifup wlan0
...

Because there is no configuration source specified, the wicked client checks its default sources of config-
uration defined in /etc/wicked/[Link]:

1. firmware: iSCSI Boot Firmware Table (iBFT)

2. compat: ifcfg files—implemented for compatibility

Whatever wicked gets from those sources for a given interface is applied. The intended order of impor-
tance is firmware, then compat—this may be changed in the future.
For more information, see the wicked man page.

333 The wicked network configuration | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Nanny

Nanny is an event and policy driven daemon that is responsible for asynchronous or unsolicited scenar-
ios such as hotplugging devices. Thus the nanny daemon helps with starting or restarting delayed or tem-
porarily gone devices. Nanny monitors device and link changes, and integrates new devices defined by
the current policy set. Nanny continues to set up even if ifup already exited because of specified timeout
constraints.
By default, the nanny daemon is active on the system. It is enabled in the /etc/wicked/[Link]
configuration file:

<config>
...
<use-nanny>true</use-nanny>
</config>

This setting causes ifup and ifreload to apply a policy with the effective configuration to the nanny daemon;
then, nanny configures wickedd and thus ensures hotplug support. It waits in the background for events
or changes (such as new devices or carrier on).

[Link] Bringing up multiple interfaces

For bonds and bridges, it may make sense to define the entire device topology in one file (ifcfg-bondX),
and bring it up in one go. wicked then can bring up the whole configuration if you specify the top level
interface names (of the bridge or bond):

wicked ifup br0

This command automatically sets up the bridge and its dependencies in the appropriate order without the
need to list the dependencies (ports, etc.) separately.
To bring up multiple interfaces in one command:

wicked ifup bond0 br0 br1 br2

Or also all interfaces:

wicked ifup all

334 The wicked network configuration | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Using tunnels with Wicked
When you need to use tunnels with Wicked, the TUNNEL_DEVICE is used for this. It permits to specify
an optional device name to bind the tunnel to the device. The tunneled packets will only be routed via
this device.
For more information, refer to man 5 ifcfg-tunnel.

[Link] Handling incremental changes

With wicked, there is no need to actually take down an interface to reconfigure it (unless it is required by
the kernel). For example, to add another IP address or route to a statically configured network interface,
add the IP address to the interface definition, and do another “ifup” operation. The server will try hard to
update only those settings that have changed. This applies to link-level options such as the device MTU or
the MAC address, and network-level settings, such as addresses, routes, or even the address configuration
mode (for example, when moving from a static configuration to DHCP).
Things get tricky of course with virtual interfaces combining several real devices such as bridges or bonds.
For bonded devices, it is not possible to change certain parameters while the device is up. Doing that will
result in an error.
However, what should still work, is the act of adding or removing the child devices of a bond or bridge,
or choosing a bond's primary interface.

[Link] Wicked extensions: address configuration

wicked is designed to be extensible with shell scripts. These extensions can be defined in the [Link]
file.
Currently, several classes of extensions are supported:

link configuration: these are scripts responsible for setting up a device's link layer according to the
configuration provided by the client, and for tearing it down again.

address configuration: these are scripts responsible for managing a device's address configuration.
Usually address configuration and DHCP are managed by wicked itself, but can be implemented
by means of extensions.

firewall extension: these scripts can apply firewall rules.

Typically, extensions have a start and a stop command, an optional “pid file”, and a set of environment
variables that get passed to the script.

335 The wicked network configuration | SLES 15 SP4

To illustrate how this is supposed to work, look at a firewall extension defined in etc/[Link]:

<dbus-service interface="[Link]">
<action name="firewallUp" command="/etc/wicked/extensions/firewall up"/>
<action name="firewallDown" command="/etc/wicked/extensions/firewall down"/>

<!-- default environment for all calls to this extension script -->
<putenv name="WICKED_OBJECT_PATH" value="$object-path"/>
<putenv name="WICKED_INTERFACE_NAME" value="$property:name"/>
<putenv name="WICKED_INTERFACE_INDEX" value="$property:index"/>
</dbus-service>

The extension is attached to the <dbus-service> tag and defines commands to execute for the actions of
this interface. Further, the declaration can define and initialize environment variables passed to the actions.

[Link] Wicked extensions: configuration files

You can extend the handling of configuration files with scripts as well. For example, DNS updates from
leases are ultimately handled by the extensions/resolver script, with behavior configured in serv-
[Link]:

<system-updater name="resolver">
<action name="backup" command="/etc/wicked/extensions/resolver backup"/>
<action name="restore" command="/etc/wicked/extensions/resolver restore"/>
<action name="install" command="/etc/wicked/extensions/resolver install"/>
<action name="remove" command="/etc/wicked/extensions/resolver remove"/>
</system-updater>

When an update arrives in wickedd, the system updater routines parse the lease and call the appropriate
commands (backup, install, etc.) in the resolver script. This in turn configures the DNS settings using
/sbin/netconfig, or by manually writing /run/netconfig/[Link] as a fallback.

23.5.2 Configuration files

This section provides an overview of the network configuration files and explains their purpose and the
format used.

336 Configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] /etc/wicked/[Link]
The /etc/wicked/[Link] file contains common definitions that should be used by all applica-
tions. It is sourced/included by the other configuration files in this directory. Although you can use this
file to enable debugging across all wicked components, we recommend to use the file /etc/wicked/
[Link] for this purpose. After applying maintenance updates you might lose your changes as the /
etc/wicked/[Link] might be overwritten. The /etc/wicked/[Link] file includes the /
etc/wicked/[Link] in the default installation, thus you typically do not need to modify the /etc/
wicked/[Link].

In case you want to disable nanny by setting the <use-nanny> to false, restart the [Link]
and then run the following command to apply all configurations and policies:

> sudo wicked ifup all

Note: Configuration files

The wickedd, wicked, or nanny programs try to read /etc/wicked/[Link] if their own
configuration files do not exist.

[Link] /etc/wicked/[Link]
The file /etc/wicked/[Link] is read by the wickedd server process at start-up. The file stores
extensions to the /etc/wicked/[Link]. On top of that this file configures handling of a resolver
and receiving information from addrconf supplicants, for example DHCP.
We recommend to add changes required to this file into a separate file /etc/wicked/server-lo-
[Link], that gets included by /etc/wicked/[Link]. By using a separate file you avoid over-
writing of your changes during maintenance updates.

[Link] /etc/wicked/[Link]
The /etc/wicked/[Link] is used by the wicked command. The file specifies the location of
a script used when discovering devices managed by ibft and configures locations of network interface
configurations.
We recommend to add changes required to this file into a separate file /etc/wicked/client-lo-
[Link], that gets included by /etc/wicked/[Link]. By using a separate file you avoid over-
writing of your changes during maintenance updates.

337 Configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] /etc/wicked/[Link]

The /etc/wicked/[Link] configures types of link layers. We recommend to add specific configu-
ration into a separate file: /etc/wicked/[Link] to avoid losing the changes during main-
tenance updates.

[Link] /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-*

These files contain the traditional configurations for network interfaces.

Note: wicked and the ifcfg-* files

wicked reads these files if you specify the compat: prefix. According to the SUSE Linux Enter-
prise Server default configuration in /etc/wicked/[Link], wicked tries these files before
the XML configuration files in /etc/wicked/ifconfig.
The --ifconfig switch is provided mostly for testing only. If specified, default configuration
sources defined in /etc/wicked/ifconfig are not applied.

The ifcfg-* files include information such as the start mode and the IP address. Possible parameters are
described in the manual page of ifup. Additionally, most variables from the dhcp and wireless files can
be used in the ifcfg-* files if a general setting should be used for only one interface. However, most of
the /etc/sysconfig/network/config variables are global and cannot be overridden in ifcfg files.
For example, NETCONFIG_* variables are global.
For configuring macvlan and macvtab interfaces, see the ifcfg-macvlan and ifcfg-macvtap man
pages. For example, for a macvlan interface provide a ifcfg-macvlan0 with settings as follows:

STARTMODE='auto'
MACVLAN_DEVICE='eth0'
#MACVLAN_MODE='vepa'
#LLADDR=02:03:04:05:06:aa

For [Link], see Section [Link], “/etc/sysconfig/network/config, /etc/syscon-

fig/network/dhcp, and /etc/sysconfig/network/wireless”.

IBM Z IBM Z does not support USB. The names of the interface files and network aliases contain IBM Z-
specific elements like qeth.

338 Configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] /etc/sysconfig/network/config, /etc/sysconfig/network/
dhcp, and /etc/sysconfig/network/wireless

The file config contains general settings for the behavior of ifup, ifdown and ifstatus. dhcp con-
tains settings for DHCP and wireless for wireless LAN cards. The variables in all three configuration
files are commented. Some variables from /etc/sysconfig/network/config can also be used in
ifcfg-* files, where they are given a higher priority. The /etc/sysconfig/network/[Link]-
plate file lists variables that can be specified in a per interface scope. However, most of the /etc/
sysconfig/network/config variables are global and cannot be overridden in ifcfg-files. For example,
NETWORKMANAGER or NETCONFIG_* variables are global.

Note: Using DHCPv6

In SUSE Linux Enterprise 11, DHCPv6 used to work even on networks where IPv6 Router Adver-
tisements (RAs) were not configured properly. Starting with SUSE Linux Enterprise 12, DHCPv6
requires that at least one of the routers on the network sends out RAs that indicate that this network
is managed by DHCPv6.
For networks where the router cannot be configured correctly, the ifcfg option allows the user to
override this behavior by specifying DHCLIENT6_MODE='managed' in the ifcfg file. You can
also activate this workaround with a boot parameter in the installation system:

ifcfg=eth0=dhcp6,DHCLIENT6_MODE=managed

[Link] /etc/sysconfig/network/routes and /etc/sysconfig/

network/ifroute-*

The static routing of TCP/IP packets is determined by the /etc/sysconfig/network/routes and /

etc/sysconfig/network/ifroute-* files. All the static routes required by the various system tasks
can be specified in /etc/sysconfig/network/routes: routes to a host, routes to a host via a gateway
and routes to a network. For each interface that needs individual routing, define an additional configuration
file: /etc/sysconfig/network/ifroute-*. Replace the wild card (*) with the name of the interface.
The entries in the routing configuration files look like this:

# Destination Gateway Netmask Interface Options

339 Configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

The route's destination is in the first column. This column may contain the IP address of a network or host
or, in the case of reachable name servers, the fully qualified network or host name. The network should
be written in CIDR notation (address with the associated routing prefix-length) such as [Link]/16 for
IPv4 or fc00::/7 for IPv6 routes. The keyword default indicates that the route is the default gateway
in the same address family as the gateway. For devices without a gateway use explicit [Link]/0 or ::/0
destinations.
The second column contains the default gateway or a gateway through which a host or network can be
accessed.
The third column is deprecated; it used to contain the IPv4 netmask of the destination. For IPv6 routes,
the default route, or when using a prefix-length (CIDR notation) in the first column, enter a dash (-) here.
The fourth column contains the name of the interface. If you leave it empty using a dash (-), it can cause
unintended behavior in /etc/sysconfig/network/routes. For more information, see the routes
man page.
An (optional) fifth column can be used to specify special options. For details, see the routes man page.

EXAMPLE 23.5: COMMON NETWORK INTERFACES AND SOME STATIC ROUTES

# --- IPv4 routes in CIDR prefix notation:

# Destination [Gateway] - Interface
[Link]/8 - - lo
[Link]/24 - - eth0
default [Link] - eth0
[Link]/32 [Link] - eth1
[Link]/16 [Link] - eth1

# --- IPv4 routes in deprecated netmask notation"

# Destination [Dummy/Gateway] Netmask Interface
#
[Link] [Link] [Link] lo
[Link] [Link] [Link] eth0
default [Link] [Link] eth0
[Link] [Link] [Link] eth1
[Link] [Link] [Link] eth1

# --- IPv6 routes are always using CIDR notation:

# Destination [Gateway] - Interface
2001:DB8:100::/64 - - eth0
2001:DB8:100::/32 fe80::216:3eff:fe6d:c042 - eth0

340 Configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] /var/run/netconfig/[Link]
The domain to which the host belongs is specified in /var/run/netconfig/[Link] (keyword
search). Up to six domains with a total of 256 characters can be specified with the search option.
When resolving a name that is not fully qualified, an attempt is made to generate one by attaching the
individual search entries. Up to three name servers can be specified with the nameserver option, each
on a line of its own. Comments are preceded by hash mark or semicolon signs (# or ;). As an example,
see Example 23.6, “/var/run/netconfig/[Link]”.
However, /etc/[Link] should not be edited by hand. It is generated by the netconfig script
and is a symbolic link to /run/netconfig/[Link]. To define static DNS configuration without
using YaST, edit the appropriate variables manually in the /etc/sysconfig/network/config file:

NETCONFIG_DNS_STATIC_SEARCHLIST
list of DNS domain names used for host name lookup

NETCONFIG_DNS_STATIC_SERVERS
list of name server IP addresses to use for host name lookup

NETCONFIG_DNS_FORWARDER
the name of the DNS forwarder that needs to be configured, for example bind or resolver

NETCONFIG_DNS_RESOLVER_OPTIONS
arbitrary options that will be written to /var/run/netconfig/[Link], for example:

debug attempts:1 timeout:10

For more information, see the [Link] man page.

NETCONFIG_DNS_RESOLVER_SORTLIST
list of up to 10 items, for example:

[Link]/[Link] [Link]

For more information, see the [Link] man page.

To disable DNS configuration using netconfig, set NETCONFIG_DNS_POLICY=''. For more information
about netconfig, see the netconfig(8) man page (man 8 netconfig).

EXAMPLE 23.6: /var/run/netconfig/[Link]

# Our domain
search [Link]
#
# We use [Link] ([Link]) as nameserver

341 Configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

nameserver [Link]

[Link] /sbin/netconfig
netconfig is a modular tool to manage additional network configuration settings. It merges statically
defined settings with settings provided by autoconfiguration mechanisms as DHCP or PPP according to a
predefined policy. The required changes are applied to the system by calling the netconfig modules that
are responsible for modifying a configuration file and restarting a service or a similar action.
netconfig recognizes three main actions. The netconfig modify and netconfig remove com-
mands are used by daemons such as DHCP or PPP to provide or remove settings to netconfig. Only the
netconfig update command is available for the user:

modify
The netconfig modify command modifies the current interface and service specific dynamic
settings and updates the network configuration. Netconfig reads settings from standard input or
from a file specified with the --lease-file FILENAME option and internally stores them until a
system reboot (or the next modify or remove action). Already existing settings for the same interface
and service combination are overwritten. The interface is specified by the -i INTERFACE_NAME
parameter. The service is specified by the -s SERVICE_NAME parameter.

remove
The netconfig remove command removes the dynamic settings provided by an editing action
for the specified interface and service combination and updates the network configuration. The in-
terface is specified by the -i INTERFACE_NAME parameter. The service is specified by the -s
SERVICE_NAME parameter.

update
The netconfig update command updates the network configuration using current settings. This is
useful when the policy or the static configuration has changed. Use the -m MODULE_TYPE parameter
to update a specified service only (dns, nis, or ntp).

The netconfig policy and the static configuration settings are defined either manually or using YaST in the
/etc/sysconfig/network/config file. The dynamic configuration settings provided by autoconfig-
uration tools such as DHCP or PPP are delivered directly by these tools with the netconfig modify and
netconfig remove actions. When NetworkManager is enabled, netconfig (in policy mode auto) uses
only NetworkManager settings, ignoring settings from any other interfaces configured using the traditional
ifup method. If NetworkManager does not provide any setting, static settings are used as a fallback. A
mixed usage of NetworkManager and the wicked method is not supported.

342 Configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

For more information about netconfig, see man 8 netconfig.

[Link] /etc/hosts
In this file, shown in Example 23.7, “/etc/hosts”, IP addresses are assigned to host names. If no name
server is implemented, all hosts to which an IP connection will be set up must be listed here. For each host,
enter a line consisting of the IP address, the fully qualified host name, and the host name into the file. The
IP address must be at the beginning of the line and the entries separated by blanks and tabs. Comments
are always preceded by the # sign.

EXAMPLE 23.7: /etc/hosts

[Link] localhost
[Link] [Link] jupiter
[Link] [Link] venus

[Link] /etc/networks
Here, network names are converted to network addresses. The format is similar to that of the hosts file,
except the network names precede the addresses. See Example 23.8, “/etc/networks”.

EXAMPLE 23.8: /etc/networks

loopback [Link]
localnet [Link]

[Link] /etc/[Link]
Name resolution—the translation of host and network names via the resolver library—is controlled by this
file. This file is only used for programs linked to libc4 or libc5. For current glibc programs, refer to the
settings in /etc/[Link]. Each parameter must always be entered on a separate line. Comments
are preceded by a # sign. Table 23.2, “Parameters for /etc/[Link]” shows the parameters available. A
sample /etc/[Link] is shown in Example 23.9, “/etc/[Link]”.

TABLE 23.2: PARAMETERS FOR /ETC/[Link]

order hosts, bind Specifies in which order the services are accessed
for the name resolution. Available arguments are
(separated by blank spaces or commas):

343 Configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

 hosts: searches the /etc/hosts file

bind: accesses a name server

nis: uses NIS

multi on/off Defines if a host entered in /etc/hosts can

have multiple IP addresses.

nospoof on spoofalert on/off These parameters influence the name server

spoofing but do not exert any influence on the
network configuration.

trim domainname The specified domain name is separated from the

host name after host name resolution (as long as
the host name includes the domain name). This
option is useful only if names from the local do-
main are in the /etc/hosts file, but should still
be recognized with the attached domain names.

EXAMPLE 23.9: /etc/[Link]

# We have named running

order hosts bind
# Allow multiple address
multi on

[Link] /etc/[Link]
The introduction of the GNU C Library 2.0 was accompanied by the introduction of the Name Service
Switch (NSS). Refer to the [Link](5) man page and The GNU C Library Reference Manual
for details.
The order for queries is defined in the file /etc/[Link]. A sample [Link] is shown
in Example 23.10, “/etc/[Link]”. Comments are preceded by # signs. In this example, the entry
under the hosts database means that a request is sent to /etc/hosts (files) via DNS (see Chapter 39,
The domain name system).
EXAMPLE 23.10: /etc/[Link]

passwd: compat
group: compat

344 Configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

hosts: files dns
networks: files dns

services: db files
protocols: db files
rpc: files
ethers: files
netmasks: files
netgroup: files nis
publickey: files

bootparams: files
automount: files nis
aliases: files nis
shadow: compat

The “databases” available over NSS are listed in Table 23.3, “Databases available via /etc/[Link]-
f”. The configuration options for NSS databases are listed in Table 23.4, “Configuration options for NSS
“databases””.

TABLE 23.3: DATABASES AVAILABLE VIA /ETC/[Link]

aliases Mail aliases implemented by sendmail; see

man 5 aliases.

ethers Ethernet addresses.

netmasks List of networks and their subnet masks. Only

needed, if you use subnetting.

group User groups used by getgrent. See also the man

page for group.

hosts Host names and IP addresses, used by gethost-

byname and similar functions.

netgroup Valid host and user lists in the network for

controlling access permissions; see the net-
group(5) man page.

networks Network names and addresses, used by getne-

tent.

345 Configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

 publickey Public and secret keys for Secure_RPC used by
NFS and NIS+.

passwd User passwords, used by getpwent; see the

passwd(5) man page.

protocols Network protocols, used by getprotoent; see

the protocols(5) man page.

rpc Remote procedure call names and addresses, used

by getrpcbyname and similar functions.

services Network services, used by getservent.

shadow Shadow passwords of users, used by getspnam;

see the shadow(5) man page.

TABLE 23.4: CONFIGURATION OPTIONS FOR NSS “DATABASES”

files directly access files, for example, /etc/aliases

db access via a database

nis, nisplus NIS, see also Book “Security and Hardening

Guide”, Chapter 3 “Using NIS”

dns can only be used as an extension for hosts and

networks

compat can only be used as an extension for passwd,

shadow and group

[Link] /etc/[Link]

This file is used to configure nscd (name service cache daemon). See the nscd(8) and [Link](5)
man pages. By default, the system entries of passwd, groups and hostsare cached by nscd. This is
important for the performance of directory services, like NIS and LDAP, because otherwise the network
connection needs to be used for every access to names, groups or hosts.

346 Configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

If the caching for passwd is activated, it usually takes about fifteen seconds until a newly added local user
is recognized. Reduce this waiting time by restarting nscd with:

> sudo systemctl restart nscd

[Link] /etc/hostname

/etc/hostname contains the fully qualified host name (FQHN). The fully qualified host name is the host
name with the domain name attached. This file must contain only one line (in which the host name is set).
It is read while the machine is booting.

23.5.3 Testing the configuration

Before you write your configuration to the configuration files, you can test it. To set up a test configuration,
use the ip command. To test the connection, use the ping command.
The command ip changes the network configuration directly without saving it in the configuration file.
Unless you enter your configuration in the correct configuration files, the changed network configuration
is lost on reboot and also on a virtual adaptor reset.

Note: ifconfig and route are obsolete

The ifconfig and route tools are obsolete. Use ip instead. ifconfig, for example, limits in-
terface names to 9 characters.

[Link] Configuring a network interface with ip

ip is a tool to show and configure network devices, routing, policy routing, and tunnels.

ip is a very complex tool. Its common syntax is ip OPTIONS OBJECT COMMAND. You can work with
the following objects:

link
This object represents a network device.

address
This object represents the IP address of device.

347 Testing the configuration | SLES 15 SP4

neighbor
This object represents an ARP or NDISC cache entry.

route
This object represents the routing table entry.

rule
This object represents a rule in the routing policy database.

maddress
This object represents a multicast address.

mroute
This object represents a multicast routing cache entry.

tunnel
This object represents a tunnel over IP.

If no command is given, the default command is used (usually list).

Change the state of a device with the command:

> sudo ip link set DEV_NAME

For example, to deactivate device eth0, enter

> sudo ip link set eth0 down

To activate it again, use

> sudo ip link set eth0 up

Tip: Disconnecting NIC device

If you deactivate a device with

> sudo ip link set DEV_NAME down

it disables the network interface on a software level.

If you want to simulate losing the link as if the Ethernet cable is unplugged or the connected switch
is turned off, run

> sudo ip link set DEV_NAME carrier off

348 Testing the configuration | SLES 15 SP4

 For example, while ip link set DEV_NAME down drops all routes using DEV_NAME, ip link
set DEV carrier off does not. Be aware that carrier off requires support from the network
device driver.
To connect the device back to the physical network, run

> sudo ip link set DEV_NAME carrier on

After activating a device, you can configure it. To set the IP address, use

> sudo ip addr add IP_ADDRESS + dev DEV_NAME

For example, to set the address of the interface eth0 to [Link]/30 with standard broadcast (option
brd), enter

> sudo ip addr add [Link]/30 brd + dev eth0

To have a working connection, you must also configure the default gateway. To set a gateway for your
system, enter

> sudo ip route add default via gateway_ip_address

To display all devices, use

> sudo ip link ls

To display the running interfaces only, use

> sudo ip link ls up

To print interface statistics for a device, enter

> sudo ip -s link ls DEV_NAME

To view additional useful information, specifically about virtual network devices, enter

> sudo ip -d link ls DEV_NAME

Moreover, to view network layer (IPv4, IPv6) addresses of your devices, enter

> sudo ip addr

In the output, you can find information about MAC addresses of your devices. To show all routes, use

349 Testing the configuration | SLES 15 SP4

 > sudo ip route show

For more information about using ip, enter ip help or see the man 8 ip manual page. The help option
is also available for all ip subcommands, such as:

> sudo ip addr help

Find the ip manual in /usr/share/doc/packages/iproute2/[Link].

[Link] Testing a connection with ping

The ping command is the standard tool for testing whether a TCP/IP connection works. It uses the ICMP
protocol to send a small data packet, ECHO_REQUEST datagram, to the destination host, requesting an
immediate reply. If this works, ping displays a message to that effect. This indicates that the network
link is functioning.
ping does more than only test the function of the connection between two computers: it also provides
some basic information about the quality of the connection. In Example 23.11, “Output of the command
ping”, you can see an example of the ping output. The second-to-last line contains information about the
number of transmitted packets, packet loss, and total time of ping running.
As the destination, you can use a host name or IP address, for example, ping [Link] or
ping [Link]. The program sends packets until you press Ctrl –C .
If you only need to check the functionality of the connection, you can limit the number of the packets with
the -c option. For example to limit ping to three packets, enter ping -c 3 [Link].

EXAMPLE 23.11: OUTPUT OF THE COMMAND PING

ping -c 3 [Link]
PING [Link] ([Link]) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from [Link] ([Link]): icmp_seq=1 ttl=49 time=188 ms
64 bytes from [Link] ([Link]): icmp_seq=2 ttl=49 time=184 ms
64 bytes from [Link] ([Link]): icmp_seq=3 ttl=49 time=183 ms
--- [Link] ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss, time 2007ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 183.417/185.447/188.259/2.052 ms

The default interval between two packets is one second. To change the interval, ping provides the option
-i. For example, to increase the ping interval to ten seconds, enter ping -i 10 [Link].

In a system with multiple network devices, it is sometimes useful to send the ping through a specific
interface address. To do so, use the -I option with the name of the selected device, for example, ping -
I wlan1 [Link].

350 Testing the configuration | SLES 15 SP4

For more options and information about using ping, enter ping -h or see the ping (8) man page.

Tip: Pinging IPv6 addresses

For IPv6 addresses use the ping6 command. Note, to ping link-local addresses, you must specify
the interface with -I. The following command works, if the address is reachable via eth1:

ping6 -I eth1 fe80::117:21ff:feda:a425

23.5.4 Unit files and start-up scripts

Apart from the configuration files described above, there are also systemd unit files and various scripts that
load the network services while the machine is booting. These are started when the system is switched to the
[Link] target. Some of these unit files and scripts are described in Some unit files and start-
up scripts for network programs. For more information about systemd, see Chapter 19, The systemd
daemon and for more information about the systemd targets, see the man page of [Link]
(man [Link]).

SOME UNIT FILES AND START-UP SCRIPTS FOR NETWORK PROGRAMS

[Link]
[Link] is the systemd target for networking, but its mean depends on the settings pro-
vided by the system administrator.
For more information, see [Link]
get/ .

[Link]
[Link] is the systemd target for a multiuser system with all required network ser-
vices.

rpcbind
Starts the rpcbind utility that converts RPC program numbers to universal addresses. It is needed
for RPC services, such as an NFS server.

ypserv
Starts the NIS server.

ypbind
Starts the NIS client.

351 Unit files and start-up scripts | SLES 15 SP4

/etc/init.d/nfsserver
Starts the NFS server.

/etc/init.d/postfix
Controls the postfix process.

23.6 Basic router setup

A router is a networking device that delivers and receives data (network packets) to or from more than
one network back and forth. You often use a router to connect your local network to the remote network
(Internet) or to connect local network segments. With SUSE Linux Enterprise Server you can build a router
with features such as NAT (Network Address Translation) or advanced firewalling.
The following are basic steps to turn SUSE Linux Enterprise Server into a router.

1. Enable forwarding, for example in /etc/sysctl.d/[Link]

[Link] = 1
[Link] = 1

Then provide a static IPv4 and IPv6 IP setup for the interfaces. Enabling forwarding disables several
mechanisms, for example IPv6 does not accept an IPv6 RA (router advertisement) anymore, which
also prevents the creation of a default route.

2. In many situations (for example, when you can reach the same network via more than one interface,
or when VPN usually is used and already on “normal multi-home hosts”), you must disable the IPv4
reverse path filter (this feature does not currently exist for IPv6):

[Link].rp_filter = 0

You can also filter with firewall settings instead.

3. To accept an IPv6 RA (from the router on an external, uplink, or ISP interface) and create a default
(or also a more specific) IPv6 route again, set:

[Link].${ifname}.accept_ra = 2
[Link].${ifname}.autoconf = 0

(Note: “eth0.42” needs to be written as eth0/42 in a dot-separated sysfs path.)

More router behavior and forwarding dependencies are described in [Link]

mentation/networking/[Link] .

352 Basic router setup | SLES 15 SP4

To provide IPv6 on your internal (DMZ) interfaces, and announce yourself as an IPv6 router and “autoconf
networks” to the clients, install and configure radvd in /etc/[Link], for example:

interface eth0
{
IgnoreIfMissing on; # do not fail if interface missed

AdvSendAdvert on; # enable sending RAs

AdvManagedFlag on; # IPv6 addresses managed via DHCPv6
AdvOtherConfigFlag on; # DNS, NTP... only via DHCPv6

AdvDefaultLifetime 3600; # client default route lifetime of 1 hour

prefix 2001:db8:0:1::/64 # (/64 is default and required for autoconf)

{
AdvAutonomous off; # Disable address autoconf (DHCPv6 only)

AdvValidLifetime 3600; # prefix (autoconf addr) is valid 1 h

AdvPreferredLifetime 1800; # prefix (autoconf addr) is prefered 1/2 h
}
}

Configure the firewall to masquerade traffic with NAT from the LAN into the WAN and to block inbound
traffic on the WAN interface:

> sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=external --change-interface=WAN_INTERFACE

> sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=external --add-masquerade
> sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=internal --change-interface=LAN_INTERFACE
> sudo firewall-cmd --reload

23.7 Setting up bonding devices

For some systems, there is a desire to implement network connections that comply to more than the stan-
dard data security or availability requirements of a typical Ethernet device. In these cases, several Ethernet
devices can be aggregated to a single bonding device.
The configuration of the bonding device is done by means of bonding module options. The behavior is
mainly affected by the mode of the bonding device. By default, this is active-backup which means that
a different bond port will become active if the active port fails. The following bonding modes are available:

0 (balance-rr)
Packets are transmitted in round-robin fashion from the first to the last available interface. Provides
fault tolerance and load balancing.

353 Setting up bonding devices | SLES 15 SP4

1 (active-backup)
Only one network interface is active. If it fails, a different interface becomes active. This setting is
the default for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Provides fault tolerance.

2 (balance-xor)
Traffic is split between all available interfaces based on the number of devices included in the bond-
ing. It requires support from the switch. Provides fault tolerance and load balancing.

3 (broadcast)
All traffic is broadcast on all interfaces. Requires support from the switch. Provides fault tolerance.

4 (802.3ad)
Aggregates interfaces into groups that share the same speed and duplex settings. Requires ethtool
support in the interface drivers, and a switch that supports and is configured for IEEE 802.3ad Dy-
namic link aggregation. Provides fault tolerance and load balancing.

5 (balance-tlb)
Adaptive transmit load balancing. Requires ethtool support in the interface drivers but not switch
support. Provides fault tolerance and load balancing.

6 (balance-alb)
Adaptive load balancing. Requires ethtool support in the interface drivers but not switch support.
Provides fault tolerance and load balancing.

For a more detailed description of the modes, see [Link]

working/[Link] .

Tip: Bonding and Xen

Using bonding devices is only of interest for machines where you have multiple real network cards
available. In most configurations, this means that you should use the bonding configuration only
in Dom0. Only if you have multiple network cards assigned to a VM Guest system it may also be
useful to set up the bond in a VM Guest.

354 Setting up bonding devices | SLES 15 SP4

 Note: IBM POWER: Bonding modes 5 and 6 (balance-tlb /
balance-alb) unsupported by ibmveth
There is a conflict with the tlb/alb bonding configuration and Power firmware. In short, the bonding
driver in tlb/alb mode sends Ethernet Loopback packets with both the source and destination MAC
addresses listed as the Virtual Ethernet MAC address. These packets are not supported by Power
firmware. Therefore bonding modes 5 and 6 are unsupported by ibmveth.

To configure a bonding device, use the following procedure:

1. Run YaST System Network Settings.

2. Use Add and change the Device Type to Bond. Proceed with Next.

3. Select how to assign the IP address to the bonding device. Three methods are at your disposal:

No IP Address

Dynamic Address (with DHCP or Zeroconf)

Statically assigned IP Address

Use the method that is appropriate for your environment.

355 Setting up bonding devices | SLES 15 SP4

 4. In the Bond Ports tab, select the Ethernet devices that should be included into the bond by activating
the related check box.

5. Edit the Bond Driver Options and choose a bonding mode.

6. Make sure that the parameter miimon=100 is added to the Bond Driver Options. Without this pa-
rameter, the data integrity is not checked regularly.

7. Click Next and leave YaST with OK to create the device.

23.7.1 Hotplugging of bond ports

In specific network environments (such as High Availability), there are cases when you need to replace a
bond port interface with another one. The reason may be a constantly failing network device. The solution
is to set up hotplugging of bond ports.
The bond is configured as usual (according to man 5 ifcfg-bonding), for example:

ifcfg-bond0
STARTMODE='auto' # or 'onboot'
BOOTPROTO='static'
IPADDR='[Link]/24'
BONDING_MASTER='yes'
BONDING_SLAVE_0='eth0'
BONDING_SLAVE_1='eth1'
BONDING_MODULE_OPTS='mode=active-backup miimon=100'

The bond ports are specified with STARTMODE=hotplug and BOOTPROTO=none:

ifcfg-eth0
STARTMODE='hotplug'
BOOTPROTO='none'

ifcfg-eth1
STARTMODE='hotplug'
BOOTPROTO='none'

BOOTPROTO=none uses the ethtool options (when provided), but does not set the link up on ifup eth0.
The reason is that the bond port interface is controlled by the bond device.
STARTMODE=hotplug causes the bond port interface to join the bond automatically when it is available.

356 Hotplugging of bond ports | SLES 15 SP4

The udev rules in /etc/udev/rules.d/[Link] need to be changed to match
the device by bus ID (udev KERNELS keyword equal to "SysFS BusID" as visible in hwinfo --netcard)
instead of by MAC address. This allows replacement of defective hardware (a network card in the same
slot but with a different MAC) and prevents confusion when the bond changes the MAC address of all
its bond ports.
For example:

SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*",

KERNELS=="0000:00:19.0", ATTR{dev_id}=="0x0", ATTR{type}=="1",
KERNEL=="eth*", NAME="eth0"

At boot time, the systemd [Link] does not wait for the hotplug bond ports, but for the bond to
become ready, which requires at least one available bond port. When one of the bond port interfaces gets
removed (unbind from NIC driver, rmmod of the NIC driver or true PCI hotplug remove) from the system,
the kernel removes it from the bond automatically. When a new card is added to the system (replacement
of the hardware in the slot), udev renames it using the bus-based persistent name rule to the name of the
bond port, and calls ifup for it. The ifup call automatically joins it into the bond.

23.8 Setting up team devices for Network Teaming

The term “link aggregation” is the general term which describes combining (or aggregating) a network
connection to provide a logical layer. Sometimes you find the terms “channel teaming”, “Ethernet bond-
ing”, “port trunking”, etc. which are synonyms and refer to the same concept.
This concept is widely known as “bonding” and was originally integrated into the Linux kernel (see Sec-
tion 23.7, “Setting up bonding devices” for the original implementation). The term Network Teaming is
used to refer to the new implementation of this concept.
The main difference between bonding and Network Teaming is that teaming supplies a set of small kernel
modules responsible for providing an interface for teamd instances. Everything else is handled in user
space. This is different from the original bonding implementation which contains all of its functionality
exclusively in the kernel. For a comparison refer to Table 23.5, “Feature comparison between bonding
and team”.

TABLE 23.5: FEATURE COMPARISON BETWEEN BONDING AND TEAM

Feature Bonding Team

broadcast, round-robin TX poli- yes yes

cy

357 Setting up team devices for Network Teaming | SLES 15 SP4

 Feature Bonding Team

active-backup TX policy yes yes

LACP (802.3ad) support yes yes

hash-based TX policy yes yes

user can set hash function no yes

TX load-balancing support yes yes

(TLB)

TX load-balancing support for no yes

LACP

Ethtool link monitoring yes yes

ARP link monitoring yes yes

NS/NA (IPV6) link monitoring no yes

RCU locking on TX/RX paths no yes

port prio and stickiness no yes

separate per-port link monitor- no yes

ing setup

multiple link monitoring setup limited yes

VLAN support yes yes

multiple device stacking yes yes

Source: [Link]

Both implementations, bonding and Network Teaming, can be used in parallel. Network Teaming is an
alternative to the existing bonding implementation. It does not replace bonding.
Network Teaming can be used for different use cases. The two most important use cases are explained
later and involve:

Load balancing between different network devices.

Failover from one network device to another in case one of the devices should fail.

358 Setting up team devices for Network Teaming | SLES 15 SP4

Currently, there is no YaST module to support creating a teaming device. You need to configure Network
Teaming manually. The general procedure is shown below which can be applied for all your Network
Teaming configurations:

PROCEDURE 23.1: GENERAL PROCEDURE

1. Install the package libteam-tools:

> sudo zypper in libteam-tools

2. Create a configuration file under /etc/sysconfig/network/. Usually it will be ifcfg-team0.

If you need more than one Network Teaming device, give them ascending numbers.
This configuration file contains several variables which are explained in the man pages (see man
ifcfg and man ifcfg-team). An example configuration can be found in your system in the file
/etc/sysconfig/network/[Link].

3. Remove the configuration files of the interfaces which will be used for the teaming device (usually
ifcfg-eth0 and ifcfg-eth1).
It is recommended to make a backup and remove both files. Wicked will re-create the configuration
files with the necessary parameters for teaming.

4. Optionally, check if everything is included in Wicked's configuration file:

> sudo wicked show-config

5. Start the Network Teaming device team0:

> sudo wicked ifup team0

In case you need additional debug information, use the option --debug all after the all sub-
command.

359 Setting up team devices for Network Teaming | SLES 15 SP4

 6. Check the status of the Network Teaming device. This can be done by the following commands:

Get the state of the teamd instance from Wicked:

> sudo wicked ifstatus --verbose team0

Get the state of the entire instance:

> sudo teamdctl team0 state

Get the systemd state of the teamd instance:

> sudo systemctl status teamd@team0

Each of them shows a slightly different view depending on your needs.

7. In case you need to change something in the ifcfg-team0 file afterward, reload its configuration
with:

> sudo wicked ifreload team0

Do not use systemctl for starting or stopping the teaming device! Instead, use the wicked command
as shown above.
To completely remove the team device, use this procedure:

PROCEDURE 23.2: REMOVING A TEAM DEVICE

1. Stop the Network Teaming device team0:

> sudo wicked ifdown team0

2. Rename the file /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-team0 to /etc/sysconfig/net-

work/.ifcfg-team0. Inserting a dot in front of the file name makes it “invisible” for wicked. If
you really do not need the configuration anymore, you can also remove the file.

3. Reload the configuration:

> sudo wicked ifreload all

360 Setting up team devices for Network Teaming | SLES 15 SP4

23.8.1 Use case: load balancing with Network Teaming
Load balancing is used to improve bandwidth. Use the following configuration file to create a Network
Teaming device with load balancing capabilities. Proceed with Procedure 23.1, “General procedure” to
set up the device. Check the output with teamdctl.
EXAMPLE 23.12: CONFIGURATION FOR LOAD BALANCING WITH NETWORK TEAMING

STARTMODE=auto 1

BOOTPROTO=static 2

IPADDRESS="[Link]/24" 2

IPADDR6="fd00:deca:fbad:50::1/64" 2

TEAM_RUNNER="loadbalance" 3

TEAM_LB_TX_HASH="ipv4,ipv6,eth,vlan"
TEAM_LB_TX_BALANCER_NAME="basic"
TEAM_LB_TX_BALANCER_INTERVAL="100"

TEAM_PORT_DEVICE_0="eth0" 4

TEAM_PORT_DEVICE_1="eth1" 4

TEAM_LW_NAME="ethtool" 5

TEAM_LW_ETHTOOL_DELAY_UP="10" 6

TEAM_LW_ETHTOOL_DELAY_DOWN="10" 6

1 Controls the start of the teaming device. The value of auto means, the interface will be set up when
the network service is available and will be started automatically on every reboot.
In case you need to control the device yourself (and prevent it from starting automatically), set
STARTMODE to manual.

2 Sets a static IP address (here [Link] for IPv4 and fd00:deca:fbad:50::1 for IPv6).
If the Network Teaming device should use a dynamic IP address, set BOOTPROTO="dhcp" and re-
move (or comment) the line with IPADDRESS and IPADDR6.
3 Sets TEAM_RUNNER to loadbalance to activate the load balancing mode.
4 Specifies one or more devices which should be aggregated to create the Network Teaming device.
5 Defines a link watcher to monitor the state of subordinate devices. The default value ethtool checks
only if the device is up and accessible. This makes this check fast enough. However, it does not check
if the device can really send or receive packets.
If you need a higher confidence in the connection, use the arp_ping option. This sends pings to
an arbitrary host (configured in the TEAM_LW_ARP_PING_TARGET_HOST variable). The Network
Teaming device is considered to be up only if the replies are received.
6 Defines the delay in milliseconds between the link coming up (or down) and the runner being notified.

361 Use case: load balancing with Network Teaming | SLES 15 SP4
23.8.2 Use case: failover with Network Teaming
Failover is used to ensure high availability of a critical Network Teaming device by involving a parallel
backup network device. The backup network device is running all the time and takes over if and when
the main device fails.
Use the following configuration file to create a Network Teaming device with failover capabilities. Proceed
with Procedure 23.1, “General procedure” to set up the device. Check the output with teamdctl.

EXAMPLE 23.13: CONFIGURATION FOR DHCP NETWORK TEAMING DEVICE

STARTMODE=auto 1

BOOTPROTO=static 2

IPADDR="[Link]/24" 2

IPADDR6="fd00:deca:fbad:50::2/64" 2

TEAM_RUNNER=activebackup 3

TEAM_PORT_DEVICE_0="eth0" 4

TEAM_PORT_DEVICE_1="eth1" 4

TEAM_LW_NAME=ethtool 5

TEAM_LW_ETHTOOL_DELAY_UP="10" 6

TEAM_LW_ETHTOOL_DELAY_DOWN="10" 6

1 Controls the start of the teaming device. The value of auto means the interface will be set up when
the network service is available and will be started automatically on every reboot.
In case you need to control the device yourself (and prevent it from starting automatically), set
STARTMODE to manual.

2 Sets a static IP address (here [Link] for IPv4 and fd00:deca:fbad:50::2 for IPv6).
If the Network Teaming device should use a dynamic IP address, set BOOTPROTO="dhcp" and re-
move (or comment) the line with IPADDRESS and IPADDR6.
3 Sets TEAM_RUNNER to activebackup to activate the failover mode.
4 Specifies one or more devices which should be aggregated to create the Network Teaming device.
5 Defines a link watcher to monitor the state of subordinate devices. The default value ethtool checks
only if the device is up and accessible. This makes this check fast enough. However, it does not check
if the device can really send or receive packets.
If you need a higher confidence in the connection, use the arp_ping option. This sends pings to an
arbitrary host (configured in the TEAM_LW_ARP_PING_TARGET_HOST variable). Only if the replies
are received, the Network Teaming device is considered to be up.
6 Defines the delay in milliseconds between the link coming up (or down) and the runner being notified.

362 Use case: failover with Network Teaming | SLES 15 SP4

23.8.3 Use case: VLAN over team device
VLAN is an abbreviation of Virtual Local Area Network. It allows the running of multiple logical (virtual)
Ethernets over one single physical Ethernet. It logically splits the network into different broadcast domains
so that packets are only switched between ports that are designated for the same VLAN.
The following use case creates two static VLANs on top of a team device:

vlan0, bound to the IP address [Link]

vlan1, bound to the IP address [Link]

Proceed as follows:

1. Enable the VLAN tags on your switch. To use load balancing for your team device, your switch
needs to be capable of Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) (802.3ad). Consult your hard-
ware manual about the details.

2. Decide if you want to use load balancing or failover for your team device. Set up your team device
as described in Section 23.8.1, “Use case: load balancing with Network Teaming” or Section 23.8.2,
“Use case: failover with Network Teaming”.

3. In /etc/sysconfig/network create a file ifcfg-vlan0 with the following content:

STARTMODE="auto"
BOOTPROTO="static" 1

IPADDR='[Link]/24' 2

ETHERDEVICE="team0" 3

VLAN_ID="0" 4

VLAN='yes'

1 Defines a fixed IP address, specified in IPADDR.

2 Defines the IP address, here with its netmask.
3 Contains the real interface to use for the VLAN interface, here our team device (team0).
4 Specifies a unique ID for the VLAN. Preferably, the file name and the VLAN_ID corresponds
to the name ifcfg-vlanVLAN_ID. In our case VLAN_ID is 0 which leads to the file name
ifcfg-vlan0.

363 Use case: VLAN over team device | SLES 15 SP4

 4. Copy the file /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-vlan0 to /etc/sysconfig/net-
work/ifcfg-vlan1 and change the following values:

IPADDR from [Link]/24 to [Link]/24.

VLAN_ID from 0 to 1.

5. Start the two VLANs:

# wicked ifup vlan0 vlan1

6. Check the output of ifconfig:

# ifconfig -a
[...]
vlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 08:00:27:DC:43:98
inet addr:[Link] Bcast:[Link] Mask:[Link]
inet6 addr: fe80::a00:27ff:fedc:4398/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:12 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:816 (816.0 b)

vlan1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 08:00:27:DC:43:98

inet addr:[Link] Bcast:[Link] Mask:[Link]
inet6 addr: fe80::a00:27ff:fedc:4398/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:12 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:816 (816.0 b)

23.9 Configuring a network bridge device

A network bridge is a virtual link layer (Layer 2) device that connects multiple network segments into a
single logical network. The bridge behaves like a virtual network switch, inspecting traffic and forwarding
data frames dynamically based on hardware MAC addresses. A common use case for network bridges is
virtualization environments (such as KVM or Xen), where physical network interfaces are shared with
multiple guest virtual machines.
Network bridges can be configured either graphically using YaST or manually by creating configuration
files within the /etc/sysconfig/network/ directory.

364 Configuring a network bridge device | SLES 15 SP4

The preferred method for creating a network bridge interface is using the YaST Network Devices module.

PROCEDURE 23.3: CREATING A BRIDGE INTERFACE WITH YAST

1. Run YaST System Network Settings.

2. Use Add and change the Device Type to Bridge. Proceed with Next.

3. Enter an interface name in the Configuration Name field (for example, br0) and click Next.

4. In the Address tab, specify how the network bridge interface obtains its IP configuration (either via
DHCP or by assigning a Statically Assigned IP Address).

5. Switch to the Bridged Devices tab. Select the checkbox next to the physical network card or VLAN
interface that you want to include as a port inside the bridge matrix.

6. Click Next to return to the Network Settings overview, then click OK to save the configuration and
restart the network service.

23.9.1 Manually configure network bridge

If you choose to bypass YaST, you can configure a network bridge manually by modifying the control
parameters inside the network directory scripts. In this scenario, we assume a logical bridge interface
named br0 is created to hook to a physical interface named eth0.

PROCEDURE 23.4: CONFIGURING A BRIDGE WITH WICKED INTERFACE DECLARATIONS

1. Create a new configuration profile for the virtual bridge target at /etc/sysconfig/net-
work/ifcfg-br0:

STARTMODE='auto'
BOOTPROTO='static'
IPADDR='IP_ADDRESS_OF_THE_BRIDGE'
BRIDGE='yes'
BRIDGE_PORTS='eth0'
BRIDGE_STP='off'

2. Modify the properties of the underlying physical network card profile (for example, /etc/syscon-
fig/network/ifcfg-eth0). Ensure that any existing IP address attributes are deleted, and dis-
able protocol configuration options so that it acts purely as a physical port layer:

STARTMODE='auto'
BOOTPROTO='none'

365 Manually configure network bridge | SLES 15 SP4

 3. If using a static IP topology, map the default gateway explicitly to the bridge network interface
using a dedicated routing file profile at /etc/sysconfig/network/ifroute-br0:

default GATEWAY_IP_ADDRESS - br0

Warning: Conflicting router configurations

Verify that no obsolete routing statements remain active inside your physical interface script
files (such as ifroute-eth0). Failing to remove default paths from physical slave adapters
will create structural routing conflict flags inside the kernel.

4. Reload the active networking configuration space to enforce the changes:

> sudo systemctl restart network

23.10 Software-defined networking with Open

vSwitch
Software-defined networking (SDN) means separating the system that controls where traffic is sent (the
control plane) from the underlying system that forwards traffic to the selected destination (the data plane,
also called the forwarding plane). This means that the functions previously fulfilled by a single, usually
inflexible switch can now be separated between a switch (data plane) and its controller (control plane). In
this model, the controller is programmable and can be very flexible and adapt quickly to changing network
conditions.
Open vSwitch is software that implements a distributed virtual multilayer switch that is compatible with
the OpenFlow protocol. OpenFlow allows a controller application to modify the configuration of a switch.
OpenFlow is layered onto the TCP protocol and is implemented in a range of hardware and software. A
single controller can thus drive multiple, very different switches.

23.10.1 Advantages of Open vSwitch

Software-defined networking with Open vSwitch brings several advantages with it, especially when you
used together with virtual machines:

Networking states can be identified easily.

Networks and their live state can be moved from one host to another.

366 Software-defined networking with Open vSwitch | SLES 15 SP4

 Network dynamics are traceable and external software can be enabled to respond to them.

You can apply and manipulate tags in network packets to identify which machine they are coming
from or going to and maintain other networking context. Tagging rules can be configured and mi-
grated.

Open vSwitch implements the GRE protocol (Generic Routing Encapsulation). This allows you, for
example, to connect private VM networks to each other.

Open vSwitch can be used on its own, but is designed to integrate with networking hardware and
can control hardware switches.

23.10.2 Installing Open vSwitch

1. Install Open vSwitch and supplementary packages:

# zypper install openvswitch openvswitch-switch

If you plan to use Open vSwitch together with the KVM hypervisor, additionally install tunctl
. If you plan to use Open vSwitch together with the Xen hypervisor, additionally install open-
vswitch-kmp-xen .

2. Enable the Open vSwitch service:

# systemctl enable openvswitch

3. Either restart the computer or use systemctl to start the Open vSwitch service immediately:

# systemctl start openvswitch

4. To check whether Open vSwitch was activated correctly, use:

# systemctl status openvswitch

23.10.3 Overview of Open vSwitch daemons and utilities

Open vSwitch consists of several components. Among them are a kernel module and various user space
components. The kernel module is used for accelerating the data path, but is not necessary for a minimal
Open vSwitch installation.

367 Installing Open vSwitch | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Daemons
The central executables of Open vSwitch are its two daemons. When you start the openvswitch service,
you are indirectly starting them.
The main Open vSwitch daemon (ovs-vswitchd) provides the implementation of a switch. The Open
vSwitch database daemon (ovsdb-server) serves the database that stores the configuration and state of
Open vSwitch.

[Link] Utilities
Open vSwitch also comes with several utilities that help you work with it. The following list is not ex-
haustive, but instead describes important commands only.

ovsdb-tool
Create, upgrade, compact, and query Open vSwitch databases. Do transactions on Open vSwitch
databases.

ovs-appctl
Configure a running ovs-vswitchd or ovsdb-server daemon.

ovs-dpctl, ovs-dpctl-top
Create, modify, visualize, and delete data paths. Using this tool can interfere with ovs-vswitchd
also performing data path management. Therefore, it is often used for diagnostics only.
ovs-dpctl-top creates a top-like visualization for data paths.

ovs-ofctl
Manage any switches adhering to the OpenFlow protocol. ovs-ofctl is not limited to interacting
with Open vSwitch.

ovs-vsctl
Provides a high-level interface to the configuration database. It can be used to query and modify the
database. In effect, it shows the status of ovs-vswitchd and can be used to configure it.

23.10.4 Creating a bridge with Open vSwitch

The following example configuration uses the Wicked network service that is used by default on SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server. To learn more about Wicked, see Section 23.5, “Configuring a network connection
manually”.

368 Creating a bridge with Open vSwitch | SLES 15 SP4

When you have installed and started Open vSwitch, proceed as follows:

1. To configure a bridge for use by your virtual machine, create a file with content like this:

STARTMODE='auto' 1

BOOTPROTO='dhcp' 2

OVS_BRIDGE='yes' 3

OVS_BRIDGE_PORT_DEVICE_1='eth0' 4

1 Set up the bridge automatically when the network service is started.

2 The protocol to use for configuring the IP address.
3 Mark the configuration as an Open vSwitch bridge.
4 Choose which device/devices should be added to the bridge. To add more devices, append
additional lines for each of them to the file:

OVS_BRIDGE_PORT_DEVICE_SUFFIX='DEVICE'

The SUFFIX can be any alphanumeric string. However, to avoid overwriting a previous defi-
nition, make sure the SUFFIX of each device is unique.
Save the file in the directory /etc/sysconfig/network under the name ifcfg-br0. Instead of
br0, you can use any name you want. However, the file name needs to begin with ifcfg-.
To learn about further options, refer to the man pages of ifcfg (man 5 ifcfg) and ifcfg-ovs-
bridge (man 5 ifcfg-ovs-bridge).

2. Now start the bridge:

# wicked ifup br0

When Wicked is done, it should output the name of the bridge and next to it the state up.

23.10.5 Using Open vSwitch directly with KVM

After having created the bridge as described in Section 23.10.4, “Creating a bridge with Open vSwitch”,
you can use Open vSwitch to manage the network access of virtual machines created with KVM/QEMU.

369 Using Open vSwitch directly with KVM | SLES 15 SP4

 1. To be able to best use the capabilities of Wicked, make some further changes to the bridge config-
ured before. Open the previously created /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-br0 and append a
line for another port device:

OVS_BRIDGE_PORT_DEVICE_2='tap0'

Additionally, set BOOTPROTO to none. The file should now look like this:

STARTMODE='auto'
BOOTPROTO='none'
OVS_BRIDGE='yes'
OVS_BRIDGE_PORT_DEVICE_1='eth0'
OVS_BRIDGE_PORT_DEVICE_2='tap0'

The new port device tap0 will be configured in the next step.

2. Now add a configuration file for the tap0 device:

STARTMODE='auto'
BOOTPROTO='none'
TUNNEL='tap'

Save the file in the directory /etc/sysconfig/network under the name ifcfg-tap0.

Tip: Allowing other users to access the tap device

To be able to use this tap device from a virtual machine started as a user who is not root,
append:

TUNNEL_SET_OWNER=USER_NAME

To allow access for an entire group, append:

TUNNEL_SET_GROUP=GROUP_NAME

3. Finally, open the configuration for the device defined as the first OVS_BRIDGE_PORT_DEVICE.
If you did not change the name, that should be eth0. Therefore, open /etc/sysconfig/net-
work/ifcfg-eth0 and make sure that the following options are set:

STARTMODE='auto'
BOOTPROTO='none'

If the file does not exist yet, create it.

370 Using Open vSwitch directly with KVM | SLES 15 SP4

 4. Restart the bridge interface using Wicked:

# wicked ifreload br0

This will also trigger a reload of the newly defined bridge port devices.

5. To start a virtual machine, use, for example:

# qemu-kvm \
-drive file=/PATH/TO/DISK-IMAGE 1 \
-m 512 -net nic,vlan=0,macaddr=00:11:22:EE:EE:EE \
-net tap,ifname=tap0,script=no,downscript=no 2

1 The path to the QEMU disk image you want to start.

2 Use the tap device (tap0) created before.
For further information on the usage of KVM/QEMU, see Book “Virtualization Guide”.

23.10.6 Using Open vSwitch with libvirt

After having created the bridge as described before in Section 23.10.4, “Creating a bridge with Open
vSwitch”, you can add the bridge to an existing virtual machine managed with libvirt. Since libvirt
has some support for Open vSwitch bridges already, you can use the bridge created in Section 23.10.4,
“Creating a bridge with Open vSwitch” without further changes to the networking configuration.

1. Open the domain XML file for the intended virtual machine:

# virsh edit VM_NAME

Replace VM_NAME with the name of the desired virtual machine. This will open your default text
editor.

2. Find the networking section of the document by looking for a section starting with <interface
type="..."> and ending in </interface>.
Replace the existing section with a networking section that looks somewhat like this:

<interface type='bridge'>
<source bridge='br0'/>
<virtualport type='openvswitch'/>
</interface>

371 Using Open vSwitch with libvirt | SLES 15 SP4

 Important: Compatibility of virsh iface-* and Virtual
Machine Manager with Open vSwitch
At the moment, the Open vSwitch compatibility of libvirt is not exposed through the
virsh iface-* tools and Virtual Machine Manager. If you use any of these tools, your
configuration can break.

3. You can now start or restart the virtual machine as usual.

For further information on the usage of libvirt, see Book “Virtualization Guide”.

23.10.7 More information

For more information on SDN, refer to the documentation section of the Open vSwitch project Web site
at [Link] .

372 More information | SLES 15 SP4

24 Printer operation

SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server supports printing with many types of printers, including remote network
printers. Printers can be configured manually or with YaST. For configuration instructions, refer to Chap-
ter 34, Setting up a printer. Both graphical and command line utilities are available for starting and man-
aging print jobs. If your printer does not work as expected, refer to Section 24.8, “Troubleshooting”.
CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) is the standard print system in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
Printers can be distinguished by interface, such as USB or network, and printer language. When buying
a printer, make sure that the printer has an interface that is supported (USB, Ethernet, or Wi-Fi) and a
suitable printer language. Printers can be categorized on the basis of the following three classes of printer
languages:

PostScript printers
PostScript is the printer language in which most print jobs in Linux and Unix are generated and
processed by the internal print system. If PostScript documents can be processed directly by the
printer and do not need to be converted in additional stages in the print system, the number of
potential error sources is reduced.
Currently PostScript is being replaced by PDF as the standard print job format. PostScript+PDF
printers that can directly print PDF (in addition to PostScript) already exist. For traditional PostScript
printers PDF needs to be converted to PostScript in the printing workflow.

Standard printers (languages like PCL and ESC/p)

In the case of known printer languages, the print system can convert PostScript jobs to the respec-
tive printer language with Ghostscript. This processing stage is called interpreting. The best-known
languages are PCL (which is mostly used by HP printers and their clones) and ESC/P (which is
used by Epson printers). These printer languages are usually supported by Linux and produce an
adequate print result. Linux may not be able to address some special printer functions. Except for
HP and Epson, there are currently no printer manufacturers who develop Linux drivers and make
them available to Linux distributors under an open source license.

Proprietary printers (also called GDI printers)

These printers do not support any of the common printer languages. They use their own undocu-
mented printer languages, which are subject to change when a new edition of a model is released.
Usually only Windows drivers are available for these printers. See Section 24.8.1, “Printers without
standard printer language support” for more information.

373 | SLES 15 SP4

Before you buy a new printer, refer to the following sources to check how well the printer you intend to
buy is supported:

[Link]
The OpenPrinting home page with the printer database. The database shows the latest Linux support
status. However, a Linux distribution can only integrate the drivers available at production time.
Accordingly, a printer currently rated as “perfectly supported” may not have had this status when the
latest SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version was released. Thus, the databases may not necessarily
indicate the correct status, but only provide an approximation.

[Link]
The Ghostscript Web page.

/usr/share/doc/packages/ghostscript/[Link]
List of built-in Ghostscript drivers.

24.1 The CUPS workflow

The user creates a print job. The print job consists of the data to print plus information for the spooler.
This includes the name of the printer or the name of the print queue, and optionally, information for the
filter, such as printer-specific options.
At least one dedicated print queue exists for every printer. The spooler holds the print job in the queue until
the desired printer is ready to receive data. When the printer is ready, the spooler sends the data through
the filter and back-end to the printer.
The filter converts the data generated by the application that is printing (usually PostScript or PDF, but also
ASCII, JPEG, etc.) into printer-specific data (PostScript, PCL, ESC/P, etc.). The features of the printer
are described in the PPD files. A PPD file contains printer-specific options with the parameters needed to
enable them on the printer. The filter system makes sure that options selected by the user are enabled.
If you use a PostScript printer, the filter system converts the data into printer-specific PostScript. This
does not require a printer driver. If you use a non-PostScript printer, the filter system converts the data
into printer-specific data. This requires a printer driver suitable for your printer. The back-end receives
the printer-specific data from the filter then passes it to the printer.

374 The CUPS workflow | SLES 15 SP4

24.2 Methods and protocols for connecting printers
There are various possibilities for connecting a printer to the system. The configuration of CUPS does not
distinguish between a local printer and a printer connected to the system over the network. For more infor-
mation about the printer connection, read the article CUPS in a Nutshell at [Link]
B:CUPS_in_a_Nutshell .
IBM Z Printers and similar devices provided by the z/VM that connect locally with the IBM Z mainframes
are not supported by CUPS. On these platforms, printing is only possible over the network. The cabling
for network printers must be installed according to the instructions of the printer manufacturer.

Warning: Changing cable connections in a running system

When connecting the printer to the machine, do not forget that only USB devices can be plugged in
or unplugged during operation. To avoid damaging your system or printer, shut down the system
before changing any connections that are not USB.

24.3 Installing the software

PPD (PostScript printer description) is the computer language that describes the properties, like resolution,
and options, such as the availability of a duplex unit. These descriptions are required for using various
printer options in CUPS. Without a PPD file, the print data would be forwarded to the printer in a “raw”
state, which is usually not desired.
To configure a PostScript printer, the best approach is to get a suitable PPD file. Many PPD files are avail-
able in the packages manufacturer-PPDs and OpenPrintingPPDs-postscript. See Section 24.7.3,
“PPD files in various packages” and Section 24.8.2, “No suitable PPD file available for a PostScript printer”.

New PPD files can be stored in the directory /usr/share/cups/model/ or added to the print system
with YaST as described in Section 34.1.1, “Adding drivers with YaST”. Subsequently, the PPD file can be
selected during the printer setup.
Be careful if a printer manufacturer wants you to install entire software packages. This kind of installation
may result in the loss of the support provided by SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Also, print commands
may work differently and the system may no longer be able to address devices of other manufacturers. For
this reason, the installation of manufacturer software is not recommended.

375 Methods and protocols for connecting printers | SLES 15 SP4

24.4 Network printers
A network printer can support various protocols, some even concurrently. Although most of the supported
protocols are standardized, some manufacturers modify the standard. Manufacturers then provide drivers
for only a few operating systems. Unfortunately, Linux drivers are rarely provided. The current situation
is such that you cannot act on the assumption that every protocol works smoothly in Linux. Therefore,
you may need to experiment with various options to achieve a functional configuration.
CUPS supports the socket, LPD, IPP and smb protocols.

socket
Socket refers to a connection in which the plain print data is sent directly to a TCP sock-
et. Some socket port numbers that are commonly used are 9100 or 35. The device URI (uni-
form resource identifier) syntax is: socket://[Link]:PORT, for example: sock-
et://[Link]:9100/.

LPD (line printer daemon)

The LPD protocol is described in RFC 1179. Under this protocol, some job-related data, such as the
ID of the print queue, is sent before the actual print data is sent. Therefore, a print queue must be
specified when configuring the LPD protocol. The implementations of diverse printer manufacturers
are flexible enough to accept any name as the print queue. If necessary, the printer manual should
indicate what name to use. LPT, LPT1, LP1 or similar names are often used. The port number for
an LPD service is 515. An example device URI is lpd://[Link]/LPT1.

IPP (Internet printing protocol)

IPP is based on the HTTP protocol. With IPP, more job-related data is transmitted than with the
other protocols. CUPS uses IPP for internal data transmission. The name of the print queue is
necessary to configure IPP correctly. The port number for IPP is 631. Example device URIs are
ipp://[Link]/ps and ipp://[Link]/printers/ps.

SMB (Windows share)

CUPS also supports printing on printers connected to Windows shares. The protocol used for
this purpose is SMB. SMB uses the port numbers 137, 138 and 139. Example device URIs
are smb://user:password@workgroup/[Link]/printer, smb://user:pass-
word@[Link]/printer, and smb://[Link]/printer.

376 Network printers | SLES 15 SP4

The protocol supported by the printer must be determined before configuration. If the manufacturer does
not provide the needed information, the command nmap (which comes with the nmap package) can be
used to ascertain the protocol. nmap checks a host for open ports. For example:

> nmap -p 35,137-139,515,631,9100-10000 [Link]

24.5 Configuring CUPS with command line tools

CUPS can be configured with command line tools like lpinfo, lpadmin and lpoptions. You need a
device URI consisting of a back-end, such as USB, and parameters. To determine valid device URIs on
your system use the command lpinfo -v | grep ":/":

> sudo lpinfo -v | grep ":/"

direct usb://ACME/FunPrinter%20XL
network socket://[Link]

With lpadmin the CUPS server administrator can add, remove or manage print queues. To add a print
queue, use the following syntax:

> sudo lpadmin -p QUEUE -v DEVICE-URI -P PPD-FILE -E

Then the device (-v) is available as QUEUE (-p), using the specified PPD file (-P). This means that you
must know the PPD file and the device URI to configure the printer manually.
Do not use -E as the first option. For all CUPS commands, -E as the first argument sets use of an encrypted
connection. To enable the printer, -E must be used as shown in the following example:

> sudo lpadmin -p ps -v usb://ACME/FunPrinter%20XL -P \

/usr/share/cups/model/[Link] -E

The following example configures a network printer:

> sudo lpadmin -p ps -v socket://[Link]:9100/ -P \

/usr/share/cups/model/[Link] -E

For more options of lpadmin, see the man page of lpadmin(8).

377 Configuring CUPS with command line tools | SLES 15 SP4

During printer setup, certain options are set as default. These options can be modified for every print
job (depending on the print tool used). Changing these default options with YaST is also possible. Using
command line tools, set default options as follows:

1. First, list all options:

> sudo lpoptions -p QUEUE -l

Example:

Resolution/Output Resolution: 150dpi *300dpi 600dpi

The activated default option is identified by a preceding asterisk (*).

2. Change the option with lpadmin:

> sudo lpadmin -p QUEUE -o Resolution=600dpi

3. Check the new setting:

> sudo lpoptions -p QUEUE -l

Resolution/Output Resolution: 150dpi 300dpi *600dpi

When a normal user runs lpoptions, the settings are written to ~/.cups/lpoptions. However, root
settings are written to /etc/cups/lpoptions.

24.6 Printing from the command line

To print from the command line, enter lp -d QUEUENAME FILENAME, substituting the corresponding
names for QUEUENAME and FILENAME.
Some applications rely on the lp command for printing. In this case, enter the correct command in the
application's print dialog, usually without specifying FILENAME, for example, lp -d QUEUENAME.

24.7 Special features in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

Several CUPS features have been adapted for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Some of the most important
changes are covered here.

378 Printing from the command line | SLES 15 SP4

24.7.1 CUPS and firewall
After completing a default installation of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, firewalld is active and the
network interfaces are configured to be in the public zone, which blocks incoming traffic.
When firewalld is active, you may need to configure it to allow clients to browse network printers by
allowing mdns and ipp through the internal network zone. The public zone should never expose printer
queues.
(More information about the firewalld configuration is available in Book “Security and Hardening
Guide”, Chapter 23 “Masquerading and firewalls”, Section 23.4 “firewalld” and at [Link]
[Link]/SDB:CUPS_and_SANE_Firewall_settings .)

[Link] CUPS client

Normally, a CUPS client runs on a regular workstation located in a trusted network environment behind a
firewall. In this case it is recommended to configure the network interface to be in the Internal Zone,
so the workstation is reachable from within the network.

[Link] CUPS server

If the CUPS server is part of a trusted network environment protected by a firewall, the network interface
should be configured to be in the Internal Zone of the firewall. It is not recommended to set up a CUPS
server in an untrusted network environment unless you ensure that it is protected by special firewall rules
and secure settings in the CUPS configuration.

24.7.2 Browsing for network printers

CUPS servers regularly announce the availability and status information of shared printers over the net-
work. Clients can access this information to display a list of available printers in printing dialogs, for ex-
ample. This is called “browsing”.
CUPS servers announce their print queues over the network either via the traditional CUPS browsing
protocol, or via Bonjour/DNS-SD. To enable browsing network print queues, the service cups-browsed
needs to run on all clients that print via CUPS servers. cups-browsed is not started by default. To start
it for the active session, use sudo systemctl start cups-browsed. To ensure it is automatically
started after booting, enable it with sudo systemctl enable cups-browsed on all clients.

379 CUPS and firewall | SLES 15 SP4

In case browsing does not work after having started cups-browsed, the CUPS server(s) probably an-
nounce the network print queues via Bonjour/DNS-SD. In this case you need to additionally install the
package avahi and start the associated service with sudo systemctl start avahi-daemon on all
clients.
See Section 24.7.1, “CUPS and firewall” for information on allowing printer browsing through firewalld.

24.7.3 PPD files in various packages

The YaST printer configuration sets up the queues for CUPS using the PPD files installed in /usr/share/
cups/model. To find the suitable PPD files for the printer model, YaST compares the vendor and model
determined during hardware detection with the vendors and models in all PPD files. For this purpose, the
YaST printer configuration generates a database from the vendor and model information extracted from
the PPD files.
The configuration using only PPD files and no other information sources has the advantage that the PPD
files in /usr/share/cups/model can be modified freely. For example, if you have PostScript printers
the PPD files can be copied directly to /usr/share/cups/model (if they do not already exist in the
manufacturer-PPDs or OpenPrintingPPDs-postscript packages) to achieve an optimum config-
uration for your printers.
Additional PPD files are provided by the following packages:

gutenprint: the Gutenprint driver and its matching PPDs

splix: the SpliX driver and its matching PPDs

OpenPrintingPPDs-ghostscript: PPDs for Ghostscript built-in drivers

OpenPrintingPPDs-hpijs: PPDs for the HPIJS driver for non-HP printers

24.8 Troubleshooting
The following sections cover some of the most frequently encountered printer hardware and software
problems and ways to solve or circumvent these problems. Among the topics covered are GDI printers,
PPD files and port configuration. Common network printer problems, defective printouts, and queue han-
dling are also addressed.

380 PPD files in various packages | SLES 15 SP4

24.8.1 Printers without standard printer language support
These printers do not support any common printer language and can only be addressed with special pro-
prietary control sequences. Therefore they can only work with the operating system versions for which
the manufacturer delivers a driver. GDI is a programming interface developed by Microsoft* for graphics
devices. Usually the manufacturer delivers drivers only for Windows, and since the Windows driver uses
the GDI interface these printers are also called GDI printers. The actual problem is not the programming
interface, but that these printers can only be addressed with the proprietary printer language of the respec-
tive printer model.
Some GDI printers can be switched to operate either in GDI mode or in one of the standard printer lan-
guages. See the manual of the printer whether this is possible. Some models require special Windows
software to do the switch (note that the Windows printer driver may always switch the printer back into
GDI mode when printing from Windows). For other GDI printers there are extension modules for a stan-
dard printer language available.
Some manufacturers provide proprietary drivers for their printers. The disadvantage of proprietary printer
drivers is that there is no guarantee that these work with the installed print system or that they are suitable
for the various hardware platforms. In contrast, printers that support a standard printer language do not
depend on a special print system version or a special hardware platform.
Instead of spending time trying to make a proprietary Linux driver work, it may be more cost-effective to
purchase a printer which supports a standard printer language (preferably PostScript). This would solve
the driver problem once and for all, eliminating the need to install and configure special driver software
and obtain driver updates that may be required because of new developments in the print system.

24.8.2 No suitable PPD file available for a PostScript printer

If the manufacturer-PPDs or OpenPrintingPPDs-postscript packages do not contain a suitable
PPD file for a PostScript printer, it should be possible to use the PPD file from the driver CD of the printer
manufacturer or download a suitable PPD file from the Web page of the printer manufacturer.
If the PPD file is provided as a zip archive (.zip) or a self-extracting zip archive (.exe), unpack it with
unzip. First, review the license terms of the PPD file. Then use the cupstestppd utility to check if the
PPD file complies with “Adobe PostScript Printer Description File Format Specification, version 4.3.” If
the utility returns “FAIL,” the errors in the PPD files are serious and are likely to cause major problems. The
problem spots reported by cupstestppd should be eliminated. If necessary, ask the printer manufacturer
for a suitable PPD file.

381 Printers without standard printer language support | SLES 15 SP4

24.8.3 Network printer connections

Identifying network problems

Connect the printer directly to the computer. For test purposes, configure the printer as a local printer.
If this works, the problems are related to the network.

Checking the TCP/IP network

The TCP/IP network and name resolution must be functional.

Checking a remote lpd

Use the following command to test if a TCP connection can be established to lpd (port 515) on
HOST:

> netcat -z HOST 515 && echo ok || echo failed

If the connection to lpd cannot be established, lpd may not be active or there may be basic network
problems.
Provided that the respective lpd is active and the host accepts queries, run the following command
as root to query a status report for QUEUE on remote HOST:

# echo -e "\004queue" \
| netcat -w 2 -p 722 HOST 515

If lpd does not respond, it may not be active or there may be basic network problems. If lpd re-
sponds, the response should show why printing is not possible on the queue on host. If you receive
a response like that shown in Example 24.1, “Error message from lpd”, the problem is caused by
the remote lpd.

EXAMPLE 24.1: ERROR MESSAGE FROM lpd

lpd: your host does not have line printer access

lpd: queue does not exist
printer: spooling disabled
printer: printing disabled

Checking a remote cupsd

A CUPS network server can broadcast its queues by default every 30 seconds on UDP port 631.
Accordingly, the following command can be used to test whether there is a broadcasting CUPS
network server in the network. Make sure to stop your local CUPS daemon before executing the
command.

> netcat -u -l -p 631 & PID=$! ; sleep 40 ; kill $PID

382 Network printer connections | SLES 15 SP4

 If a broadcasting CUPS network server exists, the output appears as shown in Example 24.2, “Broad-
cast from the CUPS network server”.

EXAMPLE 24.2: BROADCAST FROM THE CUPS NETWORK SERVER

ipp://[Link]:631/printers/queue

IBM Z Take into account that IBM Z Ethernet devices do not receive broadcasts by default.
The following command can be used to test if a TCP connection can be established to cupsd (port
631) on HOST:

> netcat -z HOST 631 && echo ok || echo failed

If the connection to cupsd cannot be established, cupsd may not be active or there may be basic
network problems. lpstat -h HOST -l -t returns a (possibly very long) status report for all queues
on HOST, provided the respective cupsd is active and the host accepts queries.
The next command can be used to test if the QUEUE on HOST accepts a print job consisting of a single
carriage-return character. Nothing should be printed. Possibly, a blank page may be ejected.

> echo -en "\r" \

| lp -d queue -h HOST

Troubleshooting a Network Printer or Print Server Machine

Spoolers running in a print server machine sometimes cause problems when they need to deal with
multiple print jobs. Since this is caused by the spooler in the print server machine, there no way to
resolve this issue. As a work-around, circumvent the spooler in the print server machine by address-
ing the printer connected to the print server machine directly with the TCP socket. See Section 24.4,
“Network printers”.
In this way, the print server machine is reduced to a converter between the various forms of data
transfer (TCP/IP network and local printer connection). To use this method, you need to know the
TCP port on the print server machine. If the printer is connected to the print server machine and
turned on, this TCP port can usually be determined with the nmap utility from the nmap package
some time after the print server machine is powered up. For example, nmap IP-address may
deliver the following output for a print server machine:

Port State Service

23/tcp open telnet
80/tcp open http
515/tcp open printer
631/tcp open cups
9100/tcp open jetdirect

383 Network printer connections | SLES 15 SP4

 This output indicates that the printer connected to the print server machine can be addressed via
TCP socket on port 9100. By default, nmap only checks several commonly known ports listed
in /usr/share/nmap/nmap-services. To check all possible ports, use the command nmap -
p FROM_PORT-TO_PORT IP_ADDRESS. This may take some time. For further information, refer
to the man page of nmap.
Enter a command like

> echo -en "\rHello\r\f" | netcat -w 1 IP-address port

cat file | netcat -w 1 IP-address port

to send character strings or files directly to the respective port to test if the printer can be addressed
on this port.

24.8.4 Defective printouts without error message

For the print system, the print job is completed when the CUPS back-end completes the data transfer to the
recipient (printer). If further processing on the recipient fails (for example, if the printer is not able to print
the printer-specific data) the print system does not notice this. If the printer cannot print the printer-specific
data, select a PPD file that is more suitable for the printer.

24.8.5 Disabled queues

If the data transfer to the recipient fails entirely after several attempts, the CUPS back-end, such as USB or
socket, reports an error to the print system (to cupsd). The back-end determines how many unsuccessful
attempts are appropriate until the data transfer is reported as impossible. As further attempts would be in
vain, cupsd disables printing for the respective queue. After eliminating the cause of the problem, the
system administrator must re-enable printing with the command cupsenable.

24.8.6 CUPS browsing: deleting print jobs

If a CUPS network server broadcasts its queues to the client hosts via browsing and a suitable local cupsd
is active on the client hosts, the client cupsd accepts print jobs from applications and forwards them to
the cupsd on the server. When cupsd on the server accepts a print job, it is assigned a new job number.
Therefore, the job number on the client host is different from the job number on the server. As a print job is
usually forwarded immediately, it cannot be deleted with the job number on the client host This is because
the client cupsd regards the print job as completed when it has been forwarded to the server cupsd.

384 Defective printouts without error message | SLES 15 SP4

To delete the print job on the server, use a command such as lpstat -h [Link] -o to
determine the job number on the server. This assumes that the server has not already completed the print
job (that is, sent it completely to the printer). Use the obtained job number to delete the print job on the
server as follows:

> cancel -h [Link] QUEUE-JOBNUMBER

24.8.7 Defective print jobs and data transfer errors

If you switch the printer off or shut down the computer during the printing process, print jobs remain in
the queue. Printing resumes when the computer (or the printer) is switched back on. Defective print jobs
must be removed from the queue with cancel.
If a print job is corrupted or an error occurs in the communication between the host and the printer, the
printer cannot process the data correctly and prints numerous sheets of paper with unintelligible characters.
To fix the problem, follow these steps:

1. To stop printing, remove all paper from ink jet printers or open the paper trays of laser printers.
High-quality printers have a button for canceling the current printout.

2. The print job may still be in the queue, because jobs are only removed after they are sent completely
to the printer. Use lpstat -o or lpstat -h [Link] -o to check which queue
is currently printing. Delete the print job with cancel QUEUE-JOBNUMBER or cancel -h cup-
[Link] QUEUE-JOBNUMBER.

3. Some data may still be transferred to the printer even though the print job has been deleted from the
queue. Check if a CUPS back-end process is still running for the respective queue and terminate it.

4. Reset the printer completely by switching it off for some time. Then insert the paper and turn on
the printer.

24.8.8 Debugging CUPS

Use the following generic procedure to locate problems in CUPS:

1. Set LogLevel debug in /etc/cups/[Link].

2. Stop cupsd.

3. Remove /var/log/cups/error_log* to avoid having to search through very large log files.

385 Defective print jobs and data transfer errors | SLES 15 SP4
 4. Start cupsd.

5. Repeat the action that led to the problem.

6. Check the messages in /var/log/cups/error_log* to identify the cause of the problem.

24.8.9 More information

In-depth information about printing on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is presented in the openSUSE Sup-
port Database at [Link] . Solutions to many specific problems are
presented in the SUSE Knowledgebase ([Link] ). Locate the relevant articles
with a text search for CUPS.

386 More information | SLES 15 SP4

25 Graphical user interface

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server includes the [Link] server and the GNOME desktop. This
chapter describes the configuration of the graphical user interface for all users.

25.1 X Window System

The [Link] server is the de facto standard for implementing the X11 protocol. X is network-based, enabling
applications started on one host to be displayed on another host connected over any kind of network (LAN
or Internet).
Usually, the X Window System needs no configuration. The hardware is dynamically detected during
X start-up. The use of [Link] is therefore deprecated. If you still need to specify custom options
to change the way X behaves, you can still do so by modifying configuration files under /etc/X11/
[Link].d/.

Tip: IBM Z: configuring the graphical user interface

IBM Z does not have any input or output devices supported by [Link]. Therefore, none of the
configuration procedures described in this section apply. More relevant information for IBM Z can
be found in Book “Deployment Guide”, Chapter 5 “Installation on IBM Z and LinuxONE”.

Install the package xorg-docs to get more in-depth information about X11. man 5 [Link] tells you
more about the format of the manual configuration (if needed). More information on the X11 development
can be found on the project's home page at [Link] .
Drivers are found in xf86-video-* packages, for example xf86-video-ati. Many of the drivers de-
livered with these packages are described in detail in the related manual page. For example, if you use the
ati driver, find more information about this driver in man 4 ati.

Information about third-party drivers is available in /usr/share/doc/packages/<package_name>.

For example, the documentation of x11-video-nvidiaG03 is available in /usr/share/doc/pack-
ages/x11-video-nvidiaG04 after the package was installed.

Install the package xrdp on a server and use RDP client software to access the server via the remote
desktop protocol.

387 X Window System | SLES 15 SP4

25.2 Installing and configuring fonts
Fonts in Linux can be categorized into two parts:

Outline or vector fonts

Contains a mathematical description as drawing instructions about the shape of a glyph. As such,
each glyph can be scaled to arbitrary sizes without loss of quality. Before such a font (or glyph)
can be used, the mathematical descriptions need to be transformed into a raster (grid). This process
is called font rasterization. Font hinting (embedded inside the font) improves and optimizes the
rendering result for a particular size. Rasterization and hinting is done with the FreeType library.
Common formats under Linux are PostScript Type 1 and Type 2, TrueType, and OpenType.

Bitmap or raster fonts

Consists of an array of pixels designed for a specific font size. Bitmap fonts are extremely fast and
simple to render. However, compared to vector fonts, bitmap fonts cannot be scaled without losing
quality. As such, these fonts are usually distributed in different sizes. These days, bitmap fonts are
still used in the Linux console and sometimes in terminals.
Under Linux, Portable Compiled Format (PCF) or Glyph Bitmap Distribution Format (BDF) are the
most common formats.

The appearance of these fonts can be influenced by two main aspects:

choosing a suitable font family,

rendering the font with an algorithm that achieves results comfortable for the receiver's eyes.

The last point is only relevant to vector fonts. Although the above two points are highly subjective, some
defaults need to be created.
Linux font rendering systems consist of several libraries with different relations. The basic font rendering
library is FreeType ([Link] , which converts font glyphs of supported formats into
optimized bitmap glyphs. The rendering process is controlled by an algorithm and its parameters (which
may be subject to patent issues).
Every program or library which uses FreeType should consult the Fontconfig ([Link]
[Link]/) library. This library gathers font configuration from users and from the system. When a user
amends their Fontconfig setting, this change will result in Fontconfig-aware applications.
More sophisticated OpenType shaping needed for scripts such as Arabic, Han or Phags-Pa and other higher
level text processing is done using Harfbuzz ([Link] or Pango ([Link]
[Link]/) .

388 Installing and configuring fonts | SLES 15 SP4

25.2.1 Showing installed fonts
To get an overview about which fonts are installed on your system, ask the commands rpm or fc-list.
Both will give you a good answer, but may return a different list depending on system and user config-
uration:

rpm
Invoke rpm to see which software packages containing fonts are installed on your system:

> rpm -qa '*fonts*'

Every font package should satisfy this expression. However, the command may return some false
positives like fonts-config (which is neither a font nor does it contain fonts).

fc-list
Invoke fc-list to get an overview about what font families can be accessed, whether they are
installed on the system or in your home:

> fc-list ':' family

Note: Command fc-list

The command fc-list is a wrapper to the Fontconfig library. It is possible to query a lot
of interesting information from Fontconfig—or, to be more precise, from its cache. See man
1 fc-list for more details.

25.2.2 Viewing fonts

If you want to know what an installed font family looks like, either use the command ftview (package
ft2demos) or visit [Link] . For example, to display the FreeMono font in 14
point, use ftview like this:

> ftview 14 /usr/share/fonts/truetype/[Link]

If you need further information, go to [Link] to find out which styles (regular,
bold, italic, etc.) and languages are supported.

25.2.3 Querying fonts

To query which font is used when a pattern is given, use the fc-match command.

389 Showing installed fonts | SLES 15 SP4

For example, if your pattern contains an already installed font, fc-match returns the file name, font
family, and the style:

> fc-match 'Liberation Serif'

[Link]: "Liberation Serif" "Regular"

If the desired font does not exist on your system, Fontconfig's matching rules take place and try to find
the most similar fonts available. This means, your request is substituted:

> fc-match 'Foo Family'

[Link]: "DejaVu Sans" "Book"

Fontconfig supports aliases: a name is substituted with another family name. A typical example are the
generic names such as “sans-serif”, “serif”, and “monospace”. These alias names can be substituted by
real family names or even a preference list of family names:

> for font in serif sans mono; do fc-match "$font" ; done

[Link]: "DejaVu Serif" "Book"
[Link]: "DejaVu Sans" "Book"
[Link]: "DejaVu Sans Mono" "Book"

The result may vary on your system, depending on which fonts are currently installed.

Note: Similarity rules according to fontconfig

Fontconfig always returns a real family (if at least one is installed) according to the given request,
as similar as possible. “Similarity” depends on Fontconfig's internal metrics and on the user's or
administrator's Fontconfig settings.

25.2.4 Installing fonts

To install a new font there are these major methods:

1. Manually install the font files such as *.ttf or *.otf to a known font directory. If it needs to be
system-wide, use the standard directory /usr/share/fonts. For installation in your home direc-
tory, use ~/.config/fonts.

390 Installing fonts | SLES 15 SP4

 If you want to deviate from the standard directories, Fontconfig allows you to choose another one.
Let Fontconfig know by using the <dir> element, see Section [Link], “Diving into fontconfig XML”
for details.

2. Install fonts using zypper. Lots of fonts are already available as a package, be it on your SUSE
distribution or in the M17N:fonts ([Link]
repository. Add the repository to your list using the following command. For example, to add a
repository for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4:

> sudo zypper ar

[Link]

To search for your FONT_FAMILY_NAME use this command:

> zypper se 'FONT_FAMILY_NAME*fonts'

25.2.5 Configuring the appearance of fonts

Depending on the rendering medium, and font size, the result may be unsatisfactory. For example, an
average monitor these days has a resolution of 100dpi which makes pixels too big and glyphs look clunky.
There are several algorithms available to deal with low resolutions, such as anti-aliasing (grayscale
smoothing), hinting (fitting to the grid), or subpixel rendering (tripling resolution in one direction). These
algorithms can also differ from one font format to another.
Via Fontconfig, it is possible to select a rendering algorithms for every font individually or for a set of fonts.

[Link] Configuring fonts via sysconfig

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server comes with a sysconfig layer above Fontconfig. This is a good starting
point for experimenting with font configuration. To change the default settings, edit the configuration file
/etc/sysconfig/fonts-config. (or use the YaST sysconfig module). After you have edited the file,
run fonts-config:

> sudo /usr/sbin/fonts-config

391 Configuring the appearance of fonts | SLES 15 SP4

Restart the application to make the effect visible. Keep in mind the following issues:

A few applications do need not to be restarted. For example, Firefox re-reads Fontconfig configu-
ration from time to time. Newly created or reloaded tabs get new font configurations later.

The fonts-config script is called automatically after every package installation or removal (if
not, it is a bug of the font software package).

Every sysconfig variable can be temporarily overridden by the fonts-config command line op-
tion. See fonts-config --help for details.

There are several sysconfig variables which can be altered. See man 1 fonts-config or the help page
of the YaST sysconfig module. The following variables are examples:

Usage of rendering algorithms

Consider FORCE_HINTSTYLE, FORCE_AUTOHINT, FORCE_BW, FORCE_BW_MONOSPACE, USE_EM-
BEDDED_BITMAPS and EMBEDDED_BITMAP_LANGAGES

Preference lists of generic aliases

Use PREFER_SANS_FAMILIES, PREFER_SERIF_FAMILIES, PREFER_MONO_FAMILIES and
SEARCH_METRIC_COMPATIBLE

The following list provides some configuration examples, sorted from the “most readable” fonts (more
contrast) to “most beautiful” (more smoothed).

Bitmap fonts
Prefer bitmap fonts via the PREFER_*_FAMILIES variables. Follow the example in the help section
for these variables. Be aware that these fonts are rendered black and white, not smoothed and that
bitmap fonts are available in several sizes only. Consider using

SEARCH_METRIC_COMPATIBLE="no"

to disable metric compatibility-driven family name substitutions.

Scalable fonts rendered black and white

Scalable fonts rendered without antialiasing can result in a similar outcome to bitmap fonts, while
maintaining font scalability. Use well hinted fonts like the Liberation families. Unfortunately, there
is a lack of well hinted fonts though. Set the following variable to force this method:

FORCE_BW="yes"

392 Configuring the appearance of fonts | SLES 15 SP4

Monospaced fonts rendered black and white
Render monospaced fonts without antialiasing only, otherwise use default settings:

FORCE_BW_MONOSPACE="yes"

Default settings
All fonts are rendered with antialiasing. Well hinted fonts will be rendered with the byte code inter-
preter (BCI) and the rest with autohinter (hintstyle=hintslight). Leave all relevant sysconfig
variables to the default setting.

CFF fonts
Use fonts in CFF format. They can be considered also more readable than the default TrueType
fonts given the current improvements in FreeType2. Try them out by following the example of
PREFER_*_FAMILIES. Possibly make them more dark and bold with:

SEARCH_METRIC_COMPATIBLE="no"

as they are rendered by hintstyle=hintslight by default. Also consider using:

SEARCH_METRIC_COMPATIBLE="no"

Autohinter exclusively
Even for a well hinted font, use FreeType2's autohinter. That can lead to thicker, sometimes fuzzier
letter shapes with lower contrast. Set the following variable to activate this:

FORCE_AUTOHINTER="yes"

Use FORCE_HINTSTYLE to control the level of hinting.

[Link] Diving into fontconfig XML

Fontconfig's configuration format is the eXtensible Markup Language (XML). These few examples are not
a complete reference, but a brief overview. Details and other inspiration can be found in man 5 fonts-
conf or in /etc/fonts/conf.d/.

393 Configuring the appearance of fonts | SLES 15 SP4

The central Fontconfig configuration file is /etc/fonts/[Link], which—along other work—in-
cludes the whole /etc/fonts/conf.d/ directory. To customize Fontconfig, there are two places where
you can insert your changes:

FONTCONFIG CONFIGURATION FILES

1. System-wide changes. Edit the file /etc/fonts/[Link] (by default, it contains an empty
fontconfig element).

2. User-specific changes. Edit the file ~/.config/fontconfig/[Link]. Place Fontconfig

configuration files in the ~/.config/fontconfig/conf.d/ directory.

User-specific changes overwrite any system-wide settings.

Note: Deprecated user configuration file

The file ~/.[Link] is marked as deprecated and should not be used anymore. Use ~/.con-
fig/fontconfig/[Link] instead.

Every configuration file needs to have a fontconfig element. As such, the minimal file looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM "[Link]">
<fontconfig>
<!-- Insert your changes here -->
</fontconfig>

If the default directories are not enough, insert the dir element with the respective directory:

<dir>/usr/share/fonts2</dir>

Fontconfig searches recursively for fonts.

Font-rendering algorithms can be chosen with following Fontconfig snippet (see Example 25.1, “Specifying
rendering algorithms”):

EXAMPLE 25.1: SPECIFYING RENDERING ALGORITHMS

<match target="font">
<test name="family">
<string>FAMILY_NAME</string>
</test>
<edit name="antialias" mode="assign">

394 Configuring the appearance of fonts | SLES 15 SP4

 <bool>true</bool>
</edit>
<edit name="hinting" mode="assign">
<bool>true</bool>
</edit>
<edit name="autohint" mode="assign">
<bool>false</bool>
</edit>
<edit name="hintstyle" mode="assign">
<const>hintfull</const>
</edit>
</match>

Various properties of fonts can be tested. For example, the <test> element can test for the font family
(as shown in the example), size interval, spacing, font format, and others. When abandoning <test>
completely, all <edit> elements will be applied to every font (global change).

EXAMPLE 25.2: ALIASES AND FAMILY NAME SUBSTITUTIONS

Rule 1

<alias>
<family>Alegreya SC</family>
<default>
<family>serif</family>
</default>
</alias>

Rule 2

<alias>
<family>serif</family>
<prefer>
<family>Droid Serif</family>
</prefer>
</alias>

Rule 3

<alias>
<family>serif</family>
<accept>
<family>STIXGeneral</family>
</accept>
</alias>

395 Configuring the appearance of fonts | SLES 15 SP4

The rules from Example 25.2, “Aliases and family name substitutions” create a prioritized family list (PFL).
Depending on the element, different actions are performed:

<default> from Rule 1

This rule adds a serif family name at the end of the PFL.

<prefer> from Rule 2

This rule adds “Droid Serif” just before the first occurrence of serif in the PFL, whenever Ale-
greya SC is in PFL.

<accept> from Rule 3

This rule adds a “STIXGeneral” family name just after the first occurrence of the serif family
name in the PFL.

Putting this together, when snippets occur in the order Rule 1 - Rule 2 - Rule 3 and the user requests
“Alegreya SC”, then the PFL is created as depicted in Table 25.1, “Generating PFL from fontconfig rules”.

TABLE 25.1: GENERATING PFL FROM FONTCONFIG RULES

Order Current PFL

Request Alegreya SC

Rule 1 Alegreya SC, serif

Rule 2 Alegreya SC, Droid Serif, serif

Rule 3 Alegreya SC, Droid Serif, serif, STIXGeneral

In Fontconfig's metrics, the family name has the highest priority over other patterns, like style, size, etc.
Fontconfig checks which family is currently installed on the system. If “Alegreya SC” is installed, then
Fontconfig returns it. If not, it asks for “Droid Serif”, etc.
Be careful. When the order of Fontconfig snippets is changed, Fontconfig can return different results, as
depicted in Table 25.2, “Results from generating PFL from fontconfig rules with changed order”.

TABLE 25.2: RESULTS FROM GENERATING PFL FROM FONTCONFIG RULES WITH CHANGED ORDER

Order Current PFL Note

Request Alegreya SC Same request performed.

396 Configuring the appearance of fonts | SLES 15 SP4

 Order Current PFL Note

Rule 2 Alegreya SC serif not in PFL, nothing is

substituted

Rule 3 Alegreya SC serif not in PFL, nothing is

substituted

Rule 1 Alegreya SC, serif Alegreya SC present in PFL,

substitution is performed

Note: Implication
Think of the <default> alias as a classification or inclusion of this group (if not installed). As
the example shows, <default> should always precede the <prefer> and <accept> aliases of
that group.
<default> classification is not limited to the generic aliases serif, sans-serif and monospace. See /
usr/share/fontconfig/[Link]/[Link] for a complex example.

The following Fontconfig snippet in Example 25.3, “Aliases and family name substitutions” creates a
serif group. Every family in this group could substitute others when a former font is not installed.

EXAMPLE 25.3: ALIASES AND FAMILY NAME SUBSTITUTIONS

<alias>
<family>Alegreya SC</family>
<default>
<family>serif</family>
</default>
</alias>
<alias>
<family>Droid Serif</family>
<default>
<family>serif</family>
</default>
</alias>
<alias>
<family>STIXGeneral</family>
<default>
<family>serif</family>
</default>
</alias>

397 Configuring the appearance of fonts | SLES 15 SP4

<alias>
<family>serif</family>
<accept>
<family>Droid Serif</family>
<family>STIXGeneral</family>
<family>Alegreya SC</family>
</accept>
</alias>

Priority is given by the order in the <accept> alias. Similarly, stronger <prefer> aliases can be used.
Example 25.2, “Aliases and family name substitutions” is expanded by Example 25.4, “Aliases and family
names substitutions”.

EXAMPLE 25.4: ALIASES AND FAMILY NAMES SUBSTITUTIONS

Rule 4

<alias>
<family>serif</family>
<accept>
<family>Liberation Serif</family>
</accept>
</alias>

Rule 5

<alias>
<family>serif</family>
<prefer>
<family>DejaVu Serif</family>
</prefer>
</alias>

The expanded configuration from Example 25.4, “Aliases and family names substitutions” would lead to
the following PFL evolution:

TABLE 25.3: RESULTS FROM GENERATING PFL FROM FONTCONFIG RULES

Order Current PFL

Request Alegreya SC

Rule 1 Alegreya SC, serif

Rule 2 Alegreya SC, Droid Serif, serif

398 Configuring the appearance of fonts | SLES 15 SP4

 Order Current PFL

Rule 3 Alegreya SC, Droid Serif, serif, STIXGeneral

Rule 4 Alegreya SC, Droid Serif, serif, Liberation Serif, STIXGener-

al

Rule 5 Alegreya SC, Droid Serif, DejaVu Serif, serif, Liberation

Serif, STIXGeneral

Note: Implications.
In case multiple <accept> declarations for the same generic name exist, the declaration
that is parsed last “wins”. If possible, do not use <accept> after user (/etc/fonts/con-
f.d/*-[Link]) when creating a system-wide configuration.

In case multiple <prefer declarations for the same generic name exist, the declaration that
is parsed last “wins”. If possible, do not use <prefer> before user in the system-wide con-
figuration.

Every <prefer> declaration overwrites <accept> declarations for the same generic name.
If the administrator wants to allow the user to use <accept> and not only <prefer>, the
administrator should not use <prefer> in the system-wide configuration. On the other hand,
as users mostly use <prefer>, this should not have any detrimental effect. We also see the
use of <prefer> in system-wide configurations.

25.3 GNOME configuration for administrators

25.3.1 The dconf system

Configuration of the GNOME desktop is managed with dconf. It is a hierarchically structured database
or registry that allows users to modify their personal settings, and system administrators to set default or
mandatory values for all users. dconf replaces the gconf system of GNOME 2.
Use dconf-editor to view the dconf options with a graphical user interface. Use dconf to access and
modify configuration options with the command line.

399 GNOME configuration for administrators | SLES 15 SP4

The GNOME Tweaks tool provides an easy-to-use user interface for additional configuration options
beyond the normal GNOME configuration. The tool can be started from the GNOME application menu
or from the command line with gnome-tweak-tool.

25.3.2 System-wide configuration

Global dconf configuration parameters can be set in the /etc/dconf/db/ directory. This includes the
configuration for GDM or locking certain configuration options for users.
Use the following procedure as an example to create a system-wide configuration:

1. Create a new directory that ends with a .d in /etc/dconf/db/. This directory can contain an
arbitrary amount of text files with configuration options. For this example, create the file /etc/
dconf/db/network.d/00-proxy with the following content:

# This is a comment
[system/proxy/http]
host='[Link]'
enabled=true

2. Parse the new configuration directives into the dconf database format:

> sudo dconf update

3. Add the new network configuration database to the default user profile, by creating the file /etc/
dconf/profile/user. Then add the following content:

system-db:network

The file /etc/dconf/profile/user is a GNOME default. Other profiles can be defined in the
environment variable DCONF_PROFILE.

4. Optional: To lock the proxy configuration for users, create the file /etc/dconf/db/net-
work/locks/proxy. Then add a line to this file with the keys that may not be changed:

/system/proxy/http/host
/system/proxy/http/enabled

You can use the graphical dconf-editor to create a profile with one user and then use dconf dump /
to list all configuration options. The configuration options can then be stored in a global profile.

400 System-wide configuration | SLES 15 SP4

A detailed description of the global configuration is available at [Link]
SystemAdministrators .

25.3.3 More information

For more information, see [Link] .

25.4 Switching between Intel and NVIDIA Optimus

GPUs with SUSE Prime
SUSE Prime is a tool for switching between onboard Intel graphical processing units (GPUs), and NVIDIA
GPUs equipped with NVIDIA's "switchable graphics" Optimus technology. Optimus provides a mecha-
nism for easily switching between an onboard Intel GPU and a discrete NVIDIA GPU. This is designed for
running a laptop in a power-saving mode or at maximum performance: use the Intel GPU to save power,
and the NVIDIA GPU for 3D applications.
SUSE Prime works only on systems running X11, not Wayland. If your system runs Wayland, you must
disable it and fall back to X11 if you want to use SUSE Prime (see Section 25.4.1, “Prerequisites”).

25.4.1 Prerequisites
There must not be a /etc/X11/[Link] file, and no configuration files with active "ServerLayout",
"Device", or "Screen" sections in the /etc/X11/[Link].d directory.
SUSE Prime works only with X11. Use the loginctl command to see if your system is using X11 or
Wayland:

> loginctl
SESSION UID USER SEAT TTY
2 1000 tux seat0
> loginctl show-session 2|grep Type
Type=x11

If your system uses Wayland, disable it by editing /etc/gdm/[Link] and un-commenting Way-
landEnable=false. Then reboot.

401 More information | SLES 15 SP4

25.4.2 Installing and using SUSE Prime
Your NVIDIA graphics card should already be installed and working. If it is not, see Section 25.4.3,
“Installing NVIDIA drivers”.

Install the suse-prime package:

> sudo zypper install suse-prime

To switch your GPU run one of the following commands, then log out and log back in:

> sudo prime-select intel

> sudo prime-select intel2
> sudo prime-select nvidia

Use the intel driver when it is the modesetting driver. intel2 is for systems that use the xf86-video-
intel driver. You can get this information by installing and running inxi:

> inxi -G
Graphics: Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics
Controller
Display Server: x11([Link] 1.20.1 ) drivers: modesetting (unloaded: fbdev, vesa)
Resolution: 1920x1080@60.00hz
OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Haswell Desktop version: 4.5 Mesa 18.2.8

Which GPU is currently active?

> sudo /usr/sbin/prime-select get-current

Driver configured: intel

25.4.3 Installing NVIDIA drivers

If you need to identify your NVIDIA card so you know which driver to use, run the following command:

> /sbin/lspci | grep -i nvidia

Follow these steps to install the drivers with Zypper.

List the available driver packages:

> sudo zypper se nvidia

Then install the drivers for your NVIDIA graphics card:

> sudo zypper se packagename

402 Installing and using SUSE Prime | SLES 15 SP4

26 Accessing file systems with FUSE

FUSE is the acronym for Filesystem in Userspace. This means you can configure and mount
a file system as an unprivileged user. Normally, you need to be root for this task. FUSE
alone is a kernel module. Combined with plug-ins, it allows you to extend FUSE to access
almost all file systems like remote SSH connections, ISO images, and more.

26.1 Configuring FUSE

Before you can use FUSE, you need to install the package fuse. Depending which file system you want
to use, you need additional plug-ins available as separate packages.
Generally you do not need to configure FUSE. However, it is a good idea to create a directory where
all your mount points are combined. For example, you can create a directory ~/mounts and insert your
subdirectories for your different file systems there.

26.2 Mounting an NTFS partition

NTFS, the New Technology File System, is the default file system of Windows. Since under normal cir-
cumstances the unprivileged user cannot mount NTFS block devices using the external FUSE library,
the process of mounting a Windows partition described below requires root privileges. Mounting NTFS
partitions is supported on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop with SUSE
Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension only.

1. Become root and install the package ntfs-3g. It is available in SUSE Linux Enterprise Worksta-
tion Extension.

2. Create a directory that is to be used as a mount point, for example ~/mounts/windows.

3. Find out which Windows partition you need. Use YaST and start the partitioner module to see which
partition belongs to Windows, but do not modify anything. Alternatively, become root and execute
/sbin/fdisk -l. Look for partitions with a partition type of HPFS/NTFS.

4. Mount the partition in read-write mode. Replace the placeholder DEVICE with your respective Win-
dows partition:

> ntfs-3g /dev/DEVICE MOUNT POINT

403 Configuring FUSE | SLES 15 SP4

 To use your Windows partition in read-only mode, append -o ro:

> ntfs-3g /dev/DEVICE MOUNT POINT -o ro

The command ntfs-3g uses the current user (UID) and group (GID) to mount the given device.
If you want to set the write permissions to a different user, use the command id USER to get the
output of the UID and GID values. Set it with:

# id tux
uid=1000(tux) gid=100(users) groups=100(users),16(dialout),33(video)
ntfs-3g /dev/DEVICE MOUNT POINT -o uid=1000,gid=100

Find additional options in the man page.

To unmount the resource, run fusermount -u MOUNT POINT.

26.3 More information

For more information, see the home page of FUSE at [Link] .

404 More information | SLES 15 SP4

27 Installing multiple kernel versions

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server supports the parallel installation of multiple kernel versions.
When installing a second kernel, a boot entry and an initrd are automatically created, so no
further manual configuration is needed. When rebooting the machine, the newly added ker-
nel is available as an additional boot parameter.
Using this functionality, you can safely test kernel updates while being able to always fall
back to the proven former kernel. To do this, do not use the update tools (such as the YaST
Online Update or the updater applet), but instead follow the process described in this chapter.

Warning: Support entitlement

Be aware that you lose your entire support entitlement for the machine when installing a self-
compiled or a third-party kernel. Only kernels shipped with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and
kernels delivered via the official update channels for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server are supported.

Tip: Check your boot loader configuration kernel

It is recommended to check your boot loader configuration after having installed another kernel
to set the default boot entry of your choice. See Section 18.3, “Configuring the boot loader with
YaST” for more information.

27.1 Enabling and configuring multiversion support

Installing multiple versions of a software package (multiversion support) is enabled by default from SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server 12. To verify this setting, proceed as follows:

1. Open /etc/zypp/[Link] with the editor of your choice as root.

2. Search for the string multiversion. If multiversion is enabled for all kernel packages capable of
this feature, the following line appears uncommented:

multiversion = provides:multiversion(kernel)

3. To restrict multiversion support to certain kernel flavors, add the package names as a comma-sep-
arated list to the multiversion option in /etc/zypp/[Link]—for example

405 Enabling and configuring multiversion support | SLES 15 SP4

 multiversion = kernel-default,kernel-default-base,kernel-source

4. Save your changes.

Warning: Kernel Module Packages (KMP)

Make sure that required vendor-provided kernel modules (Kernel Module Packages) are also in-
stalled for the new updated kernel. The kernel update process will not warn about eventually miss-
ing kernel modules because package requirements are still fulfilled by the old kernel that is kept
on the system.

27.1.1 Automatically deleting unused kernels

When frequently testing new kernels with multiversion support enabled, the boot menu quickly becomes
confusing. Since a /boot partition usually has limited space you also might run into trouble with /boot
overflowing. While you can delete unused kernel versions manually with YaST or Zypper (as described
below), you can also configure libzypp to automatically delete kernels no longer used. By default no
kernels are deleted.

1. Open /etc/zypp/[Link] with the editor of your choice as root.

2. Search for the string [Link] and activate this option by uncommenting the line.
This option takes a comma-separated list of the following values:

5.3.18-53.3: keep the kernel with the specified version number

latest: keep the kernel with the highest version number

latest-N: keep the kernel with the Nth highest version number

running: keep the running kernel

oldest: keep the kernel with the lowest version number (the one that was originally shipped with
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server)

oldest+N. keep the kernel with the Nth lowest version number
Here are some examples

406 Automatically deleting unused kernels | SLES 15 SP4

 [Link] = latest,running
Keep the latest kernel and the one currently running. This is similar to not enabling the mul-
tiversion feature, except that the old kernel is removed after the next reboot and not immedi-
ately after the installation.

[Link] = latest,latest-1,running
Keep the last two kernels and the one currently running.

[Link] = latest,running,5.3.18-53.3
Keep the latest kernel, the one currently running, and 5.3.18-53.3.

Tip: Keep the running kernel

Unless you are using a special setup, always keep the kernel marked running.
If you do not keep the running kernel, it will be deleted when updating the kernel. In turn,
this means that all of the running kernel's modules are also deleted and cannot be loaded
anymore.
If you decide not to keep the running kernel, always reboot immediately after a kernel up-
grade to avoid issues with modules.

27.1.2 Use case: Deleting an old kernel after reboot only

You want to make sure that an old kernel will only be deleted after the system has rebooted successfully
with the new kernel.
Change the following line in /etc/zypp/[Link]:

[Link] = latest,running

The previous parameters tell the system to keep the latest kernel and the running one only if they differ.

27.1.3 Use case: Keeping older kernels as fallback

You want to keep one or more kernel versions to have one or more “spare” kernels.
This can be useful if you need kernels for testing. If something goes wrong (for example, your machine
does not boot), you still can use one or more kernel versions which are known to be good.

407 Use case: Deleting an old kernel after reboot only | SLES 15 SP4
Change the following line in /etc/zypp/[Link]:

[Link] = latest,latest-1,latest-2,running

When you reboot your system after the installation of a new kernel, the system will keep three kernels:
the current kernel (configured as latest,running) and its two immediate predecessors (configured as
latest-1 and latest-2).

27.1.4 Use case: Keeping a specific kernel version

You make regular system updates and install new kernel versions. However, you are also compiling your
own kernel version and want to make sure that the system will keep them.
Change the following line in /etc/zypp/[Link]:

[Link] = latest,5.3.18-53.3,running

When you reboot your system after the installation of a new kernel, the system will keep two kernels: the
new and running kernel (configured as latest,running) and your self-compiled kernel (configured as
5.3.18-53.3).

27.2 Installing/removing multiple kernel versions with

YaST
You can install or remove multiple kernels with YaST:

1. Start YaST and open the software manager via Software Software Management.

2. List all packages capable of providing multiple versions by choosing View Package Classifica-
tion Multiversion Packages.

408 Use case: Keeping a specific kernel version | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 27.1: THE YAST SOFTWARE MANAGER: MULTIVERSION VIEW

3. Select a package and open its Version tab in the bottom pane on the left.

4. To install a package, click the check box next to it. A green check mark indicates it is selected for
installation.
To remove an already installed package (marked with a white check mark), click the check box next
to it until a red X indicates it is selected for removal.

5. Click Accept to start the installation.

27.3 Installing/removing multiple kernel versions with

Zypper
You can install or remove multiple kernels with zypper:

1. Use the command zypper se -s 'kernel*' to display a list of all kernel packages available:

S | Name | Type | Version | Arch | Repository

---+----------------------+---------+-------------------+--------
+------------------------------------------------------

409 Installing/removing multiple kernel versions with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

 i+ | kernel-default | package | 5.14.21-150400.6.3 | x86_64 | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
| kernel-default-base | package | 5.14.21-150400.6.3.150400.22.27 | x86_64 | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
| kernel-default-devel | package | 5.14.21-150400.6.3 | x86_64 | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
| kernel-devel | package | 5.14.21-150400.6.4 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-all | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-amdgpu | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-ath10k | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-ath11k | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-atheros | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-bluetooth | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-bnx2 | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-brcm | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-chelsio | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-dpaa2 | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-i915 | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-intel | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-iwlwifi | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-liquidio | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-marvell | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-media | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-mediatek | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-mellanox | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-mwifiex | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-network | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-nfp | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-nvidia | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-platform | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-prestera | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool

410 Installing/removing multiple kernel versions with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

 i | kernel-firmware-qcom | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-qlogic | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-radeon | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-realtek | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-serial | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-sound | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-ti | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-ueagle | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
i | kernel-firmware-usb-network | package | 20220119-150400.1.1 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool
| kernel-macros | package | 5.14.21-150400.6.4 | noarch | SLE-Module-
Basesystem15-SP4-Pool

2. Specify the exact version when installing:

> sudo zypper in kernel-default-5.3.18-53.3

3. When uninstalling a kernel, use the commands zypper se -si 'kernel*' to list all kernels
installed and zypper rm PACKAGENAME-VERSION to remove the package.

411 Installing/removing multiple kernel versions with Zypper | SLES 15 SP4

28 Managing kernel modules

Although Linux is a monolithic kernel, it can be extended using kernel modules. These are special objects
that can be inserted into the kernel and removed on demand. In practical terms, kernel modules make it
possible to add and remove drivers and interfaces that are not included in the kernel itself. Linux provides
several commands for managing kernel modules.

28.1 Listing loaded modules with lsmod and modinfo

Use the lsmod command to view what kernel modules are currently loaded. The output of the command
may look as follows:

> lsmod
Module Size Used by
snd_usb_audio 188416 2
snd_usbmidi_lib 36864 1 snd_usb_audio
hid_plantronics 16384 0
snd_rawmidi 36864 1 snd_usbmidi_lib
snd_seq_device 16384 1 snd_rawmidi
fuse 106496 3
nfsv3 45056 1
nfs_acl 16384 1 nfsv3

The output is divided into three columns. The Module column lists the names of the loaded modules, while
the Size column displays the size of each module. The Used by column shows the number of referring
modules and their names. Note that this list may be incomplete.
To view detailed information about a specific kernel module, use the modinfo MODULE_NAME command,
where MODULE_NAME is the name of the desired kernel module. Note that the modinfo binary resides in
the /sbin directory that is not in the user's PATH environment variable. This means that you must specify
the full path to the binary when running modinfo command as a regular user:

> /sbin/modinfo kvm

filename: /lib/modules/5.3.18-57-default/kernel/arch/x86/kvm/[Link]
license: GPL
author: Qumranet
suserelease: SLE15-SP3
srcversion: 3D8FBA9060D4537359A06FC
depends: irqbypass
supported: yes
retpoline: Y

412 Listing loaded modules with lsmod and modinfo | SLES 15 SP4
intree: Y
name: kvm
vermagic: 5.3.18-57-default SMP mod_unload modversions

28.2 Adding and removing kernel modules

While it is possible to use insmod and rmmod to add and remove kernel modules, it is recommended
to use the modprobe tool instead. modprobe offers several important advantages, including automatic
dependency resolution and blacklisting.
When used without any parameters, the modprobe command installs a specified kernel module. modprobe
must be run with root privileges:

> sudo modprobe acpi

To remove a kernel module, use the -r parameter:

> sudo modprobe -r acpi

28.2.1 Loading kernel modules automatically on boot

Instead of loading kernel modules manually, you can load them automatically during the boot process
using the [Link] service. To enable a kernel module, add a .conf file to the
/etc/modules-load.d/ directory. It is good practice to give the configuration file the same name as
the module, for example:

/etc/modules-load.d/[Link]

The configuration file must contain the name of the desired kernel module (for example, rt2800usb).
The described technique allows you to load kernel modules without any parameters. If you need to load a
kernel module with specific options, add a configuration file to the /etc/modprobe.d/ directory instead.
The file must have the .conf extension. The name of the file should adhere to the following naming
convention: [Link], for example: [Link]. The configuration file
must contain the name of the kernel module and the desired parameters. You can use the example command
below to create a configuration file containing the name of the kernel module and its parameters:

> echo "options thinkpad_acpi fan_control=1" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/[Link]

413 Adding and removing kernel modules | SLES 15 SP4

 Note: Loading kernel modules
Most kernel modules are loaded by the system automatically when a device is detected or user space
requests specific functionality. Thus, adding modules manually to /etc/modules-load.d/ is
rarely required.

28.2.2 Blacklisting kernel modules with modprobe

Blacklisting a kernel module prevents it from loading during the boot process. This can be useful when
you want to disable a module that you suspect is causing problems on your system. Note that you can still
load blacklisted kernel modules manually using the insmod or modprobe tools.
To blacklist a module, create a file /etc/modprobe.d/60-blacklist-MODULE_NAME.conf with the
following content:

blacklist MODULE_NAME

Run the dracut command as root to generate a new initrd image, then reboot your machine (replace
NAME with the name of the current initrd and KERNELVERSION with the currently running kernel):

> su
echo "blacklist nouveau" >> /etc/modprobe.d/[Link]
/usr/bin/dracut --logfile /var/log/YaST2/[Link] --force /boot/$initrd-NAME
$KERNELVERSION
reboot

To disable a kernel module temporarily only, blacklist it on-the-fly during the boot. To do this, press the
E key when you see the boot screen. This drops you into a minimal editor that allows you to modify
boot parameters. Locate the line that looks as follows:

linux /boot/vmlinuz...splash= silent quiet showopts

Add the [Link]=MODULE_NAME command to the end of the line. For example:

linux /boot/vmlinuz...splash= silent quiet showopts [Link]=nouveau

Press F10 or Ctrl – X to boot with the specified configuration.

To blacklist a kernel module permanently via GRUB, open the /etc/default/grub file for editing, and
add the [Link]=MODULE_NAME option to the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX command. Then
run the sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/[Link] command to enable the changes.

414 Blacklisting kernel modules with modprobe | SLES 15 SP4

29 Dynamic kernel device management with udev

The kernel can add or remove almost any device in a running system. Changes in the device state (whether
a device is plugged in or removed) need to be propagated to user space. Devices need to be configured
when they are plugged in and recognized. Users of a certain device need to be informed about any changes
in this device's recognized state. udev provides the needed infrastructure to dynamically maintain the
device node files and symbolic links in the /dev directory. udev rules provide a way to plug external tools
into the kernel device event processing. This allows you to customize udev device handling by adding
certain scripts to execute as part of kernel device handling, or request and import additional data to evaluate
during device handling.

29.1 The /dev directory

The device nodes in the /dev directory provide access to the corresponding kernel devices. With udev, the
/dev directory reflects the current state of the kernel. Every kernel device has one corresponding device
file. If a device is disconnected from the system, the device node is removed.
The content of the /dev directory is kept on a temporary file system and all files are rendered at every
system start-up. Manually created or modified files do not, by design, survive a reboot. Static files and
directories that should always be in the /dev directory regardless of the state of the corresponding ker-
nel device can be created with systemd-tmpfiles. The configuration files are found in /usr/lib/tmp-
files.d/ and /etc/tmpfiles.d/; for more information, see the systemd-tmpfiles(8) man page.

29.2 Kernel uevents and udev

The required device information is exported by the sysfs file system. For every device the kernel has
detected and initialized, a directory with the device name is created. It contains attribute files with de-
vice-specific properties.
Every time a device is added or removed, the kernel sends a uevent to notify udev of the change. The
udev daemon reads and parses all rules from the /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/*.rules and /etc/udev/
rules.d/*.rules files at start-up and keeps them in memory. If rules files are changed, added or re-
moved, the daemon can reload their in-memory representation with the command udevadm control --
reload. For more details on udev rules and their syntax, refer to Section 29.6, “Influencing kernel device
event handling with udev rules”.

415 The /dev directory | SLES 15 SP4

Every received event is matched against the set of provides rules. The rules can add or change event
environment keys, request a specific name for the device node to create, add symbolic links pointing to
the node or add programs to run after the device node is created. The driver core uevents are received
from a kernel netlink socket.

29.3 Drivers, kernel modules and devices

The kernel bus drivers probe for devices. For every detected device, the kernel creates an internal device
structure while the driver core sends a uevent to the udev daemon. Bus devices identify themselves by a
specially-formatted ID, which tells what kind of device it is. Usually these IDs consist of vendor and prod-
uct ID and other subsystem-specific values. Every bus has its own scheme for these IDs, called MODALIAS.
The kernel takes the device information, composes a MODALIAS ID string from it and sends that string
along with the event. For a USB mouse, it looks like this:

MODALIAS=usb:v046DpC03Ed2000dc00dsc00dp00ic03isc01ip02

Every device driver carries a list of known aliases for devices it can handle. The list is contained in the
kernel module file itself. The program depmod reads the ID lists and creates the file [Link] in
the kernel's /lib/modules directory for all currently available modules. With this infrastructure, mod-
ule loading is as easy as calling modprobe for every event that carries a MODALIAS key. If modprobe
$MODALIAS is called, it matches the device alias composed for the device with the aliases provided by the
modules. If a matching entry is found, that module is loaded. All this is automatically triggered by udev.

29.4 Booting and initial device setup

All device events happening during the boot process before the udev daemon is running are lost, because
the infrastructure to handle these events resides on the root file system and is not available at that time.
To cover that loss, the kernel provides a uevent file located in the device directory of every device in the
sysfs file system. By writing add to that file, the kernel resends the same event as the one lost during
boot. A simple loop over all uevent files in /sys triggers all events again to create the device nodes and
perform device setup.
As an example, a USB mouse present during boot may not be initialized by the early boot logic, because
the driver is not available at that time. The event for the device discovery was lost and failed to find
a kernel module for the device. Instead of manually searching for connected devices, udev requests all

416 Drivers, kernel modules and devices | SLES 15 SP4

device events from the kernel after the root file system is available, so the event for the USB mouse device
runs again. Now it finds the kernel module on the mounted root file system and the USB mouse can be
initialized.
From user space, there is no visible difference between a device coldplug sequence and a device discovery
during runtime. In both cases, the same rules are used to match and the same configured programs are run.

29.5 Monitoring the running udev daemon

The program udevadm monitor can be used to visualize the driver core events and the timing of the
udev event processes.

UEVENT[1185238505.276660] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb3/3-1 (usb)

UDEV [1185238505.279198] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb3/3-1 (usb)
UEVENT[1185238505.279527] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb3/3-1/3-1:1.0 (usb)
UDEV [1185238505.285573] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb3/3-1/3-1:1.0 (usb)
UEVENT[1185238505.298878] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb3/3-1/3-1:1.0/input/
input10 (input)
UDEV [1185238505.305026] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb3/3-1/3-1:1.0/input/
input10 (input)
UEVENT[1185238505.305442] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb3/3-1/3-1:1.0/input/
input10/mouse2 (input)
UEVENT[1185238505.306440] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb3/3-1/3-1:1.0/input/
input10/event4 (input)
UDEV [1185238505.325384] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb3/3-1/3-1:1.0/input/
input10/event4 (input)
UDEV [1185238505.342257] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb3/3-1/3-1:1.0/input/
input10/mouse2 (input)

The UEVENT lines show the events the kernel has sent over netlink. The UDEV lines show the finished udev
event handlers. The timing is printed in microseconds. The time between UEVENT and UDEV is the time
udev took to process this event or the udev daemon has delayed its execution to synchronize this event
with related and already running events. For example, events for hard disk partitions always wait for the
main disk device event to finish, because the partition events may rely on the data that the main disk event
has queried from the hardware.
udevadm monitor --env shows the complete event environment:

ACTION=add
DEVPATH=/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb3/3-1/3-1:1.0/input/input10
SUBSYSTEM=input
SEQNUM=1181
NAME="Logitech USB-PS/2 Optical Mouse"

417 Monitoring the running udev daemon | SLES 15 SP4

PHYS="usb-0000:00:1d.2-1/input0"
UNIQ=""
EV=7
KEY=70000 0 0 0 0
REL=103
MODALIAS=input:b0003v046DpC03Ee0110-e0,1,2,k110,111,112,r0,1,8,amlsfw

udev also sends messages to syslog. The default syslog priority that controls which messages are sent to
syslog is specified in the udev configuration file /etc/udev/[Link]. The log priority of the running
daemon can be changed with udevadm control --log_priority=LEVEL/NUMBER.

29.6 Influencing kernel device event handling with

udev rules
A udev rule can match any property the kernel adds to the event itself or any information that the kernel
exports to sysfs. The rule can also request additional information from external programs. Events are
matched against all rules provided in the directories /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/ (for default rules) and
/etc/udev/rules.d (system-specific configuration).

Every line in the rules file contains at least one key value pair. There are two kinds of keys, match and
assignment keys. If all match keys match their values, the rule is applied and the assignment keys are
assigned the specified value. A matching rule may specify the name of the device node, add symbolic
links pointing to the node or run a specified program as part of the event handling. If no matching rule is
found, the default device node name is used to create the device node. Detailed information about the rule
syntax and the provided keys to match or import data are described in the udev man page. The following
example rules provide a basic introduction to udev rule syntax. The example rules are all taken from the
udev default rule set /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/[Link].

EXAMPLE 29.1: EXAMPLE udev RULES

# console
KERNEL=="console", MODE="0600", OPTIONS="last_rule"

# serial devices
KERNEL=="ttyUSB*", ATTRS{product}=="[Pp]alm*Handheld*", SYMLINK+="pilot"

# printer
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", KERNEL=="lp*", NAME="usb/%k", SYMLINK+="usb%k", GROUP="lp"

# kernel firmware loader

SUBSYSTEM=="firmware", ACTION=="add", RUN+="[Link]"

418 Influencing kernel device event handling with udev rules | SLES 15 SP4
The console rule consists of three keys: one match key (KERNEL) and two assign keys (MODE, OPTIONS).
The KERNEL match rule searches the device list for any items of the type console. Only exact matches
are valid and trigger this rule to be executed. The MODE key assigns special permissions to the device node,
in this case, read and write permissions to the owner of this device only. The OPTIONS key makes this
rule the last rule to be applied to any device of this type. Any later rule matching this particular device
type does not have any effect.
The serial devices rule is not available in [Link] anymore, but it is still worth
considering. It consists of two match keys (KERNEL and ATTRS) and one assign key (SYMLINK). The
KERNEL key searches for all devices of the ttyUSB type. Using the * wild card, this key matches several of
these devices. The second match key, ATTRS, checks whether the product attribute file in sysfs for any
ttyUSB device contains a certain string. The assign key (SYMLINK) triggers the addition of a symbolic link
to this device under /dev/pilot. The operator used in this key (+=) tells udev to additionally perform
this action, even if previous or later rules add other symbolic links. As this rule contains two match keys,
it is only applied if both conditions are met.
The printer rule deals with USB printers and contains two match keys which must both apply to get the
entire rule applied (SUBSYSTEM and KERNEL). Three assign keys deal with the naming for this device type
(NAME), the creation of symbolic device links (SYMLINK) and the group membership for this device type
(GROUP). Using the * wild card in the KERNEL key makes it match several lp printer devices. Substitutions
are used in both, the NAME and the SYMLINK keys to extend these strings by the internal device name. For
example, the symbolic link to the first lp USB printer would read /dev/usblp0.
The kernel firmware loader rule makes udev load additional firmware by an external helper script
during runtime. The SUBSYSTEM match key searches for the firmware subsystem. The ACTION key
checks whether any device belonging to the firmware subsystem has been added. The RUN+= key triggers
the execution of the [Link] script to locate the firmware that is to be loaded.
Some general characteristics are common to all rules:

Each rule consists of one or more key value pairs separated by a comma.

A key's operation is determined by the operator. udev rules support several operators.

Each given value must be enclosed by quotation marks.

Each line of the rules file represents one rule. If a rule is longer than one line, use \ to join the
different lines as you would do in shell syntax.

udev rules support a shell-style pattern that matches the *, ?, and [] patterns.

udev rules support substitutions.

419 Influencing kernel device event handling with udev rules | SLES 15 SP4
29.6.1 Using operators in udev rules
Creating keys you can choose from several operators, depending on the type of key you want to create.
Match keys will normally be used to find a value that either matches or explicitly mismatches the search
value. Match keys contain either of the following operators:

==
Compare for equality. If the key contains a search pattern, all results matching this pattern are valid.

!=
Compare for non-equality. If the key contains a search pattern, all results matching this pattern are
valid.

Any of the following operators can be used with assign keys:

=
Assign a value to a key. If the key previously consisted of a list of values, the key resets and only
the single value is assigned.

+=
Add a value to a key that contains a list of entries.

:=
Assign a final value. Disallow any later change by later rules.

29.6.2 Using substitutions in udev rules

udev rules support the use of placeholders and substitutions. Use them in a similar fashion as you would
do in any other scripts. The following substitutions can be used with udev rules:

%r, $root
The device directory, /dev by default.

%p, $devpath
The value of DEVPATH.

%k, $kernel
The value of KERNEL or the internal device name.

%n, $number
The device number.

420 Using operators in udev rules | SLES 15 SP4

%N, $tempnode
The temporary name of the device file.

%M, $major
The major number of the device.

%m, $minor
The minor number of the device.

%s{ATTRIBUTE}, $attr{ATTRIBUTE}
The value of a sysfs attribute (specified by ATTRIBUTE).

%E{VARIABLE}, $env{VARIABLE}
The value of an environment variable (specified by VARIABLE).

%c, $result
The output of PROGRAM.

%%
The % character.

$$
The $ character.

29.6.3 Using udev match keys

Match keys describe conditions that must be met before a udev rule can be applied. The following match
keys are available:

ACTION
The name of the event action, for example, add or remove when adding or removing a device.

DEVPATH
The device path of the event device, for example, DEVPATH=/bus/pci/drivers/ipw3945 to
search for all events related to the ipw3945 driver.

KERNEL
The internal (kernel) name of the event device.

SUBSYSTEM
The subsystem of the event device, for example, SUBSYSTEM=usb for all events related to USB
devices.

421 Using udev match keys | SLES 15 SP4

ATTR{FILENAME}
sysfs attributes of the event device. To match a string contained in the vendor attribute file name,
you could use ATTR{vendor}=="On[sS]tream", for example.

KERNELS
Let udev search the device path upward for a matching device name.

SUBSYSTEMS
Let udev search the device path upward for a matching device subsystem name.

DRIVERS
Let udev search the device path upward for a matching device driver name.

ATTRS{FILENAME}
Let udev search the device path upward for a device with matching sysfs attribute values.

ENV{KEY}
The value of an environment variable, for example, ENV{ID_BUS}="ieee1394 to search for all
events related to the FireWire bus ID.

PROGRAM
Let udev execute an external program. To be successful, the program must return with exit code
zero. The program's output, printed to STDOUT, is available to the RESULT key.

RESULT
Match the output string of the last PROGRAM call. Either include this key in the same rule as the
PROGRAM key or in a later one.

29.6.4 Using udev assign keys

In contrast to the match keys described above, assign keys do not describe conditions that must be met.
They assign values, names and actions to the device nodes maintained by udev.

NAME
The name of the device node to be created. After a rule has set a node name, all other rules with a
NAME key for this node are ignored.

SYMLINK
The name of a symbolic link related to the node to be created. Multiple matching rules can add
symbolic links to be created with the device node. You can also specify multiple symbolic links for
one node in one rule using the space character to separate the symbolic link names.

422 Using udev assign keys | SLES 15 SP4

OWNER, GROUP, MODE
The permissions for the new device node. Values specified here overwrite anything that has been
compiled in.

ATTR{KEY}
Specify a value to be written to a sysfs attribute of the event device. If the == operator is used, this
key is also used to match against the value of a sysfs attribute.

ENV{KEY}
Tell udev to export a variable to the environment. If the == operator is used, this key is also used
to match against an environment variable.

RUN
Tell udev to add a program to the list of programs to be executed for this device. Keep in mind to
restrict this to very short tasks to avoid blocking further events for this device.

LABEL
Add a label where a GOTO can jump to.

GOTO
Tell udev to skip several rules and continue with the one that carries the label referenced by the
GOTO key.

IMPORT{TYPE}
Load variables into the event environment such as the output of an external program. udev imports
variables of several types. If no type is specified, udev tries to determine the type itself based on
the executable bit of the file permissions.

program tells udev to execute an external program and import its output.

file tells udev to import a text file.

parent tells udev to import the stored keys from the parent device.

WAIT_FOR_SYSFS
Tells udev to wait for the specified sysfs file to be created for a certain device. For example,
WAIT_FOR_SYSFS="ioerr_cnt" informs udev to wait until the ioerr_cnt file has been created.

OPTIONS
The OPTION key may have several values:

last_rule tells udev to ignore all later rules.

ignore_device tells udev to ignore this event completely.

423 Using udev assign keys | SLES 15 SP4

 ignore_remove tells udev to ignore all later remove events for the device.

all_partitions tells udev to create device nodes for all available partitions on a block
device.

29.7 Persistent device naming

The dynamic device directory and the udev rules infrastructure make it possible to provide stable names
for all disk devices—regardless of their order of recognition or the connection used for the device. Every
appropriate block device the kernel creates is examined by tools with special knowledge about certain
buses, drive types or file systems. Along with the dynamic kernel-provided device node name, udev main-
tains classes of persistent symbolic links pointing to the device:

/dev/disk
|-- by-id
| |-- scsi-SATA_HTS726060M9AT00_MRH453M4HWHG7B -> ../../sda
| |-- scsi-SATA_HTS726060M9AT00_MRH453M4HWHG7B-part1 -> ../../sda1
| |-- scsi-SATA_HTS726060M9AT00_MRH453M4HWHG7B-part6 -> ../../sda6
| |-- scsi-SATA_HTS726060M9AT00_MRH453M4HWHG7B-part7 -> ../../sda7
| |-- usb-Generic_STORAGE_DEVICE_02773 -> ../../sdd
| `-- usb-Generic_STORAGE_DEVICE_02773-part1 -> ../../sdd1
|-- by-label
| |-- Photos -> ../../sdd1
| |-- SUSE10 -> ../../sda7
| `-- devel -> ../../sda6
|-- by-path
| |-- pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-0:0:0:0 -> ../../sda
| |-- pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-0:0:0:0-part1 -> ../../sda1
| |-- pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-0:0:0:0-part6 -> ../../sda6
| |-- pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-0:0:0:0-part7 -> ../../sda7
| |-- pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-1:0:0:0 -> ../../sr0
| |-- usb-02773:0:0:2 -> ../../sdd
| |-- usb-02773:0:0:2-part1 -> ../../sdd1
`-- by-uuid
|-- 159a47a4-e6e6-40be-a757-a629991479ae -> ../../sda7
|-- 3e999973-00c9-4917-9442-b7633bd95b9e -> ../../sda6
`-- 4210-8F8C -> ../../sdd1

424 Persistent device naming | SLES 15 SP4

29.8 Files used by udev
/sys/*
Virtual file system provided by the Linux kernel, exporting all currently known devices. This infor-
mation is used by udev to create device nodes in /dev

/dev/*
Dynamically created device nodes and static content created with systemd-tmpfiles; for more infor-
mation, see the systemd-tmpfiles(8) man page.

The following files and directories contain the crucial elements of the udev infrastructure:

/etc/udev/[Link]
Main udev configuration file.

/etc/udev/rules.d/*
System-specific udev event matching rules. You can add custom rules here to modify or override
the default rules from /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/*.
Files are parsed in alphanumeric order. Rules from files with a higher priority modify or override
rules with lower priority. The lower the number, the higher the priority.

/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/*
Default udev event matching rules. The files in this directory are owned by packages and will be
overwritten by updates. Do not add, remove or edit files here, use /etc/udev/rules.d instead.

/usr/lib/udev/*
Helper programs called from udev rules.

/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/ and /etc/tmpfiles.d/

Responsible for static /dev content.

29.9 More information

For more information about the udev infrastructure, refer to the following man pages:

udev
General information about udev, keys, rules and other important configuration issues.

425 Files used by udev | SLES 15 SP4

udevadm
udevadm can be used to control the runtime behavior of udev, request kernel events, manage the
event queue and provide simple debugging mechanisms.

udevd
Information about the udev event managing daemon.

426 More information | SLES 15 SP4

30 Special system features

This chapter starts with information about various software packages, the virtual consoles
and the keyboard layout. We talk about software components like bash, cron and logro-
tate, because they were changed or enhanced during the last release cycles. Even if they are
small or considered of minor importance, users should change their default behavior, because
these components are often closely coupled with the system. The chapter concludes with a
section about language and country-specific settings (I18N and L10N).

30.1 Information about special software packages

The following chapter provides basic information about the following tools: bash, cron, logrotate,
locate, ulimit and free.

30.1.1 The bash package and /etc/profile

Bash is the default system shell. When used as a login shell, it reads several initialization files. Bash
processes them in the order they appear in this list:

1. /etc/profile

2. ~/.profile

3. /etc/[Link]

4. ~/.bashrc

Make custom settings in ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc. To ensure the correct processing of these files, it is
necessary to copy the basic settings from /etc/skel/.profile or /etc/skel/.bashrc into the home
directory of the user. It is recommended to copy the settings from /etc/skel after an update. Execute
the following shell commands to prevent the loss of personal adjustments:

> mv ~/.bashrc ~/.[Link]

> cp /etc/skel/.bashrc ~/.bashrc
> mv ~/.profile ~/.[Link]
> cp /etc/skel/.profile ~/.profile

427 Information about special software packages | SLES 15 SP4

Then copy personal adjustments back from the *.old files.

30.1.2 The cron package

Use cron to automatically run commands in the background at predefined times. cron uses specially
formatted time tables, and the tool comes with several default ones. Users can also specify custom tables,
if needed.
The cron tables are located in /var/spool/cron/tabs. /etc/crontab serves as a systemwide cron
table. Enter the user name to run the command directly after the time table and before the command. In
Example 30.1, “Entry in /etc/crontab”, root is entered. Package-specific tables, located in /etc/cron.d,
have the same format. See the cron man page (man cron).

EXAMPLE 30.1: ENTRY IN /ETC/CRONTAB

1-59/5 * * * * root test -x /usr/sbin/atrun && /usr/sbin/atrun

You cannot edit /etc/crontab by calling the command crontab -e. This file must be loaded directly
into an editor, then modified and saved.
Several packages install shell scripts to the directories /etc/[Link], /etc/[Link], /etc/
[Link] and /etc/[Link], whose execution is controlled by /usr/lib/cron/run-
crons. /usr/lib/cron/run-crons is run every 15 minutes from the main table (/etc/crontab).
This guarantees that processes that may have been neglected can be run at the proper time.
To run the hourly, daily or other periodic maintenance scripts at custom times, remove the time stamp
files regularly using /etc/crontab entries (see Example 30.2, “/etc/crontab: remove time stamp files”,
which removes the hourly one before every full hour, the daily one once a day at 2:14 a.m., etc.).

EXAMPLE 30.2: /ETC/CRONTAB: REMOVE TIME STAMP FILES

59 * * * * root rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/[Link]
14 2 * * * root rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/[Link]
29 2 * * 6 root rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/[Link]
44 2 1 * * root rm -f /var/spool/cron/lastrun/[Link]

Or you can set DAILY_TIME in /etc/sysconfig/cron to the time at which [Link] should start.
The setting of MAX_NOT_RUN ensures that the daily tasks get triggered to run, even if the user did not turn
on the computer at the specified DAILY_TIME for a longer time. The maximum value of MAX_NOT_RUN
is 14 days.

428 The cron package | SLES 15 SP4

30.1.3 Stopping cron status messages
To avoid the mail flood caused by cron status messages, the default value of SEND_MAIL_ON_NO_ERROR
in /etc/sysconfig/cron is set to "no" for new installations. Even with this setting to "no", cron data
output will still be sent to the MAILTO address, as documented in the cron man page.
In the update case it is recommended to set these values according to your needs.

30.1.4 Log files: package logrotate

There are several system services (daemons) that, along with the kernel itself, regularly record the system
status and specific events onto log files. This way, the administrator can regularly check the status of the
system at a certain point in time, recognize errors or faulty functions and troubleshoot them with pinpoint
precision. These log files are normally stored in /var/log as specified by FHS and grow on a daily basis.
The logrotate package helps control the growth of these files. For more details refer to Book “System
Analysis and Tuning Guide”, Chapter 3 “System log files”, Section 3.3 “Managing log files with logrotate”.

30.1.5 The locate command

locate, a command for quickly finding files, is not included in the standard scope of installed software. If
desired, install the package mlocate, the successor of the package findutils-locate. The updatedb
process is started automatically every night or about 15 minutes after booting the system.

30.1.6 The ulimit command

With the ulimit (user limits) command, it is possible to set limits for the use of system resources and
to have these displayed. ulimit is especially useful for limiting available memory for applications. With
this, an application can be prevented from co-opting too much of the system resources and slowing or
even hanging up the operating system.
ulimit can be used with various options. To limit memory usage, use the options listed in Table 30.1,
“ulimit: Setting resources for the user”.

TABLE 30.1: ulimit: SETTING RESOURCES FOR THE USER

-m The maximum resident set size

-v The maximum amount of virtual memory avail-

able to the shell

429 Stopping cron status messages | SLES 15 SP4

 -s The maximum size of the stack

-c The maximum size of core files created

-a All current limits are reported

Systemwide default entries are set in /etc/profile. Editing this file directly is not recommended, be-
cause changes will be overwritten during system upgrades. To customize systemwide profile settings, use
/etc/[Link]. Per-user settings should be made in ~USER/.profile.

EXAMPLE 30.3: ulimit: SETTINGS IN ~/.bashrc

# Limits maximum resident set size (physical memory):

ulimit -m 98304

# Limits of virtual memory:

ulimit -v 98304

Memory allocations must be specified in KB. For more detailed information, see man bash.

Important: ulimit support

Not all shells support ulimit directives. PAM (for example, pam_limits) offers comprehensive
adjustment possibilities as an alternative to ulimit.

30.1.7 The free command

The free command displays the total amount of free and used physical memory and swap space in the
system and the buffers and cache consumed by the kernel. The concept of available RAM dates back to
before the days of unified memory management. The slogan free memory is bad memory applies well to
Linux. As a result, Linux has always made the effort to balance out caches without actually allowing free
or unused memory.
The kernel does not have direct knowledge of any applications or user data. Instead, it manages applications
and user data in a page cache. If memory runs short, parts of it are written to the swap partition or to files,
from which they can initially be read using the mmap command (see man mmap).
The kernel also contains other caches, such as the slab cache, where the caches used for network access
are stored. This may explain the differences between the counters in /proc/meminfo. Most, but not all,
of them can be accessed via /proc/slabinfo.

430 The free command | SLES 15 SP4

However, if your goal is to find out how much RAM is currently being used, find this information in /
proc/meminfo.

30.1.8 Man pages and info pages

For some GNU applications (such as tar), the man pages are no longer maintained. For these commands,
use the --help option to get a quick overview of the info pages, which provide more in-depth instructions.
Info is GNU's hypertext system. Read an introduction to this system by entering info info. Info pages
can be viewed with Emacs by entering emacs -f info or directly in a console with info. You can also
use tkinfo, xinfo or the help system to view info pages.

30.1.9 Selecting man pages using the man command

To read a man page enter man MAN_PAGE. If a man page with the same name exists in different sections,
they will all be listed with the corresponding section numbers. Select the one to display. If you do not enter
a section number within a few seconds, the first man page will be displayed.
To change this to the default system behavior, set MAN_POSIXLY_CORRECT=1 in a shell initialization file
such as ~/.bashrc.

30.1.10 Settings for GNU Emacs

GNU Emacs is a complex work environment. The following sections cover the configuration files
processed when GNU Emacs is started. More information is available at [Link]
ware/emacs/ .
On start-up, Emacs reads several files containing the settings of the user, system administrator and dis-
tributor for customization or preconfiguration. The initialization file ~/.emacs is installed to the home
directories of the individual users from /etc/skel. .emacs, in turn, reads the file /etc/skel/.gnu-
emacs. To customize the program, copy .gnu-emacs to the home directory (with cp /etc/skel/.gnu-
emacs ~/.gnu-emacs) and make the desired settings there.

.gnu-emacs defines the file ~/.gnu-emacs-custom as custom-file. If users make settings with the
customize options in Emacs, the settings are saved to ~/.gnu-emacs-custom.

With SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, the emacs package installs the file [Link] in the direc-
tory /usr/share/emacs/site-lisp. The file [Link] is loaded before the initialization file
~/.emacs. Among other things, [Link] ensures that special configuration files distributed with

431 Man pages and info pages | SLES 15 SP4

Emacs add-on packages, such as psgml, are loaded automatically. Configuration files of this type are lo-
cated in /usr/share/emacs/site-lisp, too, and always begin with suse-start-. The local system
administrator can specify systemwide settings in [Link].
More information about these files is available in the Emacs info file under Init File: info:/emacs/
InitFile. Information about how to disable the loading of these files (if necessary) is also provided at
this location.
The components of Emacs are divided into several packages:

The base package emacs.

emacs-x11 (usually installed): the program with X11 support.

emacs-nox: the program without X11 support.

emacs-info: online documentation in info format.

emacs-el: the uncompiled library files in Emacs Lisp. These are not required at runtime.

Numerous add-on packages can be installed if needed: emacs-auctex (LaTeX), psgml (SGML
and XML), gnuserv (client and server operation) and others.

30.2 Virtual consoles

Linux is a multiuser and multitasking system. The advantages of these features can be appreciated even
on a stand-alone PC system. In text mode, there are six virtual consoles available. Switch between them
using Alt – F1 through Alt – F6 . The seventh console is reserved for X and the tenth console shows
kernel messages.

To switch to a console from X without shutting it down, use Ctrl – Alt – F1 to Ctrl – Alt – F6 . To
return to X, press Alt – F7 .

30.3 Keyboard mapping

To standardize the keyboard mapping of programs, changes were made to the following files:

/etc/inputrc
/etc/X11/Xmodmap
/etc/skel/.emacs

432 Virtual consoles | SLES 15 SP4

/etc/skel/.gnu-emacs
/etc/skel/.vimrc
/etc/[Link]
/etc/termcap
/usr/share/terminfo/x/xterm
/usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XTerm
/usr/share/emacs/VERSION/site-lisp/term/*.el

These changes only affect applications that use terminfo entries or whose configuration files are changed
directly (vi, emacs, etc.). Applications not shipped with the system should be adapted to these defaults.
Under X, the compose key (multikey) can be enabled as explained in /etc/X11/Xmodmap.
Further settings are possible using the X Keyboard Extension (XKB).

Tip: More information

Information about XKB is available in the documents listed in /usr/share/doc/pack-
ages/xkeyboard-config (part of the xkeyboard-config package).

30.4 Language and country-specific settings

The system is, to a very large extent, internationalized and can be modified for local needs. Internation-
alization (I18N) allows specific localization (L10N). The abbreviations I18N and L10N are derived from
the first and last letters of the words and, in between, the number of letters omitted.
Settings are made with LC_ variables defined in the file /etc/sysconfig/language. This refers not
only to native language support, but also to the categories Messages (Language), Character Set, Sort
Order, Time and Date, Numbers and Money. Each of these categories can be defined directly with its own
variable or indirectly with a master variable in the file language (see the locale man page).

LIST OF VARIABLES

RC_LC_MESSAGES, RC_LC_CTYPE, RC_LC_COLLATE, RC_LC_TIME, RC_LC_NUMERIC, RC_LC_MONE-

TARY
These variables are passed to the shell without the RC_ prefix and represent the listed categories.
The shell profiles concerned are listed below. The current setting can be shown with the command
locale.

RC_LC_ALL
This variable, if set, overwrites the values of the variables already mentioned.

433 Language and country-specific settings | SLES 15 SP4

RC_LANG
If none of the previous variables are set, this is the fallback. By default, only RC_LANG is set. This
makes it easier for users to enter their own values.

ROOT_USES_LANG
This variable can be set to yes or ctype (default). If set to yes, root uses language and coun-
try-specific settings, otherwise the system administrator always works in a POSIX environment.

The variables can be set with the YaST sysconfig editor. The value of such a variable contains the language
code, country code, encoding and modifier. The individual components are joined by special characters:

LANG=<language>[[_<COUNTRY>].<Encoding>[@<Modifier>]]

30.4.1 System-wide locale settings

systemd reads /etc/[Link] at early boot. The locale settings configured in this file are inherited
by every service or user, unless there are individual settings.

Note: Behavior of older configuration files under SUSE Linux

Enterprise Server
Earlier versions of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server read locale settings from /etc/syscon-
fig/language, /etc/sysconfig/keyboard, and /etc/sysconfig/console. Starting with
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 GA, these files are considered obsolete. systemd does not read
settings from these files anymore. Instead, systemd reads /etc/[Link].
However, variables defined in /etc/sysconfig/language will still be used: They override the
system-wide locale and can be used to define different locale settings for user shells (see Sec-
tion 30.4.2, “Some examples”).

To set the system-wide locale, you can either:

Write your settings in /etc/[Link]. Each line is a environment-like variable assignment

(see man 5 [Link] for a list of variables):

LANG=de_DE.UTF-8

434 System-wide locale settings | SLES 15 SP4

 To fine-tune the settings, you can add additional variables, one variable per line.

Use the command localectl:

# localectl set-locale LANG=de_DE.UTF-8

Same here, you can also specify additional variables after the localectl set-locale command.

To keep backward compatibility with old systems during the update of the systemd package, all variables
mentioned will be migrated from sysconfig to their final destinations if they are not already defined there.

30.4.2 Some examples

You should always set the language and country codes together. Language settings follow the stan-
dard ISO 639 available at [Link] and http://
[Link]/standards/iso639-2/ . Country codes are listed in ISO 3166, see [Link]
[Link]/wiki/ISO_3166 .
It only makes sense to set values for which usable description files can be found in /usr/lib/lo-
cale. Additional description files can be created from the files in /usr/share/i18n using the com-
mand localedef. The description files are part of the glibc-i18ndata package. A description file for
en_US.UTF-8 (for English and United States) can be created with:

localedef -i en_US -f UTF-8 en_US.UTF-8

LANG=en_US.UTF-8
This is the default setting if American English is selected during installation. If you selected another
language, that language is enabled but still with UTF-8 as the character encoding.

LANG=en_US.ISO-8859-1
This sets the language to English, country to United States and the character set to ISO-8859-1.
This character set does not support the Euro sign, but it can be useful sometimes for programs that
have not been updated to support UTF-8. The string defining the charset (ISO-8859-1 in this case)
is then evaluated by programs like Emacs.

LANG=en_IE@euro
The above example explicitly includes the Euro sign in a language setting. This setting is obsolete
now, as UTF-8 also covers the Euro symbol. It is only useful if an application supports ISO-8859-15
and not UTF-8.

435 Some examples | SLES 15 SP4

Changes to /etc/sysconfig/language are activated by the following process chain:

For the Bash: /etc/profile reads /etc/profile.d/[Link] which, in turn, analyzes /etc/
sysconfig/language.

For tcsh: At login, /etc/[Link] reads /etc/profile.d/[Link] which, in turn, analyzes

/etc/sysconfig/language.

This ensures that any changes to /etc/sysconfig/language are available at the next login to the re-
spective shell, without having to manually activate them.
Users can override the system defaults by editing their ~/.bashrc accordingly. For example, if you do
not want to use the system-wide en_US for program messages, include LC_MESSAGES=es_ES so that
messages are displayed in Spanish instead.

30.4.3 Locale settings in ~/.i18n

If you are not satisfied with locale system defaults, change the settings in ~/.i18n according to the
Bash scripting syntax. Entries in ~/.i18n override system defaults from /etc/sysconfig/language.
Use the same variable names but without the RC_ namespace prefixes. For example, use LANG instead
of RC_LANG:

LANG=cs_CZ.UTF-8
LC_COLLATE=C

30.4.4 Settings for language support

Files in the category Messages are, as a rule, only stored in the corresponding language directory (like
en) to have a fallback. If you set LANG to en_US and the message file in /usr/share/locale/en_US/
LC_MESSAGES does not exist, it falls back to /usr/share/locale/en/LC_MESSAGES.

A fallback chain can also be defined, for example, for Breton to French or for Galician to Spanish to
Portuguese:
LANGUAGE="br_FR:fr_FR"

LANGUAGE="gl_ES:es_ES:pt_PT"

If desired, use the Norwegian variants Nynorsk and Bokmål instead (with additional fallback to no):
LANG="nn_NO"

LANGUAGE="nn_NO:nb_NO:no"

436 Locale settings in ~/.i18n | SLES 15 SP4

or
LANG="nb_NO"

LANGUAGE="nb_NO:nn_NO:no"

Note that in Norwegian, LC_TIME is also treated differently.

One problem that can arise is a separator used to delimit groups of digits not being recognized properly.
This occurs if LANG is set to only a two-letter language code like de, but the definition file glibc uses is
located in /usr/share/lib/de_DE/LC_NUMERIC. Thus LC_NUMERIC must be set to de_DE to make
the separator definition visible to the system.

30.4.5 More information

The GNU C Library Reference Manual, Chapter “Locales and Internationalization”. It is included
in the package glibc-info.

Markus Kuhn, UTF-8 and Unicode FAQ for Unix/Linux, currently at [Link]
~mgk25/[Link] .

437 More information | SLES 15 SP4

31 Using NetworkManager

NetworkManager is the ideal solution for laptops and other portable computers. It supports state-of-the-art
encryption types and standards for network connections, including connections to 802.1X protected net-
works. 802.1X is the “IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks—Port-Based Network
Access Control”. With NetworkManager, you need not worry about configuring network interfaces and
switching between wired or wireless networks when you are on the move. NetworkManager can automat-
ically connect to known wireless networks or manage several network connections in parallel—the fastest
connection is then used as default. Furthermore, you can manually switch between available networks and
manage your network connection using an applet in the system tray.
Instead of only one connection being active, multiple connections may be active at once. This enables you
to unplug your laptop from an Ethernet and remain connected via a wireless connection.

Important
NetworkManager is only supported by SUSE for desktop workloads with SLED or the Worksta-
tion extension. All server certifications are done with wicked as the network configuration tool,
and using NetworkManager may invalidate them. NetworkManager is not supported by SUSE for
server workloads.

31.1 Use cases for NetworkManager

NetworkManager provides a sophisticated and intuitive user interface, which enables users to easily switch
their network environment. However, NetworkManager is not a suitable solution in the following cases:

Your computer provides network services for other computers in your network, for example, it is
a DHCP or DNS server.

Your computer is a Xen server or your system is a virtual system inside Xen.

31.2 Enabling or disabling NetworkManager

On desktop and laptop computers, NetworkManager is enabled by default. You can disable and enable it
at any time using the Network Settings module in YaST.

438 Use cases for NetworkManager | SLES 15 SP4

 1. Run YaST and go to System Network Settings.

2. The Network Settings dialog opens. Go to the Global Options tab.

3. To configure and manage your network connections with NetworkManager:

a. In the Network Setup Method field, select User Controlled with NetworkManager.

b. Click OK and close YaST.

c. Configure your network connections with NetworkManager as described in Section 31.3,

“Configuring network connections”.

4. To deactivate NetworkManager and control the network with your own configuration:

a. In the Network Setup Method field, choose Controlled by wicked.

b. Click OK.

c. Set up your network card with YaST using automatic configuration via DHCP or a static IP
address.
Find a detailed description of the network configuration with YaST in Section 23.4, “Config-
uring a network connection with YaST”.

31.3 Configuring network connections

After enabling NetworkManager in YaST, configure your network connections with the NetworkManager
front-end available in GNOME. It shows tabs for all types of network connections, such as wired, wireless,
mobile broadband, DSL, and VPN connections.

Tip: NetworkManager connection editor

In previous SUSE Linux Enterprise Server releases, network connections were configured using
an application called NetworkManager Connection Editor. This is no longer installed by default,
because GNOME Control Center has fully replaced its configuration capabilities.
If you still need to use NetworkManager Connection Editor to configure network connections,
install the NetworkManager-connection-editor package manually:

> sudo zypper install NetworkManager-connection-editor

439 Configuring network connections | SLES 15 SP4

To open the network configuration dialog in GNOME, open the settings menu via the status menu and
click the Network entry.

Note: Availability of options

Depending on your system setup, you may not be allowed to configure connections. In a secured
environment, some options may be locked or require root permission. Ask your system adminis-
trator for details.

FIGURE 31.1: GNOME NETWORK CONNECTIONS DIALOG

PROCEDURE 31.1: ADDING AND EDITING CONNECTIONS

1. Open the NetworkManager configuration dialog.

2. To add a Connection:

a. Click the + icon in the lower left corner.

b. Select your preferred connection type and follow the instructions.

c. When you are finished click Add.

d. After confirming your changes, the newly-configured network connection appears in the list
of available networks in the Status Menu.

440 Configuring network connections | SLES 15 SP4

 3. To edit a connection:

a. Select the entry to edit.

b. Click the gear icon to open the Connection Settings dialog.

c. Insert your changes and click Apply to save them.

d. To make your connection available as a system connection go to the Identity tab and set
the check box Make available to other users. For more information about user and system
connections, see Section 31.4.1, “User and system connections”.

31.3.1 Managing wired network connections

If your computer is connected to a wired network, use the NetworkManager applet to manage the con-
nection.

1. Open the Status Menu and click Wired to change the connection details or to switch it off.

2. To change the settings click Wired Settings and then click the gear icon.

3. To switch off all network connections, activate the Airplane Mode setting.

31.3.2 Managing wireless network connections

Visible wireless networks are listed in the GNOME NetworkManager applet menu under Wireless Net-
works. The signal strength of each network is also shown in the menu. Encrypted wireless networks are
marked with a shield icon.

PROCEDURE 31.2: CONNECTING TO A VISIBLE WIRELESS NETWORK

1. To connect to a visible wireless network, open the Status Menu and click Wi-Fi.

2. Click Turn On to enable it.

3. Click Select Network, select your Wi-Fi Network and click Connect.

4. If the network is encrypted, a configuration dialog opens. It shows the type of encryption the network
uses and text boxes for entering the login credentials.

441 Managing wired network connections | SLES 15 SP4

PROCEDURE 31.3: CONNECTING TO AN INVISIBLE WIRELESS NETWORK

1. To connect to a network that does not broadcast its service set identifier (SSID or ESSID) and
therefore cannot be detected automatically, open the Status Menu and click Wi-Fi.

2. Click Wi-Fi Settings to open the detailed settings menu.

3. Make sure your Wi-Fi is enabled and click Connect to Hidden Network.

4. In the dialog that opens, enter the SSID or ESSID in Network Name and set encryption parameters
if necessary.

A wireless network that has been chosen explicitly will remain connected as long as possible. If a network
cable is plugged in during that time, any connections that have been set to Stay connected when possible
will be connected, while the wireless connection remains up.

31.3.3 Configuring your Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card as an access point

If your Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card supports access point mode, you can use NetworkManager for the config-
uration.

1. Open the Status Menu and click Wi-Fi.

2. Click Wi-Fi Settings to open the detailed settings menu.

3. Click Use as Hotspot and follow the instructions.

4. Use the credentials shown in the resulting dialog to connect to the hotspot from a remote machine.

31.3.4 NetworkManager and VPN

NetworkManager supports several Virtual Private Network (VPN) technologies. For each technology,
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server comes with a base package providing the generic support for NetworkMan-
ager. In addition to that, you also need to install the respective desktop-specific package for your applet.

OpenVPN
To use this VPN technology, install:

NetworkManager-openvpn

NetworkManager-openvpn-gnome

442 Configuring your Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card as an access point | SLES 15 SP4

OpenConnect
To use this VPN technology, install:

NetworkManager-openconnect

NetworkManager-openconnect-gnome

PPTP (point-to-point tunneling protocol)

To use this VPN technology, install:

NetworkManager-pptp

NetworkManager-pptp-gnome

The following procedure describes how to set up your computer as an OpenVPN client using Network-
Manager. Setting up other types of VPNs works analogously.
Before you begin, make sure that the package NetworkManager-openvpn-gnome is installed and all
dependencies have been resolved.

PROCEDURE 31.4: SETTING UP OPENVPN WITH NETWORKMANAGER

1. Open the application Settings by clicking the status icons at the right end of the panel and clicking
the wrench and screwdriver icon. In the window All Settings, choose Network.

2. Click the + icon.

3. Select VPN and then OpenVPN.

4. Choose the Authentication type. Depending on the setup of your OpenVPN server, choose Certifi-
cates (TLS) or Password with Certificates (TLS).

5. Insert the necessary values into the respective text boxes. For our example configuration, these are:

Gateway The remote endpoint of the VPN server

User name The user (only available when you have selected Password with
Certificates (TLS))

Password The password for the user (only available when you have selected
Password with Certificates (TLS))

User Certificate /etc/openvpn/[Link]

443 NetworkManager and VPN | SLES 15 SP4

 CA Certificate /etc/openvpn/[Link]

Private Key /etc/openvpn/[Link]

6. Finish the configuration with Add.

7. To enable the connection, in the Network panel of the Settings application click the switch button.
Alternatively, click the status icons at the right end of the panel, click the name of your VPN and
then Connect.

31.4 NetworkManager and security

NetworkManager distinguishes two types of wireless connections: trusted and untrusted. A trusted con-
nection is any network that you explicitly selected in the past. All others are untrusted. Trusted connections
are identified by the name and MAC address of the access point. Using the MAC address ensures that you
cannot use a different access point with the name of your trusted connection.
NetworkManager periodically scans for available wireless networks. If multiple trusted networks are
found, the most recently used is automatically selected. NetworkManager waits for your selection in case
if all networks are untrusted.
If the encryption setting changes but the name and MAC address remain the same, NetworkManager
attempts to connect, but first you are asked to confirm the new encryption settings and provide any updates,
such as a new key.
If you switch from using a wireless connection to offline mode, NetworkManager blanks the SSID or
ESSID. This ensures that the card is disconnected.

31.4.1 User and system connections

NetworkManager knows two types of connections: user and system connections.
User connections require every user to authenticate in NetworkManager, which stores the user's credentials
in their local GNOME keyring so that they do not need to re-enter them every time they connect.
System connections are available to all users automatically. The first user to create the connection enters
any necessary credentials, and then all other users have access without needing to know the credentials.
The difference in configuring a user or system connection is a single check box, Make available to other
users. For information on how to configure user or system connections with NetworkManager, refer to
Section 31.3, “Configuring network connections”.

444 NetworkManager and security | SLES 15 SP4

31.4.2 Storing passwords and credentials
If you do not want to re-enter your credentials each time you want to connect to an encrypted network,
you can use the GNOME Keyring Manager to store your credentials encrypted on the disk, secured by
a master password.

31.4.3 Firewall zones

FIGURE 31.2: firewalld ZONES IN NETWORKMANAGER

The firewall zones set general rules about which network connections are allowed. To configure the zone
of firewalld for a wired connection, go to the Identity tab of the connection settings. To configure the zone
of firewalld for a Wi-Fi connection, go to the Security tab of the connection settings.
If you are in your home network, use the zone home. For public wireless networks, switch to public. If
you are in a secure environment and want to allow all connections, use the zone trusted.
For details about firewalld, see Book “Security and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 23 “Masquerading and
firewalls”, Section 23.4 “firewalld”.

31.5 Frequently asked questions

In the following, find some frequently asked questions about configuring special network options with
NetworkManager.

445 Storing passwords and credentials | SLES 15 SP4

5. How to tie a connection to a specific device?

By default, connections in NetworkManager are device type-specific: they apply to all physical
devices with the same type. If more than one physical device per connection type is available (for
example, your machine is equipped with two Ethernet cards), you can tie a connection to a certain
device.
To do this in GNOME, first look up the MAC address of your device (use the Connection Informa-
tion available from the applet, or use the output of command line tools like nm-tool or wicked
show all). Then start the dialog for configuring network connections and choose the connection
you want to modify. On the Wired or Wireless tab, enter the MAC Address of the device and confirm
your changes.

6. How to specify a certain access point in case multiple access points with the same ESSID are de-
tected?

When multiple access points with different wireless bands (a/b/g/n) are available, the access point
with the strongest signal is automatically chosen by default. To override this, use the BSSID field
when configuring wireless connections.
The Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) uniquely identifies each Basic Service Set. In an infra-
structure Basic Service Set, the BSSID is the MAC address of the wireless access point. In an inde-
pendent (ad-hoc) Basic Service Set, the BSSID is a locally administered MAC address generated
from a 46-bit random number.
Start the dialog for configuring network connections as described in Section 31.3, “Configuring net-
work connections”. Choose the wireless connection you want to modify and click Edit. On the Wire-
less tab, enter the BSSID.

446 Frequently asked questions | SLES 15 SP4

7. How to share network connections with other computers?

The primary device (the device which is connected to the Internet) does not need any special con-
figuration. However, you need to configure the device that is connected to the local hub or machine
as follows:

1. Start the dialog for configuring network connections as described in Section 31.3, “Configuring
network connections”. Choose the connection you want to modify and click Edit. Switch to the
IPv4 Settings tab and from the Method drop-down box, activate Shared to other computers.
That will enable IP traffic forwarding and run a DHCP server on the device. Confirm your
changes in NetworkManager.

2. As the DCHP server uses port 67, make sure that it is not blocked by the firewall: On the
machine sharing the connections, start YaST and select Security and Users Firewall. Switch
to the Allowed Services category. If DCHP Server is not already shown as Allowed Service,
select DCHP Server from Services to Allow and click Add. Confirm your changes in YaST.

8. How to provide static DNS information with automatic (DHCP, PPP, VPN) addresses?

In case a DHCP server provides invalid DNS information (and/or routes), you can override it. Start
the dialog for configuring network connections as described in Section 31.3, “Configuring network
connections”. Choose the connection you want to modify and click Edit. Switch to the IPv4 Settings
tab, and from the Method drop-down box, activate Automatic (DHCP) addresses only. Enter the
DNS information in the DNS Servers and Search Domains fields. To Ignore automatically obtained
routes click Routes and activate the respective check box. Confirm your changes.

9. How to make NetworkManager connect to password protected networks before a user logs in?

Define a system connection that can be used for such purposes. For more information, refer to
Section 31.4.1, “User and system connections”.

31.6 Troubleshooting
Connection problems can occur. Some common problems related to NetworkManager include the applet
not starting or a missing VPN option. Methods for resolving and preventing these problems depend on
the tool used.

447 Troubleshooting | SLES 15 SP4

NetworkManager desktop applet does not start
The applets starts automatically if the network is set up for NetworkManager control. If the applet
does not start, check if NetworkManager is enabled in YaST as described in Section 31.2, “Enabling
or disabling NetworkManager”. Then make sure that the NetworkManager-gnome package is also
installed.
If the desktop applet is installed but is not running for some reason, start it manually with the com-
mand nm-applet.

NetworkManager applet does not include the VPN option

Support for NetworkManager, applets, and VPN for NetworkManager is distributed in separate
packages. If your NetworkManager applet does not include the VPN option, check if the packages
with NetworkManager support for your VPN technology are installed. For more information, see
Section 31.3.4, “NetworkManager and VPN”.

No network connection available

If you have configured your network connection correctly and all other components for the network
connection (router, etc.) are also up and running, it sometimes helps to restart the network interfaces
on your computer. To do so, log in to a command line as root and run systemctl restart
wickeds.

31.7 More information

More information about NetworkManager can be found on the following Web sites and directories:

NetworkManager project page

[Link]

Package documentation
Also check out the information in the following directories for the latest information about Network-
Manager and the GNOME applet:

/usr/share/doc/packages/NetworkManager/,

/usr/share/doc/packages/NetworkManager-gnome/.

448 More information | SLES 15 SP4

IV Hardware configuration

32 Setting up your system keyboard layout 450

33 Setting up sound cards 451

34 Setting up a printer 454

35 Power management 460

36 Persistent memory 466

32 Setting up your system keyboard layout
The YaST System Keyboard Layout module lets you define the default keyboard layout for the system
(also used for the console). Users can modify the keyboard layout in their individual X sessions, using
the desktop's tools.

1. Start the YaST System Keyboard Configuration dialog by clicking Hardware System Keyboard
Layout in YaST. Alternatively, start the module from the command line with sudo yast2 key-
board.

2. Select the desired Keyboard Layout from the list.

3. Try the selected keyboard layout in the Test text box.

4. If the result is as expected, confirm your changes and close the dialog.

5. The result is stored in the files /etc/[Link] (for text consoles) and /etc/X11/
[Link].d/[Link] (for X11).

6. Advanced keyboard settings can be configured in System Sysconfig Editor Hardware Key-
board. Here you can specify the keyboard rate and delay settings, and enable or disable NumLock,
CapsLock, and ScrollLock. These settings are stored in /etc/sysconfig/keyboard.

450 | SLES 15 SP4

33 Setting up sound cards

YaST detects most sound cards automatically and configures them with the appropriate values. To change
the default settings, or to set up a sound card that could not be configured automatically, use the YaST
sound module. There, you can also set up additional sound cards or switch their order.

Warning
If you do not know all details about the setup of your sound system, do not change its settings
manually. Instead, let your sound subsystem—PipeWire or PulseAudio— configure it for you.
Use dedicated desktop application to switch audio devices. As a fallback, use the pavucontrol
graphical application.

To start the sound module, start YaST and click Hardware Sound. Alternatively, start the Sound Con-
figuration dialog directly by running yast2 sound & as user root from a command line. If the sound
module is not available, install it using the sudo zypper install yast2-sound command.

PROCEDURE 33.1: CONFIGURING SOUND CARDS

If you have added a new sound card or YaST could not automatically configure an existing sound
card, follow the steps below. For configuring a new sound card, you need to know your sound card
vendor and model. If in doubt, refer to your sound card documentation for the required information.
For a reference list of sound cards supported by ALSA with their corresponding sound modules,
see [Link] .
During configuration, you can choose between the following setup options:

Quick automatic setup

You are not required to go through any of the further configuration steps—the sound card is
configured automatically. You can set the volume or any options you want to change later.

Normal setup
Allows you to adjust the output volume and play a test sound during the configuration.

Advanced setup with possibility to change options

For experts only. Allows you to customize all parameters of the sound card.

451 | SLES 15 SP4

 Important: Advanced configuration
Only use this option if you know exactly what you are doing. Otherwise leave the
parameters untouched and use the normal or the automatic setup options.

1. Start the YaST sound module.

2. To configure a detected, but Not Configured sound card, select the respective entry from the list
and click Edit.
To configure a new sound card, click Add. Select your sound card vendor and model and click Next.

3. Choose one of the setup options and click Next.

4. If you have chosen Normal Setup, you can now Test your sound configuration and make adjustments
to the volume. You should start at about ten percent volume to avoid damage to your hearing or
the speakers.

5. If all options are set according to your wishes, click Next.

The Sound Configuration dialog shows the newly configured or modified sound card.

6. To remove a sound card configuration that you no longer need, select the respective entry and click
Delete.

7. Click OK to save the changes and leave the YaST sound module.

PROCEDURE 33.2: MODIFYING SOUND CARD CONFIGURATIONS

1. To change the configuration of an individual sound card (for experts only!), select the sound card
entry in the Sound Configuration dialog and click Edit.
This takes you to the Sound Card Advanced Options where you can fine-tune several parameters.
For more information, click Help.

2. To adjust the volume of an already configured sound card or to test the sound card, select the sound
card entry in the Sound Configuration dialog and click Other. Select the respective menu item.

Note: YaST mixer

The YaST mixer settings provide only basic options. They are intended for troubleshooting
(for example, if the test sound is not audible). Access the YaST mixer settings from Oth-
er Volume. For everyday use and fine-tuning of sound options, use the mixer applet pro-
vided by your desktop or the alsasound command line tool.

452 | SLES 15 SP4

 3. For playback of MIDI files, select Other Start Sequencer.

4. When a supported sound card is detected, you can install SoundFonts for playback of MIDI files:

a. Insert the original driver CD-ROM into your CD or DVD drive.

b. Select Other Install SoundFonts to copy SF2 SoundFonts™ to your hard disk. The Sound-
Fonts are saved in the directory /usr/share/sfbank/creative/.

5. If you have configured more than one sound card in your system you can adjust the order of your
sound cards. To set a sound card as primary device, select the sound card in the Sound Configuration
and click Other Set as the Primary Card. The sound device with index 0 is the default device and
thus used by the system and the applications.

6. By default, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server uses the PulseAudio sound system. This is an abstraction
layer that helps to mix multiple audio streams, bypassing any restrictions the hardware may have. To
enable or disable the PulseAudio sound system, click Other PulseAudio Configuration. If enabled,
PulseAudio daemon is used to play sounds. Disable PulseAudio Support to use something else
system-wide.

The volume and configuration of all sound cards are saved when you click OK and leave the YaST sound
module. The mixer settings are saved to the file /etc/[Link]. The ALSA configuration data is
appended to the end of the file /etc/modprobe.d/sound and written to /etc/sysconfig/sound.

453 | SLES 15 SP4

34 Setting up a printer
YaST can be used to configure a local printer connected to your machine via USB and to set up printing
with network printers. It is also possible to share printers over the network. Further information about
printing (general information, technical details, and troubleshooting) is available in Chapter 24, Printer
operation.

In YaST, click Hardware Printer to start the printer module. By default it opens in the Printer Config-
urations view, displaying a list of all printers that are available and configured. This is especially useful
when having access to a lot of printers via the network. From here you can also Print a Test Page and
configure printers.

Note: Starting CUPS

To print from your system, CUPS must be running. In case it is not running, you are asked to start
it. Answer with Yes, or you cannot configure printing. In case CUPS is not started at boot time,
you will also be asked to enable this feature. It is recommended to say Yes, otherwise CUPS would
need to be started manually after each reboot.

34.1 Configuring printers

Usually a USB printer is automatically detected. There are two possible reasons it is not automatically
detected:

The USB printer is switched off.

Communication between printer and computer is not possible. Check the cable and the plugs to make
sure that the printer is properly connected. If this is the case, the problem may not be printer-related,
but rather a USB-related problem.

Configuring a printer is a three-step process: specify the connection type, choose a driver, and name the
print queue for this setup.
For many printer models, several drivers are available. When configuring the printer, YaST defaults to
those marked recommended as a general rule. Normally it is not necessary to change the driver. However,
if you want a color printer to print only in black and white, you can use a driver that does not support color
printing. If you experience performance problems with a PostScript printer when printing graphics, try to
switch from a PostScript driver to a PCL driver (provided your printer understands PCL).

454 Configuring printers | SLES 15 SP4

If no driver for your printer is listed, try to select a generic driver with an appropriate standard language
from the list. Refer to your printer's documentation to find out which language (the set of commands
controlling the printer) your printer understands. If this does not work, refer to Section 34.1.1, “Adding
drivers with YaST” for another possible solution.

A printer is never used directly, but always through a print queue. This ensures that simultaneous jobs
can be queued and processed one after the other. Each print queue is assigned to a specific driver, and a
printer can have multiple queues. This makes it possible to set up a second queue on a color printer that
prints black and white only, for example. Refer to Section 24.1, “The CUPS workflow” for more information
about print queues.

PROCEDURE 34.1: ADDING A NEW PRINTER

1. Start the YaST printer module with Hardware Printer.

2. In the Printer Configurations screen click Add.

3. If your printer is already listed under Specify the Connection, proceed with the next step.
Otherwise, try to Detect More or start the Connection Wizard.

4. In the text box under Find and Assign a Driver enter the vendor name and the model name
and click Search for.

5. Choose a driver that matches your printer. It is recommended to choose the driver listed first. If no
suitable driver is displayed:

a. Check your search term.

b. Broaden your search by clicking Find More.

c. Add a driver as described in Section 34.1.1, “Adding drivers with YaST”.

6. Specify the Default paper size.

7. In the Set Arbitrary Name field, enter a unique name for the print queue.

8. The printer is now configured with the default settings and ready to use. Click OK to return to the
Printer Configurations view. The newly configured printer is now visible in the list of printers.

455 Configuring printers | SLES 15 SP4

34.1.1 Adding drivers with YaST
Not all printer drivers available for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server are installed by default. If no suitable
driver is available in the Find and Assign a Driver dialog when adding a new printer install a driver package
containing drivers for your printers:

PROCEDURE 34.2: INSTALLING ADDITIONAL DRIVER PACKAGES

1. Start the YaST printer module with Hardware Printer.

2. In the Printer Configurations screen, click Add.

3. In the Find and Assign a Driver section, click Driver Packages.

4. Choose one or more suitable driver packages from the list. Do not specify the path to a printer
description file.

5. Choose OK and confirm the package installation.

6. To directly use these drivers, proceed as described in Procedure 34.1, “Adding a new printer”.

PostScript printers do not need printer driver software. PostScript printers need only a PostScript Printer
Description (PPD) file which matches the particular model. PPD files are provided by the printer manu-
facturer.
If no suitable PPD file is available in the Find and Assign a Driver dialog when adding a PostScript printer,
install a PPD file for your printer:
Several sources for PPD files are available. It is recommended to first try additional driver packages that
are shipped with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server but not installed by default (see below for installation
instructions). If these packages do not contain suitable drivers for your printer, get PPD files directly from
your printer vendor or from the driver CD of a PostScript printer. For details, see Section 24.8.2, “No suit-
able PPD file available for a PostScript printer”. Alternatively, find PPD files at [Link]
[Link]/printers , the “[Link] printer database”. When using PPD files from OpenPrinting,
keep in mind that they may not be supported by SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

PROCEDURE 34.3: ADDING A PPD FILE FOR POSTSCRIPT PRINTERS

1. Start the YaST printer module with Hardware Printer.

2. In the Printer Configurations screen, click Add.

3. In the Find and Assign a Driver section, click Driver Packages.

456 Adding drivers with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

 4. Enter the full path to the PPD file into the text box under Make a Printer Description File
Available.

5. Click OK to return to the Add New Printer Configuration screen.

6. To directly use this PPD file, proceed as described in Procedure 34.1, “Adding a new printer”.

34.1.2 Editing a local printer configuration

By editing an existing configuration for a printer you can change basic settings such as connection type
and driver. It is also possible to adjust the default settings for paper size, resolution, media source, etc.
You can change identifiers of the printer by altering the printer description or location.

1. Start the YaST printer module with Hardware Printer.

2. In the Printer Configurations screen, choose a local printer configuration from the list and click Edit.

3. Change the connection type or the driver as described in Procedure 34.1, “Adding a new printer”.
This should only be necessary in case you have problems with the current configuration.

4. Optionally, make this printer the default by checking Default Printer.

5. Adjust the default settings by clicking All Options for the Current Driver. To change a setting,
expand the list of options by clicking the relative + sign. Change the default by clicking an option.
Apply your changes with OK.

34.2 Configuring printing via the network with YaST

Network printers are not detected automatically. They must be configured manually using the YaST printer
module. Depending on your network setup, you can print to a print server (CUPS, LPD, SMB, or IPX) or
directly to a network printer (preferably via TCP). Access the configuration view for network printing by
choosing Printing via Network from the left pane in the YaST printer module.

34.2.1 Using CUPS

In a Linux environment CUPS is usually used to print via the network. The simplest setup is to only print
via a single CUPS server which can directly be accessed by all clients. Printing via more than one CUPS
server requires a running local CUPS daemon that communicates with the remote CUPS servers.

457 Editing a local printer configuration | SLES 15 SP4

 Important: Browsing network print queues
CUPS servers announce their print queues over the network either via the traditional CUPS brows-
ing protocol or via Bonjour/DNS-SD. Clients need to browse these lists so users can select specific
printers to send their print jobs to. To browse network print queues, the service cups-browsed
provided by the package cups-filters-cups-browsed must run on all clients that print via
CUPS servers. cups-browsed is started automatically when configuring network printing with
YaST.
In case browsing does not work after having started cups-browsed, the CUPS server(s) probably
announce the network print queues via Bonjour/DNS-SD. In this case you need to additionally
install the package avahi and start the associated service with sudo systemctl start avahi-
daemon on all clients.

PROCEDURE 34.4: PRINTING VIA A SINGLE CUPS SERVER

1. Start the YaST printer module with Hardware Printer.

2. From the left pane, launch the Print via Network screen.

3. Check Do All Your Printing Directly via One Single CUPS Server and specify the name or IP
address of the server.

4. Click Test Server to make sure you have chosen the correct name or IP address.

5. Click OK to return to the Printer Configurations screen. All printers available via the CUPS server
are now listed.

PROCEDURE 34.5: PRINTING VIA MULTIPLE CUPS SERVERS

1. Start the YaST printer module with Hardware Printer.

2. From the left pane, launch the Print via Network screen.

3. Check Accept Printer Announcements from CUPS Servers.

4. Under General Settings specify which servers to use. You may accept connections from all
networks available or from specific hosts. If you choose the latter option, you need to specify the
host names or IP addresses.

5. Confirm by clicking OK and then Yes when asked to start a local CUPS server. After the server has
started YaST will return to the Printer Configurations screen. Click Refresh list to see the printers
detected so far. Click this button again, in case more printers are available.

458 Using CUPS | SLES 15 SP4

34.2.2 Using print servers other than CUPS
If your network offers print services via print servers other than CUPS, start the YaST printer module
with Hardware Printer and launch the Print via Network screen from the left pane. Start the Connection
Wizard and choose the appropriate Connection Type. Ask your network administrator for details on con-
figuring a network printer in your environment.

34.3 Sharing printers over the network

Printers managed by a local CUPS daemon can be shared over the network and so turn your machine into a
CUPS server. Usually you share a printer by enabling so-called “browsing mode” in CUPS. If browsing is
enabled, the local print queues are made available on the network for listening to remote CUPS daemons.
It is also possible to set up a dedicated CUPS server that manages all print queues and can directly be
accessed by remote clients. In this case it is not necessary to enable browsing.

PROCEDURE 34.6: SHARING PRINTERS

1. Start the YaST printer module with Hardware Printer.

2. Launch the Share Printers screen from the left pane.

3. Select Allow Remote Access. Also check For computers within the local network and enable brows-
ing mode by also checking Publish printers by default within the local network.

4. Click OK to restart the CUPS server and to return to the Printer Configurations screen.

5. Regarding CUPS and firewall settings, see [Link]

wall_settings .

459 Using print servers other than CUPS | SLES 15 SP4

35 Power management

IBM Z The features and hardware described in this chapter do not exist on IBM Z, making this chapter
irrelevant for these platforms.
Power management is especially important on laptop computers, but is also useful on other systems. ACPI
(Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) is available on all modern computers (laptops, desktops,
and servers). Power management technologies require suitable hardware and BIOS routines. Most laptops
and many modern desktops and servers meet these requirements. It is also possible to control CPU fre-
quency scaling to save power or decrease noise.

35.1 Power saving functions

Power saving functions are not only significant for the mobile use of laptops, but also for desktop systems.
The main functions and their use in ACPI are:

Standby
Not supported.

Suspend (to memory)

This mode writes the entire system state to the RAM. Subsequently, the entire system except the
RAM is put to sleep. In this state, the computer consumes very little power. The advantage of this
state is the possibility of resuming work at the same point within a few seconds without having to
boot and restart applications. This function corresponds to the ACPI state S3.

Hibernation (suspend to disk)

In this operating mode, the entire system state is written to the hard disk and the system is powered
off. There must be a swap partition at least as big as the RAM to write all the active data. Reactiva-
tion from this state takes about 30 to 90 seconds. The state prior to the suspend is restored. Some
manufacturers offer useful hybrid variants of this mode, such as RediSafe in IBM Thinkpads. The
corresponding ACPI state is S4. In Linux, suspend to disk is performed by kernel routines that are
independent from ACPI.

460 Power saving functions | SLES 15 SP4

 Note: Changed UUID for swap partitions when formatting
via mkswap
Do not reformat existing swap partitions with mkswap if possible. Reformatting with mkswap
will change the UUID value of the swap partition. Either reformat via YaST (which will
update /etc/fstab) or adjust /etc/fstab manually.

Battery monitor
ACPI checks the battery charge status and provides information about it. Additionally, it coordinates
actions to perform when a critical charge status is reached.

Automatic power-off
Following a shutdown, the computer is powered off. This is especially important when an automatic
shutdown is performed shortly before the battery is empty.

Processor speed control

In connection with the CPU, energy can be saved in three different ways: frequency and voltage
scaling (also known as PowerNow! or Speedstep), throttling and putting the processor to sleep (C-
states). Depending on the operating mode of the computer, these methods can also be combined.

35.2 Advanced configuration and power interface

(ACPI)
ACPI was designed to enable the operating system to set up and control the individual hardware compo-
nents. ACPI supersedes both Power Management Plug and Play (PnP) and Advanced Power Management
(APM). It delivers information about the battery, AC adapter, temperature, fan and system events, like
“close lid” or “battery low.”
The BIOS provides tables containing information about the individual components and hardware access
methods. The operating system uses this information for tasks like assigning interrupts or activating and
deactivating components. Because the operating system executes commands stored into the BIOS, the
functionality depends on the BIOS implementation. The tables ACPI can detect and load are reported in
journald. See Chapter 21, journalctl: Query the systemd journal for more information on viewing the
journal log messages. See Section 35.2.2, “Troubleshooting” for more information about troubleshooting
ACPI problems.

461 Advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI) | SLES 15 SP4

35.2.1 Controlling the CPU performance
The CPU can save energy in three ways:

Frequency and Voltage Scaling

Throttling the Clock Frequency (T-states)

Putting the Processor to Sleep (C-states)

Depending on the operating mode of the computer, these methods can be combined. Saving energy also
means that the system heats up less and the fans are activated less frequently.
Frequency scaling and throttling are only relevant if the processor is busy, because the most economic
C-state is applied anyway when the processor is idle. If the CPU is busy, frequency scaling is the recom-
mended power saving method. Often the processor only works with a partial load. In this case, it can
be run with a lower frequency. Usually, dynamic frequency scaling controlled by the kernel on-demand
governor is the best approach.
Throttling should be used as the last resort, for example, to extend the battery operation time despite a high
system load. However, some systems do not run smoothly when they are throttled too much. Moreover,
CPU throttling does not make sense if the CPU has little to do.
For in-depth information, refer to Book “System Analysis and Tuning Guide”, Chapter 12 “Power manage-
ment”.

35.2.2 Troubleshooting
There are two different types of problems. On one hand, the ACPI code of the kernel may contain bugs
that were not detected in time. In this case, a solution will be made available for download. More often,
the problems are caused by the BIOS. Sometimes, deviations from the ACPI specification are purposely
integrated in the BIOS to circumvent errors in the ACPI implementation of other widespread operating
systems. Hardware components that have serious errors in the ACPI implementation are recorded in a
blacklist that prevents the Linux kernel from using ACPI for these components.
The first thing to do when problems are encountered is to update the BIOS. If the computer does not boot,
one of the following boot parameters may be helpful:

pci=noacpi
Do not use ACPI for configuring the PCI devices.

acpi=ht
Only perform a simple resource configuration. Do not use ACPI for other purposes.

462 Controlling the CPU performance | SLES 15 SP4

acpi=off
Disable ACPI.

Warning: Problems booting without ACPI

Some newer machines (especially SMP systems and AMD64 systems) need ACPI for configuring
the hardware correctly. On these machines, disabling ACPI can cause problems.

Sometimes, the machine is confused by hardware that is attached over USB or FireWire. If a machine
refuses to boot, unplug all unneeded hardware and try again.
Monitor the boot messages of the system with the command dmesg -T | grep -2i acpi (or all
messages, because the problem may not be caused by ACPI) after booting. If an error occurs while parsing
an ACPI table, the most important table—the DSDT (Differentiated System Description Table)—can be
replaced with an improved version. In this case, the faulty DSDT of the BIOS is ignored. The procedure
is described in Section 35.4, “Troubleshooting”.
In the kernel configuration, there is a switch for activating ACPI debug messages. If a kernel with ACPI
debugging is compiled and installed, detailed information is issued.
If you experience BIOS or hardware problems, it is always advisable to contact the manufacturers. Espe-
cially if they do not always provide assistance for Linux, they should be confronted with the problems.
Manufacturers will only take the issue seriously if they realize that an adequate number of their customers
use Linux.

[Link] More information

[Link] (detailed ACPI HOWTO, contains DSDT patches)

[Link] (Advanced Configuration & Power Interface Specification)

35.3 Rest for the hard disk

In Linux, the hard disk can be put to sleep entirely if it is not needed or it can be run in a more economic
or quieter mode. On modern laptops, you do not need to switch off the hard disks manually, because they
automatically enter an economic operating mode whenever they are not needed. However, if you want to
maximize power savings, test some of the following methods, using the hdparm command.

463 Rest for the hard disk | SLES 15 SP4

It can be used to modify various hard disk settings. The option -y instantly switches the hard disk to the
standby mode. -Y puts it to sleep. hdparm -S X causes the hard disk to be spun down after a certain period
of inactivity. Replace X as follows: 0 disables this mechanism, causing the hard disk to run continuously.
Values from 1 to 240 are multiplied by 5 seconds. Values from 241 to 251 correspond to 1 to 11 times
30 minutes.
Internal power saving options of the hard disk can be controlled with the option -B. Select a value from 0 to
255 for maximum saving to maximum throughput. The result depends on the hard disk used and is difficult
to assess. To make a hard disk quieter, use the option -M. Select a value from 128 to 254 for quiet to fast.
Often, it is not so easy to put the hard disk to sleep. In Linux, numerous processes write to the hard disk,
waking it up repeatedly. Therefore, it is important to understand how Linux handles data that needs to be
written to the hard disk. First, all data is buffered in the RAM. This buffer is monitored by the pdflush
daemon. When the data reaches a certain age limit or when the buffer is filled to a certain degree, the buffer
content is flushed to the hard disk. The buffer size is dynamic and depends on the size of the memory and
the system load. By default, pdflush is set to short intervals to achieve maximum data integrity. It checks
the buffer every 5 seconds and writes the data to the hard disk. The following variables are interesting:

/proc/sys/vm/dirty_writeback_centisecs
Contains the delay until a pdflush thread wakes up (in hundredths of a second).

/proc/sys/vm/dirty_expire_centisecs
Defines after which timeframe a dirty page should be written at latest. Default is 3000, which means
30 seconds.

/proc/sys/vm/dirty_background_ratio
Maximum percentage of dirty pages until pdflush begins to write them. Default is 5%.

/proc/sys/vm/dirty_ratio
When the dirty pages exceed this percentage of the total memory, processes are forced to write dirty
buffers during their time slice instead of continuing to write.

Warning: Data integrity risk

Changes to the pdflush daemon settings can compromise data integrity.

Apart from these processes, journaling file systems, like Btrfs, Ext3, Ext4 and others write their meta-
data independently from pdflush, which also prevents the hard disk from spinning down.

464 Rest for the hard disk | SLES 15 SP4

Another important factor is the way active programs behave. For example, good editors regularly write
hidden backups of the currently modified file to the hard disk, causing the disk to wake up. Features like
this can be disabled at the expense of data integrity.
In this connection, the mail daemon postfix uses the variable POSTFIX_LAPTOP. If this variable is set to
yes, postfix accesses the hard disk far less frequently.

35.4 Troubleshooting
All error messages and alerts are logged in the system journal, which can be queried with the command
journalctl (see Chapter 21, journalctl: Query the systemd journal for more information). The fol-
lowing sections cover the most common problems.

35.4.1 CPU frequency does not work

Refer to the kernel sources to see if your processor is supported. You may need a special kernel module
or module option to activate CPU frequency control. If the kernel-source package is installed, this
information is available in /usr/src/linux/Documentation/cpu-freq/*.

465 Troubleshooting | SLES 15 SP4

36 Persistent memory

This chapter contains additional information about using SUSE Linux Enterprise with
non-volatile main memory, also known as Persistent Memory, comprising one or more
NVDIMMs.

36.1 Introduction
Persistent memory is a new type of computer storage, combining speeds approaching those of dynamic
RAM (DRAM) along with RAM's byte-by-byte addressability, plus the permanence of solid-state drives
(SSDs).
SUSE currently supports the use of persistent memory with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on machines
with the AMD64/Intel 64 and POWER architectures.
Like conventional RAM, persistent memory is installed directly into mainboard memory slots. As such, it
is supplied in the same physical form factor as RAM—as DIMMs. These are known as NVDIMMs: non-
volatile dual inline memory modules.
Unlike RAM, though, persistent memory is also similar to flash-based SSDs in several ways. Both are
based on forms of solid-state memory circuitry, but despite this, both provide non-volatile storage: Their
contents are retained when the system is powered off or restarted. For both forms of medium, writing data
is slower than reading it, and both support a limited number of rewrite cycles. Finally, also like SSDs,
sector-level access to persistent memory is possible if that is more suitable for a particular application.
Different models use different forms of electronic storage medium, such as Intel 3D XPoint, or a combi-
nation of NAND-flash and DRAM. New forms of non-volatile RAM are also in development. This means
that different vendors and models of NVDIMM offer different performance and durability characteristics.
Because the storage technologies involved are in an early stage of development, different vendors' hard-
ware may impose different limitations. Thus, the following statements are generalizations.
Persistent memory is up to ten times slower than DRAM, but around a thousand times faster than flash
storage. It can be rewritten on a byte-by-byte basis rather than flash memory's whole-sector erase-and-
rewrite process. Finally, while rewrite cycles are limited, most forms of persistent memory can handle
millions of rewrites, compared to the thousands of cycles of flash storage.

466 Introduction | SLES 15 SP4

This has two important consequences:

It is not possible with current technology to run a system with only persistent memory and thus
achieve completely non-volatile main memory. You must use a mixture of both conventional RAM
and NVDIMMs. The operating system and applications will execute in conventional RAM, with the
NVDIMMs providing very fast supplementary storage.

The performance characteristics of different vendors' persistent memory mean that it may be neces-
sary for programmers to be aware of the hardware specifications of the NVDIMMs in a particular
server, including how many NVDIMMs there are and in which memory slots they are fitted. This
will impact hypervisor use, migration of software between different host machines, and so on.

This new storage subsystem is defined in version 6 of the ACPI standard. However, libnvdimm supports
pre-standard NVDIMMs and they can be used in the same way.

Tip: Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory

Intel Optane DIMMs memory can be used in specific modes:

In App Direct Mode, the Intel Optane memory is used as fast persistent storage, an alternative
to SSDs and NVMe devices. Data in this mode is kept when the system is powered off.
App Direct Mode has been supported since SLE 12 SP4.

In Memory Mode, the Intel Optane memory serves as a cost-effective, high-capacity alterna-
tive to DRAM. In this mode, separate DRAM DIMMs act as a cache for the most frequently
accessed data while the Optane DIMMs memory provides large memory capacity. However,
compared with DRAM-only systems, this mode is slower under random access workloads. If
you run applications without Optane-specific enhancements that take advantage of this mode,
memory performance may decrease. Data in this mode is lost when the system is powered off.
Memory Mode has been supported since SLE 15 SP1.

In Mixed Mode, the Intel Optane memory is partitioned, so it can serve in both modes simul-
taneously.
Mixed Mode has been supported since SLE 15 SP1.

For more detailed information about Intel Optane DC persistent memory, refer
to [Link]
ta-center-persistent-mem/[Link] .

467 Introduction | SLES 15 SP4

36.2 Terms
Region
A region is a block of persistent memory that can be divided up into one or more namespaces. You
cannot access the persistent memory of a region without first allocating it to a namespace.

Namespace
A single contiguously-addressed range of non-volatile storage, comparable to NVM Express SSD
namespaces, or to SCSI Logical Units (LUNs). Namespaces appear in the server's /dev directo-
ry as separate block devices. Depending on the method of access required, namespaces can either
amalgamate storage from multiple NVDIMMs into larger volumes, or allow it to be partitioned into
smaller volumes.

Mode
Each namespace also has a mode that defines which NVDIMM features are enabled for that name-
space. Sibling namespaces of the same parent region will always have the same type, but might be
configured to have different modes. Namespace modes include:

devdax
Device-DAX mode. Creates a single-character device file ( /dev/daxX.Y ). Does not require
file system creation.

fsdax
File system-DAX mode. Default if no other mode is specified. Creates a block device (/dev/
pmemX [.Y]) which supports DAX for ext4 or XFS.

sector
For legacy file systems which do not checksum metadata. Suitable for small boot volumes.
Compatible with other operating systems.

raw
A memory disk without a label or metadata. Does not support DAX. Compatible with other
operating systems.

Note
raw mode is not supported by SUSE. It is not possible to mount file systems on raw
namespaces.

468 Terms | SLES 15 SP4

Type
Each namespace and region has a type that defines the way in which the persistent memory associated
with that namespace or region can be accessed. A namespace always has the same type as its parent
region. There are two different types: Persistent Memory, which can be configured in two different
ways, and the deprecated Block Mode.

Persistent memory (PMEM)

PMEM storage offers byte-level access, similar to RAM. Using PMEM, a single namespace
can include multiple interleaved NVDIMMs, allowing them all to be used as a single device.
There are two ways to configure a PMEM namespace.

PMEM with DAX

A PMEM namespace configured for Direct Access (DAX) means that accessing the
memory bypasses the kernel's page cache and goes direct to the medium. Software can
directly read or write every byte of the namespace separately.

PMEM with block translation table (BTT)

A PMEM namespace configured to operate in BTT mode is accessed on a sector-by-sec-
tor basis, like a conventional disk drive, rather than the more RAM-like byte-address-
able model. A translation table mechanism batches accesses into sector-sized units.
The advantage of BTT is data protection. The storage subsystem ensures that each sector
is completely written to the underlying medium. If a sector cannot be completely written
(that is, if the write operation fails for some reason), then the whole sector will be rolled
back to its previous state. Thus a given sector cannot be partially written.
Additionally, access to BTT namespaces is cached by the kernel.
The drawback is that DAX is not possible for BTT namespaces.

Block mode (BLK)

Block mode storage addresses each NVDIMM as a separate device. Its use is deprecated and
no longer supported.
Apart from devdax namespaces, all other types must be formatted with a file system, just as with
a conventional drive. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server supports the ext2, ext4 and XFS file systems
for this.

Direct access (DAX)

DAX allows persistent memory to be directly mapped into a process's address space, for example
using the mmap system call.

469 Terms | SLES 15 SP4

DIMM physical address (DPA)
A memory address as an offset into a single DIMM's memory; that is, starting from zero as the
lowest addressable byte on that DIMM.

Label
Metadata stored on the NVDIMM, such as namespace definitions. This can be accessed using DSMs.

Device-specific method (DSM)

ACPI method to access the firmware on an NVDIMM.

36.3 Use cases

36.3.1 PMEM with DAX

It is important to note that this form of memory access is not transactional. In the event of a power outage
or other system failure, data may not be completely written into storage. PMEM storage is only suitable
if the application can handle the situation of partially-written data.

[Link] Applications that benefit from large amounts of byte-addressable

storage

If the server will host an application that can directly use large amounts of fast storage on a byte-by-byte
basis, the programmer can use the mmap system call to place blocks of persistent memory directly into the
application's address space, without using any additional system RAM.

[Link] Avoiding use of the kernel page cache

Avoid using the kernel page cache if you want to conserve the use of RAM for the page cache, and
instead give it to your applications. For instance, non-volatile memory could be dedicated to holding virtual
machine (VM) images. As these would not be cached, this would reduce the cache usage on the host,
allowing more VMs per host.

470 Use cases | SLES 15 SP4

36.3.2 PMEM with BTT
This is useful when you want to use the persistent memory on a set of NVDIMMs as a disk-like pool of
very fast storage. For example, placing the file system journal on PMEM with BTT increases the reliability
of file system recovery after a power failure or other sudden interruption (see Section 36.5.3, “Creating a
PMEM namespace with BTT”).

To applications, such devices appear as very fast SSDs and can be used like any other storage device. For
example, LVM can be layered on top of the persistent memory and will work as normal.
The advantage of BTT is that sector write atomicity is guaranteed, so even sophisticated applications that
depend on data integrity will keep working. Media error reporting works through standard error-reporting
channels.

36.4 Tools for managing persistent memory

To manage persistent memory, it is necessary to install the ndctl package. This also installs the libndctl
package, which provides a set of user space libraries to configure NVDIMMs.
These tools work via the libnvdimm library, which supports three types of NVDIMM:

PMEM

BLK

Simultaneous PMEM and BLK

The ndctl utility has a helpful set of man pages, accessible with the command:

> ndctl help subcommand

To see a list of available subcommands, use:

> ndctl --list-cmds

The available subcommands include:

version
Displays the current version of the NVDIMM support tools.

enable-namespace
Makes the specified namespace available for use.

471 PMEM with BTT | SLES 15 SP4

disable-namespace
Prevents the specified namespace from being used.

create-namespace
Creates a new namespace from the specified storage devices.

destroy-namespace
Removes the specified namespace.

enable-region
Makes the specified region available for use.

disable-region
Prevents the specified region from being used.

zero-labels
Erases the metadata from a device.

read-labels
Retrieves the metadata of the specified device.

list
Displays available devices.

help
Displays information about using the tool.

36.5 Setting up persistent memory

36.5.1 Viewing available NVDIMM storage

The ndctl list command can be used to list all available NVDIMMs in a system.
In the following example, the system has three NVDIMMs, which are in a single, triple-channel interleaved
set.

# ndctl list --dimms

[
{
"dev":"nmem2",

472 Setting up persistent memory | SLES 15 SP4

 "id":"8089-00-0000-12325476"
},
{
"dev":"nmem1",
"id":"8089-00-0000-11325476"
},
{
"dev":"nmem0",
"id":"8089-00-0000-10325476"
}
]

With a different parameter, ndctl list will also list the available regions.

Note
Regions may not appear in numerical order.

Note that although there are only three NVDIMMs, they appear as four regions.

# ndctl list --regions

[
{
"dev":"region1",
"size":68182605824,
"available_size":68182605824,
"type":"blk"
},
{
"dev":"region3",
"size":202937204736,
"available_size":202937204736,
"type":"pmem",
"iset_id":5903239628671731251
},
{
"dev":"region0",
"size":68182605824,
"available_size":68182605824,
"type":"blk"
},
{
"dev":"region2",
"size":68182605824,
"available_size":68182605824,

473 Viewing available NVDIMM storage | SLES 15 SP4

 "type":"blk"
}
]

The space is available in two different forms: either as three separate 64 GB regions of type BLK, or as one
combined 189 GB region of type PMEM which presents all the space on the three interleaved NVDIMMs
as a single volume.
Note that the displayed value for available_size is the same as that for size. This means that none
of the space has been allocated yet.

36.5.2 Configuring the storage as a single PMEM namespace with

DAX
For the first example, we will configure our three NVDIMMs into a single PMEM namespace with Direct
Access (DAX).
The first step is to create a new namespace.

# ndctl create-namespace --type=pmem --mode=fsdax --map=memory

{
"dev":"namespace3.0",
"mode":"memory",
"size":199764213760,
"uuid":"dc8ebb84-c564-4248-9e8d-e18543c39b69",
"blockdev":"pmem3"
}

This creates a block device /dev/pmem3, which supports DAX. The 3 in the device name is inherited
from the parent region number, in this case region3.
The --map=memory option sets aside part of the PMEM storage space on the NVDIMMs so that it can
be used to allocate internal kernel data structures called struct pages. This allows the new PMEM
namespace to be used with features such as O_DIRECT I/O and RDMA.
The reservation of some persistent memory for kernel data structures is why the resulting PMEM name-
space has a smaller capacity than the parent PMEM region.
Next, we verify that the new block device is available to the operating system:

# fdisk -l /dev/pmem3
Disk /dev/pmem3: 186 GiB, 199764213760 bytes, 390164480 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes

474 Configuring the storage as a single PMEM namespace with DAX | SLES 15 SP4
Before it can be used, like any other drive, it must be formatted. In this example, we format it with XFS:

# [Link] /dev/pmem3
meta-data=/dev/pmem3 isize=256 agcount=4, agsize=12192640 blks
= sectsz=4096 attr=2, projid32bit=1
= crc=0 finobt=0, sparse=0
data = bsize=4096 blocks=48770560, imaxpct=25
= sunit=0 swidth=0 blks
naming =version 2 bsize=4096 ascii-ci=0 ftype=1
log =internal log bsize=4096 blocks=23813, version=2
= sectsz=4096 sunit=1 blks, lazy-count=1
realtime =none extsz=4096 blocks=0, rtextents=0

Next, we can mount the new drive onto a directory:

# mount -o dax /dev/pmem3 /mnt/pmem3

Then we can verify that we now have a DAX-capable device:

# mount | grep dax

/dev/pmem3 on /mnt/pmem3 type xfs (rw,relatime,attr2,dax,inode64,noquota)

The result is that we now have a PMEM namespace formatted with the XFS file system and mounted
with DAX.
Any mmap() calls to files in that file system will return virtual addresses that directly map to the persistent
memory on our NVDIMMs, completely bypassing the page cache.
Any fsync or msync calls on files in that file system will still ensure that modified data has been fully
written to the NVDIMMs. These calls flush the processor cache lines associated with any pages that have
been modified in user space via mmap mappings.

[Link] Removing a namespace

Before creating any other type of volume that uses the same storage, we must unmount and then remove
this PMEM volume.
First, unmount it:

# umount /mnt/pmem3

Then disable the namespace:

# ndctl disable-namespace namespace3.0

disabled 1 namespace

475 Configuring the storage as a single PMEM namespace with DAX | SLES 15 SP4
Then delete it:

# ndctl destroy-namespace namespace3.0

destroyed 1 namespace

36.5.3 Creating a PMEM namespace with BTT

BTT provides sector write atomicity, which makes it a good choice when you need data protection, for
example for Ext4 and XFS journals. If there is a power failure, the journals are protected and should be
recoverable. The following examples show how to create a PMEM namespace with BTT in sector mode,
and how to place the file system journal in this namespace.

# ndctl create-namespace --type=pmem --mode=sector

{
"dev":"namespace3.0",
"mode":"sector",
"uuid":"51ab652d-7f20-44ea-b51d-5670454f8b9b",
"sector_size":4096,
"blockdev":"pmem3s"
}

Next, verify that the new device is present:

# fdisk -l /dev/pmem3s
Disk /dev/pmem3s: 188.8 GiB, 202738135040 bytes, 49496615 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 4096 = 4096 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes

Like the DAX-capable PMEM namespace we previously configured, this BTT-capable PMEM namespace
consumes all the available storage on the NVDIMMs.

Note
The trailing s in the device name (/dev/pmem3s) stands for sector and can be used to easily
distinguish namespaces that are configured to use the BTT.

The volume can be formatted and mounted as in the previous example.

The PMEM namespace shown here cannot use DAX. Instead it uses the BTT to provide sector write
atomicity. On each sector write through the PMEM block driver, the BTT will allocate a new sector to
receive the new data. The BTT atomically updates its internal mapping structures after the new data is

476 Creating a PMEM namespace with BTT | SLES 15 SP4

fully written so the newly written data will be available to applications. If the power fails at any point
during this process, the write will be completely lost and the application will have access to its old data,
still intact. This prevents the condition known as "torn sectors".
This BTT-enabled PMEM namespace can be formatted and used with a file system same as any other
standard block device. It cannot be used with DAX. However, mmap mappings for files on this block device
will use the page cache.

36.5.4 Placing the file system journal on PMEM/BTT

When you place the file system journal on a separate device, it must use the same file system block size
as the file system. Most likely this is 4096, and you can find the block size with this command:

# blockdev --getbsz /dev/sda3

The following example creates a new Ext4 journal on a separate NVDIMM device, creates the file system
on a SATA device, then attaches the new file system to the journal:

# mke2fs -b 4096 -O journal_dev /dev/pmem3s

# mkfs.ext4 -J device=/dev/pmem3s /dev/sda3

The following example creates a new XFS file system on a SATA drive, and creates the journal on a
separate NVDIMM device:

# [Link] -l logdev=/dev/pmem3s /dev/sda3

See man 8 mkfs.ext4 and man 8 mkfs.ext4 for detailed information about options.

36.6 More information

More about this topic can be found in the following list:

Persistent Memory Wiki ([Link]

Contains instructions for configuring NVDIMM systems, information about testing, and links to
specifications related to NVDIMM enabling. This site is developing as NVDIMM support in Linux
is developing.

Persistent Memory Programming ([Link]

Information about configuring, using and programming systems with non-volatile memory under
Linux and other operating systems. Covers the NVM Library (NVML), which aims to provide useful
APIs for programming with persistent memory in user space.

477 Placing the file system journal on PMEM/BTT | SLES 15 SP4

 LIBNVDIMM: Non-Volatile Devices ([Link]
[Link])
Aimed at kernel developers, this is part of the Documentation directory in the current Linux kernel
tree. It talks about the different kernel modules involved in NVDIMM enablement, lays out some
technical details of the kernel implementation, and talks about the sysfsinterface to the kernel that
is used by the ndctl tool.

GitHub: pmem/ndctl ([Link]

Utility library for managing the libnvdimm subsystem in the Linux kernel. Also contains user space
libraries, as well as unit tests and documentation.

478 More information | SLES 15 SP4

V Services

37 Service management with YaST 480

38 Time synchronization with NTP 482

39 The domain name system 489

40 DHCP 513

41 SLP 528

42 The Apache HTTP server 532

43 Setting up an FTP server with YaST 573

44 Squid caching proxy server 577

45 Web Based Enterprise Management using SFCB 597

37 Service management with YaST

YaST provides a service manager for controlling the default system target, services, display-
ing service status, and reading the log file. New in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 is
YaST support for systemd socket-based services activation, which configures services to
start on demand.
systemd supports starting services with socket-based activation, for starting services on demand. These
services have two unit types: service and socket. For example, CUPS is controlled by [Link] and
[Link]. YaST allows you to select the type of service start-up you want to use.

Figure 37.1, “YaST service manager” shows the options in the Start Mode drop-down box: On Boot, On
Demand, and Manually. Select On Demand for socket-based activation. This opens a listening network
socket, and the service starts when there is a request.

FIGURE 37.1: YAST SERVICE MANAGER

480 | SLES 15 SP4

The On Demand option is visible only for services that support it. Currently this is a small subset of
services, such as CUPS, dbus, iscsid, iscsiuio, multipathd, pcscd, rpcbind, TFTP, virtlockd, virtlogd. See
man 5 [Link] for detailed information on how socket activation works.

481 | SLES 15 SP4

38 Time synchronization with NTP

The NTP (network time protocol) mechanism is a protocol for synchronizing the system time
over the network. First, a machine can obtain the time from a server that is a reliable time
source. Second, a machine can itself act as a time source for other computers in the network.
The goal is twofold—maintaining the absolute time and synchronizing the system time of all
machines within a network.
Maintaining an exact system time is important in many situations. The built-in hardware clock does often
not meet the requirements of applications such as databases or clusters. Manual correction of the system
time would lead to severe problems because, for example, a backward leap can cause malfunction of critical
applications. Within a network, it is usually necessary to synchronize the system time of all machines, but
manual time adjustment is a bad approach. NTP provides a mechanism to solve these problems. The NTP
service continuously adjusts the system time with reliable time servers in the network. It further enables
the management of local reference clocks, such as radio-controlled clocks.
Since SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15, chrony is the default implementation of NTP. chrony includes
two parts; chronyd is a daemon that can be started at boot time and chronyc is a command line interface
program to monitor the performance of chronyd, and to change various operating parameters at runtime.
Starting with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15.2, the YaST module for NTP client configuration config-
ures the systemd-timer instead of the cron daemon to execute chrony, when it is not configured to run
as a daemon.

38.1 Configuring an NTP client with YaST

The NTP daemon (chronyd) coming with the chrony package is preset to use the local computer hard-
ware clock as a time reference. The precision of the hardware clock heavily depends on its time source.
For example, an atomic clock or GPS receiver is a very precise time source, while a common RTC chip
is not a reliable time source. YaST simplifies the configuration of an NTP client.
In the YaST NTP client configuration (Network Services NTP Configuration) window, you can specify
when to start the NTP daemon, the type of the configuration source, and add custom time servers.

482 Configuring an NTP client with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 38.1: NTP CONFIGURATION WINDOW

38.1.1 NTP daemon start

You can choose from three options for when to start the NTP daemon:

Only manually
Select Only Manually, if you want to manually start the chrony daemon.

Synchronize without daemon

Select Synchronize without Daemon to set the system time periodically without a permanently run-
ning chrony. You can set the Interval of the Synchronization in Minutes.

Now and on boot

Select Now and On Boot to start chronyd automatically when the system is booted. This setting
is recommended.

38.1.2 Type of the configuration source

In the Configuration Source drop-down box, select either Dynamic or Static. Set Static if your server uses
only a fixed set of (public) NTP servers, while Dynamic is better if your internal network offers NTP
servers via DHCP.

483 NTP daemon start | SLES 15 SP4

38.1.3 Configure time servers
Time servers for the client to query are listed in the lower part of the NTP Configuration window. Modify
this list as needed with Add, Edit, and Delete.
Click Add to add a new time server:

FIGURE 38.2: ADDING A TIME SERVER

1. In the Address field, type the URL of the time server or pool of time servers with which you want
to synchronize the machine time. After the URL is complete, click Test to verify that it points to
a valid time source.

2. Activate Quick Initial Sync to speed up the time synchronization by sending more requests at the
chronyd daemon start.

3. Activate Start Offline to speed up the boot time on systems that start the chronyd daemon auto-
matically and may not have an Internet connection at boot time. This option is useful, for example,
for laptops with network connections managed by NetworkManager.

4. Confirm with OK.

484 Configure time servers | SLES 15 SP4

38.2 Manually configuring NTP in the network
chrony reads its configuration from the /etc/[Link] file. To keep the computer clock synchro-
nized, you need to tell chrony what time servers to use. You can use specific server names or IP addresses,
for example:

[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

You can also specify a pool name. Pool name resolves to several IP addresses:

pool [Link]

Tip: Computers on the same network

To synchronize time on multiple computers on the same network, we do not recommend to syn-
chronize all of them with an external server. A good practice is to make one computer the time
server which is synchronized with an external time server, and the other computers act as its clients.
Add a local directive to the server's /etc/[Link] to distinguish it from an authoritative
time server:

local stratum 10

To start chrony, run:

systemctl start [Link]

After initializing chronyd, it takes some time before the time is stabilized and the drift file for correcting
the local computer clock is created. With the drift file, the systematic error of the hardware clock can be
computed when the computer is powered on. The correction is used immediately, resulting in a higher
stability of the system time.
To enable the service so that chrony starts automatically at boot time, run:

systemctl enable [Link]

485 Manually configuring NTP in the network | SLES 15 SP4

 Warning: Conflicting [Link] service
In addition to the [Link] service, SLES includes [Link]. yast-
[Link] is triggered by a timer every 5 minutes and runs chronyd with the -q option
to set the system time and exit. Because only one instance of chronyd can be running at any given
time, do not enable or start both chronyd-related services at the same time.

38.3 Configure chronyd at runtime using chronyc

You can use chronyc to change the behavior of chronyd at runtime. It also generates status reports about
the operation of chronyd.
You can run chronyc either in interactive or non-interactive mode. To run chronyc interactively, enter
chronyc on the command line. It displays a prompt and waits for your command input. For example, to
check how many NTP sources are online or offline, run:

# chronyc
chronyc> activity
200 OK
4 sources online
2 sources offline
1 sources doing burst (return to online)
1 sources doing burst (return to offline)
0 sources with unknown address

To exit chronyc's prompt, enter quit or exit.

If you do not need to use the interactive prompt, enter the command directly:

# chronyc activity

Note: Temporary changes

Changes made using chronyc are not permanent. They will be lost after the next chronyd restart.
For permanent changes, modify /etc/[Link].

For a complete list of chronyc commands, see its manual page (man 1 chronyc).

486 Configure chronyd at runtime using chronyc | SLES 15 SP4

38.4 Dynamic time synchronization at runtime
Although chronyd starts up normally on a system that boots without a network connection, the tool cannot
resolve the DNS names of the time servers specified in the configuration file.
chronyd keeps trying to resolve the time server names specified by the server, pool, and peer direc-
tives in an increasing time interval until it succeeds.
If the time server will not be reachable when chronyd is started, you can specify the offline option:

server server_address offline

chronyd will then not try to poll the server until it is enabled using the following command:

# chronyc online server_address

When the auto_offline option is set, chronyd assumes that the time server has gone offline when two
requests have been sent to it without receiving a response. This option avoids the need to run the 'offline'
command from chronyc when disconnecting the network link.

38.5 Setting up a local reference clock

The software package chrony relies on other programs (such as gpsd) to access the timing data via the
SHM or SOCK driver. Use the refclock directive in /etc/[Link] to specify a hardware refer-
ence clock to be used as a time source. It has two mandatory parameters: a driver name and a driver-spe-
cific parameter. The two parameters are followed by zero or more refclock options. chronyd includes
the following drivers:

PPS - driver for the kernel 'pulse per second' API. For example:

refclock PPS /dev/pps0 lock NMEA refid GPS

SHM - NTP shared memory driver. For example:

refclock SHM 0 poll 3 refid GPS1

refclock SHM 1:perm=0644 refid GPS2

SOCK - Unix domain socket driver. For example:

refclock SOCK /var/run/[Link]

PHC - PTP hardware clock driver. For example:

refclock PHC /dev/ptp0 poll 0 dpoll -2 offset -37

487 Dynamic time synchronization at runtime | SLES 15 SP4

 refclock PHC /dev/ptp1:nocrossts poll 3 pps

For more information on individual drivers' options, see man 8 [Link].

38.6 Clock synchronization to an external time

reference (ETR)
Support for clock synchronization to an external time reference (ETR) is available. The external time
reference sends an oscillator signal and a synchronization signal every 2**20 (2 to the power of 20) mi-
croseconds to keep TOD clocks of all connected servers synchronized.
For availability two ETR units can be connected to a machine. If the clock deviates for more than the
sync-check tolerance all CPUs get a machine check that indicates that the clock is not synchronized. If
this happens, all DASD I/O to XRC enabled devices is stopped until the clock is synchronized again.
The ETR support is activated via two sysfs attributes; run the following commands as root:

echo 1 > /sys/devices/system/etr/etr0/online

echo 1 > /sys/devices/system/etr/etr1/online

488 Clock synchronization to an external time reference (ETR) | SLES 15 SP4

39 The domain name system

DNS (domain name system) is needed to resolve the domain names and host names into IP
addresses. In this way, the IP address [Link] is assigned to the host name jupiter,
for example. Before setting up your own name server, read the general information about
DNS in Section 23.3, “Name resolution”. The following configuration examples refer to
BIND, the default DNS server.

39.1 DNS terminology

Zone
The domain name space is divided into regions called zones. For example, if you have exam-
[Link], you have the example section (or zone) of the com domain.

DNS server
The DNS server is a server that maintains the name and IP information for a domain. You can have a
primary DNS server for primary zone, a secondary server for secondary zone, or a secondary server
without any zones for caching.

Primary zone DNS server

The primary zone includes all hosts from your network and a DNS server primary zone stores
up-to-date records for all the hosts in your domain.

Secondary zone DNS server

A secondary zone is a copy of the primary zone. The secondary zone DNS server obtains its
zone data with zone transfer operations from its primary server. The secondary zone DNS
server responds authoritatively for the zone if it has valid (not expired) zone data. If the sec-
ondary server cannot obtain a new copy of the zone data, it stops responding for the zone.

Forwarder
Forwarders are DNS servers to which your DNS server should send queries it cannot answer. To
enable different configuration sources in one configuration, netconfig is used (see also man 8
netconfig).

489 DNS terminology | SLES 15 SP4

Record
The record is information about name and IP address. Supported records and their syntax are de-
scribed in BIND documentation. Some special records are:

NS record
An NS record tells name servers which machines are in charge of a given domain zone.

MX record
The MX (mail exchange) records describe the machines to contact for directing mail across
the Internet.

SOA record
SOA (Start of Authority) record is the first record in a zone file. The SOA record is used when
using DNS to synchronize data between multiple computers.

39.2 Installation
To install a DNS server, start YaST and select Software Software Management. Choose View Patterns
and select DHCP and DNS Server. Confirm the installation of the dependent packages to finish the instal-
lation process.
Alternatively use the following command on the command line:

> sudo zypper in -t pattern dhcp_dns_server

39.3 Configuration with YaST

Use the YaST DNS module to configure a DNS server for the local network. When starting the module
for the first time, a wizard starts, prompting you to make a few decisions concerning administration of the
server. Completing this initial setup produces a basic server configuration. Use the expert mode to deal
with more advanced configuration tasks, such as setting up ACLs, logging, TSIG keys, and other options.

39.3.1 Wizard configuration

The wizard consists of three steps or dialogs. At the appropriate places in the dialogs, you can enter the
expert configuration mode.

490 Installation | SLES 15 SP4

 1. When starting the module for the first time, the Forwarder Settings dialog, shown in Figure 39.1,
“DNS server installation: forwarder settings”, opens. The Local DNS Resolution Policy allows to set
the following options:

Merging forwarders is disabled

Automatic merging

Merging forwarders is enabled

Custom configuration—If Custom configuration is selected, Custom policy can be speci-

fied; by default (with Automatic merging selected), Custom policy is set to auto, but here
you can either set interface names or select from the two special policy names STATIC and
STATIC_FALLBACK.

In Local DNS Resolution Forwarder, specify which service to use: Using system name servers, This
name server (bind), or Local dnsmasq server.
For more information about all these settings, see man 8 netconfig.

FIGURE 39.1: DNS SERVER INSTALLATION: FORWARDER SETTINGS

Forwarders are DNS servers to which your DNS server sends queries it cannot answer itself. Enter
their IP address and click Add.

491 Wizard configuration | SLES 15 SP4

 2. The DNS Zones dialog consists of several parts and is responsible for the management of zone files,
described in Section 39.6, “Zone files”. For a new zone, provide a name for it in Name. To add a
reverse zone, the name must end in .[Link]. Finally, select the Type (primary, secondary,
or forward). See Figure 39.2, “DNS server installation: DNS zones”. Click Edit to configure other
settings of an existing zone. To remove a zone, click Delete.

FIGURE 39.2: DNS SERVER INSTALLATION: DNS ZONES

3. In the final dialog, you can open the DNS port in the firewall by clicking Open Port in Firewall.
Then decide whether to start the DNS server when booting (On or Off). You can also activate LDAP
support. See Figure 39.3, “DNS server installation: finish wizard”.

492 Wizard configuration | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 39.3: DNS SERVER INSTALLATION: FINISH WIZARD

39.3.2 Expert configuration

After starting the module, YaST opens a window displaying several configuration options. Completing it
results in a DNS server configuration with the basic functions in place:

[Link] Start-up

Under Start-Up, define whether the DNS server should be started when the booting the system or manually.
To start the DNS server immediately, click Start DNS Server Now. To stop the DNS server, click Stop
DNS Server Now. To save the current settings, select Save Settings and Reload DNS Server Now. You
can open the DNS port in the firewall with Open Port in Firewall and modify the firewall settings with
Firewall Details.
By selecting LDAP Support Active, the zone files are managed by an LDAP database. Any changes to
zone data written to the LDAP database are picked up by the DNS server when it is restarted or prompted
to reload its configuration.

493 Expert configuration | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Forwarders

If your local DNS server cannot answer a request, it tries to forward the request to a Forwarder, if con-
figured so. This forwarder may be added manually to the Forwarder List. If the forwarder is not static
like in dial-up connections, netconfig handles the configuration. For more information about netconfig,
see man 8 netconfig.

[Link] Basic options

In this section, set basic server options. From the Option menu, select the desired item then specify the
value in the corresponding text box. Include the new entry by selecting Add.

[Link] Logging

To set what the DNS server should log and how, select Logging. Under Log Type, specify where the DNS
server should write the log data. Use the system-wide log by selecting System Log or specify a different
file by selecting File. In the latter case, additionally specify a name, the maximum file size in megabytes
and the number of log file versions to store.
Further options are available under Additional Logging. Enabling Log All DNS Queries causes every query
to be logged, in which case the log file could grow extremely large. For this reason, it is not a good idea to
enable this option for other than debugging purposes. To log the data traffic during zone updates between
DHCP and DNS server, enable Log Zone Updates. To log the data traffic during a zone transfer from
primary to secondary server, enable Log Zone Transfer. See Figure 39.4, “DNS server: logging”.

494 Expert configuration | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 39.4: DNS SERVER: LOGGING

[Link] ACLs

Use this dialog to define ACLs (access control lists) to enforce access restrictions. After providing a distinct
name under Name, specify an IP address (with or without netmask) under Value in the following fashion:

{ 192.168.1/24; }

The syntax of the configuration file requires that the address ends with a semicolon and is put into curly
braces.

[Link] TSIG keys

The main purpose of TSIGs (transaction signatures) is to secure communications between DHCP and DNS
servers. They are described in Section 39.8, “Secure transactions”.
To generate a TSIG key, enter a distinctive name in the field labeled Key ID and specify the file where the
key should be stored (Filename). Confirm your choices with Generate.
To use a previously created key, leave the Key ID field blank and select the file where it is stored under
Filename. After that, confirm with Add.

495 Expert configuration | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] DNS zones (adding a secondary zone)

To add a secondary zone, select DNS Zones, choose the zone type Secondary, write the name of the new
zone, and click Add.
In the Zone Editor sub-dialog under Primary DNS Server IP, specify the primary server from which the
secondary server should pull its data. To limit access to the server, select one of the ACLs from the list.

[Link] DNS zones (adding a primary zone)

To add a primary zone, select DNS Zones, choose the zone type Primary, write the name of the new zone,
and click Add. When adding a primary zone, a reverse zone is also needed. For example, when adding
the zone [Link] that points to hosts in a subnet [Link]/24, you should also add a reverse
zone for the IP-address range covered. By definition, this should be named [Link].

[Link] DNS zones (editing a primary zone)

To edit a primary zone, select DNS Zones, select the primary zone from the table and click Edit. The dialog
consists of several pages: Basics (the one opened first), NS Records, MX Records, SOA, and Records.
The basic dialog, shown in Figure 39.5, “DNS server: Zone Editor (Basics)”, lets you define settings for
dynamic DNS and access options for zone transfers to clients and secondary name servers. To permit the
dynamic updating of zones, select Allow Dynamic Updates and the corresponding TSIG key. The key
must have been defined before the update action starts. To enable zone transfers, select the corresponding
ACLs. ACLs must have been defined already.
In the Basics dialog, select whether to enable zone transfers. Use the listed ACLs to define who can
download zones.

496 Expert configuration | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 39.5: DNS SERVER: ZONE EDITOR (BASICS)

Zone Editor (NS Records)

The NS Records dialog allows you to define alternative name servers for the zones specified. Make
sure that your own name server is included in the list. To add a record, enter its name under Name
Server to Add then confirm with Add. See Figure 39.6, “DNS server: Zone Editor (NS Records)”.

FIGURE 39.6: DNS SERVER: ZONE EDITOR (NS RECORDS)

497 Expert configuration | SLES 15 SP4

Zone Editor (MX Records)
To add a mail server for the current zone to the existing list, enter the corresponding address and
priority value. After doing so, confirm by selecting Add. See Figure 39.7, “DNS server: Zone Editor
(MX Records)”.

FIGURE 39.7: DNS SERVER: ZONE EDITOR (MX RECORDS)

Zone Editor (SOA)

This page allows you to create SOA (start of authority) records. For an explanation of the individual
options, refer to Example 39.6, “The /var/lib/named/[Link] file”. Changing SOA records
is not supported for dynamic zones managed via LDAP.

498 Expert configuration | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 39.8: DNS SERVER: ZONE EDITOR (SOA)

Zone Editor (Records)

This dialog manages name resolution. In Record Key, enter the host name then select its type. The A
type represents the main entry. The value for this should be an IP address (IPv4). Use AAAA for IPv6
addresses. CNAME is an alias. Use the types NS and MX for detailed or partial records that expand
on the information provided in the NS Records and MX Records tabs. These three types resolve to
an existing A record. PTR is for reverse zones. It is the opposite of an A record, for example:

[Link]. IN A [Link]
[Link].[Link] IN PTR [Link].

[Link].1 Adding reverse zones

To add a reverse zone, follow this procedure:

1. Start YaST DNS Server DNS Zones.

2. If you have not added a primary forward zone, add it and Edit it.

3. In the Records tab, fill the corresponding Record Key and Value, then add the record with Add and
confirm with OK. If YaST complains about a non-existing record for a name server, add it in the
NS Records tab.

499 Expert configuration | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 39.9: ADDING A RECORD FOR A PRIMARY ZONE

4. Back in the DNS Zones window, add a reverse primary zone.

FIGURE 39.10: ADDING A REVERSE ZONE

5. Edit the reverse zone, and in the Records tab, you can see the PTR: Reverse translation record type.
Add the corresponding Record Key and Value, then click Add and confirm with OK.

500 Expert configuration | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 39.11: ADDING A REVERSE RECORD

Add a name server record if needed.

Tip: Editing the reverse zone

After adding a forward zone, go back to the main menu and select the reverse zone for editing.
There in the tab Basics activate the check box Automatically Generate Records From and select
your forward zone. That way, all changes to the forward zone are automatically updated in the
reverse zone.

39.4 Starting the BIND name server

On a SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server system, the name server BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain)
comes preconfigured, so it can be started right after installation without any problems. Normally, if you
already have an Internet connection and entered [Link] as the name server address for localhost in
/var/run/netconfig/[Link], you already have a working name resolution without needing to
know the DNS of the provider. BIND carries out name resolution via the root name server, a notably slower
process. Normally, the DNS of the provider should be entered with its IP address in the configuration file
/etc/[Link] under forwarders to ensure effective and secure name resolution. If this works so

501 Starting the BIND name server | SLES 15 SP4

far, the name server runs as a pure caching-only name server. Only when you configure its own zones
it becomes a proper DNS. Find a simple example documented in /usr/share/doc/packages/bind/
config.

Tip: Automatic adaptation of the name server information

Depending on the type of Internet connection or the network connection, the name server infor-
mation can automatically be adapted to the current conditions. To do this, set the NETCONFIG_D-
NS_POLICY variable in the /etc/sysconfig/network/config file to auto.

However, do not set up an official domain until one is assigned to you by the responsible institution. Even
if you have your own domain and it is managed by the provider, you are better off not using it, because
BIND would otherwise not forward requests for this domain. The Web server at the provider, for example,
would not be accessible for this domain.
To start the name server, enter the command systemctl start named as root. Check with system-
ctl status named whether named (as the name server process is called) has been started successful-
ly. Test the name server immediately on the local system with the host or dig programs, which should
return localhost as the default server with the address [Link]. If this is not the case, /var/run/
netconfig/[Link] probably contains an incorrect name server entry or the file does not exist.
For the first test, enter host [Link], which should always work. If you get an error message, use
systemctl status named to see whether the server is actually running. If the name server does not
start or behaves unexpectedly, check the output of journalctl -e.
To use the name server of the provider (or one already running on your network) as the forwarder, enter
the corresponding IP address or addresses in the options section under forwarders. The addresses
included in Example 39.1, “Forwarding options in [Link]” are examples only. Adjust these entries
to your own setup.

EXAMPLE 39.1: FORWARDING OPTIONS IN [Link]

options {
directory "/var/lib/named";
forwarders { [Link]; [Link]; };
listen-on { [Link]; [Link]; };
allow-query { 127/8; 192.168/16 };
notify no;
};

502 Starting the BIND name server | SLES 15 SP4

The options entry is followed by entries for the zone, localhost, and [Link]. The
type hint entry under “.” should always be present. The corresponding files do not need to be modified
and should work as they are. Also make sure that each entry is closed with a “;” and that the curly braces
are in the correct places. After changing the configuration file /etc/[Link] or the zone files, tell
BIND to reread them with systemctl reload named. Achieve the same by stopping and restarting
the name server with systemctl restart named. Stop the server at any time by entering systemctl
stop named.

39.5 The /etc/[Link] configuration file

All the settings for the BIND name server itself are stored in the /etc/[Link] file. However, the
zone data for the domains to handle (consisting of the host names, IP addresses, and so on) are stored in
separate files in the /var/lib/named directory. The details of this are described later.
/etc/[Link] is roughly divided into two areas. One is the options section for general settings
and the other consists of zone entries for the individual domains. A logging section and acl (access
control list) entries are optional. Comment lines begin with a # sign or //. A minimal /etc/[Link]
is shown in Example 39.2, “A basic /etc/[Link]”.

EXAMPLE 39.2: A BASIC /ETC/[Link]

options {
directory "/var/lib/named";
forwarders { [Link]; };
notify no;
};

zone "localhost" in {
type master;
file "[Link]";
};

zone "[Link]" in {
type master;
file "[Link]";
};

zone "." in {
type hint;
file "[Link]";
};

503 The /etc/[Link] configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

39.5.1 Important configuration options

directory "FILENAME";
Specifies the directory in which BIND can find the files containing the zone data. Usually, this is
/var/lib/named.

forwarders { IP-ADDRESS; };
Specifies the name servers (mostly of the provider) to which DNS requests should be forwarded if
they cannot be resolved directly. Replace IP-ADDRESS with an IP address like [Link].

forward first;
Causes DNS requests to be forwarded before an attempt is made to resolve them via the root name
servers. Instead of forward first, forward only can be written to have all requests forwarded
and none sent to the root name servers. This makes sense for firewall configurations.

listen-on port 53 { [Link]; IP-ADDRESS; };

Tells BIND on which network interfaces and port to accept client queries. port 53 does not need
to be specified explicitly, because 53 is the default port. Enter [Link] to permit requests from
the local host. If you omit this entry entirely, all interfaces are used by default.

listen-on-v6 port 53 {any; };

Tells BIND on which port it should listen for IPv6 client requests. The only alternative to any is
none. As far as IPv6 is concerned, the server only accepts wild card addresses.

query-source address * port 53;

This entry is necessary if a firewall is blocking outgoing DNS requests. This tells BIND to post
requests externally from port 53 and not from any of the high ports above 1024.

query-source-v6 address * port 53;

Tells BIND which port to use for IPv6 queries.

allow-query { [Link]; NET; };

Defines the networks from which clients can post DNS requests. Replace NET with address infor-
mation like [Link]/24. The /24 at the end is an abbreviated expression for the netmask (in
this case [Link]).

allow-transfer ! *;;
Controls which hosts can request zone transfers. In the example, such requests are completely denied
with ! *. Without this entry, zone transfers can be requested from anywhere without restrictions.

504 Important configuration options | SLES 15 SP4

statistics-interval 0;
In the absence of this entry, BIND generates several lines of statistical information per hour in the
system's journal. Set it to 0 to suppress these statistics completely or set an interval in minutes.

cleaning-interval 720;
This option defines at which time intervals BIND clears its cache. This triggers an entry in the
system's journal each time it occurs. The time specification is in minutes. The default is 60 minutes.

interface-interval 0;
BIND regularly searches the network interfaces for new or nonexistent interfaces. If this value is
set to 0, this is not done and BIND only listens at the interfaces detected at start-up. Otherwise, the
interval can be defined in minutes. The default is sixty minutes.

notify no;
no prevents other name servers from being informed when changes are made to the zone data or
when the name server is restarted.

For a list of available options, read the manual page man 5 [Link].

39.5.2 Logging
What, how, and where logging takes place can be extensively configured in BIND. Normally, the default
settings should be sufficient. Example 39.3, “Entry to disable logging”, shows the simplest form of such an
entry and completely suppresses any logging.

EXAMPLE 39.3: ENTRY TO DISABLE LOGGING

logging {
category default { null; };
};

39.5.3 Zone entries

EXAMPLE 39.4: ZONE ENTRY FOR [Link]

zone "[Link]" in {
type master;
file "[Link]";
notify no;

505 Logging | SLES 15 SP4

};

After zone, specify the name of the domain to administer ([Link]) followed by in and a block
of relevant options enclosed in curly braces, as shown in Example 39.4, “Zone entry for [Link]”.
To define a secondary zone, switch the type to secondary and specify a name server that administers
this zone as primary (which, in turn, may be a secondary server of another primary server), as shown in
Example 39.5, “Zone entry for [Link]”.

EXAMPLE 39.5: ZONE ENTRY FOR [Link]

zone "[Link]" in {
type secondary;
file "secondary/[Link]";

masters { [Link]; };
};

The zone options:

type primary;
By specifying primary, tell BIND that the zone is handled by the local name server. This assumes
that a zone file has been created in the correct format.

type secondary;
This zone is transferred from another name server. It must be used together with primary_servers.

type hint;
The zone . of the hint type is used to set the root name servers. This zone definition can be left as is.

file [Link] or file “secondary/[Link]”;

This entry specifies the file where zone data for the domain is located. This file is not required for a
secondary server, because this data is pulled from another name server. To differentiate files of the
primary and secondary server, use the directory secondary for the secondary files.

primary_servers { SERVER_IP_ADDRESS; };
This entry is only needed for secondary zones. It specifies from which name server the zone file
should be transferred.

allow-update {! *; };
This option controls external write access, which would allow clients to make a DNS entry—some-
thing not normally desirable for security reasons. Without this entry, zone updates are not allowed.
The above entry achieves the same because ! * effectively bans any such activity.

506 Zone entries | SLES 15 SP4

39.6 Zone files
Two types of zone files are needed. One assigns IP addresses to host names and the other does the reverse:
it supplies a host name for an IP address.

Tip: Using the dot (period, full stop) in zone files

The "." has an important meaning in the zone files. If host names are given without a final dot
(.), the zone is appended. Complete host names specified with a full domain name must end with
a dot (.) to avoid having the domain added to it again. A missing or wrongly placed "." is probably
the most frequent cause of name server configuration errors.

The first case to consider is the zone file [Link], responsible for the domain [Link],
shown in Example 39.6, “The /var/lib/named/[Link] file”.

EXAMPLE 39.6: THE /VAR/LIB/NAMED/[Link] FILE

$TTL 2D 1

[Link]. IN SOA dns [Link]. ( 2

2003072441 ; serial 3

1D ; refresh 4

2H ; retry 5

1W ; expiry 6

2D ) ; minimum 7

IN NS dns 8

IN MX 10 mail dns 9

gate IN A [Link] 10

IN A [Link]
dns IN A [Link]
mail IN A [Link]
jupiter IN A [Link]
venus IN A [Link]
saturn IN A [Link]
mercury IN A [Link]
ntp IN CNAME dns 11

dns6 IN A6 0 2002:c0a8:174::

1 $TTL defines the default time to live that should apply to all the entries in this file. In this example,
entries are valid for a period of two days (2 D).

507 Zone files | SLES 15 SP4

2 This is where the SOA (start of authority) control record begins:

The name of the domain to administer is [Link] in the first position. This ends with
".", because otherwise the zone would be appended a second time. Alternatively, @ can be
entered here, in which case the zone would be extracted from the corresponding entry in /
etc/[Link].

After IN SOA is the name of the name server in charge as a primary server for this zone. The
name is expanded from dns to [Link], because it does not end with a ".".

An e-mail address of the person in charge of this name server follows. Because the @ sign
already has a special meaning, "." is entered here instead. For root@[Link] the entry
must read [Link].. The "." must be included at the end to prevent the zone
from being added.

The ( includes all lines up to ) into the SOA record.

3 The serial number is a 10-digit number. It must be changed each time this file is changed. It is
needed to inform the secondary name servers (secondary servers) of changes. For this, a 10-digit
number of the date and run number, written as YYYYMMDDNN, has become the customary format
(YYYY = year, MM = month and DD = day. NN is a sequence number in case you update it more
than once on the given day).
4 The refresh rate specifies the time interval at which the secondary name servers verify the zone
serial number. In this case, one day.

5 The retry rate specifies the time interval at which a secondary name server, in case of error,
attempts to contact the primary server again. Here, two hours.
6 The expiration time specifies the time frame after which a secondary name server discards the
cached data if it has not regained contact to the primary server. Here, a week.
7 The last entry in the SOA record specifies the negative caching TTL—the time for which results
of unresolved DNS queries from other servers may be cached.
8 The IN NS specifies the name server responsible for this domain. dns is extended to [Link]-
[Link] because it does not end with a ".". There can be several lines like this—one for the pri-
mary and one for each secondary name server. If notify is not set to no in /etc/[Link], all
the name servers listed here are informed of the changes made to the zone data.

508 Zone files | SLES 15 SP4

 9 The MX record specifies the mail server that accepts, processes, and forwards e-mails for the domain
[Link]. In this example, this is the host [Link]. The number in front of the
host name is the preference value. If there are multiple MX entries, the mail server with the smallest
value is taken first. If mail delivery to this server fails, the entry with the next-smallest value is used.
10 This and the following lines are the actual address records where one or more IP addresses are as-
signed to host names. The names are listed here without a "." because they do not include their
domain, so [Link] is added to all of them. Two IP addresses are assigned to the host gate, as
it has two network cards. Wherever the host address is a traditional one (IPv4), the record is marked
with A. If the address is an IPv6 address, the entry is marked with AAAA.

Note: IPv6 syntax

The IPv6 record has a slightly different syntax than IPv4. Because of the fragmentation pos-
sibility, it is necessary to provide information about missed bits before the address. To fill
up the IPv6 address with the needed number of “0”, add two colons at the correct place in
the address.

pluto AAAA 2345:00C1:CA11::1234:5678:9ABC:DEF0

pluto AAAA 2345:00D2:DA11::1234:5678:9ABC:DEF0

11 The alias ntp can be used to address dns (CNAME means canonical name).
The pseudo domain [Link] is used for the reverse lookup of IP addresses into host names. It is
appended to the network part of the address in reverse notation. So 192.168 is resolved into [Link]-
[Link]. See Example 39.7, “Reverse lookup”.

EXAMPLE 39.7: REVERSE LOOKUP

$TTL 2D 1

[Link]. IN SOA [Link]. [Link]. ( 2

2003072441 ; serial
1D ; refresh
2H ; retry
1W ; expiry
2D ) ; minimum

IN NS [Link]. 3

1.5 IN PTR [Link]. 4

100.3 IN PTR [Link].

253.2 IN PTR [Link].

509 Zone files | SLES 15 SP4

 1 $TTL defines the standard TTL that applies to all entries here.
2 The configuration file should activate reverse lookup for the network 192.168. Given that the zone is
called [Link], it should not be added to the host names. Therefore, all host names
are entered in their complete form—with their domain and with a "." at the end. The remaining
entries correspond to those described for the previous [Link] example.
See Example 39.6, “The /var/lib/named/[Link] file” for detail on the entries within this
record.
3 This line specifies the name server responsible for this zone. This time, however, the name is entered
in its complete form with the domain and a "." at the end.
4 This, and the following lines, are the pointer records hinting at the IP addresses on the respective
hosts. Only the last part of the IP address is entered at the beginning of the line, without the "." at the
end. Appending the zone to this (without the .[Link]) results in the complete IP address
in reverse order.
Normally, zone transfers between different versions of BIND should be possible without any problems.

39.7 Dynamic update of zone data

The term dynamic update refers to operations by which entries in the zone files of a primary server are
added, changed, or deleted. This mechanism is described in RFC 2136. Dynamic update is configured
individually for each zone entry by adding an optional allow-update or update-policy rule. Zones
to update dynamically should not be edited by hand.
Transmit the entries to update to the server with the command nsupdate. For the exact syntax of this
command, check the manual page for nsupdate (man 8 nsupdate). For security reasons, any such update
should be performed using TSIG keys as described in Section 39.8, “Secure transactions”.

39.8 Secure transactions

Secure transactions can be made with transaction signatures (TSIGs) based on shared secret keys (also
called TSIG keys). This section describes how to generate and use such keys.
Secure transactions are needed for communication between different servers and for the dynamic update
of zone data. Making the access control dependent on keys is much more secure than merely relying on
IP addresses.

510 Dynamic update of zone data | SLES 15 SP4

Generate a TSIG key with the following command (for details, see man tsig-keygen):

> sudo tsig-keygen -a hmac-md5 host1-host2 > [Link]

This creates a file with the name [Link] with contents that may look as follows:

key "host1-host2" { |
algorithm hmac-md5;
secret "oHpBLgtcZso6wxnRTWdJMA==";
};

The file must be transferred to the remote host, preferably in a secure way (using scp, for example).
To enable a secure communication between host1 and host2, the key must be included in the /etc/
[Link] file on both the local and the remote server.

key host1-host2 {
algorithm hmac-md5;
secret "ejIkuCyyGJwwuN3xAteKgg==";
};

Warning: File permissions of /etc/[Link]

Make sure that the permissions of /etc/[Link] are properly restricted. The default for this
file is 0640, with the owner being root and the group named. As an alternative, move the keys to
an extra file with specially limited permissions, which is then included from /etc/[Link].
To include an external file, use:

include "filename"

Replace filename with an absolute path to your file with keys.

To enable the server host1 to use the key for host2 (which has the address [Link] in this example),
the server's /etc/[Link] must include the following rule:

server [Link] {
keys { host1-host2. ;};
};

Analogous entries must be included in the configuration files of host2.

511 Secure transactions | SLES 15 SP4

Add TSIG keys for any ACLs (access control lists, not to be confused with file system ACLs) that are
defined for IP addresses and address ranges to enable transaction security. The corresponding entry could
look like this:

allow-update { key host1-host2. ;};

This topic is discussed in more detail in the BIND Administrator Reference Manual under update-pol-
icy.

39.9 DNS security

DNSSEC, or DNS security, is described in RFC 2535. The tools available for DNSSEC are discussed in
the BIND Manual.
A zone considered secure must have one or several zone keys associated with it. These are generated with
dnssec-keygen, as are the host keys. The DSA encryption algorithm is currently used to generate these
keys. The public keys generated should be included in the corresponding zone file with an $INCLUDE rule.
With the command dnssec-signzone, you can create sets of generated keys (keyset- files), transfer
them to the parent zone in a secure manner, and sign them. This generates the files to include for each
zone in /etc/[Link].

39.10 More information

For more information, see the BIND Administrator Reference Manual from the bind-doc package,
which is installed under /usr/share/doc/packages/bind/arm. Consider additionally consulting the
RFCs referenced by the manual and the manual pages included with BIND. /usr/share/doc/pack-
ages/bind/[Link] contains up-to-date information about BIND in SUSE Linux Enterprise Serv-
er.

512 DNS security | SLES 15 SP4

40 DHCP

The purpose of the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is to assign network set-
tings centrally (from a server) rather than configuring them locally on every workstation. A
host configured to use DHCP does not have control over its own static address. It is enabled
to configure itself completely and automatically according to directions from the server. If
you use the NetworkManager on the client side, you do not need to configure the client. This
is useful if you have changing environments and only one interface active at a time. Never
use NetworkManager on a machine that runs a DHCP server.

Tip: IBM Z: DHCP support

On IBM Z platforms, DHCP only works on interfaces using the OSA and OSA Express network
cards. These cards are the only ones with a MAC, which is required for the DHCP autoconfiguration
features.

One way to configure a DHCP server is to identify each client using the hardware address of its network
card (which should usually be fixed), then supply that client with identical settings each time it connects
to the server. DHCP can also be configured to assign addresses to each relevant client dynamically from
an address pool set up for this purpose. In the latter case, the DHCP server tries to assign the same address
to the client each time it receives a request, even over extended periods. This works only if the network
does not have more clients than addresses.
DHCP makes life easier for system administrators. Any changes, even bigger ones, related to addresses and
the network configuration in general can be implemented centrally by editing the server's configuration
file. This is much more convenient than reconfiguring numerous workstations. It is also much easier to
integrate machines, particularly new machines, into the network, because they can be given an IP address
from the pool. Retrieving the appropriate network settings from a DHCP server is especially useful in case
of laptops regularly used in different networks.
In this chapter, the DHCP server will run in the same subnet as the workstations, [Link]/24 with
[Link] as gateway. It has the fixed IP address [Link] and serves two address ranges,
[Link] to [Link] and [Link] to [Link].

513 | SLES 15 SP4

A DHCP server supplies not only the IP address and the netmask, but also the host name, domain name,
gateway, and name server addresses for the client to use. In addition to that, DHCP allows several para-
meters to be configured in a centralized way, for example, a time server from which clients may poll the
current time or even a print server.

40.1 Configuring a DHCP server with YaST

To install a DHCP server, start YaST and select Software Software Management. Choose Filter Pat-
terns and select DHCP and DNS Server. Confirm the installation of the dependent packages to finish the
installation process.

Important: LDAP support

The YaST DHCP module can be set up to store the server configuration locally (on the host that
runs the DHCP server) or to have its configuration data managed by an LDAP server. To use LDAP,
set up your LDAP environment before configuring the DHCP server.
For more information about LDAP, see Book “Security and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 5 “LDAP
with 389 Directory Server”.

The YaST DHCP module (yast2-dhcp-server) allows you to set up your own DHCP server for the
local network. The module can run in wizard mode or expert configuration mode.

40.1.1 Initial configuration (wizard)

When the module is started for the first time, a wizard starts, prompting you to make a few basic decisions
concerning server administration. Completing this initial setup produces a very basic server configuration
that should function in its essential aspects. The expert mode can be used to deal with more advanced
configuration tasks. Proceed as follows:

1. Select the interface from the list to which the DHCP server should listen and click Select and then
Next. See Figure 40.1, “DHCP server: card selection”.

Note: DHCP and firewalld

The option Open Firewall for Selected Interfaces does not (yet) support firewalld in
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4. To manually open the DHCP port, run

514 Configuring a DHCP server with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

 > sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=dhcp
> sudo firewall-cmd --reload

FIGURE 40.1: DHCP SERVER: CARD SELECTION

2. Use the check box to determine whether your DHCP settings should be automatically stored by
an LDAP server. In the text boxes, provide the network specifics for all clients the DHCP server
should manage. These specifics are the domain name, address of a time server, addresses of the
primary and secondary name server, addresses of a print and a WINS server (for a mixed network
with both Windows and Linux clients), gateway address, and lease time. See Figure 40.2, “DHCP
server: global settings”.

515 Initial configuration (wizard) | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 40.2: DHCP SERVER: GLOBAL SETTINGS

3. Configure how dynamic IP addresses should be assigned to clients. To do so, specify an IP range
from which the server can assign addresses to DHCP clients. All these addresses must be covered
by the same netmask. Also specify the lease time during which a client may keep its IP address
without needing to request an extension of the lease. Optionally, specify the maximum lease time
—the period during which the server reserves an IP address for a particular client. See Figure 40.3,
“DHCP server: dynamic DHCP”.

516 Initial configuration (wizard) | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 40.3: DHCP SERVER: DYNAMIC DHCP

4. Define how the DHCP server should be started. Specify whether to start the DHCP server automati-
cally when the system is booted or manually when needed (for example, for testing purposes). Click
Finish to complete the configuration of the server. See Figure 40.4, “DHCP server: start-up”.

FIGURE 40.4: DHCP SERVER: START-UP

517 Initial configuration (wizard) | SLES 15 SP4

 5. Instead of using dynamic DHCP in the way described in the preceding steps, you can also configure
the server to assign addresses in quasi-static fashion. Use the text boxes provided in the lower part to
specify a list of the clients to manage in this way. Specifically, provide the Name and the IP Address
to give to such a client, the Hardware Address, and the Network Type (token ring or Ethernet).
Modify the list of clients, which is shown in the upper part with Add, Edit, and Delete from List.
See Figure 40.5, “DHCP server: host management”.

FIGURE 40.5: DHCP SERVER: HOST MANAGEMENT

40.1.2 DHCP server configuration (expert)

In addition to the configuration method discussed earlier, there is also an expert configuration mode that
allows you to change the DHCP server setup in every detail. Start the expert configuration by clicking
DHCP Server Expert Configuration in the Start-Up dialog (see Figure 40.4, “DHCP server: start-up”).

Chroot environment and declarations

In this first dialog, make the existing configuration editable by selecting Start DHCP Server. An
important feature of the behavior of the DHCP server is its ability to run in a chroot environment, or
chroot jail, to secure the server host. If the DHCP server should ever be compromised by an outside
attack, the attacker will still be in the chroot jail, which prevents them from accessing the rest of the
system. The lower part of the dialog displays a tree view with the declarations that have already been
defined. Modify these with Add, Delete, and Edit. Selecting Advanced takes you to additional expert

518 DHCP server configuration (expert) | SLES 15 SP4

 dialogs. See Figure 40.6, “DHCP server: chroot jail and declarations”. After selecting Add, define
the type of declaration to add. With Advanced, view the log file of the server, configure TSIG key
management, and adjust the configuration of the firewall according to the setup of the DHCP server.

FIGURE 40.6: DHCP SERVER: CHROOT JAIL AND DECLARATIONS

Selecting the declaration type

The Global Options of the DHCP server are made up of several declarations. This dialog lets you
set the declaration types Subnet, Host, Shared Network, Group, Pool of Addresses, and Class. This
example shows the selection of a new subnet (see Figure 40.7, “DHCP server: selecting a declaration
type”).

519 DHCP server configuration (expert) | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 40.7: DHCP SERVER: SELECTING A DECLARATION TYPE

Subnet configuration
This dialog allows you specify a new subnet with its IP address and netmask. In the middle part of
the dialog, modify the DHCP server start options for the selected subnet using Add, Edit, and Delete.
To set up dynamic DNS for the subnet, select Dynamic DNS.

FIGURE 40.8: DHCP SERVER: CONFIGURING SUBNETS

520 DHCP server configuration (expert) | SLES 15 SP4

TSIG key management
If you chose to configure dynamic DNS in the previous dialog, you can now configure the key man-
agement for a secure zone transfer. Selecting OK takes you to another dialog in which to configure
the interface for dynamic DNS (see Figure 40.10, “DHCP server: interface configuration for dynamic
DNS”).

FIGURE 40.9: DHCP SERVER: TSIG CONFIGURATION

Dynamic DNS: interface configuration

You can now activate dynamic DNS for the subnet by selecting Enable Dynamic DNS for This
Subnet. After doing so, use the drop-down box to activate the TSIG keys for forward and reverse
zones, making sure that the keys are the same for the DNS and the DHCP server. With Update Global
Dynamic DNS Settings, enable the automatic update and adjustment of the global DHCP server
settings according to the dynamic DNS environment. Finally, define which forward and reverse
zones should be updated per dynamic DNS, specifying the name of the primary name server for each
of the two zones. Selecting OK returns to the subnet configuration dialog (see Figure 40.8, “DHCP
server: configuring subnets”). Selecting OK again returns to the original expert configuration dialog.

521 DHCP server configuration (expert) | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 40.10: DHCP SERVER: INTERFACE CONFIGURATION FOR DYNAMIC DNS

Note: ignore client-updates option

When enabling Dynamic DNS for a zone, YaST automatically adds the ignore client-
updates option to improve client compatibility. The option can be disabled if it is not re-
quired.

Network interface configuration

To define the interfaces the DHCP server should listen to and to adjust the firewall configuration,
select Advanced Interface Configuration from the expert configuration dialog. From the list of
interfaces displayed, select one or more that should be attended by the DHCP server. If clients in
all subnets need to be able to communicate with the server and the server host also runs a firewall,
adjust the firewall accordingly.

Note: DHCP and firewalld

The option Open Firewall for Selected Interfaces does not (yet) support firewalld in SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4. To manually open the DHCP port, run

> sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=dhcp

> sudo firewall-cmd --reload

522 DHCP server configuration (expert) | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 40.11: DHCP SERVER: NETWORK INTERFACE AND FIREWALL

After completing all configuration steps, close the dialog with OK. The server is now started with its new
configuration.

40.2 DHCP software packages

Both the DHCP server and the DHCP clients are available for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. The DHCP
server available is dhcpd (published by the Internet Systems Consortium). On the client side, there is
dhcp-client (also from ISC) and tools coming with the wicked package.

By default, the wicked tools are installed with the services wickedd-dhcp4 and wickedd-dhcp6. Both
are launched automatically on each system boot to watch for a DHCP server. They do not need a configu-
ration file to do their job and work out of the box in most standard setups. For more complex situations, use
the ISC dhcp-client, which is controlled by means of the configuration files /etc/[Link]
and /etc/[Link].

523 DHCP software packages | SLES 15 SP4

40.3 The DHCP server dhcpd
The core of any DHCP system is the dynamic host configuration protocol daemon. This server leases
addresses and watches how they are used, according to the settings defined in the configuration file /etc/
[Link]. By changing the parameters and values in this file, a system administrator can influence the
program's behavior in numerous ways. Look at the basic sample /etc/[Link] file in Example 40.1,
“The configuration file /etc/[Link]”.

EXAMPLE 40.1: THE CONFIGURATION FILE /ETC/[Link]

default-lease-time 600; # 10 minutes

max-lease-time 7200; # 2 hours

option domain-name "[Link]";

option domain-name-servers [Link];
option broadcast-address [Link];
option routers [Link];
option subnet-mask [Link];

subnet [Link] netmask [Link]

{
range [Link] [Link];
range [Link] [Link];
}

This simple configuration file should be sufficient to get the DHCP server to assign IP addresses in the
network. Make sure that a semicolon is inserted at the end of each line, because otherwise dhcpd is not
started.
The sample file can be divided into three sections. The first one defines how many seconds an IP address is
leased to a requesting client by default (default-lease-time) before it should apply for renewal. This
section also includes a statement of the maximum period for which a machine may keep an IP address
assigned by the DHCP server without applying for renewal (max-lease-time).
In the second part, some basic network parameters are defined on a global level:

The line option domain-name defines the default domain of your network.

With the entry option domain-name-servers, specify up to three values for the DNS servers
used to resolve IP addresses into host names and vice versa. Ideally, configure a name server on
your machine or somewhere else in your network before setting up DHCP. That name server should
also define a host name for each dynamic address and vice versa. To learn how to configure your
own name server, read Chapter 39, The domain name system.

524 The DHCP server dhcpd | SLES 15 SP4

 The line option broadcast-address defines the broadcast address the requesting client should
use.

With option routers, set where the server should send data packets that cannot be delivered to
a host on the local network (according to the source and target host address and the subnet mask
provided). Usually, especially in smaller networks, this router is identical to the Internet gateway.

With option subnet-mask, specify the netmask assigned to clients.

The last section of the file defines a network, including a subnet mask. To finish, specify the address
range that the DHCP daemon should use to assign IP addresses to interested clients. In Example 40.1,
“The configuration file /etc/[Link]”, clients may be given any address between [Link] and
[Link] or [Link] and [Link].

After editing these few lines, you should be able to activate the DHCP daemon with the command sys-
temctl start dhcpd. It will be ready for use immediately. Use the command rcdhcpd check-syntax
to perform a brief syntax check. If you encounter any unexpected problems with your configuration (the
server aborts with an error or does not return done on start), you should be able to find out what has gone
wrong by looking for information either in the main system log that can be queried with the command
journalctl (see Chapter 21, journalctl: Query the systemd journal for more information).

On a default SUSE Linux Enterprise Server system, the DHCP daemon is started in a chroot environment
for security reasons. The configuration files must be copied to the chroot environment so the daemon
can find them. Normally, there is no need to worry about this because the command systemctl start
dhcpd automatically copies the files.

40.3.1 Clients with fixed IP addresses

DHCP can also be used to assign a predefined, static address to a specific client. Addresses assigned
explicitly always take priority over dynamic addresses from the pool. A static address never expires in the
way a dynamic address would, for example, if there were not enough addresses available and the server
needed to redistribute them among clients.
To identify a client configured with a static address, dhcpd uses the hardware address (which is a globally
unique, fixed numerical code consisting of six octet pairs) for the identification of all network devices
(for example, 00:30:6E:08:EC:80). If the respective lines, like the ones in Example 40.2, “Additions to
the configuration file”, are added to the configuration file of Example 40.1, “The configuration file /etc/
[Link]”, the DHCP daemon always assigns the same set of data to the corresponding client.

525 Clients with fixed IP addresses | SLES 15 SP4

EXAMPLE 40.2: ADDITIONS TO THE CONFIGURATION FILE

host jupiter {
hardware ethernet 00:30:6E:08:EC:80;
fixed-address [Link];
}

The name of the respective client (host HOSTNAME, here jupiter) is entered in the first line and the
MAC address in the second line. On Linux hosts, find the MAC address with the command ip link show
followed by the network device (for example, eth0). The output should contain something like

link/ether 00:30:6E:08:EC:80

In the preceding example, a client with a network card having the MAC address 00:30:6E:08:EC:80 is
assigned the IP address [Link] and the host name jupiter automatically. The type of hardware
to enter is ethernet in nearly all cases, although token-ring, which is often found on IBM systems,
is also supported.

40.3.2 The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version

To improve security, the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version of the ISC's DHCP server comes with the
non-root/chroot patch by Ari Edelkind applied. This enables dhcpd to run with the user ID nobody and run
in a chroot environment (/var/lib/dhcp). To make this possible, the configuration file [Link]
must be located in /var/lib/dhcp/etc. The init script automatically copies the file to this directory
when starting.
Control the server's behavior regarding this feature by means of entries in the file /etc/syscon-
fig/dhcpd. To run dhcpd without the chroot environment, set the variable DHCPD_RUN_CHROOTED in /
etc/sysconfig/dhcpd to “no”.

To enable dhcpd to resolve host names even from within the chroot environment, some other configuration
files must be copied as well:

/etc/localtime

/etc/[Link]

/etc/hosts

/var/run/netconfig/[Link]

526 The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version | SLES 15 SP4

These files are copied to /var/lib/dhcp/etc/ when starting the init script. Take these copies into
account for any changes that they require if they are dynamically modified by scripts like /etc/ppp/
ip-up. However, there should be no need to worry about this if the configuration file only specifies IP
addresses (instead of host names).
If your configuration includes additional files that should be copied into the chroot environment, set these
under the variable DHCPD_CONF_INCLUDE_FILES in the file /etc/sysconfig/dhcpd. To ensure that
the DHCP logging facility keeps working even after a restart of the syslog daemon, there is an additional
entry SYSLOGD_ADDITIONAL_SOCKET_DHCP in the file /etc/sysconfig/syslog.

40.4 More information

More information about DHCP is available at the Web site of the Internet Systems Consortium (https://
[Link]/dhcp/ ). Information is also available in the dhcpd, [Link], [Link], and
dhcp-options man pages.

527 More information | SLES 15 SP4

41 SLP

Configuring a network client requires detailed knowledge about services provided over the
network (such as printing or LDAP, for example). To make it easier to configure such ser-
vices on a network client, the “service location protocol” (SLP) was developed. SLP makes
the availability and configuration data of selected services known to all clients in the local
network. Applications that support SLP can use this information to be configured automati-
cally.
SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server supports installation using installation sources provided with SLP and
contains many system services with integrated support for SLP. You can use SLP to provide networked
clients with central functions, such as an installation server, file server, or print server on your system. Ser-
vices that offer SLP support include cupsd, login, ntp, openldap2-client, postfix, rpasswd, rsyncd, saned,
sshd (via fish), vnc, and ypserv.
All packages necessary to use SLP services on a network client are installed by default. However, if you
want to provide services via SLP, check that the openslp-server package is installed.

41.1 The SLP front-end slptool

slptool is a command line tool to query and register SLP services. The query functions are useful for
diagnostic purposes. The most important slptool subcommands are listed below. slptool --help lists
all available options and functions.

findsrvtypes
List all service types available on the network.

> slptool findsrvtypes

service:[Link]:nfs
service:[Link]:ftp
service:[Link]:http
service:[Link]:smb
service:ssh
service:fish
service:[Link]:vnc
service:smtp
service:domain
service:[Link]:hardware-management-console
service:rsync
service:ntp

528 The SLP front-end slptool | SLES 15 SP4

 service:ypserv

findsrvs SERVICE_TYPE
List all servers providing SERVICE_TYPE

> slptool findsrvs service:ntp

service:ntp://[Link],57810
service:ntp://[Link],57810

findattrs SERVICE_TYPE//HOST
List attributes for SERVICE_TYPE on HOST

> slptool findattrs service:ntp://[Link]

(owner=tux),(email=tux@[Link])

register SERVICE type//HOST:PORT "(ATTRIBUTE=VALUE),(ATTRIBUTE=VALUE)"

Registers SERVICE_TYPE on HOST with an optional list of attributes

slptool register service:ntp://[Link] \

"(owner=tux),(email=tux@[Link])"

deregister SERVICE_TYPE//host
Deregisters SERVICE_TYPE on HOST

slptool deregister service:ntp://[Link]

For more information run slptool --help.

41.2 Providing services via SLP

To provide SLP services, the SLP daemon (slpd) must be running. Like most system services in SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server, slpd is controlled by means of a separate start script. After the installation, the
daemon is inactive by default. To activate it for the current session, run sudo systemctl start slpd.
If slpd should be activated on system start-up, run sudo systemctl enable slpd.
Many applications in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server have integrated SLP support via the libslp library.
If a service has not been compiled with SLP support, use one of the following methods to make it available
via SLP:

Static registration with /etc/[Link].d

Create a separate registration file for each new service. The following example registers a scanner
service:

## Register a saned service on this system

529 Providing services via SLP | SLES 15 SP4

 ## en means english language
## 65535 disables the timeout, so the service registration does
## not need refreshes
service:[Link]://$HOSTNAME:6566,en,65535
watch-port-tcp=6566
description=SANE scanner daemon

The most important line in this file is the service URL, which begins with service:. This contains
the service type ([Link]) and the address under which the service is available on the server.
$HOSTNAME is automatically replaced with the full host name. The name of the TCP port on which
the relevant service can be found follows, separated by a colon. Then enter the language in which the
service should appear and the duration of registration in seconds. These should be separated from
the service URL by commas. Set the value for the duration of registration between 0 and 65535. 0
prevents registration. 65535 removes all restrictions.
The registration file also contains the two variables watch-port-tcp and description. watch-
port-tcp links the SLP service announcement to whether the relevant service is active by having
slpd check the status of the service. The second variable contains a more precise description of the
service that is displayed in suitable browsers.

Tip: YaST and SLP

Some services brokered by YaST, such as an installation server or YOU server, perform this
registration automatically when you activate SLP in the module dialogs. YaST then creates
registration files for these services.

Static registration with /etc/[Link]

The only difference between this method and the procedure with /etc/[Link].d is that all ser-
vices are grouped within a central file.

Dynamic registration with slptool

If a service needs to be registered dynamically without the need of configuration files, use the slptool
command line utility. The same utility can also be used to deregister an existing service offering
without restarting slpd. See Section 41.1, “The SLP front-end slptool” for details.

530 Providing services via SLP | SLES 15 SP4

41.2.1 Setting up an SLP installation server
Announcing the installation data via SLP within your network makes the network installation much easier,
since the installation data such as IP address of the server or the path to the installation media are auto-
matically required via SLP query. Refer to Book “Deployment Guide”, Chapter 16 “Setting up a network
installation source” for instructions.

41.3 More information

RFC 2608, 2609, 2610
RFC 2608 generally deals with the definition of SLP. RFC 2609 deals with the syntax of the service
URLs used in greater detail and RFC 2610 deals with DHCP via SLP.

[Link]
The home page of the OpenSLP project.

/usr/share/doc/packages/openslp
This directory contains the documentation for SLP coming with the openslp-server package,
including a [Link] containing the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server details, the RFCs, and two
introductory HTML documents. Programmers who want to use the SLP functions will find more
information in the Programmers Guide that is included in the openslp-devel package that is
provided with the SUSE Software Development Kit.

531 Setting up an SLP installation server | SLES 15 SP4

42 The Apache HTTP server

According to the surveys from [Link] and [Link] ,

the Apache HTTP Server (Apache) is one of the world's most popular Web servers. Devel-
oped by the Apache Software Foundation ([Link] ), it is available for
most operating systems. SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server includes Apache version 2.4. This
chapter describes how to install, configure, and operate Apache. It also shows how to use ad-
ditional modules, such as SSL, and how to troubleshoot Apache.

42.1 Quick start

This section will help you quickly configure and start Apache. You must be root to install and configure
Apache.

42.1.1 Requirements
Make sure the following requirements are met before trying to set up the Apache Web server:

1. The machine's network is configured properly. For more information about this topic, refer to Chap-
ter 23, Basic networking.

2. The machine's exact system time is maintained by synchronizing with a time server. This is neces-
sary because parts of the HTTP protocol depend on the correct time. See Chapter 38, Time synchro-
nization with NTP to learn more about this topic.

3. The latest security updates are installed. If in doubt, run a YaST Online Update.

4. The default Web server port (80) is opened in the firewall. For this, configure firewalld to allow
the service http in the public zone. See Book “Security and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 23 “Mas-
querading and firewalls”, Section 23.4.3 “Configuring the firewall on the command line” for details.

532 Quick start | SLES 15 SP4

42.1.2 Installation
Apache on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is not installed by default. To install it with a standard, prede-
fined configuration that runs “out of the box”, proceed as follows:

PROCEDURE 42.1: INSTALLING APACHE WITH THE DEFAULT CONFIGURATION

1. Start YaST and select Software Software Management.

2. Choose Filter Patterns and select Web and LAMP Server.

3. Confirm the installation of the dependent packages to finish the installation process.

42.1.3 Start
You can start Apache automatically at boot time or start it manually.
To make sure that Apache is automatically started during boot in the targets [Link] and
[Link], execute the following command:

> sudo systemctl enable [Link]

For more information about the systemd targets in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and a description of
the YaST Services Manager, refer to Section 19.4, “Managing services with YaST”.
To manually start Apache using the shell, run systemctl start [Link].

PROCEDURE 42.2: CHECKING IF APACHE IS RUNNING

If you do not receive error messages when starting Apache, this usually indicates that the Web
server is running. To test this:

1. Start a browser and open [Link]

If Apache is up and running, you get a test page stating “It works!”.

2. If you do not see this page, refer to Section 42.9, “Troubleshooting”.

Now that the Web server is running, you can add your own documents, adjust the configuration according
to your needs, or add functionality by installing modules.

533 Installation | SLES 15 SP4

42.2 Configuring Apache
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server offers two configuration options:

Configuring Apache manually

Configuring Apache with YaST

Manual configuration offers a higher level of detail, but lacks the convenience of the YaST GUI.

Important: Reload or restart Apache after configuration

changes
Most configuration changes require a reload (some also a restart) of Apache to take effect. Manually
reload Apache with systemctl reload [Link] or use one of the restart options as
described in Section 42.3, “Starting and stopping Apache”.
If you configure Apache with YaST, this can be taken care of automatically if you set HTTP Service
to Enabled as described in Section [Link], “HTTP server configuration”.

42.2.1 Apache configuration files

This section gives an overview of the Apache configuration files. If you use YaST for configuration, you
do not need to touch these files—however, the information might be useful for you to switch to manual
configuration later on.
Apache configuration files can be found in two different locations:

/etc/sysconfig/apache2

/etc/apache2/

[Link] /etc/sysconfig/apache2

/etc/sysconfig/apache2 controls some global settings of Apache, like modules to load, additional
configuration files to include, flags with which the server should be started, and flags that should be added
to the command line. Every configuration option in this file is extensively documented and therefore not
mentioned here. For a general-purpose Web server, the settings in /etc/sysconfig/apache2 should
be sufficient for any configuration needs.

534 Configuring Apache | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] /etc/apache2/

/etc/apache2/ hosts all configuration files for Apache. In the following, the purpose of each file is
explained. Each file includes several configuration options (also called directives). Every configuration
option in these files is extensively documented and therefore not mentioned here.
The Apache configuration files are organized as follows:

/etc/apache2/
|
|- [Link]
|- conf.d/
| |
| |- *.conf
|
|- [Link]
|- [Link]
|- [Link]
|- [Link]
|- [Link]
|- [Link]
|- magic
|- [Link]
|- mod_*.conf
|- [Link]
|- [Link]
|- [Link]
|- ssl.*
|- sysconfig.d
| |
| |- [Link]
| |- [Link]
| |- [Link] . .
|
|- [Link]
|- vhosts.d
| |- *.conf

APACHE CONFIGURATION FILES IN /ETC/APACHE2/

[Link]
Specifies which character sets to use for different languages. Do not edit this file.

535 Apache configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

conf.d/*.conf
Configuration files added by other modules. These configuration files can be included into your
virtual host configuration where needed. See vhosts.d/[Link] for examples. By doing
so, you can provide different module sets for different virtual hosts.

[Link]
Global configuration for all virtual hosts with reasonable defaults. Instead of changing the values,
overwrite them with a virtual host configuration.

[Link]
Defines how Apache responds to errors. To customize these messages for all virtual hosts, edit this
file. Otherwise overwrite these directives in your virtual host configurations.

[Link]
General configuration of the main Web server process, such as the access path, error logs, or the
level of logging.

[Link]
The main Apache server configuration file. Avoid changing this file. It primarily contains include
statements and global settings. Overwrite global settings in the pertinent configuration files listed
here. Change host-specific settings (such as document root) in your virtual host configuration.

[Link]
Binds Apache to specific IP addresses and ports. Name-based virtual hosting is also configured here.
For details, see Section [Link].1, “Name-based virtual hosts”.

magic
Data for the mime_magic module that helps Apache automatically determine the MIME type of an
unknown file. Do not change this file.

[Link]
MIME types known by the system (this actually is a link to /etc/[Link]). Do not edit this
file. If you need to add MIME types not listed here, add them to mod_mime-[Link].

mod_*.conf
Configuration files for the modules that are installed by default. Refer to Section 42.4, “Installing,
activating, and configuring modules” for details. Note that configuration files for optional modules
reside in the directory conf.d.

[Link]
Configuration directives for serving pages over HTTP2 connection.

536 Apache configuration files | SLES 15 SP4

[Link]
Contains configuration directives for the different MPMs (see Section 42.4.4, “Multiprocessing mod-
ules”) and general configuration options that control Apache's performance. Properly test your Web
server when making changes here.

[Link] and ssl.*

Global SSL configuration and SSL certificate data. Refer to Section 42.6, “Setting up a secure Web
server with SSL” for details.

sysconfig.d/*.conf
Configuration files automatically generated from /etc/sysconfig/apache2. Do not change any
of these files—edit /etc/sysconfig/apache2 instead. Do not put other configuration files in
this directory.

[Link]
Specifies under which user and group ID Apache runs. Do not change this file.

vhosts.d/*.conf
Your virtual host configuration should be located here. The directory contains template files for
virtual hosts with and without SSL. Every file in this directory ending with .conf is automatically
included in the Apache configuration. Refer to Section [Link], “Virtual host configuration” for
details.

42.2.2 Configuring Apache manually

Configuring Apache manually involves editing plain text configuration files as user root.

[Link] Virtual host configuration

The term virtual host refers to Apache's ability to serve multiple universal resource identifiers (URIs) from
the same physical machine. This means that several domains, such as [Link] and [Link]-
[Link], are run by a single Web server on one physical machine.
It is common practice to use virtual hosts to save administrative effort (only a single Web server needs to
be maintained) and hardware expenses (each domain does not require a dedicated server). Virtual hosts
can be name based, IP based, or port based.
To list all existing virtual hosts, use the command apache2ctl -S. This outputs a list showing the default
server and all virtual hosts together with their IP addresses and listening ports. Furthermore, the list also
contains an entry for each virtual host showing its location in the configuration files.

537 Configuring Apache manually | SLES 15 SP4

Virtual hosts can be configured via YaST as described in Section [Link].4, “Virtual hosts” or by manually
editing a configuration file. By default, Apache in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is prepared for one con-
figuration file per virtual host in /etc/apache2/vhosts.d/. All files in this directory with the extension
.conf are automatically included to the configuration. A basic template for a virtual host is provided in
this directory ([Link] or [Link] for a virtual host with SSL support).

Tip: Always create a virtual host configuration

It is recommended to always create a virtual host configuration file, even if your Web server only
hosts one domain. By doing so, you not only have the domain-specific configuration in one file, but
you can always fall back to a working basic configuration by simply moving, deleting, or renaming
the configuration file for the virtual host. For the same reason, you should also create separate
configuration files for each virtual host.
When using name-based virtual hosts it is recommended to set up a default configuration that will
be used when a domain name does not match a virtual host configuration. The default virtual host
is the one whose configuration is loaded first. Since the order of the configuration files is deter-
mined by file name, start the file name of the default virtual host configuration with an underscore
character (_) to make sure it is loaded first (for example: _default_vhost.conf).

The <VirtualHost></VirtualHost> block holds the information that applies to a particular domain.
When Apache receives a client request for a defined virtual host, it uses the directives enclosed in this
section. Almost all directives can be used in a virtual host context. See [Link]
mod/[Link] for further information about Apache's configuration directives.

[Link].1 Name-based virtual hosts

With name-based virtual hosts, more than one Web site is served per IP address. Apache uses the host
field in the HTTP header that is sent by the client to connect the request to a matching ServerName entry
of one of the virtual host declarations. If no matching ServerName is found, the first specified virtual
host is used as a default.
The first step is to create a <VirtualHost> block for each different name-based host that you want to
serve. Inside each <VirtualHost> block, you will need at minimum a ServerName directive to designate
which host is served and a DocumentRoot directive to show where in the file system the content for that
host resides.

538 Configuring Apache manually | SLES 15 SP4

EXAMPLE 42.1: BASIC EXAMPLES OF NAME-BASED VirtualHost ENTRIES

<VirtualHost *:80>
# This first-listed virtual host is also the default for *:80
ServerName [Link]
ServerAlias [Link]
DocumentRoot /srv/www/htdocs/domain
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName [Link]
DocumentRoot /srv/www/htdocs/otherdomain
</VirtualHost>

The opening VirtualHost tag takes the IP address (or fully qualified domain name) as an argument in
a name-based virtual host configuration. A port number directive is optional.
The wild card * is also allowed as a substitute for the IP address. When using IPv6 addresses, the address
must be included in square brackets.

EXAMPLE 42.2: NAME-BASED VirtualHost DIRECTIVES

<VirtualHost [Link]:80>
...
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost [Link]>
...
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
...
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *>
...
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost [2002:c0a8:364::]>
...
</VirtualHost>

[Link].2 IP-based virtual hosts

This alternative virtual host configuration requires the setup of multiple IP addresses for a machine. One
instance of Apache hosts several domains, each of which is assigned a different IP.

539 Configuring Apache manually | SLES 15 SP4

The physical server must have one IP address for each IP-based virtual host. If the machine does not have
multiple network cards, virtual network interfaces (IP aliasing) can also be used.
The following example shows Apache running on a machine with the IP [Link], hosting two
domains on the additional IP addresses [Link] and [Link]. A separate VirtualHost
block is needed for every virtual server.

EXAMPLE 42.3: IP-BASED VirtualHost DIRECTIVES

<VirtualHost [Link]>
...
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost [Link]>
...
</VirtualHost>

Here, VirtualHost directives are only specified for interfaces other than [Link]. When a
Listen directive is also configured for [Link], a separate IP-based virtual host must be created
to answer HTTP requests to that interface—otherwise the directives found in the default server configu-
ration (/etc/apache2/[Link]) are applied.

[Link].3 Basic virtual host configuration

At least the following directives should be in each virtual host configuration to set up a virtual host. See
/etc/apache2/vhosts.d/[Link] for more options.

ServerName
The fully qualified domain name under which the host should be addressed.

DocumentRoot
Path to the directory from which Apache should serve files for this host. For security reasons, access
to the entire file system is forbidden by default, so you must explicitly unlock this directory within
a Directory container.

ServerAdmin
E-mail address of the server administrator. This address is, for example, shown on error pages
Apache creates.

540 Configuring Apache manually | SLES 15 SP4

ErrorLog
The error log file for this virtual host. Although it is not necessary to create separate error log files
for each virtual host, it is common practice to do so, because it makes the debugging of errors much
easier. /var/log/apache2/ is the default directory for Apache's log files.

CustomLog
The access log file for this virtual host. Although it is not necessary to create separate access log
files for each virtual host, it is common practice to do so, because it allows the separate analysis of
access statistics for each host. /var/log/apache2/ is the default directory for Apache's log files.

As mentioned above, access to the whole file system is forbidden by default for security reasons. Therefore,
explicitly unlock the directories in which you have placed the files Apache should serve—for example
the DocumentRoot:

<Directory "/srv/www/[Link]/htdocs">
Require all granted
</Directory>

Note: Require all granted

In previous versions of Apache, the statement Require all granted was expressed as:

Order allow,deny
Allow from all

This old syntax is still supported by the mod_access_compat module.

The complete configuration file looks like this:

EXAMPLE 42.4: BASIC VirtualHost CONFIGURATION

<VirtualHost [Link]>
ServerName [Link]
DocumentRoot /srv/www/[Link]/htdocs
ServerAdmin webmaster@[Link]
ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/[Link].com_log
CustomLog /var/log/apache2/[Link]-access_log common
<Directory "/srv/www/[Link]/htdocs">
Require all granted
</Directory>
</VirtualHost>

541 Configuring Apache manually | SLES 15 SP4

42.2.3 Configuring Apache with YaST
To configure your Web server with YaST, start YaST and select Network Services HTTP Server. When
starting the module for the first time, the HTTP Server Wizard starts, prompting you to make a few ba-
sic decisions concerning administration of the server. After having finished the wizard, the HTTP Server
Configuration dialog starts each time you call the HTTP Server module. For more information, see Sec-
tion [Link], “HTTP server configuration”.

[Link] HTTP server wizard

The HTTP Server Wizard consists of five steps. In the last step of the dialog, you may enter the expert
configuration mode to make even more specific settings.

[Link].1 Network device selection

Here, specify the network interfaces and ports Apache uses to listen for incoming requests. You can select
any combination of existing network interfaces and their respective IP addresses. Ports from all three
ranges (well-known ports, registered ports, and dynamic or private ports) that are not reserved by other
services can be used. The default setting is to listen on all network interfaces (IP addresses) on port 80.
Check Open Port In Firewall to open the ports in the firewall that the Web server listens on. This is
necessary to make the Web server available on the network, which can be a LAN, WAN, or the public
Internet. Keeping the port closed is only useful in test situations where no external access to the Web
server is necessary. If you have multiple network interfaces, click Firewall Details to specify on which
interface(s) the port(s) should be opened.
Click Next to continue with the configuration.

[Link].2 Modules

The Modules configuration option allows for the activation or deactivation of the script languages that the
Web server should support. For the activation or deactivation of other modules, refer to Section [Link].2,
“Server modules”. Click Next to advance to the next dialog.

542 Configuring Apache with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

[Link].3 Default host

This option pertains to the default Web server. As explained in Section [Link], “Virtual host configura-
tion”, Apache can serve multiple virtual hosts from a single physical machine. The first declared virtual
host in the configuration file is commonly called the default host. Each virtual host inherits the default
host's configuration.
To edit the host settings (also called directives), select the appropriate entry in the table then click Edit.
To add new directives, click Add. To delete a directive, select it and click Delete.

FIGURE 42.1: HTTP SERVER WIZARD: DEFAULT HOST

Here is list of the default settings of the server:

Document Root
Path to the directory from which Apache serves files for this host. /srv/www/htdocs is the default
location.

Alias
Using Alias directives, URLs can be mapped to physical file system locations. This means that a
certain path even outside the Document Root in the file system can be accessed via a URL aliasing
that path.
The default SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Alias /icons points to /usr/share/apache2/
icons for the Apache icons displayed in the directory index view.

543 Configuring Apache with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

ScriptAlias
Similar to the Alias directive, the ScriptAlias directive maps a URL to a file system location.
The difference is that ScriptAlias designates the target directory as a CGI location, meaning that
CGI scripts should be executed in that location.

Directory
With Directory settings, you can enclose a group of configuration options that will only apply
to the specified directory.
Access and display options for the directories /srv/www/htdocs, /usr/share/apache2/icons
and /srv/www/cgi-bin are configured here. It should not be necessary to change the defaults.

Include
With include, additional configuration files can be specified. Two Include directives are already
preconfigured: /etc/apache2/conf.d/ is the directory containing the configuration files that
come with external modules. With this directive, all files in this directory ending in .conf are includ-
ed. With the second directive, /etc/apache2/conf.d/[Link], the apache2-
manual configuration file is included.

Server Name
This specifies the default URL used by clients to contact the Web server. Use a fully qualified domain
name (FQDN) to reach the Web server at [Link] or its IP address. You cannot choose an
arbitrary name here—the server must be “known” under this name.

Server Administrator E-Mail

E-mail address of the server administrator. This address is, for example, shown on error pages
Apache creates.

After finishing with the Default Host step, click Next to continue with the configuration.

[Link].4 Virtual hosts

In this step, the wizard displays a list of already configured virtual hosts (see Section [Link], “Virtual
host configuration”). If you have not made manual changes prior to starting the YaST HTTP wizard, no
virtual host is present.
To add a host, click Add to open a dialog in which to enter basic information about the host, such as
Server Name, Server Contents Root (DocumentRoot), and the Administrator E-Mail. Server Resolution
is used to determine how a host is identified (name based or IP based). Specify the name or IP address
with Change Virtual Host ID

544 Configuring Apache with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

Clicking Next advances to the second part of the virtual host configuration dialog.
In part two of the virtual host configuration you can specify whether to enable CGI scripts and which
directory to use for these scripts. It is also possible to enable SSL. If you do so, you must specify the path to
the certificate as well. See Section 42.6.2, “Configuring Apache with SSL” for details on SSL and certificates.
With the Directory Index option, you can specify which file to display when the client requests a directory
(by default, [Link]). Add one or more file names (space-separated) to change this. With Enable
Public HTML, the content of the users public directories (~USER/public_html/) is made available on
the server under [Link]

Important: Creating virtual hosts

It is not possible to add virtual hosts at will. If using name-based virtual hosts, each host name
must be resolved on the network. If using IP-based virtual hosts, you can assign only one host to
each IP address available.

[Link].5 Summary

This is the final step of the wizard. Here, determine how and when the Apache server is started: when
booting or manually. Also see a short summary of the configuration made so far. If you are satisfied with
your settings, click Finish to complete configuration. To change something, click Back until you have
reached the desired dialog. Clicking HTTP Server Expert Configuration opens the dialog described in
Section [Link], “HTTP server configuration”.

545 Configuring Apache with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 42.2: HTTP SERVER WIZARD: SUMMARY

[Link] HTTP server configuration

The HTTP Server Configuration dialog also lets you make even more adjustments to the configuration
than the wizard (which only runs if you configure your Web server for the first time). It consists of four tabs
described in the following. No configuration option you change here is effective immediately—you always
must confirm your changes with Finish to make them effective. Clicking Abort leaves the configuration
module and discards your changes.

[Link].1 Listen ports and addresses

In HTTP Service, select whether Apache should be running (Enabled) or stopped (Disabled). In Listen on
Ports, Add, Edit, or Delete addresses and ports on which the server should be available. The default is to
listen on all interfaces on port 80. You should always check Open Port In Firewall, because otherwise the
Web server is not reachable from outside. Keeping the port closed is only useful in test situations where
no external access to the Web server is necessary. If you have multiple network interfaces, click Firewall
Details to specify on which interface(s) the port(s) should be opened.

546 Configuring Apache with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

With Log Files, watch either the access log file or the error log file. This is useful if you want to test
your configuration. The log file opens in a separate window from which you can also restart or reload the
Web server. For details, see Section 42.3, “Starting and stopping Apache”. These commands are effective
immediately and their log messages are also displayed immediately.

FIGURE 42.3: HTTP SERVER CONFIGURATION: LISTEN PORTS AND ADDRESSES

[Link].2 Server modules

You can change the status (enabled or disabled) of Apache2 modules by clicking Toggle Status. Click
Add Module to add a new module that is already installed but not yet listed. Learn more about modules in
Section 42.4, “Installing, activating, and configuring modules”.

547 Configuring Apache with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 42.4: HTTP SERVER CONFIGURATION: SERVER MODULES

[Link].3 Main host or hosts

These dialogs are identical to the ones already described. Refer to Section [Link].3, “Default host” and
Section [Link].4, “Virtual hosts”.

42.3 Starting and stopping Apache

If configured with YaST as described in Section 42.2.3, “Configuring Apache with YaST”, Apache is started
at boot time in the [Link] and [Link]. You can change this behavior using
YaST's Services Manager or with the systemctl command line tool (systemctl enable or system-
ctl disable).

To start, stop, or manipulate Apache on a running system, use either the systemctl or the apachectl
commands as described below.
For general information about systemctl commands, refer to Section 19.2.1, “Managing services in a
running system”.

systemctl status [Link]

Checks if Apache is started.

548 Starting and stopping Apache | SLES 15 SP4

systemctl start [Link]
Starts Apache if it is not already running.

systemctl stop [Link]

Stops Apache by terminating the parent process.

systemctl restart [Link]

Stops and then restarts Apache. Starts the Web server if it was not running before.

systemctl try-restart [Link]

Stops then restarts Apache only if it is already running.

systemctl reload [Link]

Stops the Web server by advising all forked Apache processes to first finish their requests before
shutting down. As each process dies, it is replaced by a newly started one, resulting in a complete
“restart” of Apache.

Tip: Restarting Apache in production environments

This command allows activating changes in the Apache configuration without causing con-
nection break-offs.

systemctl stop [Link]

Stops the Web server after a defined period of time configured with GracefulShutdownTimeout
to ensure that existing requests can be finished.

apachectl configtest
Checks the syntax of the configuration files without affecting a running Web server. Because this
check is forced every time the server is started, reloaded, or restarted, it is usually not necessary
to run the test explicitly (if a configuration error is found, the Web server is not started, reloaded,
or restarted).

apachectl status and apachectl fullstatus

Dumps a short or full status screen, respectively. Requires the module mod_status to be enabled
and a text-based browser (such as links or w3m) to be installed. In addition to that, STATUS must
be added to APACHE_SERVER_FLAGS in the file /etc/sysconfig/apache2.

Tip: Additional flags

If you specify additional flags to the commands, these are passed through to the Web server.

549 Starting and stopping Apache | SLES 15 SP4

42.4 Installing, activating, and configuring modules
The Apache software is built in a modular fashion: all functionality except some core tasks are handled
by modules. This has progressed so far that even HTTP is processed by a module (http_core).
Apache modules can be compiled into the Apache binary at build time or be dynamically loaded at runtime.
Refer to Section 42.4.2, “Activation and deactivation” for details of how to load modules dynamically.
Apache modules are organized into the following categories:

Base modules
Base modules are compiled into Apache by default. Apache in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server has
only mod_so (needed to load other modules) and http_core compiled in. All others are available as
shared objects: rather than being included in the server binary itself, they can be included at runtime.

Extension modules
In general, modules labeled as extensions are included in the Apache software package, but are
usually not compiled into the server statically. In SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, they are available
as shared objects that can be loaded into Apache at runtime.

External modules
Modules labeled external are not included in the official Apache distribution. However, SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server provides several of them.

Multiprocessing modules (MPMs)

MPMs are responsible for accepting and handling requests to the Web server, representing the core
of the Web server software.

42.4.1 Module installation

If you have done a default installation as described in Section 42.1.2, “Installation”, the following modules
are already installed: all base and extension modules, the multiprocessing module Prefork MPM, and the
external module mod_python.
You can install additional external modules by starting YaST and choosing Software Software Manage-
ment. Now choose View Search and search for apache. Among other packages, the results list contains
all available external Apache modules.

550 Installing, activating, and configuring modules | SLES 15 SP4

42.4.2 Activation and deactivation
Activate or deactivate particular modules either manually or with YaST. In YaST, script language mod-
ules (PHP 8 and Python) need to be enabled or disabled with the module configuration described in Sec-
tion [Link], “HTTP server wizard”. All other modules can be enabled or disabled as described in Sec-
tion [Link].2, “Server modules”.

If you prefer to activate or deactivate the modules manually, use the commands a2enmod MODULE or
a2dismod MODULE, respectively. a2enmod -l outputs a list of all currently active modules.

Important: Including configuration files for external modules

If you have activated external modules manually, make sure to load their configuration files in
all virtual host configurations. Configuration files for external modules are located under /etc/
apache2/conf.d/ and are loaded in /etc/apache2/[Link] by default. For
more fine-grained control you can comment out the inclusion in /etc/apache2/default-serv-
[Link] and add it to specific virtual hosts only. See /etc/apache2/vhosts.d/[Link]-
plate for examples.

42.4.3 Base and extension modules

All base and extension modules are described in detail in the Apache documentation. Only a brief descrip-
tion of the most important modules is available here. Refer to [Link]
to learn details about each module.

mod_actions
Provides methods to execute a script whenever a certain MIME type (such as application/pdf),
a file with a specific extension (like .rpm), or a certain request method (such as GET) is requested.
This module is enabled by default.

mod_alias
Provides Alias and Redirect directives with which you can map a URL to a specific directory
(Alias) or redirect a requested URL to another location. This module is enabled by default.

mod_auth*
The authentication modules provide different authentication methods: basic authentication with
mod_auth_basic or digest authentication with mod_auth_digest.

551 Activation and deactivation | SLES 15 SP4

 mod_auth_basic and mod_auth_digest must be combined with an authentication provider mod-
ule, mod_authn_* (for example, mod_authn_file for text file–based authentication) and with an
authorization module mod_authz_* (for example, mod_authz_user for user authorization).
More information about this topic is available in the Authentication HOWTO at [Link]
[Link]/docs/2.4/howto/[Link] .

mod_auth_openidc
mod_auth_openidc the only certified way to use OpenID Connect with the Apache HTTP server.
(See [Link] .)

mod_autoindex
Autoindex generates directory listings when no index file (for example, [Link]) is present.
The look and feel of these indexes is configurable. This module is enabled by default. However, di-
rectory listings are disabled by default via the Options directive—overwrite this setting in your vir-
tual host configuration. The default configuration file for this module is located at /etc/apache2/
mod_autoindex-[Link].

mod_cgi
mod_cgi is needed to execute CGI scripts. This module is enabled by default.

mod_deflate
Using this module, Apache can be configured to compress given file types on the fly before deliv-
ering them.

mod_dir
mod_dir provides the DirectoryIndex directive with which you can configure which files are
automatically delivered when a directory is requested ([Link] by default). It also provides
an automatic redirect to the correct URL when a directory request does not contain a trailing slash.
This module is enabled by default.

mod_env
Controls the environment that is passed to CGI scripts or SSI pages. Environment variables can be set
or unset or passed from the shell that invoked the httpd process. This module is enabled by default.

mod_expires
With mod_expires, you can control how often proxy and browser caches refresh your documents
by sending an Expires header. This module is enabled by default.

mod_http2
With mod_http2, Apache gains support for the HTTP/2 protocol. It can be enabled by specifying
Protocols h2 http/1.1 in a VirtualHost.

552 Base and extension modules | SLES 15 SP4

mod_include
mod_include lets you use Server Side Includes (SSI), which provide a basic functionality to gen-
erate HTML pages dynamically. This module is enabled by default.

mod_info
Provides a comprehensive overview of the server configuration under [Link]
er-info/. For security reasons, you should always limit access to this URL. By default only lo-
calhost is allowed to access this URL. mod_info is configured at /etc/apache2/mod_in-
[Link].

mod_log_config
With this module, you can configure the look of the Apache log files. This module is enabled by
default.

mod_mime
The mime module ensures that a file is delivered with the correct MIME header based on the file
name's extension (for example text/html for HTML documents). This module is enabled by de-
fault.

mod_negotiation
Necessary for content negotiation. See [Link]
[Link] for more information. This module is enabled by default.

mod_rewrite
Provides the functionality of mod_alias, but offers more features and flexibility. With
mod_rewrite, you can redirect URLs based on multiple rules, request headers, and more.

mod_setenvif
Sets environment variables based on details of the client's request, such as the browser string the
client sends, or the client's IP address. This module is enabled by default.

mod_spelling
mod_spelling attempts to automatically correct typographical errors in URLs, such as capitaliza-
tion errors.

mod_ssl
Enables encrypted connections between Web server and clients. See Section 42.6, “Setting up a
secure Web server with SSL” for details. This module is enabled by default.

553 Base and extension modules | SLES 15 SP4

mod_status
Provides information on server activity and performance under [Link]
er-status/. For security reasons, you should always limit access to this URL. By default, only
localhost is allowed to access this URL. mod_status is configured at /etc/apache2/mod_s-
[Link].

mod_suexec
mod_suexec lets you run CGI scripts under a different user and group. This module is enabled by
default.

mod_userdir
Enables user-specific directories available under ~USER/. The UserDir directive must be specified
in the configuration. This module is enabled by default.

42.4.4 Multiprocessing modules

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server provides two different multiprocessing modules (MPMs) for use with
Apache:

Prefork MPM

Worker MPM

[Link] Prefork MPM

The prefork MPM implements a non-threaded, preforking Web server. It makes the Web server behave
similarly to Apache version 1.x. In this version it isolates each request and handles it by forking a separate
child process. Thus problematic requests cannot affect others, avoiding a lockup of the Web server.
While providing stability with this process-based approach, the prefork MPM consumes more system
resources than its counterpart, the worker MPM. The prefork MPM is considered the default MPM for
Unix-based operating systems.

Important: MPMs in this document

This document assumes Apache is used with the prefork MPM.

554 Multiprocessing modules | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Worker MPM

The worker MPM provides a multi-threaded Web server. A thread is a “lighter” form of a process. The
advantage of a thread over a process is its lower resource consumption. Instead of only forking child
processes, the worker MPM serves requests by using threads with server processes. The preforked child
processes are multi-threaded. This approach makes Apache perform better by consuming fewer system
resources than the prefork MPM.
One major disadvantage is the stability of the worker MPM: if a thread becomes corrupt, all threads of
a process can be affected. In the worst case, this may result in a server crash. Especially when using
the Common Gateway Interface (CGI) with Apache under heavy load, internal server errors might occur
because of threads being unable to communicate with system resources. Another argument against using
the worker MPM with Apache is that not all available Apache modules are thread-safe and thus cannot
be used with the worker MPM.

Warning: Using PHP modules with MPMs

Not all available PHP modules are thread-safe. Using the worker MPM with mod_php is strongly
discouraged.

42.4.5 External modules

Find a list of all external modules shipped with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server here. Find the module's
documentation in the listed directory.

mod_apparmor
Adds support to Apache to provide AppArmor confinement to individual CGI scripts handled by
modules like mod_php8.

Package Name: apache2-mod_apparmor

More Information: Book “Security and Hardening Guide”

mod_php8
PHP is a server-side, cross-platform HTML embedded scripting language.

Package Name: apache2-mod_php8

Configuration File: /etc/apache2/conf.d/[Link]

555 External modules | SLES 15 SP4

mod_python
mod_python allows embedding Python within the Apache HTTP server for a considerable boost in
performance and added flexibility in designing Web-based applications.

Package Name: apache2-mod_python

More Information: /usr/share/doc/packages/apache2-mod_python

mod_security
mod_security provides a Web application firewall to protect Web applications from a range of
attacks. It also enables HTTP traffic monitoring and real-time analysis.

Package Name: apache2-mod_security2

Configuration File: /etc/apache2/conf.d/mod_security2.conf
More Information: /usr/share/doc/packages/apache2-mod_security2
Documentation: [Link]

42.4.6 Compilation
Apache can be extended by advanced users by writing custom modules. To develop modules for Apache
or compile third-party modules, the package apache2-devel is required along with the corresponding
development tools. apache2-devel also contains the apxs2 tools, which are necessary for compiling
additional modules for Apache.
apxs2 enables the compilation and installation of modules from source code (including the required
changes to the configuration files), which creates dynamic shared objects (DSOs) that can be loaded into
Apache at runtime.
The apxs2 binaries are located under /usr/sbin:

/usr/sbin/apxs2—suitable for building an extension module that works with any MPM. The
installation location is /usr/lib64/apache2.

/usr/sbin/apxs2-prefork—suitable for prefork MPM modules. The installation location is /

usr/lib64/apache2-prefork.

/usr/sbin/apxs2-worker—suitable for worker MPM modules. The installation location is /

usr/lib64/apache2-worker.

Install and activate a module from source code with the following commands:

> sudo cd /path/to/module/source

> sudo apxs2 -cia MODULE.c

556 Compilation | SLES 15 SP4

where -c compiles the module, -i installs it, and -a activates it. Other options of apxs2 are described
in the apxs2(1) man page.

42.5 Enabling CGI scripts

Apache's Common Gateway Interface (CGI) lets you create dynamic content with programs or scripts
usually called CGI scripts. CGI scripts can be written in any programming language. Usually, script lan-
guages such as PHP are used.
To enable Apache to deliver content created by CGI scripts, mod_cgi needs to be activated. mod_alias
is also needed. Both modules are enabled by default. Refer to Section 42.4.2, “Activation and deactivation”
for details on activating modules.

Warning: CGI security

Allowing the server to execute CGI scripts is a potential security hole. Refer to Section 42.8, “Avoid-
ing security problems” for additional information.

42.5.1 Apache configuration

In SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, the execution of CGI scripts is only allowed in the directory /srv/
www/cgi-bin/. This location is already configured to execute CGI scripts. If you have created a virtual
host configuration (see Section [Link], “Virtual host configuration”) and want to place your scripts in a
host-specific directory, you must unlock and configure this directory.
EXAMPLE 42.5: VIRTUALHOST CGI CONFIGURATION

ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ "/srv/www/[Link]/cgi-bin/" 1

<Directory "/srv/www/[Link]/cgi-bin/">
Options +ExecCGI 2

AddHandler cgi-script .cgi .pl 3

Require all granted 4

</Directory>

1 Tells Apache to handle all files within this directory as CGI scripts.
2 Enables CGI script execution
3 Tells the server to treat files with the extensions .pl and .cgi as CGI scripts. Adjust according to
your needs.

557 Enabling CGI scripts | SLES 15 SP4

 4 The Require directive controls the default access state. In this case, access is granted to the specified
directory without limitation. For more information on authentication and authorization, see http://
[Link]/docs/2.4/howto/[Link] .

42.5.2 Running an example script

CGI programming differs from "regular" programming in that the CGI programs and scripts must be
preceded by a MIME-Type header such as Content-type: text/html. This header is sent to the client,
so it understands what kind of content it receives. Secondly, the script's output must be something the
client, usually a Web browser, understands—HTML usually, or plain text or images, for example.
A simple test script available under /usr/share/doc/packages/apache2/test-cgi is part of the
Apache package. It outputs the content of some environment variables as plain text. Copy this script
to either /srv/www/cgi-bin/ or the script directory of your virtual host (/srv/www/[Link]-
[Link]/cgi-bin/) and name it [Link]. Edit the file to have #!/bin/sh as the first line.

Files accessible by the Web server should be owned by the user root. For additional information see
Section 42.8, “Avoiding security problems”. Because the Web server runs with a different user, the CGI
scripts must be world-executable and world-readable. Change into the CGI directory and use the command
chmod 755 [Link] to apply the proper permissions.

Now call [Link] or [Link]

[Link]. You should see the “CGI/1.0 test script report”.

42.5.3 CGI troubleshooting

If you do not see the output of the test program but an error message instead, check the following:

CGI TROUBLESHOOTING

Have you reloaded the server after having changed the configuration? If not, reload with system-
ctl reload [Link].

If you have configured your custom CGI directory, is it configured properly? If in doubt, try the script
within the default CGI directory /srv/www/cgi-bin/ and call it with [Link]
bin/[Link].

Are the file permissions correct? Change into the CGI directory and execute ls -l [Link].
The output should start with

558 Running an example script | SLES 15 SP4

 -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root

Make sure that the script does not contain programming errors. If you have not changed [Link],
this should not be the case, but if you are using your own programs, always make sure that they do
not contain programming errors.

42.6 Setting up a secure Web server with SSL

Whenever sensitive data, such as credit card information, is transferred between Web server and client, it is
desirable to have a secure, encrypted connection with authentication. mod_ssl provides strong encryption
using the secure sockets layer (SSL) and transport layer security (TLS) protocols for HTTP communication
between a client and the Web server. Using TLS/SSL, a private connection between Web server and client
is established. Data integrity is ensured and client and server can authenticate each other.
For this purpose, the server sends an SSL certificate that holds information proving the server's valid
identity before any request to a URL is answered. In turn, this guarantees that the server is the uniquely
correct end point for the communication. Additionally, the certificate generates an encrypted connection
between client and server that can transport information without the risk of exposing sensitive, plain-text
content.
mod_ssl does not implement the TLS/SSL protocols itself, but acts as an interface between Apache and
an SSL library. In SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, the OpenSSL library is used. OpenSSL is automatically
installed with Apache.
The most visible effect of using mod_ssl with Apache is that URLs are prefixed with https:// instead
of [Link]

42.6.1 Creating an SSL certificate

To use TLS/SSL with the Web server, you need to create an SSL certificate. This certificate is needed for
the authorization between Web server and client, so that each party can clearly identify the other party.
To ensure the integrity of the certificate, it must be signed by a party every user trusts.
There are three types of certificates you can create: a “dummy” certificate for testing purposes only, a self-
signed certificate for a defined circle of users that trust you, and a certificate signed by an independent,
publicly-known certificate authority (CA).
Creating a certificate is a two step process. First, a private key for the certificate authority is generated
then the server certificate is signed with this key.

559 Setting up a secure Web server with SSL | SLES 15 SP4

 Tip: More information
To learn more about concepts and definitions of TLS/SSL, refer to [Link]
[Link]/docs/2.4/ssl/ssl_intro.html .

[Link] Creating a “dummy” certificate

To generate a dummy certificate, call the script /usr/bin/gensslcert. It creates or overwrites the
files listed below. Use gensslcert's optional switches to fine-tune the certificate. Call /usr/bin/
gensslcert -h for more information.

/etc/apache2/[Link]/[Link]

/etc/apache2/[Link]/[Link]

/etc/apache2/[Link]/[Link]

/etc/apache2/[Link]/[Link]

A copy of [Link] is also placed at /srv/www/htdocs/[Link] for download.

Important: For testing purposes only

A dummy certificate should never be used on a production system. Only use it for testing purposes.

[Link] Creating a self-signed certificate

If you are setting up a secure Web server for an intranet or for a defined circle of users, it is probably
sufficient if you sign a certificate with your own certificate authority (CA). Note that visitors to such a site
will see a warning like “this is an untrusted site”, as Web browsers do not recognize self-signed certificates.

Important: Self-signed certificates

Only use a self-signed certificate on a Web server that is accessed by people who know and trust
you as a certificate authority. It is not recommended to use such a certificate for a public shop,
for example.

560 Creating an SSL certificate | SLES 15 SP4

First you need to generate a certificate signing request (CSR). You are going to use openssl, with PEM as
the certificate format. During this step, you will be asked for a passphrase, and to answer several questions.
Remember the passphrase you enter as you will need it in the future.

> sudo openssl req -new > [Link]

Generating a 1024 bit RSA private key
..++++++
.........++++++
writing new private key to '[Link]'
Enter PEM pass phrase: 1

Verifying - Enter PEM pass phrase: 2

-----
You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
into your certificate request.
What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
For some fields there will be a default value,
If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
-----
Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]: 3

State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]: 4

Locality Name (eg, city) []: 5

Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]: 6

Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []: 7

Common Name (for example server FQDN, or YOUR name) []: 8

Email Address []: 9

Please enter the following 'extra' attributes

to be sent with your certificate request
A challenge password []: 10

An optional company name []: 11

1 Fill in your passphrase.

2 Fill it in once more (and remember it).
3 Fill in your 2 letter country code, such as GB or CZ.
4 Fill in the name of the state where you live.
5 Fill in the city name, such as Prague.
6 Fill in the name of the organization you work for.
7 Fill in your organization unit, or leave blank if you have none.
8 Fill in either the domain name of the server, or your first and last name.

561 Creating an SSL certificate | SLES 15 SP4

 9 Fill in your work e-mail address.
10 Leave the challenge password empty, otherwise you will need to enter it every time you restart the
Apache Web server.
11 Fill in the optional company name, or leave blank.
Now you can generate the certificate. You are going to use openssl again, and the format of the certificate
is the default PEM.

PROCEDURE 42.3: GENERATING THE CERTIFICATE

1. Export the private part of the key to [Link]. You will be prompted for the passphrase you
entered when creating the certificate signing request (CSR).

> sudo openssl rsa -in [Link] -out [Link]

2. Generate the public part of the certificate according to the information you filled out in the signing
request. The -days option specifies the length of time before the certificate expires. You can revoke
a certificate, or replace one before it expires.

> sudo openssl x509 -in [Link] -out [Link] -req \

-signkey [Link] -days 365

3. Copy the certificate files to the relevant directories, so that the Apache server can read them. Make
sure that the private key /etc/apache2/[Link]/[Link] is not world-readable, while the
public PEM certificate /etc/apache2/[Link]/[Link] is.

> sudo cp [Link] /etc/apache2/[Link]/[Link]

> sudo cp [Link] /etc/apache2/[Link]/[Link]

Tip: Public certificate location

The last step is to copy the public certificate file from /etc/apache2/[Link]/[Link]
to a location where your users can access it to incorporate it into the list of known and trusted
CAs in their Web browsers. Otherwise a browser complains that the certificate was issued by an
unknown authority.

562 Creating an SSL certificate | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Getting an officially signed certificate
There are several official certificate authorities that sign your certificates. The certificate is signed by a
trustworthy third party, so can be fully trusted. Publicly operating secure Web servers usually have an
officially signed certificate. A list of the most used Certificate Authorities (CAs) is available at https://
[Link]/wiki/Certificate_authority#Providers .
When requesting an officially signed certificate, you do not send a certificate to the CA. Instead, issue a
Certificate Signing Request (CSR). To create a CSR, run the following command:

> openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout [Link] -out [Link]

You are asked to enter a distinguished name. This requires you to answer a few questions, such as country
name or organization name. Enter valid data—everything you enter here later shows up in the certificate
and is checked. You do not need to answer every question. If one does not apply to you or you want to
leave it blank, use “.”. Common name is the name of the CA itself—choose a significant name, such as
My company CA. Last, a challenge password and an alternative company name must be entered.

Find the CSR in the directory from which you called the script. The file is named [Link].

42.6.2 Configuring Apache with SSL

The default port for TLS/SSL requests on the Web server side is 443. There is no conflict between a
“regular” Apache listening on port 80 and an TLS/SSL-enabled Apache listening on port 443. In fact,
HTTP and HTTPS can be run with the same Apache instance. Usually separate virtual hosts are used to
dispatch requests to port 80 and port 443 to separate virtual servers.

Important: Firewall configuration

Do not forget to open the firewall for SSL-enabled Apache on port 443. This can be done with
firewalld as described in Book “Security and Hardening Guide”, Chapter 23 “Masquerading and
firewalls”, Section 23.4.3 “Configuring the firewall on the command line”.

The SSL module is enabled by default in the global server configuration. In case it has been disabled on
your host, activate it with the following command: a2enmod ssl. To finally enable SSL, the server needs
to be started with the flag “SSL”. To do so, call a2enflag SSL (case-sensitive!). If you have chosen to
encrypt your server certificate with a password, you should also increase the value for APACHE_TIMEOUT
in /etc/sysconfig/apache2, so you have enough time to enter the passphrase when Apache starts.
Restart the server to make these changes active. A reload is not sufficient.

563 Configuring Apache with SSL | SLES 15 SP4

The virtual host configuration directory contains a template /etc/apache2/vhosts.d/vhost-ss-
[Link] with SSL-specific directives that are extensively documented. Refer to Section [Link],
“Virtual host configuration” for the general virtual host configuration.

To get started, copy the template to /etc/apache2/vhosts.d/[Link] and edit it. Adjust-
ing the values for the following directives should be sufficient:

DocumentRoot

ServerName

ServerAdmin

ErrorLog

TransferLog

[Link] Name-based virtual hosts and SSL

By default it is not possible to run multiple SSL-enabled virtual hosts on a server with only one IP address.
Name-based virtual hosting requires that Apache knows which server name has been requested. The prob-
lem with SSL connections is, that such a request can only be read after the SSL connection has already
been established (by using the default virtual host). As a result, users will receive a warning message stat-
ing that the certificate does not match the server name.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server comes with an extension to the SSL protocol called Server Name Indication
(SNI) addresses this issue by sending the name of the virtual domain as part of the SSL negotiation. This
enables the server to “switch” to the correct virtual domain early and present the browser the correct
certificate.
SNI is enabled by default on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. To enable Name-Based Virtual Hosts for
SSL, configure the server as described in Section [Link].1, “Name-based virtual hosts” (note that you
need to use port 443 rather than port 80 with SSL).

Important: SNI browser support

SNI must also be supported on the client side. However, SNI is supported by most browsers, ex-
cept for certain older browsers. For more information, see [Link]
er_Name_Indication#Support .

564 Configuring Apache with SSL | SLES 15 SP4

 To configure handling of non-SNI capable browsers, use the directive SSLStric-
tSNIVHostCheck. When set to on in the server configuration, non-SNI capable browser will be
rejected for all virtual hosts. When set to on within a VirtualHost directive, access to this par-
ticular host will be rejected.
When set to off in the server configuration, the server will behave as if not having SNI support.
SSL requests will be handled by the first virtual host defined (for port 443).

42.7 Running multiple Apache instances on the same

server
Running multiple Apache instances on the same server has several advantages over running multiple vir-
tual hosts (see Section [Link], “Virtual host configuration”):

When a virtual host needs to be disabled for some time, you need to change the Web server config-
uration and restart it so that the change takes effect.

In case of problems with one virtual host, you need to restart all of them.

You can run the default Apache instance as usual:

> sudo systemctl start [Link]

It reads the default /etc/sysconfig/apache2 file. If the file is not present, or it is present but it does
not set the APACHE_HTTPD_CONF variable, it reads /etc/apache2/[Link].
To activate another Apache instance, run:

> sudo systemctl start apache2@INSTANCE_NAME

For example:

> sudo systemctl start apache2@example_web.org

By default, the instance uses /etc/apache2@example_web.org/[Link] as a main configuration

file, which can be overwritten by setting APACHE_HTTPD_CONF in /etc/sysconfig/apache2@exam-
ple_web.org.

565 Running multiple Apache instances on the same server | SLES 15 SP4
An example to set up an additional instance of Apache follows. Note that you need to execute all the
commands as root.

PROCEDURE 42.4: CONFIGURING AN ADDITIONAL APACHE INSTANCE

1. Create a new configuration file based on /etc/sysconfig/apache2, for example /etc/

sysconfig/apache2@example_web.org:

> sudo cp /etc/sysconfig/apache2 /etc/sysconfig/apache2@example_web.org

2. Edit the file /etc/sysconfig/apache2@example_web.org and change the line containing

APACHE_HTTPD_CONF

to

APACHE_HTTPD_CONF="/etc/apache2/httpd@example_web.[Link]"

3. Create the file /etc/apache2/httpd@example_web.[Link] based on /etc/apache2/

[Link].

> sudo cp /etc/apache2/[Link] /etc/apache2/httpd@example_web.[Link]

4. Edit /etc/apache2/httpd@example_web.[Link] and change

Include /etc/apache2/[Link]

to

Include /etc/apache2/listen@example_web.[Link]

Review all the directives and change them to fit your needs. You will probably want to change

Include /etc/apache2/[Link]

and create new global@example_web.[Link] for each instance. We suggest to change

ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/error_log

to

ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/error@example_web.org_log

to have separate logs for each instance.

566 Running multiple Apache instances on the same server | SLES 15 SP4
 5. Create /etc/apache2/listen@example_web.[Link] based on /etc/apache2/lis-
[Link].

> sudo cp /etc/apache2/[Link] /etc/apache2/listen@example_web.[Link]

6. Edit /etc/apache2/listen@example_web.[Link] and change

Listen 80

to the port number you want the new instance to run on, for example 82:

Listen 82

To run the new Apache instance over a secured protocol (see Section 42.6, “Setting up a secure Web
server with SSL”), change also the line

Listen 443

for example to

Listen 445

7. Start the new Apache instance:

> sudo systemctl start apache2@example_web.org

8. Check if the server is running by pointing your Web browser at [Link] If you
previously changed the name of the error log file for the new instance, you can check it:

> sudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/error@example_web.org_log

Here are several points to consider when setting up more Apache instances on the same server:

The file /etc/sysconfig/apache2@INSTANCE_NAME can include the same variables as /etc/

sysconfig/apache2, including module loading and MPM setting.

The default Apache instance does not need to be running while other instances run.

The Apache helper utilities a2enmod, a2dismod and apachectl operate on the default Apache
instance if not specified otherwise with the HTTPD_INSTANCE environment variable. The following
example

> sudo export HTTPD_INSTANCE=example_web.org

567 Running multiple Apache instances on the same server | SLES 15 SP4
 > sudo a2enmod access_compat
> sudo a2enmod status
> sudo apachectl start

will add access_compat and status modules to the APACHE_MODULES variable of /etc/
sysconfig/apache2@example_web.org, and then start the example_web.org instance.

42.8 Avoiding security problems

A Web server exposed to the public Internet requires an ongoing administrative effort. It is inevitable that
security issues appear, both related to the software and to accidental misconfiguration. Here are some tips
for how to deal with them.

42.8.1 Up-to-date software

If there are vulnerabilities found in the Apache software, a security advisory will be issued by SUSE. It
contains instructions for fixing the vulnerabilities, which in turn should be applied when possible. The
SUSE security announcements are available from the following locations:

Web page. [Link]

Mailing list archive. [Link]

[Link]/

List of security announcements. [Link]

42.8.2 DocumentRoot permissions

By default in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, the DocumentRoot directory /srv/www/htdocs and the
CGI directory /srv/www/cgi-bin belong to the user and group root. You should not change these
permissions. If the directories are writable for all, any user can place files into them. These files might then
be executed by Apache with the permissions of wwwrun, which may give the user unintended access to
file system resources. Use subdirectories of /srv/www to place the DocumentRoot and CGI directories
for your virtual hosts and make sure that directories and files belong to user and group root.

568 Avoiding security problems | SLES 15 SP4

42.8.3 File system access
By default, access to the whole file system is denied in /etc/apache2/[Link]. You should never
overwrite these directives, but specifically enable access to all directories Apache should be able to read.
For details, see Section [Link].3, “Basic virtual host configuration”. In doing so, ensure that no critical
files, such as password or system configuration files, can be read from the outside.

42.8.4 CGI scripts

Interactive scripts in PHP, SSI, or any other programming language can essentially run arbitrary commands
and therefore present a general security issue. Scripts that will be executed from the server should only be
installed from sources the server administrator trusts—allowing users to run their own scripts is generally
not a good idea. It is also recommended to do security audits for all scripts.
To make the administration of scripts as easy as possible, it is common practice to limit the execution of
CGI scripts to specific directories instead of globally allowing them. The directives ScriptAlias and
Option ExecCGI are used for configuration. The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server default configuration
does not allow execution of CGI scripts from everywhere.
All CGI scripts run as the same user, so different scripts can potentially conflict with each other. The
module suEXEC lets you run CGI scripts under a different user and group.

42.8.5 User directories

When enabling user directories (with mod_userdir or mod_rewrite) you should strongly consider not
allowing .htaccess files, which would allow users to overwrite security settings. At least you should
limit the user's engagement by using the directive AllowOverRide. In SUSE Linux Enterprise Server,
.htaccess files are enabled by default, but the user is not allowed to overwrite any Option directives
when using mod_userdir (see the /etc/apache2/mod_userdir.conf configuration file).

569 File system access | SLES 15 SP4

42.9 Troubleshooting
If Apache does not start, the Web page is not accessible, or users cannot connect to the Web server, it is
important to find the cause of the problem. Here are some typical places to look for error explanations
and important things to check:

Output of the [Link] subcommand:

Instead of starting and stopping the Web server with the binary /usr/sbin/apache2ctl, rather
use the systemctl commands instead (described in Section 42.3, “Starting and stopping Apache”).
systemctl status [Link] is verbose about errors, and it even provides tips and
hints for fixing configuration errors.

Log files and verbosity

In case of both fatal and nonfatal errors, check the Apache log files for causes, mainly the error
log file located at /var/log/apache2/error_log by default. Additionally, you can control the
verbosity of the logged messages with the LogLevel directive if more detail is needed in the log
files.

Tip: A simple test

Watch the Apache log messages with the command tail -F /var/log/apache2/MY_ER-
ROR_LOG. Then run systemctl restart [Link]. Now, try to connect with
a browser and check the output.

Firewall and ports

A common mistake is to not open the ports for Apache in the firewall configuration of the server.
If you configure Apache with YaST, there is a separate option available to take care of this specific
issue (see Section 42.2.3, “Configuring Apache with YaST”). If you are configuring Apache manually,
open firewall ports for HTTP and HTTPS via YaST's firewall module.

If the error cannot be tracked down with any of these, check the online Apache bug database at http://
[Link]/bug_report.html . Additionally, the Apache user community can be reached via a
mailing list available at [Link] .

570 Troubleshooting | SLES 15 SP4

42.10 More information
The package apache2-doc contains the complete Apache manual in various localizations for local in-
stallation and reference. It is not installed by default—the quickest way to install it is to use the command
zypper in apache2-doc. Having been installed, the Apache manual is available at [Link]
host/manual/. You may also access it on the Web at [Link] . SUSE-
specific configuration hints are available in the directory /usr/share/doc/packages/apache2/
README.*.

42.10.1 Apache 2.4

For a list of new features in Apache 2.4, refer to [Link]
tures_2_4.html . Information about upgrading from version 2.2 to 2.4 is available at [Link]
[Link]/docs-2.4/[Link] .

42.10.2 Apache modules

More information about external Apache modules that are briefly described in Section 42.4.5, “External
modules” is available at the following locations:

mod_apparmor
[Link]

mod_php8
[Link]
You can obtain detailed information about mod_php8 configuration in its well-commented main
configuration file /etc/php8/apache2/[Link].

mod_python
[Link]

mod_security
[Link]

571 More information | SLES 15 SP4

42.10.3 Development
More information about developing Apache modules or about getting involved in the Apache Web server
project are available at the following locations:

Apache developer information

[Link]

Apache developer documentation

[Link]

42.10.4 Miscellaneous sources

If you experience difficulties specific to Apache in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, take a look at the
Technical Information Search at [Link] . The history of Apache is provided
at [Link] . This page also explains why the server is called
Apache.

572 Development | SLES 15 SP4

43 Setting up an FTP server with YaST

Using the YaST FTP Server module, you can configure your machine to function as an FTP
(File Transfer Protocol) server. Anonymous and/or authenticated users can connect to your
machine and download files using the FTP protocol. Depending on the configuration, they
can also upload files to the FTP server. YaST uses vsftpd (Very Secure FTP Daemon).
If the YaST FTP Server module is not available in your system, install the yast2-ftp-server package.
(For managing the FTP server from the command line, see Section [Link], “yast ftp-server”.)
To configure the FTP server using YaST, follow these steps:

1. Open the YaST control center and choose Network Services FTP Server or run the yast2 ftp-
server command as root.

2. If there is not any FTP server installed in your system, you will be asked which server to install
when the YaST FTP Server module starts. Choose the vsftpd server and confirm the dialog.

3. In the Start-Up dialog, configure the options for starting of the FTP server. For more information,
see Section 43.1, “Starting the FTP server”.
In the General dialog, configure FTP directories, welcome message, file creation masks and other
parameters. For more information, see Section 43.2, “FTP general settings”.
In the Performance dialog, set the parameters that affect the load on the FTP server. For more
information, see Section 43.3, “FTP performance settings”.
In the Authentication dialog, set whether the FTP server should be available for anonymous and/or
authenticated users. For more information, see Section 43.4, “Authentication”.
In the Expert Settings dialog, configure the operation mode of the FTP server, SSL connections and
firewall settings. For more information, see Section 43.5, “Expert settings”.

4. Click Finish to save the configurations.

43.1 Starting the FTP server

In the Service Start frame of the FTP Start-Up dialog set the way the FTP server is started up. You can
choose between starting the server automatically during the system boot and starting it manually. If the
FTP server should be started only after an FTP connection request, choose Via socket.

573 Starting the FTP server | SLES 15 SP4

The current status of the FTP server is shown in the Switch On and Off frame of the FTP Start-Up dialog.
Start the FTP server by clicking Start FTP Now. To stop the server, click Stop FTP Now. After having
changed the settings of the server click Save Settings and Restart FTP Now. Your configurations will be
saved by leaving the configuration module with Finish.

FIGURE 43.1: FTP SERVER CONFIGURATION — START-UP

43.2 FTP general settings

In the General Settings frame of the FTP General Settings dialog you can set the Welcome message which
is shown after connecting to the FTP server.
If you check the Chroot Everyone option, all local users will be placed in a chroot jail in their home
directory after login. This option has security implications, especially if the users have upload permission
or shell access, so be careful enabling this option.
If you check the Verbose Logging option, all FTP requests and responses are logged.
You can limit permissions of files created by anonymous and/or authenticated users with umask. Set the file
creation mask for anonymous users in Umask for Anonymous and the file creation mask for authenticated
users in Umask for Authenticated Users. The masks should be entered as octal numbers with a leading
zero. For more information about umask, see the umask man page (man 1p umask).

574 FTP general settings | SLES 15 SP4

In the FTP Directories frame set the directories used for anonymous and authorized users. With Browse,
you can select a directory to be used from the local file system. The default FTP directory for anonymous
users is /srv/ftp. Note that vsftpd does not allow this directory to be writable for all users. The subdi-
rectory upload with write permissions for anonymous users is created instead.

43.3 FTP performance settings

In the Performance dialog set the parameters which affect the load on the FTP server. Max Idle Time is
the maximum time (in minutes) the remote client may spend between FTP commands. In case of longer
inactivity, the remote client is disconnected. Max Clients for One IP determines the maximum number of
clients which can be connected from a single IP address. Max Clients determines the maximum number
of clients which may be connected. Any additional clients will get an error message.
The maximum data transfer rate (in KB/s) is set in Local Max Rate for local authenticated users, and
in Anonymous Max Rate for anonymous clients respectively. The default value for the rate settings is 0,
which means unlimited data transfer rate.

43.4 Authentication
In the Enable/Disable Anonymous and Local Users frame of the Authentication dialog, you can set which
users are allowed to access your FTP server. You can choose between the following options: granting
access to anonymous users only, to authenticated users only (with accounts on the system) or to both types
of users.
To allow users to upload files to the FTP server, check Enable Upload in the Uploading frame of the
Authentication dialog. Here you can allow uploading or creating directories even for anonymous users by
checking the respective box.

Note: vsftp—allowing file upload for anonymous users

If a vsftpd server is used and you want anonymous users to be able to upload files or create direc-
tories, a subdirectory with writing permissions for all users needs to be created in the anonymous
FTP directory.

575 FTP performance settings | SLES 15 SP4

43.5 Expert settings
An FTP server can run in active or in passive mode. By default the server runs in passive mode. To switch
into active mode, deselect the Enable Passive Mode option in the Expert Settings dialog. You can also
change the range of ports on the server used for the data stream by tweaking the Min Port for Pas. Mode
and Max Port for Pas. Mode options.
If you want encrypted communication between clients and the server, you can Enable SSL and, addition-
ally, Enable TLS. Specify the RSA certificate to be used for SSL encrypted connections.

Important
By default, new versions of the vsftpd daemon have the TLS protocol older than version 1.2
disabled. If you use an FTP client that requires an older version of the TLS protocol, you need to
add the following configuration to the /etc/[Link] file:

ssl_tlsv1 = YES
ssl_tlsv1_1 = YES

Then restart the vsftpd daemon to reread the configuration:

> sudo systemctl restart [Link]

If your system is protected by a firewall, check Open Port in Firewall to enable a connection to the FTP
server.

43.6 More information

For more information about the FTP server read the manual pages of vsftpd and [Link].

576 Expert settings | SLES 15 SP4

44 Squid caching proxy server

Squid is a widely-used caching proxy server for Linux and Unix platforms. This means that
it stores requested Internet objects, such as data on a Web or FTP server, on a machine that is
closer to the requesting workstation than the server. It can be set up in multiple hierarchies to
assure optimal response times and low bandwidth usage, even in modes that are transparent
to end users.
Squid acts as a caching proxy server. It redirects object requests from clients (in this case, from Web
browsers) to the server. When the requested objects arrive from the server, it delivers the objects to the
client and keeps a copy of them in the hard disk cache. An advantage of caching is that several clients
requesting the same object can be served from the hard disk cache. This enables clients to receive the data
much faster than from the Internet. This procedure also reduces the network traffic.
Along with actual caching, Squid offers a wide range of features:

Distributing load over intercommunicating hierarchies of proxy servers

Defining strict access control lists for all clients accessing the proxy server

Allowing or denying access to specific Web pages using other applications

Generating statistics about frequently-visited Web pages for the assessment of surfing habits

Squid is not a generic proxy server. It normally proxies only HTTP connections. It supports the protocols
FTP, Gopher, SSL, and WAIS, but it does not support other Internet protocols, such as the news protocol,
or video conferencing protocols. Because Squid only supports the UDP protocol to provide communication
between different caches, many multimedia programs are not supported.

44.1 Some facts about proxy servers

As a caching proxy server, Squid can be used in several ways. When combined with a firewall, it can help
with security. Multiple proxies can be used together. It can also determine what types of objects should
be cached and for how long.

577 Some facts about proxy servers | SLES 15 SP4

44.1.1 Squid and security
It is possible to use Squid together with a firewall to secure internal networks from the outside. The firewall
denies all clients access to external services except Squid. All Web connections must be established by
the proxy server. With this configuration, Squid completely controls Web access.
If the firewall configuration includes a demilitarized zone (DMZ), the proxy server should operate within
this zone. Section 44.6, “Configuring a transparent proxy” describes how to implement a transparent proxy.
This simplifies the configuration of the clients, because in this case, they do not need any information
about the proxy server.

44.1.2 Multiple caches

Several instances of Squid can be configured to exchange objects between them. This reduces the total
system load and increases the chances of retrieving an object from the local network. It is also possible to
configure cache hierarchies, so a cache can forward object requests to sibling caches or to a parent cache
—causing it to request objects from another cache in the local network, or directly from the source.
Choosing the appropriate topology for the cache hierarchy is very important, because it is not desirable
to increase the overall traffic on the network. For a very large network, it would make sense to configure
a proxy server for every subnet and connect them to a parent proxy server, which in turn is connected to
the caching proxy server of the ISP.
All this communication is handled by ICP (Internet cache protocol) running on top of the UDP protocol.
Data transfers between caches are handled using HTTP (hypertext transmission protocol) based on TCP.
To find the most appropriate server from which to request objects, a cache sends an ICP request to all
sibling proxies. The sibling proxies answer these requests via ICP responses. If the object was detected,
they use the code HIT, if not, they use MISS.
If multiple HIT responses were found, the proxy server decides from which server to download, depending
on factors such as which cache sent the fastest answer or which one is closer. If no satisfactory responses
are received, the request is sent to the parent cache.

Note: How Squid avoids duplication of objects

To avoid duplication of objects in different caches in the network, other ICP protocols are used,
such as CARP (cache array routing protocol) or HTCP (hypertext cache protocol). The more objects
maintained in the network, the greater the possibility of finding the desired object.

578 Squid and security | SLES 15 SP4

44.1.3 Caching Internet objects
Many objects available in the network are not static, such as dynamically generated pages and TLS/SSL-
encrypted content. Objects like these are not cached because they change each time they are accessed.
To determine how long objects should remain in the cache, objects are assigned one of several states.
Web and proxy servers find out the status of an object by adding headers to these objects, such as “Last
modified” or “Expires” and the corresponding date. Other headers specifying that objects must not be
cached can be used as well.
Objects in the cache are normally replaced, because of a lack of free disk space, using algorithms such as
LRU (last recently used). This means that the proxy expunges those objects that have not been requested
for the longest time.

44.2 System requirements

System requirements largely depend on the maximum network load that the system must bear. Therefore,
examine load peaks, as during those times, load might be more than four times the day's average. When
in doubt, slightly overestimate the system's requirements. Having Squid working close to the limit of its
capabilities can lead to a severe loss in quality of service. The following sections point to system factors
in order of significance:

1. RAM size

2. CPU speed/physical CPU cores

3. Size of the disk cache

4. Hard disks/SSDs and their architecture

44.2.1 RAM
The amount of memory (RAM) required by Squid directly correlates with the number of objects in the
cache. Random access memory is much faster than a hard disk/SSD. Therefore, it is very important to
have sufficient memory for the Squid process, because system performance is dramatically reduced if the
swap disk is used.

579 Caching Internet objects | SLES 15 SP4

Squid also stores cache object references and frequently requested objects in the main memory to speed
up retrieval of this data. In addition to that, there is other data that Squid needs to keep in memory, such
as a table with all the IP addresses handled, an exact domain name cache, the most frequently requested
objects, access control lists, buffers, and more.

44.2.2 CPU
Squid is tuned to work best with lower processor core counts (4–8 physical cores), with each providing
high performance. Technologies providing virtual cores such as hyperthreading can hurt performance.
To make the best use of multiple CPU cores, it is necessary to set up multiple worker threads writing to
different caching devices. By default, multi-core support is mostly disabled.

44.2.3 Size of the disk cache

In a small cache, the probability of a HIT (finding the requested object already located there) is small,
because the cache is easily filled and less requested objects are replaced by newer ones. If, for example,
1 GB is available for the cache and the users use up only 10 MB per day surfing, it would take more than
one hundred days to fill the cache.
The easiest way to determine the necessary cache size is to consider the maximum transfer rate of the
connection. With a 1 Mbit/s connection, the maximum transfer rate is 128 KB/s. If all this traffic ended
up in the cache, in one hour it would add up to 460 MB. Assuming that all this traffic is generated in only
eight working hours, it would reach 3.6 GB in one day. Because the connection is normally not used to its
upper volume limit, it can be assumed that the total data volume handled by the cache is approximately
2 GB. Hence, in this example, 2 GB of disk space is required for Squid to keep one day's worth of browsing
data cached.

44.2.4 Hard disk/SSD architecture

Speed plays an important role in the caching process, so this factor deserves special attention. For hard
disks/SSDs, this parameter is described as random seek time or random read performance, measured in
milliseconds. Because the data blocks that Squid reads from or writes to the hard disk/SSD tend to be
small, the seek time/read performance of the hard disk/SSD is more important than its data throughput.

580 CPU | SLES 15 SP4

For use as a proxy server, hard disks with high rotation speeds or SSDs are the best choice. When using
hard disks, it can be better to use multiple smaller hard disks, each with a single cache directory to avoid
excessive read times.
Using a RAID system allows increasing reliability at expense of speed. However, for performance reasons,
avoid (software) RAID5 and similar settings.
In most cases, the choice of file system choice does not matter. However, using the mount option noatime
can improve performance—Squid provides its own time stamps, so it does not need the file system to
track access times.

44.3 Basic usage of Squid

Since squid is not installed by default on SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server, make sure the package is
installed on your system.
As Squid is preconfigured in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, you can start it immediately after the instal-
lation. To avoid problems during the start-up, make sure that the network is connected to the Internet con-
nection and has at least one name server. Using a dial-up connection with a dynamic DNS configuration
may cause problems. In this case, specify at least the name server, as Squid does not start if it does not
detect a DNS server in /var/run/netconfig/[Link].

44.3.1 Starting Squid

To start Squid, run the following command:

> sudo systemctl start squid

To start Squid on system boot, enable the service with systemctl enable squid.

44.3.2 Checking whether Squid is working

There are several ways to check whether Squid is running:

Using systemctl:

> systemctl status squid

581 Basic usage of Squid | SLES 15 SP4

 The output should indicate that Squid is loaded and active (running).

Using Squid itself:

> sudo squid -k check | echo $?

The output should be 0, but it can also contain additional messages, such as warnings.

To test the functionality of Squid on the local system, choose one of the following options:

Use squidclient, a command-line tool that outputs the response to a Web request, similar to wget
or curl.
Unlike wget or curl, squidclient automatically connects to the default proxy setup of Squid,
localhost:3128. However, if you modified the configuration of Squid, you must configure
squidclient accordingly. For more information, see squidclient --help.

EXAMPLE 44.1: A REQUEST WITH squidclient

> squidclient [Link]

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Cache-Control: max-age=604800
Content-Type: text/html
Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2016 12:00:00 GMT
Expires: Fri, 29 Jun 2016 12:00:00 GMT
Last-Modified: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 23:54:35 GMT
Server: ECS (iad/182A)
Vary: Accept-Encoding
X-Cache: HIT
x-ec-custom-error: 1
Content-Length: 1270
X-Cache: MISS from moon 1

X-Cache-Lookup: MISS from moon:3128

Via: 1.1 moon (squid/3.5.16) 2

Connection: close

<!doctype html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Example domain</title>
[...]
</body>
</html>

582 Checking whether Squid is working | SLES 15 SP4

 The output shown in Example 44.1, “A request with squidclient” consists of two parts:

1. The protocol headers of the response (the lines before the blank line).

2. The actual content of the response (the lines after the blank line).

To verify that Squid is used, refer to the selected header lines:

1 The value of the header X-Cache shows that the requested document was not in the
Squid cache (MISS) of the computer moon.
The example above contains two X-Cache lines. The first X-Cache header can be safely
ignored, as it is produced by the internal caching software of the originating Web server.
2 The value of the header Via shows the HTTP version, the name of the computer, and
the version of Squid in use.

Using a browser: Set up localhost as the proxy and 3128 as the port. Then load a page and check
the response headers in the Network panel of the browser's Inspector or Developer Tools. The headers
should be reproduced similarly to the way shown in Example 44.1, “A request with squidclient”.

To allow users from the local system and other systems to access Squid and the Internet, change the entry
in the configuration files /etc/squid/[Link] from http_access deny all to http_access
allow all. However, keep in mind that this makes Squid fully accessible to anyone. Therefore, define
ACLs (access control lists) that control access to the proxy server. After modifying the configuration file,
Squid must be reloaded or restarted. For more information on ACLs, see Section 44.5.2, “Options for access
controls”.

If Squid stops working after a short period of time, check whether there is an incorrect name server entry
or whether the /var/run/netconfig/[Link] file is missing. Squid logs the cause of a start-up
failure in the file /var/log/squid/[Link].

44.3.3 Stopping, reloading, and restarting Squid

There are two ways to reload Squid:

Using systemctl:

> sudo systemctl reload squid

or

583 Stopping, reloading, and restarting Squid | SLES 15 SP4

 > sudo systemctl restart squid

Using YaST:
In the Squid module, click the Save Settings and Restart Squid Now button.

To stop Squid, use one of the following options:

Using systemctl:

> sudo systemctl stop squid

Using YaST
In the Squid module click the Stop Squid Now. button.

Shutting down Squid can take a while, because Squid waits up to half a minute before dropping the con-
nections to the clients and writing its data to the disk (see shutdown_lifetime option in /etc/squid/
[Link]),

Warning: Terminating Squid

Terminating Squid with kill or killall can damage the cache. To be able to restart Squid,
damaged caches must be deleted.

44.3.4 Removing Squid

Removing Squid from the system does not remove the cache hierarchy and log files. To remove them,
delete the /var/cache/squid directory manually.

44.3.5 Local DNS server

Setting up a local DNS server makes sense even if it does not manage its own domain. In that case, it acts
as a caching-only name server, and it can also resolve DNS requests via the root name servers without
requiring any special configuration (see Section 39.4, “Starting the BIND name server”). How this can be
done depends on whether you chose dynamic DNS during the configuration of the Internet connection.

584 Removing Squid | SLES 15 SP4

Dynamic DNS
Normally, with dynamic DNS, the DNS server is set by the provider when establishing the Inter-
net connection and the local /var/run/netconfig/[Link] file is adjusted automatical-
ly. This behavior is specified in the /etc/sysconfig/network/config file using the NETCON-
FIG_DNS_POLICY sysconfig variable. Set NETCONFIG_DNS_POLICY to "" with the YaST syscon-
fig editor.
Then add the local DNS server in the /var/run/netconfig/[Link] file with the IP ad-
dress [Link] for localhost. This way, Squid can always find the local name server when
it starts.
To make the provider's name server accessible, specify it in the configuration file /etc/
[Link] under forwarders along with its IP address. With dynamic DNS, this can be done
automatically when establishing the connection by setting the sysconfig variable NETCONFIG_D-
NS_POLICY to auto.

Static DNS
With static DNS, no automatic DNS adjustments take place while establishing a connection, so
there is no need to change any sysconfig variables. However, you must specify the local DNS serv-
er in the file /var/run/netconfig/[Link] as described in Dynamic DNS. Additionally,
the provider's static name server must be specified manually in the /etc/[Link] file under
forwarders along with its IP address.

Tip: DNS and firewall

If you have a firewall running, make sure DNS requests can pass through it.

44.4 The YaST Squid module

The YaST Squid module contains the following tabs:

Start-Up
Specifies how Squid is started and which firewall port is open in which interfaces.

HTTP Ports
Define all ports for Squid to listen for HTTP requests from clients.

Refresh Patterns
Defines how Squid treats objects in the cache.

585 The YaST Squid module | SLES 15 SP4

Cache Settings
Defines settings related to cache memory, maximum and minimum object size, and more.

Cache Directory
Defines the top-level directory for Squid to store cache swap files.

Access Control
Controls the access to the Squid server via ACL groups.

Logging and Timeout

Define paths to access, cache, and cache store log files in addition with connection timeouts and
client lifetime.

Miscellaneous
Specifies language and mail address of administrator.

44.5 The Squid configuration file

Squid proxy server settings are stored in the /etc/squid/[Link] file. Although starting Squid for
the first time does not require any changes to the file, external clients are initially denied access. The proxy
is available for localhost. The default port is 3128. The preinstalled configuration file /etc/squid/
[Link] provides detailed information about the options and many examples.

Many entries are disabled using the comment character #. The relevant specifications can be found at the
end of the line. The given values usually correlate with the default values, so removing the comment signs
without changing any of the parameters usually has no effect. If possible, leave the commented lines as
they are and insert the options along with the modified values in the line below. This way, the default
values may easily be recovered and compared with the changes.

Tip: Adapting the configuration file after an update

If you have updated from an earlier Squid version, it is recommended to edit the new /etc/squid/
[Link] and only apply the changes made in the previous file.

Sometimes, Squid options are added, removed, or modified. Therefore, if you try to use the old
[Link], Squid might stop working properly.

586 The Squid configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

44.5.1 General configuration options
The following is a list of a selection of configuration options for Squid. It is not exhaustive. The Squid
package contains a full, lightly documented list of options in /etc/squid/[Link].

http_port PORT
This is the port on which Squid listens for client requests. The default port is 3128, but 8080 is
also common.

cache_peer HOST_NAME TYPE PROXY_PORT ICP_PORT

This option allows creating a network of caches that work together. The cache peer is a computer
that also hosts a network cache and stands in a relationship to your own. The type of relationship is
specified as the TYPE. The type can either be parent or sibling.
As the HOST_NAME, specify the name or IP address of the proxy server to use. For PROXY_PORT,
specify the port number for use in a browser (usually 8080). Set ICP_PORT to 7 or, if the ICP port
of the parent is not known and its use is irrelevant to the provider, to 0.
To make Squid behave like a Web browser instead of a proxy server, disable the use of the ICP
protocol by appending the options default and no-query.

cache_mem SIZE
This option defines the amount of memory Squid can use for the most frequent replies. The default
is 8 MB. This does not specify the memory usage of Squid and may be exceeded.

cache_dir STORAGE_TYPE CACHE_DIRECTORY CACHE_SIZE LEVEL_1_DIRECTORIES LEV-

EL_2_DIRECTORIES
The option cache_dir defines the directory for the disk cache. In the default configuration on
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Squid does not create a disk cache.
The placeholder STORAGE_TYPE can be one of the following:

Directory-based storage types: ufs, aufs (the default), diskd. All three are variations of the
storage format ufs. However, while ufs runs as part of the core Squid thread, aufs runs in a
separate thread, and diskd uses a separate process. This means that the latter two types avoid
blocking Squid because of disk I/O.

Database-based storage systems: rock. This storage format relies on a single database file, in
which each object takes up one or more memory units of a fixed size (“slots”).

In the following, only the parameters for storage types based on ufs will be discussed. rock has
somewhat different parameters.

587 General configuration options | SLES 15 SP4

 The CACHE_DIRECTORY is the directory for the disk cache. By default, that is /var/cache/squid.
CACHE_SIZE is the maximum size of that directory in megabytes; by default, this is set to 100 MB.
Set it to between 50% and a maximum of 80% of available disk space.
The LEVEL_1_DIRECTORIES and LEVEL_2_DIRECTORIES values specify how many subdirecto-
ries are created in the CACHE_DIRECTORY. By default, 16 subdirectories are created at the first level
below CACHE_DIRECTORY and 256 within each of these. These values should only be increased with
caution, because creating too many directories can lead to performance problems.
If you have several disks that share a cache, specify several cache_dir lines.

cache_access_log LOG_FILE,
cache_log LOG_FILE,
cache_store_log LOG_FILE
These three options specify the paths where Squid logs all its actions. Normally, nothing needs to
be changed here. If Squid is under heavy load, it might make sense to distribute the cache and the
log files over several disks.

client_netmask NETMASK
This option allows masking IP addresses of clients in the log files by applying a subnet mask. For
example, to set the last digit of the IP address to 0, specify [Link].

ftp_user E-MAIL
This option allows setting the password that Squid should use for anonymous FTP login. Specify a
valid e-mail address here, as some FTP servers check these for validity.

cache_mgr E-MAIL
When Squid crashes, it sends a message to the specified e-mail address. The default is webmaster.

logfile_rotate VALUE
When used with squid -k rotate, squid rotates log files. The files are numbered and, after
reaching the specified value, the oldest file is overwritten. The default value is 10 which rotates log
files with the numbers 0 to 9.
However, on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, rotating log files is performed automatically using
logrotate and the configuration file /etc/logrotate.d/squid.

append_domain DOMAIN
Use append_domain to specify which domain to append automatically when none is given. Usually,
your own domain is specified here, so pointing the browser to www navigates to your own Web
server.

588 General configuration options | SLES 15 SP4

forwarded_for STATE
If this option is set to on, it adds a line to the header similar to this:

X-Forwarded-For: [Link]

If you set this option to off, Squid removes the IP address and the system name of the client from
HTTP requests.

negative_ttl TIME,
negative_dns_ttl TIME
If these options are configured, Squid caches certain types of failures, such as 404 responses. It then
refuses to issue new requests, even if the resource becomes available.
By default, negative_ttl is set to 0, negative_dns_ttl is set to 1 minutes. This means that
negative responses to Web requests are not cached by default, while negative responses to DNS
requests are cached for 1 minute.

never_direct allow ACL_NAME

To prevent Squid from accepting requests directly from the Internet, use the option never_di-
rect to force connection to another proxy server. This must have previously been specified in
cache_peer. If all is specified as the ACL_NAME, all requests are forwarded directly to the par-
ent. This can be necessary, for example, if you are using a provider that dictates the use of its prox-
ies or denies its firewall direct Internet access.

44.5.2 Options for access controls

Squid can control the access to the proxy server through Access Control Lists (ACL), lists with rules
that are processed sequentially. ACLs must be defined before they can be used. Squid includes default
ACLs, such as all and localhost. However, for an ACL to take effect, it must have a corresponding
http_access rule.

The syntax for the option acl is as follows:

acl ACL_NAME TYPE DATA

589 Options for access controls | SLES 15 SP4

The placeholders within this syntax stand for the following:

ACL_NAME can be any name.

For TYPE, select from the options available in the ACCESS CONTROLS section of the /etc/squid/
[Link] file.

The specification for DATA depends on the individual ACL type, for example host names, IP ad-
dresses, or URLs.

To add rules in the YaST Squid module, open the module and click the Access Control tab. Click Add
under the ACL Groups list and enter the name of your rule, the type, and its parameters.
For more information on types of ACL rules, see the Squid documentation at [Link]
[Link]/Versions/v3/3.5/cfgman/[Link] .

EXAMPLE 44.2: DEFINING ACL RULES

acl mysurfers srcdomain .[Link] 1

acl teachers src [Link]/[Link] 2

acl students src [Link]-[Link]/[Link] 3

acl lunch time MTWHF 12:00-15:00 4

1 This ACL defines mysurfers as all users coming from within .[Link] (as determined by
a reverse lookup for the IP).
2 This ACL defines teachers as the users of computers with IP addresses starting with 192.168.1..
3 This ACL defines students as the users of the computer with IP addresses starting with
192.168.7., 192.168.8., or 192.168.9..

4 This ACL defines lunch as a time on the days Monday through Friday between noon and 3 p.m.

http_access allow ACL_NAME

http_access defines who is allowed to use the proxy server and who can access what on the
Internet. You need to define ACLs for this. The localhost and all ACLs have already been
defined above, and you can deny or allow access to them via deny or allow. A list containing
any number of http_access entries can be created, processed from top to bottom. Depending on
which occurs first, access is allowed or denied to the respective URL. The last entry should always
be http_access deny all. In the following example, localhost has free access to everything,
while all other hosts are denied access completely:

http_access allow localhost

http_access deny all

590 Options for access controls | SLES 15 SP4

 In another example using these rules, the group teachers always has access to the Internet. The
group students only has access between Monday and Friday during lunch time:

http_access deny localhost

http_access allow teachers
http_access allow students lunch time
http_access deny all

For better readability, specify all http_access options as a block in the configuration file /etc/
squid/[Link].

url_rewrite_program PATH
Use this option to specify a URL rewriter.

auth_param basic program PATH

If users must be authenticated on the proxy server, set a corresponding program, such as /usr/
sbin/pam_auth. When accessing pam_auth for the first time, the user is prompted to provide a
user name and a password. In addition to that, you need an ACL, so only clients with a valid login
can use the Internet:

acl password proxy_auth REQUIRED

http_access allow password

http_access deny all

In the acl proxy_auth option, using REQUIRED means that all valid user names are accepted.
REQUIRED can also be replaced with a list of permitted user names.

ident_lookup_access allow ACL_NAME

Use this option to enable an ident request action to find each user's identity for all clients defined
by an ACL of the type src. To enable this for all clients, apply the predefined ACL all as the
ACL_NAME.
All clients specified by ident_lookup_access must run an ident daemon. On Linux, you can use
pidentd (package pidentd) as the ident daemon. To ensure that only clients with a successful
ident lookup are permitted, define a corresponding ACL:

acl identhosts ident REQUIRED

http_access allow identhosts

http_access deny all

Setting the acl identhosts ident option to REQUIRED ensures that all valid user names are
accepted. REQUIRED can also be replaced with a list of permitted user names.

591 Options for access controls | SLES 15 SP4

 Using ident can slow down access time, because ident lookups are repeated for each request.

44.6 Configuring a transparent proxy

A transparent proxy intercepts and answers the requests of the Web browser, so the Web browser receives
the requested pages without knowing where they are coming from. As the name indicates, the entire process
is transparent to the user.
The standard way of working with proxy servers is as follows: the Web browser sends requests to a certain
port of the proxy server and the proxy always provides these required objects, regardless of whether they
are in its cache. However, in some cases using the transparent proxy mode of Squid makes sense:

When for security reasons it is desirable for all clients to use a proxy server to access the Internet.

When all clients must use a proxy server, regardless of whether they are aware of it.

When the proxy server in a network is moved, but the existing clients need to retain their old con-
figuration.

PROCEDURE 44.1: SQUID AS A TRANSPARENT PROXY SERVER (COMMAND LINE)

1. In /etc/squid/[Link], add the parameter transparent to the line http_port. You

should then have 2 lines:

http_port 3128#
http_port 3128 transparent

2. Restart Squid:

> sudo systemctl restart squid

3. Set up the firewall to redirect HTTP traffic to the port given in http_proxy (in the example above,
it is port 3128). Then reload the firewall configuration. This assumes that the zone internal is
assigned to your LAN interface.

> sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=internal \

--add-forward-port=port=80:proto=tcp:toport=3128:toaddr=LAN_IP
> sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=internal --add-port=3128/tcp
> sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Replace LAN_IP with the IP address of your LAN interface or the interface Squid is listening on.

592 Configuring a transparent proxy | SLES 15 SP4

 4. To verify that everything is working properly, check the Squid log files in /var/log/squid/
[Link].

44.7 Using the Squid cache manager CGI interface

([Link])
The Squid cache manager CGI interface ([Link]) is a CGI utility for displaying statistics about
the memory usage of a running Squid process. It also provides a convenient way to manage the cache and
view statistics without logging the server.

PROCEDURE 44.2: SETTING UP [Link]

1. Make sure the Apache Web server is running on your system. Configure Apache as described in
Chapter 42, The Apache HTTP server. In particular, see Section 42.5, “Enabling CGI scripts”. To check
whether Apache is already running, use:

> sudo systemctl status apache2

If the status is inactive, start Apache with the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server default settings:

> sudo systemctl start apache2

2. Now enable [Link] in Apache. To do this, create a configuration file for a ScriptAlias.
Create the file in the directory /etc/apache2/conf.d and name it [Link]. Add the
following to the file:

ScriptAlias /squid/cgi-bin/ /usr/lib64/squid/

<Directory "/usr/lib64/squid/">
Options +ExecCGI
AddHandler cgi-script .cgi
Require host HOST_NAME
</Directory>

Replace HOST_NAME with the host name of the computer you want to access [Link] from.
This allows only your computer to access [Link]. To allow access from anywhere, use
Require all granted instead.

593 Using the Squid cache manager CGI interface ([Link]) | SLES 15 SP4
 3. If Squid and the Apache Web server run on the same computer, the /etc/squid/
[Link] configuration file requires no modifications. However, verify that the file con-
tains the following lines:

http_access allow manager localhost

http_access deny manager

This allows you to access the manager interface from your computer (localhost) only.

If Squid and the Apache Web server run on different computers, you need to add extra rules to
allow access from the CGI script to Squid. Define an ACL for the server (replace WEB_SERV-
ER_IP with the IP address of the Web server):

acl webserver src WEB_SERVER_IP/[Link]

Make sure the following rules are in the configuration file. Keep in mind that the order is
important.

http_access allow manager localhost

http_access allow manager webserver
http_access deny manager

4. (Optional) Optionally, you can configure one or more passwords for [Link]. This also
gives you access to more actions such as closing the cache remotely or viewing more information
about the cache. To enable access, configure the options cache_mgr and cachemgr_passwd with
one or more password for the manager and a list of allowed actions.
The following example configuration enables viewing the index page, the menu, and 60-minute
average of counters without authentication. The configuration also enables toggling offline mode
using the password secretpassword and to disable everything else.

cache_mgr user
cachemgr_passwd none index menu 60min
cachemgr_passwd secretpassword offline_toggle
cachemgr_passwd disable all

cache_mgr defines a user name. cache_mgr defines which actions are allowed using which pass-
word.
The keywords none and disable are special: none removes the need for a password, disable
disables functionality outright.

594 Using the Squid cache manager CGI interface ([Link]) | SLES 15 SP4
 The full list of actions can be best seen after logging in to [Link]. To find out how the
operation needs to be referenced in the configuration file, see the string after &operation= in the
URL of the action page. all is a special keyword meaning all actions.

5. Reload Squid and Apache to enable the changes:

> sudo systemctl reload squid

6. To view the statistics, go to the [Link] page that you set up before. For example, it could
be [Link]
Choose the right server. If a user name and password are configured, specify them. Click Continue
and browse through the available statistics.

44.8 Cache report generation with Calamaris

Calamaris is a Perl script for generating reports of cache activity in ASCII or HTML format. It works
with native Squid access log files. This tool does not belong to the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server default
installation scope—to use it, install the calamaris package. Further info on Calamaris is available at
[Link] .
Log in as root, then enter:

# cat [Link] [[Link] [Link]] | calamaris OPTIONS > reportfile

When using more than one log file, make sure they are ordered chronologically, with older files listed
first. This can be done either by listing the files one after the other as in the example above or by using
access{1..3}.log.

calamaris accepts the following options:

-a
output all available reports

-w
output as HTML report

-l
include a message or logo in report header

Further information about the various options can be found in the program's manual page with man cala-
maris.

595 Cache report generation with Calamaris | SLES 15 SP4

A typical example is:

# cat [Link].{10..1} [Link] | calamaris -a -w \

> /usr/local/httpd/htdocs/Squid/[Link]

This saves the report in the directory of the Web server. Apache is required to view the reports.

44.9 More Information

Visit the home page of Squid at [Link] . Here, find the “Squid User Guide” and
a very extensive collection of FAQs on Squid.
In addition, mailing lists are available for Squid at [Link]
[Link] .

596 More Information | SLES 15 SP4

45 Web Based Enterprise Management using SFCB

45.1 Introduction and basic concept

SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) provides a collection of open standards based tools for the unified
management of disparate computing systems and environments. Our enterprise solutions implement the
standards proposed by the Distributed Management Task Force. The following paragraphs describe their
basic components.
Distributed Management Task Force, Inc (DMTF) is the industry organization which leads the develop-
ment of management standards for enterprise and Internet environments. Their goal is to unify manage-
ment standards and initiatives, and to enable more integrated, cost effective and interoperable management
solutions. DMTF standards provide common system management components for control and communi-
cation. Their solutions are independent of platforms and technologies. Web Based Enterprise Management
and the Common Information Model are two of their key technologies.
Web Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) is a set of management and Internet standard technologies.
WBEM was developed to unify the management of enterprise computing environments. It provides the
ability for the industry to deliver a well-integrated collection of management tools using Web technologies.
WBEM consists of the following standards:

A data model: the Common Information Model (CIM) standard

An encoding specification: CIM-XML Encoding Specification

A transport mechanism: CIM operations over HTTP

The Common Information Model is a conceptual information model that describes system management.
It is not bound to a particular implementation and enables the interchange of management information
between management systems, networks, services and applications. There are two parts to CIM — the
CIM Specification and the CIM Schema.

The CIM Specification describes the language, naming and meta schema. The meta schema is a
formal definition of the model. It defines the terms used to express the model and their usage and
semantics. The elements of the meta schema are classes, properties, and methods. The meta schema
also supports indications and associations as types of classes, and references as types of properties.

The CIM Schema provides the actual model descriptions. It supplies a set of classes with properties
and associations that provide a well understood conceptual framework within which it is possible to
organize the available information about the managed environment.

597 Introduction and basic concept | SLES 15 SP4

The Common Information Model Object Manager (CIMOM) is a CIM object manager or, more specifi-
cally, an application that manages objects according to the CIM standard. CIMOM manages communica-
tion between CIMOM providers and a CIM client, where the administrator manages the system.
CIMOM providers are software performing specific tasks within the CIMOM that are requested by client
applications. Each provider instruments one or more aspects of the CIMOM's schema. These providers
interact directly with the hardware.
Standards Based Linux Instrumentation for Manageability (SBLIM) is a collection of tools designed to
support Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM). SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server uses the open
source CIMOM (or CIM server) from the SBLIM project called Small Footprint CIM Broker .
Small Footprint CIM Broker is a CIM server intended for use in resource-limited or embedded environ-
ments. It is designed to be modular and lightweight at the same time. Its based on open standards and it
supports CMPI providers, CIM-XML encoding, and Managed Object Format (MOF). It is highly config-
urable and performs stability even if the provider crashes. It is also easily accessible as it supports various
transport protocols, such as HTTP, HTTPS, Unix domain sockets, Service Location Protocol (SLP), and
Java Database Connectivity (JDBC).

45.2 Setting up SFCB

To set up the Small Footprint CIM Broker (SFCB) environment, make sure the Web-Based Enterprise
Management pattern in YaST is selected during SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installation. Alternatively,
select it as a component to install on a server that is already running. Make sure the following packages
are installed on your system:

cim-schema, Common Information Model (CIM) schema

Contains the Common Information Model (CIM). CIM is a model for describing overall manage-
ment information in a network or enterprise environments. CIM consists of a specification and a
schema. The specification defines the details for integration with other management models. The
schema provides the actual model descriptions.

python2-pywbem
Contains a Python module for making CIM operation calls through the WBEM protocol to query
and update managed objects.

cmpi-provider-register, CIMOM neutral provider registration utility

Contains a utility allowing CMPI provider packages to register with whatever CIMOM happens to
be present on the system.

598 Setting up SFCB | SLES 15 SP4

sblim-sfcb, small footprint CIM broker
Contains Small Footprint CIM Broker. It is a CIM server conforming to the CIM Operations over
HTTP protocol. It is robust, with low resource consumption and, therefore, specifically suited for
embedded and resource constrained environments. SFCB supports providers written against the
Common Manageability Programming Interface (CMPI).

sblim-sfcc
Contains Small Footprint CIM Client library runtime libraries.

sblim-wbemcli
Contains WBEM command line interface. It is a stand-alone command line WBEM client especially
suited for basic systems management tasks.

45.2.1 Starting, stopping and checking status for SFCB

CIM server sfcbd daemon is installed together with Web-Based Enterprise Management software and is
started by default at system start-up. The following table explains how to start, stop and check status for
sfcbd.

TABLE 45.1: COMMANDS FOR MANAGING SFCBD

Task Linux Command

Start sfcbd Enter systemctl start [Link]-

vice as root in the command line.

Stop sfcbd Enter systemctl stop [Link]-

vice as root in the command line.

Check sfcbd status Enter systemctl status [Link]-

vice as root in the command line.

45.2.2 Ensuring secure access

The default setup of SFCB is relatively secure. However, check that the access to SFCB components is
as secure as required for your organization.

599 Starting, stopping and checking status for SFCB | SLES 15 SP4
[Link] Certificates

Secure Sockets Layers (SSL) transports require a certificate for secure communication to occur. When
SFCB is installed, it has a self-signed certificate generated.
You can replace the path to the default certificate with a path to a commercial or self-signed one by
changing the sslCertificateFilePath: PATH_FILENAME setting in /etc/sfcb/[Link]. The
file must be in PEM format.
By default, SFCB expects a server certificate in the following location:

/etc/sfcb/[Link]

To generate a new certificate, run the following command:

> sudo sh /usr/share/sfcb/[Link]

Generating SSL certificates in .
Generating a 2048 bit RSA private key
...................................................................+++
.+++
writing new private key to '/var/tmp/sfcb.0Bjt69/[Link]'
-----

By default, the script generates certificates [Link] , [Link] and [Link] in the current
working directory. If you want the script to generate the certificates in /etc/sfcb directory, you need
to append the path to the command. If these files already exist, a warning message is displayed, and the
old certificates are not overwritten.

> sudo sh /usr/share/sfcb/[Link] /etc/sfcb

Generating SSL certificates in .
WARNING: [Link] SSL Certificate file already exists.
old file will be kept intact.
WARNING: [Link] SSL Certificate trust store already exists.
old file will be kept intact.

You must remove the old certificates from the file system and run the command again.
To change the way SFCB uses certificates, see Section [Link], “Authentication”.

[Link] Ports

By default, SFCB is configured to accept all communications through the secure port 5989. The following
paragraphs explain the communication port setup and recommended configuration.

600 Ensuring secure access | SLES 15 SP4

Port 5989 (secure)
The secure port that SFCB communications use via HTTPS services. This is the default. With this
setting, all communications between the CIMOM and client applications are encrypted when sent
over the Internet between servers and workstations. Users must authenticate with the client appli-
cation to reach SFCB server. We recommend that you keep this setting. For the SFCB CIMOM to
communicate with the necessary applications, this port must be open on routers and firewalls if they
are present between the client application and the nodes being monitored.

Port 5988 (insecure)

The insecure port that SFCB communications use via HTTP services. This setting is disabled by
default. With this setting, all communications between the CIMOM and client applications are open
for review when sent over the Internet between servers and workstations by anyone, without any au-
thentication. We recommend that you use this setting only when attempting to debug a problem with
the CIMOM. When the problem is resolved, disable the non-secure port option back. For the SFCB
CIMOM to communicate with the necessary applications that require non-secure access, this port
must be open in routers and firewalls between the client application and the nodes being monitored.

To change the default port assignments, see Section [Link], “Ports”.

[Link] Authentication

SFCB supports HTTP basic authentication and authentication based on client certificates (HTTP over
SSL connections). Basic HTTP authentication is enabled by specifying doBasicAuth=true in the SFCB
configuration file ( /etc/sfcb/[Link] by default). SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server installation of
SFCB supports Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) approach; therefore the local root user can
authenticate to the SFCB CIMOM with local root user credentials.
If the sslClientCertificate configuration property is set to accept or require, the SFCB HTTP
adapter will request a certificate from clients when connecting via HTTP over SSL (HTTPS). If require
is specified, the client must provide a valid certificate (according to the client trust store specified via
sslClientTrustStore). If the client fails to do so, the connection will be rejected by the CIM server.

The setting sslClientCertificate=accept may not be obvious. It is very useful if both basic and
client certificate authentication are allowed. If the client can provide a valid certificate, HTTPS connection
will be established and the basic authentication procedure will not be executed. If this function cannot
verify the certificate, the HTTP basic authentication will take place instead.

601 Ensuring secure access | SLES 15 SP4

45.3 SFCB CIMOM configuration
SFCB is a lightweight implementation of the CIM server, but it is also highly configurable. Several options
can control its behavior. You can control the SFCB server in three ways:

by setting appropriate environment variables

by using command line options

by changing its configuration file

45.3.1 Environment variables

Several environment variables directly affect the behavior of SFCB. You need to restart the SFCB daemon
by systemctl restart sfcb for these changes to take effect.

PATH
Specifies the path to the sfcbd daemon and utilities.

LD_LIBRARY_PATH
Specifies the path to the sfcb runtime libraries. Alternatively, you can add this path to the sys-
tem-wide dynamic loader configuration file /etc/[Link] .

SFCB_PAUSE_PROVIDER
Specifies the provider name. The SFCB server pauses after the provider is loaded for the first time.
You can then attach a runtime debugger to the provider's process for debugging purposes.

SFCB_PAUSE_CODEC
Specifies the name of the SFCB codec (currently supports only http. The SFCB server pauses after
the codec is loaded for the first time. You can then attach a runtime debugger to the process.

SFCB_TRACE
Specifies the level of debug messages for SFCB. Valid values are 0 (no debug messages), or 1 (key
debug messages) to 4 (all debug messages). Default is 1.

SFCB_TRACE_FILE
By default, SFCB outputs its debug messages to standard error output (STDERR). Setting this vari-
able causes the debug messages to be written to a specified file instead.

SBLIM_TRACE
Specifies the level of debug messages for SBLIM providers. Valid values are 0 (no debug messages),
or 1 (key debug messages) to 4 (all debug messages).

602 SFCB CIMOM configuration | SLES 15 SP4

SBLIM_TRACE_FILE
By default, SBLIM provider outputs its trace messages to STDERR. Setting this variable causes the
trace messages to be written to a specified file instead.

45.3.2 Command line options

sfcbd, the SFCB daemon, has several command line options that switch particular runtime features on
or off. Enter these options when SFCB daemon starts.

-c, --config-file=FILE
When SFCB daemon starts, it reads its configuration from /etc/sfcb/[Link] by default. With
this option, you can specify an alternative configuration file.

-d, --daemon
Forces sfcbd and its child processes to run in the background.

-s, --collect-stats
Turns on runtime statistics collecting. Various sfcbd runtime statistics will be written to the sfcbS-
tat file in the current working directory. By default, no statistics are collected.

-l, --syslog-level=LOGLEVEL
Specifies the level of verbosity for the system logging facility. LOGLEVEL can be one of LOG_INFO,
LOG_DEBUG, or LOG_ERR, which is the default.

-k, --color-trace=LOGLEVEL
Prints trace output in a different color per process for easier debugging.

-t, --trace-components=NUM
Activates component-level tracing messages, where NUM is an OR-ed bitmask integer that defines
which component to trace. After you specify -t ?, it lists all the components and their associated
integer bitmask:

> sfcbd -t ?
--- Traceable Components: Int Hex
--- providerMgr: 1 0x0000001
--- providerDrv: 2 0x0000002
--- cimxmlProc: 4 0x0000004
--- httpDaemon: 8 0x0000008
--- upCalls: 16 0x0000010
--- encCalls: 32 0x0000020
--- ProviderInstMgr: 64 0x0000040

603 Command line options | SLES 15 SP4

 --- providerAssocMgr: 128 0x0000080
--- providers: 256 0x0000100
--- indProvider: 512 0x0000200
--- internalProvider: 1024 0x0000400
--- objectImpl: 2048 0x0000800
--- xmlIn: 4096 0x0001000
--- xmlOut: 8192 0x0002000
--- sockets: 16384 0x0004000
--- memoryMgr: 32768 0x0008000
--- msgQueue: 65536 0x0010000
--- xmlParsing: 131072 0x0020000
--- responseTiming: 262144 0x0040000
--- dbpdaemon: 524288 0x0080000
--- slp: 1048576 0x0100000

A useful value that reveals the internal functions of sfcbd but does not generate too many messages,
is -t 2019.

45.3.3 SFCB configuration file

SFCB reads its runtime configuration from configuration file /etc/sfcb/[Link] after starting up.
This behavior can be overridden using -c option at start-up.
The configuration file contains option : VALUE pairs, one per line. When making changes to this file, you
can use any text editor that saves the file in a format that is native to the environment you are using.
Any setting that has the options commented out with a number sign (#) uses the default setting.
The following list of options may not be complete. See the content of /etc/sfcb/[Link] and /usr/
share/doc/packages/sblim-sfcb/README for their complete list.

[Link] httpPort

Purpose

Specifies the local port value that sfcbd should listen to receive HTTP (insecure) requests from CIM
clients. Default is 5988 .

Syntax

httpPort: PORT_NUMBER

604 SFCB configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] enableHttp

Purpose

Specifies whether SFCB should accept HTTP client connections. Default is false .

Syntax

enableHttp: OPTION

Option Description

true Enables HTTP connections.

false Disables HTTP connections.

[Link] httpProcs

Purpose

Specifies the maximum number of simultaneous HTTP client connections before new incoming HTTP
requests are blocked. Default is 8 .

Syntax

httpProcs: MAX_NUMBER_OF_CONNECTIONS

[Link] httpUserSFCB, httpUser

Purpose

These options control what user the HTTP server will run under. If httpUserSFCB is true, HTTP will
run under the same user as the SFCB main process. If it is false the user name specified for httpUser
will be used. This setting is used for both HTTP and HTTPS servers. httpUser must be specified if
httpUserSFCB is set to false. the default is true.

605 SFCB configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

Syntax

httpUserSFCB: true

[Link] httpLocalOnly

Purpose

Specifies whether to limit HTTP requests to localhost only. Default is false.

Syntax

httpLocalOnly: false

[Link] httpsPort

Purpose

Specifies the local port value where sfcbd listens for HTTPS requests from CIM clients. Default is 5989 .

Syntax

httpsPort: port_number

[Link] enableHttps

Purpose

Specifies if SFCB will accept HTTPS client connections. Default is true .

Syntax

enableHttps: option

606 SFCB configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

Option Description

true Enables HTTPS connections.

false Disables HTTPS connections.

[Link] httpsProcs

Purpose

Specifies the maximum number of simultaneous HTTPS client connections before new incoming HTTPS
requests are blocked. Default is 8 .

Syntax

httpsProcs: MAX_NUMBER_OF_CONNECTIONS

[Link] enableInterOp

Purpose

Specifies if SFCB will provide the interop namespace for indication support. Default is true .

Syntax

enableInterOp: OPTION

Option Description

true Enables interop namespace.

false Disables interop namespace.

607 SFCB configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] provProcs

Purpose

Specifies the maximum number of simultaneous provider processes. After this point, if a new incoming
request requires loading a new provider, then one of the existing providers will first be automatically
unloaded. Default is 32 .

Syntax

provProcs: MAX_NUMBER_OF_PROCS

[Link] doBasicAuth

Purpose

Switches basic authentication on or off based on the client user identifier before it accepts the request.
Default value is true which means that basic client authentication is performed.

Syntax

doBasicAuth: OPTION

Option Description

true Enables basic authentication.

false Disables basic authentication.

[Link] basicAuthLib

Purpose

Specifies the local library name. The SFCB server loads the library to authenticate the client user identifier.
Default is sfcBasicPAMAuthentication .

608 SFCB configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

Syntax

provProcs: MAX_NUMBER_OF_PROCS

[Link] useChunking

Purpose

This option switches the use of HTTP/HTTPS “chunking” on or off. If switched on, the server will return
large volumes of response data to the client in smaller “chunks”, rather than buffer the data and send it
back all in one chunk. Default is true .

Syntax

useChunking: OPTION

Option Description

true Enables HTTP/HTTPS data chunking.

false Disables HTTP/HTTPS data chunking.

[Link] keepaliveTimeout

Purpose

Specifies the maximum time in seconds that SFCB HTTP process waits between two requests on one
connection before it terminates. Setting it to 0 disables HTTP keep-alive. Default is 0.

Syntax

keepaliveTimeout: SECS

609 SFCB configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] keepaliveMaxRequest

Purpose

Specifies the maximum number of consecutive requests on one connection. Setting it to 0 disables HTTP
keep-alive. Default value is 10 .

Syntax

keepaliveMaxRequest: NUMBER_OF_CONNECTIONS

[Link] registrationDir

Purpose

Specifies the registration directory, which contains the provider registration data, the staging area, and the
static repository. Default is /var/lib/sfcb/registration .

Syntax

registrationDir: DIR

[Link] providerDirs

Purpose

Specifies a space-separated list of directories where SFCB is searching for provider libraries. Default is
/usr/lib64 /usr/lib64 /usr/lib64/cmpi.

Syntax

providerDirs: DIR

610 SFCB configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] providerSampleInterval

Purpose

Specifies the interval in seconds at which the provider manager is checking for idle providers. Default
is 30.

Syntax

providerSampleInterval: SECS

[Link] providerTimeoutInterval

Purpose

Specifies the interval in seconds before an idle provider gets unloaded by the provider manager. Default
is 60.

Syntax

providerTimeoutInterval: SECS

[Link] providerAutoGroup

Purpose

If the provider registration file does not specify any other group, and the option is set to true, all providers
in the same shared library are executed in the same process.

Syntax

providerAutoGroup: OPTION

611 SFCB configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

Option Description

true Enables grouping of providers.

false Disables grouping of providers.

[Link] sslCertificateFilePath

Purpose

Specifies the name of the file that contains the server certificate. The file must be in PEM (Privacy En-
hanced Mail, RFC 1421 and RFC 1424) format. This file is only required if enableHttps is set to true.
Default is /etc/sfcb/[Link].

Syntax

sslCertificateFilePath: PATH

[Link] sslKeyFilePath

Purpose

Specifies the name of the file that contains the private key for the server certificate. The file must be in
PEM format and may not be protected by passphrase. This file is only required if enableHttps is set to
true. Default is /etc/sfcb/[Link].

Syntax

sslKeyFilePath: PATH

612 SFCB configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] sslClientTrustStore

Purpose

Specifies the name of the file that contains either the CA or self-signed certificates of the clients. This file
must be in PEM format and is only required if sslClientCertificate is set to accept or require.
Default is /etc/sfcb/[Link].

Syntax

sslClientTrustStore: PATH

[Link] sslClientCertificate

Purpose

Specifies the way SFCB handles client certificate based authentication. If set to ignore, it will not request
a certificate from the client. If set to accept it will request a certificate from the client but will not fail
if the client does not present one. If set to require, it will refuse the client connection if the client does
not present a certificate. Default value is ignore.

Syntax

sslClientCertificate: OPTION

Option Description

ignore Disables requesting a client certificate.

accept Disables requesting a client certificate.

Will not fail if no certificate is present.

require Refuses the client connection without a valid cer-

tificate.

613 SFCB configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] certificateAuthLib

Purpose

Specifies the name of the local library to request for the user authentication based on client certificate.
This is only requested if sslClientCertificate is not set to ignore. Default value is sfcCertifi-
cateAuthentication.

Syntax

certificateAuthLib: FILE

[Link] traceLevel

Purpose

Specifies the trace level for SFCB. You can override it by setting environment variable
SFCB_TRACE_LEVEL. Default value is 0.

Syntax

traceLevel: NUM_LEVEL

[Link] traceMask

Purpose

Specifies the trace mask for SFCB. you can override it by the command line option --trace-compo-
nents. Default value is 0.

Syntax

traceMask: MASK

614 SFCB configuration file | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] traceFile

Purpose

Specifies the trace file for SFCB. You can override it by setting environment variable SFCB_TRACE_FILE.
Default value is stderr (standard error output).

Syntax

traceFile: OUTPUT

45.4 Advanced SFCB tasks

This chapter covers more advanced topics related to SFCB usage. To understand them, you need to have
basic knowledge of the Linux file system and experience with the Linux command line. This chapter
includes the following tasks:

Installing CMPI providers

Testing SFCB

Using wbemcli CIM client

45.4.1 Installing CMPI providers

To install a CMPI provider, you need to make sure that its shared library is copied into one of the directo-
ries specified by providerDirs configuration option, see Section [Link], “providerDirs”. The provider
must also be properly registered using sfcbstage and sfcbrepos commands.
The provider package is usually prepared for SFCB, so that its installation takes care of the proper regis-
tration. Most SBLIM providers are prepared for SFCB.

[Link] Class repository

Class repository is a place where SFCB stores information about CIM classes. It usually consists of a di-
rectory tree with namespace components. Typical CIM namespaces are root/cimv2 or root/interop,
which respectively translate to the class repository directory path on the file system

615 Advanced SFCB tasks | SLES 15 SP4

/var/lib/sfcb/registration/repository/root/cimv2

and
/var/lib/sfcb/registration/repository/root/interop

Each namespace directory contains the file classSchemas. The file has a compiled binary representation
of all the CIM classes registered under that namespace. It also contains necessary information about their
CIM superclasses.
In addition, each namespace directory may contain a file qualifiers which contains all qualifiers
for the namespace. When sfcbd restarts, the class provider will scan the directory /var/lib/sfcb/
registration/repository/ and all its subdirectories to determine the registered namespaces. Then
classSchemas files are decoded and the class hierarchy for each namespace is built.

[Link] Adding new classes

SFCB cannot make live CIM class manipulations. You need to add, change or remove classes offline and
restart SFCB service with systemctl restart sfcb to register the changes.
To store providers class and registration information, SFCB uses a place called staging area. On SUSE®
Linux Enterprise Server systems, it is the directory structure under /var/lib/sfcb/stage/.
To add a new provider, you need to:

Copy the provider class definition files to the ./mofs subdirectory of staging area directory (/var/
lib/sfcb/stage/mofs).

Copy a registration file which contains the name of the class or classes and type of provider, and the
name of the executable library file into the ./regs subdirectory.

There are two default “mof” (class definition) files in the staging directory: [Link] and in-
[Link]. MOF files under the root stage directory /var/lib/sfcb/stage/mofs will be copied into
each namespace after running sfcbrepos command. The [Link] will only be compiled into the
interop namespace.
The directory layout may look like the following example:

> ls /var/lib/sfcb/stage
[Link] mofs regs

> ls /var/lib/sfcb/stage/mofs
[Link] root

> ls /var/lib/sfcb/stage/mofs/root

616 Installing CMPI providers | SLES 15 SP4

cimv2 interop suse virt

> ls -1 /var/lib/sfcb/stage/mofs/root/cimv2 | less

Linux_ABIParameter.mof
Linux_BaseIndication.mof
Linux_Base.mof
Linux_DHCPElementConformsToProfile.mof
Linux_DHCPEntity.mof
[..]
OMC_StorageSettingWithHints.mof
OMC_StorageVolumeDevice.mof
OMC_StorageVolume.mof
OMC_StorageVolumeStorageSynchronized.mof
OMC_SystemStorageCapabilities.mof

> ls -1 /var/lib/sfcb/stage/mofs/root/interop
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
Linux_DHCPElementConformsToProfile.mof
[..]
OMC_SMIElementSoftwareIdentity.mof
OMC_SMISubProfileRequiresProfile.mof
OMC_SMIVolumeManagementSoftware.mof
[Link]
[Link]

> ls -1 /var/lib/sfcb/stage/regs
[Link]
Linux_ABIParameter.reg
Linux_BaseIndication.reg
Linux_DHCPGlobal.reg
Linux_DHCPRegisteredProfile.reg
[..]
OMC_Base.[Link]
OMC_CopyServices.[Link]
OMC_PowerManagement.[Link]
OMC_Server.[Link]
[Link]

> cat /var/lib/sfcb/stage/regs/Linux_DHCPRegisteredProfile.reg

[Linux_DHCPRegisteredProfile]
provider: Linux_DHCPRegisteredProfileProvider
location: cmpiLinux_DHCPRegisteredProfile
type: instance
namespace: root/interop

617 Installing CMPI providers | SLES 15 SP4

#
[Linux_DHCPElementConformsToProfile]
provider: Linux_DHCPElementConformsToProfileProvider
location: cmpiLinux_DHCPElementConformsToProfile
type: instance association
namespace: root/cimv2
#
[Linux_DHCPElementConformsToProfile]
provider: Linux_DHCPElementConformsToProfileProvider
location: cmpiLinux_DHCPElementConformsToProfile
type: instance association
namespace: root/interop

SFCB uses a custom provider registration file for each provider.

Note: SBLIM providers registration files

All SBLIM providers on the SBLIM Web site already include a registration file that is used to
generate the .reg file for SFCB.

The format of SFCB registration file is:

[<class-name>]
provider: <provide-name>
location: <library-name>
type: [instance] [association] [method] [indication]
group: <group-name>
unload: never
namespace: <namespace-for-class> ...

where:

<class-name>
The CIM class name (required)

<provider-name>
The CMPI provider name (required)

<location-name>
The name of the provider library (required)

type
The type of the provider (required). This can be any combination of: instance, association,
method or indication.

618 Installing CMPI providers | SLES 15 SP4

<group-name>
Multiple providers can be grouped together and run under a single process to further minimize run-
time resources. All providers registered under the same <group-name> will be executed under the
same process. By default each provider will be run as a separate process.

unload
Specifies the unload policy for the provider. Currently the only supported option is never, which
specifies that the provider will not be monitored for idle times and will never be unloaded. By default
each provider will be unloaded when its idle times exceed the value specified in the configuration
file.

namespace
List of namespaces for which this provider can be executed. This is required, although for most
providers this will be root/cimv2.

Once all the class definitions and provider registration files are stored in the staging area, you need to
rebuild the SFCB class repository with the command sfcbrepos -f.
You can add, change or remove classes this way. After rebuilding the class repository, restart SFCB with
command systemctl restart sfcb.
Alternatively, the SFCB package contains a utility that will copy provider class mof files and registration
files to the correct locations in the staging area.
sfcbstage -r [[Link]] [[Link]] [[Link]] ...

After running this command you still need to rebuild the class repository and restart SFCB service.

45.4.2 Testing SFCB

The SFCB package includes two testing scripts: wbemcat and xmltest.
wbemcat sends raw CIM-XML data via HTTP protocol to the specified SFCB host (localhost by default)
listening on port 5988. Then it displays the returned results. The following file contains the CIM-XML
representation of a standard EnumerateClasses request:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<CIM CIMVERSION="2.0" DTDVERSION="2.0">
<MESSAGE ID="4711" PROTOCOLVERSION="1.0">
<SIMPLEREQ>
<IMETHODCALL NAME="EnumerateClasses">
<LOCALNAMESPACEPATH>
<NAMESPACE NAME="root"/>

619 Testing SFCB | SLES 15 SP4

 <NAMESPACE NAME="cimv2"/>
</LOCALNAMESPACEPATH>
<IPARAMVALUE NAME="ClassName">
<CLASSNAME NAME=""/>
</IPARAMVALUE>
<IPARAMVALUE NAME="DeepInheritance">
<VALUE>TRUE</VALUE>
</IPARAMVALUE>
<IPARAMVALUE NAME="LocalOnly">
<VALUE>FALSE</VALUE>
</IPARAMVALUE>
<IPARAMVALUE NAME="IncludeQualifiers">
<VALUE>FALSE</VALUE>
</IPARAMVALUE>
<IPARAMVALUE NAME="IncludeClassOrigin">
<VALUE>TRUE</VALUE>
</IPARAMVALUE>
</IMETHODCALL>
</SIMPLEREQ>
</MESSAGE>
</CIM>

Sending this request to SFCB CIMOM returns a list of all supported classes for which there is a registered
provider. Suppose you save the file as cim_xml_test.xml.

> wbemcat cim_xml_test.xml | less

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/xml; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: 337565
Cache-Control: no-cache
CIMOperation: MethodResponse

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>

<CIM CIMVERSION="2.0" DTDVERSION="2.0">
<MESSAGE ID="4711" PROTOCOLVERSION="1.0">
<SIMPLERSP>
<IMETHODRESPONSE NAME="EnumerateClasses">
[..]
<CLASS NAME="Linux_DHCPParamsForEntity" SUPERCLASS="CIM_Component">
<[Link] NAME="GroupComponent" REFERENCECLASS="Linux_DHCPEntity">
</[Link]>
<[Link] NAME="PartComponent" REFERENCECLASS="Linux_DHCPParams">
</[Link]>
</CLASS>
</IRETURNVALUE>
</IMETHODRESPONSE>
</SIMPLERSP>

620 Testing SFCB | SLES 15 SP4

</MESSAGE>
</CIM>

The classes listed will vary depending on what providers are installed on your system.
The second script xmltest is also used to send a raw CIM-XML test file to the SFCB CIMOM. It then
compares the returned results against a previously saved “OK” result file. If there does not yet exist a
corresponding “OK” file, it will be created for later use:

> xmltest cim_xml_test.xml

Running test cim_xml_test.xml ... OK
Saving response as cim_xml_test.OK
# xmltest cim_xml_test.xml
Running test cim_xml_test.xml ... Passed

45.4.3 Command line CIM client: wbemcli

In addition to wbemcat and xmltest, the SBLIM project includes a more advanced command line CIM
client wbemcli. The client is used to send CIM requests to SFCB server and display returned results. It is
independent of CIMOM library and can be used with all WBEM compliant implementations.
For example, if you need to list all the classes implemented by SBLIM providers registered to your SFCB,
send the “EnumerateClasses” (ec) request to SFCB:

> wbemcli -dx ec [Link]

To server: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<CIM CIMVERSION="2.0" DTDVERSION="2.0">
<MESSAGE ID="4711" PROTOCOLVERSION="1.0"><SIMPLEREQ><IMETHODCALL \
NAME="EnumerateClasses"><LOCALNAMESPACEPATH><NAMESPACE NAME="root"> \
</NAMESPACE><NAMESPACE NAME="cimv2"></NAMESPACE> \
</LOCALNAMESPACEPATH>
<IPARAMVALUE NAME="DeepInheritance"><VALUE>TRUE</VALUE> \
</IPARAMVALUE>
<IPARAMVALUE NAME="LocalOnly"><VALUE>FALSE</VALUE></IPARAMVALUE>
<IPARAMVALUE NAME="IncludeQualifiers"><VALUE>FALSE</VALUE> \
</IPARAMVALUE>
<IPARAMVALUE NAME="IncludeClassOrigin"><VALUE>TRUE</VALUE> \
</IPARAMVALUE>
</IMETHODCALL></SIMPLEREQ>
</MESSAGE></CIM>
From server: Content-Type: application/xml; charset="utf-8"
From server: Content-Length: 337565
From server: Cache-Control: no-cache
From server: CIMOperation: MethodResponse
From server: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>

621 Command line CIM client: wbemcli | SLES 15 SP4

<CIM CIMVERSION="2.0" DTDVERSION="2.0">
<MESSAGE ID="4711" PROTOCOLVERSION="1.0">
<SIMPLERSP>
<IMETHODRESPONSE NAME="EnumerateClasses">
<IRETURNVALUE>
<CLASS NAME="CIM_ResourcePool" SUPERCLASS="CIM_LogicalElement">
<PROPERTY NAME="Generation" TYPE="uint64">
</PROPERTY>
<PROPERTY NAME="ElementName" TYPE="string">
</PROPERTY>
<PROPERTY NAME="Description" TYPE="string">
</PROPERTY>
<PROPERTY NAME="Caption" TYPE="string">
</PROPERTY>
<PROPERTY NAME="InstallDate" TYPE="datetime">
</PROPERTY>
[..]
<CLASS NAME="Linux_Ext4FileSystem" SUPERCLASS="CIM_UnixLocalFileSystem">
<PROPERTY NAME="FSReservedCapacity" TYPE="uint64">
</PROPERTY>
<PROPERTY NAME="TotalInodes" TYPE="uint64">
</PROPERTY>
<PROPERTY NAME="FreeInodes" TYPE="uint64">
</PROPERTY>
<PROPERTY NAME="ResizeIncrement" TYPE="uint64">
<VALUE>0</VALUE>
</PROPERTY>
<PROPERTY NAME="IsFixedSize" TYPE="uint16">
<VALUE>0</VALUE>
</PROPERTY>
[..]

The -dx option shows you the actual XML sent to SFCB by wbemcli and the actual XML received. In
the above example, the first of many returned classes was CIM_ResourcePool followed by Linux_Ex-
t4FileSystem. Similar entries will appear for all of the other registered classes.

If you omit the -dx option, wbemcli will display only a compact representation of the returned data:

> wbemcli ec [Link]

localhost:5988/root/cimv2:CIM_ResourcePool Generation=,ElementName=, \
Description=,Caption=,InstallDate=,Name=,OperationalStatus=, \
StatusDescriptions=,Status=,HealthState=,PrimaryStatus=, \
DetailedStatus=,OperatingStatus=,CommunicationStatus=,InstanceID=, \
PoolID=,Primordial=,Capacity=,Reserved=,ResourceType=, \
OtherResourceType=,ResourceSubType=, \AllocationUnits=
localhost:5988/root/cimv2:Linux_Ext4FileSystem FSReservedCapacity=, \
TotalInodes=,FreeInodes=,ResizeIncrement=,IsFixedSize=,NumberOfFiles=, \
OtherPersistenceType=,PersistenceType=,FileSystemType=,ClusterSize=, \

622 Command line CIM client: wbemcli | SLES 15 SP4

 MaxFileNameLength=,CodeSet=,CasePreserved=,CaseSensitive=, \
CompressionMethod=,EncryptionMethod=,ReadOnly=,AvailableSpace=, \
FileSystemSize=,BlockSize=,Root=,Name=,CreationClassName=,CSName=, \
CSCreationClassName=,Generation=,ElementName=,Description=,Caption=, \
InstanceID=,InstallDate=,OperationalStatus=,StatusDescriptions=, \
Status=,HealthState=,PrimaryStatus=,DetailedStatus=,OperatingStatus= \
,CommunicationStatus=,EnabledState=,OtherEnabledState=,RequestedState= \
,EnabledDefault=,TimeOfLastStateChange=,AvailableRequestedStates=, \
TransitioningToState=,PercentageSpaceUse=
[..]

45.5 More information

FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT WBEM AND SFCB, SEE THE FOLLOWING SOURCES:

[Link]
Distributed Management Task Force Web site

[Link]
Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) Web site

[Link]
Common Information Model (CIM) Web site

[Link]
Standards Based Linux Instrumentation (SBLIM) Web site

623 More information | SLES 15 SP4

VI Troubleshooting

46 Help and documentation 625

47 Gathering system information for support 630

48 Common problems and their solutions 660

46 Help and documentation

SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server comes with several sources of information and documentation, available
online or integrated into your installed system.

Product Documentation
Extensive documentation for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is available at [Link]
[Link]/#sles . Topics covered range from deployment, upgrade and system administra-
tion to virtualization, system tuning and security, among others.
At [Link] , you can find SUSE's best practice
series of documents covering hands-on documentation on implementation scenarios. At [Link]
[Link]/[Link] , our technical reference documentation series pro-
vides guides on deploying solution components from SUSE and its partners.

Documentation in /usr/share/doc
This directory holds release notes for your system (in the subdirectory release-notes). It also
contains information of installed packages in the subdirectory packages. Find more detailed infor-
mation in Section 46.1, “Documentation directory”.

Man pages and info pages for shell commands

When working with the shell, you do not need to know the options of the commands by heart.
Traditionally, the shell provides integrated help by means of man pages and info pages. Read more
in Section 46.2, “Man pages” and Section 46.3, “Info pages”.

Desktop help center

The help center of the GNOME desktop (Help) provides central access to the GNOME desktop
documentation.

Separate help packages for some applications

When installing new software with YaST, the software documentation is usually installed automat-
ically and appears in the help center of your desktop. However, some applications, such as GIMP,
may have different online help packages that can be installed separately with YaST and do not in-
tegrate into the help centers.

625 | SLES 15 SP4

46.1 Documentation directory
The traditional directory to find documentation on your installed Linux system is /usr/share/doc. The
directory contains the release notes and information about the packages installed on your system, plus
manuals and more.

Note: Contents depend on installed packages

In the Linux world, manuals and other kinds of documentation are available in the form of packages,
like software. How much and which information you find in /usr/share/docs also depends
on the (documentation) packages installed. If you cannot find the subdirectories mentioned here,
check if the respective packages are installed on your system and add them with YaST, if needed.

46.1.1 Release notes

We provide HTML, PDF, RTF and text versions of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server release notes. They are
available on your installed system under /usr/share/doc/release-notes/ or online at your prod-
uct-specific Web page at [Link] .

46.1.2 Package documentation

Under packages, find the documentation that is included in the software packages installed on your
system. For every package, a subdirectory /usr/share/doc/packages/PACKAGENAME is created. It
often contains README files for the package and sometimes examples, configuration files, or additional
scripts. The following list introduces typical files to be found under /usr/share/doc/packages. None
of these entries are mandatory and many packages might only include a few of them.

AUTHORS
List of the main developers.

BUGS
Known bugs or malfunctions. May also contain a link to a Bugzilla Web page where you can search
all bugs.

626 Documentation directory | SLES 15 SP4

CHANGES ,
ChangeLog
Summary of changes from version to version. Usually interesting for developers, because it is very
detailed.

COPYING ,
LICENSE
Licensing information.

FAQ
Question and answers collected from mailing lists or newsgroups.

INSTALL
How to install this package on your system. As the package is already installed by the time you get
to read this file, you can safely ignore the contents of this file.

README, README.*
General information on the software. For example, for what purpose and how to use it.

TODO
Features planned for the future.

MANIFEST
List of files with a brief summary.

NEWS
Description of what is new in this version.

46.2 Man pages

Man pages are an essential part of any Linux system. They explain the usage of a command and all available
options and parameters. Man pages can be accessed with man followed by the name of the command, for
example, man ls.

Man pages are displayed directly in the shell. To navigate them, move up and down with Page ↑ and
Page ↓ . Move between the beginning and the end of a document with Home and End . End this viewing
mode by pressing Q . Learn more about the man command itself with man man. Man pages are sorted in
categories as shown in Table 46.1, “Man pages—categories and descriptions” (taken from the man page
for man itself).

627 Man pages | SLES 15 SP4

TABLE 46.1: MAN PAGES—CATEGORIES AND DESCRIPTIONS

Number Description

1 Executable programs or shell commands

2 System calls (functions provided by the kernel)

3 Library calls (functions within program libraries)

4 Special files (usually found in /dev)

5 File formats and conventions (/etc/fstab)

6 Games

7 Miscellaneous (including macro packages and

conventions), for example, man(7), groff(7)

8 System administration commands (usually only

for root)

9 Kernel routines (nonstandard)

Each man page consists of several parts labeled NAME, SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION, SEE ALSO, LI-
CENSING, and AUTHOR. There may be additional sections available depending on the type of command.

46.3 Info pages

Info pages are another important source of information on your system. Usually, they are more detailed
than man pages. They consist of more than command line options and contain sometimes whole tutorials
or reference documentation. To view the info page for a certain command, enter info followed by the
name of the command, for example, info ls. You can browse an info page with a viewer directly in the
shell and display the different sections, called “nodes”. Use Space to move forward and <— to move
backward. Within a node, you can also browse with Page ↑ and Page ↓ but only Space and <— will
take you also to the previous or subsequent node. Press Q to end the viewing mode. Not every command
comes with an info page and vice versa.

628 Info pages | SLES 15 SP4

46.4 Online resources
In addition to the online versions of the SUSE manuals installed under /usr/share/doc, you can also
access the product-specific manuals and documentation on the Web. For an overview of all documentation
available for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server check out your product-specific documentation Web page at
[Link] .
If you are searching for additional product-related information, you can also refer to the following Web
sites:

SUSE technical support

The SUSE Technical Support can be found at [Link] if you have ques-
tions or need solutions for technical problems.

User community
SUSE and Rancher Community ([Link]

SUSE blog
The SUSE blog offers articles, tips, Q and A: [Link]

GNOME documentation
Documentation for GNOME users, administrators and developers is available at [Link]
[Link]/ .

The Linux documentation project

The Linux Documentation Project (TLDP) is run by a team of volunteers who write Linux-related
documentation (see [Link] ). It is the most comprehensive documentation resource
for Linux. The set of documents contains tutorials for beginners, but is mainly focused on experi-
enced users and professional system administrators. TLDP publishes HOWTOs, FAQs, and guides
(handbooks) under a free license. Parts of the documentation from TLDP are also available on SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server.

629 Online resources | SLES 15 SP4

47 Gathering system information for support

For a quick overview of all relevant system information of a machine, SUSE Linux Enter-
prise Server offers the hostinfo package. It also helps system administrators to check for
tainted kernels (that are not supported) or any third-party packages installed on a machine.
In case of problems, a detailed system report may be created with either the supportcon-
fig command line tool or the YaST Support module. Both will collect information about
the system such as: current kernel version, hardware, installed packages, partition setup, and
much more. The result is a TAR archive of files. After opening a Service Request (SR), you
can upload the TAR archive to Global Technical Support. It will help to locate the issue you
reported and to assist you in solving the problem.
Additionally, you can analyze the supportconfig output for known issues to help resolve
problems faster. For this purpose, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server provides both an appliance
and a command line tool for Supportconfig Analysis (SCA).

47.1 Displaying current system information

For a quick and easy overview of all relevant system information when logging in to a server, use the
package hostinfo. After it has been installed on a machine, the console displays the following informa-
tion to any root user that logs in to this machine:

EXAMPLE 47.1: OUTPUT OF hostinfo WHEN LOGGING IN AS root

Welcome to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 Snapshot8 (x86_64) - Kernel \r (\l).

Distribution: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2

Current As Of: Wed 25 Mar 2020 12:09:20 PM PDT
Hostname: localhost
Kernel Version: 5.3.18-8-default
Architecture: x86_64
Installed: Thu 19 Mar 2020 11:25:13 AM PDT
Status: Not Tainted
Last Installed Package: Wed 25 Mar 2020 11:42:24 AM PDT
Patches Needed: 0
Security: 0

630 Displaying current system information | SLES 15 SP4

 3rd Party Packages: 219
Network Interfaces
eth0: 192.168.2/24 2002:c0a8:20a::/64
Memory
Total/Free/Avail: 7.4Gi/6.4Gi/6.8Gi (91% Avail)
CPU Load Average: 7 (3%) with 2 CPUs

In case the output shows a tainted kernel status, see Section 47.6, “Support of kernel modules” for more
details.

47.2 Collecting system information with

supportconfig
To create a TAR archive with detailed system information that you can hand over to Global Technical
Support, use either:

the command supportconfig or,

the YaST Support module.

The command line tool is provided by the package supportutils which is installed by default. The
YaST Support module is also based on the command line tool.
Depending on which packages are installed on your system, some of these packages integrate Support-
config plug-ins. When Supportconfig is executed, all plug-ins are executed as well and create one or more
result files for the archive. That has the benefit that the only topics checked are those that contain a specific
plug-in for them. Supportconfig plug-ins are stored in the directory /usr/lib/supportconfig/plu-
gins/.

47.2.1 Creating a service request number

Supportconfig archives can be generated at any time. However, for handing over the Supportconfig data to
Global Technical Support, you need to generate a service request number first. You will need it to upload
the archive to support.
To create a service request, go to [Link] and follow the instructions
on the screen. Write down the service request number.

631 Collecting system information with supportconfig | SLES 15 SP4

 Note: Privacy statement
SUSE treats system reports as confidential data. For details about our privacy commitment, see
[Link] .

47.2.2 Upload targets

After having created a service request number, you can upload your Supportconfig archives to Global
Technical Support as described in Procedure 47.1, “Submitting information to support with YaST” or Pro-
cedure 47.2, “Submitting information to support from command line”. Use one of the following upload
targets:

North America: FTP [Link] , FTPS [Link]

[Link]/incoming/

EMEA, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa: FTP [Link] ,

FTPS [Link]

Alternatively, you can manually attach the TAR archive to your service request using the service request
URL: [Link] .

47.2.3 Creating a supportconfig archive with YaST

To use YaST to gather your system information, proceed as follows:

1. Start YaST and open the Support module.

632 Upload targets | SLES 15 SP4

 2. Click Create report tarball.

3. In the next window, select one of the Supportconfig options from the radio button list. Use Custom
(Expert) Settings is preselected by default. If you want to test the report function first, use Only
gather a minimum amount of info. For additional information on the other options, refer to the
supportconfig man page.
Click Next.

4. Enter your contact information. It is saved in the [Link] file and included in
the created archive.

5. To submit the archive to Global Technical Support, provide the required Upload Information. YaST
automatically suggests an upload server. To modify it, refer to Section 47.2.2, “Upload targets” for
details of which upload servers are available.
To submit the archive later, leave the Upload Information empty.

6. Click Next to start the information collection process.

633 Creating a supportconfig archive with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

 After the process is finished, click Next.

7. To review the collected data, select the desired file from File Name to view its contents in YaST.
To remove a file from the TAR archive before submitting it to support, use Remove from Data.
Press Next.

8. Save the TAR archive. If you started the YaST module as root user, YaST prompts to save
the archive to /var/log (otherwise, to your home directory). The file name format is sc-
c_HOST_DATE_TIME.tbz.

9. To upload the archive to support directly, make sure Upload log files tarball to URL is activated.
The Upload Target shown here is the one that YaST suggests in Step 5. To modify the upload target,
check which upload servers are available in Section 47.2.2, “Upload targets”.

10. To skip the upload, deactivate Upload log files tarball to URL.

11. Confirm the changes to close the YaST module.

634 Creating a supportconfig archive with YaST | SLES 15 SP4

47.2.4 Creating a supportconfig archive from command line
The following procedure shows how to create a Supportconfig archive, but without submitting it to sup-
port directly. For uploading it, you need to run the command with certain options as described in Proce-
dure 47.2, “Submitting information to support from command line”.

1. Open a shell and become root.

2. Run supportconfig. Usually, it is enough to run this tool without any options. Some options are
very common and are displayed in the following list:

-E MAIL,
-N NAME,
-O COMPANY,
-P PHONE
Sets your contact data: e-mail address (-E), company name (-O), your name (-N), and your
phone number (-P).

-i KEYWORDS,
-F
Limits the features to check. The placeholder KEYWORDS is a comma separated list of case-
sensitive keywords. Get a list of all keywords with supportconfig -F.

-r SRNUMBER
Defines your service request number when uploading the generated TAR archive.

3. Wait for the tool to complete the operation.

4. The default archive location is /var/log, with the file name format being sc-
c_HOST_DATE_TIME.tbz

47.2.5 Understanding the output of supportconfig

Whether you run supportconfig through YaST or directly, the script gives you a summary of what it did.

Support Utilities - Supportconfig

Script Version: 3.0-98
Script Date: 2017 06 01
[...]
Gathering system information
Data Directory: /var/log/scc_d251_180201_1525 1

635 Creating a supportconfig archive from command line | SLES 15 SP4

 Basic Server Health Check... Done 2

RPM Database... Done 2

Basic Environment... Done 2

System Modules... Done 2

[...]
File System List... Skipped 3

[...]
Command History... Excluded 4

[...]
Supportconfig Plugins: 1 5

Plugin: pstree... Done

[...]
Creating Tar Ball

==[ DONE ]===================================================================

Log file tar ball: /var/log/scc_d251_180201_1525.txz 6

Log file size: 732K

Log file md5sum: bf23e0e15e9382c49f92cbce46000d8b
=============================================================================

1 The temporary data directory to store the results. This directory is archived as tar file, see 6 .
2 The feature was enabled (either by default or selected manually) and executed successfully. The
result is stored in a file (see Table 47.1, “Comparison of features and file names in the TAR archive”).
3 The feature was skipped because some files of one or more RPM packages were changed.
4 The feature was excluded because it was deselected via the -x option.
5 The script found one plug-in and executes the plug-in pstree. The plug-in was found in the directory
/usr/lib/supportconfig/plugins/. See the man page for details.

6 The tar file name of the archive, by default compressed with xz.

47.2.6 Common supportconfig options

The supportconfig utility is usually called without any options. Display a list of all options with sup-
portconfig -h or refer to the man page. The following list gives a brief overview of some common
use cases:

Reducing the size of the information being gathered

Use the minimal option (-m):

> sudo supportconfig -m

636 Common supportconfig options | SLES 15 SP4

Limiting the information to a specific topic
If you have already localized a problem that relates to a specific area or feature set only, you should
limit the collected information to the specific area for the next supportconfig run. For example,
if you detected problems with LVM and want to test a recent change that you did to the LVM
configuration. In that case it makes sense to gather the minimum Supportconfig information around
LVM only:

> sudo supportconfig -i LVM

Additional keywords can be separated through commas. For example, an additional disk test:

> sudo supportconfig -i LVM,DISK

For a complete list of feature keywords that you can use for limiting the collected information to
a specific area, run:

> sudo supportconfig -F

Including additional contact information in the output:

> sudo supportconfig -E tux@[Link] -N "Tux Penguin" -O "Penguin Inc." ...

(all in one line)

Collecting already rotated log files

> sudo supportconfig -l

This is especially useful in high logging environments or after a kernel crash when syslog rotates
the log files after a reboot.

47.2.7 Overview of the archive content

The TAR archive contains all the results from the features. Depending on what you have selected (all or
only a small set), the archive can contain more or less files. The set of features can be limited through the
-i option (see Section 47.2.6, “Common supportconfig options”).

To list the content of the archive, use the following tar command:

# tar xf /var/log/scc_earth_180131_1545.tbz

637 Overview of the archive content | SLES 15 SP4

The following file names are always available inside the TAR archive:
MINIMUM FILES IN ARCHIVE

[Link]
Contains the date when this script was executed and system information like version of the distrib-
ution, hypervisor information, and more.

[Link]
Contains some basic health checks like uptime, virtual memory statistics, free memory and hard
disk, checks for zombie processes, and more.

[Link]
Contains basic hardware checks like information about the CPU architecture, list of all connected
hardware, interrupts, I/O ports, kernel boot messages, and more.

[Link]
Contains log messages from the system journal.

[Link]
Contains a list of all installed RPM packages, the name, where they are coming from, and their
versions.

[Link]
Contains some information in XML format like distribution, the version, and product specific frag-
ments.

[Link]
Contains information about the supportconfig script itself.

[Link]
Contains YaST specific information like specific packages, configuration files, and log files.

Table 47.1, “Comparison of features and file names in the TAR archive” lists all available features and their
file names. Further service packs can extend the list, as can plug-ins.
TABLE 47.1: COMPARISON OF FEATURES AND FILE NAMES IN THE TAR ARCHIVE

Feature File name

APPARMOR [Link]

AUDIT [Link]

AUTOFS [Link]

638 Overview of the archive content | SLES 15 SP4

Feature File name

BOOT [Link]

BTRFS [Link]

DAEMONS [Link]

CIMOM [Link]

CRASH [Link]

CRON [Link]

DHCP [Link]

DISK [Link]

DNS [Link]

DOCKER [Link]

DRBD [Link]

ENV [Link]

ETC [Link]

HA [Link]

HAPROXY [Link]

HISTORY shell_history.txt

IB [Link]

IMAN [Link]

ISCSI [Link]

LDAP [Link]

LIVEPATCH [Link]

LVM [Link]

MEM [Link]

639 Overview of the archive content | SLES 15 SP4

Feature File name

MOD [Link]

MPIO [Link]

NET network-*.txt

NFS [Link]

NTP [Link]

NVME [Link]

OCFS2 [Link]

OFILES [Link]

PRINT [Link]

PROC [Link]

SAR [Link]

SLERT [Link]

SLP [Link]

SMT [Link]

SMART [Link]

SMB [Link]

SRAID [Link]

SSH [Link]

SSSD [Link]

SYSCONFIG [Link]

SYSFS [Link]

TRANSACTIONAL [Link]

TUNED [Link]

640 Overview of the archive content | SLES 15 SP4

 Feature File name

UDEV [Link]

UFILES [Link]

UP [Link]

WEB [Link]

X [Link]

47.3 Submitting information to Global Technical

Support
Use the YaST Support module or the supportconfig command line utility to submit system information
to the Global Technical Support. When you experience a server issue and want the support's assistance,
you will need to open a service request first. For details, see Section 47.2.1, “Creating a service request
number”.

The following examples use 12345678901 as a placeholder for your service request number. Replace
12345678901 with the service request number you created in Section 47.2.1, “Creating a service request
number”.

PROCEDURE 47.1: SUBMITTING INFORMATION TO SUPPORT WITH YAST

The following procedure assumes that you have already created a Supportconfig archive, but have
not uploaded it yet. Make sure to have included your contact information in the archive as described
in Section 47.2.3, “Creating a supportconfig archive with YaST”, Step 4. For instructions on how to
generate and submit a Supportconfig archive in one go, see Section 47.2.3, “Creating a supportconfig
archive with YaST”.

1. Start YaST and open the Support module.

2. Click Upload.

3. In Package with log files specify the path to the existing Supportconfig archive or Browse for it.

4. YaST automatically proposes an upload server. If you want to modify it, refer to Section 47.2.2,
“Upload targets” for details of which upload servers are available.

641 Submitting information to Global Technical Support | SLES 15 SP4

 Proceed with Next.

5. Click Finish.

PROCEDURE 47.2: SUBMITTING INFORMATION TO SUPPORT FROM COMMAND LINE

The following procedure assumes that you have already created a Supportconfig archive, but have
not uploaded it yet. For instructions on how to generate and submit a Supportconfig archive in one
go, see Section 47.2.3, “Creating a supportconfig archive with YaST”.

1. Servers with Internet connectivity:

a. To use the default upload target, run:

> sudo supportconfig -ur 12345678901

b. For the secure upload target, use the following:

> sudo supportconfig -ar 12345678901

2. Servers without Internet connectivity

a. Run the following:

> sudo supportconfig -r 12345678901

642 Submitting information to Global Technical Support | SLES 15 SP4

 b. Manually upload the /var/log/scc_SR12345678901*tbz archive to one of our FTP
servers. Which one to use depends on your location in the world. For an overview, see Sec-
tion 47.2.2, “Upload targets”.

3. After the TAR archive arrives in the incoming directory of our FTP server, it becomes automatically
attached to your service request.

47.4 Analyzing system information

System reports created with supportconfig can be analyzed for known issues to help resolve problems
faster. For this purpose, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server provides both an appliance and a command line tool
for Supportconfig Analysis (SCA). The SCA appliance is a server-side tool which is non-interactive.
The SCA tool (scatool provided by the package sca-server-report) runs on the client-side and is
executed from command line. Both tools analyze Supportconfig archives from affected servers. The initial
server analysis takes place on the SCA appliance or the workstation on which scatool is running. No
analysis cycles happen on the production server.
Both the appliance and the command line tool additionally need product-specific patterns that enable them
to analyze the Supportconfig output for the associated products. Each pattern is a script that parses and
evaluates a Supportconfig archive for one known issue. The patterns are available as RPM packages.
You can also develop your own patterns as briefly described in Section 47.4.3, “Developing custom analysis
patterns”.

47.4.1 SCA command line tool

The SCA command line tool lets you analyze a local machine using both supportconfig and the analysis
patterns for the specific product that is installed on the local machine. The tool creates an HTML report
showing its analysis results. For an example, see Figure 47.1, “HTML report generated by SCA tool”.

643 Analyzing system information | SLES 15 SP4

FIGURE 47.1: HTML REPORT GENERATED BY SCA TOOL

The scatool command is provided by the sca-server-report package. It is not installed by default.
Additionally, you need the sca-patterns-base package and any of the product-specific sca-pat-
terns-* packages that matches the product installed on the machine where you want to run the scatool
command.
Execute the scatool command either as root user or with sudo. When calling the SCA tool, either
analyze an existing supportconfig TAR archive or let it generate and analyze a new archive in one go.
The tool also provides an interactive console with tab completion. It is possible to run supportconfig
on an external machine and to execute the subsequent analysis on the local machine.
Find some example commands below:

sudo scatool-s
Calls supportconfig and generates a new Supportconfig archive on the local machine. Analyzes
the archive for known issues by applying the SCA analysis patterns that match the installed product.
Displays the path to the HTML report that is generated from the results of the analysis. It is usually
written to the same directory where the Supportconfig archive can be found.

644 SCA command line tool | SLES 15 SP4

sudo scatool -s -o /opt/sca/reports/
Same as sudo scatool -s, only that the HTML report is written to the path specified with -o.

sudo scatool -a PATH_TO_TARBALL_OR_DIR

Analyzes the specified Supportconfig archive file (or the specified directory to where the Support-
config archive has been extracted). The generated HTML report is saved in the same location as the
Supportconfig archive or directory.

sudo scatool -a SLES_SERVER.[Link]

Establishes an SSH connection to an external server SLES_SERVER.[Link] and runs sup-
portconfig on the server. The Supportconfig archive is then copied back to the local machine and
is analyzed there. The generated HTML report is saved to the default /var/log directory. (Only
the Supportconfig archive is created on SLES_SERVER.[Link]).

sudo scatool-c
Starts the interactive console for scatool. Press →| twice to see the available commands.

For further options and information, run sudo scatool -h or see the scatool man page.

47.4.2 SCA appliance

If you decide to use the SCA appliance for analyzing the Supportconfig archives, configure a dedicated
server (or virtual machine) as the SCA appliance server. The SCA appliance server can then be used
to analyze Supportconfig archives from all machines in your enterprise running SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server or SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. You can simply upload Supportconfig archives to the appliance
server for analysis. Interaction is not required. In a MariaDB database, the SCA appliance keeps track of all
Supportconfig archives that have been analyzed . You can read the SCA reports directly from the appliance
Web interface. Alternatively, you can have the appliance send the HTML report to any administrative user
via e-mail. For details, see Section [Link].4, “Sending SCA reports via e-mail”.

[Link] Installation quick start

To install and set up the SCA appliance in a very fast way from the command line, follow the instructions
here. The procedure is intended for experts and focuses on the bare installation and setup commands.
For more information, refer to the more detailed description in Section [Link], “Prerequisites” to Sec-
tion [Link], “Installation and basic setup”.

645 SCA appliance | SLES 15 SP4

PREREQUISITES

Web and LAMP Pattern

Web and Scripting Module (you must register the machine to be able to select this module).

Note: root privileges required

All commands in the following procedure must be run as root.

PROCEDURE 47.3: INSTALLATION USING ANONYMOUS FTP FOR UPLOAD

After the appliance is set up and running, no more manual interaction is required. This way of setting
up the appliance is therefore ideal for using cron jobs to create and upload Supportconfig archives.

1. On the machine on which to install the appliance, log in to a console and execute the following
commands (make sure to accept the recommended packages):

> sudo zypper install sca-appliance-* sca-patterns-* \

vsftpd yast2 yast2-ftp-server
> sudo systemctl enable apache2
> sudo systemctl start apache2
> sudo systemctl enable vsftpd
> sudo systemctl start vsftpd
> sudo yast ftp-server

2. In YaST FTP Server, select Authentication Enable Upload Anonymous Can Upload Fin-
ish Yes to Create /srv/ftp/upload.

3. Execute the following commands:

> sudo systemctl enable mysql

> sudo systemctl start mysql
> sudo mysql_secure_installation
> sudo setup-sca -f

The mysql_secure_installation will create a MariaDB root password.

PROCEDURE 47.4: INSTALLATION USING SCP/TMP FOR UPLOAD

This way of setting up the appliance requires manual interaction when typing the SSH password.

1. On the machine on which to install the appliance, log in to a console.

2. Execute the following commands:

> sudo zypper install sca-appliance-* sca-patterns-*

646 SCA appliance | SLES 15 SP4

 > sudo systemctl enable apache2
> sudo systemctl start apache2
> sudo sudo systemctl enable mysql
> sudo systemctl start mysql
> sudo mysql_secure_installation
> sudo setup-sca

[Link] Prerequisites
To run an SCA appliance server, you need the following prerequisites:

All sca-appliance-* packages.

The sca-patterns-base package. Additionally, any of the product-specific sca-patterns-*

for the type of Supportconfig archives that you want to analyze with the appliance.

Apache

PHP

MariaDB

anonymous FTP server (optional)

[Link] Installation and basic setup

As listed in Section [Link], “Prerequisites”, the SCA appliance has several dependencies on other pack-
ages. Therefore you need do so some preparations before installing and setting up the SCA appliance
server:

1. For Apache and MariaDB, install the Web and LAMP installation patterns.

2. Set up Apache, MariaDB, and optionally an anonymous FTP server. For more information, see
Chapter 42, The Apache HTTP server and Chapter 43, Setting up an FTP server with YaST.

3. Configure Apache and MariaDB to start at boot time:

> sudo systemctl enable apache2 mysql

4. Start both services:

> sudo systemctl start apache2 mysql

647 SCA appliance | SLES 15 SP4

Now you can install the SCA appliance and set it up as described in Procedure 47.5, “Installing and con-
figuring the SCA appliance”.

PROCEDURE 47.5: INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING THE SCA APPLIANCE

After installing the packages, use the setup-sca script for the basic configuration of the MariaDB
administration and report database that is used by the SCA appliance.
It can be used to configure the following options you have for uploading the Supportconfig archives
from your machines to the SCA appliance:

scp

anonymous FTP server

1. Install the appliance and the SCA base-pattern library:

> sudo zypper install sca-appliance-* sca-patterns-base

2. Additionally, install the pattern packages for the types of Supportconfig archives you want to an-
alyze. For example, if you have SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 and SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server 15 servers in your environment, install both the sca-patterns-sle12 and sca-pat-
terns-sle15 packages.
To install all available patterns:

> sudo zypper install sca-patterns-*

3. For basic setup of the SCA appliance, use the setup-sca script. How to call it depends on how
you want to upload the Supportconfig archives to the SCA appliance server:

If you have configured an anonymous FTP server that uses the /srv/ftp/upload directory,
execute the setup script with the -f option. Follow the instructions on the screen:

> sudo setup-sca -f

648 SCA appliance | SLES 15 SP4

 Note: FTP server using another directory
If your FTP server uses another directory than /srv/ftp/upload, adjust the follow-
ing configuration files first to make them point to the correct directory: /etc/sca/
[Link] and /etc/sca/[Link] .

If you want to upload Supportconfig files to the /tmp directory of the SCA appliance server
via scp, call the setup script without any parameters. Follow the instructions on the screen:

> sudo setup-sca

The setup script runs a few checks regarding its requirements and configures the needed compo-
nents. It will prompt you for two passwords: the MySQL root password of the MariaDB that you
have set up, and a Web user password with which to log in to the Web interface of the SCA appliance.

4. Enter the existing MariaDB root password. It will allow the SCA appliance to connect to the
MariaDB.

5. Define a password for the Web user. It will be written to /srv/www/htdocs/sca/web-con-

[Link] and will be set as the password for the user scdiag. Both user name and password can
be changed at any time later, see Section [Link].1, “Password for the Web interface”.

After successful installation and setup, the SCA appliance is ready for use, see Section [Link], “Using the
SCA appliance”. However, you should modify some options such as changing the password for the Web
interface, changing the source for the SCA pattern updates, enabling archiving mode or configuring e-mail
notifications. For details on that, see Section [Link], “Customizing the SCA appliance”.

Warning: Data protection

As the reports on the SCA appliance server contain security-relevant information, make sure to
protect the data on the SCA appliance server against unauthorized access.

649 SCA appliance | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Using the SCA appliance

You can upload existing Supportconfig archives to the SCA appliance manually or create new Support-
config archives and upload them to the SCA appliance in one step. Uploading can be done via FTP or SCP.
For both, you need to know the URL where the SCA appliance can be reached. For upload via FTP, an
FTP server needs to be configured for the SCA appliance, see Procedure 47.5, “Installing and configuring
the SCA appliance”.

[Link].1 Uploading supportconfig archives to the SCA appliance

For creating a Supportconfig archive and uploading it via (anonymous) FTP:

> sudo supportconfig -U “[Link]

For creating a Supportconfig archive and uploading it via SCP:

> sudo supportconfig -U “scp://[Link]/tmp”

You will be prompted for the root user password of the server running the SCA appliance.

If you want to manually upload one or multiple archives, copy the existing archive files (usually
located at/var/log/scc_*.tbz) to the SCA appliance. As target, use either the appliance server's
/tmp directory or the /srv/ftp/upload directory (if FTP is configured for the SCA appliance
server).

[Link].2 Viewing SCA reports

SCA reports can be viewed from any machine that has a browser installed and can access the report index
page of the SCA appliance.

1. Start a Web browser and make sure that JavaScript and cookies are enabled.

2. As a URL, enter the report index page of the SCA appliance.

[Link]

If in doubt, ask your system administrator.

3. You will be prompted for a user name and a password to log in.

650 SCA appliance | SLES 15 SP4

 FIGURE 47.2: HTML REPORT GENERATED BY SCA APPLIANCE

4. After logging in, click the date of the report you want to read.

5. Click the Basic Health category first to expand it.

6. In the Message column, click an individual entry. This opens the corresponding article in the SUSE
Knowledge base. Read the proposed solution and follow the instructions.

7. If the Solutions column of the Supportconfig Analysis Report shows any additional entries, click
them. Read the proposed solution and follow the instructions.

8. Check the SUSE Knowledge base ([Link] ) for results that directly
relate to the problem identified by SCA. Work at resolving them.

9. Check for results that can be addressed proactively to avoid future problems.

[Link] Customizing the SCA appliance

The following sections show how to change the password for the Web interface, how to change the source
for the SCA pattern updates, how to enable archiving mode, and how to configure e-mail notifications.

651 SCA appliance | SLES 15 SP4

[Link].1 Password for the Web interface
The SCA Appliance Web interface requires a user name and password for logging in. The default user
name is scdiag and the default password is linux (if not specified otherwise, see Procedure 47.5, “In-
stalling and configuring the SCA appliance”). Change the default password to a secure password at the
earliest possibility. You can also modify the user name.

PROCEDURE 47.6: CHANGING USER NAME OR PASSWORD FOR THE WEB INTERFACE

1. Log in as root user at the system console of the SCA appliance server.

2. Open /srv/www/htdocs/sca/[Link] in an editor.

3. Change the values of $username and $password as desired.

4. Save the file and exit.

[Link].2 Updates of SCA patterns

By default, all sca-patterns-* packages are updated regularly by a root cron job that executes the
sdagent-patterns script nightly, which in turn runs zypper update sca-patterns-*. A regular
system update will update all SCA appliance and pattern packages. To update the SCA appliance and
patterns manually, run:

> sudo zypper update sca-*

The updates are installed from the SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP4 update repository by default. You can
change the source for the updates to an RMT server, if desired. When sdagent-patterns runs zypper
update sca-patterns-*, it gets the updates from the currently configured update channel. If that
channel is located on an RMT server, the packages will be pulled from there.

PROCEDURE 47.7: DISABLING AUTOMATIC UPDATES OF SCA PATTERNS

1. Log in as root user at the system console of the SCA appliance server.

2. Open /etc/sca/[Link] in an editor.

3. Change the entry

UPDATE_FROM_PATTERN_REPO=1

to

UPDATE_FROM_PATTERN_REPO=0

652 SCA appliance | SLES 15 SP4

 4. Save the file and exit. The machine does not require any restart to apply the change.

[Link].3 Archiving mode

All Supportconfig archives are deleted from the SCA appliance after they have been analyzed and their
results have been stored in the MariaDB database. However, for troubleshooting purposes it can be useful
to keep copies of Supportconfig archives from a machine. By default, archiving mode is disabled.

PROCEDURE 47.8: ENABLING ARCHIVING MODE IN THE SCA APPLIANCE

1. Log in as root user at the system console of the SCA appliance server.

2. Open /etc/sca/[Link] in an editor.

3. Change the entry

ARCHIVE_MODE=0

to

ARCHIVE_MODE=1

4. Save the file and exit. The machine does not require any restart to apply the change.

After having enabled archive mode, the SCA appliance will save the Supportconfig files to the /var/
log/archives/saved directory, instead of deleting them.

[Link].4 Sending SCA reports via e-mail

The SCA appliance can e-mail a report HTML file for each Supportconfig analyzed. This feature is dis-
abled by default. When enabling it, you can define a list of e-mail addresses to which the reports should
be sent. Define a level of status messages that trigger the sending of reports (STATUS_NOTIFY_LEVEL).
POSSIBLE VALUES FOR STATUS_NOTIFY_LEVEL

$STATUS_OFF
Deactivate sending of HTML reports.

$STATUS_CRITICAL
Send only SCA reports that include a CRITICAL.

$STATUS_WARNING
Send only SCA reports that include a WARNING or CRITICAL.

653 SCA appliance | SLES 15 SP4

$STATUS_RECOMMEND
Send only SCA reports that include a RECOMMEND, WARNING or CRITICAL.

$STATUS_SUCCESS
Send SCA reports that include a SUCCESS, RECOMMEND, WARNING or CRITICAL.

PROCEDURE 47.9: CONFIGURING E-MAIL NOTIFICATIONS FOR SCA REPORTS

1. Log in as root user at the system console of the SCA appliance server.

2. Open /etc/sca/[Link] in an editor.

3. Search for the entry STATUS_NOTIFY_LEVEL. By default, it is set to $STATUS_OFF (e-mail noti-
fications are disabled).

4. To enable e-mail notifications, change $STATUS_OFF to the level of status messages that you want
to have e-mail reports for, for example:

STATUS_NOTIFY_LEVEL=$STATUS_SUCCESS

For details, see Possible values for STATUS_NOTIFY_LEVEL.

5. To define the list of recipients to which the reports should be sent:

a. Search for the entry EMAIL_REPORT='root'.

b. Replace root with a list of e-mail addresses to which SCA reports should be sent. The e-mail
addresses must be separated by spaces. For example:

EMAIL_REPORT='tux@[Link] wilber@[Link]'

6. Save the file and exit. The machine does not require any restart to apply the changes. All future
SCA reports will be e-mailed to the specified addresses.

[Link] Backing up and restoring the database

To back up and restore the MariaDB database that stores the SCA reports, use the scadb command as
described below. scadb is provided by the package sca-appliance-broker.

PROCEDURE 47.10: BACKING UP THE DATABASE

1. Log in as root user at the system console of the server running the SCA appliance.

654 SCA appliance | SLES 15 SP4

 2. Put the appliance into maintenance mode by executing:

# scadb maint

3. Start the backup with:

# scadb backup

The data is saved to a TAR archive: sca-backup-*[Link].

4. If you are using the pattern creation database to develop your own patterns (see Section 47.4.3,
“Developing custom analysis patterns”), back up this data, too:

# sdpdb backup

The data is saved to a TAR archive: sdp-backup-*[Link].

5. Copy the following data to another machine or an external storage medium:

sca-backup-*[Link]

sdp-backup-*[Link]

/usr/lib/sca/patterns/local (only needed if you have created custom patterns)

6. Reactivate the SCA appliance with:

# scadb reset agents

PROCEDURE 47.11: RESTORING THE DATABASE

To restore the database from your backup, proceed as follows:

1. Log in as root user at the system console of the server running the SCA appliance.

2. Copy the newest sca-backup-*[Link] and sdp-backup-*[Link] TAR archives to the SCA
appliance server.

3. To decompress the files, run:

# gzip -d *-backup-*[Link]

4. To import the data into the database, execute:

# scadb import sca-backup-*sql

655 SCA appliance | SLES 15 SP4

 5. If you are using the pattern creation database to create your own patterns, also import the following
data with:

# sdpdb import sdp-backup-*sql

6. If you are using custom patterns, also restore /usr/lib/sca/patterns/local from your backup
data.

7. Reactivate the SCA appliance with:

# scadb reset agents

8. Update the pattern modules in the database with:

# sdagent-patterns -u

47.4.3 Developing custom analysis patterns

The SCA appliance comes with a complete pattern development environment (the SCA Pattern Database)
that enables you to develop your own, custom patterns. Patterns can be written in any programming lan-
guage. To make them available for the Supportconfig analysis process, they need to be saved to /usr/
lib/sca/patterns/local and to be made executable. Both the SCA appliance and the SCA tool will
then run the custom patterns against new Supportconfig archives as part of the analysis report. For de-
tailed instructions on how to create (and test) your own patterns, see [Link]
pattern-development/ .

47.5 Gathering information during the installation

During the installation, supportconfig is not available. However, you can collect log files from YaST
by using save_y2logs. This command will create a .[Link] archive in the directory /tmp.
If issues appear very early during installation, you may be able to gather information from the log file
created by linuxrc. linuxrc is a small command that runs before YaST starts. This log file is available
at /var/log/[Link].

656 Developing custom analysis patterns | SLES 15 SP4

 Important: Installation log files not available in the installed
system
The log files available during the installation are not available in the installed system anymore.
Properly save the installation log files while the installer is still running.

47.6 Support of kernel modules

An important requirement for every enterprise operating system is the level of support you receive for
your environment. Kernel modules are the most relevant connector between hardware (“controllers”) and
the operating system. Every kernel module in SUSE Linux Enterprise has a supported flag that can take
three possible values:

“yes”, thus supported

“external”, thus supported

“(empty, not set)”, thus unsupported

The following rules apply:

All modules of a self-recompiled kernel are by default marked as unsupported.

Kernel modules supported by SUSE partners and delivered using SUSE SolidDriver Program
are marked “external”.

If the supported flag is not set, loading this module will taint the kernel. Tainted kernels are not
supported. Unsupported Kernel modules are included in an extra RPM package (kernel-FLAVOR-
extra). That package is only available for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop and the SUSE Lin-
ux Enterprise Workstation Extension. Those kernels will not be loaded by default (FLAVOR=de-
fault|xen|...). In addition, these unsupported modules are not available in the installer, and the
kernel-FLAVOR-extra package is not part of the SUSE Linux Enterprise media.

Kernel modules not provided under a license compatible to the license of the Linux kernel also taint
the kernel. For details, see the state of /proc/sys/kernel/tainted.

657 Support of kernel modules | SLES 15 SP4

47.6.1 Technical background
Linux kernel: The value of /proc/sys/kernel/unsupported defaults to 2 on SUSE Linux En-
terprise 15 SP4 (do not warn in syslog when loading unsupported modules). This
default is used in the installer and in the installed system.

modprobe: The modprobe utility for checking module dependencies and loading modules appro-
priately checks for the value of the supported flag. If the value is “yes” or “external” the mod-
ule will be loaded, otherwise it will not. For information on how to override this behavior, see Sec-
tion 47.6.2, “Working with unsupported modules”.

Note: Support
SUSE does not generally support the removal of storage modules via modprobe -r.

47.6.2 Working with unsupported modules

While general supportability is important, situations can occur where loading an unsupported module is
required. For example, for testing or debugging purposes, or if your hardware vendor provides a hotfix.

To override the default, copy /lib/modprobe.d/[Link] to /etc/

modprobe.d/[Link] and change the value of the variable al-
low_unsupported_modules from 0 to 1. Do not edit /lib/modprobe.d/10-unsupport-
[Link] directly; any changes will be overwritten whenever the suse-module-tools
package is updated.
If an unsupported module is needed in the initrd, do not forget to run dracut -f to update the initrd.
If you only want to try loading a module once, you can use the --allow-unsupported-modules
option with modprobe. For more information, see the comments in /lib/modprobe.d/10-un-
[Link] and the modprobe man page.

During installation, unsupported modules may be added through driver update disks, and they will
be loaded. To enforce loading of unsupported modules during boot and afterward, use the kernel
command line option oem-modules. While installing and initializing the suse-module-tools
package, the kernel flag TAINT_NO_SUPPORT (/proc/sys/kernel/tainted) will be evaluated.
If the kernel is already tainted, allow_unsupported_modules will be enabled. This will prevent
unsupported modules from failing in the system being installed. If no unsupported modules are
present during installation and the other special kernel command line option (oem-modules=1) is
not used, the default still is to disallow unsupported modules.

658 Technical background | SLES 15 SP4

Remember that loading and running unsupported modules will make the kernel and the whole system
unsupported by SUSE.

47.7 More information

man supportconfig—The supportconfig man page.

man [Link]—The man page of the Supportconfig configuration file.

man scatool—The scatool man page.

man scadb—The scadb man page.

man setup-sca—The setup-sca man page.

[Link] —The MariaDB documentation.

[Link] and Chapter 42, The Apache HTTP server—Documentation about

the Apache Web server.

Chapter 43, Setting up an FTP server with YaST—Documentation of how to set up an FTP server.

[Link] —Instructions on how to create (and

test) your own SCA patterns.

[Link] —A Basic Server

Health Check with Supportconfig.

[Link]
own-supportconfig-plugin —Create Your Own Supportconfig Plugin.

[Link] —Creating a
Central Supportconfig Repository.

659 More information | SLES 15 SP4

48 Common problems and their solutions

This chapter describes a range of potential problems and their solutions. Even if your situation is not
precisely listed, there may be one similar enough to offer hints to the solution of your problem.

48.1 Finding and gathering information

Linux reports things in a very detailed way. There are several places to look when you encounter problems
with your system, most of which are standard to Linux systems in general, and some are relevant to SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server systems. Most log files can be viewed with YaST (Miscellaneous Start-Up Log).
YaST offers the possibility to collect all system information needed by the support team. Use Other Sup-
port and select the problem category. When all information is gathered, attach it to your support request.
A list of the most frequently checked log files follows with the description of their typical purpose. Paths
containing ~ refer to the current user's home directory.

TABLE 48.1: LOG FILES

Log File Description

~/.xsession-errors Messages from the desktop applications currently

running.

/var/log/apparmor/ Log files from AppArmor, see Book “Security and

Hardening Guide” for detailed information.

/var/log/audit/[Link] Log file from Audit to track any access to files,

directories, or resources of your system, and trace
system calls. See Book “Security and Hardening
Guide” for detailed information.

/var/log/mail.* Messages from the mail system.

/var/log/NetworkManager Log file from NetworkManager to collect prob-

lems with network connectivity

/var/log/samba/ Directory containing Samba server and client log

messages.

660 Finding and gathering information | SLES 15 SP4

Log File Description

/var/log/warn All messages from the kernel and system log dae-
mon with the “warning” level or higher.

/var/log/wtmp Binary file containing user login records for the

current machine session. View it with last.

/var/log/Xorg.*.log Start-up and runtime log files from the X Window

System. It is useful for debugging failed X start-
ups.

/var/log/YaST2/ Directory containing YaST's actions and their re-

sults.

/var/log/[Link] Log file of Zypper.

Apart from log files, your machine also supplies you with information about the running system. See
Table 48.2: System information with the /proc file system

TABLE 48.2: SYSTEM INFORMATION WITH THE /proc FILE SYSTEM

File Description

/proc/cpuinfo Contains processor information, including its

type, make, model, and performance.

/proc/dma Shows which DMA channels are currently being

used.

/proc/interrupts Shows which interrupts are in use, and how many

of each have been in use.

/proc/iomem Displays the status of I/O (input/output) memory.

/proc/ioports Shows which I/O ports are in use at the moment.

/proc/meminfo Displays memory status.

/proc/modules Displays the individual modules.

661 Finding and gathering information | SLES 15 SP4

 File Description

/proc/mounts Displays devices currently mounted.

/proc/partitions Shows the partitioning of all hard disks.

/proc/version Displays the current version of Linux.

Apart from the /proc file system, the Linux kernel exports information with the sysfs module, an in-
memory file system. This module represents kernel objects, their attributes and relationships. For more
information about sysfs, see the context of udev in Chapter 29, Dynamic kernel device management with
udev. Table 48.3 contains an overview of the most common directories under /sys.

TABLE 48.3: SYSTEM INFORMATION WITH THE /sys FILE SYSTEM

File Description

/sys/block Contains subdirectories for each block device dis-

covered in the system. Generally, these are mostly
disk type devices.

/sys/bus Contains subdirectories for each physical bus

type.

/sys/class Contains subdirectories grouped together as a

functional types of devices (like graphics, net,
printer, etc.)

/sys/device Contains the global device hierarchy.

Linux comes with several tools for system analysis and monitoring. See Book “System Analysis and Tuning
Guide”, Chapter 2 “System monitoring utilities” for a selection of the most important ones used in system
diagnostics.
Each of the following scenarios begins with a header describing the problem followed by a paragraph or
two offering suggested solutions, available references for more detailed solutions, and cross-references to
other scenarios that are related.

662 Finding and gathering information | SLES 15 SP4

48.2 Boot problems
Boot problems are situations when your system does not boot properly (does not boot to the expected
target and login screen).

48.2.1 The GRUB 2 boot loader fails to load

If the hardware is functioning properly, it is possible that the boot loader is corrupted and Linux cannot
start on the machine. In this case, it is necessary to repair the boot loader. To do so, you need to start the
Rescue System as described in Section 48.5.2, “Using the rescue system” and follow the instructions in
Section [Link], “Modifying and re-installing the boot loader”.

Alternatively, you can use the Rescue System to fix the boot loader as follows. Boot your machine from
the installation media. In the boot screen, choose More Boot Linux System. Select the disk containing
the installed system and kernel with the default kernel options.
When the system is booted, start YaST and switch to System Boot Loader. Make sure that the Write
generic Boot Code to MBR option is enabled, and click OK. This fixes the corrupted boot loader by over-
writing it, or installs the boot loader if it is missing.
Other reasons for the machine not booting may be BIOS-related:

BIOS settings
Check your BIOS for references to your hard disk. GRUB 2 may simply not be started if the hard
disk itself cannot be found with the current BIOS settings.

BIOS boot order

Check whether your system's boot order includes the hard disk. If the hard disk option was not
enabled, your system may install properly, but fails to boot when access to the hard disk is required.

48.2.2 No graphical login

If the machine starts, but does not boot into the graphical login manager, anticipate problems either with
the choice of the default systemd target or the configuration of the X Window System. To check the
current systemd default target run the command sudo systemctl get-default. If the value returned
is not [Link], run the command sudo systemctl isolate [Link]. If the
graphical login screen starts, log in and start YaST System Services Manager and set the Default System
Target to Graphical Interface. From now on the system should boot into the graphical login screen.

663 Boot problems | SLES 15 SP4

If the graphical login screen does not start even if having booted or switched to the graphical target,
your desktop or X Window software is probably misconfigured or corrupted. Examine the log files at /
var/log/Xorg.*.log for detailed messages from the X server as it attempted to start. If the desktop
fails during start, it may log error messages to the system journal that can be queried with the command
journalctl (see Chapter 21, journalctl: Query the systemd journal for more information). If these
error messages hint at a configuration problem in the X server, try to fix these issues. If the graphical
system still does not come up, consider reinstalling the graphical desktop.

48.2.3 Root Btrfs partition cannot be mounted

If a btrfs root partition becomes corrupted, try the following options:

Mount the partition with the -o recovery option.

If that fails, run btrfs-zero-log on your root partition.

48.2.4 Force checking root partitions

If the root partition becomes corrupted, use the parameter forcefsck on the boot prompt. This passes
the option -f (force) to the fsck command.

48.2.5 Disable swap to enable booting

When a swap device is not available and the system cannot enable it during boot, booting may fail. Try
disabling all swap devices by appending the following options to the kernel command line:

systemd.device_wants_unit=off [Link]=[Link]

You may also try disabling specific swap devices:

[Link]=[Link]

48.2.6 GRUB 2 fails during reboot on a dual-boot system

If GRUB 2 fails during reboot, disable the Fast Boot setting in the BIOS.

664 Root Btrfs partition cannot be mounted | SLES 15 SP4

48.3 Login problems
Login problems occur when your system refuses to accept the user name and password, or accepts them
but then fails to start the graphic desktop, produces errors, or drops to a command line, for example.

48.3.1 Valid user name and password combinations fail

This often occurs when the system is configured to use network authentication or directory services and
cannot retrieve results from its configured servers. The root user is the only local user that can still log in
to these machines. The following are common reasons a machine appears functional but cannot process
logins correctly:

The network is not working. For further directions on this, turn to Section 48.4, “Network problems”.

DNS is not working at the moment (which prevents GNOME from working and the system from
making validated requests to secure servers). One indication that this is the case is that the machine
takes a long time to respond to any action. Find more information about this topic in Section 48.4,
“Network problems”.

If the system is configured to use Kerberos, the system's local time may have drifted past the ac-
cepted variance with the Kerberos server time (this is typically 300 seconds). If NTP (network time
protocol) is not working properly or local NTP servers are not working, Kerberos authentication
ceases to function because it depends on common clock synchronization across the network.

The system's authentication configuration is misconfigured. Check the PAM configuration files in-
volved for any typographical errors or misordering of directives. For additional background infor-
mation about PAM and the syntax of the configuration files involved, refer to Book “Security and
Hardening Guide”, Chapter 2 “Authentication with PAM”.

The home partition is encrypted. Find more information about this topic in Section 48.3.3, “Login
to encrypted home partition fails”.

In cases that do not involve external network problems, the solution is to log in as root and repair the
configuration. If you cannot log in to the running system, reboot it into the rescue mode as outlined in
Procedure 18.3, “Entering rescue mode”.

665 Login problems | SLES 15 SP4

48.3.2 Valid user name and password not accepted
This is by far the most common problem users encounter, because there are many reasons this can occur.
Depending on whether you use local user management and authentication or network authentication, login
failures occur for different reasons.
Local user management can fail for the following reasons:

The user may have entered the wrong password.

The user's home directory containing the desktop configuration files is corrupted or write protected.

There may be problems with the X Window System authenticating this particular user, especially if
the user's home directory has been used with another Linux distribution before installing the current
one.

To locate the reason for a local login failure, proceed as follows:

1. Check whether the user remembered their password correctly before you start debugging the whole
authentication mechanism. If the user may have not have remembered their password correctly, use
the YaST User Management module to change the user's password. Pay attention to the Caps Lock

key and unlock it, if necessary.

2. Log in as root and check the system journal with journalctl -e for error messages of the login
process and of PAM.

3. Try to log in from a console (using Ctrl – Alt – F1 ). If this is successful, the blame cannot be put
on PAM, because it is possible to authenticate this user on this machine. Try to locate any problems
with the X Window System or the GNOME desktop. For more information, refer to Section 48.3.4,
“GNOME desktop has issues”.

4. If the user's home directory has been used with another Linux distribution, remove the Xauthority
file in the user's home. Use a console login via Ctrl – Alt – F1 and run rm .Xauthority as this
user. This should eliminate X authentication problems for this user. Try graphical login again.

5. If the desktop could not start because of corrupt configuration files, proceed with Section 48.3.4,
“GNOME desktop has issues”.

666 Valid user name and password not accepted | SLES 15 SP4
In the following, common reasons a network authentication for a particular user may fail on a specific
machine are listed:

The user may have entered the wrong password.

The user name exists in the machine's local authentication files and is also provided by a network
authentication system, causing conflicts.

The home directory exists but is corrupt or unavailable. Perhaps it is write protected or is on a server
that is inaccessible at the moment.

The user does not have permission to log in to that particular host in the authentication system.

The machine has changed host names, for whatever reason, and the user does not have permission
to log in to that host.

The machine cannot reach the authentication server or directory server that contains that user's in-
formation.

There may be problems with the X Window System authenticating this particular user, especially if
the user's home has been used with another Linux distribution before installing the current one.

To locate the cause of the login failures with network authentication, proceed as follows:

1. Check whether the user remembered their password correctly before you start debugging the whole
authentication mechanism.

2. Determine the directory server which the machine relies on for authentication and make sure that it
is up and running and properly communicating with the other machines.

3. Determine that the user's user name and password work on other machines to make sure that their
authentication data exists and is properly distributed.

4. See if another user can log in to the misbehaving machine. If another user can log in without diffi-
culty or if root can log in, log in and examine the system journal with the journalctl -e > file.
Locate the time stamps that correspond to the login attempts and determine if PAM has produced
any error messages.

5. Try to log in from a console (using Ctrl – Alt – F1 ). If this is successful, the problem is not with
PAM or the directory server on which the user's home is hosted, because it is possible to authenticate
this user on this machine. Try to locate any problems with the X Window System or the GNOME
desktop. For more information, refer to Section 48.3.4, “GNOME desktop has issues”.

667 Valid user name and password not accepted | SLES 15 SP4
 6. If the user's home directory has been used with another Linux distribution, remove the Xauthority
file in the user's home. Use a console login via Ctrl – Alt – F1 and run rm .Xauthority as this
user. This should eliminate X authentication problems for this user. Try graphical login again.

7. If the desktop could not start because of corrupt configuration files, proceed with Section 48.3.4,
“GNOME desktop has issues”.

48.3.3 Login to encrypted home partition fails

It is recommended to use an encrypted home partition for laptops. If you cannot log in to your laptop, the
reason might be that your partition could not be unlocked.
During the boot time, you need to enter the passphrase to unlock your encrypted partition. If you do not
enter it, the boot process continues, leaving the partition locked.
To unlock your encrypted partition, proceed as follows:

1. Switch to the text console with Ctrl – Alt – F1 .

2. Become root.

3. Restart the unlocking process again with:

# systemctl restart [Link]

4. Enter your passphrase to unlock your encrypted partition.

5. Exit the text console and switch back to the login screen with Alt – F7 .

6. Log in as usual.

48.3.4 GNOME desktop has issues

If you are experiencing issues with the GNOME desktop, there are several ways to troubleshoot the mis-
behaving graphical desktop environment. The recommended procedure described below offers the safest
option to fix a broken GNOME desktop.

PROCEDURE 48.1: TROUBLESHOOTING GNOME

1. Launch YaST and switch to Security and Users.

2. Open the User and Group Management dialog and click Add.

668 Login to encrypted home partition fails | SLES 15 SP4

 3. Fill out the required fields and click OK to create a new user.

4. Log out and log in as the new user. This gives you a fresh GNOME environment.

5. Copy individual subdirectories from the ~/.local/ and ~/.config/ directories of the old user
account to the respective directories of the new user account.
Log out and log in again as the new user after every copy operation to check whether GNOME
still works correctly.

6. Repeat the previous step until you find the configuration file that breaks GNOME.

7. Log in as the old user, and move the offending configuration file to a different location. Log out
and log in again as the old user.

8. Delete the previously created user.

48.4 Network problems

Many problems of your system may be network-related, even though they do not seem to be at first. For
example, the reason for a system not allowing users to log in may be a network problem of some kind.
This section introduces a simple checklist you can apply to identify the cause of any network problem
encountered.

PROCEDURE 48.2: HOW TO IDENTIFY NETWORK PROBLEMS

When checking the network connection of your machine, proceed as follows:

1. If you use an Ethernet connection, check the hardware first. Make sure that your network cable
is properly plugged into your computer and router (or hub, etc.). The control lights next to your
Ethernet connector are normally both be active.
If the connection fails, check whether your network cable works with another machine. If it does,
your network card causes the failure. If hubs or switches are included in your network setup, they
may be faulty, as well.

2. If using a wireless connection, check whether the wireless link can be established by other machines.
If not, contact the wireless network's administrator.

3. When you have checked your basic network connectivity, try to find out which service is not re-
sponding. Gather the address information of all network servers needed in your setup. Either look
them up in the appropriate YaST module or ask your system administrator. The following list gives
some typical network servers involved in a setup together with the symptoms of an outage.

669 Network problems | SLES 15 SP4

 DNS (name service)
A broken or malfunctioning name service affects the network's functionality in many ways.
If the local machine relies on any network servers for authentication and these servers cannot
be found because of name resolution issues, users would not even be able to log in. Machines
in the network managed by a broken name server would not be able to “see” each other and
communicate.

NTP (time service)

A malfunctioning or completely broken NTP service could affect Kerberos authentication
and X server functionality.

NFS (file service)

If any application needs data stored in an NFS mounted directory, it cannot start or function
properly if this service was down or misconfigured. In the worst case scenario, a user's per-
sonal desktop configuration would not come up if their home directory containing the .gconf
subdirectory could not be found because of a faulty NFS server.

Samba (file service)

If any application needs data stored in a directory on a faulty Samba server, it cannot start
or function properly.

NIS (user management)

If your SUSE Linux Enterprise Server system relies on a faulty NIS server to provide the user
data, users cannot log in to this machine.

LDAP (user management)

If your SUSE Linux Enterprise Server system relies on a faulty LDAP server to provide the
user data, users cannot log in to this machine.

Kerberos (authentication)
Authentication will not work and login to any machine fails.

CUPS (network printing)

Users cannot print.

670 Network problems | SLES 15 SP4

 4. Check whether the network servers are running and whether your network setup allows you to
establish a connection:

Important: Limitations
The debugging procedure described below only applies to a simple network server/client
setup that does not involve any internal routing. It assumes both server and client are mem-
bers of the same subnet without the need for additional routing.

a. Use ping IP_ADDRESS/HOSTNAME (replace with the host name or IP address of the server)
to check whether each one of them is up and responding to the network. If this command is
successful, it tells you that the host you were looking for is up and running and that the name
service for your network is configured correctly.
If ping fails with destination host unreachable, either your system or the desired
server is not properly configured or down. Check whether your system is reachable by running
ping IP address or YOUR_HOSTNAME from another machine. If you can reach your machine
from another machine, it is the server that is not running or not configured correctly.
If ping fails with unknown host, the name service is not configured correctly or the host
name used was incorrect. For further checks on this matter, refer to Step 4.b. If ping still fails,
either your network card is not configured correctly or your network hardware is faulty.

b. Use host HOSTNAME to check whether the host name of the server you are trying to connect
to is properly translated into an IP address and vice versa. If this command returns the IP
address of this host, the name service is up and running. If the host command fails, check all
network configuration files relating to name and address resolution on your host:

/var/run/netconfig/[Link]
This file is used to keep track of the name server and domain you are currently using.
It is a symbolic link to /run/netconfig/[Link] and is usually automatically
adjusted by YaST or DHCP. Make sure that this file has the following structure and all
network addresses and domain names are correct:

search FULLY_QUALIFIED_DOMAIN_NAME
nameserver IPADDRESS_OF_NAMESERVER

This file can contain more than one name server address, but at least one of them must
be correct to provide name resolution to your host. If needed, adjust this file using the
YaST Network Settings module (Hostname/DNS tab).

671 Network problems | SLES 15 SP4

 If your network connection is handled via DHCP, enable DHCP to change host name
and name service information by selecting Set Hostname via DHCP (can be set globally
for any interface or per interface) and Update Name Servers and Search List via DHCP
in the YaST Network Settings module (Hostname/DNS tab).

/etc/[Link]
This file tells Linux where to look for name service information. It should look like this:

...
hosts: files dns
networks: files dns
...

The dns entry is vital. It tells Linux to use an external name server. Normally, these
entries are automatically managed by YaST, but it would be prudent to check.
If all the relevant entries on the host are correct, let your system administrator check
the DNS server configuration for the correct zone information. For detailed information
about DNS, refer to Chapter 39, The domain name system. If you have made sure
that the DNS configuration of your host and the DNS server are correct, proceed with
checking the configuration of your network and network device.

c. If your system cannot establish a connection to a network server and you have excluded name
service problems from the list of possible culprits, check the configuration of your network
card.
Use the command ip addr show NETWORK_DEVICE to check whether this device was prop-
erly configured. Make sure that the inet address with the netmask (/MASK) is configured
correctly. An error in the IP address or a missing bit in your network mask would render your
network configuration unusable. If necessary, perform this check on the server as well.

d. If the name service and network hardware are properly configured and running, but certain
external network connections still get long timeouts or fail entirely, use traceroute FUL-
LY_QUALIFIED_DOMAIN_NAME (executed as root) to track the network route these requests
are taking. This command lists any gateway (hop) that a request from your machine passes
on its way to its destination. It lists the response time of each hop and whether this hop is
reachable. Use a combination of traceroute and ping to track down the culprit and let the ad-
ministrators know.

672 Network problems | SLES 15 SP4

When you have identified the cause of your network trouble, you can resolve it yourself (if the problem
is located on your machine) or let the system administrators of your network know about your findings so
they can reconfigure the services or repair the necessary systems.

48.4.1 NetworkManager problems

If you have a problem with network connectivity, narrow it down as described in Procedure 48.2, “How
to identify network problems”. If NetworkManager seems to be the culprit, proceed as follows to get logs
providing hints on why NetworkManager fails:

1. Open a shell and log in as root.

2. Restart the NetworkManager:

> sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager

3. Open a Web page, for example, [Link] as normal user to see, if you can
connect.

4. Collect any information about the state of NetworkManager in /var/log/NetworkManager.

For more information about NetworkManager, refer to Chapter 31, Using NetworkManager.

48.5 Data problems

Data problems are when the machine may or may not boot properly but, in either case, it is clear that there
is data corruption on the system and that the system needs to be recovered. These situations call for a
backup of your critical data, enabling you to recover the system state from before your system failed.

48.5.1 Managing partition images

Sometimes you need to perform a backup from an entire partition or even hard disk. Linux comes with
the dd tool which can create an exact copy of your disk. Combined with gzip you save some space.

PROCEDURE 48.3: BACKING UP AND RESTORING HARD DISKS

1. Start a Shell as user root.

673 NetworkManager problems | SLES 15 SP4

 2. Select your source device. Typically this is something like /dev/sda (labeled as SOURCE).

3. Decide where you want to store your image (labeled as BACKUP_PATH). It must be different from
your source device. In other words: if you make a backup from /dev/sda, your image file must
not to be stored under /dev/sda.

4. Run the commands to create a compressed image file:

# dd if=/dev/SOURCE | gzip > /BACKUP_PATH/[Link]

5. Restore the hard disk with the following commands:

# gzip -dc /BACKUP_PATH/[Link] | dd of=/dev/SOURCE

If you only need to back up a partition, replace the SOURCE placeholder with your respective partition. In
this case, your image file can lie on the same hard disk, but on a different partition.

48.5.2 Using the rescue system

There are several reasons a system could fail to come up and run properly. A corrupted file system fol-
lowing a system crash, corrupted configuration files, or a corrupted boot loader configuration are the most
common ones.
To help you to resolve these situations, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server contains a rescue system that you
can boot. The rescue system is a small Linux system that can be loaded into a RAM disk and mounted as
root file system, allowing you to access your Linux partitions from the outside. Using the rescue system,
you can recover or modify any important aspect of your system.

Manipulate any type of configuration file.

Check the file system for defects and start automatic repair processes.

Access the installed system in a “change root” environment.

Check, modify, and re-install the boot loader configuration.

Recover from a badly installed device driver or unusable kernel.

Resize partitions using the parted command. Find more information about this tool at the GNU
Parted Web site [Link] .

The rescue system can be loaded from various sources and locations. The simplest option is to boot the
rescue system from the original installation medium.

674 Using the rescue system | SLES 15 SP4

 Note: IBM Z: starting the rescue system
On IBM Z the installation system can be used for rescue purposes. To start the rescue system follow
the instructions in Section 48.6, “IBM Z: using initrd as a rescue system”.

1. Insert the installation medium into your DVD drive.

2. Reboot the system.

3. At the boot screen, press F4 and choose DVD-ROM. Then choose Rescue System from the main
menu.

4. Enter root at the Rescue: prompt. A password is not required.

If your hardware setup does not include a DVD drive, you can boot the rescue system from a network
source. The following example applies to a remote boot scenario—if using another boot medium,
such as a DVD, modify the info file accordingly and boot as you would for a normal installation.

1. Enter the configuration of your PXE boot setup and add the lines install=PROTO-
COL://INSTSOURCE and rescue=1. If you need to start the repair system, use repair=1 instead.
As with a normal installation, PROTOCOL stands for any of the supported network protocols (NFS,
HTTP, FTP, etc.) and INSTSOURCE for the path to your network installation source.

2. Boot the system using “Wake on LAN”, as described in Book “Deployment Guide”, Chapter 17
“Preparing network boot environment”, Section 17.5 “Using wake-on-LAN for remote wakeups”.

3. Enter root at the Rescue: prompt. A password is not required.

When you have entered the rescue system, you can use the virtual consoles that can be reached with
Alt – F1 to Alt – F6 .
A shell and other useful utilities, such as the mount program, are available in the /bin directory. The /
sbin directory contains important file and network utilities for reviewing and repairing the file system.
This directory also contains the most important binaries for system maintenance, such as fdisk, mkfs,
mkswap, mount, and shutdown, ip and ss for maintaining the network. The directory /usr/bin contains
the vi editor, find, less, and SSH.
To see the system messages, either use the command dmesg or view the system log with journalctl.

675 Using the rescue system | SLES 15 SP4

[Link] Checking and manipulating configuration files
As an example for a configuration that might be fixed using the rescue system, imagine you have a broken
configuration file that prevents the system from booting properly. You can fix this using the rescue system.

To manipulate a configuration file, proceed as follows:

1. Start the rescue system using one of the methods described above.

2. To mount a root file system located under /dev/sda6 to the rescue system, use the following
command:

> sudo mount /dev/sda6 /mnt

All directories of the system are now located under /mnt

3. Change the directory to the mounted root file system:

> sudo cd /mnt

4. Open the problematic configuration file in the vi editor. Adjust and save the configuration.

5. Unmount the root file system from the rescue system:

> sudo umount /mnt

6. Reboot the machine.

[Link] Repairing and checking file systems

Generally, file systems cannot be repaired on a running system. If you encounter serious problems, you
may not even be able to mount your root file system and the system boot may end with a “kernel panic”.
In this case, the only way is to repair the system from the outside. The system contains the fsck utility
to check and repair multiple file system types, such as ext2, ext3, ext4, msdos, and vfat. Use the -
t option to specify which file system to check.

The following command checks all ext4 file systems found in the /etc/fstab specification:

> sudo fsck -t ext4 -A

Tip
For Btrfs, you can use the btrfs check command found in the btrfsprogs package.

676 Using the rescue system | SLES 15 SP4

 Find topics about the Btrfs file system in the following places:

The Storage Administration Guide includes [Link]

SLES-all/[Link]#sec-filesystems-major-btrfs and [Link]
[Link]/sles/15-SP5/html/SLES-all/[Link]#sec-resize-fs-btrfs sec-
tions.

The following article [Link] describes

how to recover from Btrfs errors.

The following article includes links to multiple Btrfs related topics [Link]
support/kb/doc/?id=000018779 .

The man 8 btrfs-check man page details all options of the btrfs check command.

[Link] Accessing the installed system

If you need to access the installed system from the rescue system, you need to do this in a change root
environment. For example, to modify the boot loader configuration, or to execute a hardware configuration
utility.
To set up a change root environment based on the installed system, proceed as follows:

1.
Tip: Import LVM volume groups
If you are using an LVM setup (refer to Book “Storage Administration Guide” for more gen-
eral details), import all existing volume groups to be able to find and mount the device(s):

rootvgimport -a

Run lsblk to check which node corresponds to the root partition. It is /dev/sda2 in our example:

> lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 149,1G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 2G 0 part [SWAP]
├─sda2 8:2 0 20G 0 part /
└─sda3 8:3 0 127G 0 part
└─cr_home 254:0 0 127G 0 crypt /home

677 Using the rescue system | SLES 15 SP4

 2. Mount the root partition from the installed system:

> sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

3. Mount /proc, /dev, and /sys partitions:

> sudo mount -t proc none /mnt/proc

> sudo mount --rbind /dev /mnt/dev
> sudo mount --rbind /sys /mnt/sys

4. Now you can “change root” into the new environment, keeping the bash shell:

> chroot /mnt /bin/bash

5. Finally, mount the remaining partitions from the installed system:

> mount -a

6. Now you have access to the installed system. Before rebooting the system, unmount the partitions
with umount -a and leave the “change root” environment with exit.

Warning: Limitations
Although you have full access to the files and applications of the installed system, there are some
limitations. The kernel that is running is the one that was booted with the rescue system, not with
the change root environment. It only supports essential hardware and it is not possible to add kernel
modules from the installed system unless the kernel versions are identical. Always check the ver-
sion of the currently running (rescue) kernel with uname -r and then find out if a matching subdi-
rectory exists in the /lib/modules directory in the change root environment. If yes, you can use
the installed modules, otherwise you need to supply their correct versions on other media, such as
a flash disk. Most often the rescue kernel version differs from the installed one — then you cannot
simply access a sound card, for example. It is also not possible to start a graphical user interface.
Also note that you leave the “change root” environment when you switch the console with
Alt – F1 to Alt – F6 .

[Link] Modifying and re-installing the boot loader

Sometimes a system cannot boot because the boot loader configuration is corrupted. The start-up routines
cannot, for example, translate physical drives to the actual locations in the Linux file system without a
working boot loader.

678 Using the rescue system | SLES 15 SP4

To check the boot loader configuration and re-install the boot loader, proceed as follows:

1. Perform the necessary steps to access the installed system as described in Section [Link], “Accessing
the installed system”.

2. Check that the GRUB 2 boot loader is installed on the system. If not, install the package grub2
and run

> sudo grub2-install /dev/sda

3. Check whether the following files are correctly configured according to the GRUB 2 configuration
principles outlined in Chapter 18, The boot loader GRUB 2 and apply fixes if necessary.

/etc/default/grub

/boot/grub2/[Link]

/boot/grub2/[Link] (this file is generated, do not edit)

/etc/sysconfig/bootloader

4. Re-install the boot loader using the following command sequence:

> sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/[Link]

5. Unmount the partitions, log out of the “change root” environment, and reboot the system:

> umount -a
exit
reboot

[Link] Fixing kernel installation

A kernel update may introduce a new bug which can impact the operation of your system. For example
a driver for a piece of hardware in your system may be faulty, which prevents you from accessing and
using it. In this case, revert to the last working kernel (if available on the system) or install the original
kernel from the installation media.

Tip: How to keep last kernels after update

To prevent failures to boot after a faulty kernel update, use the kernel multiversion feature and tell
libzypp which kernels you want to keep after the update.

679 Using the rescue system | SLES 15 SP4

 For example to always keep the last two kernels and the currently running one, add

[Link] = latest,latest-1,running

to the /etc/zypp/[Link] file. See Chapter 27, Installing multiple kernel versions for more
information.

A similar case is when you need to re-install or update a broken driver for a device not supported by
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. For example when a hardware vendor uses a specific device, such as a
hardware RAID controller, which needs a binary driver to be recognized by the operating system. The
vendor typically releases a Driver Update Disk (DUD) with the fixed or updated version of the required
driver.
In both cases you need to access the installed system in the rescue mode and fix the kernel related problem,
otherwise the system may fail to boot correctly:

1. Boot from the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installation media.

2. If you are recovering after a faulty kernel update, skip this step. If you need to use a driver update
disk (DUD), press F6 to load the driver update after the boot menu appears, and choose the path
or URL to the driver update and confirm with Yes.

3. Choose Rescue System from the boot menu and press Enter . If you chose to use DUD, you will
be asked to specify where the driver update is stored.

4. Enter root at the Rescue: prompt. A password is not required.

5. Manually mount the target system and “change root” into the new environment. For more informa-
tion, see Section [Link], “Accessing the installed system”.

6. If using DUD, install/re-install/update the faulty device driver package. Always make sure the in-
stalled kernel version exactly matches the version of the driver you are installing.
If fixing faulty kernel update installation, you can install the original kernel from the installation
media with the following procedure.

a. Identify your DVD device with hwinfo --cdrom and mount it with mount /dev/sr0 /
mnt.

b. Navigate to the directory where your kernel files are stored on the DVD, for example cd /
mnt/suse/x86_64/.

680 Using the rescue system | SLES 15 SP4

 c. Install required kernel-*, kernel-*-base, and kernel-*-extra packages of your flavor
with the rpm -i command.

7. Update configuration files and reinitialize the boot loader if needed. For more information, see
Section [Link], “Modifying and re-installing the boot loader”.

8. Remove any bootable media from the system drive and reboot.

48.6 IBM Z: using initrd as a rescue system

If the kernel of the SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server for IBM Z is upgraded or modified, it is possible
to reboot the system accidentally in an inconsistent state, so standard procedures of IPLing the installed
system fail. In such a case, you may use the installation system for rescue purposes.
IPL the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for IBM Z installation system as described in Book “Deployment
Guide”, Chapter 5 “Installation on IBM Z and LinuxONE”, Section 5.3 “Preparing for installation”. Choose
Start Installation and enter all required parameters. After the installation system has loaded and you are
asked which display type to use to control the installation, select SSH. Now you can log in to the system
with SSH as root without a password.
In this state, no disks are configured. You need to configure them before you can proceed.

PROCEDURE 48.4: CONFIGURING DASDS

1. Configure DASDs with the following command:

dasd_configure 0.0.0150 1 0

0.0.0150 is the channel to which the DASD is connected. The 1 means activate the disk (a 0 at this
place would deactivate the disk). The 0 stands for “no DIAG mode” for the disk (a 1 here would
enable DAIG access to the disk).

2. Now the DASD is online (check with cat /proc/partitions) and can used for subsequent
commands.

PROCEDURE 48.5: CONFIGURING A ZFCP DISK

1. To configure a zFCP disk, it is necessary to first configure the zFCP adapter. Do this with the
following command:

zfcp_host_configure 0.0.4000 1

681 IBM Z: using initrd as a rescue system | SLES 15 SP4

 0.0.4000 is the channel to which the adapter is attached and 1 stands for activate (a 0 here would
deactivate the adapter).

2. After the adapter is activated, a disk can be configured. Do this with the following command:

zfcp_disk_configure 0.0.4000 1234567887654321 8765432100000000 1

0.0.4000 is the previously-used channel ID, 1234567887654321 is the WWPN (World wide Port
Number), and 8765432100000000 is the LUN (logical unit number). The 1 stands for activating
the disk (a 0 here would deactivate the disk).

3. Now the zFCP disk is online (check with cat /proc/partitions) and can used for subsequent
commands.

Now the rescue system is fully set up and you can start repairing the installed system. See Section 48.5.2,
“Using the rescue system” for instructions on how to repair the most common issues.

48.7 IBM Z: After a kernel update the system boots

into the previous kernel
Installing a new kernel version on an IBM Z system does not automatically update the "stage 1" zipl
loader. This means that after a restart the system boots into the old kernel. And if secure boot is enabled,
booting fails when the old kernel is signed with a signing key that has been retracted by, for example, a
shim update at the same time.
To solve the problem, refresh zipl to make it aware of the new kernel version. To do this, run the following
command after you install the new kernel:

grub2-emu --kexec

In the grub2 boot menu, choose the new kernel to reboot. Run the command above the second time for the
changes to take effect. Finally, run the following command to reinstall the boot loader:

update-bootloader --reinit

682 IBM Z: After a kernel update the system boots into the previous kernel | SLES 15 SP4
A An example network
This example network is used across all network-related chapters of the SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server
documentation.

683 | SLES 15 SP4

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1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the
front cover, and Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly and legibly identify
This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium, that contains a notice placed by you as the publisher of these copies. The front cover must present the full title with all words of the
the copyright holder saying it can be distributed under the terms of this License. Such a notice grants title equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the covers in addition. Copying
a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration, to use that work under the conditions stated with changes limited to the covers, as long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these
herein. The "Document", below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member of the public is a conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects.
licensee, and is addressed as "you". You accept the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit legibly, you should put the first ones listed
in a way requiring permission under copyright law. (as many as fit reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto adjacent pages.
A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the Document or a portion of it, If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document numbering more than 100, you must either
either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or translated into another language. include a machine-readable Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or state in or with each
A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section of the Document that deals ex- Opaque copy a computer-network location from which the general network-using public has access
clusively with the relationship of the publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall to download using public-standard network protocols a complete Transparent copy of the Document,
subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could fall directly within that overall subject. free of added material. If you use the latter option, you must take reasonably prudent steps, when you
(Thus, if the Document is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not explain any begin distribution of Opaque copies in quantity, to ensure that this Transparent copy will remain thus
mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of historical connection with the subject or with related accessible at the stated location until at least one year after the last time you distribute an Opaque copy
matters, or of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position regarding them. (directly or through your agents or retailers) of that edition to the public.
The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose titles are designated, as being those of It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of the Document well before redistribut-
Invariant Sections, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. If a section ing any large number of copies, to give them a chance to provide you with an updated version of the
does not fit the above definition of Secondary then it is not allowed to be designated as Invariant. The Document.
Document may contain zero Invariant Sections. If the Document does not identify any Invariant Sections
then there are none.
4. MODIFICATIONS
The "Cover Texts" are certain short passages of text that are listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover
Texts, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. A Front-Cover Text may You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document under the conditions of sections 2 and
be at most 5 words, and a Back-Cover Text may be at most 25 words. 3 above, provided that you release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the Modified
A "Transparent" copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy, represented in a format whose Version filling the role of the Document, thus licensing distribution and modification of the Modified
specification is available to the general public, that is suitable for revising the document straightforward- Version to whoever possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do these things in the Modified Version:
ly with generic text editors or (for images composed of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings)
A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title distinct from that of the Document,
some widely available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to text formatters or for automatic
and from those of previous versions (which should, if there were any, be listed in the History
translation to a variety of formats suitable for input to text formatters. A copy made in an otherwise
section of the Document). You may use the same title as a previous version if the original
Transparent file format whose markup, or absence of markup, has been arranged to thwart or discourage
publisher of that version gives permission.
subsequent modification by readers is not Transparent. An image format is not Transparent if used for
any substantial amount of text. A copy that is not "Transparent" is called "Opaque". B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or entities responsible for authorship
Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain ASCII without markup, Texinfo input of the modifications in the Modified Version, together with at least five of the principal
format, LaTeX input format, SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and standard-conforming authors of the Document (all of its principal authors, if it has fewer than five), unless they
simple HTML, PostScript or PDF designed for human modification. Examples of transparent image release you from this requirement.
formats include PNG, XCF and JPG. Opaque formats include proprietary formats that can be read and C. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the Modified Version, as the publisher.
edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML or XML for which the DTD and/or processing tools
D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
are not generally available, and the machine-generated HTML, PostScript or PDF produced by some
word processors for output purposes only. E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications adjacent to the other copyright
notices.

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 F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license notice giving the public permis-
7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
sion to use the Modified Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in the
Addendum below.
A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other separate and independent documents or
G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant Sections and required Cover Texts works, in or on a volume of a storage or distribution medium, is called an "aggregate" if the copyright
given in the Document's license notice. resulting from the compilation is not used to limit the legal rights of the compilation's users beyond what
the individual works permit. When the Document is included in an aggregate, this License does not
H. Include an unaltered copy of this License.
apply to the other works in the aggregate which are not themselves derivative works of the Document.
I. Preserve the section Entitled "History", Preserve its Title, and add to it an item stating at If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these copies of the Document, then if the
least the title, year, new authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on the Title Document is less than one half of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be placed on
Page. If there is no section Entitled "History" in the Document, create one stating the title, covers that bracket the Document within the aggregate, or the electronic equivalent of covers if the
year, authors, and publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page, then add an item Document is in electronic form. Otherwise they must appear on printed covers that bracket the whole
describing the Modified Version as stated in the previous sentence. aggregate.

J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document for public access to a Trans-
parent copy of the Document, and likewise the network locations given in the Document 8. TRANSLATION
for previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in the "History" section. You
may omit a network location for a work that was published at least four years before the Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may distribute translations of the Document
Document itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers to gives permission. under the terms of section 4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special permis-
sion from their copyright holders, but you may include translations of some or all Invariant Sections
K. For any section Entitled "Acknowledgements" or "Dedications", Preserve the Title of the
in addition to the original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a translation of this
section, and preserve in the section all the substance and tone of each of the contributor
License, and all the license notices in the Document, and any Warranty Disclaimers, provided that you
acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein.
also include the original English version of this License and the original versions of those notices and
L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered in their text and in their titles. disclaimers. In case of a disagreement between the translation and the original version of this License
Section numbers or the equivalent are not considered part of the section titles. or a notice or disclaimer, the original version will prevail.

M. Delete any section Entitled "Endorsements". Such a section may not be included in the If a section in the Document is Entitled "Acknowledgements", "Dedications", or "History", the require-
Modified Version. ment (section 4) to Preserve its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the actual title.

N. Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled "Endorsements" or to conflict in title with
any Invariant Section. 9. TERMINATION
O. Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers.
You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document except as expressly provided for
If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or appendices that qualify as Secondary under this License. Any other attempt to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Document is void,
Sections and contain no material copied from the Document, you may at your option designate some and will automatically terminate your rights under this License. However, parties who have received
or all of these sections as invariant. To do this, add their titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the copies, or rights, from you under this License will not have their licenses terminated so long as such
Modified Version's license notice. These titles must be distinct from any other section titles. parties remain in full compliance.

You may add a section Entitled "Endorsements", provided it contains nothing but endorsements of your
Modified Version by various parties--for example, statements of peer review or that the text has been 10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
approved by an organization as the authoritative definition of a standard.
You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text, and a passage of up to 25 words as The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of the GNU Free Documentation
a Back-Cover Text, to the end of the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage of License from time to time. Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may
Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or through arrangements made by) any differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. See [Link] .
one entity. If the Document already includes a cover text for the same cover, previously added by you Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version number. If the Document specifies that
or by arrangement made by the same entity you are acting on behalf of, you may not add another; but a particular numbered version of this License "or any later version" applies to it, you have the option
you may replace the old one, on explicit permission from the previous publisher that added the old one. of following the terms and conditions either of that specified version or of any later version that has
The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this License give permission to use their been published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the Document does not specify a
names for publicity for or to assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version. version number of this License, you may choose any version ever published (not as a draft) by the Free
Software Foundation.

5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents
You may combine the Document with other documents released under this License, under the terms
defined in section 4 above for modified versions, provided that you include in the combination all of the Copyright (c) YEAR YOUR NAME.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
Invariant Sections of all of the original documents, unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
of your combined work in its license notice, and that you preserve all their Warranty Disclaimers. or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and multiple identical Invariant Sections with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
A copy of the license is included in the section entitled “GNU
may be replaced with a single copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name but
Free Documentation License”.
different contents, make the title of each such section unique by adding at the end of it, in parentheses,
the name of the original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a unique number. Make If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover Texts, replace the “with...Texts.”
the same adjustment to the section titles in the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the line with this:
combined work.
with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with the
In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled "History" in the various original documents,
Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts being LIST.
forming one section Entitled "History"; likewise combine any sections Entitled "Acknowledgements",
and any sections Entitled "Dedications". You must delete all sections Entitled "Endorsements". If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other combination of the three, merge those
two alternatives to suit the situation.

6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we recommend releasing these exam-
ples in parallel under your choice of free software license, such as the GNU General Public License,
You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other documents released under this License, to permit their use in free software.
and replace the individual copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy that is
included in the collection, provided that you follow the rules of this License for verbatim copying of
each of the documents in all other respects.
You may extract a single document from such a collection, and distribute it individually under this
License, provided you insert a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow this License
in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of that document.

685 | SLES 15 SP4