Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool


Table of Contents
Configuring the Applet
Notification Icons
Viewing Updates
Applying Updates

The Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool is a GNOME applet that appears on the panel and alerts users when software package updates are available for their systems. The list of updates are retrieved from the RHN Servers. The system does not have to be registered with Red Hat Network to display a list of updates; however, retrieving the updates with the Red Hat Update Agent requires registration with Red Hat Network and a subscription to a RHN service offering. The applet does not send any identifiable information about the user or the system to the RHN Servers.

To use the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool, you must install the rhn-applet RPM package, use the X Window System, and use the GNOME desktop environment.

Starting with Red Hat Linux 7.3, the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool appears on the GNOME Panel by default as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. GNOME Panel with Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool

If it does not appear on the panel, you can add it to the GNOME panel by selecting the GNOME Main Menu Button => Panel => Add to Panel => Applet => Red Hat Network Monitor. To move it around the panel, right-click on the applet, select Move, move the mouse left and right until it is in the desired location, and click the mouse to place the applet.

Configuring the Applet

The first time the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool is run, a configuration wizard starts. It displays the terms of service and allows the user to configure an HTTP proxy as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. HTTP Proxy Configuration

If your network connection requires you to use an HTTP Proxy Server to make HTTP connections, on the Proxy Configuration screen, type your proxy server in the text field with the format http://HOST:PORT. For example, to use the proxy server http://squid.mysite.org on port 3128, enter http://squid.mysite.org:3128 in the text field. Additionally, if your proxy server requires a username and password, select the Use Authentication option and enter your username and password in the respective text fields.

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To run the configuration wizard again, right-click on the applet, and select Properties.

Your preferences are written to the file .rhn-applet.conf in your home directory. The Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool also uses the system-wide configuration file /etc/sysconfig/rhn/rhn-applet. Do not modify the system-wide configuration file; it is automatically generated by the application.

You can also configure the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool not to list specific packages. To configure which packages to ignore, click on the applet, and select the Ignored Packages tab.