Configuring the advanced RHSM download plug-in settings

For advanced configurations, manually edit the RHSM download plug-in configuration file called plugin.ini.

The plugin.ini file is automatically created when the download plug-in is registered from the Manage Download Plug-in dashboard. It contains the settings for logging and caching, as well as custom configurations for extending the repository list file.

On Linux systems, the file is in the root directory tree occupied by the download plug-in. For example, /var/opt/BESServer/DownloadPlugins/RHSMProtocol.

On Windows systems, the file is in the BigFix server installation directory. For example, %PROGRAM FILES%\BigFix Enterprise\BES Server\DownloadPlugins\RHSMProtocol.

Note: The plugin.ini is divided into sections, which are denoted by square brackets. Ensure that the options are under the correct sections. Moving the options to a different section might result in errors.

primaryRepoListFile: This list file contains the repositories that BigFix supports by default. Use either an absolute path or relative path.

extendedRepoListFile: This optional repository list is for extensions to the primaryRepoListFile, the default repository list. It has the same format as primaryRepoListFile. Use either an absolute path or relative path.

onlyUseExtendedRepoListFile: This is an optional configuration list file to limit downloads to only custom repositories as stated in the "extendedRepoListFile". Its value can be "yes" or "no". No is the default value.

localCache

This setting is used when the RHSM download plug-in is used in an air-gapped environment. The localCache field is a full path to the download directory, (--download_dir) that is specified when using the RHSM Download Cacher. Use an absolute path. For example,

localCache = C:\RHEL_Cache

localCacheOnly: This setting is used when the RHSM download plug-in is used in an air-gapped environment. By default, its value is set to "no". When this setting is set to "yes", the RHSM download plug-in will get its files from the localCache and will not attempt to get files from the Internet.

rootCertDir: This setting stores the relative path of the rootCertDir folder.

The following options require paths. Relative paths are relative to the download plug-in executable directory. By default, the executable file is in the DownloadPlugins\RHSMProtocol folder. Use the required corresponding path types as indicated in the following list:

file: Use either an absolute path or relative path
primaryRepoListFile: Either an absolute path or relative path
extendedRepoListFile: Either an absolute path or relative path
localCache: Use an absolute path

Setting the logging level

The logging level determines the amount of detail that is written to the RHSMPlugin.log file.

The available logging levels are as follows:

ERROR: Contains errors related to the execution of the download plug-in, which might indicate an impending fatal error.
WARNING: Contains information about failed downloads, and reasons for failure.
INFO: Contains general information outlining the progress and successful downloads, with minimal tracing information.
DEBUG: Contains fine-grained information used for troubleshooting issues. This is the most verbose level available.

You can change the logging level option from the [Logger] section of the plugin.ini file.

[Logger]
file = logs/RHSMPlugin.log
level = INFO

For example, if the logging is set to INFO, the logger outputs any logs for that level and any level above it. In this case, it outputs the INFO, WARNING, and ERROR logs.

Note: Setting the logging level to DEBUG increases the amount of information to log, which might impact performance. Only increase the logging level to DEBUG when investigating an issue, and switch back to INFO or WARNING after the issue is resolved.

Adding an extended repository list file

The RHSM download plug-in can be configured to work with repositories that are not officially supported by BigFix, such as debuginfo repository, if required. For more information, see Extending the RHSM Download Plug-in (Optional).