MustGather: Guidelines for Gathering Newer SOS Version on Legacy RHEL Releases

Steps

• To use `podman` and pull the support-tools container image, first log in to the registry at registry.redhat.io

  [root@sos ~]# podman login registry.redhat.io
  Username: borislav.ivanov.stoymirski
  Password:
  Login Succeeded!

• To successfully install and execute the support-tools container image on IBM Power Servers running RHEL 7.9, and to efficiently collect an sos report archive from the host within the container image, the following command should be run:

  podman container runlabel RUN registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools
  

  (This command install and RUN the SOS package on RHEL 7.9)

  Trying to pull registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools:latest...
  Getting image source signatures
  Checking if image destination supports signatures
  Copying blob a7dde6f953b3 done
  Copying blob 068f2e6b47b2 done
  Copying config e8aa68d02c done
  Writing manifest to image destination
  Storing signatures
  
  

  Note:
  If a message, "Error: creating container storage: the container name "support-tools" is already in use by 828bd4de6a68cc4dbc1cc41c43cd2cba9920f84d29373496fa4f1aa357faf400. You have to remove that container to be able to reuse that name: that name is already in use

  
  Error: `/proc/self/exe run -it --name support-tools --privileged --ipc=host --net=host --pid=host -e HOST=/host -e NAME=support-tools -e IMAGE=registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools:latest -v /run:/run -v /var/log:/var/log -v /etc/machine-id:/etc/machine-id -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime -v /:/host registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools:latest` failed: exit status 125" , is displayed on the terminal after running the 'podman' command, type `sudo podman rm support-tools` to remove the `support-tools` container and rerun the 'podman' command to avoid issues with `sos report`.

  [root@Sos ~]# sudo podman rm support-tools
  support-tools
  

  To verify that you are connected and operating within a support-tools container, you can view environment variable by running:

  [root@sos /]# env | grep -i image
  IMAGE=registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools:latest
  

  Part 2: Air-gapped environment

  In an air-gapped environment, we first need to ensure that the container image is mirrored within an internal or private repository before installation. Alternatively, we can pull the container image (using podman pull), save it (podman image save), and transfer it as an archive from another system connected to the internet. Then, load the image on the target host using podman image load.

  Note: Installing a container image from a private repository is similar to Part 1 in the instructions above. Therefore, in the following steps, we will cover how to pull the container image (using podman pull), save it (podman image save), and transfer it as an archive from a system connected to the internet to a target host in disconnected environments. Then, we'll demonstrate how to load the image.

  • Fist on internet connected environment pull the container image as described in Part 1 in the instructions above. Next save the container image with following command:

  ~]# podman image save -o rhel8-support-tools.tar.gz registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools
  Copying blob 1a043bbc7a1a done
  Copying blob 38037578736a done
  Copying config e8aa68d02c done
  Writing manifest to image destination
  
  ~]# ls -l rhel8-support-tools.tar.gz
  -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 339899392 Jan  5 09:46 rhel8-support-tools.tar.gz
  

  • Transfer the 'rhel8-support-tools.tar.gz' archive to the disconnected system either by authenticating through the firewall using an SFTP server or by using a USB/DVD drive, depending on the recommendations from your IT security department.
  • Once the tar.gz archive has been transferred to the target host, run the following command to load the image:

    ~]# ls -l rhel8-support-tools.tar.gz
    -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 339899392 Jan  5 09:46 rhel8-support-tools.tar.gz
    
    ~]# podman image load -i rhel8-support-tools.tar.gz
    Getting image source signatures
    Copying blob 38037578736a done
    Copying blob 1a043bbc7a1a done
    Copying config e8aa68d02c done
    Writing manifest to image destination
    Loaded image: registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools:latest

  • Ensure that the container image is loaded correctly by utilizing the following command:

    ~]# podman images -a
    REPOSITORY                              TAG         IMAGE ID      CREATED      SIZE
    registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools  latest      e8aa68d02c27  8 weeks ago  340 MB
    

  • In case of an issue with the container image, it can be removed by executing the following command and using the IMAGE ID. In our case, the IMAGE ID is e8aa68d02c27:

    ~]# podman rmi e8aa68d02c27
    Untagged: registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools:latest
    Deleted: e8aa68d02c27820f90a016fcfb13d8669bdf32e17527ee3166cefe46bbc54cf6

  Part 3: How to generate a new sosreport archive from the Support-Tools container

  •  To execute the support-tools container image on IBM Power Servers running RHEL 7.x, and to efficiently collect an sos report archive from the host within the container image, the following command should be run:

    podman container runlabel RUN registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools
    

  • First, ensure that you are connected and operating within a support-tools container. You can view the environment variables by running:

  [root@sos /]# env | grep -i image
  IMAGE=registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools:latest
  

  • Next, generate a new `sosreport` archive by running the `sos report` command:

  [root@sos /]# sos report
  
  sosreport (version 4.6.0)
  
  This command will collect diagnostic and configuration information from
  this Red Hat Enterprise Linux system and installed applications.
  
  An archive containing the collected information will be generated in
  /host/var/tmp/sos.s_2own11 and may be provided to a Red Hat support
  representative.
  
  Any information provided to Red Hat will be treated in accordance with
  the published support policies at:
  
          Distribution Website : https://www.redhat.com/
          Commercial Support   : https://access.redhat.com/
  
  Creating compressed archive...
  
  Your sosreport has been generated and saved in:
          /host/var/tmp/sosreport-sos-podmansos-2023-11-25-kyarksu.tar.xz
  
   Size   21.77MiB
   Owner  root
   sha256 7e93464ca5246991cbe3cf098d8ef3ba3d018c133152c31bf81a6e32308b1e4b
  
  Please send this file to your support representative.
  

  Press ENTER to continue, or CTRL+C to quit.
  When instructed to “enter the case ID that you are generating this report for []”, type: <IBM or Red Hat case number >
  A file called "sosreport-nodename-currentdate.tar.xz" is created in “/host/var/tmp/sosreport-nodename-currentdate.tar.xz“

  • Exit the `support-tools` container by using `Ctrl+C` in the Terminal or detach from the container without stopping it with  `Ctrl+P` followed by ` Ctrl+Q`.
  • To see all containers, including those that have exited or stopped, use and copy the <Container ID>:

    [root@sos ~]# podman ps -a
    CONTAINER ID  IMAGE                                          COMMAND        CREATED         STATUS                    PORTS       NAMES
    145fb3e77c4f  registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools:latest  /usr/bin/bash  10 minutes ago  Exited (0) 9 minutes ago              support-tools
    

  • Use podman cp to Copy the File: The podman cp command allows you to copy files between a container and the local filesystem. To copy a file from a container to the host, use:

    podman cp <container_id>:/path/in/container /path/on/host

    For instance, if our <container_id> is 145fb3e77c4f, the following command can be used to copy the `sosreport` archive to the target host:

    [root@sos ~]# podman cp 145fb3e77c4f:/host/var/tmp/sosreport-sos-podmansos-2023-11-25-kyarksu.tar.xz /root/sosreport-sos-podmansos-2023-11-25-kyarksu.tar.xz

  • To return to a container that is still running, you can use the podman attach command if you want to attach to a container's STDIN, STDOUT, and STDERR, or podman exec to start a new process inside a running container. Here's how you can do it:

    1. Using podman attach:

       • If you want to reattach to the container's main process (for instance, if it's a shell), use:

         podman attach <container_id_or_name>

         (This command will reconnect you to the terminal session you detached from if the container is still running.)

    2. Using podman exec:

       • If you want to execute a new command or open a new shell inside a running container, use:

         podman exec -it <container_id_or_name> /bin/bash
         
       • For instance, if our <container_id> is 145fb3e77c4f, the following command can be used to execute a new command or open a new shell:

         [root@sos ~]# podman ps -a
         CONTAINER ID  IMAGE                                          COMMAND        CREATED         STATUS                    PORTS       NAMES
         145fb3e77c4f  registry.redhat.io/rhel8/support-tools:latest  /usr/bin/bash  10 minutes ago  Exited (0) 9 minutes ago              support-tools
         
         [root@sos ~]# podman exec -it 145fb3e77c4f /bin/bash

       • Here, /bin/bash is an example. It opens a bash shell inside the container. You can replace /bin/bash with any command you wish to run inside the container.
       • The -it flag is used for interactive processes, like a shell.

  Part 4: Transfer the log data to the existing IBM case via Ecurep URL:

  • Transfer the `sos report` archive to the target system.

    [root@sos /]# ls /host/var/tmp/sosreport-sos-podmansos-2023-11-25-kyarksu.tar.xz
    /host/var/tmp/sosreport-wgpuos-podmansos-2023-11-25-kyarksu.tar.xz

  • If required, transfer the file to a system with internet access. When using FTP as a protocol, make sure to use the binary transfer method.
  • Prepare the diagnostic data:
    https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/739597
    
    Send the diagnostic data to IBM:
    https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/enhanced-customer-data-repository-ecurep-send-data
    
    Secure upload the file to an existing IBM case via Ecurep URL:
    https://www.secure.ecurep.ibm.com/app/upload_sf