The RHN Package Manager is a command line tool that allows an organization to serve local packages associated with a private RHN channel through the RHN Proxy Server. If you want the RHN Proxy Server to update only official Red Hat packages, do not install the RHN Package Manager.
To use the RHN Package Manager, install the rhns-proxy-package-manager package and its dependencies.
Only the header information for packages is uploaded to the RHN Servers. The headers are required so that RHN can resolve package dependencies for the client systems. The actual package files (*.rpm) are stored on the RHN Proxy Server.
The RHN Package Manager uses the same settings as the Proxy, defined in the /etc/rhn/rhn.conf configuration file.
Before local packages can be provided through the RHN Proxy Server, a private channel is needed to store them. Perform the following steps to create a private channel:
Log in to the RHN Web interface at https://rhn.redhat.com.
Click Channels on the top navigation bar. If the Manage Channels option is not present in the left navigation bar, ensure that this user has channel editing permissions set. Do this through the Users category accessible through the top navigation bar.
In the left navigation bar, click Manage Software Channels and then the create new channel button at the top-right corner of the page.
Select a parent channel and base channel architecture, then enter a name, label, summary, and description for the new private channel. The channel label must: be at least six characters long, begin with a letter, and contain only lowercase letters, digits, dashes (-), and periods(.). Also enter the URL of the channel's GPG key. Although this field is not required, it is recommended to enhance security. For instructions on generating GPG keys, refer to the RHN Channel Management Guide.
Click Create Channel.