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Spacewalk (software)

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Spacewalk
Company typeOpen-source project
IndustrySystems management software
FoundedJune 2008; 18 years ago (2008-06)
FounderRed Hat
DefunctMay 31, 2020 (2020-05-31)
FateEnd-of-life; codebase forked to Uyuni by SUSE
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Red Hat (original steward)
ProductsSystems management tool for provisioning, patching, and configuration management
OwnerCommunity-driven (originally Red Hat)
Websitespacewalkproject.github.io

Spacewalk is a free and open-source systems management tool designed for provisioning, patching, and configuration management, distributed under the GNU GPLv2 license.

The project reached its end-of-life on 31 May 2020, with version 2.10 marking its final update. In 2018, SUSE branched off the Spacewalk codebase to establish the Uyuni initiative.

Capabilities

Key functionalities provided by Spacewalk include:

  • Inventory tracking of hardware and software components
  • Deployment and updating of software packages
  • Distribution of customized software bundles
  • System provisioning through Kickstart integration
  • Management and rollout of configuration files
  • Provisioning and lifecycle oversight of virtual guests
  • Client system auditing using OpenSCAP

System Design

The Spacewalk Server orchestrates system management and supports configurations such as primary servers, worker nodes, hierarchical arrangements, and geographically distributed proxy servers.

Supported client platforms encompass:

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS, Fedora, Scientific Linux, Oracle Linux
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), openSUSE
  • Solaris (limited support; deprecated)
  • Debian (limited support)

Management is accessible through a web-based interface for most tasks, a command-line interface for specific operations, and an XML-RPC API enabling programmatic control.

Integration with subscription services includes compatibility with vendor platforms like Red Hat Subscription Management (RHSM), Oracle ULN, and SUSE Enterprise Linux Server subscriptions.

Originally reliant on Oracle Database as the backend, Spacewalk incorporated PostgreSQL compatibility starting from version 1.7 released in March 2012.

Upstream and downstream versions

Various downstream distributions build upon the upstream Spacewalk platform to deliver their system provisioning, patching, and errata management solutions:

The scope of client operating systems, server platforms, supported architectures, databases, and subscription services differs among these variants.

Oracle Spacewalk

Oracle created a tailored version of Spacewalk to provide an alternative familiar environment for customers migrating from other vendors; however, Oracle Enterprise Manager remains Oracle's primary system management product.

This Oracle-specific Spacewalk edition is designed to run on Oracle Linux (OL).

Oracle Spacewalk Version Release Date Corresponding Upstream Version Server OS Versions Client OS Versions Notable Features
2.0 November 2013 2.0 OL 6 OL 5, OL 6 Initial release of Oracle Spacewalk
2.2 January 2015 2.2 OL 6 OL 5, OL 6, OL 7 Incorporated features from upstream Spacewalk 2.2
2.4 April 2016 2.4 OL 6, OL 7 OL 5, OL 6, OL 7 Added compatibility with Oracle Linux 7
2.6 May 2017 2.6 OL 6, OL 7 OL 5, OL 6, OL 7 'taskotop' monitoring utility introduced; elimination of system and software channel entitlements
2.7 April 2018 2.7 OL 6, OL 7 OL 5, OL 6, OL 7 'jabberd' support added; deprecated jPackage libraries; additional improvements
2.10 August 2020 2.10 OL 7 OL 5, OL 6, OL 7, OL 8 Extended support to Oracle Linux 8

Release notes for Oracle Spacewalk primarily document minor branding modifications and changes to GPG keys throughout the series of versions in the 2.x branch.

Red Hat Satellite 5

Red Hat Satellite 5 represents a licensed downstream variant of Spacewalk, enhanced to facilitate management of Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions. Throughout its supported period, Spacewalk functioned as the upstream source for Satellite, paralleling the relationship between Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. However, with the release of Red Hat Satellite 6—which employs a completely different technology stack—and the retirement of Satellite 5, more recent versions of Spacewalk have increasingly diverged from this close association, particularly in downstream derivatives provided by Oracle and SUSE.

SUSE Manager Server

In March 2011, Novell introduced SUSE Manager 1.2, which was derived from Spacewalk 1.2 and enabled administration of both SUSE Linux Enterprise and Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems.

At the openSUSE conference in May 2018, SUSE revealed Uyuni, a fork of Spacewalk that integrates Salt for configuration management and utilizes React for its frontend interface. Starting with version 4.0, SUSE Manager has adopted Uyuni as its upstream foundation.

Development

Red Hat crafted the Red Hat Network to handle subscription software management and developed Red Hat Satellite as a centralized management platform.

For Satellite version 5, the management capabilities were delivered through Project Spacewalk. In June 2008, Red Hat released Project Spacewalk under the GPLv2 license as an open-source initiative.

Satellite 5.3 marked the initial release built upon the upstream Spacewalk codebase.

Stewardship and governance

Per the 2015 Spacewalk FAQ, Red Hat:

  • Officially open-sourced Spacewalk under GPLv2 in June 2008.
  • Maintained sponsorship and support for Spacewalk as the upstream source for Red Hat Satellite 5, although this backing was anticipated to diminish as Satellite 5 approached its end-of-life.
  • Specified that Spacewalk does not serve as the upstream project for Red Hat Satellite 6 (launched in September 2014), which was redeveloped from scratch using a distinct set of tools.

The continuation of the Spacewalk project relies on community involvement.

Satellite 5 reached its end-of-life on May 31, 2020, coinciding with the termination of the Spacewalk project.

Releases

Release Release Date Server Version Selected features and notes
2.10 March 18, 2020 30, 31 Compatible with Fedora versions 30 and 31; bugfix update; final official release
2.9 January 14, 2019 27, 28, 29 Supports installation on Fedora 29; includes distribution support for RHEL 8 Beta
2.8 April 19, 2018 26, 27, 28 Introduced compatibility with PostgreSQL version 10
2.7 September 26, 2017 24, 25, 26 Added Taskomatic daemon monitoring feature
2.6 November 29, 2016 23, 24 Enabled synchronization capabilities with Debian/Ubuntu apt repositories
2.5 June 8, 2016 22, 23 Eliminated system and software channel entitlements
2.4 October 7, 2015 21, 22 Improved user interface standardization using PatternFly
2.3 April 14, 2015 20, 21 Discontinued support for Solaris
2.2 July 16, 2014 19, 20 Introduced support for RHEL7 and CentOS 7 clients
2.1 March 4, 2014 19, 20 Final release compatible with RHEL 5; enhanced OpenSCAP integration
2.0 July 19, 2013 18, 19 Added support for external PostgreSQL databases


Critiques

A 2019 analysis of Linux open-source patch management solutions highlighted Spacewalk's strengths in software inventory capabilities and active community backing, while also pointing out its restricted support for certain distributions, with particular challenges noted for Ubuntu.

Additional Information

Resources

Resource Description
Project GitHub Home Primary GitHub repository
GitHub Wiki Transferred from Fedorahosted.org TRAC at the end of 2016; some links may still be inconsistent as of 2017
Official Project Website Domain maintained by Red Hat; no updates since 2015 (as of January 2017)
User Documentation Official upstream user guides
FAQ Official upstream frequently asked questions
Deprecated FedoraHosted Wiki No longer maintained
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