Patching

Apply security updates to RHEL servers and generate an HTML patch report. The playbook installs yum-utils, applies patches via the demo.patching.patch_linux role, optionally triggers an Insights Client scan, and publishes a patching compliance report to a dedicated report server. Runs in check mode by default so you can audit before applying.

Prerequisites

• Linux hosts in the Ansible Product Demos Inventory
• SSH connectivity via APD Machine Credential
• A host named reports in inventory to receive the HTML report (deployed by Deploy Cloud Stack in AWS)
• (Optional) Insights Client configured on target hosts for post-patch scanning

Survey prompts

Prompt	Variable	Type	Required
Server Name or Pattern	_hosts	text	Yes

Job templates

Template	Playbook	Description
LINUX ǀ Patching	linux/patching.yml	Apply security updates, optionally scan with Insights Client, and publish an HTML patch report

Why it matters

• Patching is the number one use case customers ask about — this demo addresses it directly
• Check mode lets you show a safe audit-first workflow before committing changes
• The HTML report gives stakeholders a tangible artifact without a separate CMDB integration
• Insights Client integration shows how AAP and Red Hat Insights work together for visibility
• Demonstrates role-based content reuse with the demo.patching collection

Presenter walkthrough

1. Explain check mode: Show the audience that this template defaults to check mode. ‘We can audit what would change before we touch a single package.’
2. Launch in check mode: Run against a group of RHEL hosts. Walk through the output — which packages would be updated, which hosts are already current.
3. Switch to run mode: Re-launch the job and change the job type to Run. ‘Now we apply the patches for real — same playbook, same survey, different intent.’
4. Show the report: Navigate to the reports server and open the patching report. Walk through the per-host breakdown of applied updates.
5. Insights integration: If Insights Client is configured, show how the post-patch scan updates the host profile in Red Hat Insights automatically.
6. Connect to the bigger picture: ‘For a full enterprise workflow with snapshots and rollback, check out Patch Cloud Stack in AWS.’

Talking points

• Check mode versus run mode is a powerful pattern — audit first, patch second, all from the same template.
• The HTML report is generated automatically on every run. Hand it to your change board or attach it to a ticket.
• Insights Client scanning after patching closes the loop — your compliance dashboard updates in near real-time.
• This is a single job template. For heterogeneous environments with Windows, snapshots, and rollback, we have a full workflow demo.

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