Unable to bootstrap SLES 12 clients with the WebUI

This document (000020862) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

SUSE Manager 4.2
SUMA client running SLES 12

Situation

Bootstrapping a SLES 12 client with the WebUI fails, and the following error appears in /var/log/rhn/rhn_web_ui.log:

ERROR com.suse.manager.webui.controllers.bootstrap.AbstractMinionBootstrapper - Error during bootstrap: An error has occurred during salt execution: unable to establish ssh connection.

Result:
stderr: "Usage: salt-call [options] <function> [arguments]

salt-call: error: Error while processing <function LogLevelMixIn.__setup_extended_logging at 0x7f42016ccc80>: Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/var/tmp/.root_3da051_salt/pyall/salt/utils/parsers.py", line 212, in parse_args
    mixin_after_parsed_func(self)
  File "/var/tmp/.root_3da051_salt/pyall/salt/utils/parsers.py", line 889, in __setup_extended_logging
    log.setup_extended_logging(self.config)
  File "/var/tmp/.root_3da051_salt/pyall/salt/log/setup.py", line 414, in setup_extended_logging
    providers = salt.loader.log_handlers(opts)
  File "/var/tmp/.root_3da051_salt/pyall/salt/loader/__init__.py", line 711, in log_handlers
    base_path=str(SALT_BASE_PATH / "log"),
  File "/var/tmp/.root_3da051_salt/pyall/salt/loader/__init__.py", line 161, in _module_dirs
    for entry_point in entrypoints.iter_entry_points("salt.loader"):
  File "/var/tmp/.root_3da051_salt/pyall/salt/utils/entrypoints.py", line 43, in _wrapped
    return f(*args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib64/python3.4/functools.py", line 472, in wrapper
    result = user_function(*args, **kwds)
  File "/var/tmp/.root_3da051_salt/pyall/salt/utils/entrypoints.py", line 58, in iter_entry_points
    entry_points = importlib_metadata.entry_points()
  File "/var/tmp/.root_3da051_salt/pyall/salt/ext/importlib_metadata/__init__.py", line 718, in entry_points
    ordered = sorted(eps, key=by_group)
  File "/var/tmp/.root_3da051_salt/pyall/salt/ext/importlib_metadata/__init__.py", line 716, in <genexpr>
    eps = itertools.chain.from_iterable(dist.entry_points for dist in distributions())
  File "/var/tmp/.root_3da051_salt/pyall/salt/ext/importlib_metadata/__init__.py", line 375, in entry_points
    return list(EntryPoint._from_text_for(self.read_text('entry_points.txt'), self))
  File "/var/tmp/.root_3da051_salt/pyall/salt/ext/importlib_metadata/__init__.py", line 658, in read_text
    return self._path.joinpath(filename).read_text(encoding='utf-8')
AttributeError: 'PosixPath' object has no attribute 'read_text'", stdout: ""

Resolution

The SLES 12 client is unable to meet the requirements to bootstrap with the WebUI, and must either be bootstrapped by using a bootstrap script, or by using the Salt bundle.

More information about bootstrapping clients with a bootstrap script can be found here:
https://documentation.suse.com/suma/4.2/en/suse-manager/client-configuration/registration-bootstrap.html

More information about using the Salt bundle with SUMA 4.2 can be found here, in our SUSE Manager guide:
https://documentation.suse.com/suma/4.2/en/suse-manager/client-configuration/contact-methods-saltbundle.html

If using the Salt bundle to bootstrap from the WebUI, please be sure to follow the instructions in the "Salt SSH with the Salt Bundle" section, as Salt SSH is also used to communicate with the client while bootstrapping with the WebUI. Here is a link directly to this section: https://documentation.suse.com/suma/4.2/en/suse-manager/client-configuration/contact-methods-saltbundle.html#_salt_ssh_with_the_salt_bundle

Cause

SLES 12 systems do not come with the version of Python required by the WebUI to complete this bootstrap. Python 3.6 is required on the client, but this is not supported on SLES 12.

Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.