Friday, September 2, 2011

Update notification through email RHEL / Centos

As everybody know,the system should be update. So an administrator should be vigilant on the new updates and patches from the vendor. But how do we know there is a patch available in the remote server. Here a way to get notified when an update is available.

#vim /etc/yum/yum-updatesd.conf


[main]
# how often to check for new updates (in seconds)
run_interval = 3600
# how often to allow checking on request (in seconds)
updaterefresh = 600

# how to send notifications (valid: dbus, email, syslog)
emit_via = email
# who to send the email
email_to = admin@adminguru.co.nr

# who send the notifications
email_from = updates@backup.server.com
#
# should we listen via dbus to give out update information/check for
# new updates
dbus_listener = yes

# automatically install updates
do_update = no
# automatically download updates
do_download = no
# automatically download deps of updates
do_download_deps = no

Save and Exit

Restart the Yum updater

#/etc/init.d/yum-updatesd restart

You will be notified when an update is available. Sample Email is as follows.
Hi,
This is the automatic update system on server.backup.com.

There are 2 package updates available. Please run the system updater.

Packages available for update:

    kernel-2.6.18-92.el5
    kopete                       

Thank You,
Your Computer