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Sep 12, 2025
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Updates to the MLM Quickstart #822

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8a303fe
Add Multi-Linux Manager version
joesusecom Sep 9, 2025
72ece19
Update version numbers for Edge and EIB
joesusecom Sep 9, 2025
11f5655
Enhance SUSE Multi-Linux Manager documentation
joesusecom Sep 9, 2025
546bedd
Comment out Kubernetes lifecycle management for now.
joesusecom Sep 10, 2025
d07da6a
Update SUSE Multi-Linux Manager documentation
joesusecom Sep 10, 2025
5a61f67
Format text for better readability
joesusecom Sep 10, 2025
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9 changes: 6 additions & 3 deletions asciidoc/edge-book/versions.adoc
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Expand Up @@ -10,8 +10,8 @@
// ============================================================================

// == General Edge ==
:version-edge: 3.3.1
:version-edge-registry: 3.3
:version-edge: 3.4
:version-edge-registry: 3.4

// == SUSE Linux Micro ==
:micro-base-image-raw: SL-Micro.x86_64-6.1-Base-GM.raw
Expand All @@ -21,8 +21,11 @@
:micro-default-image-iso: SL-Micro.x86_64-6.1-Default-SelfInstall-GM.install.iso
:version-sl-micro: 6.1

// == Multi-Linux Manager ==
:version-mlm: 5.0.5

// == Edge Image Builder ==
:version-eib: 1.2.1
:version-eib: 1.3.0
:version-eib-api-latest: 1.2

// KubeVirt
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32 changes: 20 additions & 12 deletions asciidoc/quickstart/suse-multilinux-manager.adoc
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:experimental:

SUSE Multi-Linux Manager is included in SUSE Edge to provide automation and control for keeping SUSE Linux Micro as the underlying operating system consistently up-to-date on all nodes of your edge deployment.
SUSE Multi-Linux Manager is included in SUSE Edge to provide automation and control for keeping SUSE Linux Micro as the underlying operating system consistently up-to-date on all nodes of your edge deployment. It can also be used to manage Kubernetes and applications deployed on Kubernetes on your edge nodes.

This quickstart guide is intended to get you up to speed with SUSE Multi-Linux Manager as quickly as possible, with the goal of providing operating system updates to your edge nodes. The quickstart guide doesn't discuss topics like sizing your storage, creating and managing additional software channels for staging purposes, or managing users, system groups, and organizations for larger deployments. For production use, we strongly recommend to get familiar with the comprehensive https://documentation.suse.com/suma/5.0/en/suse-manager/index.html[SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Documentation].

//For an introduction into using SUSE Multi-Linux Manager to manage the lifecycle of Kubernetes and your applications, see (((SCALABLE_EDGE_GUIDE))).

The following steps are required to prepare SUSE Edge for using SUSE Multi-Linux Manager effectively:

* Deploy and configure SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Server.
Expand All @@ -19,11 +21,11 @@ The following steps are required to prepare SUSE Edge for using SUSE Multi-Linux

== Deploy SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Server

If you already have an instance of the latest version of SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.0 running, you can skip this step.
If you already have an instance of SUSE Multi-Linux Manager {version-mlm} running, you can skip this step.

You can run SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Server on a dedicated physical server, as a virtual machine on your own hardware, or in the cloud. Pre-configured virtual machine images for SUSE Multi-Linux Server are provided for supported public clouds.

In this quick start we're using the "qcow2" image `SUSE-Manager-Server.x86_64-5.0.2-Qcow-2024.12.qcow2` for {x86-64} that you can find at https://www.suse.com/download/suse-manager/ or in the SUSE Customer Center. This image will work as a virtual machine on hypervisors like KVM. Please always check for the newest version of the image and use it for new installations.
In this quick start we're using the "qcow2" image `SUSE-Manager-Server.x86_64-5.0.4-Qcow-5.0-2025-04.qcow2` for {x86-64} that you can find at https://www.suse.com/download/suse-manager/ or in the SUSE Customer Center. This image will work as a virtual machine on hypervisors like KVM. Please always check for the newest version of the image and use it for new installations.

You can also install SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Server on any of the other supported hardware architectures. In that case pick the image that matches your hardware architecture.

Expand All @@ -46,10 +48,7 @@ When you boot SUSE Multi-Linux Manager for the first time you need to perform so

The next steps need to be done as the "root" user:

For the next step you need two registration codes that you can find in the SUSE Customer Center:

* Your registration code for SLE Micro 5.5
* Your registration code for the SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Extension
For the next step you need the registration code for the SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Extension that you can find in the SUSE Customer Center. The same code can be used for both registering SUSE Linux Micro and SUSE Multi-Linux Manager:

Register SUSE Linux Micro:
[,shell]
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -82,7 +81,7 @@ SUSE Multi-Linux Manager is provided via a container that is managed by Podman.
It is very important that your SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Server has the hostname configured with a fully qualified domain name ("FQDN") that the edge nodes you want to manage can properly resolve in your network!
====

Before you install and configure the SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Server container, you need to prepare the additional block device that you've previously added. For that, you need to know the name the virtual machine has given to the device. For example, if the block device is `/dev/vdb`, you can configure it to be used for SUSE Multi-Linux Manager using the following command:
Before you install and configure the SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Server container, you need to prepare the additional block device that you have previously added. For that, you need to know the name the virtual machine has given to the device. For example, if the block device is `/dev/vdb`, you can configure it to be used for SUSE Multi-Linux Manager using the following command:

[,shell]
----
Expand All @@ -105,13 +104,13 @@ Once the deployment has finished, you can log into the SUSE Multi-Linux Manager

For the next step you need your Organization Credentials that you can find on the 2nd sub-tab of the "Users" tab of your organization in SUSE Customer Center. With those credentials, SUSE Multi-Linux Manager can synchronize all the products that you have subscriptions for.

Select "Admin > Setup Wizard".
Select `Admin > Setup Wizard`.

On the `Organization Credentials` tab create a new credential with your `Username` and `Password` that you found in the SUSE Customer Center.

Go to the next tab `SUSE Products`. You need to wait until the first data synchronization with SUSE Customer Center has finished.

Once the list is populated, you use the filter to only show "Micro 6".
Once the list is populated, you use the filter to only show "Micro {version-sl-micro}".
Check the box for SUSE Linux Micro {version-sl-micro} for the hardware architecture your edge nodes will run on (`x86_64` or `aarch64`).

Click `Add Products`. This will add the main package repository ("channel") for SUSE Linux Micro and automatically add the channel for the SUSE Manager client tools as a sub-channel.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -176,7 +175,7 @@ Here is a simple example that installs SL Micro {version-sl-micro}, sets a root

[,yaml]
----
apiVersion: 1.0
apiVersion: 1.3
image:
imageType: iso
arch: x86_64
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -228,10 +227,12 @@ Download the package `venv-salt-minion` from your SUSE Multi-Linux Manager serve

[,shell]
----
curl -O http://${HOSTNAME_OF_SUSE_MANAGER}/pub/repositories/slmicro/6/1/bootstrap/x86_64/venv-salt-minion-3006.0-3.1.x86_64.rpm
curl -O http://${HOSTNAME_OF_SUSE_MANAGER}/pub/repositories/slmicro/6/1/bootstrap/x86_64/venv-salt-minion-3006.0-8.1.x86_64.rpm
----
The actual package name may differ if a newer release has already been released. If there are multiple packages to choose from, always pick the latest.

To work around an issue documented in the https://www.suse.com/releasenotes/x86_64/multi-linux-manager/5.1/index.html#_bootstrapping_sl_micro_6_1_clients[release notes] for SUSE Multi-Linux Manager, you also need to put the latest version of the build key package into the `rpms` directory (`suse-build-key-12.0-slfo.1.1_3.1.noarch.rpm` at the time this documentation was created). You can find it in the `Software` section of SUSE Multi-Linux Manager via the `Packages` tab of the Pool channel of SL Micro. There is a `Download` button in the `Details` view.

== Download the SUSE Multi-Linux Manager CA certificate

In `/opt/eib`, create a subdirectory `certificates`
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -262,6 +263,13 @@ If you have used a different name for your YAML definition file or want to use a

After the build is finished, you'll find the installation ISO in the `/opt/eib` directory as `eib-image.iso`.

That image can now be used to deploy nodes that will try to register with SUSE Multi-Linux Manager.

After the node has fully installed, you will see its key listed as `pending` in the `Salt/Keys` section of SUSE Multi-Linux Manager. Once you have accepted the key, the node will automatically be onboarded to SUSE Multi-Liux Manager and show up in the `Systems` list after that process is finished. It will have the system group(s) assigned that you provided in the activation key.

You should then schedule a reboot before applying any additional configuration.

Note that accepting the key can be fully automated using whitelists as described https://docs.saltproject.io/en/latest/topics/tutorials/autoaccept_grains.html[here].



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