How to activate CentOS 8 ELS with an activation key?

Issue

How to activate CentOS 8 ELS with an activation key?

Environment

• CentOS 8 ELS

Solution

1- To enable the CentOS 8 ELS repository on a server, follow these steps:

Disable the original centos 8 repos:

yum-config-manager --disable base 
yum-config-manager --disable extras 
yum-config-manager --disable updates

2- Download an installer script:

• For CentOS 8.4:

wget https://repo.cloudlinux.com/centos8.4-els/install-centos8.4-els-repo.sh

• For CentOS 8.5:

wget https://repo.cloudlinux.com/centos8.5-els/install-centos8.5-els-repo.sh

3- Run the installer script with keys:

• For CentOS 8.4:

sh install-centos8.4-els-repo.sh --license-key XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX

• For CentOS 8.5:

sh install-centos8.5-els-repo.sh --license-key XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX

The installation script registers the server in the CLN with the key and adds a PGP key to the server.

4- Verify that the installation was successful. To ensure the installation has been completed successfully, run the following command:

yum info els-define

It should return the info of an available package. If you see information about the package, you can be sure that the installation was successful. After this, you will be able to install updates from the repository using a regular yum upgrade command.

Example:

[els@centos8_5 ~]#  sh install-centos8.5-els-repo.sh --license-key XXXX-XXXXX
This server is not CentOS Linux release 8.5


[els@centos8_5 ~]# yum info els-define

Available Packages
Name         : els-define
Version      : 1
Release      : 1.0.3.el8
Architecture : x86_64
Size         : 7.0 k
Source       : els-define-1-1.0.3.el8.src.rpm
Repository   : centos8.5-els
Summary      : CentOS Server els-release file
License      : GPLv2
Description  : CentOS Server els-release file

Useful links

https://docs.tuxcare.com/endless-lifecycle-support/#centos-8-els