| name | system_unregister |
| description | Maintains the ansible/roles/system_unregister Ansible role that unconditionally unregisters a host from Red Hat Insights and Red Hat Subscription Management, as part of the Linux SOE. Use when decommissioning a host or removing it from RHSM/Insights. |
system_unregister
Maintains ansible/roles/system_unregister/. See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for the shared
conventions (role layout, audit vs. remediate via --check --diff, safety
rules, branch + PR contribution workflow).
ansible/roles/system_unregister/README.md documents this role's full
configuration surface (every defaults/main.yml variable, with its
original inline comments, rendered as a single reference). Read it
before proposing or explaining how to configure this role — it
reflects the role's actual current defaults even if a variable summary
elsewhere in this file has drifted out of sync with the role.
What the role actually does
Encoded in ansible/roles/system_unregister/defaults/main.yml:
- No configuration variables — running this role always attempts to stop
rhcd, unregister insights-client, remove Insights state files, run
subscription-manager unregister + clean, and remove any RHSM server
certs under /etc/containers/certs.d.
Each step is conditioned on the relevant package/state actually being
present (via package_facts), so it's safe to run on a host that's already
partially or fully unregistered.
This role is sourced from the myllynen/rhel-ansible-roles import
(see git log -- ansible/roles/system_unregister) rather than hand-authored for this
repo. Unlike the original reference domains (e.g. timesync, usbguard_setup),
it applies state declaratively via standard Ansible modules and does not
add its own assert-based drift checks on top — an audit here is exactly
what --check --diff reports from the underlying modules, nothing more.
What to do
Audit (read-only, safe to run any time):
ansible-playbook ansible/configure_rhel.yml --tags system_unregister --check --diff
Summarize the diff output and any failed tasks in plain language.
Remediate (modifies the system — only after the user explicitly asks):
first summarize what will change from the --check --diff output, then run
the same command without --check:
ansible-playbook ansible/configure_rhel.yml --tags system_unregister
Note this only works at all if system_unregister has been uncommented in
ansible/configure_rhel.yml's roles: list first — see "Wiring into the
SOE" below; by default the tag matches nothing.
Propose a change to the role itself: never edit and commit directly. On a
branch named soe/system_unregister/<short-desc>, edit ansible/roles/system_unregister/, validate
locally (--syntax-check, ansible-lint roles/system_unregister/, and
--check --diff against a real/test host if available), then push and open a
PR titled [system_unregister] <what changed> with the --check --diff output in the
body. Then stop — a human reviews and merges; see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md's
"Contribution workflow".
Notes
- This is destructive to the host's ability to get RHEL/Satellite content
until re-registered via
repository_setup (or manually) — this is a
decommissioning action, not something to include in a routine SOE
compliance run. Confirm the host is actually being decommissioned before
remediating.
Wiring into the SOE
This role is not present at all in ansible/configure_rhel.yml's
roles: list — not even as a commented-out line — nor in any of the other
playbooks (load_balancer_setup.yml, nfs_client_setup.yml,
nfs_server_setup.yml, update_rhel.yml, connect_linux.yml). This is
deliberate: it acts unconditionally with no guard variable and would
de-register every host it touched, so it must never run as a side effect
of a routine baseline run.
To actually invoke it, add - system_unregister directly to
ansible/configure_rhel.yml's roles: list yourself before running the
commands above, or write a small dedicated decommissioning playbook —
either way, propose it via the branch + PR workflow, and treat adding it to
configure_rhel.yml permanently as a cross-cutting, high-blast-radius
change needing an explicit human decision, same as it was under the old
ansible/site.yml. This repo no longer uses ansible/site.yml; see
docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.
