Stacking Subscriptions

Some subscriptions define a count which works as a restriction on the subscription. For example, counts can be set on the number of sockets or CPUs on a machine, the number of virtual guests on a host, or the number of clients in a domain.

The entire count must be covered for the system to be fully entitled. If there are four sockets on a machine, then the server subscriptions must cover four sockets, or if there are eight guests, then there must be enough to cover all eight guests.

Many subscriptions can be combined together to cover the count on the system. Two subscriptions for RHEL Server for 2-Sockets can be combined together to cover a four-socket machine. These subscriptions can be stacked.

There are some rules on what subscriptions can be stacked:

• Subscriptions can be stacked by using multiple quantities from the same subscription set.

• Subscriptions from different contracts can be stacked together.
• Only the same product subscription can be stacked. RHEL Server for 2-Sockets can be stacked with another RHEL Server for 2-Sockets subscription, but not with RHEL Server for Virtualization, even if they both cover the socket count.
• Stackable entitlements are indicated in the Subscription Manager UI with an asterisk (*). In the UI, available subscriptions are grouped first by what subscriptions are compatible for stacking, and then by other available subscriptions.

To stack subscriptions in the Subscription Manager UI, simply set the Quantity field to the required quantity to cover the count.

Figure 14.13. Stacking Quantities

To stack subscriptions from the command line, use the --quantity option. The quantity taken applies to the product in the --pool option:

[root@server1 ~]# subscription-manager subscribe --pool=XYZ01234567 --quantity=2