Description

During RHEL bootc installations with Insights registration enabled (rhsm --connect-to-insights), the registration to Red Hat Insights fails with a connection error. However, manual registration after installation completes successfully on the first attempt.

Root Cause

The /var/lib/insights directory does not exist during the bootc installation process, causing insights-client to fail when called by anaconda's subscription module during installation.

Current Workaround

Anaconda has implemented a workaround by explicitly creating the /var/lib/insights directory before attempting registration during installation:

• Upstream PR: https://github.com/rhinstaller/anaconda/pull/6848 (merged)
• RHEL-10 Backport PR: https://github.com/rhinstaller/anaconda/pull/6852

Who Should Fix This?

This needs investigation to determine the proper fix location:

• bootc: Should the bootc installation environment provide the necessary directory structure for standard system services?
• insights-client: Should insights-client handle missing directories gracefully and create them as needed?

The issue is bootc-specific (doesn't occur with traditional package mode installations), but manual registration after installation succeeds, suggesting the directory structure is correct post-install.

Impact

• Severity: 100% reproducible on bootc installations with Insights registration
• User Experience: Registration fails during installation, requiring manual intervention post-install
• Scope: Affects both stage and production CDN environments
• Current State: Anaconda has a workaround, but a proper long-term solution is needed

Expected Behavior

Standard system services like insights-client should be able to function correctly during bootc installations without requiring workarounds from the installer.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Prepare kickstart file using bootc command together with rhsm --connect-to-insights
2. Start installation of RHEL-10.2 using the kickstart file
3. Observe Insights registration failure during installation
4. After installation completes, run insights-client --register manually → succeeds on first attempt

References

• Original Issue: https://issues.redhat.com/browse/RHEL-135111
• Anaconda Workaround PR: https://github.com/rhinstaller/anaconda/pull/6848
• RHEL-10 Backport: https://github.com/rhinstaller/anaconda/pull/6852
• Long-term Solution Discussion: https://issues.redhat.com/browse/RHEL-142674

Additional Context

This issue was discovered during RHEL-10 testing and affects both ostree and bootc installations. The anaconda team has implemented a temporary workaround, but we're opening this issue to raise awareness with the bootc team and determine the proper long-term solution location (bootc vs insights-client).