Configure a device in the onboarding wizard

Use the Cockpit onboarding wizard to set the device hostname, labels, network settings, and operator credentials for late binding before the device enrolls into Red Hat Edge Manager. Review the configuration on a summary screen before the wizard applies changes.

Before you begin

  • You completed the steps in Access the onboarding wizard.
  • You know the hostname, network settings, and labels that the device requires at your deployment site.
  • When the image does not include enrollment credentials, you have operator credentials that authorize certificate requests to the Red Hat Edge Manager service. Examples include a username and password on standalone Red Hat Enterprise Linux deployments or an Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform token.
Note

The wizard uses three different credential types:

  • Onboarding user: the temporary local Cockpit account on the device. See Access the onboarding wizard.
  • Operator credentials: your Red Hat Edge Manager service login, which authorizes the wizard to request enrollment certificates from the server.
  • Enrollment certificate: what the device agent uses to communicate securely with the Red Hat Edge Manager service during enrollment. The wizard generates this certificate automatically; you do not enter it manually.

Procedure

  1. Configure the production network interface:
    • Select the interface the device uses to reach the Red Hat Edge Manager service.
    • Configure IPv4 with DHCP or static addressing.
    • Configure IPv6 when your deployment site requires it.
    • Set DNS servers, gateway, and related settings when you use static addressing.
    • Select a VLAN when your deployment site requires VLAN tagging.
    • When the production interface uses WiFi, configure connection to the site access point or router. This step is separate from the temporary WiFi network you use to access the wizard.
  2. Optional: Configure NTP servers when your deployment site requires time synchronization before enrollment.
  3. Optional: Configure an HTTP proxy for system-wide use when your deployment site requires it.
  4. In the onboarding wizard, set the device hostname.
  5. Optional: Add device labels as key/value pairs.

    Labels that you enter in the wizard are written to /etc/flightctl/conf.d/50-cockpit-labels.yaml and included in the enrollment request. Use labels to identify the device during enrollment approval. For example, add site, rack, or alias labels. For more information about how the agent processes label drop-ins during enrollment, see Device alias and enrollment labels in the Additional resources section.

  6. When the image does not already include enrollment credentials, configure late binding in the wizard. Enter operator credentials so the wizard can request an enrollment certificate from the Red Hat Edge Manager service; you do not enter the enrollment certificate manually.
    • Enter the Red Hat Edge Manager enrollment endpoint URL.
    • Enter operator credentials to authenticate to the Red Hat Edge Manager service.
  7. Review all settings on the summary screen.
  8. Select Apply to commit the configuration.

    The onboarding service applies your settings, enables production network connectivity, and runs validation checks. When validation succeeds, the service cleans up temporary resources, disables itself, and the Red Hat Edge Manager agent enrolls the device automatically. Approve the enrollment request in the Red Hat Edge Manager web console or by using the Flight Control CLI, or configure an enrollment approval policy to auto-approve requests that match conditions such as labels or region. See Enrolling devices in the Additional resources section.

    When provisioning and production traffic share one physical interface, the wizard warns you before it applies production settings. After you select Apply, the wizard delegates cleanup to a background process so that it completes even when the browser connection is lost during the network change.

    Additional resources