Question

I just installed Redhat 5.
As I read in some forums, without an installation key Redhat does not install some tools.
Which command shows whether the license key is updated or not?

Answer 1

Try looking here: /etc/sysconfig/rhn/install-num

This should tell you the license key that you have entered.

If you’re wondering what you’re missing out on if you don’t have a valid license key, check out What access and functionality do I lose when the support contract expires for a Red Hat Enterprise Linux product? on the RedHat support site.

From the site:

When you purchase an entitlement for Red Hat Enterprise Linux you are purchasing access to support resources and access to Red Hat
Network (RHN) resources, which includes all errata and updates.
Without and active entitlement you will not receive any support or any
updates. You will still be able to log on to RHN with your account
login, but will not have any active channel entitlements to receive
any errata updates. The up2date command will not work because there is
no channel to associate your system to. If you log in to
https://www.redhat.com/apps/support/ you can see your active
entitlements and all support resources that comes with those
entitlements. You can also log on to RHN and view your RHN
entitlements by clicking on the “Channels” tab at the top, then on
“Channel Entitlements” link on the left hand side. You will see your
current channel entitlement(s).

If you’re looking for a free alternative to RedHat, try out CentOS or Fedora.