Lecture 11 Red Hat Package Management

Linux Based Networks Zahid Shafique, Instructor
Linux Based Networks

Punjab University College of Information Technology
Instructor: Zahid Shafique

<z_shafique@hotmail.com>
Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 1

Package Management with RPM

Introduction To Package Management
This section will introduce you to the basic concepts of package

management.
Which is the fundamental means for you to install and manage software
on your Red Hat Linux system.

What Is Package Management?
The package management system is the part of your Linux system that
enables you to install, uninstall, and manage the software on your
machine.
If you are familiar with Microsoft Windows 95, this is similar to the
Add/Remove Programs option in the Windows Control Panel.
Though in Linux, it is generally much more flexible and easier to query.

Red Hat Package Manager (RPM)
Almost all distributions of Linux include some kind of package

management system.
The most popular of these is the Red Hat package manager (RPM), and
this is the system discussed in this lecture.

The tasks you can perform with RPM…
RPM enables you to perform the basic tasks of

Installing and uninstalling packages.
Analyzing the disk space used by certain software
Verifying that a particular package's files have not been deleted or
corrupted.
To verify the package is installed or not and on which location

What Is a Package?
A package is a special file that contains the directories and files that are
part of a particular piece of software or system component.
It also contains additional information about the software that is used by

the package manager.
Two different kinds of packages exist: binary and source.

Binary Package
A binary package contains software components that have already been

built for a particular architecture and are ready to use. This is the kind
you normally install on your system.
Binary package filenames end in the suffix . rpm

Source Package
A source package contains the source code and other items used
to build the corresponding binary package.
Source packages are provided in the event that you want to
modify—and recompile—a program yourself.
Source Package filenames end in the suffix . src. rpm.

Note!
From now on in this lecture, wherever there is an unqualified reference

to a package, it is a reference to a binary package.

Syntax of RPM
You use RPM from the command line in the format
#rpm [options] package_name
Where options is one of many different flags used by RPM to

manipulate packages.
Package name indicates the software package to be used.

What's In a Name?
A binary package has a filename that looks similar to the one shown in
Figure

The Package
The first pan of the filename is a short string that identifies the package.

Version Number
After the name is the version number (in this case 0.2), which identifies
the version of the software contained in the package.

Release Number
This is followed by the package release number (5).

Distinguish between the

Software version, and the Package release
The version number is the version of the software that is provided by

the package. In the example in Figure, it is ed, version 0.2. This number
is set by the original author of the software, who is often different
from the person who created the package for the software. The version
number reflects the status of the software.
The release number refers to the version of this package of the

software. Sometimes, even if the original software inside the package has
not changed, it is necessary to repackage it. The release number
indicates which instance of the package this is.

Architecture for the Package
After the release number is a short string that indicates the architecture
for the package.
Software that has been compiled for a particular processor or machine

architecture.
For example, packages with programs compiled for Intel x86 or

compatible processors usually include the architecture string i386

noarch string
In some cases, the contents of a package are independent of any

machine architecture (for example, a package that only contains icons
and not executable programs). In these cases, the architecture string
noarch is used.

Some common Architecture strings

Table shows some common architecture strings.
String Processor
noarch Any
i386. i586. i686 Intel x86, Pentium, and compatibles
alpha DEC Alpha
sparc Sun Sparc
mips MIPS
ppc PowerPC
m68k Motorola 68000 family

Where To find Packages
If you are using an RPM-base distribution, your installation media or

download site will have appropriate packages.

Working with rpm

Just to get acquainted with the rpm command, try using it to examine the
contents of a package right now.
Table shows a basic summary of the important options for rpm.
Option Sub-Option Meaning

-q Query
-i Show detailed package information
-l List all files
-d List only documentation files
-c List only configuration files
-f Find which package owns a file
-p Operate on a package file
--scripts View install/uninstall scripts
-i Install
-e Erase (uninstall)
Working with rpm(cont…)
Option Sub-Option Meaning

-U Upgrade, or install if the package is not
already installed
-F Freshen (upgrades a package only if it is
already installed)
-V Verify a package installation
-b Build a package

The First Step
We'll use Red Hat Linux as an example for demonstration purposes.
Be sure that the Red Hat Linux Installation CD-ROM is in the CD-ROM
drive and that it is mounted.
If not, as superuser, mount it using the following command:

#mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
Now, cd to the directory /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS, and list the files in

this directory. You see many packages listed.

How to examine the information about a package?
# rpm -qip quota-1.66-6.i386.rpm
Name : quota Relocations: (not relocateable)

Version : 1.66 Vendor: Red Hat Software
Release : 6 Build Date: Tue Apr 13 11:05:47 1999
Install date: (not installed) Build Host: porky.devel.redhat.com
Group : System Environment/Base Source RPM: quota-1.66-6.src.rpm
Size : 79332 License: BSD
Packager : Red Hat Software <http://developer.redhat.com/bugzilla>
Summary : System administration tools for monitoring users' disk usage.
Description :
The quota package contains system administration tools for
monitoring and limiting users' and or groups' disk usage, per
filesystem.

To see a listing of the files in the package
To see a listing of the files in this package, type the following:

#rpm -qpl quota-1.66-6.i386.rpm
This prints a listing of files included in the quota package.

Querying Packages with RPM
To see what packages are installed on your system, you can

use the following command:
#rpm -qa
This command lists every package currently installed on your
system.
To get information on a specific package, just use the -q
option.

Options you can use with rpm -q

Table below provides the various options you can use with the
rpm -q command to query RPM packages.
Option Description
-q name Provides the package name, version, and
release number
-qa Lists all packages currently installed
-qf file Queries the package associated with file
-qp package Queries package
-qi package Provides the name, description, release,
size, build date, installation date, and other
miscellaneous information about package
-ql package

Installing Packages with RPM

To install a package from the command line, you use the -i option like
this:
#rpm -i quota-1.66-6.i386.rpm
This command installs the quota package on your system. The -i
option instructs the rpm command to install the package quota-1.66-
6.i386.rpm onto the local system.

Steps RPM goes through during installation.
To run the installation, RPM goes through a series of steps:
Checks dependency: -Each package may depend on other software

already being installed.
Checks conflicts:-RPM checks to see whether a component is already

installed or that the component is not older than the one currently
installed.
Processes configuration files:- RPM attempts to provide a proper

configuration file, and if it finds a previous configuration file, it saves
that file for future reference.

RPM Steps (Cont…)
• Installs files:- RPM unpacks the various components from the

package and places them in the proper directories.
• Performs post-installation processing:- After installing the various
components, RPM performs any necessary tasks to properly configure
the system.
• Updates the database:- RPM keeps track of all its action via a
database.

No Feedback
The command provides no feedback during the installation, but you can
use the -v (verbose) option to get more information.

Install options used with RPM

Table provides a list of other options you can use during installation.
Option Description
-vv Provides very verbose information.
-h Prints hash marks (#) periodically during
installation. These marks allow you to see that RPM
is actually doing something and is not just hung.
-percent Prints the percent completed during installation
instead of #.
-test Does not install the package, but performs a dry run
to test installation and reports any errors.
-replacefiles Replaces files from other packages.
-force Tells RPM to ignore certain conflict errors and
install the package anyway.
Tip
You can also use the -nodeps

option to force an installation. Be
careful using the -nodeps option.
If you remove a package on
which another program depends,
that program might not work
correctly in the future.

Uninstalling Packages with RPM
Fortunately, RPM makes uninstalling a package just as easy as installing

one.
To uninstall a package, you use the -e option:
#rpm -e quota-1.66-6.i386.rpm

Tip
You can indicate the RPM package by name only such as
#rpm -e quota
without the version indicators and it will work.
The only exception is if you have more than one version of the
package installed.

Steps RPM goes through during uninstallation.
When erasing a package from your system, RPM goes through the
following sequence of actions:
Checks dependencies:- RPM checks its database to see whether any

other packages depend on this database. If so, RPM does not delete
the package unless explicitly told to do so.
Executes scripts:- RPM executes a pre-uninstall script.
Checks configuration files:- RPM saves a copy of any modified

configuration files.

RPM Steps (Cont…)
• Deletes files:- RPM deletes every file associated with the specified
package.
• Executes scripts:- RPM executes a post-uninstall script.
• Updates the database:- RPM removes all references to the package

from its database.

Tips
You can use the -v and -vv options to get

verbose information from the erase command.
You can also use the -test option to see what

problems might occur if you were to really
remove the package.
Finally, you can use the -nodeps option to tell

RPM to ignore dependencies and go ahead and
remove the package.

Updating Packages with RPM
With the -U (note the uppercase) option.
Say someone has added several new features to the quota program and
released a new package called quota-2.01-1.i386.rpm.
To upgrade to the new version, you would use the following command:
#rpm -Uvh quota-2.01-1.i386.rpm

Updating Packages with RPM (cont…)
While upgrading, RPM installs the specified package and then erases
all the older versions of the packages (if any exist).
While RPM is upgrading a package, you might see a message like the
following, indicating that a configuration file is being saved to a new
file:
#Saving syslog.conf to syslog.conf.rpmsave

Verifying Packages with RPM
The final RPM mode verifies a package.
Say you suspect that a file has been corrupted accidentally.
You need to compare the current files against the originals you installed.
RPM allows you to do so with the -V option (note the uppercase).

Verifying a package compares

The size
MD5 checksum
File permissions
File type
File owner
Group settings.
For example, to verify the quota package, you enter the following:
#rpm -V quota

Verifying Packages with RPM (cont…)
If nothing has changed, RPM does not display any output.

If something has changed, RPM displays a string of eight characters
indicating what has changed and the name of the file that has
changed.

Verification Failure Codes

Table lists the possible output codes.
Code Meaning
c The file is a configuration file.
5 The file failed the MD5 checksum test.
S The file size has changed since installation.
L A problem exists with the symbolic links.
T The file modification time does not match the original.
D This code indicates a device attribute.
U The user setting is different.
G The group setting is different.
M The mode differs, either in permission or file type.
Tip
The following command verifies

all installed packages on your
system:
#rpm -Va

Today’s Agenda


Exercise:

Homework
• Homework this week:
• Next week:

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Linux Based Networks Zahid Shafique, Instructor

Linux Based Networks

Instructor: Zahid Shafique

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 1

Package Management with RPM

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 2

Introduction To Package Management

This section will introduce you to the basic concepts of package

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 3

What Is Package Management?

Though in Linux, it is generally much more flexible and easier to query.

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 4

Red Hat Package Manager (RPM)

Almost all distributions of Linux include some kind of package

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 5

The tasks you can perform with RPM…

RPM enables you to perform the basic tasks of

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 6

It also contains additional information about the software that is used by

Two different kinds of packages exist: binary and source.

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 7

A binary package contains software components that have already been

Binary package filenames end in the suffix . rpm

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 8

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 9

From now on in this lecture, wherever there is an unqualified reference

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 10

You use RPM from the command line in the format

#rpm [options] package_name

Where options is one of many different flags used by RPM to

Package name indicates the software package to be used.

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 11

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 12

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 13

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 14

This is followed by the package release number (5).

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 15

Distinguish between the

The version number is the version of the software that is provided by

The release number refers to the version of this package of the

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 16

Architecture for the Package

Software that has been compiled for a particular processor or machine

For example, packages with programs compiled for Intel x86 or

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 17

In some cases, the contents of a package are independent of any

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 18

Some common Architecture strings

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 19

Where To find Packages

If you are using an RPM-base distribution, your installation media or

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 20

Working with rpm

Option Sub-Option Meaning

Working with rpm(cont…)

Option Sub-Option Meaning

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 22

The First Step

We'll use Red Hat Linux as an example for demonstration purposes.

If not, as superuser, mount it using the following command:

Now, cd to the directory /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS, and list the files in

Topic Heading Class Meeting # Slide : 23

How to examine the information about a package?