Thursday, January 28, 2016

Linux Patch Management with Free Updates and Errata from Oracle

The Oracle Linux host has been successfully registered.
 
Next, type “yum update -y” to patch the host.
 

Linux Patch Management with Free Updates and Errata from Oracle

In March 2012, Oracle announced that Oracle Linux 4, 5 and 6 latest RPM patches, updates and erratas are available at no cost from separate yum repositories on http://public-yum.oracle.com. The Oracle public yum repository allows us to keep Oracle Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux system up to date to the latest update version, using the "_latest" RPM repository. The free Oracle Linux 4, 5 and 6 RPM patches, updates and erratas do not include Oracle support or any of the benefits of the Oracle Linux Support program.
 
Tip: By default Oracle Linux hosts are pre-configured to use the Oracle public yum repository

The Oracle Linux Support program offers the following benefits over and above the free Oracle Linux RPM patches, updates and erratas:
  • Full indemnification against intellectual property claims.  Remember the SCO lawsuits?
  • Use of the Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c Systems Management Plug-in for Linux for provisioning, patching, management and monitoring.  The Systems Management Plug-in for Linux has feature parity with Red Hat Satellite Server.
  • Access to additional Oracle software channels on the Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN).
  • The ability to create Support Requests with Oracle' World Class support organization.
The Oracle public yum server latest RPM channel include the base OS version installation RPM packages along with the latest software patches, updates and fixes. Patch jobs using the latest RPM channel update hosts to their respected latest version update with the latest software patches, updates and fixes. A patch job executed on a Oracle Linux 6 host would update the host from 6 to 6U3 with the latest latest software patches, updates and fixes. To keep a host at its respected update level, a valid CSI and the Unbreakable Linux Network is required. With the Unbreakable Linux Network, it is possible to register a host the el*/ol*_base channel along with the el*/ol*_patch RPM channel. When hosts are patched using the el*/ol*_base and el*/ol*_patch RPM channels, the hosts are patched with the latest software patches, updates and fixes from their respected update channel, i.e. 6, 6U1, 6U2 and 6U3.

To configure an Oracle Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 host to use Oracle's public yum repository, as root, change to the /etc/yum.repos.d/ directory and type “wget http://public-yum.oracle.com/public-yum-ol6.repo” to download the public-yum-ol6.repo file. Next, type “yum update -y” to patch the host.

The next example shows how to download the public-yum-ol6.repo file from Oracle, then update an Oracle Linux or Red hat Enterprise Linux host. Type the following commands as root:

# cd /etc/yum.repos.d/
# wget http://public-yum.oracle.com/public-yum-ol6.repo
# yum update -y
 
The next examples shows the public-yum-ol6.repo file.

Tip: You can enable any of the repositories in the public-yum-ol6.repo file by changing enabled=0 to enabled=1.

# vi /etc/yum.repos.d/public-yum-ol6.repo
[ol6_latest]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Latest ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
[ol6_addons]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Add ons ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/addons/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_ga_base]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever GA installation media copy ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/0/base/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_u1_base]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Update 1 installation media copy ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/1/base/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_u2_base]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Update 2 installation media copy ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/2/base/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_u3_base]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Update 3 installation media copy ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/3/base/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_u4_base]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Update 4 installation media copy ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/4/base/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_u5_base]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Update 5 installation media copy ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/5/base/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_UEKR3_latest]
name=Latest Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel for Oracle Linux $releasever ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/UEKR3/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_UEK_latest]
name=Latest Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel for Oracle Linux $releasever ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/UEK/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
[ol6_UEK_base]
name=Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel for Oracle Linux $releasever ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/UEK/base/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_playground_latest]
name=Latest mainline stable kernel for Oracle Linux 6 ($basearch) - Unsupported
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/playground/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_MySQL]
name=MySQL 5.5 for Oracle Linux 6 ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/MySQL/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_gdm_multiseat]
name=Oracle Linux 6 GDM Multiseat ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/gdm_multiseat/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_ofed_UEK]
name=OFED supporting tool packages for Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel on Oracle Linux 6 ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/ofed_UEK/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_MySQL56]
name=MySQL 5.6 for Oracle Linux 6 ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/MySQL56/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_spacewalk20_server]
name=Spacewalk Server 2.0 for Oracle Linux 6 ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/spacewalk20/server/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
[ol6_spacewalk20_client]
name=Spacewalk Client 2.0 for Oracle Linux 6 ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/spacewalk20/client/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
 
Table 3 lists the repository directives.
Directive Description
Explanation
baseurl
The location of the RPM repository, i.e. file://, ftp://, or http://. This directive is required
enabled
If set to 1, enables the RPM repository.
name
A descriptive name for the RPM repository. This directive is required
 
Tip: Consult the yum.conf(5) man page for additional details.
 

Install the oracle-rdbms-server preinstall RPM

The oracle-rdbms-server-11gR2-preinstall or oracle-rdbms-server-12cR1-preinstall (dependent on db version) RPM, formally know as oracle-validated, simplifies meeting the software and system configuration prerequisites for installing the Oracle Database, Oracle Enterprise Manager, and many other Oracle technology products on Oracle Linux 6. Installing the oracle-rdbms-server-11gR2-preinstall or oracle-rdbms-server-12cR1-preinstall RPM automatically installs all of the software RPM prerequisites for Oracle Database and Oracle Enterprise Manager, as well as meeting the system configuration prerequisites, such as creating an oracle user and the oinstall and dba groups, configuring the sysctl.conf settings, system startup parameters, user limits, and driver parameters. After the installation of the oracle-rdbms-server-11gR2-preinstall or oracle-rdbms-server-12cR1-preinstall RPM, you can confidently start the Oracle Database and Oracle Enterprise Manager product installer. The oracle-rdbms-server-11gR2-preinstall and oracle-rdbms-server-12cR1-preinstall RPMs are available at the Oracle Unbreakable Linux Network, on the Oracle Linux media, and from the Oracle public yum repository.
 
Note: A prerequisite for the oracle-rdbms-server-11gR2-preinstall and oracle-rdbms-server-12cR1-preinstall RPMs is the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK). 

To install the oracle-rdbms-server preinstall RPM from the Oracle public yum repository, as root type the following commands:
 
Install the oracle-rdbms-server-12cR1-preinstall package as the root user:
# yum install oracle-rdbms-server-12cR1-preinstall
 
Install the oracle-rdbms-server-11gR2-preinstall package as the root user:
# yum install oracle-rdbms-server-11gR2-preinstall
 
By default the public-yum-ol6.repo file has the ol6_latest RPM channel enabled. The Oracle public yum server latest RPM channel include the base OS version installation RPM packages along with the latest software patches, updates and fixes. Patch jobs using the latest RPM channel update hosts to their respected latest version update with the latest software patches, updates and fixes. A patch job executed on a Oracle Linux 6U1 host would update the host from 6u1 to 6U5 with the latest latest software patches, updates and fixes. To keep a host at its respected update level, a valid CSI and the Unbreakable Linux Network is required. With the Unbreakable Linux Network, it is possible to register a host the el*/ol*_base channel along with the el*/ol*_patch RPM channel. When hosts are patched using the el*/ol*_base and el*/ol*_patch RPM channels, the hosts are patched with the latest software patches, updates and fixes from their respected update channel, i.e. 6, 6U1, 6U2 and 6U3, etc...
 
Note: If the host is not 6U5/latest, once the oracle-rdbms-server preinstall is installed, edit the public-yum-ol6.repo file and disable the el6_latest RPM channel by changing enabled=1 to enabled=0.
 
The next example shows the el6_latest entry from the public-yum-el6.repo file with the enabled=1 flag, i.e. the el6_latest RPM repository is enabled.
[ol6_latest]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Latest ($basearch)
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
 
The next example shows the el6_latest entry from the public-yum-el6.repo file with the enabled=0 flag, i.e. the el6_latest RPM repository is disabled.
[ol6_latest]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Latest ($basearch)
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
 
A good practice after the rdbms-preinstall RPM installation is to set the password for the oracle user created during the script. As root, type the following:
$ passwd oracle
Changing password for user oracle.
New password:
Retype new password:
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.
$
 

Install the oracle-ebs-server-R12-preinstall RPM

The oracle-ebs-server-R12-preinstall RPM simplifies meeting the software and system configuration prerequisites for installing Oracle E-Business Suite on Oracle Linux 5 and 6. Installing the oracle-ebs-server-R12-preinstall RPM automatically installs all of the software RPM prerequisites for Oracle E-Business Suite, as well as meeting the system configuration prerequisites, such as creating an oracle user and the oinstall and dba groups, configuring the sysctl.conf settings, system startup parameters, user limits, and driver parameters. After the installation of the oracle-ebs-server-R12-preinstall RPM, you can confidently start the Oracle product installer. The oracle-ebs-server-R12-preinstall RPM is available in the Oracle Unbreakable Linux Network addons channel and from the Oracle public yum repository addons channel.
 
To install the oracle-ebs-server-R12-preinstall RPM from the Oracle public yum repository, as root type the following commands:
 
Next, using you favorite text editor edit the public-yum-ol6.repo file and enable the addons channel. Change the following line from:
[ol6_addons]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Add ons ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/addons/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
to:
[ol6_addons]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Add ons ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/addons/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
Now we can install the oracle-ebs-server-R12-preinstall RPM as shown in the next example. 
# yum install oracle-ebs-server-R12-preinstall -y
 

Install the oracle-em-agent preinstall​ RPM

The oracle-em-agent-12cR1-preinstall (use for Oracle Management Agent R1 through R3), and oracle-em-agent-12cR4-preinstall (use for Oracle Management Agent R4) RPMs simplifies meeting the software and system configuration prerequisites for installing the Enterprise Manager agent (Oracle Management Agent (OMA)) on Oracle Linux 5, 6, and 7. Installing the oracle-em-agent preinstall RPM automatically installs all of the software RPM prerequisites for the Oracle Management Agent, as well as meeting the system configuration prerequisites, such as creating an oracle user and the oinstall and dba groups, configuring the sysctl.conf settings, system startup parameters, user limits, and driver parameters. The Oracle Management Agent RPM is available in the Oracle Unbreakable Linux Network addons channel and from the Oracle public yum repository addons channel.
 
Note: If you allready installed the oracle-rdbms-server preinstall RPM, there is no need to install the oracle-em-agent preinstall RPM 
 
To install the oracle-em-agent preinstall RPM from the Oracle public yum repository, as root type the following commands:
 
Next, using you favorite text editor edit the public-yum-ol6.repo file and enable the addons channel. Change the following line from:
[ol6_addons]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Add ons ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/addons/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=0
to:
[ol6_addons]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Add ons ($basearch)
baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/addons/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
Now we can install the oracle-ebs-server-R12-preinstall RPM as shown in the next example. 
Install the oracle-em-agent-12cR1-preinstall RPM package for Oracle Management Agent R1 through R3:
# yum install oracle-em-agent-12cR1-preinstall -y
Install the oracle-em-agent-12cR4-preinstall RPM package for Oracle Management Agent R4:
# yum install oracle-em-agent-12cR4-preinstall -y
 

SSH and X11 Forwarding

Installing the Oracle software using the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) GUI requires local or remote access to the server' console or a remote X Windows (X11) session. Please note that the only software requirements on the Linux Oracle Enterprise Manager host for remote X Windows (X11) sessions is the xauth RPM package. The xauth RPM package handles the X11 forwarding authentication. X-windows and xhost are not required on the Linux Oracle Enterprise Manager host for remote X Windows (X11) sessions. 
 
SSH and X11 forwarding enables the redirection of an X11 session from a remote Oracle Linux machine to a local desktop. For example, from a local desktop, ssh to a remote Oracle Linux server using X11 forwarding and run the Oracle Universal Installer, i.e. by typing “./runInstaller”. The Oracle Universal Installer will be displayed on the local desktop and the Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c components can be installed on the remote Oracle Linux server.  
 
On the Oracle Linux server, enable X11 forwarding in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config by adding "ForwardX11 yes" to the file as shown in the next example.
 
Change
#X11Forwarding no
to
X11Forwarding yes
 
Once the "ForwardX11 yes" entry has been added to the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file, restart ssh by typing "service sshd restart" to enable X11 forwarding. With X11 forwarding enabled, the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) GUI can be exported from the Oracle Linux server to your local desktop.  
 
Tip: To aviod X11 challanges install the xauth and xorg-x11-apps RPMs on the Linux host. To check for the RPMs, as root type, rpm -qa | grep -i xauth and rpm -qa | grep -i xorg-x11-apps. To install xauth and the xorg-x11-apps RPMs, type yum -y install xorg-x11-apps xauth. 
 
To enable X11 forwarding from a Linux desktop, use the "-X" switch with ssh. For example, type "ssh -X oracle@" to create a ssh tunnel with X11 forwarding. Do not forget that -X enables X11 forwarding, and -x actually disables X11 forwarding. Also, using the su command within a SSH session with X11 forwarding breaks X11 authentication.
 
To test remote X Windows (X11), open a new ssh session with X11 forwarding enabled (ssh -X user@servername), and type xclock. The xclock application should open on your desktop. xclock is an X window client application that is included in the xorg-x11-apps RPM package. xclock is often used to test remote X Windows (X11) sessions.
 
Tip: To troubleshoot ssh connections, use ssh verbose mode, i.e. ssh -v -v -X user@servername
 
If your using a Windows PC, a PC X Server like XMing is required to run an X Windows session, along with an ssh client like putty that supports X11 forwarding.
 
If you get X11 forwarding request failed on channel 0 messages from an ssh connection, on the target Oracle Linux server edit the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file, and ensure that "X11Forwarding yes" is not commented, add "X11UseLocalhost no", and uncomment "AddressFamily any". Next, restart sshd by typing "service sshd restart", and your X11 apps will successfully run. 
 
Many Oracle DBAs and Apps DBAs need VNC console access to get their job done. VNC is easy to install and configure.
 
First, as root, access the host and install and configure the VNC packages. The next example shows how to install VNC, and then configure VNC to automatically start on every reboot.
# yum install tigervnc-server -y
Next, make the VNC server automatically start on every reboot.
# chkconfig vncserver on
 
Next, create the VNC password for the your Oracle DBA and Apps DBAs user accounts. The next example uses the user oracle account. Change the oracle account name to your Oracle DBA and Apps DBAs user account name(s). As root, su to the oracle user account. 
# su - oracle
$ vncpasswd
Password:
Verify:
 
Next, configure VNC for new user by adding the user name(s) in the /etc/sysconfig/vncservers file. Using your favorite text editor, edit /etc/sysconfig/vncservers and add your users with their setting.  
 
The next example shows the oracle user account configured with 1280x1024 display. 
VNCSERVERS="2:oracle"
VNCSERVERARGS[2]="-geometry 1280x1024"
 
You can add additional users each with unique display sizes, as shown below:
 
VNCSERVERS="2:userX 3:userX 4:userX"
VNCSERVERARGS[2]="-geometry 1280x1024"
VNCSERVERARGS[3]="-geometry 1280x1024"
VNCSERVERARGS[4]="-geometry 800x600"
 
Next, start the VNC server.
# /etc/init.d/vncserver start
 
Finally, using your favorite VNC view access the host by typing its IP address or FQDN with the port 2, i.e. 192.168.20.100:2.
 

Yum Command Examples – Repository Listing, Install, Uninstall, & Update RPM Packages

Installing, removing, and updating RPM packages is a fundamental Linux lifecycle operation. This section of the Oracle Cloud Cookbook introduces the most frequently used yum commands to query RPM repositories, install, uninstall, & update RPM packages.
 
Linux distributions have one or more package managers. The yum package manager is the default RPM package manager for Red Hat distributions such as Oracle Linux and CentOS. Yum stands for Yellowdog Updater Modified. Yum is a client command for updating RPMs from RPM repositories on yum servers. Yum servers maintain up-to-date RPM header and metadata that point yum clients to RPMs and their RPM dependencies.
 
The yum command requires an argument to specify the action to take. The most commonly used yum commands are:
  • install
  • remove
  • update
  • list
  • search
The install and remove commands work as expected, they install or remove the listed RPM packages. The install, remove and update commands determine what other packages must be installed or removed (dependencies) and presents the details for confirmation. Wildcards can be used in the package names to specify a group of related packages. For example:
# yum install 'foo'
# yum remove 'foo'
# yum update 'foo'
# yum install 'foo fie fo fum'
# yum remove 'foo fie fo fum'
# yum update 'foo fie fo fum'

Yum Repository Listing and Maintenance

The repolist command with its subcommands queries the RPM repository entries in a yum client's .repo files.
 
The next example shows the output from the "yum repolist enabled" command. The "yum repolist enabled" command lists a yum client's enabled repositories with the status and the number of RPMs.
# yum repolist enabled
Loaded plugins: rhnplugin, security
This system is not registered with ULN.
ULN support will be disabled.
repo id                                             repo name                                                                               status
el5_latest                                       Oracle Linux 5 Latest (x86_64)                                                 4,221
epel                                                Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - x86_64                       7,194
repolist: 11,415
 
The next example shows the output from the "yum repolist disabled" command. The "yum repolist disabled" command lists a yum client's disabled repositories.
# yum repolist disabled
Loaded plugins: rhnplugin, security
This system is not registered with ULN.
ULN support will be disabled.
repo id                                             repo name                                                                                     
epel-debuginfo                                Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - x86_64 - Debug                                        
epel-source                                     Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - x86_64 - Source                                       
epel-testing                                     Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - Testing - x86_64                                      
epel-testing-debuginfo                   Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - Testing - x86_64 - Debug                              
epel-testing-source                         Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - Testing - x86_64 - Source                             
repolist: 0
 
The next example shows the output from the "yum repolist all" command. The "yum repolist all" command lists a yum client's enabled and disabled repositories with the status and the number of RPMs.
# yum repolist all
Loaded plugins: rhnplugin, security
This system is not registered with ULN.
ULN support will be disabled.
repo id                                     repo name                                                                                             status
el5_latest                             Oracle Linux 5 Latest (x86_64)                                                                enabled: 4,221
epel                                      Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - x86_64                                      enabled: 7,194
epel-debuginfo                     Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - x86_64 - Debug                        disabled
epel-source                          Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - x86_64 - Source                        disabled
epel-testing                          Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - Testing - x86_64                        disabled
epel-testing-debuginfo         Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - Testing - x86_64 - Debug           disabled
epel-testing-source              Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - Testing - x86_64 - Source          disabled
repolist: 11,415
 
The "yum repolist -v" command verbosly lists all enabled repositories. The yum repolist -v command is useful to list the details from all configured repositories. The next example shows the output from the "yum repolist -v" command.
# yum repolist -v
Loading "rhnplugin" plugin
Loading "security" plugin
Config time: 0.048
This system is not registered with ULN.
ULN support will be disabled.
Yum Version: 3.2.22
Setting up Package Sacks
pkgsack time: 0.039
Repo-id      : el5_latest
Repo-name    : Oracle Linux 5 Latest (x86_64)
Repo-updated : Fri Oct 26 10:30:15 2012
Repo-pkgs    : 4,221
Repo-size    : 5.3 G
Repo-baseurl : http://192.168.4.13/yum/OracleLinux/OL5/latest/x86_64/
Repo-expire  : 3,600 second(s) (last: Fri Oct 26 16:47:06 2012)

Repo-id      : epel
Repo-name    : Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 5 - x86_64
Repo-revision: 1351273445
Repo-tags    : binary-x86_64
Repo-updated : Fri Oct 26 10:46:18 2012
Repo-pkgs    : 7,194
Repo-size    : 5.4 G
Repo-mirrors : http://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/mirrorlist?repo=epel-5&arch=x86_64
Repo-expire  : 3,600 second(s) (last: Fri Oct 26 16:47:13 2012)

repolist: 11,415
 
Clean the yum cache using yum clean
The yum clean command with its subcommands (clean [ headers | packages | metadata | dbcache | plugins | expire-cache | all) is used to clean the yum cache headers, packages, metadata, dbcache, plugins and expire-cache. The yum clean command with its subcommands is useful to make sure the yum cache is clean. The next example shows how to clean the yum cache.
# yum clean all
Loaded plugins: rhnplugin, security
Cleaning up Everything
 
Rebuild the yum cache using yum makecache
The yum makecache command downloads the metadata for all enabled yum repositories. The yum makecache command is useful to make sure the cache is current.
# yum makecache
Loaded plugins: rhnplugin, security
This system is not registered with ULN.
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el5_latest                                            | 1.9 kB     00:00
el5_latest/filelists_db                          | 7.1 MB     00:00
el5_latest/other_db                             |  20 MB     00:01
el5_latest/primary_db                         | 6.1 MB     00:00
epel                                                     | 3.7 kB     00:00
epel/filelists_db                                    | 5.5 MB     00:06
epel/updateinfo                                    | 473 kB     00:01
epel/other_db                                       | 2.3 MB     00:03
epel/group_gz                                      | 168 kB     00:00
epel/primary_db                                   | 3.8 MB     00:05
Metadata Cache Created
 

Listing RPM Packages & RPM Groups

List all available RPM packages using yum list
The yum list command without any options lists all of the packages in all configured repositories and all of the installed packages on a Linux host. Note thatyum list all and yum list generate the same output. The next example shows how to list all the available packages.
# yum list | less
 
List all the installed RPM packages using yum list installed
The yum list installed command lists all the installed packages on the system. The yum list installed command is equivalent to rpm -qa. The next example shows how to list all the installed packages on the system.
# yum list installed | less
 
Check if a particular RPM package is installed using yum list
The next example shows how to confirm if a package, i.e. ntp, is already installed. Substitute the RPM package name ntp with the name of the RPM package you would like to query.
# yum list ntp
Loaded plugins: rhnplugin, security
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ULN support will be disabled.
Installed Packages
ntp.x86_64                     4.2.2p1-15.el5_7.1                      installed
 
List available software groups with yum grouplist
Repositories offer package groups to manage related packages as sets. Many 3rd party repositories add packages to these groups and provide their packages as additional groups. The next example shows how to list all the available RPM package groups.
# yum grouplist
 
List which RPM package a file belong to with yum provides
The "yum provides" command lists which package a file belongs to. For example, to list the name of the package that has the /etc/ntp.conf file, type the following:
# yum provides /etc/ntp.conf
Loaded plugins: rhnplugin, security
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ULN support will be disabled.
ntp-4.2.2p1-15.el5_7.1.x86_64 : Synchronizes system time using the Network Time Protocol (NTP).
Repo        : el5_latest
Matched from:
Filename    : /etc/ntp.conf

ntp-4.2.2p1-15.el5_7.1.x86_64 : Synchronizes system time using the Network Time Protocol (NTP).
Repo        : installed
Matched from:
Other       : Provides-match: /etc/ntp.conf
 

Installing, Removing, Updating and Searching RPM Packages & RPM Groups

The yum install command installs including all of the required dependencies. The next example shows how to install the ntp package. Substitute ntp with the package you would like to install.
# yum install ntp
 
It is possible to install multiple packages by adding the package names to the end of the line.
# yum install foo fie fo fum
 
The yum remove command removes including all of the required dependencies. The next example shows how to remove the ntp package. Substitute ntp with the package you would like to remove.
# yum remove ntp
 
The yum update command updates including all of the required dependencies. The next example shows how to update the ntp package. Substitute ntp with the package you would like to update.
# yum update ntp
 
The yum update command updates all of the RPM packages that need to be updated, including all of the required dependencies. The next example shows how to update all of the packages that need to be updated.
# yum update
 
TIp: The -y option can be used to answer yes to all questions. For example, yum update -y would install all packages without having to type "yes".
 
The yum search command searches the enables repositories for the search term. The next example shows how to search for the ntp package. Substitute ntp with the package you would like to find.
# yum search ntp
 
Tip: Wildcards can be used with the search directive, such as * (match anything) and ? (match any single character).
 
The yum groupinstall 'the group's name enclosed in single quotes' command is used to install package groups. The following example shows how to install, update and remove a package group.
# yum groupinstall 'FTP Server'
# yum groupupdate 'FTP Server'
# yum groupremove 'FTP Server'
 

How to Uninstall or Remove Oracle Linux

There is not an option to “uninstall” Oracle Linux, although there are many ways to remove Oracle Linux from a system. The method you select to remove Oracle Linux or Red Hat Enterprise Linux from a system will depend on your organizations security requirements. For example, if the data on the hard drive needs to be securely deleted, formatting or re-partitioning the hard drive will not completely remove the data from the disks. To completely wipe Oracle Linux or Red Hat Enterprise Linux as well as the data from the hard disks, boot the system using data destruction application like Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) and wipe all of the disks. If the data on the hard drive does not need to be securely deleted, you could a) delete all the files on the disks b) format or re-partition the hard drives c) uninstall the bootloader and d) install another operating system on top of the existing one.
 
List 3 shows several of the options to remove Oracle Linux from a system.
  • Boot the system using data destruction application like Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) and wipe all of the disks.
  • Delete all the files on the disks, i.e. type “rm -rf /” as root.
  • Format or delete the partitions.
  • Uninstall the bootloader.
  • Install another operating system on top of Oracle Linux or Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

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  1. SmithJune 16, 2020 at 8:04 AM

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