Adding and Updating Software with YaST openSUSE

Adding and Updating Software with YaST

The Software area of YaST lists several items for maintaining software on your SUSE Linux system. These items fall under two basic categories: working with software from online servers and working with software from local directories, CD-ROM, or other disks on your system. You can also verify Installation and Patch CDs from this area. The following sections describe the available menu items.

NOTE    You can use some shortcuts to get to different YaST modules. Entering yast –l will show a list of modules you can enter at the command line without navigating the YaST dialog menus. For instance, entering yast  sudo at the command line takes you right to the YaST Sudo Configuration module.

Online Update

When you select Online Update, YaST automatically begins synchronizing your sys- tem with the latest list of patches available from the Novell update sources. You are then taken to a patch list and summary view where you can select which patches you want to install or apply to your existing system.

Once you are in the patch module, patches can be segregated into different groups by tabbing to the Filter item at the top left corner and pressing Enter to activate the pull- down menu. Select whether you want to view patches grouped into categories such

as New, Recommended, or Security related. You can also select the Search item from the pull-down menu to search for a specific patch.

Software Management

The Software Management module is the primary YaST module for adding, removing, searching, and getting information about software packages. From this module you can quickly search for packages and view descriptions from a summary list about which packages offer which functionality.

Page or arrow through the software packages, then select Actions to add or delete packages as you choose. Dependencies for each package are automatically resolved upon selec- tion. When you have made all your selections, Tab to the Accept item in the lower right corner and press Enter.

Much like the Online Update module, a filter is available to limit the software summary view by different criteria such as functionality groups (Office or Game software for instance), or only installed packages. To search for packages, use the Filter menu and select Search. For example, if you enter the word magick, the filter will return all the packages it knows about which have the word magick in them (such as the ImageMagick graphics conver- sion utility).

Once a list of packages is displayed, you can act on the list of packages by selecting the Actions item, then the All Listed Packages menu. From there, you can choose to install all packages, delete them, or update them. Packages to be installed or deleted are tagged in the summary window with a + (install) or - (delete) status flag, respectively. Selecting Accept and pressing Enter completes the tasks. Table 2-4 shows other status flags you may select from the Actions menu.

Table 2-4: YaST Control Center Status Flags

Status Flag    Description

+                       The package on this line will be added to the system.

a+                     This package was automatically selected by YaST to be added (dependency).

>                       This package has been selected for update (already installed).

a>                     This package is selected for automatic updating.

i                         The package is already installed.

-                        The package will be removed from the system.

---                      Three dashes show this package should never be installed (taboo).

-i-                      The package should never be updated or deleted. Keep the installed version indefinitely.

Add-On Product

The Add-On Product module is used for installing drivers or applications available from product vendors or third parties. From the Add-On Product module, you can select several different media types to install from, including FTP, HTTPS protocols, and CD or DVD. The SLP (Service Location Protocol) method, used by devices such as a YOU server to announce itself on the network, is also available.

Automatic Online Update

The Automatic Online Update module enables you to configure when your SUSE system obtains automatic updates. You can set the time and day to download and apply the updates. Daily and Weekly update intervals are available, as well as the ability to skip patches which may require administrative input (such as accepting a license agreement prior to installation).

Community Repositories

You can configure where your SUSE system obtains software from using the Community Reposi- tories module. By default, OSS and NON-OSS are the only repositories enabled. You can enable the main update repository here as well as the popular Packman repository and many others (scroll through the list to see more). The Videolan repository is for the VLC media player, which plays a wide variety of media formats, including DVD media. Other repositories that you might add at a later date include the NVIDIA repository with drivers for NVIDIA graphics cards, and the openSUSE BuildService repository.

Installation into Directory

The Installation into Directory module enables you to install additional SUSE Linux file sys- tems into a directory or create a tar file out of a file system. Using this method, you could use an offline file system as a test bed, or as an exported file system for a thin client or embedded device that could download its file system over NFS at boot time.

Media Check

If you have downloaded an ISO image and burned it to a disk, or if you want to check the readability of any of your DVD or CD-ROM media, you can do a read-test of that media using this YaST module.

Online Update Configuration

This YaST module enables you to configure support options and product updates from Novell. (Note that Novell registration now requires you to use a web browser to complete the process, so you will not be able to do this from within the curses-based YaST tool.)

Patch CD Update

If you have a Novell Patch CD (or a custom-made one), you can use this YaST module to install the patches from that disk. You can also make your own Patch CD to distribute among multiple machines, and use YaST to apply your own patches. For more infor- mation on creating your own Patch CD, visit the openSUSE website (http://en

.opensuse.org/SDB:How_To_Create_a_Patch_CD).

Software Repositories

You can add other repositories quite easily with YaST. The openSUSE web site (http://en

.opensuse.org/YaST_package_repository) offers links to several repositories you may find useful. If you wanted to add Guru’s RPM site you could do so like this:

1. Select the Software Repositories module from the YaST Control Center main menu and press Enter.

2. On the Configured Software Repositories screen, select the Add menu item at the bottom and press Enter.

3. The Media Type screen appears. Select HTTP and press Enter. You can optionally configure YaST to download the repository descriptions when setting up the reposi- tory now, or it will do so later when you use the repository for the first time. Uncheck Download repository description files if you do not want to do the download at this time. Select Next and press Enter.

4. The next screen shows the Server and Directory menu. In the Repository Name, enter Guru’s  RPM site. For Protocol, select HTTP and then enter ftp.gwdg.de for the Server Name. Under Directory on Server, enter /pub/linux/misc/suser- guru/rpm/10.3/RPMS/ and leave the Port field empty. For Authentication, you can leave Anonymous checked. Select Next and press Enter. You will be returned to the Configured Software Repositories menu where you should now see Guru’s RPM site enabled and ready for business.

5. Select Finish and press Enter. You should be prompted to accept the digital signing key for the repository you just entered. There is a warning given here that states There  is  no  trust  relationship  to  the  owner of  the  key, and further down says it is safest to skip it.

It is generally good practice to import keys to validate any software you install. How- ever, the YaST developers suggest it is “safest to skip” importing a key if you have reason to question its authenticity. You will have to decide where your comfort level is. To learn about other ways to verify RPM GPG keys, visit the GNU GPG home page at www.gnupg.org/.

Using zypper to Manage Software

Historically, SUSE Linux distributions relied, by default, on the RPM and YaST utilities for managing software. Much of this picture has been changing starting with the 10.1 version of openSUSE. Utilities implementing Libzypp have emerged, with

a utility called zypper being the focus for much of the command line package man- agement needs.

The zypper utility is designed to be compatible with the Novell Rug (Red Carpet updater) and ZENworks software management systems, but does not require the ZLM daemon to be running in order to operate. Furthermore, zypper does not use the ZENworks zmd database, so Novell recommends you not use zypper with ZEN- works. This leaves a lighter footprint on system resources as well as fewer require- ments for managing your software.

Zypper can be used to search for, install, remove, and update software packages as well as manage installation sources called repositories. Zypper offers a powerful way of managing software, much the same as APT for Debian and the Yum utility found

on Fedora and Red Hat Linux systems. What follows are some useful ways of manag- ing software on openSUSE using the zypper utility.