EL 4/5 users: Import note about EPEL repos
by Michael DeHaan
The following note was cross-posted to Func-list and I need to update
the download pages for both apps to include this info:
Previously we've instructed users using RHEL and Centos 4/5 to get new
RPM's from EPEL testing. EPEL testing is a repository for packages
that works like Fedora, but for EL distros. We have said to use
testing because EPEL stable does not update frequently enough, meaning
we are unable to get bugfixes out when needed, etc. Now I've noticied
that when EPEL rolls from stable to testing (disclaimer: EPEL's concept
of stable is /wrong/ and it's no more stable than testing), it is
dropping RPMs so they are no longer present in testing. This means
just configuring EPEL testing is not enough anymore. In fact, it means
you probably need to mirror additional repos if you are mirroring EPEL.
(This seems normal for a testing repo, but the fact is that EPEL testing
is really not "testing", it's an EPEL repo that doesn't wait a month
between running updates. EPEL stable can actually be longer than a
month to update, if you post a package right before the monthly roll it
has to wait until the next monthly roll. Grr....)
Anyway, in that sense, EPEL testing works closer to Fedora, and EPEL
stable is like a "slow" Fedora. So we've been telling folks to just
use EPEL testing to compensate for the way EPEL works.
So the new deal is that to use EPEL you will need to configure both of
the following repos:
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/5/i386
and
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/testing/5/i386
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/5/x86_64
and
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/testing/5/x86_64
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/4/i386
and
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/testing/i386
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/4/x86_64
and
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/testing/4/x86_64
If you just configure stable, you won't be able to get prompt
bugfixes. (Never mind what "stable" means here, yes, it's a
misnomer). If you just configure testing, occasionally the RPMs from
the testing repo will disappear.
Hopefully this all gets resolved when EPEL finally gets support for
bhodi and there can be only one real "stable" repo you can use.
Bottom line: mirror both testing and stable if you are mirroring both
repos, and assign all systems to use both repos, or otherwise build from
source and use your own repos for that content.
--Michael
15 years, 7 months
Patch to automatically generate modules.conf and settings files
by Partha
Hey Michael,
I modified setup.py to automatically generate modules.conf and
settings file and dump it in the right place for the rpm build to pick
it up. I tested em on the base dir and they seemed to work ok .. Only
downside was that I was not able to get a proper rpm built due to some
func integration issues in the spec which I didn;t have time to look
at. But the correct files got copied over in rpm-builds, so I am
assuming it works ok.. You may safely delete the modules.conf and
settings in config and use this setup.py in the future. Basically
they use the templates in installer_templates and defulat values from
installer_templates/defaults file. Update the the templates on every
new config entry and provide a nice default in the defaults file..
I am working on other parts of cobbler setup will have something tomorrow..
Partha
15 years, 7 months
Best place to put extra files
by Chris O'Regan
I would like to distribute some post scripts via the Cobbler web server
and I am wondering where to place them. Any suggestions?
Looking at the man page, there is some mention of Kickstart tracking and
the "localmirror" directory. It would be great if I could use this to
track the progress of my post scripts. I am not certain how this works
or even if it is still available. Grepping through the source, I don't
see anything significant.
# rpm -q cobbler
cobbler-1.2.4-1.el5
Thanks,
Chris
15 years, 7 months
