If you choose to use the Red Hat Update Agent (a standalone
tool for managing one system), you should
configure the settings first. This can be done using the
Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool.
You must be root to run the Red Hat Update Agent Configuration
Tool. If you try as a standard user, you will be
prompted to enter the root password before you can continue.
Follow the steps for configuring Red Hat Update Agent in the section called Configuring Red Hat Update Agent
before continuing to the section called Starting Red Hat Update Agent.
The Red Hat Update Agent Configuration Tool
can be started using one of the following methods:
From the GNOME desktop, go to =>
=> => .
From the KDE desktop, go to =>
.
At a shell prompt, type up2date-config.
Configure your network settings on the General tab (see Figure 12-2). Contact your
IT department to find out the proxy information you need, if any, to enter in
the field on this tab.
On the Retrieval/Installation tab (see Figure 12-3), you set whether or not Red Hat Update Agent automatically
installs updates once they are retrieved, whether you are informed of
all available updates or just those pertinent to your system, and
more.
On the Package Exceptions tab (see Figure 12-4), you can tell Red Hat Update Agent not to inform you of
certain types of files or packages. Use the
Add, Edit, and
Remove buttons to manage the lists of files and
packages to skip.
For more detailed information, see the Red Hat Network User Reference Guide at
http:///www.redhat.com/support/manuals/RHNetwork/ref-guide/.
After configuring the settings, you can use the
Red Hat Update Agent to retrieve the latest software
packages from Red Hat Linux.
You must be root to run the Red Hat Update Agent. If
you start the Red Hat Update Agent as a regular user,
you will be prompted to enter the root password before you can
proceed. The Red Hat Update Agent can be started using
one of the following methods:
From the GNOME desktop, go to =>
=> =>
.
From the KDE desktop, go to =>
=> .
At a shell prompt, type up2date.
The first time you run the Red Hat Update Agent, the dialog window in Figure 12-5 will prompt you to install the Red Hat GPG key.
This is used to verify the RPM packages you download for
security purposes. Click Yes to install the
key, and you will not see this message again.
After installing the Red Hat GPG key, the screen in Figure 12-6 will appear. It appears every time you start the
Red Hat Update Agent. Click Next to continue.
The first step is to select the channel(s) from which you want the
updated packages to be retrieved. Select one or more channels and click
Next. Refer to the Red Hat Network User Reference
Guide for more information on channels and how
channels are used to determine which packages to install.
After clicking Next on the Welcome Screen, the
dialog box in Figure 12-8 will appear. This means that a
connection to Red Hat Network is being established and that your customized list
of updates is being retrieved. This might take some time, depending on
the speed of your connection and the number of packages you have
installed.
While you see this dialog box, Red Hat Update Agent uses your unique Digital Certificate
(/etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid) to determine if there
are any updated packages available for your system. If there are no
updated packages available for your system, the dialog box in Figure 12-9 appears. Click Ok to
exit Red Hat Update Agent.
If your system is not up-to-date, your customized list
of available updated packages is displayed as shown in Figure 12-10.
By default, no packages are selected for
download. If you highlight each package, a brief package description is
displayed in the Package Information section at
the bottom of the screen. To select the package for download (and
installation if you chose that option), click the checkbox.
You can select all the packages listed by clicking the button next to
Select all packages.
If you want to view the advisory for the RPM Update, click the
View Advisory button. This will display what type
of Errata Alert it is and what problems it addresses as shown in Figure 12-11. Click Next when you are
finished selecting packages.
After choosing which packages to update, the
Red Hat Update Agent tests for RPM dependencies and
prompt you if you have chosen to omit packages that are required for
software updates that you did choose. The dialog box in Figure 12-12 is shown while it is testing. This process
might take some time depending upon how many packages are are updating.
Red Hat Update Agent shows the progress of each package
retrieval as shown in Figure 12-13. When they
have all been retrieved, the message All
finished is displayed at the bottom of
the screen. Click Next to continue. If you did not
choose to install the packages automatically, skip the next
section and go to the section called Installing Downloaded Packages. If you chose to have
packages install automatically, a screen appears showing you the
progress of the package installation.
