The floppy Group

If, for whatever reason, console access is not appropriate for you and you need to give non-root users access to your system’s diskette drive, you can do so with the floppy group. Simply add the user(s) to the floppy group using the tool of your choice. Here is an example showing how gpasswd can be used to add user fred to the floppy group:

[root@bigdog root]# gpasswd -a fred floppy Adding user fred to group floppy [root@bigdog root]#

Now user fred will now be able to access the system’s diskette drive from the console.

Red Hat Network and RPM

Red Hat Linux consists of various software applications and utilities, known as RPM packages. A package is just a file that contains a software program. This section explains three ways to update your system: using Red Hat Network, using the online Errata List, and using the Red Hat Linux Installation CD-ROMs.

Red Hat Network

Red Hat Network is an Internet solution for managing one or more Red Hat Linux systems. All Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts (collectively known as Errata Alerts) can be downloaded directly from Red Hat using the Red Hat Update Agent standalone application or through the RHN Web interface available at http://rhn.redhat.com/ .

Red Hat Network saves users time by sending them email when updated packages are released. Users do not have to search the Web for updated packages or security alerts. By default, Red Hat Network installs the packages as well. Users do not have to learn how to use RPM or worry about resolving software package dependencies; RHN does it all.

Each Red Hat Network account comes with:

Errata Alerts — learn when Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts are issued for all the systems in your network through the Basic interface
Automatic email notifications — receive an email notification when an Errata Alert is issued for your system
Scheduled Errata Updates — schedule delivery of Errata Updates (with optional automatic installation)
Package installation — Schedule package installation on one or more systems with the click of a button
Red Hat Update Agent — use the Red Hat Update Agent to download the latest software packages for your system (with optional package installation)
Red Hat Network website — manage multiple systems, download individual packages, and schedule actions such as Errata Updates through a secure Web browser connection from any computer

To start using Red Hat Network, follow these three basic steps:

Create a System Profile by running the Red Hat Network Registration Client rhn_register) on the system you want to register.
Log in to RHN at http://rhn.redhat.com/ and entitle the system to a service offering. Everyone receives a free Red Hat Network account for one system. Additional accounts must be purchased.
Start scheduling updates through the RHN website, or download and install Errata Updates using the Red Hat Update Agent.

For more detailed instructions, read the Red Hat Network User Reference Guide available at http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/RHNetwork/ .

Tip

Red Hat Linux includes the Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool, a convenient panel applet that displays visible alerts when there is an update for your Red Hat Linux system. Refer to the following URL for more information about the applet: http://rhn.redhat.com/help/basic/applet.html .

Errata List

It is recommended that new users use Red Hat Network to download and install/upgrade packages. Updating Errata packages from the Red Hat Linux Errata website is recommended for more experienced Red Hat Linux users, as it requires users to resolve software dependencies manually. (A software dependency is when a package is dependent on other packages’ being installed.)

All Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts (collectively known as Errata Alerts) can also be downloaded from the Red Hat website at http://www.redhat.com/apps/support/errata/ . Click on the Red Hat Linux version you are using to view a list of all available errata for Red Hat Linux. Click on the name of the Errata Alert that you want to apply to your system. Instructions for updating the packages are on the individual Errata pages. Red Hat, Inc., tests and approves the RPMs posted on this site. RPMs downloaded from other sites are not supported.

Installation CD-ROMs

Place one of the installation CDs in your CD-ROM drive. Inserting a CD in the CD-ROM drive should automatically open the file manager. In the file manager screen, click on /mnt/ cdrom /RedHat/RPMS . Scroll through the files on the right and look for the packages you want. Open a terminal and log in as root by typing:

su -

Next, use the rpm command to install the packages. The -Uvh option that follows the command specifies that you want to install or upgrade the package, that you want to see verbose messages, and that you want to see hash marks ( # ) while the package is installing. In this example, the documentation files, which all begin with rhl , would be installed. The string rhl-*.rpm tells your system to install all files that begin with rhl and end in .rpm ( * is a wildcard and keeps you from having to type each of the long file names manually). In place of rhl , put whatever comes before the first hyphen in the name of the package you want to install.

rpm -Uvh rhl-*.rpm

Press Enter. Type exit at the command line and press Enter again. This takes you out of the root login and back to your user account.

Now that the package is installed, it should appear in the appropriate place in the panel’s main menu.

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The floppy Group

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