Despite the fact that it is supported and heavily financed by Red Hat, Fedora is truly a community project with a global scope. Effectively participating in that community is an important part of using Fedora.
Red Hat runs a large number of mailing lists for Fedora, which are the communication lifeblood of the Fedora projects and are the starting point for communicating with and becoming involved in the Fedora community.
The Red Hat mailing lists are accessed through the web page http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo ; the Fedora lists have names starting with "fedora-". Clicking on a list title will take you to a page where you can join the list or view archives of previous messages sent to the list.
The list archives are useful in two ways:
You can get a sense of the scope of discussion on the list and the volume of messages.
If you have a specific issue you wish to discuss, you can see any discussion that has already transpired on that same topic.
Once you find a list that looks interesting to you, sign up by entering your email address, name, and password (twice), and then select digest or individual emails and click Subscribe.
Consider using a disposable email address for your subscription because this address will be made public and will probably eventually receive some spam. See Lab 7.6, "Configuring the sendmail Server."
Receiving messages in digest form reduces the volume of email to one or two large messages a day; the nondigested form will pepper your mailbox with many small messages but will make it is easier to respond to one specific message.
Even though Fedora is used internationally, the Fedora mailing lists are in English, which serves as the lingua franca of the open source community. The exceptions are the lists used by translation projects, which are usually in the target language.
Your subscription request will generate an email like this one:
Mailing list subscription confirmation notice for mailing list fedora-devel-list
We have received a request for subscription of your email address, "chris@fedorabook.com", to the fedora-devel-list@redhat.com mailing list.
To confirm that you want to be added to this mailing list, simply reply to this message, keeping the Subject: header intact. Or visit this web page:
https://www.redhat.com/mailman/confirm/fedora-devel-list/f1a901557
Or include the following line -- and only the following line -- in a message to fedora-devel-list-request@redhat.com:
confirm f1a901557
Note that simply sending a \Qreply' to this message should work from most mail readers, since that usually leaves the Subject: line in the right form (additional "Re:" text in the Subject: is okay).
If you do not wish to be subscribed to this list, please simply disregard this message. If you think you are being maliciously subscribed to the list, or have any other questions, send them to fedora-devel-list-owner@redhat.com.
To confirm the subscription, click on the link or send a reply email without editing the subject line. You'll receive a confirmation email:
Welcome to the fedora-devel-list@redhat.com mailing list!
To post to this list, send your email to:
fedora-devel-list@redhat.com
General information about the mailing list is at:
https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list
If you ever want to unsubscribe or change your options (eg, switch to or from digest mode, change your password, etc.), visit your subscription page at:
https://www.redhat.com/mailman/options/fedora-devel-list/chris%40fedorabook.com
You can also make such adjustments via email by sending a message to:
fedora-devel-list-request@redhat.com
with the word \Qhelp' in the subject or body (don't include the quotes), and you will get back a message with instructions.
You must know your password to change your options (including changing the password, itself) or to unsubscribe. It is:
superSecret
Normally, Mailman will remind you of your redhat.com mailing list passwords once every month, although you can disable this if you prefer. This reminder will also include instructions on how to unsubscribe or change your account options. There is also a button on your options page that will email your current password to you.
Keep this email! To unsubscribe or change your digest option, go to the link contained in this message and enter your chosen password.
When posting messages on the mailing list, you must send from the same address that you used to subscribe to the list, or your message will be rejected.
Since your message will be read by hundreds or even thousands of people around the world, succinct, detailed, and informative messages are highly regarded, and off-topic and time-wasting messages are disparaged. This doesn't mean that you have to be an expert to post; most lists welcome messages from community members of all skill levels. Since most list members will only ever know you by your writing, the quality of that writing plays a key role in establishing your reputation within the community.
Start your message with a clear subject line (remember that your messages are being archived by topic). "ACPI problem with Kernel 2.6.43" is a good title; "Power problem" is too vague, and "Please help!" is completely uninformative.
The body of your message should contain a concise comment, suggestion, request for help, or announcement. Write in plain text; avoid the use of HTML, which bloats the message, since that bloat will be multiplied by the hundreds or thousands of inboxes in which your message will take residence. Tiny code fragments or extracts from logfiles or configuration files that illuminate the discussion should be included; long portions of code, screenshots, logfiles, complete configuration files, or sample data should be posted on the Web with a link to them included in your message.
Be sure to review any logfiles, configuration files, or screenshots for confidential information before posting them publicly.
When replying to a previous posting in nondigest mode, leave enough of the previous poster's comments as a quotation so that the reader will know what you're replying to. Place your reply at the end of the quoted text:
Mary Eleanor wrote:
> When I change the hostname, I can't open
> new windows on the GUI display. Does anyone
> know what causes this?
It's due to the fact that the new hostname breaks the cross-reference to authorization information ("magic cookies") in the ~/.Xauthority file. Before you change the hostname, execute this command:
xhost +localhost
That will turn off authorization checking for GUI programs on the same computer as the display.
Signature blocks are welcome, but should not exceed four lines in total; one or two lines is ideal. Bear in mind that any information you post will be permanently and publicly archived, so think carefully about any personal information (phone numbers, place of employment, instant messaging IDs) revealed in your signature block.
If you are replying to a message that is part of a digest, it is important to edit your reply so that the subject line relates to the message to which you are replying and not to the entire digest. For example, here is the first part of a digest message on the fedora-devel-list :
From: fedora-devel-list-request@redhat.com
Reply-to: fedora-devel-list@redhat.com
To: fedora-devel-list@redhat.com
Subject: fedora-devel-list Digest, Vol 20, Issue 40
Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2005 08:38:38 -0400 (EDT)
Send fedora-devel-list mailing list submissions to fedora-devel-list@redhat.com
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to fedora-devel-list-request@redhat.com
You can reach the person managing the list at fedora-devel-list-owner@redhat.com
When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of fedora-devel-list digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. Re: Problems installing rawhide and reporting thereof
2. Re: Problems installing rawhide and reporting thereof
3. Re: Problems installing rawhide and reporting thereof
4. Re: Problems installing rawhide and reporting thereof
5. Re: Encouraging the use of multiple packaging systems on one systems, and the resulting problems
6. initrd stage: CAP_SYS_RAWIO on /dev/iscsictl fails . help
7. Re: rawhide report: 20051025 changes
8. Re: initrd stage: CAP_SYS_RAWIO on /dev/iscsictl fails . help
9. rawhide report: 20051027 changes (Build System)
10. UTF-8 & imap folder name handling
If you reply to the digest, the subject line will read "Re: fedora-devel-list Digest, Vol 20, Issue 40." Change this to the subject of the particular posting to which you are replying; for example, if you are replying to message 10, set the subject to "Re: UTF-8 & imap folder name handling."
You'll also have to do some editing to include only some quoted text from the original message (ideally including the poster's name) and no text from the other postings in the digest.
The Fedora lists are managed by Mailman (the GNU mailing-list manager software), which in turn is available as part of Fedora Core.
Mailing lists are used for communication because they are easy to use, asynchronous (users don't have to be logged in at the same time, which is important when crossing time zones), and not very bandwidth-intensive. They are also very flexible on the client side, providing access from a wide range of software and network configurations.
You will need to create an email account configuration that lets you post from the alias address. This requires an email client that can handle multiple sending accounts.
To use the Evolution client to send email from a disposable address, add a new account under Edit→Preference with your name and the disposable email address, a receiving server type of None, and a sending server type of Sendmail. When sending a message to the list, select the disposable email address from the pull-down list labeled From in the mail composition window.
Use your email client's filtering capabilities to move all of the list-related email to a separate mailbox. This will make it easy to scan the subject lines of the list postings and reply to individual messages without touching your main mailbox.
To configure this using Evolution, select the menu option Tools→Filter and create a new rule: if the message's sender contains the name of your list (such as fedora-devel-list), then move the message to a folder that you have created (such as fedora-devel).
The Fedora Project communication page can be found at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate
The Red Hat mailing lists: http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo
The Fedora mailing-list guidelines are located at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/MailinglistGuidelines
The Mailman web page: http://www.list.org
The Mailman documentation in /usr/share/doc/mailman*
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a network-based, multiserver chat/instant message system. While mailing lists provide asynchronous communication, IRC provides almost-immediate, synchronous communication. You can use it to participate in online planning meetings, discuss development, or exchange support advice.
There are many different IRC client programs available.
To use the IRC client XChat, select the menu option Applications→Internet→IRC, or run the command xchat. The window shown in Figure 9-1 will appear.
Figure 9-1. XChat server-list window
XChat will propose a first, second, and third nickname based on the username and actual name (GECOS field) of the account you're using. Edit these values if desired, select the FreeNode network, and click Connect. Figure 9-2 shows the main XChat window and introductory message that will appear.
Figure 9-2. XChat main window
To join a specific channel, select the menu option Window→Channel List. When the channel-list window shown in Figure 9-3 appears, enter fedora into the Regex Match field and click Apply. Select the channel you wish to join from the list and click Join Channel.
Figure 9-3. XChat channel list
The main XChat window will now show a list of users down the right side and a tab containing your selected channel at the bottom of the screen, as in Figure 9-4 . In some cases, the server will redirect you to an alternate channel such as fedora-join-instructions to assist you with registering or authenticating.
Figure 9-4. XChat connected to a channel
If you have never connected to the FreeNode network with your selected nickname, enter this command in the field at the bottom of the XChat window:
/msg nickserv registeryourSecretPassword
This will send a private message to the nickserv program to register your nickname with the specified password.
Don't use your system password for IRC because it could be read by a third party. Create a separate password exclusively for use with IRC.
If you're visiting the FreeNode network with a nickname that you have already registered, authenticate to nickserv by typing:
/msg nickserv identify yourSecretPassword
If you were redirected to another channel such as fedora-join-instructions , you can switch to the channel you originally wanted to join now. Either select the channel from the list that appears after selecting the menu option Window→Channel List (Figure 9-3), or use the /join command:
/join #fedora
You can now view messages in the large pane of the XChat window or enter messages in the text field at the bottom of the window. To find out about a specific user, right-click on that username and select the name from the pop-up list that will appear. XChat will display basic information about that user.
To send a private message to another user, use the /msg command:
/msg susan Have you installed FC6 on your new laptop yet?
In the message pane, when on a public channel, outbound private messages are identified by angle-brackets pointing at the username:
>olgovie< | I don't think that will work.
When other users send a private message to you, that message will appear in a separate tab at the bottom of the screen. The label text on a tab will turn red if there are unread messages on that tab, providing you with an easy way of monitoring multiple channels and several private conversations at the same time. Messages that you enter while a private tab is active are automatically private, even without the use of /msg user at the start of the line.
IRC communication has a unique flavor. It's a good idea to lurk on a channel for a little while to get a sense of the discussion tone and key players before jumping into the conversation. Because IRC is immediate, answers to questions may not be as carefully reasoned out as those received through the mailing listsso beware!
IRC works through a distributed network of servers that relay messages back and forth between connected clientshence the name Internet Relay Chat . The XChat program is one of many IRC clients available in Fedora; others include mozilla-chat , EPIC, Irssi, ninja , Konversation, and the multiprotocol clients Gaim and naim .
The FreeNode network is a small, high-capacity IRC network operated by the Peer-Directed Projects Center (PDPC) in support of peer-directed projects, including many open source projects. Most of the FreeNode staff are volunteers.
There are two ways to save a discussion in XChat: you can enable logging, which automatically logs all discussion on all channels, or you can save text, which performs a one-time save of the current text (300 lines by default) in the current topic:
To enable logging, select Edit→Preferences to expose the preferences window shown in Figure 9-5. In that window, select the Chatting→Logging category (on the left side), and then select the checkbox labeled "Enable logging of conversations."
Figure 9-5. XChat preferences window
The logfiles are in plain-text format and are stored in ~/.xchat2/xchatlogs , with one log per network/channel combination:
$ cd ~/.xchat2/xchatlogs
$ ls
FreeNode (formerly OpenProjects.net)-##fedora-join-instructions.log
FreeNode (formerly OpenProjects.net)-#fedora.log
FreeNode (formerly OpenProjects.net)-freenode (formerly openprojects.net).log
To save the current text in the current channel, use the menu option Window→Save Text.
Since each log filename contains special characters and spaces, you will need to quote the filename when using it in a command:
$ grep ctyler "FreeNode (formerly OpenProjects.net)-#fedora.log"
From time to time, you may want to connect to IRC from a computer that does not have an IRC client when you don't have administrative permission to install oneat a friend's house or a library, for example.
The ChatZilla extension to Firefox offers a chat client that runs within the Firefox browser. Since some systems permit users to install extensions without superuser privilege, you may be able to use this approach. Within Firefox, select Tools→Extensions to bring up the Extensions window, and then click the Get More Extensions link in the corner of that window to go to the Firefox Extensions web site. Browse to or search to find the ChatZilla extension, the click the Install Now button. Confirm the installation on the dialog that appears; when the extension has finished installing, restart Firefox, then click Tools→ChatZilla.
The other option is to use a webchat client through your web browser. Web sites offering webchat clients come and go; a few minutes of searching with Google will find several, but you will need to examine them individually to see if they support connecting to the FreeNode network (where the Fedora channels are hosted).
The Fedora Project communication page can be found at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate
The XChat home page: http://xchat.org/
General information about IRC: http://www.irchelp.org/
Fedora consists of thousands of packages, with complex interactions between the packages. To keep track of bugs and problem reports, Fedora uses the Bugzilla bug-tracking database. You can directly query this database to get information about past and present issues, to submit bug reports of your own, and to add information to existing bug reports.
You can access the Fedora Bugzilla system with a web browser by visiting http://bugzilla.redhat.com .
Figure 9-6 shows the main Bugzilla page, on which you will find a Quick Seach field. There, you can enter a bug number that you have heard mentioned elsewhere, or you can enter some keywords related to an issue or bug.
Figure 9-6. Bugzilla main page
In the Bugzilla system, the word bug is used loosely; any issue, patch, enhancement request, or trouble report is called a bug.
The Query tab provides a more precise way of searching, as shown in Figure 9-7 . Using that interface, you can narrow your search to a specific package in a particular version of Fedora Core or Fedora Extras. For options that are even more detailed, click on the Advanced tab.
Figure 9-7. Bugzilla query page
Your query will yield a list of matching bugs with their summaries, as shown in Figure 9-8 . Clicking on a bug number will display a detailed description of the bug, as in Figure 9-9. The description includes the product, version, and package information, plus a detailed text description of the bug. Additional comments may be added by the originator of the report, the maintainer of the package in question, or any other registered user of Bugzilla.
Figure 9-8. Query results
Figure 9-9. Bug detail page
If your query produces no matches, Bugzilla will helpfully inform you that "Zarro boogs" were found.
In order to add to the comments on existing bugs or to report new bugs, you must have a Bugzilla account. To create an account, click the New Account link in the upper-right corner of the page, and then enter your email address and your full name.
You may want to use a disposable email address because the address will be made public (see Lab 7.6, "Configuring the sendmail Server," for more on disposable email addresses).
Bugzilla will send you an email containing a temporary password:
From: bugzilla@redhat.com
To: jdoe@fedorabook.com
Subject: Your Bugzilla password.
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 05:37:36 -0400
To use the wonders of Bugzilla, you can use the following:
E-mail address: jdoe@fedorabook.com
Password: J8sCuid79D
To change your password, go to:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/userprefs.cgi
Follow the link in the email to set your password to a sane value. When you revisit Bugzilla, you can log in to your account using your email address and password.
If you have searched for reports of a particular issue and have not found any existing bugs, you can open a new bug report by clicking the New tab in the gray bar. You will be presented with a list of products, as shown in Figure 9-10 ; select the appropriate one from the Fedora portion of the list.
Figure 9-10. Bugzilla product list
Bugzilla will then present you with the main bug-entry form, as shown in Figure 9-11. Select the product version that you are using, and then select the component (package).
Figure 9-11. Bugzilla new bug-detail form
If the package you want is not in the component list, you may have selected the wrong productfor example, you may have selected Fedora Core for a package that is actually in Fedora Extras. Use the Back button on your browser to return to the product list and try another product.
Select a platform and severity (the default is usually correct for both), and then enter a summary (title) for the bug. Choose one that succinctly describes the bug.
Now enter the bug Description. Use as many of the preplaced headings as possible ("Description of problem," "How reproducable," "Steps to reproduce," "Expected results," "Actual results"). Ideally you should provide clear, step-by-step instructions that will reliably provoke symptoms that demonstrate the bug, as well as any relevant details about your system and use context.
You also have the options of attaching a file (such as a configuration file or logfile) and marking the bug as a security-sensitive bug, which is not posted publicly.
Click on Submit to file the bug report. You will be given a Bugzilla bug number that will enable you to rapidly find the bug for follow-up in the future.
Each bug has a status that is initially set to New. This status will change as the bug is reviewed, assigned, commented upon, and eventually resolved. Each time a comment is added or the status changes, you will receive an email.
Bugzilla was written by the Mozilla project to track bugs in the Mozilla browser and related software. It has since been adopted (and adapted) by a number of other open source projects, including the GNOME and KDE desktops. It's written in Perl, uses Apache for the web server, and can be used with either a MySQL or PostgreSQL database for bug storage and tracking.
If you log in to Bugzilla and select the Account tab, you will see a preferences screen (which in turn has an E-mail tab). In that page, you will find controls that let you fine-tune the circumstances under which Bugzilla will send you email.
You can add a comment to an existing bug that you have created and change its status. For example, if you find out that a bug that you reported is actually correct behavior, you can close the bug as resolved, setting the resolution indicator to NOTABUG. In your comment, you can explain the reason for the status change.
Since Fedora is a distribution , most of the code comes from other projects (such as GNOME, Apache, and OpenOffice.org). In many cases, the resolution of a bug will really be the responsibility of the upstream project.
If you know that a particular problem is due to a code defect or issue with the underlying program code, rather than Fedora's packaging of that code or the interaction of that code with other Fedora packages, it is a good idea to register the bug in that project's Bugzilla database and add a cross-reference to the Fedora bug record. To facilitate this, there is a control labeled External Bug References on the Bugzilla entry screen; select the upstream Bugzilla system from the pull-down list and enter the bug number from that system.
By convention, numbers prefixed with "BZ" are interpreted as Bugzilla numbers.
The Fedora Bugzilla Reporting Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/BugsAndFeatureRequests
The Red Hat Bugzilla help page: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/page.cgi?id=redhatfaq.html
The home page of the Bugzilla project: http://www.bugzilla.org/
If you're interested in seeing the evolving future shape of Fedora Core and assisting with testing, you can run Rawhide, the constantly changing development version of Fedora Core.
First, a warning is in order. As the original Rawhide announcement noted:
Raw Hide Can Be a Bit Tough to Chew on So Run at Your Own Risk (and Enjoyment)
These releases have not been quality tested by Red Hat's Quality Assurance team. They may not boot. If they boot, they may not install. If they install, they may not do anything other then waste CPU cycles. If anything breaks, you most assuredly own the many fragments which will be littered across your floor.
It may not be possible to upgrade from Fedora Core to Raw Hide, from Raw Hide to Fedora Core, or from Raw Hide to Raw Hide! If a stable upgrade path is important to you, please do not use Raw Hide.
DO NOT USE THESE RELEASES FOR ANY WORK WHERE YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION RUNNING, THE ACCURACY OF YOUR DATA, THE INTEGRITY OF YOUR NETWORK, OR ANY OTHER PURPOSE FOR WHICH A RESPONSIBLE HUMAN WOULD USE A COMPUTER. (But then again what would be the fun of hacking Linux if there wasn't some risk involved. ;-)....)
In other words, you should run Rawhide only on a secondary computer dedicated to testing because it's far from stable.
Most Rawhide systems are updated daily. The nature of the development process ensures that features will break one day and then start working again a few days later. Menu options will shift around, and from time to time, your system will not boot normally. You may be frustrated, but you'll never be bored when running Rawhide!
There are two ways to install Rawhide: by upgrading from a released version of Fedora Core, or by installing Rawhide directly.
Rawhide is really just a yum repository of development packages. The repository information is distributed with Fedora Core but is disabled.
Edit the file /etc/yum.repos.d/fedora-development.repo to enable the development repository by editing the first enabled line under [development] (highlighted in bold here) to read enabled=1 :
# These packages are untested and still under development. This
# repository is used for updates to test releases, and for
# development of new releases.
#
# This repository can see significant daily turnover and major
# functionality changes which cause unexpected problems with other
# development packages. Please use these packages if you want to work
# with the Fedora developers by testing these new development packages.
#
# fedora-test-list@redhat.com is available as a discussion forum for
# testing and troubleshooting for development packages in conjunction
# with new test releases.
#
# fedora-devel-list@redhat.com is available as a discussion forum for
# testing and troubleshooting for development packages in conjunction
# with developing new releases.
#
# More information is available at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Testing
#
# Reproducible and reportable issues should be filed at
# http://bugzilla.redhat.com/.
#
# Product: Fedora Core
# Version: devel
[development]
name=Fedora Core - Development
#baseurl=http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/development/$basearch/
mirrorlist=http://fedora.redhat.com/Download/mirrors/fedora-core-rawhide
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
[development-debuginfo]
name=Fedora Core - Development - Debug
#baseurl=http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/development/$basearch/debug/
mirrorlist=http://fedora.redhat.com/Download/mirrors/fedora-core-rawhide-debug
enabled=0
gpgcheck=0
[development-source]
name=Fedora Core - Development - Source
#baseurl=http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/development/SRPMS/
mirrorlist=http://fedora.redhat.com/Download/mirrors/fedora-core-rawhide-source
enabled=0
gpgcheck=0
You can optionally enable the development-debuginfo and development-source repositories as well, by setting enabled=1 there as well.
Next, disable all of the other repositories by setting enabled=0 in their respective /etc/yum.repos.d/*.repo files. When you're done, enter these commands to confirm that only the development repositories are enabled:
# cd /etc/yum.repos.d
# grep enabled *.repo | grep 1
fedora-development.repo:enabled=1
If you see other repository files listed, edit those files to disable the additional repositories.
Once you have set up the repositories, use yum to perform an update:
# yum update
Setting up Update Process
Setting up repositories
development 100% |=========================| 1.1 kB 00:00
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Resolving Dependencies
--> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait.
---> Downloading header for newt-perl to pack into transaction set.
newt-perl-1.08-9.2.2.i386 100% |=========================| 9.2 kB 00:00
---> Package newt-perl.i386 0:1.08-9.2.2 set to be updated
---> Downloading header for words to pack into transaction set.
words-3.0-8.1.1.noarch.rp 100% |=========================| 4.0 kB 00:00
...(Lines snipped)...
Once you have completed the update, reboot the system. Update the system frequently (daily updates are recommended) by rerunning yum update .
Rawhide can also be directly installed using the Fedora network installation method.
Using a browser, select a nearby Fedora mirror server from the list at http://fedora.redhat.com/Download/mirrors.html and verify that it contains the os/development directory for your architecture (not all mirrors carry Rawhide) and that the development tree is reasonably up-to-date (i.e., that some of the files in the os/Fedora/RPMS directory are timestamped within the last 48 hours).
From the images directory on the mirror, download the boot.iso file and burn it to a CD or DVD, or download the diskboot.img file and copy it to a USB flash drive (see Lab 10.3, "Preparing Alternate Installation Media ").
Boot the target system from this disc or USB flash drive and perform a normal HTTP or FTP installation from the mirror that you selected (see Chapter 1).
When installed in this way, the development repository is automatically enabled. Use yum to update the system periodicallyusually on a daily basis:
# yum update
It's not uncommon to see the yum update fail due to dependency issues. Usually the issues will be solved by the next Rawhide update, and the yum command will succeed the next day. It's recommended that you run yum manually rather than using the yum daily update service so that you can see the error messages explaining any conflicts.
It's a good idea to periodically reinstall Rawhide from scratch to eliminate the "cruft" that accumulates with frequent unclean updates.
If you're using Rawhide heavilytesting it on several systems, for example and you have a broadband Internet connection, it's worthwhile maintaining your own local development mirror.
The rsync tool provides a convenient method of mirroring the development repository. To use it, select an rsync URI from the mirror list at http://fedora.redhat.com/Download/mirrors.html . Finding the correct directory within the rsync server may take a bit of experimentation because various mirror sites use different directory layouts. Use the rsync command to explore content on the mirror server:
$ rsync -v rsync://ftp.muug.mb.ca/
Welcome to MUUG Online Network Access, courtesy of the
Manitoba Unix User Group.
For any questions, problems, or concerns about this site,
please send e-mail to: <ftp@muug.mb.ca>.
Look under the /pub directory and subdirectories for files to download.
We are now also maintaining a mirror of selected sites (or a subset
thereof), in the /mirror directory. Look at the README file there
for details on what is being mirrored.
ftp MUUG Online FTP area (more Gigs than you want to download!)
pub MUUG Online pub area (more Gigs than you want to download!)
mirror Mirror of various sites (more Gigs than you want to download!)
redhat ftp.redhat.com mirror (more Gigs than you want to download!)
redhat-contrib ftp.redhat.com mirror, contrib directory
redhat-updates updates.redhat.com mirror
fedora fedora.redhat.com mirror, top-level directory
fedora-linux-core fedora.redhat.com mirror, core directory
fedora-linux-core-updates fedora.redhat.com mirror, updates directory
fedora-linux-core-development fedora.redhat.com mirror, development directory
fedora-linux-core-test fedora.redhat.com mirror, (beta) test directory
fedora-linux-extras fedora.redhat.com mirror, extras directory
In this case, the introductory message indicates that fedora-linux-core-development contains the development tree. Use rsync again to view the contents of that directory:
$ rsync -v rsync://ftp.muug.mb.ca/fedora-linux-core-development/
Welcome to MUUG Online Network Access, courtesy of the
Manitoba Unix User Group.
...(Lines snipped)...
drwxrwsr-x 4096 2006/07/13 18:43:37 .
-rw-r--r-- 3101 2003/11/04 12:23:24 README
drwxr-xr-x 4096 2006/07/13 15:21:37 i386
drwxrwsr-x 4096 2006/07/13 15:21:33 source
sent 117 bytes received 544 bytes 440.67 bytes/sec
total size is 3101 speedup is 4.69
Don't omit the final / on the rsync URI.
The i386 directory is the one we're interested in (it looks like you'd have to use a different mirror for other architectures):
$ rsync -v rsync://ftp.muug.mb.ca/fedora-linux-core-development/i386/
Welcome to MUUG Online Network Access, courtesy of the
Manitoba Unix User Group.
...(Lines snipped)...
drwxr-xr-x 4096 2006/07/13 15:21:37 .
drwxr-xr-x 81920 2006/07/13 15:37:52 debug
drwxrwsr-x 4096 2006/07/12 08:09:49 iso
drwxrwsr-x 4096 2006/07/13 15:49:37 os
sent 123 bytes received 530 bytes 145.11 bytes/sec
total size is 0 speedup is 0.00
The presence of the debug , iso , and os subdirectories indicates that this is the directory we're looking for.
Armed with that information, create a script, /usr/local/bin/rawhide-rsync , on a stable (non-Rawhide) system with 10 GB or more free storage space:
#!/bin/bash
#
# rawhide-rsync :: script to mirror the Fedora rawhide repo locally
#
MAILTO= alert# Person/alias to receive reports
DIR= /var/www/html/rawhide # Mirror directory
URI=rsync:// mirrorhost/directory / # Rsync URI
if tty -s # If being run interactively, show progress
then
XCMD='tee /dev/tty'
else
XCMD='cat'
fi
(
cd $DIR || exit 2 # Abort if the cd fails (important!)
rsync --recursive --delete -v $URI . 2>&1
echo
)|$XCMD|mail $MAILTO -s "Rawhide Rsync Report"
Ensure that httpd and rsync are installed on the target system, and create a directory to hold the development mirror (replace user with the name of the non- root user account that you will be using to run the rawhide-repo script):
# mkdir -p /var/www/html/rawhide/
# chown user /var/www/html/rawhide
# chmod a+rx /var/www/html/rawhide
Finally, run the script:
$ rawhide-rsync
Welcome to MUUG Online Network Access, courtesy of the
Manitoba Unix User Group.
For any questions, problems, or concerns about this site,
please send e-mail to: <ftp@muug.mb.ca>.
Look under the /pub directory and subdirectories for files to download.
We are now also maintaining a mirror of selected sites (or a subset
thereof), in the /mirror directory. Look at the README file there
for details on what is being mirrored.
receiving file list ... done
debug/ElectricFence-debuginfo-2.2.2-20.2.2.i386.rpm
debug/ElectricFence-debuginfo-2.2.2-20.2.i386.rpm
debug/GConf2-debuginfo-2.14.0-2.1.i386.rpm
...(Lines snipped)...
os/repodata/repoview/zsh-html-0-4.2.5-1.2.2.html
os/repodata/repoview/zulu-support.group.html
sent 15296418 bytes received 706808440 bytes 166633.17 bytes/sec
total size is 8112656832 speedup is 11.23
The server and the local rsync program will compare notes and modify the files and directories on the local system to match the server. The first time the script is run, it will transfer the entire repository, and the speedup value will be 1.0 . In subsequent runs, the speedup value will indicate the amount of time saved over transferring the entire repository (the preceding example indicates that the transfer took 1/11.23 of the time that a full transfer would take).
There is a high rate of change in the development repository, and from time to time, most or all of the repository will be freshly rebuilt, resulting in very large transfers. If you have a transfer-limited or capped Internet account and run the rawhide-rsync script often, be careful that you don't accidentally exceed your transfer limits.
You can now automate the rsync process by adding a crontab entry. Using the non-root account that will be performing the mirroring, edit the crontab :
$ crontab -e
Modify the crontab file to start the rawhide-rsync script at a convenient time:
# Update the local rawhide repo
0 5 * * * /usr/local/bin/rawhide-rsync
The rawhide-rsync reports will be mailed to you on a daily basis.
The rawhide-rsync reports are each over half a megabyte! Consider deleting them after reviewing the end of each report for errors.
To verify that the local mirror is accessible through HTTP, connect with a browser. For example, if the host containing the mirror were bluesky , you'd point your browser to http://bluesky/rawhide , on which you would see the Fedora , iso , and image directories.
To install from a local Rawhide mirror, simply specify that mirror during the installation process.
To use the local mirror for yum updates, edit /etc/yum.repos.d on the Rawhide system, commenting out the mirrorlist entry and adding a baseurl entry pointing to the local mirror:
[development]
name=Fedora Core - Development
#baseurl=http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/development/$basearch/
# This line is commented by the addition of # at the start
# of the line, which disables the use of repositories on the standard
# mirrorlist
#mirrorlist=http://fedora.redhat.com/Download/mirrors/fedora-core-rawhide
# This line directs yum to the local mirror
baseurl=http://bluesky /fedora/os/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
The fedora-devel-list and fedora-test-list discuss Rawhide-related developments and issues, and include automated reports describing changes that have been made to Rawhide packages.
Rawhide is a standard yum repository. Package maintainers submit package source to the Fedora build system, which builds the packages periodically and emails a report to the fedora-devel-list and fedora-test-list . The report looks like this:
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 09:28:29 -0400
From: buildsys@redhat.com
Subject: rawhide report: 20060714 changes
To: fedora-devel-list@redhat.com, fedora-test-list@redhat.com
Message-ID: <200607141328.k6EDSTJ5031177@hs20-bc2-6.build.redhat.com>
New package xorg-x11-drv-amd
Xorg X11 AMD Geode video driver
Updated Packages:
ImageMagick-6.2.8.0-1.1
-----------------------
* Wed Jul 12 2006 Jesse Keating <jkeating@redhat.com> - 6.2.8.0-1.1
- rebuild
anaconda-11.1.0.57-1
--------------------
* Thu Jul 13 2006 David Cantrell <dcantrell@redhat.com> - 11.1.0.57-1
- Fix unknown error on shadow file (#196705, clumens)
- Removed inet_calcGateway (clumens)
- Don't guess gateway address in text network UI (#197578, clumens)
- Change iutil.copyFile calls to shutil.copyfile (clumens)
- Removed DRI enable/disable code from xsetup (clumens)
- Removed copyFile, getArch, memInstalled, and rmrf from iutil (clumens)
- Don't pass command as first argument to subprocess calls (clumens)
- Added network debugging mode for readNetConfig( ) in loader
- Removed "BOOTP" string from loader network config UI
- Added new dialog for network device config in stage2 (katzj)
- Write gateway address to correct struct in manualNetConfig
- Removed IP_STRLEN macro since that's moved to libdhcp
- Link and compile libisys with libdhcp
- Added back 'confignetdevice' and 'pumpnetdevice' in iutil
- Removed isys_calcNetmask and isys_calcNS (clumens)
- Added xkeyboard-config to fix VT switching (katzj)
...(Lines snipped)...
Broken deps for i386
----------------------------------------------------------
anaconda-runtime - 11.1.0.57-1.i386 requires syslinux
gnucash - 2.0.0-2.1.i386 requires libgsf-gnome-1.so.114
mkbootdisk - 1.5.3-2.1.i386 requires syslinux
perl-suidperl - 4:5.8.8-6.1.i386 requires perl = 4:5.8.8-6
systemtap - 0.5.8-2.1.i386 requires libdw.so.1(ELFUTILS_0.120)
Broken deps for ia64
----------------------------------------------------------
gnucash - 2.0.0-2.1.ia64 requires libgsf-gnome-1.so.114( )(64bit)
perl-suidperl - 4:5.8.8-6.1.ia64 requires perl = 4:5.8.8-6
systemtap - 0.5.8-2.1.ia64 requires libdw.so.1(ELFUTILS_0.120)(64bit)
...(Lines snipped)...
The report lists new and removed packages, the latest changelog entries from updated packages, and a list of broken dependencies for each architecture. Developers, package maintainers, and testers review this report daily, discussing the results on the mailing lists.
The build system places the resulting RPMs on a master server, where they are periodically retrieved by the mirror servers and made accessible to the world. Individual systems use the standard yum client and transfer protocols (HTTP or FTP) to access files on the mirror servers.
The rsync tool works by comparing files and directories on the client and server systems and transferring only the files that have changed. This comparison can use combinations of file-modification timestamp, file size, and checksum, depending on the command-line options selected.
The Fedora Core project produces at least three test releases before each Fedora Core release. These test releases are effectively clean snapshots of Rawhide released in ISO form; they can be installed from optical disc using the same method as Fedora Core releases (see Chapter 1 and Lab 10.3, "Preparing Alternate Installation Media ").
You will find announcements of test releases on the Fedora web site and the fedora-announce-list . The test releases may be downloaded from test directories in the Fedora mirror servers; the releases are numbered in increments of 0.01 starting with a version number that is 0.1 less than the upcoming Fedora Core version numberso Fedora Core 7 test 1 will be found in the directory test/6.90 , and FC7t2 will be in test/6.91 .
That's not usually recommended. Repositories such as Livna (and even Fedora Extras) do not update their packages to work with new Fedora Core releases until just before the official release of a new Fedora Core version.
The Fedora Testing Guide: http://www.fedoraproject.org/wiki/Testing
The manpages for yum and rsync
List of Fedora mirrors: http://fedora.redhat.com/Download/mirrors.html
Torrent trackers for Fedora Core, including test releases: http://torrent.fedoraproject.org/
The BitTorrent home page: http://bittorrent.com/
Within the Fedora Community, there are many different projects aimed at developing and improving various aspects of Fedora Linux. Regardless of your skill set, interests, or experience, there is probably a role that is perfect for you in one of the projects. Becoming directly involved in a Fedora project contributes back to the Fedora community and can build your skill and reputation.
A list of Fedora Projects is maintained at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Projects . Each project has separate standards and requirements for participation, so a good place to start is by reading the project outline to determine the participation requirements, then joining the relevant mailing lists to meet and get to know other project members.
Here are some projects to consider:
The Fedora Docs project ( http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject ) produces release notes, installation and configuration guides, and other documentation, and is always looking for writers, editors, and readers willing to provide feedback. Other members of the Fedora Docs team develop the tool chain used to manage the documentation and transform it into various forms.
Since Fedora software is used globally, messages and controls within the software, documentation, and web sites all require translation into many languages. The Fedora Translation project exists to do this translation and to develop and refine the tools necessary to manage translated text. The Fedora Translation web site is found at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/L10N .
L10N in the Translation URI stands for localization (translation into specific languages). I18N stands for internationalization (technologies that enable use of software in multiple locales). The numbers in the abbreviations refer to the quantity of letters removed.
If you have RPM packages that aren't included in Fedora Core or Fedora Extras, you can become a Fedora Extras contributor and make those packages available to other Fedora users. The Fedora Extras project has set up strict standards and a rigorous review process to protect the quality of the Extras repository, so participating in this project requires a certain level of skill and commitment. To streamline the process, Fedora Extras uses a sponsorship process, which pairs experienced members with newcomers during their first package submission. The web site http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Extras/Contributors describes the process of becoming a Fedora Extras contributor.
There are a number of Fedora-related projects that are not part of the official Fedora project, and these projects are also staffed by volunteers:
Derivative distributions
There are over 60 Linux distributions derived from Fedora Linux, and yet others that are derived from Red Hat Enterprise Linux (Red Hat's enterprise Linux distribution, which shares a common root with Fedora). These distributions tailor Fedora to meet specific community, linguistic, or hardware requirements.
Other repositories
The Livna, ATrpms, and RPMforge repositories interoperate with the Fedora Core and Extras repositories (although not necessarily with each other).
The Fedora Unity project
Fedora Unity provides web sites with guides and technical notes on various Fedora-related issues. It also produces what it terms respins of the Fedora Core CDs and DVDs, incorporating updates released since the official Fedora Core release dates.
The Fedora projects page: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Projects/
Linux distributions derived from Fedora: http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=independence#fedora
External repositories: http://rpm.livna.org/ , http://atrpms.net/ , and http://rpmforge.net/
The Fedora Unity Project: http://fedoraunity.org/