The Red Hat Linux 6.2 installation program includes a number of new
features. For more information, please refer to the Official Red Hat Linux
Installation Guide.
System-Related New Features
---------------------------
There are many new features to Red Hat Linux 6.2 that are not part of
the installation process. Some new features are tools or applications that
you can use, others are new versions of the kernel or desktop
environments. This list will provide a little more information about what
to expect from Red Hat Linux 6.2 once you are actually using the OS itself.
Network services split into client, server packages -- The following
network services have been split into client and server packages:
o telnet
o finger
o talk
o rsh
o rusers
o rwall
o tftp
For example, on the Intel-compatible platform telnet is now packaged in
two RPMs:
telnet-0.16-6.i386.rpm
telnet-server-0.16-6.i386.rpm
rpmdb-redhat package included -- The rpmdb-redhat package contains an
RPM database of a complete Red Hat Linux 6.2 install. This makes it
easy to determine dependencies. For example, if you wanted to find out
which package in Red Hat Linux 6.2 provides the library libldap.so.1,
you could issue the following command:
Software RAID and the Pentium III -- Software RAID on Red Hat Linux 6.2
features enhanced performance for RAID level 5 on Pentium III-based
systems.
sysctl now controls system settings -- In Red Hat Linux 6.2, kernel
options such as IPv4 forwarding and enabling and disabling of the
"magic sysrq" keys is done via the sysctl program, as opposed to being
controlled by the contents of files in /etc/sysconfig. The sysctl
settings are stored in /etc/sysctl.conf, and are loaded at each boot by
the command:
sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.conf
Here is a sample /etc/sysctl.conf:
# Disables IPv4 packet forwarding
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 0
# Enables source route verification
# This drops packets that come in over interfaces they shouldn't;
# (for example, a machine on an external net claiming to be one on your
# local network)
net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter = 1
# Disables automatic defragmentation
# Automatic defragmentation is needed for masquerading and Linux
# Virtual Server use; it is not needed otherwise.
net.ipv4.ip_always_defrag = 0
# Disables the magic-sysrq key
kernel.sysrq = 0
# Disables stop-a on the sparc
kernel.stop-a = 0
Many other kernel tunable parameters can be set; to see the full list,
run sysctl -a, or look in the directory:
/usr/doc/kernel-doc-<version>/sysctl.
(Where <version> is the current kernel version. Red Hat Linux 6.2
initially ships with kernel version 2.2.14.)
Please Note
-----------
If you are upgrading your Red Hat Linux system to Red Hat Linux 6.2,
any changes you have made to files in /etc/sysconfig will be migrated
to /etc/sysctl.conf. You should confirm this by reviewing the file.
Linux 2.2.14 kernel -- Red Hat Linux 6.2 includes the latest stable
version of the 2.2.x Linux kernel.
ident service now run as daemon -- The ident service is now run as a
stand-alone service (called "identd"), and is controlled by settings in
the /etc/identd.conf file.
Workstation-class installation now more secure -- Workstation-class
installations no longer install the inetd "super server." This means
that the following network-related services will not be available if
you perform a workstation-class installation:
o ftp
o telnet
o shell
o login
o talk
o finger
If you require the above network-related services, you should consider
an installation type other than workstation-class.
XFree86 version 3.3.6 -- Red Hat Linux 6.2 contains the latest version
of XFree86 (version 3.3.6 which supports many new drivers).
Services no longer run by default -- To permit a more fine-tuned system
configuration, Red Hat Linux 6.2 no longer runs the following services
by default:
o The automount daemon amd (in the am-utils RPM)
o The bind name server
o The dhcpd DHCP server
o The inn news server
o The knfsd NFS server
o The samba CIFS server used to support Windows-based file and
print services
To enable these services, either use chkconfig --level 35
<service-name> on, or edit the list of services to start with the
ntsysv or tksysv utilities.
Mesa graphics library now included -- The Mesa 3-D graphics library
(version 3.2) is now included. Mesa is compatible with the OpenGL
graphics API.
Sawmill window manager now included -- The sawmill window manager is
now included in Red Hat Linux 6.2. Based on a Lisp-like language,
sawmill is extensible, and GNOME-aware.
Man pages now compressed -- All man pages are now compressed (using
gzip) to save disk space.
Starting programs at X startup -- By placing scripts in
/etc/X11/xinitrc/xinitrc.d, it is now possible to automatically start
programs whenever X starts.
Fonts recognized automatically -- X fonts that have been added to your
Red Hat Linux 6.2 system will now be recognized automatically, when the
font server starts. This can be done during an X session by issuing
the following command as root:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/xfs restart
Piranha updated -- The Piranha clustering technology has been updated
with the following new features:
o web based GUI config
o 2-node service failover support
o generic service monitoring/loadblancing
o tunneling and direct routing support for IPVS
Beowulf added -- The Beowulf "do-it-yourself supercomputer" technology
has been added to Red Hat Linux 6.2. This includes the following
packages:
o PVM 3.4.3 (Parallel Virtual Machine)
o LAM 6.3.1 (MPI library environment)
o make-pvm (PVM aware version of GNU make)
(Please note that mpich-1.2.0 is now part of PowerTools for Red Hat
Linux 6.2.)
Large-memory configurations supported -- Red Hat Linux 6.2 will now
autodetect physical memory, and will use up to 4GB without user
intervention.
ISDN configuration utility added -- The isdn-config package has been
added to Red Hat Linux 6.2. It may be launched either via the KDE 2.0
control center, or by issuing the isdn-config command.
Encryption-related changes -- Due to relaxation of U.S. encryption
laws, encryption-related changes have been made to the following
packages:
o Kerberos authentication has been added to mutt, pine, fetchmail,
cvs, and imap. In addition, the following kerberos-aware
versions of the following clients have been added:
o rlogin
o shell (rsh)
o telnet
o ftp
(These clients are installed as part of the krb5-workstation
package. Access to them can be controlled either by installing
or removing this package, or by changing the users' PATH such
that /usr/kerberos/bin is either present or absent. Note that
the krb-workstation package adds a file to /etc/profile.d that
prepends /usr/kerberos/bin/ to PATH, so that the kerberos-aware
clients are used by default.
Likewise, access to kerberos-aware servers can be controlled by
configuring /etc/inetd.conf to point to the servers in
/usr/kerberos/sbin, and to include additional flags appropriate
to the services provided by the kerberos-aware servers.)
o GNOME-based Kerberos configuration tools added -- The
gnome-kerberos package includes the gkadmin and krb5
configuration tools. gkadmin is a Kerberos V5 database
administration program, while krb5 is used to let clients log on
to kerberos realms, and can also be used to change kerberos
passwords.
o The GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG) is now included in all editions of
Red Hat Linux 6.2.
o For those platforms that support it, Netscape Communicator built
with 128-bit encryption is included in Red Hat Linux 6.2.
Miscellaneous New Features
--------------------------
These new features defy categorization:
Bug buddy bug reporting tool added -- The bug buddy bug reporting tool
has been added to Red Hat Linux 6.2. Bug buddy makes it easier to
report bugs related to the GNOME graphical environment.
Packages moved to PowerTools -- The following packages have been moved
from the Red Hat Linux operating system CD to the PowerTools CD:
o The dosemu DOS emulator
o Version 1 of the fvwm window manager
o The aKtion and xanim movie viewers
o The mxp fractal generator
o The xwpick window grabber
o The xearth eye candy application
(PLEASE NOTE: PowerTools for Red Hat Linux 6.2 may not be shipped with
every Red Hat Linux-related product.)
vim editor enhanced -- vim can now do syntax colorization and
programming language-based autoindenting. If you want the old behavior,
create a .vimrc, edit /usr/share/vim/vim56/macros/vimrc (system-wide),
or invoke it as /bin/vi. Due to the default PATH, root gets /bin/vi by
default when invoking vi; if you want to enable the new features for
root, either invoke it as vim or do alias vi=vim
anacron added -- The anacron scheduler is similar to cron, in that it
schedules the execution of commands. However, it is optimized for use
on systems that are not necessarily running 24 hours a day.
Changes to termcap and terminfo entries -- The termcap and terminfo
entries have been changed to make the actions of the following keys
more consistent:
o Backspace
o Delete
o Home
o End
Changes may be made by editing your .inputrc file.
DocBook support -- Red Hat Linux 6.2 includes support for editing and
processing SGML documents written to use the DocBook DTD.
Support for display of double-byte, other languages -- The Netscape web
browser has been configured to correctly display web pages containing
Japanese, Chinese, and Korean content. In addition, Netscape has been
configured to support French, Spanish, and German.
New documentation CD-ROM -- Red Hat Linux 6.2 boxed sets now include a
documentation CD-ROM. The CD-ROM can be used in two ways:
o To install RPM-packaged documentation on your Red Hat Linux
system.
o To read the documentation directly from the CD-ROM. For more
information, please see the README on the documentation CD-ROM.
Colorized ls command -- The ls command is now colorized by default. To
turn off this feature, add the command unalias ls in your .bashrc file,
or (to disable color on a system-wide basis) delete the colorls.* files
in /etc/profile.d/.
Deprecated features and packages -- The following features and packages
are deprecated, and may not be supported or included in future releases
of Red Hat Linux:
o The AnotherLevel environment
o The wmconfig dynamic window manager configuration tool
o The svgalib graphics library
o The Red Hat Linux version 5.2 compatibility development
environment
o The mars-nwe NetWare server emulator
o The BSD lpr printing system
o The libc5 compatibility runtime libraries
o Version 1.x of the Qt library
o The libjpeg6a Red Hat Linux 5.x compatibility library
o The iBCS program compatibility technology
Packages new to Red Hat Linux 6.2
---------------------------------
The following packages have been added to Red Hat Linux 6.2. For more
information on these packages, use RPM (after the package has been
installed) to print a brief description of the package, and to find any
documentation included with each package:
rpm -qid <package>
Where <package> is one of the following:
o bug-buddy-0.7
o cdparanoia-alpha9.6
o gpgp-0.4
o joystick-1.2.15
o librep-0.10
o memprof-0.3.0
o pnm2ppa-0.8.9pre1
o rep-gtk-0.8
o rpmlint-0.8
o stylesheets-0.13rh
Packages new to PowerTools for Red Hat Linux 6.2
------------------------------------------------
The following packages have been added to PowerTools for Red Hat Linux
6.2. (PLEASE NOTE: PowerTools for Red Hat Linux 6.2 may not be
shipped with every Red Hat Linux-related product.) For more
information on these packages, use RPM (after the package has been
installed) to print a brief description of the package, and to find any
documentation included with each package:
rpm -qid <package>
Where <package> is one of the following:
o C-Kermit-7.0.196
o InDependence-1.0
o Maelstrom-3.0.1
o PyKDE-0.10
o PyQt-0.10.1
o R-Devore5-0.1.R3
o R-NISTnls-0.9.R3
o R-RmSQL-0.2.R1
o R-gss-0.4.R1
o R-leaps-2.0
o R-mda-0.2.R3
o R-multilm-0.1.R3
o R-nlme-3.1.R2
o R-rmeta-1.0
o R-sgeostat-1.0.R9
o R-stataread-2.0
o R-wavethresh-2.2.R3
o SDL-1.0.4
o SNNS-4.2
o Squishdot-0.3.2
o TinyTable-B2
o WebMaker-0.8.5
o ZZplayer-0.2
o a2ps-i18n-0.1
o abiword-0.7.8
o afio-2.4.5
o aktion-0.3.6
o alien-6.53
o apcd-0.5
o armadillo-0.3.10
o asp2php-0.70a
o aspell-.28.2.1
o auctex-9.10g
o bibview-2.2
o blockade-1.00
o bm2font-3.0
o calamaris-2.27
o cvsmapfs-1.3
o eMusic-DR0.9
o exim-3.13
o fpc-0.99.12b
o fpc-extra-0.99.12b
o fpc-units-0.99.12b
o freeamp-2.0.0
o ftnchek-2.10.1
o fvwm-1.24r
o fwconfig-1.4
o gcal-2.40
o glxMesa-3.2-0.3.src.rpm
o gnokii-0.3.1
o isdnbutton-2.5
o jpilot-0.95
o kimon-1.1
o kisdnload-0.9.1
o ksnuffle-0.3
o ktalk-0.2.7
o ktranslator-0.6.1
o lavaps-1.9
o lftp-2.1.5
o lha-1.00
o libsafe-1.1
o licq-data-1.5
o links-0.82
o linux_logo-3.02
o mpich-1.2.0
o mrtg-2.8.11
o mxp-1.0
o nasm-0.98
o netatalk-1.4b2+asun2.1.3
o nmap-2.3BETA10
o ntop-1.1
o perl-Mon-0.7
o perl-Net-Telnet-3.01
o perl-libnet-1.0607
o postfix-19991231_pl02
o powertweak-0.1.7
o prc-tools-0.5.0
o qtarch-2.0
o rhisdn-0.2
o sart-0.6a1
o sip-0.10.1
o smpeg-0.3.1
o swatch-3.0b4
o thttpd-2.10
o tkdesk-1.2
o vacation-1.2.0
o wv-0.5.43
o xearth-1.1
o xengine-1.10
o xfce-3.2.3
o xkeycaps-2.45
o xmmsskins-1.0
o xmris-4.0.5
o xwpick-2.20