Red Hat Linux 7.0/Alpha (Guinness) Release Notes
------------------------------------------------
This document describes features that are new to Red Hat Linux 7.0, but may
not have been available prior to our documentation being finalized.
Alpha Specific Changes
----------------------
Red Hat Linux 7.0/Alpha contains significant changes for the Alpha
platform. They include:
o MILO support has been discontinued. Systems capable of using SRM
should be upgraded so they can use the aboot booting program. As a
courtesy to our customers, MILO images are still distributed in the
milo directory on the CD-ROM; please note that they must be
decompressed before being written to a diskette.
o The CD-ROM booting procedure has changed. In the past, the Red Hat
Linux installation CD had a root filesystem layout that allowed you
to pass the "root=/dev/scd0" option to enter the installation
program. With the new Multi-CD Install (see below), this is no
longer possible. Therefore, too boot the installer from CD-ROM,
please use the following command:
boot dqa0 -flags 0
(Substitute the SRM device specifier for your CD-ROM device for
"dqa0" in the example above.) MILO can no longer boot into the Red
Hat Linux Installer from CD-ROM; you must use the diskette set to
boot into the installer.
o Red Hat Linux 7.0/Alpha now supports the Mylex DAC960 family of RAID
controllers.
o The aboot booting program now supports initial ramdisks. This allows
Red Hat Linux 7.0 to support devices that cannot be built into the
kernel, such as Mylex DAC960 family RAID controllers. In the future,
all the SCSI drivers will be migrated to a module interface and will
no longer be built into the kernel.
o The GCC 2.96 snapshot compiler brings substantial speed improvements
to the Alpha platform.
o Unlike Red Hat Linux 7.0/Intel, Red Hat Linux 7.0/Alpha does not
support USB devices during installation. However, some USB
controllers will work after installation is complete.
Installation-Related Enhancements
---------------------------------
The Red Hat Linux 7.0 installation program includes a number of new
features. For more information, please refer to the Official Red Hat Linux
Alpha Installation Guide.
Improvements to Red Hat Linux 7.0 which will make installation even easier
include:
o New Multi-CD Install -- The Red Hat Linux 7.0 installation program is
now capable of installing Red Hat Linux from multiple CD-ROMs.
Because of this change, if you intend to support NFS, FTP, or HTTP
installations, it is no longer possible to simply mount a single Red
Hat Linux CD-ROM, and install from it.
Instead, you must copy the RedHat directory from each CD-ROM
comprising Red Hat Linux 7.0 onto a disk drive:
- Insert CD 1
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
cp -var /mnt/cdrom/RedHat /location/of/disk/space
umount /mnt/cdrom
- Insert CD 2
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
cp -var /mnt/cdrom/RedHat /location/of/disk/space
umount /mnt/cdrom
You must then make /location/of/disk/space accessible to the
installation program (for example, exporting it for NFS
installations):
- Export /location/of/disk/space
o Installation Program Supports RPM 4.0 -- The Red Hat Linux 7.0
installation program now supports the newest version of the RPM
Package Manager: RPM 4.0. Because RPM 4.0 uses a new database
format, the Red Hat Linux 7.0 installation program automatically
migrates the rpm database to the new format during upgrades. For
more information, please see the "RPM 4.0" section below.
o XFree 4.0.1 -- Configuration of your X Window System during the
installation has never been more thorough. From choosing your monitor
and its correct settings, to video card probing, to testing your
desired X setup, Xconfigurator will help you set everything just
right.
o Labels are used by default in the installer and /etc/fstab -- The
ext2 filesystem's support for labels is now used in Red Hat Linux
7.0. Note that this applies to fresh installations only; upgrades to
Red Hat Linux 7.0 from prior versions of Red Hat Linux will not be
configured to use labels. In fresh installations, the installer
creates labels for all ext2 filesystems created during the
installation process, and /etc/fstab uses the labels to associate the
filesystems with their mount points. (Note that you can use e2label
after installation to display/change any filesystem's label.)
o Help Text Available in Text Mode Installation -- Help text has been
added to the text mode installation program to further assist you
during your installation of Red Hat Linux 7.0. By pressing F1, you
can enable help text for that specific screen. Press Enter to close
the help text screen.
o Install-Time LDAP and Kerberos Configuration -- LDAP and Kerberos can
now be configured for account authentication at install-time (custom
installations only).
System-Related Enhancements
---------------------------
There are many features new to Red Hat Linux 7.0 that are not part of the
installation process. Some new features are tools or applications that you
can use, while others are new versions of the kernel or desktop
environments. This list will provide a bit more information about what to
expect from Red Hat Linux 7.0 once you are actually using the OS itself.
o Upgraded Core System Components -- The following major system
components have been upgraded in Red Hat Linux 7.0:
- glibc 2.1.95 (compatible with 2.2 kernel, but 2.4-ready as well)
- XFree86 4.0.1, XFree86 4.0.1 runtime environment
- XFree86 3.3.6 X servers included for maximum hardware compatibility
- GNOME 1.2
- kernel 2.2.16
- GCC 2.96 snapshot
o New and Updated Drivers -- Many drivers are new to Red Hat Linux 7.0,
or have been newly upgraded, including but by no means limited to:
- aacraid 1.0.6
- qla2x00 2.23
- e1000 2.0.7
- e100 1.2.1
- cciss 1.0.0
- 3c90x 1.0.0i
- emu10k1
- 2.4 USB backport
- kaweth
- Tachyon FibreChannel
- SysKonnect FDDI
- Crystal SoundFusion support
- lm_sensors
o RPM 4.0 -- The newest version of the RPM Package Manager is included
in Red Hat Linux 7.0. RPM 4.0 now includes a virtualized database
access framework. This has allowed migration of the RPM database
from Berkeley DB 1 to Berkeley DB 3.1 format. The Red Hat Linux 7.0
installation program automatically migrates DB 1 databases to the new
DB 3.1 format. To migrate from DB 1 to DB 3.1 manually, use RPM's
--rebuilddb option, specifying two additional options:
rpm --rebuilddb --dbapi 1 --rebuilddbapi 3
This automatically converts DB 1 databases to the new DB 3.1 format.
To revert to DB 1 format after migrating to DB 3.1, use this command:
rpm --rebuilddb --dbapi 3 --rebuilddbapi 1
Many parameters in the RPM database can be tuned using RPM macros.
For more information, read /usr/lib/rpm/macros. Local modifications
should be made to /etc/rpm/macros.
RPM 4.0 can install packages built with RPM 2.0 and later. Support
for legacy RPM 1.0 packages has been disabled. Please note that
packages built with the default settings in RPM 4.0 cannot be
installed on versions of RPM less than 3.0.5. RPM 4.0 is capable of
building packages compatible with older versions of RPM, but this is
not enabled by default.
When building binary packages with RPM 4.0, users can now take
advantage of new %configure and %makeinstall macros for packages
utilizing autoconf for build configuration. The macros pass FHS
compliant paths to the configuration scripts. Combined with RPM
macro definitions for the various paths passed to %configure, this
greatly simplifies migrating packages to FHS paths.
o Packages Optimized -- All packages that comprise Red Hat Linux 7.0
have been optimized for maximum performance. The binaries have been
built using EV5 instruction scheduling, which maintains compatibility
with EV4 systems. The gcc 2.96 snapshot compiler has improved the
performance of applications built under Red Hat Linux 7.0.
o Basic USB Support -- Red Hat Linux 7.0 includes support for USB
devices (primarily mouse and keyboard devices, although modules for
other device types are included). The usbview graphical tool is also
included, and can be used to display the devices present on the
Universal Serial Bus.
o IDE Disk Drive Tuning Now Easier -- For the adventurous user, IDE
disk drive tuning parameters (for improving performance) can be found
in the /etc/sysconfig/harddisks file.
o Expanded Hardware Accelerated 3-D Support is not supported for the
Red Hat Linux/Alpha release.
o XFree86 4.0.1 Configuration File Change -- The XFree86 4.0.1
configuration located in /etc/X11 may be named XF86Config or
XF86Config-4, depending on the X server in use. The way to determine
the name currently used is to issue the following command:
ls -l /etc/X11/X
If the X symlink points to a file starting with "XF86_", the
XF86Config configuration file used; otherwise, the XF86Config-4 file
is used. Note that you may actually see both files on your system;
use the above command to determine which file is currently being
used.
o RH PPP Dialer (rp3) Only PPP Configuration Tool -- The PPP
configuration tool (known as rp3) is now the only recommended tool
for configuring dialup Internet connections based on the
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP). If you have an ISDN line, the
isdn-config tool should be used. If you must use SLIP or CSLIP as
your dialup protocol, you should use the netcfg tool.
o GCC Compiler 2.96 snapshot -- GCC 2.96 snapshot allows for faster
optimized code and more complete C++ support.
o BSD lpr Replaced by LPRng -- LPRng is a reimplementation of BSD lpr,
and includes accounting and authentication abilities. The main LPRng
project page is available at:
http://www.astart.com/LPRng/LPRng.html
While the use of LPRng should be transparent to end users, there are
a number of system-level differences that system administrators
should understand. They are outlined below:
- Changes to rhs-printfilters and printtool -- Changes in spooling
between LPRng and BSD lpr have caused a major change in the input
format of rhs-printfilters. BSD lpr's lpd directed standard input
to the print filter, while LPRng's lpd passes a file name.
In addition, printtool no longer copies master-filter from
/usr/lib/rhs/rhs-printfilters/ into the printer's spool directory
when configuring a printer; instead it creates a symlink in the
spooler directory to the master-filter. This will prevent future
upgrade-related issues, as changes to the master-filter will
propagate automatically to the spoolers that use it.
POTENTIAL PRINTING PROBLEM WITH UPGRADES -- However, there is an
upgrade issue with printers that were configured using older
versions of printtool and rhs-printfilters. Since the filter
that resides in the print spool directory is a copy of the old
master-filter, upgrades to the new master-filter will not be
reflected in the filters residing in any old spool directories.
Since the rhs-printfilters input format has changed to
accommodate LPRng, these older filters will not function
correctly with LPRng.
We have implemented a limited fix, in that, upon upgrade, the
rhs-printfilters rpm will compare the master-filter that is
already on the machine with the filters in the spool directories,
and if they are identical, it will replace those filters with
symlinks, before it replaces the master-filter. This will handle
most upgrade cases. However, in two scenarios the new
master-filter will not be used:
o If you have a custom, or edited filter, it will not be
replaced.
o Printer filters configured using versions of rhs-printfilters
older than the version currently on your system will not
match the master-filter, and therefore will not be replaced.
In these cases, it is up to the system administrator to determine
whether it is better to replace the current filter with a symlink
to /usr/lib/rhs/rhs-printfilters/master-filter (or simply use
printtool to delete and recreate the printer entry), or to leave
the current filter in place.
o INTEROPERABILITY ISSUES WITH OLDER VERSIONS OF lpr -- Versions of the
BSD lpr's lpd that shipped with older versions of Red Hat Linux
improperly handle extensions to the lpr/lpd protocol, and will
generate "cannot stat file" error messages when extended lpd spoolers
(such as LPRng) try to print to them. However, the file spooled by
LPRng will still print. Red Hat, Inc. will release an errata to lpr
for Red Linux 5.2 and 6.2 systems that will eliminate the incorrect
error message.
o UPGRADE ISSUE WITH POSTGRESQL - Upgrading to Red Hat Linux 7.0 has
certain implications related to postgresql. Existing databases must
undergo a dump and restore cycle. The best way to do this is to use
pg_dumpall(1) BEFORE upgrading to Red Hat Linux 7.0. After the
upgrade, please see the README.rpm file in
/usr/share/doc/postgresql*/.
Note that the upgrade keeps the old binaries around (along with a
helper script) after the upgrade, but doing the dump before the
upgrade and restoring afterwards (after removing the old database) is
highly recommended.
o Encryption-related changes -- The following packages have been
changed to provide additional support for encryption-related
technologies:
- OpenSSH encryption tools are included in Red Hat Linux 7.0,
allowing secure remote logins to your system.
- The OpenSSL cryptography toolkit is included in Red Hat Linux 7.0
enabling secure communication.
- CIPE is now included in Red Hat Linux 7.0 for building encrypted
VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). Note that if you used CIPE 1.3
(or earlier) previously, you'll either have to regenerate your
CIPE keys, or change them by passing them through the following
"tr" command:
tr \[a-f] \[1-6]
This is necessary because previous CIPE versions contained a
serious bug in key handling which is fixed in the new version.
o Sawfish window manager now included -- The sawfish window manager is
now included in Red Hat Linux 7.0 as the default window manager for
GNOME. Based on a Lisp-like language, sawfish is extensible, and
GNOME-aware.
o Enlightenment Window Manager Updated -- The Enlightenment window
manager has been upgraded to 0.16, and includes many features that
are part of desktop environments such as GNOME and KDE.
o inetd replaced by xinetd -- The xinetd package has greater
functionality than the inetd super-server it replaces. See the
configuration file /etc/xinetd.conf (and the files in /etc/xinetd.d)
for more information on xinetd's default configuration for Red Hat
Linux 7.0. (NOTE: On upgrades, /etc/inetd.conf will be converted to
an xinetd-style file using the inetdconvert script present in the
xinetd RPM. Your original inetd.conf will be saved as
/etc/inetd.conf.rpmsave.)
o xinetd Support in ntsysv/chkconfig -- ntsysv and chkconfig now
controls services started from xinetd as well as the standard init
scripts.
o Support For sar/sard System Status Reporting -- The sysstat RPM
includes sar/sard along with iostat.
o Greater FHS Compatibility -- Red Hat Linux 7.0 has moved towards
greater compatibility with the FHS (Filesystem Hierarchy Standard).
Therefore, the following directories have moved:
/usr/man is now /usr/share/man
/usr/doc is now /usr/share/doc
/usr/info is now /usr/share/info
See
http://www.pathname.com/fhs/ for more information on FHS.
o Other Filesystem Changes -- Red Hat Linux 7.0 also includes other
changes to the directory structure:
/home/httpd is now /var/www
/home/ftp is now /var/ftp
(This makes it possible to automount /home without web or FTP
activity keeping it mounted.)
To foster greater cross-distribution compatibility, the following
symlinks have been added to Red Hat Linux 7.0:
/etc/rc.local -> /etc/rc.d/rc.local
/etc/rc.sysinit -> /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit
/etc/init.d -> /etc/rc.d/init.d
/etc/rc#.d -> /etc/rc.d/rc#.d
Please note that Red Hat may, in the future, turn the symlinks into
directories, and the /etc/rc.d/* directories into symlinks.
o /etc/conf.modules File Renamed -- The file conf.modules has been
renamed to modules.conf, and still resides in /etc.
o Expanded LDAP and Kerberos Integration -- The new authconfig provides
an automated method of configuring a Red Hat Linux 7.0 system to use
LDAP or Kerberos for user authentication. The installation program
takes advantage of this to offer the options at install-time.
Install-time LDAP and Kerberos configuration is also available for
kickstart installations and after installation.
o "service" Command Now Supports Conditional Restart -- The "service"
command now includes the "condrestart" option. For example, to
restart service <foo> only if it is currently running, run 'service
<foo> condrestart'.
o Kickstart Enhancements -- Kickstart has been improved with new
commands, as well as partitioning improvements.
o Red Hat Network Registration Client -- Red Hat Linux 7.0 includes
support for Red Hat Network (RHN), an easily-customized way of
receiving system updates. To join Red Hat Network, create a System
Profile with the RHN Registration Client. Updates can be received
via the Red Hat Update Agent (up2date) or the new RHN Web
Application. For more information, please see
http://www.redhat.com/network.
o Red Hat Update Agent and the Red Hat Network -- Existing registered
users of the Red Hat Update Agent (up2date) shipped with prior
versions of Red Hat Linux are now automatically members of Red Hat
Network. If you've used up2date to access priority.redhat.com in the
past, you should still be able to do so using Red Hat Linux 7.0
(assuming your access to priority.redhat.com has not expired, of
course). Please note that the Red Hat Network Web Application can
also be used to get updates, as well as configure email notifications
and view per-system update information. To learn more about Red Hat
Network, please see
http://www.redhat.com/network.
o Package Highlights -- the following packages are a small sample of
those that are new or upgraded in Red Hat Linux 7.0:
- GIMP 1.1.25
- Perl 5.6.0
- Tcl/Tk 8.3.1
- SDL, smpeg
- SANE
- gphoto
- MySQL
- AbiWord
- dia
- aspell (replaces ispell)
- XEmacs
o pax Included -- pax, the POSIX conformant archiver, is now included
in Red Hat Linux 7.0. pax has a much-simplified command line syntax
relative to tar and cpio, and reads and writes many archive formats.
o gnome-lokkit Firewall Setup Utility Included -- gnome-lokkit makes
setting up firewalls an easier process than it was in previous
releases of Red Hat Linux.
o nut UPS Tools Included -- nut makes is possible to monitor a variety
of uninterruptible power supplies.
o rp-pppoe Included -- rp-pppoe provides an RFC-2516 compliant
implementation of pppoe (Point-to-Point Protocol Over Ethernet).
pppoe is now used by many xDSL-based Internet Service Providers.
o Next-Generation Technology Previews -- the following are previews of
technologies that will play a large role in future versions of Red
Hat Linux:
- pango (internationalized text layout; see www.pango.org)
- Inti (C++ foundation libraries including GTK+ GUI toolkit
classes; see sources.redhat.com/inti)
- GTK+ 2.0
- KDE version 2 (including KOffice) (*)
- The 2.4test kernel
- glibc 2.1.92 (optimized for 2.4 kernels only) (*)
(*) These packages are not installed by default, but may be found in
the preview directory on CD #2.
alpha 7.0
