{"id":255,"date":"2012-08-04T20:23:48","date_gmt":"2012-08-05T00:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.domb.net\/?p=255"},"modified":"2012-08-08T09:32:25","modified_gmt":"2012-08-08T13:32:25","slug":"oracle-linux-a-better-alternative-to-centos-really","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/?p=255","title":{"rendered":"Oracle Linux: A better alternative to CentOS …really?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I came across this link:\u00a0 http:\/\/linux.oracle.com\/switch\/centos\/ and thought “wow, this might be a very nice alternative to RHEL.” Here is a quote of Oracles site:
\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“FAQ<\/h2>\n
\n
Wait, doesn’t Oracle Linux cost money?<\/dt>\n
Oracle Linux support<\/strong> costs money. If you just want the software, it’s 100% free. And it’s all in our yum repo at public-yum.oracle.com<\/a>. Major releases, errata, the whole shebang. Free source code, free binaries, free updates, freely redistributable, free for production use. Yes, we know that this is Oracle, but it’s actually free. Seriously.“<\/strong><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

\u00a0Errata, the whole shebang<\/strong>, free updates<\/strong>?\u00a0 Sounds fantastic no?<\/p>\n

The errata information in the CentOS repos are missing. There is no updatesinfo.xml.gz file which provides the essential updates and security information (as in the epel repo). As an alternative you can import the errata list into Spacewalk so you get all the information you need. Here is what I am talking about… If you execute<\/p>\n

yum list-security<\/strong><\/em> on a system which has no errata (for CentOS<\/strong>)\u00a0\u00a0 you get the following output:<\/p>\n

[root@graylog2 ~]# yum list-security
\nLoaded plugins: fastestmirror, rhnplugin, security
\nThere was an error communicating with RHN.
\nRHN Satellite or RHN Classic support will be disabled.
\nError communicating with server. The message was:
\nUnable to connect to the host and port specified
\nLoading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
\n* base: mirror.atlanticmetro.net
\n* epel: mirrors.einstein.yu.edu
\n* extras: centos.mirror.choopa.net
\n* updates: mirror.trouble-free.net
\nFEDORA-EPEL-2012-5824 enhancement epel-release-6-7.noarch<\/strong><\/em>
\nupdateinfo list done<\/p>\n

with CentOS errata (in my case connected to my spacewalk server) it would look like this:<\/p>\n

[root@graylog2 ~]# yum list-security
\nLoaded plugins: rhnplugin, security
\ncentos6-updates-x86_64\/updateinfo\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0 31 kB\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 00:00
\nepel\/updateinfo\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 | 427 kB\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 00:06
\nFEDORA-EPEL-2012-5715 enhancement PyYAML-3.10-3.el6.x86_64
\nCEBA-2012:0561\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bash-4.1.2-9.el6_2.x86_64
\nFEDORA-EPEL-2012-6188 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 cobbler-2.2.3-2.el6.noarch
\nFEDORA-EPEL-2012-5824 enhancement epel-release-6-7.noarch
\nCEBA-2012:0566\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 glibc-2.12-1.47.el6_2.12.x86_64
\nCEBA-2012:0566\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 glibc-common-2.12-1.47.el6_2.12.x86_64
\nCEBA-2012:0552\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 irqbalance-2:0.55-30.el6_2.x86_64
\nFEDORA-EPEL-2012-6188 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 koan-2.2.3-2.el6.noarch
\nCESA-2012:0523\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 security\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 libpng-2:1.2.49-1.el6_2.x86_64
\nCEBA-2012:0511\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 matahari-0.4.4-12.el6_2.x86_64
\nCEBA-2012:0555\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 net-tools-1.60-110.el6_2.x86_64
\nFEDORA-EPEL-2012-6024 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 perl-Config-IniFiles-2.72-2.el6.noarch
\nCEBA-2012:0572\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 qemu-img-2:0.12.1.2-2.209.el6_2.5.x86_64
\nCEBA-2012:0556\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 sos-2.2-17.el6_2.3.noarch
\nCEBA-2012:0565\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bugfix\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 sudo-1.7.4p5-9.el6_2.x86_64
\nCESA-2012:0515\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 security\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 xulrunner-10.0.4-1.el6.centos.x86_64
\nupdateinfo<\/strong><\/em> list done<\/p>\n

As you can see all the CEBA and CESA show up. So lets go back to the Oracle quote,\u00a0 “Errata, the whole shebang<\/strong>!”<\/p>\n

So I created a virtual host and ran their centos2ol.sh<\/a> script. Have to say it worked flawlessly. After it ran, I begun to get a little bit excited so I ran the command again on my new OEL6 box.<\/p>\n

[root@kvm0 ~]# yum list security
\nLoaded plugins: fastestmirror, security
\nLoading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
\nol6_UEK_latest\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0 951 B\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 00:00
\nol6_latest\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 | 1.1 kB\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 00:00
\nupdateinfo list done<\/p>\n

WHAT??? really? Where is the security information (errata)? I had this host connected to my spacewalk server before and this is what it looked like:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

11 Critical<\/strong> updates. So it seems that there are no updates or security information in the official Oracle public-yum-ol6.repo.<\/p>\n

Lets check if\u00a0 the updateinfo.xml.gz is available.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So there is NO<\/strong> updateinfo.xml.gz file :-(.<\/p>\n

Well Oracle, that’s disappointing. So where can I get the errata information for OEL from? Oh here it is: https:\/\/oss.oracle.com\/pipermail\/el-errata\/. Hmm that looks like a mailing list \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

The El-errata Archives<\/h1>\n

You can get more information about this list<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Archive<\/td>\nView by:<\/td>\nDownloadable version<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
August 2012:<\/td>\n[ Thread ]<\/a> [ Subject ]<\/a> [ Author ]<\/a> [ Date ]<\/a><\/td>\n[ Gzip’d Text 2 KB ]<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
July 2012:<\/td>\n[ Thread ]<\/a> [ Subject ]<\/a> [ Author ]<\/a> [ Date ]<\/a><\/td>\n[ Gzip’d Text 170 KB ]<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
June 2012:<\/td>\n[ Thread ]<\/a> [ Subject ]<\/a> [ Author ]<\/a> [ Date ]<\/a><\/td>\n[ Gzip’d Text 24 KB ]<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 2012:<\/td>\n[ Thread ]<\/a> [ Subject ]<\/a> [ Author ]<\/a> [ Date ]<\/a><\/td>\n[ Gzip’d Text 17 KB ]<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
April 2012:<\/td>\n[ Thread ]<\/a> [ Subject ]<\/a> [ Author ]<\/a> [ Date ]<\/a><\/td>\n[ Gzip’d Text 17 KB ]<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
March 2012:<\/td>\n[ Thread ]<\/a> [ Subject ]<\/a> [ Author ]<\/a> [ Date ]<\/a><\/td>\n[ Gzip’d Text 66 KB ]<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

As a comparison, the CentOS one \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

The CentOS-announce Archives<\/h1>\n

You can get more information about this list<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Archive<\/td>\nView by:<\/td>\nDownloadable version<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
August 2012:<\/td>\n[ Thread ]<\/a> [ Subject ]<\/a> [ Author ]<\/a> [ Date ]<\/a><\/td>\n[ Gzip’d Text 19 KB ]<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
July 2012:<\/td>\n[ Thread ]<\/a> [ Subject ]<\/a> [ Author ]<\/a> [ Date ]<\/a><\/td>\n[ Gzip’d Text 46 KB ]<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
June 2012:<\/td>\n[ Thread ]<\/a> [ Subject ]<\/a> [ Author ]<\/a> [ Date ]<\/a><\/td>\n[ Gzip’d Text 41 KB ]<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 2012:<\/td>\n[ Thread ]<\/a> [ Subject ]<\/a> [ Author ]<\/a> [ Date ]<\/a><\/td>\n[ Gzip’d Text 27 KB ]<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Ok, so my conclusion is yes, it’s nice the have tools like ksplice and dtrace. And depending on you’re environment, these 2 tools can make life a lot easier! But no errata information in the yum repos is a killer for me. I can have the same errata information with CentOS without being dependent on Oracle. So, I’ll wait until maybe one day, there is errata information in the oracles yum repos.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week I came across this link:\u00a0 http:\/\/linux.oracle.com\/switch\/centos\/ and thought “wow, this might be a very nice alternative to RHEL.” Here is a quote of Oracles site: “FAQ Wait, doesn’t Oracle Linux cost money? Oracle Linux support costs money. If you just want the software, it’s 100% free. And it’s all in our yum repo…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linux"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=255"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":289,"href":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255\/revisions\/289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.domb.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}