Understanding Oracle Linux Package Management

For Autonomous Linux instances, Ksplice is preconfigured. The Ksplice software sources are automatically attached and the Ksplice client is automatically installed by default. No additional configuration is required.

For general information about Ksplice in Oracle Linux, see Oracle Linux Ksplice User's Guide.

Verifying Ksplice Updates

Use the following methods to verify Ksplice updates are being applied.

Check the effective kernel

View the instance details and verify the effective kernel value has been updated. A blank value (-) indicates that no Ksplice kernel updates have been applied.

Check change history

View the change history report for the instance. Look for entries with a summary of "Update ksplice kernel" or "Update ksplice userspace". Click the entry's date to view job details.

Note

If you don't see Ksplice entries in the change history, the update job might have failed. See Listing Jobs Associated with an Instance and examine the error messages in any failed jobs.

Oracle Linux 8 and later releases provide modules, module streams, and profiles to enable the management of different versions of software within a single OS release.

Modules

Modules are a set of RPM packages that are grouped together and must be installed together. They can contain several streams that consist of multiple versions of applications that you can install. You enable a module stream to provide system access to the RPM packages that are contained in that module stream.

Module Streams

Module streams hold different versions of content contained within a module. Modules can have multiple streams, where each stream contains a different version of packages and their dependencies. Each stream receives updates independently.

Profiles

Profiles provide a list of certain packages that are installed at the same time for a particular use case. Profiles are also a recommendation by the application packagers and experts. Each module stream can have one or more profiles.

For more information about DNF modules, streams, and profiles, see Use DNF Modules and Application Streams in the Oracle Linux documentation.

For important guidelines, caveats, and warnings when performing package operations on modules and streams, see About Modular Dependencies and Stream Changes in the Oracle Linux documentation.

Module Status

The module stream can be in one of the following states:

• Enabled: Stream can provide packages to the instance.
• - (hyphen): Stream isn't enabled but can provide packages to the instance to satisfy package dependencies.
• Disabled: Stream can't provide packages to the instance until enabled.

Use the following tasks to manage packages for Oracle Linux instances and groups.

Instances

Package Management

• Installing Packages on an Instance
• Removing Packages from an Instance
• Listing Packages Installed on an Instance
• Listing Packages Available to an Instance
• Searching for Packages in a Software Source

Module Management

• Editing a Module on an Instance
• Viewing Modules, Streams, and Profiles on an Instance
• Enabling a Module Stream on an Instance
• Installing Module Stream Profiles on an Instance
• Switching to Another Module Stream on an Instance
• Removing Module Stream Profiles from an Instance
• Disabling a Module Stream on an Instance

Software Source Management

• Listing Software Sources Attached to an Instance
• Attaching Software Sources to an Instance
• Detaching Software Sources from an Instance

Groups

Group Content Management

• Viewing the Group Manifest
• Updating Instances in a Group
• Attaching Software Sources to a Group
• Detaching Software Sources from a Group
• Adding Packages to a Group
• Removing Packages from a Group
• Adding a Module to a Group
• Editing a Module for a Group
• Removing a Module from a Group
• Editing the Autonomous Updates Job for a Group