Issue

How can I apply package updates from the Red Hat Network (RHN) to a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system?

Environment

• All versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux that use RHN: https://rhn.redhat.com.
  
• Your system has connectivity to RHN. If your system cannot connect to the Internet directly, our Red Hat Network Satellite offering may be of interest.
  
• Your system has already been subscribed to RHN successfully. Refer to the "Accessing RHN From a Client Machine" section of How do I access Red Hat Network (RHN) to download software, updates, and security errata?, and the RHN FAQ list for information about registering with RHN, subscribing systems, and other common questions regarding RHN.

Prerequisite: registration

Systems must be registered before updates from RHN can be applied. This can be done by using the "Software Updater" application from the "System Tools" menu, or via the command line by using the "rhn_register" command. Registration requires local root access and a valid RHN login that has an unused Update or Management entitlement for the new system you want to register.

Resolution for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

Before installing an update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to the system have been applied.

To access updates from RHN when using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, launch the graphical update tool through Applications -> System Tools -> Software Updater, or from the command line via the following command:

# pup

For a command line interface, use the following command to update the operating system:

# yum update

To install a specific package, such as vsftpd, use the following command:

# yum install vsftpd

To update a specific package, such as bind, use the following command:

# yum update bind

To find more information about the command line options available for yum, use the following command:

# man yum

Resolution for older releases of Red Hat Enterprise Linux

To access updates from RHN when using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1, 3, and 4, launch the interactive Red Hat Update Agent with the following command:

# up2date

For a command line interface, use up2date-nox. To update non-interactively, use the following command:

# up2date-nox --update

To install a specific package, such as vnc, use the following command:

# up2date vnc

To update a specific package, such as ntp, use the following command:

# up2date -u ntp

To find more information about the command line options available for up2date, use the following command:

# man up2date

Manually selecting updates from the Red Hat Network

It may be necessary to apply only certain updates, for instance, those advisories that are tagged as fixing security issues (RHSA) or bug fixes (RHBA).

To manually select updates:

1. Log into RHN.
2. On the "Your RHN" page, select which system you want to update.
3. Click the Software tab.
4. Click the Errata tab.
5. Select the errata you want to apply.
6. Click "Apply Errata" at the bottom right of the page.
7. On the actual system you want to apply these updates to, run the following command (or place it in a cron job):

# rhn_check

This will apply the selected errata from step 5 to the system you selected in step 2.