Venyu Blog

YUM is an application that allows system administrators to update linux/unix operating systems.  It has been used by many distributions; however, it is now being used by Red Hat Linux.  Red Hat is no longer using “up2date” — they are using “YUM.”

Here is a quick guide to the basic features of yum:  substitute <any-package> with the package you are interested in…

To update your system: This will check the software that is installed on your system and search/download updates.  You can use the “-y” option to answer yes to all questions.

yum update
yum -y update

To search for packages available to your system:

yum search any-package

To  install a package/application to your system:

yum install any-package

To remove a package/application to your system:

yum remove any-package

To see what packages/applications are installed on your system:

yum list installed|less
yum list any-package      (you can also do this, quicker than ‘yum list installed|less’)

Cleaning up your yum cache: Over time, your /var/cache/yum directory can occupy unneeded disk space.  You can clean up with this command:

yum clean all

*** FYI: ***

If you are running kernel updates on a VMware/virtual guest, you may need to rerun “VMware Tools” or your “virtualization helper apps” right after updating.  If you are unsure, always ask your system administrator.  Not understanding this can limit your VM’s performance and/or cause loss of connectivity.

If you are looking for more information on “YUM,” checkout:  http://forums.fedoraforum.org — and —   http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise (there is a BUNCH of great information/resources at this site…)

Thanks,
Will