Repository help - stickiness, vendors etc

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

Hi,
I have one day of experience wi t h opensuse, or indeed any rpm based distro. Whats confusing me is repositories. The repo system in libzypp seems to be very difficult to thenew user (me), and so it woul d be nice if someone here could explain the stickiness cincept , and vendors. Also how to update a peice of software from a non default repo (eg gnome, tumbleweed set of apps), because every time i add a repo and do a zypper dup, i end up with packages that wont update because they are from different vendors (when adding the gnome stable repo or tumbleweed.

I do have quite a lot of experience with linux distros though, just deb based…

Thanks

Edit sorru for mistakes - i am using a tablet :wink:

#2

So, why not an example? Unfortunately, I use KDE and not gnome. Here is a terminal example of adding in the Packman repository which we recommend to openSUSE 12.2 and upgrading from it.

From terminal, here is an example:

su -
password:

zypper ar http://packman.inode.at/suse/openSUSE_12.2/ Packman
zypper refresh
zypper mr -rk -p 10 Packman
zypper update
zypper dup --from Packman

To fully upgrade using the KDE YaST GUI, I would do the following tasks for openSUSE 12.2 using KDE:

  1. Go to YaST (Enter Root Password) / Software / Software Repository and specify the URL addition of the Packman Repository “http://packman.inode.at/suse/openSUSE_12.2/” excluding the quotes if not already done.
  2. Go to YaST (Enter Root Password) / Software / Software Management and select Options and check Allow Vendor Change.
  3. Again, still in Software Management select Package / All Packages / Update if newer version available and press the Accept button on the bottom right.

The Allow Vendor Change is the secret in the GUI update.

Thank You,

#3

On 2012-12-09 01:36, zheoffec wrote:
>
> Hi,
> I have one day of experience wi t h opensuse, or indeed any rpm based
> distro. Whats confusing me is repositories. The repo system in libzypp
> seems to be very difficult to thenew user (me), and so it woul d be nice
> if someone here could explain the stickiness cincept , and vendors. Also
> how to update a peice of software from a non default repo (eg gnome,
> tumbleweed set of apps), because every time i add a repo and do a zypper
> dup, i end up with packages that wont update because they are from
> different vendors (when adding the gnome stable repo or tumbleweed.

WOWWW! Hold on, slow down…

Tumbleweed is another version of the distro. Once you use it, you no
longer have 12.2, you have tumbleweed. It even has a specific forum for it.

Second. Using zypper dup that happily is dangerous, you can destroy your
installation.

Read first, act later and carefully.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.1 x86_64 “Asparagus” at Telcontar)

#4

Hang on,
You need to know some basics

Lets assume you have openSUSE 12.2, as you didn’t say.
Once installed, you should run this twice:

zypper patch

And reboot

Next, all you’ll probably need for a fantastic OS with full multimedia is to follow this:
https://forums.opensuse.org/content/127-multimedia-restricted-formats-installation-guide-12-2.html

Done
(regular updates are with)

zypper up

========================================

Let me tell you. On my systems, be they standard as above or Tumbleweed, …all my repos are set at Priority 99 (default)

If you plan to use tumbleweed, there is a guide:
https://forums.opensuse.org/content/55-how-upgrade-opensuse-12-x-tumbleweed.html

#5

Unofficial repos are basically PPAs. I always regretted enabling PPAs in Ubuntu, and the same applies here. I advise you to not mess with them. Whenever you play with repos, you run the risk of seriously mucking up your system.

Is there any particular software you’re interested in that isn’t in the standard repo? Try to keep your additional repos to the absolute minimum, if so. The more you add, the more likely they’ll conflict - same with PPAs.

#6

On 12/09/2012 01:36 AM, zheoffec wrote:
> every time i add a repo and do a zypper dup, i end up with

please tell us where and how so many new to openSUSE ‘learn’ to use
“zypper dup” instead of the SAFE “zypper patch” or adventuresome “zypper
up”…

it is a complete mystery to me how so many people get so much BAD
advice…if it is in some blog or non-openSUSE (like maybe some *buntu)
forum, please point me too it…i wanna TRY to remove ‘dup’ from every
spot it should not be!!

–
dd http://goo.gl/PUjnL

#7

Thanks everyone - sorry I was in a hurry. Anyway, my situation is adding repositories with newer versions of existing packages. I am unable to add a repository without causing trouble with my system, probably due to my lack of understanding of vendor stickiness.
When adding the Tumbleweed and openSUSE Current x y z repos, I encounter trouble because i think loads of packages think they belong to the openSUSE 12.2 repo vendor, but, as I have removed those repos, there are loads which will not be installed, and after that I end up with a broken login screen, because gdm will not be installed or something…
This also happens with the GNOME_STABLE_3.6 repo.

Can someone fully explain how to replace existing system packages to the latest available packages in a specific repo?

BTW These are the instructions I followed: https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Tumbleweed

#8

On 12/09/2012 01:56 PM, zheoffec wrote:
> When adding the Tumbleweed and openSUSE Current x y z repos

this question/thread needs to be moved to the Tumbleweed forum…

for just one reason: to get the line “every time i add a repo and do a
zypper dup” out of the openSUSE Applications forum and into the only
forum here where “zypper dup” is the way to go.

–
dd

#9

Sorry dd, it appears that I am unable to move it, as a newbie. Anyway, I now have a clean reinstall, slightly hesitant on what to do now…
If anyone could guide me on how to update to Tumbleweed, that would be great :wink:

#10

On 2012-12-09 13:56, zheoffec wrote:

> When adding the Tumbleweed and openSUSE Current x y z repos, I

Now you no longer have openSUSE 12.2, you now have Tumbleweed and you
have to post your question in the tumbleweed forum.

> encounter trouble because i think loads of packages think they belong to
> the openSUSE 12.2 repo vendor, but, as I have removed those repos, there
> are loads which will not be installed, and after that I end up with a
> broken login screen, because gdm will not be installed or something…
> This also happens with the GNOME_STABLE_3.6 repo.

Reinstall from scratch if you want to go back to 12.2, ie, remove
tumbleweed. Your system is beyond help.

> Can someone fully explain how to replace existing system packages to
> the latest available packages in a specific repo?

Simply, don’t.
Learn first to walk before attempting to run.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.1 x86_64 “Asparagus” at Telcontar)

#11

On 2012-12-09 15:36, zheoffec wrote:
>
> Sorry dd, it appears that I am unable to move it, as a newbie. Anyway, I
> now have a clean reinstall, slightly hesitant on what to do now…
> If anyone could guide me on how to update to Tumbleweed, that would be
> great :wink:

No.

I do not recommend you update to tumbleweed. Learn to walk before you run.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.1 x86_64 “Asparagus” at Telcontar)

#12

NNTP users, thread will be moved in 10 minutes, to Tumbleweed

HTTP users, thread will be closed now, reopened in Tumbleweed

#13

Done, moved (sorry, phonecall, took a bit longer), reopened.

#14

Sorry everyone for being such a n00b in regards to openSUSE or RPM package management. In any case, whether I can walk or run or have just been born is quite irrelevant (I think I can walk at least, anyway), as I did follow about 4 guides, only to reach the same end result.

I anyone is skeptical, these are the steps I have followed:

**1. Install from GNOME LiveCD (MD5 correct)

  1. zypper patch

  2. Reboot

  3. zypper patch, again I know

  4. Reboot

  5. Add 4 Tumbleweed repos

  6. Remove all stock repos

  7. zypper dup

  8. Reboot

  9. Observe the lack of gdm login screen and watch the spinning cursor indefinitely.
    **
    After logging in to a tty, I discovered that gdm-branding-openSUSE, (after zypper up) ‘will NOT be installed’, along with ~20 others. Trying to install it outputs:

Verbosity: 1
Non-option programme arguments: 'gdm-branding-openSUSE' 
Initialising Target
Checking whether to refresh metadata for Tumbleweed
Retrieving: repomd.xml ...................................................[done]
Checking whether to refresh metadata for openSUSE Current OSS
Retrieving: content ......................................................[done]
Retrieving: media ........................................................[done]
Checking whether to refresh metadata for openSUSE Current non-OSS
Retrieving: content ......................................................[done]
Retrieving: media ........................................................[done]
Checking whether to refresh metadata for openSUSE Current updates
Retrieving: repomd.xml ...................................................[done]
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
Force resolution: No
'gdm-branding-openSUSE' is already installed.
There is an update candidate for 'gdm-branding-openSUSE', but it is from different vendor. Use 'zypper install gdm-branding-openSUSE-12.2-3.1.1.noarch' to install this candidate.
Resolving package dependencies...
Force resolution: No


Nothing to do.

If anyone would like to help, please do. I really like this distro, but the package management system and the way repositories are implemented seems really off-putting.

#15

Pretty sure we had a thread a while back that showed a bug where if you install with the Live CD
You will not get the same results with zypper dup as when you used the DVD
Live CD users had to do

zypper dup --from tumbleweed
#16

Ah ok, ignore my last pm then! Should someone edit that into the Tumbleweed portal?

#17

Check this very long thread
https://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/tumbleweed/479381-opensuse-tumbleweed-new-user-not-being-offered-3-6-kernel-during-zypper-dup.html

#18

Oh really…

I was going to say Tumbleweed is simply broken for GNOME users right now, but maybe that could be why?

See https://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/tumbleweed/481173-gnome-3-6-now-opensuse-tumbleweed.html

#19

zheoffec wrote:
>
> Sorry everyone for being such a n00b in regards to openSUSE or RPM
> package management.

No worries, nobody’s born with openSUSE. Even less with Tumbleweed.

First of all, Tumbleweed is a developing version, it’s going to break.
Someone has said it’s Factory on barbiturates.

You should know openSUSE somehow to be able to cope with TW.

On top of that, you happened to start on a bad day. It’s broken.

You should stay on 12.2 for now, the latest Gnome stuff broke TW.
I don’t and I never did use Gnome so this is all I know about it.

But I’ve been on Tumbleweed since day one, so I’ll try to clarify a few
things.
Let’s first check your steps.

> I anyone is skeptical, these are the steps I have followed:
>
> *1. Install from GNOME LiveCD (MD5 correct)

This is good.

> 2. zypper patch

Good
>
> 3. Reboot

It’s ok. Simplest thing to do.

>
> 4. zypper patch, again I know

Good.
>
> 5. Reboot

Ok.

>
> 6. Add 4 Tumbleweed repos

Which four?

There’s only two:

http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/openSUSE:/Tumbleweed/standard/

and

http://packman.inode.at/suse/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/

>
> 7. Remove all stock repos

No. You need the normal 12.2 repos with 12.2 Tumbleweed
Just remove the ‘12.2 Packman’ if you had it.

You can also change the 12.2 ones to “Current” ones.
Which are links to the 12.2 ones.

This will become handy when the next release comes out.
The “Current” ones always point to the latest release.
Which Tumbleweed is always based on.

If you mean this change to “Current” by “remove stock repos” then it’s OK.
>
> 8. zypper dup

It used to be ‘zypper dup --from Tumbleweed’ initially after adding the
TW repos.
This was in the beginning of Tumbleweed and I’m not sure if it’s still
officially obligatory.

The next updates should then afterwards ALWAYS be ‘zypper dup’ though.

At this point you should only go to the first ‘zypper dup --from
Tumbleweed’ step. This is because there’s a situation.

Then stay there and wait.
You should also follow the factory mailing list.
The Tumbleweed developer Greg K-H interacts with that list.

If you go ‘zypper dup’ after the initial one you’ll get a broken system
according to my recent experience.

>
> 9. Reboot

At this point this can be recommended, there’s a new kernel there.

>
> 10. Observe the lack of gdm login screen and watch the spinning cursor
> indefinitely.

This is where you got hit. I got it, too.
It’s (methinks) some mismatch between the older and the newer Gnome
packages that appeared the other day.

>
>
> If anyone would like to help, please do. I really like this distro, but
> the package management system and the way repositories are implemented
> seems really off-putting.
>

It’s not, really.

But you bit quite a chunk by getting started with a developing version,

And yet, on a day when it’s broken.

I think you should be fine with the normal 12.2 to familiarize yourself
with openSUSE a bit.

Vahis

http://waxborg.servepics.com
openSUSE 11.4 (x86_64) 2.6.37.6-0.20-default main host
openSUSE 12.2 (x86_64) 3.6.9-14-desktop Tumbleweed
openSUSE 12.2 (i586) 3.4.11-2.16-desktop in EeePC 900

#20

Thanks Vahis, for enlightening me - I will now use the stock repos for a while until i think things have settled down…
caf4926, I installed with the DVD and there is no difference, I guess it’s just the repo’s fault for now lol! But I will use dvds from now on.

Thanks everyone for replies etc. :wink: