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So after a fresh Scientific Linux 6.3 Desktop install, I:

yum install rpmforge-release && yum update

and 

yum install epel-release.noarch

then: 

yum install wine gparted cups-pdf && echo 'includepkgs=nss-mdns wine* gparted cups-pdf' >> /etc/yum.repos.d/epel.repo

OK! After this I: 

vi /etc/yum.repos.d/epel.repo
includepkgs=nss-mdns wine* gparted cups-pdf

So this is how I install a fresh wine (+cups-pdf) and gparted.

Q: Is this a stable thing to do? I mean can this cause problems in the future? (that there are some epel packages installed, but I use a whitelist after installing the mentioned few packages to help stability - because I only need epel for the few things gparted/wine/cups-pdf). Will these stepes cause problems in the future?

gasko peter
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2 Answers2

10

I use epel and rpmforge in my centos. But I recommend you to install the yum-priorities plugin since there are some programs in both repositories.

Ok, so here is the link of yum-priorities explained in detail: http://wiki.centos.org/PackageManagement/Yum/Priorities

But basically, after installing yum-priorities, you must edit /etc/yum/pluginconf.d/priorities.conf from enabled=0 to enabled=1

And also add this line to every repository (because there may be more than one) in every repo file in /eyc/yum.repos.d/

priority=Number

There is also a oneliner to see your priorities:

sed -n -e "/^\[/h; /priority *=/{ G; s/\n/ /; s/ity=/ity = /; p }" /etc/yum.repos.d/*.repo | sort -k3n

This is me output:

priority = 1 [base]
priority = 1 [centosplus]
priority = 1 [extras]
priority = 1 [updates]
priority = 2 [contrib]
priority = 10 [atrpms]
priority = 10 [elrepo]
priority = 10 [elrepo-extras]
priority = 10 [elrepo-kernel]
priority = 10 [epel]
priority = 10 [epel-debuginfo]
priority = 10 [epel-source]
priority = 11 [elrepo-testing]
priority = 11 [epel-testing]
priority = 11 [epel-testing-debuginfo]
priority = 11 [epel-testing-source]
priority = 20 [rpmforge]
priority = 20 [rpmforge-extras]
priority = 21 [rpmforge-testing]
priority = 30 [nfb] This is my own repo.
Stefan Lasiewski
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NotFromBrooklyn
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  • +1; CentOS official FAQ (not sure about SciLinux or the RHEL upstream) expressly warns that if you start mixing repos like this you're basically on your own. – Deer Hunter Oct 12 '12 at 09:32
  • additional config for yum-priorities is needed? or just install it?? – gasko peter Oct 12 '12 at 12:05
  • @gaskopeter, http://wiki.centos.org/PackageManagement/Yum/Priorities has the information you may need. Hope @ NotFromBrooklyn can add the link to his nice answer. On RPMForge specifically there's another link which implies that for at least CentOS RPMForge is probably safe: http://wiki.centos.org/AdditionalResources/Repositories/RPMForge – Deer Hunter Oct 12 '12 at 18:58
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Yes, mixing repos can create huge dependency deadlocks for you, so you must thread carefully.

What I have found works best for me is to install them, but to leave them disabled: 'enabled=0' in /etc/yum.repos.d/.repo ..

Then when I must use them, I would bring them in like so:

yum --enablerepo=epel,rpmforge-extras list package-name  
yum --enablerepo=rpmforge install package-name
Giacomo1968
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Chux Uzoeto
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