Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Administration Unleashed

130CHAPTER 5Working with RPM SoftwareTABLE 5.2 ContinuedArgument Description--oldpackage Allow a package to be replaced with an older version.--testCheck for potential conflicts such as package dependencies but do notinstall the package.Installing an RPM package without Red Hat Network to resolve dependencies can be quitefrustrating because sometimes the package name is listed as a dependency and sometimesjust a filename is listed as a dependency; the administrator has to determine whichpackage provides the file. If the package you are trying to install is provided with Red HatEnterprise Linux, refer to Chapter 3 for details on installing it and automatically resolvingits package dependencies with RHN or the yum command-line utility.If the package is not part of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, you still might be able to use RHNto resolve the software dependencies. Open the Nautilus file browser by selecting HomeFolder or Desktop from the Places menu on the top panel of the desktop. Browse to thedirectory containing the RPM to be installed. Double-click on it to open the SoftwareInstaller as shown in Figure 5.1.FIGURE 5.1Installing an RPM Package with Software InstallerClick Apply to install the package. If additional packages are required as dependencies,the program will try to use yum to find the additional software. For this feature to work,the system must be registered to use RHN (refer to Chapter 3). If the dependencies arefound, they are listed so that you can confirm their installation as well. When the installationis finished, a completion message will appear.Installing a New KernelThere is a -i argument to RPM to install packages, but it is more convenient to use -Uwhen installing and upgrading software because -U installs or upgrades the packagedepending on whether or not it is already installed. However, there is an exception:installing a new kernel. When installing a new kernel, you should keep the current kernelinstalled in case the new kernel does not work with the system’s hardware, does not