EL 4/5 users: important change in behavior for EPEL repos

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NOTE: This was crossposted from the Cobbler list, and I need to update the Wiki docs for both to reflect this:

====


Previously we've instructed users using RHEL and Centos 4/5 to get new RPM's from EPEL testing. EPEL testing is a repository for packages that works like Fedora, but for EL distros. We have said to use testing because EPEL stable does not update frequently enough, meaning we are unable to get bugfixes out when needed, etc. Now I've noticied that when EPEL rolls from stable to testing (disclaimer: EPEL's concept of stable is /wrong/ and it's no more stable than testing), it is dropping RPMs so they are no longer present in testing. This means just configuring EPEL testing is not enough anymore. In fact, it means you probably need to mirror additional repos if you are mirroring EPEL.

(This seems normal for a testing repo, but the fact is that EPEL testing is really not "testing", it's an EPEL repo that doesn't wait a month between running updates. EPEL stable can actually be longer than a month to update, if you post a package right before the monthly roll it has to wait until the next monthly roll. Grr....)

Anyway, in that sense, EPEL testing works closer to Fedora, and EPEL stable is like a "slow" Fedora. So we've been telling folks to just use EPEL testing to compensate for the way EPEL works.

So the new deal is that to use EPEL you will need to configure both of the following repos:

http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/5/i386
and
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/testing/5/i386

http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/5/x86_64
and
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/testing/5/x86_64

http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/4/i386
and
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/testing/i386

http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/4/x86_64
and
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/testing/4/x86_64

If you just configure stable, you won't be able to get prompt bugfixes. (Never mind what "stable" means here, yes, it's a misnomer). If you just configure testing, occasionally the RPMs from the testing repo will disappear.

Hopefully this all gets resolved when EPEL finally gets support for bhodi and there can be only one real "stable" repo you can use.

Bottom line: mirror both testing and stable if you are mirroring both repos, and assign all systems to use both repos, or otherwise build from source and use your own repos for that content.


--Michael

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