CentOS 5.9 Release Notes
Last updated: January 18, 2013
Contents
1. Translations
These release notes are available in the following languages:
2. Introduction
Welcome to the CentOS 5.9 release. CentOS is an Enterprise-class Linux Distribution derived from sources freely provided to the public by our Upstream OS Provider (UOP)1.
CentOS conforms fully with the upstream vendor's redistribution policy and aims to be 100% binary compatible. (CentOS mainly changes packages to remove upstream vendor branding and artwork.) CentOS is a Free Operating System.
CentOS 5.9 is the ninth update to the CentOS 5 distribution series. It contains a lot of bugfixes, updates and new functionality. Before reading any further we advise you to read the UOP Release Notes and Technical Notes2. The rest of this document is an addendum and primarily covers CentOS-specific issues.
3. Install Media and sha1sums
- The installation kit is split into two DVDs. The DVD #2 contains additional language packs for Open Office (OOo). On x86_64, packages java-1.6.0-openjdk-src and java-1.7.0-openjdk-src have also been moved to DVD #2. Installs not requiring these features should run using only DVD #1.
- There are now 8 CD images for i386 and 9 for x86_64. This is an increase of one CD image for each architecture over CentOS 5.8.
- You can do a minimal CentOS installation using only the first CD. All package groups except Base (in Base System) must be unchecked to allow for this. Please note that there is a new package group HyperV (in Virtualization) that will also need to be unchecked for the minimal install.
sha1sum i386: b2c69ce018af739b2b47c4654409baaa046b8cba CentOS-5.9-i386-bin-1of8.iso 1d7335f99442c51e9d88ee13a375811f73a1e2bf CentOS-5.9-i386-bin-2of8.iso 4c3a2cfa69be55ff9fed1d12266ac6ca8ab5b42c CentOS-5.9-i386-bin-3of8.iso a405498a0f7018e6636b85669d6e4f17b1d56752 CentOS-5.9-i386-bin-4of8.iso 6105288bc0250b52419c4e18c8827b06692a2d27 CentOS-5.9-i386-bin-5of8.iso 7f088afa2830a63f19b639fcaf38f25e7b99be2a CentOS-5.9-i386-bin-6of8.iso 8918bc15e1df5eaf2cd45acea6c3eb7b054cf394 CentOS-5.9-i386-bin-7of8.iso 26c0025982bcb160727569c2a4bdef97cd68c87d CentOS-5.9-i386-bin-8of8.iso 78f976b190ce44716eb672f71203df978474dfb4 CentOS-5.9-i386-bin-DVD-1of2.iso ebf065a98b59cf59d43503a0e0dcc4aec5f68cae CentOS-5.9-i386-bin-DVD-2of2.iso 6a168565584972f2491959c22528ae6c34629e76 CentOS-5.9-i386-netinstall.iso sha1sum x86_64: e5a0577ab9df5668b68094479b893095e12d1b81 CentOS-5.9-x86_64-bin-1of9.iso 3add747ab3e9d6795b13c701dd59014401a94cee CentOS-5.9-x86_64-bin-2of9.iso 4f3c4ebf4d69d8bf5db100cc3364923d9df1a0b5 CentOS-5.9-x86_64-bin-3of9.iso d17fe2d84556349373ab1342ced0c3e5a9ed465e CentOS-5.9-x86_64-bin-4of9.iso c6b30bb6ef7e0e6d9661f9aaef7b39418d16797a CentOS-5.9-x86_64-bin-5of9.iso dc65e64eae9b7f18cbd48099c751628d84819da1 CentOS-5.9-x86_64-bin-6of9.iso 08734fbddbb8f333cc5a006d6b707edbcb4d1f42 CentOS-5.9-x86_64-bin-7of9.iso 51f7dcf07a981f2127761cb4c683227146c313e7 CentOS-5.9-x86_64-bin-8of9.iso 9a513ac462d60597dc4b969f14a9a44c19a15839 CentOS-5.9-x86_64-bin-9of9.iso c12e01b546f00a965b8414abf0860b08d0bba3c9 CentOS-5.9-x86_64-bin-DVD-1of2.iso 67636b62b95fa15e7d565fb01d5b382b66bfd80e CentOS-5.9-x86_64-bin-DVD-2of2.iso fa90a5b066f0e8918c9b9b3a18637051da4e3434 CentOS-5.9-x86_64-netinstall.iso
4. Known Issues
Known issues with UOP packages can be viewed here.
Tomcat may not start after upgrading to the latest tomcat5 packages. See the relevant bug report for more information and a possible workaround.
- If you are doing a kickstart install and need to get a dhcp address and/or remote ssh access after the reboot, then be sure your kickstart either includes the @base group or includes openssh-server and/or dhclient packages.
There seems to be a benign warning (according to upstream) concerning task_setrlimit for some users. See these mailing list threads. (CentOS, UOP)
5. Changes
5.1. New features
The UOP added native MySQL support to postfix. More information can be found here. You might consider moving from the postfix-mysql package from the centosplus repo to this package if you are using the centosplus package only for mysql support. The centosplus package also has postgresql support, so if you need that you will still need to use the centosplus package.
- java-1.7.0-openjdk (Java 7) support has been added in CentOS-5.9. java-1.6.0-openjdk (Java 6) is also still available and most things java in the distribution still use Java 6.
- ant17 (Ant 1.7.0) has been added to CentOS-5.9. The older ant (Ant 1.6.5) is also still available.
- Microsoft Hyper-V drivers have been added to allow CentOS to be more efficient as a Virtual Machine when installed on Microsoft Hyper-V server.
- A newer version of rsyslog (name rsyslog5) is included. The original rsyslog (rsyslog version 3.22) is still available and the version installed by default.
- The samba3x packages have been rebased on samba-3.6.x. This provides the smb2 protocol and a newer network print server.
5.2. New packages in 5.9 that were not present in 5.8
- php53-odbc64
- libitm
- scl-utils
- ant17
- java-1.7.0-openjdk
- rsyslog5
- hypervkvpd
5.3. Packages that have been upgraded in 5.9 since the 5.8 release
- aide
- alsa-utils
- anaconda
- ant17
- autofs
- bind
- bind97
- binutils
- bnx2
- bnx2i
- bnx2x
- busybox
- cman
- cmirror
- cnic
- conga
- coreutils
- crash
- crontabs
- ctdb
- cyrus-sasl
- dapl
- devhelp
- device-mapper-multipath
- dhcp
- diffutils
- e2fsprogs
- e4fsprogs
- esc
- etherboot
- expat
- firefox
- freeradius2
- freetype
- ftp
- gcc
- gcc44
- gdb
- gfs2-utils
- gfs-kmod
- gfs-utils
- ghostscript
- gimp
- glibc
- gnbd
- gnome-vfs2
- gnutls
- gpxe
- grub
- gtk+
- gtk2
- hal
- hplip3
- hsqldb
- httpd
- hwdata
- hypervkvpd
- ibsim
- ibutils
ImageMagick
- infiniband-diags
- initscripts
- ipa-client
- ipsec-tools
- iptables
- iscsi-initiator-utils
- java-1.6.0-openjdk
- java-1.7.0-openjdk
- jpackage-utils
- kbd
- kernel
- kexec-tools
- ksh
- kudzu
- kvm
- lftp
- libcxgb3
- libcxgb4
- libexif
- libgcrypt
- libibcm
- libibmad
- libibumad
- libibverbs
- libipathverbs
- libitm
- libmlx4
- libmthca
- libnes
- libpng
- librdmacm
- libsdp
- libtalloc
- libtdb
- libtiff
- libvirt
- libvorbis
- libwpd
- libxml2
- libxslt
- linuxwacom
- lvm2
- lvm2-cluster
- m2crypto
- man-pages-overrides
- mdadm
- microcode_ctl
- mkinitrd
- mod_auth_kerb
- mod_nss
- mozldap
- mpitests
- mstflint
- mvapich
- mvapich2
- mysql
- net-snmp
- nfs-utils
- nspr
- nss
- nss_ldap
- openais
- openib
- OpenIPMI
- openldap
- openmotif
- openmpi
- openoffice.org
- opensm
- openssl
- openssl097a
- openswan
- pam
- parted
- pdksh
- perftest
- perl
- perl-DBD-Pg
- perl-LDAP
- php
- php53
- php53-odbc64
- pidgin
- piranha
- pirut
- postfix
- postgresql
- postgresql84
- procps
- psmisc
- python
- qlvnictools
- qperf
- quagga
- quota
- rds-tools
- rgmanager
- rpm
- rsyslog5
- ruby
- samba
- samba3x
- scl-utils
- selinux-policy
- setroubleshoot
- shadow-utils
- smartmontools
- sos
- spice-client
- spice-xpi
- sqlite
- squirrelmail
- srptools
- sssd
- strace
- subversion
- sudo
- syslinux
- system-config-bind
- system-config-cluster
- system-config-lvm
- system-config-printer
- systemtap
- tar
- tcl
- tcsh617
- tetex
- thunderbird
- tomcat5
- tzdata
- udev
- util-linux
- vim
- virt-who
- vsftpd
- wget
- wireshark
- xen
- xinetd
- xorg-x11-server
- xulrunner
- yelp
- ypserv
- yum-updatesd
5.4. Packages removed by upstream in 5.9 that were present in 5.8
5.5. Packages released as 5.8 updates with older packages on the 5.9 install media
- bind
- libtiff
- perl-IO-Socket-SSL
These packages are now in the updates repository for CentOS 5.9.
6. Changes made by CentOS
6.1. Packages modified by CentOS
- anacron
- basesystem
- bluez-utils
- buildsys-macros
- busybox
- Cluster_Administration
- clustermon
- compiz
- comps-extras
- conga
- crash
- Deployment_Guide
- desktop-backgrounds
- eclipse
- etherboot
- filesystem
- firefox
- firstboot
- gdb
- gdm
- geronimo-specs
- gfs-kmod
- Global_File_System
- gnbd-kmod
- gnome-desktop
- gzip
- httpd
- initscripts
- kdebase
- kdelibs
- kernel
- kudzu
- kvm
- nautilus-sendto
- ntp
- pango
- pirut
- procmail
- redhat-artwork
- redhat-logos
- redhat-rpm-config
- rgmanager
- rhdb-utils
- rhgb
- setuptool
- specspo
- squirrelmail
- system-config-bind
- system-config-date
- tftp
- thunderbird
- Virtualization
- virt-who
- yum
- yum-utils
Note: Details of changes can be found in the package changelog. It's also important to keep in mind that most of these packages are only changed to remove upstream branding, as required by their terms of use.
6.2. Packages removed from CentOS that are included upstream
- cc-eal4-config-rhel56
- python-rhsm
- redhat-release-5Client
- redhat-release-5Server
- redhat-release-notes
- rhel-instnum
- rhn-check
- rhn-client-tools
- rhnlib
- rhnsd
- rhn-setup
- rhn-setup-gnome
- subscription-manager
- subscription-manager-firstboot
- subscription-manager-gnome
- subscription-manager-migration
- subscription-manager-migration-data
- yum-rhn-plugin
Note: These packages deal with subscriptions to RHN and are not applicable to CentOS
6.3. Packages added by CentOS that are not included upstream
- centos-release
- centos-release-notes
- yum-allowdowngrade
- yum-kernel-module
- yum-merge-conf
- yum-refresh-updatesd
- yum-tsflags
- yum-upgrade-helper
7. How to help and get help
As a CentOS user there are various ways you can help out with the CentOS community. Take a look at our Contribute page for further information on how to get involved.
7.1. Special Interest Groups
CentOS consists of different Special Interest Groups (SIGs) that bring together people with similar interests. The following SIGs already exist:
Artwork - create and improve artwork for CentOS releases and promotion
Promotion - help promoting CentOS online or at events
Virtualization - unite people around virtualization in CentOS
And we encourage people to join any of these SIGs or start up a new SIG, e.g.
- Alpha, S390, Sparc and PPC port - help with porting CentOS to other architectures
- Hardware compatibility - provide feedback about specific hardware
- RPM Packaging - contribute new useful RPM packages
- Translation - help translating the documentation, website and wiki content
7.2. Mailinglists and Fora
Another way you can help others in the community is by actively helping and resolving problems that users come up against in the mailinglists and the fora.
7.3. Wiki and Website
Even as an inexperienced CentOS user we can use your help. Because we like to know what problems you encountered, if you had problems finding specific information, how you would improve documentation so it becomes more accessible. This kind of feedback is as valuable to others as it would have been to you so your involvement is required to make CentOS better.
So if you want to help out and improve our documentation and wiki, register on the wiki or subscribe to the centos-docs mailinglist.
8. Further Reading
The following websites contain large amounts of information to help people with their CentOS systems :
http://mirrors.kernel.org/redhat/redhat/linux/enterprise/5Client/en/os/SRPMS/
http://mirrors.kernel.org/redhat/redhat/linux/enterprise/5Server/en/os/SRPMS/
9. Thanks
We thank everyone involved for helping us produce this product and would like to specifically acknowledge the extra effort made by some very dedicated members of the QA Team. Fabian Arrotin, Akemi Yagi, Athmane Madjoudj, Manuel Wolfshant, Jeff Sheltren, Anssi Johansson and Christoph Galuschka were instrumental in enabling us to release 5.9 this quickly.
Visit: http://www.redhat.com/rhel/ (1)
Upstream Release Notes and Documentation: http://docs.redhat.com/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/index.html (2)