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CentOS 5.3 released
We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of CentOS-5.3 for the i386 and x86_64 Architectures. CentOS-5.3 is based on the upstream release EL 5.3.0, and includes packages from all variants including Server and Client. All upstream repositories have been combined into one, to make it easier for end users to work with. And the option to further enable external repositories at install time is now available in the installer. This is just an announcement email, not the release notes. The Release Notes for CentOS-5.3 can be found on-line at : http://wiki.centos.org/Manuals/ReleaseNotes/CentOS5.3 and everyone is encouraged to look through them once. Also worth browsing through at the CentOS FAQ's at http://wiki.centos.org/FAQ +++++++++++++++++++++++ ArtWork update: CentOS-5.3 brings in a completely new artwork stack. A big thanks to Alain Reguera Delgado, Ralph Angenendt, Marcus Moeller and everyone on the Artwork SIG for bringing us the best, most comprehensive artwork set yet. Also a big thanks to all the translation teams for their contributions to the installer artwork. +++++++++++++++++++++++ Contrib repos are back: Given the widespread requests for user contributed packages directly being hosted within the centos repositories, the contribs repository is now back with CentOS-5.3. There are no packages yet, but over the next few weeks we hope to have a policy and process in place that allows users to submit and manage packages in the contrib repo. +++++++++++++++++++++++ Upgrading from CentOS-5.2 ( or CentOS-5.0 / 5.1 ): If you are already running CentOS-5.2 or an older CentOS-5 distro, all you need to do is update your machine via yum by running : 'yum update' Running 'yum list updates' before doing the update is recommended, so you can get a list of packages that are going to be updated. To check you are indeed on CentOS-5.3, run : 'rpm -q centos-release' and that should return: 'centos-release-5-3.el5.centos.1' +++++++++++++++++++++++ Upgrading from CentOS-2.1 or CentOS-3.x or CentOS-4.x: The only recommended way to update from an earlier version of CentOS ( Version < 5 ) is to download and run a fresh install. In some cases, running the installer with the 'upgradeany' option might also achieve the desired results, however you are strongly recommended to look at the CentOS Wiki where hints and notes about potential upgrade paths from CentOS-4/3/2.1 to CentOS-5 are provided. +++++++++++++++++++++++ Downloading CentOS-5.3 for new installs: When possible, consider using torrents to run the downloads. Not only does it help the community and keeps mirrors from running up high bandiwdth bills, in most cases you will find its also the fastest means to download the distro. There are present over a thousand people already seeding CentOS-5.3 and its possible to get upto 100mbps downloads via these torrents. -- Via BitTorrent : CD: http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5.3/isos/i386/CentOS-5.3-... http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5.3/isos/x86_64/CentOS-5.... DVD: http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5.3/isos/i386/CentOS-5.3-... http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5.3/isos/x86_64/CentOS-5.... -- Via direct download: Due to bandwidth considerations the CentOS Project does not publish ISOS directly from our network machines. However direct downloads are available from external mirrors over http, ftp and rsync, and a geoip based list is available at http://isoredirect.centos.org/centos/5/isos/ to give you the best predictable match ( and only lists mirrors that are updated already, so you dont need to waste time looking for a sync'd mirror ) Some mirrors also publish DVD images that can be downloaded directly. Refer to the mirrors list page at http://www.centos.org/mirrors for more details Mirrors that offer DVD's are clearly marked on the page. sha1sum for these ISOS: i386: 4b454d76d06daa0b1772115e9b95c9465a4cecb0 CentOS-5.3-i386-bin-1of6.iso 0da3292ea1d90639714a5e7d77812568bc01ec05 CentOS-5.3-i386-bin-2of6.iso 77e867eb736b58f31cdd25c4835643ab795979e2 CentOS-5.3-i386-bin-3of6.iso 949ee93440e736c8414fb8b571178970a31e6675 CentOS-5.3-i386-bin-4of6.iso 5eafdea33c18f623bb9299ae624b8c8a12132bfa CentOS-5.3-i386-bin-5of6.iso 90ae5387a38f8ec805d877cc5525ae8dedc7f810 CentOS-5.3-i386-bin-6of6.iso b7f85a3a493e3051e50515ef881214929c88a5f3 CentOS-5.3-i386-bin-DVD.iso a0c640ae0c68cc0d9558cf4f8855f24671b3dadb CentOS-5.3-i386-netinstall.iso x86_64: 7327174dc0cbb6531bc0e2f26e24788251717e91 CentOS-5.3-x86_64-bin-1of7.iso d060ed2826a4c212eebf5e3a825ce75e77cb44e0 CentOS-5.3-x86_64-bin-2of7.iso a0b7471ec6b742c962cc06b69624b0746025005f CentOS-5.3-x86_64-bin-3of7.iso fe4106322d6b08344e82df8904142664a8a82522 CentOS-5.3-x86_64-bin-4of7.iso 8cb5539fa4241bc5d23798a3e2721b2ebd3b18fe CentOS-5.3-x86_64-bin-5of7.iso 8a8f32888279f701e15162dec6f52b5f5fb5effc CentOS-5.3-x86_64-bin-6of7.iso f053b05ea8576ea7d72116fa246f914086238ca9 CentOS-5.3-x86_64-bin-7of7.iso f8ca12b4acc714f4e4a21f3f35af083952ab46e0 CentOS-5.3-x86_64-bin-DVD.iso e971bd1677622708348b8a65264ec360a1cc0196 CentOS-5.3-x86_64-netinstall.iso +++++++++++++++++++++++ Pending CentOS-5.3 Updates and src.rpm's Updates have been issues from upstream since they released 5.3, a bulk of these updates are already released into CentOS-5.3 and are available immediately. All pending updates will be released within the next 48 hrs. To keep the initial release size smaller, the src.rpm's are also going to be slowly released into the mirrors over the next 48 hrs along with debuginfo packages. +++++++++++++++++++++++ Release Notes: The distro release notes are only available online at http://wiki.centos.org/Manuals/ReleaseNotes/CentOS5.3 The release notes include important changelog info as well as notes about the installer and outcomes from test situations which the centos-qa team worked through. Its considered essential reading. Upstream release notes are available in the NOTES/ directory of the install media. These include release specific technologies, new features in the distro and other misc infomation that can help you better utilise the distro. +++++++++++++++++++++++ Getting Help: The best place to start when looking for help with CentOS is at the wiki ( http://wiki.centos.org/GettingHelp ) which lists various options and communities who might be able to help. If you think there is a bug in the system, do report it at http://bugs.centos.org/ - but keep in mind that the bugs system is *not* a support mechanism. Some Friendly URL's : http://www.centos.org/ http://wiki.centos.org/ http://lists.centos.org/ http://bugs.centos.org/ irc://#centos@irc.freenode.net +++++++++++++++++++++++ A big thanks to everyone who contributed, including the translation teams, the qa team, the CentOS Developers and all the users out there. I would also like to thank all the users for their patience and help! Enjoy this release, tell all your friends about it too. -- Karanbir Singh CentOS Project { http://www.centos.org/ } irc: z00dax, #centos@irc.freenode.net _______________________________________________ CentOS-announce mailing list CentOS-announce@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-announce (Log in to post comments)
CentOS 5.3 released Posted Apr 1, 2009 14:39 UTC (Wed) by kragil (subscriber, #34373) [Link]
Pretty late .. I heard that 5.3 was this late because Karanbir Singh was on honeymoon and nobody else (w|c)ould do the work.
And that CentOS4 didn't get security updates the last months (eg.Kernel: 2.6.9-78.0.17.EL (RHEL), 2.6.9-78.0.13.EL (CentOS))
Is that true or just FUD?
CentOS 5.3 released Posted Apr 1, 2009 17:23 UTC (Wed) by Ed_L. (guest, #24287) [Link] Don't know, but fwiw Scientific Linux only bumped to 5.3 three weeks ago. Meanwhile, waiting for CentOS to sort out their 5.3 libgstreamer dependencies. Perhaps the update rpms Karanbir mentioned will bring something :)
CentOS 5.3 released Posted Apr 1, 2009 17:47 UTC (Wed) by orev (subscriber, #50902) [Link]
CentOS tracks RedHat, so whatever RedHat does, CentOS does, and however long a version is supported by Redhat will be supported in CentOS. BUT, the guys who are supporting CentOS are doing it for free, and sometimes life steps in. As a free product, you are not guaranteed support for anything, so if that's part of your requirements, the paid version of Redhat might be a better fit for you.
CentOS 5.3 released Posted Apr 2, 2009 14:36 UTC (Thu) by dag- (subscriber, #30207) [Link]
I do not disagree, but a project could decide to arm itself against some of the risks causing release-delays. If a release would depend on a single person, the project could look into changing this dependency, or making sure that we have the resources at the time a release is imminent. (A release never happens unexpectedly)
Let me assure you that a delay of 6 weeks is not uncommon for CentOS, because the builds, installer, artwork, translation and documentation needs to be adapted and tested. There is a separate QA team involved for testing, which was something we learned from previous releases. Another cause of delays used to be the translation/documentation of the release notes, which is now maintained outside of the release (on the wiki) which is much better :-)
Often issues found during QA testing cause unexpected delays, and we need to reserve at least two weeks to make sure the QA team has enough time to find, report and fix issues. So while it is theoretically possible to release a few days after Red Hat releases, there are a few reasons why this is not ideal and unwanted.
I fully agree with the fact that if you need guarantees, your best option is to go with Red Hat's offering. If your business relies on timely security updates, or certification, or legal indemnification, or support then RHEL is the best option and I would be dishonest (and foolish) to tell you otherwise.
CentOS is security disaster Posted Apr 1, 2009 18:01 UTC (Wed) by MilanKerslager (guest, #53653) [Link]
CentOS is a big security nigtmare. They did not released security updates for kernel since RH's 5.3 (Feb 19) or even there was 5.2.z security update (Feb 24, https://www.redhat.com/archives/enterprise-watch-list/200...). This is extremly pitty and I really dislike answers like "don't ask just wait until it'll be ready", "no QA yet" and so on. They are writing about community driven project, but this seems to me like one (or two, three) man show. I remeber I was trying to produce updates for WhiteBox Linux when was too late all the time with only negative replies from it's owner. Tao Linux ended too. I had to build own kernel for CentOS so this may be the beginning of the end too (and I wish to be wrong).
CentOS is security disaster Posted Apr 1, 2009 20:11 UTC (Wed) by dowdle (subscriber, #659) [Link]
It is true that the CentOS folks were really late in getting out 5.3. They are definitely aware of the problems and are trying to get the resolved for future releases.
Some updates that came out for RHEL5.3 could not be done for CentOS 5.2 because they depended on other (non-security related) packages that were updated in 5.3... so their best course of action was trying to get 5.3 done as soon as possible.
I wouldn't call CentOS 5.3 a security nightmare. While there have been some security updates that have taken a while... none of them were critical. If they had ignored a critical update... or if there were some exploit in the wild it would have been different.
The CentOS project takes a practical approach and weights the the actual risks (from my perception as a project outsider) and factors that into their work schedule. I'm not trying to say that is necessarily a good approach... because yeah, it would have been nice if security updates had been released the same day or the next day as Red Hat as has historically been the case. What other free / non-sponsored distribution maintains 3 or 4 different releases over a long period of time?
As they have said, if their updates aren't timely enough for you, and most of the time they are extremely timely, then you should consider going upstream.
CentOS is security disaster Posted Apr 2, 2009 10:39 UTC (Thu) by berndp (guest, #52035) [Link]
So why didn't you help that man since ages if you dislike his one (or two, three) man show?
CentOS is security disaster Posted Apr 2, 2009 13:57 UTC (Thu) by dag- (subscriber, #30207) [Link]
Milan,
The CentOS project knows there are problems, but we cannot tackle those problems while a new release is imminent. The people producing updates and a new release are some of the people that take part in this discussion.
That is why the answers you are looking for during a period of high workload are probably not the answers you were hoping for. Releasing CentOS 5.3 was more important at the time.
That said, we have to learn from this. Adding more resources to te build process itself is unlikely to help a lot since there are risks involved in increasing the pool of people that can build and sign official CentOS packages.
But better planning and project management could help avoiding delays. Making it easier for people to create their own rebuilds could help with contributions. And more transparency about the process could help with getting more people involved in improving the processes and tools. In itself it would be good if there was more competition in the RHEL rebuild space again.
There is a great deal that we have to improve in the process, and not everything may be feasible given this is based on volunteering. But we should be cautious to not use "volunteering" as an excuse, nor should we accept criticism without some commitment to help.
Let's hope we can draw conclusions and find acceptable solutions before RHEL 4.8 is out :-)
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