Re: How to install a bunch of RPMS if some are already installed?

[Harry Putnam <reader newsguy com>]

Jim Knoble <jmknoble@pobox.com> writes:

> Circa 2002-Jul-26 09:27:46 -0700 dixit Alan Hagge:
>
> : I just found it hard to believe that no one else is doing upgrades
> : this way:
> : 
> :     * Create a directory containing all of the "add-on" packages that
> :       you want every machine to have (in addition to their "standard"
> :       install).  This would contain 3rd-party apps not incorporated into
> :       the RedHat distros, etc.
> :     * Once a (day|week|etc.) run an rpm command on each client to ensure
> :       that it was up-to-date with any changes to this "add-on" list.
> :        Then pushing new software out to all of your systems becomes
> :       simply a matter of dropping the rpm into this directory.  VERY
> :       handy for administering a large group of machines.

Again, this is not a major item to script given the array of rpm
commands available to ferret out the information.

rpm -qa|sort -o installed_rpms ;ls rpm_dir |sort -o std_rpms;compare
files to get the uniq left overs; install that list ;blah


> Hmmm ... sounds like you might mean this:
>
>   http://freshmeat.net/projects/autorpm/

Yeah and apt-get as well but remember, this is unix land we are
talking about.  A place where people routinely write scripts to handle
stuff like this.  The overhead factor you mentioned shouldn't be much
of a factor on any  modern or near modern processor and considering
we're talking a one time adventure every so often.  Not much of a
factor really.  Probably not as intense as a source kernel build and
certainly less intense than a source build of X-capabable emacs.

Even a `find / -type f' would probably burn more horsepower.

The advantage of scripting it if you really think you'll have a set of
near identical machines, is that you can put the info where you
want it, or in whatever form you want.  Run things to your own specs
etc.