Yum disaster! DELETED mysql!

[Thomas Cameron]

On Mon, 2005-11-07 at 14:32 -0500, Nat Gross wrote:
> Finally yum worked today. I wish it did not!
> It dl'd 36 packages, including mysql 3.x although this server is
> actively running mysql 4.1x.
> Everything with yum seemed perfect, when I happened to glance at the
> screen as yum listed "deleted mysql" on the console. I said to myself,
> "nah, can't be". BUT, it did! NO TRACE of mysql is on the system! In
> the yum cache the 3.x rpm sits, the client programs are there, but NO
> SERVER. No related files or service. (#'service mysql start' reports
> "mysql: unrecognized service".
> I do have my data, thank god.
> Running FC3 latest kernel (yum updated it today) on a 1.6ghz Dell
> 4500s with 1 gig ram.
> 
> 1. WHY did yum do this?! 1B. Especially that mysql service was ACTIVE
> at the time! What about my users!???

It did exactly as you asked it to, sorry.  :-(  Yum uses the package
list for the distro.  You introduced foreign packages to FC3 and it
didn't react well.  This is not yum's fault (although I am surprised it
removed anything without replacing it with the stock 3.x RPMs).

> 2. HOW do I prevent this from happening again? 

RTFM, specifically the one on yum.conf, especially the bit under [main]
OPTIONS titled "exclude."

> 3. Should I DUMP yum?

Nope.  I would say you should learn how to use it correctly, though.
The man page and the various HOWTOs on the 'Net are very useful.

Cheers,
Thomas