Unit 7 - Package Management & Patching

Overview

Managing software on a Linux system involves two essential practices: package management and patching. Together, they ensure that systems remain functional, up-to-date, and secure by handling software installation, updates, and vulnerability remediation.

  • Package Management: the system used to install, upgrade, configure, and remove software packages while automatically resolving dependencies and maintaining system consistency.

  • Patching: the process of applying updates to software packages or the kernel to fix bugs, close security vulnerabilities, or improve performance.

Learning Objectives

  1. Become Familiar with Package Management:
  • In this unit you will see what comprises a RPM, YUM, and RPM package and how professional administrators carefully choose what is installed on a system.
  1. Become Familiar with Patching:
  • Learn about general patching cycles.
  • Understand why it matters to inpsect packages and associated dependancies.
  • Get hands on with inspecting packages.

Relevance & Context

The skills taught in this unit are indispensable for several reasons:

  • Efficient System Management:
    The RHEL environment is typically managed via the command line. Proficiency in the CLI, along with an in-depth understanding of the file system, is crucial for daily tasks like system configuration, package management (using tools such as YUM or DNF), and remote troubleshooting.

  • Security and Stability:
    Editing configuration files, managing system services, and monitoring logs are all critical tasks that ensure the secure and stable operation of RHEL systems. A robust understanding of these basics is necessary to mitigate risks and ensure compliance with enterprise security standards.

  • Professional Certification & Career Growth:
    For those pursuing certifications like the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) or Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE), these foundational skills are not only testable requirements but also a stepping stone for more advanced topics such as automation (using Ansible), container management (with Podman or OpenShift), and performance tuning.

  • Operational Excellence:
    In enterprise settings where uptime and rapid incident response are paramount, having a solid grasp of these fundamentals enables administrators to quickly diagnose issues, apply fixes, and optimize system performance—thereby directly impacting business continuity and service quality.

Prerequisites

  • Lab Access
  • Basic understanding of install or update software using DNF.
  • Familiarity with terminal commands and accessing man pages.
  • Basic understanding of editing config files using vi.

Key terms and Definitions

Yum

DNF

Repo

GPG Key

Software dependency

Software version

Semantic Version