[lug] System update strategy

[Ferdinand Schmid]

HI,
This question relates to updating Linux systems using rpms.  In the past I have
seen several posts that suggest updating a system to a later version by going
into a directory with the new rpms and then typing:

rpm -Uvh *

If I understand the -U option for rpm correctly then it will update on older
rpm of the same type if that exists.  If it doesn't exist then it will only
install the new rpm.  This would result in the above command installing all
applications and libraries that can be found in the update directory, not just
the new versions of already installed libraries.  So the "updated" system may
have a number of services installed that I don't want.

Is this correct?  If so then I may sit down and write a script to only update
already installed rpms (would require an analysis of the naming conventions).

What is the group's opintion on this?

Ferdinand

--
Ferdinand Schmid
http://www.archenergy.com
303-444-4149 x231