Rocky Linux 9 Yum Upgrade Explained: Is It Different From Older Versions and How Does It Work?

Today, I’d like to share something about upgrading the system on Rocky Linux 9. You know, I’ve been tinkering with this new OS version, and I’ve noticed a few things about how the ‘yum upgrade’ command works. Let me tell you all about it.

First off, I fired up my Rocky Linux 9 machine. As usual, the first thing I did was to check for updates. It’s like a routine, you know? But this time, I decided to dig a little deeper into what actually happens when I run ‘yum upgrade’.

So, I ran the command. As the system was chugging along, updating packages, I started looking into the differences between ‘yum upgrade’ and ‘yum update’. Turns out, they do pretty much the same thing, right? They both update your packages to the latest versions. But here’s the kicker: ‘upgrade’ will also get rid of outdated packages, while ‘update’ just leaves them there. I guess it’s a bit like cleaning out your closet versus just adding new clothes, I thought to myself.

Then I got curious about where these old packages go. From what I found, they end up in Koji or the vault. It is like a storage place for old stuff, I suppose. I also learned that Rocky Linux 9 is the new kid on the block, after Rocky Linux 8. It’s supposed to be faster and more secure, which is always good news.

I went deeper into this rabbit hole and discovered that Rocky Linux uses something called DNF, which is like the newer version of Yum. So, technically, I should be saying ‘dnf update’ or ‘dnf upgrade’, but old habits die hard, you know? Also, I read that I could take snapshots of my instance before any updates. I thought it was a good idea, so I decided to do it.

Anyway, as I was doing all this, I realized that Rocky Linux has these things called module streams. They are like separate little areas in the AppStream repository where you can have different versions of applications. It’s a neat way to organize things, kind of like having different shelves for different types of books in a library.

After running the upgrade, I checked my system, and everything seemed to be running smoothly. My system was now on the latest version, and I had a better understanding of how things work under the hood.

Key Takeaways from My Little Adventure:

• ‘yum upgrade’ and ‘yum update’ do similar things, but ‘upgrade’ also removes old packages.
• Old packages go to places called Koji or the vault.
• Rocky Linux 9 is the successor to Rocky Linux 8, with improvements in security and performance.
• DNF is the new Yum, and it’s what Rocky Linux uses.
• Module streams in Rocky Linux are like separate repositories for different application versions.
• It is important to take snapshots before the update.

So, that’s my experience with upgrading on Rocky Linux 9. It was a bit of a learning curve, but I enjoyed figuring it all out. Hope this helps someone out there who’s also starting with Rocky Linux 9!