Release Notes for Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 (Slink)
----------------------------------------------
Bob Hilliard <hilliard@debian.org>
Adam Di Carlo
version 2.1.10-31, 3 June, 1999
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1. What's New in Debian GNU/Linux 2.1
-------------------------------------
[The most recent version of this document is always available at
www.debian.org/~hilliard/Release-Notes. If your version is more
than a month old, you might wish to download the latest
version.]
Debian 2.1, also known as ``slink'', introduces two additional
architectures into the officially released set: Alpha (``alpha''), and
SPARC (``sparc''). The officially supported architectures from
Debian's previous release, Intel x86 (``i386'') and Motorola 680x0
(``m68k''), are of course still supported. This brings the total
number of supported architectures to four, which is greater than the
number of architectures supported by any other GNU/Linux distribution.
Debian 2.1 ships with kernel version 2.0.36 for the Intel x86
architecture.
The X Window System packages, now at 3.3.2.3a, have undergone major
changes that you might want to be aware of. See Section 4.1, `The
Great X Reorganization' for details.
The number of distributed packages in our main distribution is now
around 2250. As always, the distribution is growing around 50% per
release; it shows no sign of slackening.
The sparc port of Debian is based on a pre-release of the shining new
glibc2.1. So it's probably _the_ first distribution which is glibc2.1
based. Programmers' note: glibc2.1 is binary compatible but not source
compatible. Almost everything compiled for glibc2 will run on
glibc2.1, but if you recompile with glibc2.1 headers sometimes you've
got to fix a couple of constructs which are no longer allowed in
glibc2.1.
Unlike the transition from 1.3.x (``bo'') to 2.0 (``hamm''), the
changes from 2.0 to 2.1 are incremental. New versions are included,
fixes for bugs, etc. `apt', which is used in conjunction with `dpkg',
is now the preferred package installation tool, except for
installation from CDs. `apt' can be used as a package acquisition
(download) method in `dselect', or it can be used from the
command-line as `apt-get'. `apt' will internally model the entire
state of your installed packages, and will do its best to ensure that
all package dependencies are met at all times.
Due to the increased number of packages, the Official CD-ROM
distribution must ship as _two_ binary package CD-ROMs. If a vendor
adds portions of non-free and non-US to a CD set, there may be three
binary CDs. A new access method for `dselect', `multi_cd' has been
developed to deal with multiple CD-ROMS. While a "workaround" to use
`apt' with multiple CDs exist, the `apt' counterpart of the `multi_cd'
access method for `dselect' is still beta software. Therefore `dselect'
with the multi_cd access method is the preferred installation tool for
installation from CDs.
The Debian installation system, which is called the `boot-floppies'
(even though it is for more than just floppies), has been streamlined
and upgraded for user's convenience. The documentation has been
expanded and corrected; documentation for the new architectures has
been added (but may be sketchy for non-x86 architectures, help is
still needed).
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2. Installing
-------------
If you are making a new installation of Debian, you should read the
installation manual, which is available on the Internet at
http://www.debian.org/releases/2.1/ARCH/install
and on the Official CD at
/dist/slink/main/disks-ARCH/current/install.txt or .html.
(Substitute your architecture [alpha, i386, m68k, or sparc] for ARCH)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Upgrading
------------
Before upgrading your system, it is strongly recommended that you make
a full backup, or at least, backup any data or configuration
information you can't afford to lose. The upgrade tools and process
are quite reliable, but a hardware failure during an upgrade could be
catastrophic.
If your i386 system has not yet been upgraded to Debian 2.0 (hamm),
you should first upgrade to libc6, as described in
/upgrade-older-i386/README-upgrade on this CD.
Regardless of the method used for upgrading, it is recommended that
you check the status of all packages first. This can be done by `dpkg
-l | less' or `dpkg --get-selections > filename', or it can be done in
`dselect'. It is desirable to remove any holds before upgrading. If
any package that is essential for the upgrade is on hold, the upgrade
will fail. Holds can be removed in `dselect', or by editing the file
produced by `dpkg --get-selections > filename' to change "hold" to
"install". Then, with root permissions, do `dpkg --set-selections <
filename'.
Any package installation operation must be run with superuser
privileges, so either login as root or use `su' or `sudo' to gain
these privileges.
It is strongly recommended that you use `/usr/bin/script' to record a
transcript of the upgrade session -- in fact, it is a good idea to use
script to record any `dselect' session (and anything else you do that
it is desirable to record). Then if any problems develop, you can see
what happened. `script' will write this transcript to the file
specified as an argument (`script <filename>') or to the default
filename, `typescript'.
There are two methods of upgrading to slink -- using `apt-get'
directly, or using `dselect'.
3.1. Using `apt-get'
--------------------
If you have not already installed `apt', we suggest you do so
now. If you are installing from CD-ROM, you can install it directly
from the CD-ROM. As root, run:
for i386 systems:
`dpkg -i <cd_mount_point>/upgrade-2.0-i386/apt_0.1.8_i386.deb'
for other architectures:
`dpkg -i <cd_mount_point>/debian/dists/slink/main/binary-ARCH/admin/apt*.deb'
(Substitute your architecture [alpha, m68k, or sparc] for ARCH)
It is recommended that you read the apt-get(8) and the sources.list(5)
man pages at this time. Before beginning the upgrade you must set up
`apt''s configuration file, `/etc/apt/sources.list'. The default
configuration is suitable for installation from the Internet, but you
may wish to modify `/etc/apt/sources.list' to use other mirrors or
your local mirror. If you are installing from a CD, see Section
3.2, `Upgrading from CD-ROMs:'
Once you have configured `apt', run (as root):
apt-get update
apt-get -f dist-upgrade
Some people prefer to run `apt-get -f --dry-run dist-upgrade | less'
prior to `apt-get -f dist-upgrade' in order to see what will happen.
While this may be somewhat time consuming, it may avoid some
surprises.
If new versions of packages currently installed are available,
`apt-get dist-upgrade' and `apt-get upgrade' retrieve and upgrade
them; under no circumstances are currently installed packages removed,
or packages not already installed retrieved and installed. New
versions of currently installed packages that cannot be upgraded
without changing the install status of another package will be left at
their current version. Therefore, it may be necessary to use `dpkg' or
`dselect' to remove and reinstall some broken packages or
dependencies. Alternatively, `apt-get dselect-upgrade' may be used
after `apt-get -f dist-upgrade'. (See the apt-get(8)man page.)
The `-f' (fix) option causes `apt' to attempt to correct a system with
broken dependencies in place. `apt' does not allow broken package
dependencies to exist on a system. It is possible that a system's
dependency structure can be so corrupt as to require manual
intervention (which usually means using `dselect' or `dpkg --remove
<package>' to eliminate some of the offending packages).
If `apt' reports some broken packages after these two commands, try to
repair the system (perhaps removing the broken packages or installing
missing dependencies). If you can not repair the system to `apt''s
satisfaction, you must use the `dselect' method with a non-`apt'
backend to upgrade.
3.2. Upgrading from CD-ROMs:
----------------------------
The apt code for handling multiple CDs was not completed in time for
the slink release, but there is a workaround available. In
`/etc/apt/sources.list', add as the first line after the instructional
comments:
deb file:<cd_mount_point>/debian stable main
The other `deb' lines should be commented out by placing a # before
them.
Then insert the first Binary CD, mount it, and, as root, run
apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade
As mentioned above, `apt-get -f --dry-run dist-upgrade | less' may be
used before `apt-get dist-upgrade' to avoid surprises.
While the first CD is still mounted, it would be a good idea to run
`apt-get install dpkg-multicd'.
Unmount the first Binary CD, replace it with the second Binary CD, and
mount that one. Then change the line in `/etc/apt/sources.list' to
deb file:<cd_mount_point>/debian stable main contrib
and repeat the `update' and `dist-upgrade' steps, as shown above.
After upgrading, unmount the last CD but leave it in the CD-ROM
drive. Then start `dselect'. [A]ccess, choose the new `multi_cd'
install method, give the correct /dev-name and Enter on all
following questions (the second Binary CDROM should be in the drive
when doing this!). [U]pdate. Then [S]elect; press Space to leave the
help screen. In the package selection screen, press Shift-D followed
by Enter immediately. It is very likely that there will be some
dependency conflicts, in which case you will see a help screen. Exit
the help screen by pressing space, and inspect the list of packages
that is presented. You may change the calculated states, but this is
not recommended; just pressing Enter should solve all
dependencies/conflicts satisfactorily.
Then [I]nstall. After [I]nstall, another [C]onfigure is usually
needed. In rare cases, it may be necessary to repeat [I]nstall
and [C]onfigure.
The Official Debian CD Set has two Binary CDs. Some vendors produce a
set with three Binary CDs, including all or part of non-free and/or
non-US. If you have a third Binary CD, unmount the second CD and
insert and mount the third one. Change the line in
/etc/apt/sources.list to
deb file:<cd_mount_point>/debian stable non-free non-US
(Omit non-free or non-US if your CD doesn't include them.)
Then repeat the `update' and `dist-upgrade' steps as above. Note that
you have to rerun [A]ccess and [U]pdate in `dselect' after this step,
as described above. A few versions of such unofficial third Binary CDs
have a structure that makes it possible to have them inserted while
performing the [A]ccess and [U]pdate steps; if you have such a CD,
packages from all three CDs will be accessible from `dselect'
simultaneously.
An "unofficial alternative" using the potato version of `apt',
version 0.3.x, is available. Keep in mind that the 0.3.x `apt' is
still beta, so bugs are probably still present. Jason Gunthorpe
<jgg@ualberta.ca>, one of the principal authors of `apt', writes:
The real solution is to install `apt' 0.3 from potato and use its
built in CD handling through apt-cdrom. I have made a special
source specifically for this, which can be accessed by putting the
line ``deb http://www.debian.org/~jgg apt/'' in `sources.list', and
then running `apt-get update; apt-get install apt'.
This version contains the latest glibc 2.0 linked `apt' v. 3.x.
Install whatever APT you can, add the above to your sources.list (and
maybe a temporary file: uri for the first CD-ROM) and then do 'apt-get
install apt'.
Next insert the first disc, run 'apt-cdrom add', then insert
the second disc and run 'apt-cdrom add' then run 'apt-get
dist-upgrade -m' twice (or is it 3 times?)
3.3. Using dselect
------------------
This section assumes that you have some knowledge of `dselect'. After
all, you did install the system you are trying to upgrade, didn't you?
There is a beginner's tutorial for `dselect' on the CD at
dists/stable/main/disks-ARCH/current/ in case you need to refresh
your memory.
[Substitute your architecture [alpha, i386, m68k, or sparc] for ARCH]
The first step in using `dselect' is to choose an ``Access'' method.
More information about the access methods, and which one you should
choose, can be found in the `dselect Tutorial' mentioned above.
The `apt' access method for `dselect' is the fastest one presently
available. It installs and configures the packages in the proper
sequence, so all dependencies are resolved when the packages are
unpacked, making a second pass unnecessary. However, the `apt' access
method is not yet able to handle multiple CDs correctly. If any
packages on your system are so broken that `apt-get upgrade' cannot be
used, the `apt' access method will also fail.
The `mounted' access method for dselect installs and configures any
pre-depends first, which reduces the number of install passes
necessary. The `mountable' access method also attempts to install and
configure pre-depends first, and is relatively fast. These methods
may be used if you are upgrading from anything else than a CD Set.
(There are some known problems with the pre-dependency handling of
these access methods; in case of problems, try to use the `apt' method
as described above.)
The recommended access method for use with multiple CDs is the
`multi_cd' method. To use this method, first install
`dpkg-multicd' using:
`dpkg -i <cd_mount_point>/dists/stable/main/binary-ARCH/base/dpkg-multicd*'
[Substitute your architecture [alpha, i386, m68k, or sparc] for ARCH]
or `apt-get install dpkg-multicd'
Refer to README.multicd on the first CD and, after installing
`multi-cd', /usr/doc/dpkg-multicd/readme.txt.gz for using this
method.
The hamm version of the `http' access method does not handle
pre-Depends properly; it is not recommended. If this version of
dpkg-http is used to upgrade there will be a prompt "Abort automatic
installation (Y/n)? " for every Pre-Depends. Due to a bug in hamm's
dpkg-http the user should hit `Ctrl-C' instead of `Y' at this point
and manually install (`dpkg -i') the requested package. `dselect'
should then be restarted to find the next pre-Dependency. To save time
the user may wish to manually install all of the following slink
packages: `libc6', `libncurses4', `libreadlineg2', `libstdc++2.9',
`slang1', and `libhtml-parser-perl'.
Regardless of the access method used, it is recommended that you first
upgrade your existing packages before adding any new ones. Run the
[A]ccess, [U]pdate, and [S]elect steps of `dselect' initially. As soon
as you enter ``Select'' you should press `D' (shift-D) then _Enter_
immediately. A conflict/depends resolution screen will probably be
presented. After resolving the conflicts (usually you can just press
Enter), run [I]nstall, and then [C]onfigure to simply upgrade all
installed packages. After that you may use the [S]elect and [I]nstall
options to install additional packages, if desired.
When `dpkg' or `dselect' upgrade many packages, it is usually
necessary to repeat the install and configure steps several times
before the whole system is configured. Depending on the access method
chosen, it may be necessary to repeat the [U]pdate step between
install passes. It may be helpful to exit `dselect' and restart it
immediately before the [U]pdate step.
3.4. General Cautions
---------------------
You should not run the upgrade from any X session managed by `xdm' on
the machine you are upgrading. `xdm' and `xfs' are stopped on upgrade,
so you would end up with a half-upgraded machine when X suddenly shuts
down. If the machine is configured to start X automatically on boot,
it may be difficult to fix. If the X server you are using refers to
the upgrading host for `xfs' font services, it will lose its
connection to the font server when `xfs' is stopped. This is not fatal
but can be annoying. If in doubt about whether your X session is
handled by `xdm' or not, upgrade your machine from a Linux virtual
console.
You should not do the upgrade over a remote telnet connection, unless
you install the `netstd' and `telnetd' packages from slink first. When
the old `netstd' package is removed, the telnet connection will be
broken, and you won't be able to reconnect until the `telnetd' package
is installed.
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4. Details Concerning Slink
---------------------------
4.1. The Great X Reorganization
-------------------------------
This section was prepared by Branden Robinson <branden@debian.org>.
The Great X Reorganization happened at version 3.3.2.3a-2, which was a
Debian 2.1 ("slink") release.
`xbase' used to be a catch-all package, containing all kinds of
miscellaneous data, programs, and documentation. That is no longer the
case. Its contents have been redistributed among other packages, and
in many cases, completely new packages have been created.
New packages were created for a variety of reasons:
1. In some cases, there were undeclared dependencies on other
programs. For instance, the `rstart' and `rstartd' programs
depend on `rsh'.
2. There are several programs which are daemons and should be split
out for easier management. This includes `xdm' and `xfs'. Since
these programs are now in their own packages, they no longer need
to refer to `/etc/X11/config' to determine whether they should
run or not.
3. Some of the X clients provided in the former `xbase' package,
like `twm', `xmh', and `xterm', have very popular replacements,
and may just be a waste of disk space for some people. (It's
worth keeping in mind that all of the X source code, even the
libraries, was originally intended to be only a "sample
implementation" of various standards.)
4. It is desirable to have a common foundation for both systems
designed to be X terminals (which run all their X clients from a
remote machine) and for application servers which may not need to
run X servers on their own display hardware. That is the purpose
of the new `xfree86-common' package. It also simplifies the task
of dealing with any large changes in the X directory name space
that may arise in the future (e.g., X11R7, or simply putting all
of X in `/usr').
The new packages in the Debian XFree86 distribution are `rstart',
`rstartd', `twm', `xbase-clients', `xdm', `xfree86-common', `xfs',
`xmh', `xproxy', `xserver-common', `xsm', and `xterm'. Some files from
the old `xbase' package were also placed in `xlib6g' (XKB and locale
data) and `xlib6g-dev' (development tools).
`xbase' is now an effectively empty package that exists only to have
the package management system automatically "pull in" the new packages
(and the latest versions of the X libraries). Once it has been
upgraded, it may be safely removed.
Furthermore, the X font and static library packages have been renamed
(see section 3.2, `Renamed Packages' below). We believe the new names
are less cryptic. Note, however, that the old packages may not
necessarily be automatically upgraded to the new versions. This is
because their names have changed, and as yet there is no easy way to
tell the packaging system that a package has changed its name.
However, there are no serious consequences of leaving the old X fonts
and static libraries around. The contents of these packages have not
changed. The X font server, for instance, formerly in `xbase' but now
in its own package, works just as well with `xfntbase' as with
`xfonts-base'.
Still, it is advisable to install the renamed versions of these
packages as soon as is convenient, in the event that their contents do
change in the future.
In summary, there are four important points to note:
1. After upgrading, the `xbase' package should be removed. Leaving
it in place will make it necessary to supply the
`--force-depends' option to dpkg to remove any package that
xbase depends on (such as `xdm' or `xfs').
dpkg --remove xbase
2. The `xdm' and `xfs' daemons will automatically start on boot;
since `xdm' defaults to managing a local X server, this can be
somewhat surprising to people who did not use `xdm' before. If
you do not wish these programs to run at all, remove the packages
before your next reboot.
dpkg --remove xdm
dpkg --remove xfs
3. The `/etc/X11/config' file is no longer used by the X packages
and may be removed if you have not customized any other programs
or configuration files to use it. Note especially that this file
no longer has anything to do with whether `xdm' and `xfs' are
stopped or started. The flags previously in this file have been
distributed among other configuration files. After the upgrade is
complete, the following manual pages will get you up to speed.
man Xsession.options
man xdm.options
man xfs.options
4. The following commands can be used to upgrade to the new X font
and static library packages. Note that most people will only need
the first four listed packages; if you require any of the others,
you will probably know it. Multiple package names can be listed
after the `--install' option to speed things up. To use these
commands as is, you will need to be in a directory that contains
the appropriate package files.
dpkg --install xfonts-base_3.3.2.3a-11.deb
dpkg --install xfonts-75dpi_3.3.2.3a-11.deb
dpkg --install xfonts-100dpi_3.3.2.3a-11.deb
dpkg --install xfonts-scalable_3.3.2.3a-11.deb
dpkg --install xfonts-cjk_3.3.2.3a-11.deb
dpkg --install xfonts-cyrillic_3.3.2.3a-11.deb
dpkg --install xfonts-pex_3.3.2.3a-11.deb
dpkg --install xlib6-static_3.3.2.3a-11.deb
dpkg --install xlib6g-static_3.3.2.3a-11.deb
4.2. Renamed Packages
---------------------
NOTE: There is some overlap between this section and Section 4.1,
`The Great X Reorganization'.
The following packages have been renamed as shown. In most, if not
all, cases, Conflicts:, Depends:, and Provides: have been provided so
the new package will be installed automatically to replace the old
one.
libc6-doc -> glibc-doc
xfntbase -> xfonts-base
xfnt75 -> xfonts-75dpi
xfnt100 -> xfonts-100dpi
xfntbig -> xfonts-cjk
xfntcyr -> xfonts-cyrllic
xfntpex -> xfonts-pex
xfntscl -> xfonts-scalable
xslib -> xlib6-static
xslibg -> xlib6g-static
4.3. Split Packages
-------------------
NOTE: There is some overlap between this section and section 4.1, `The
Great X Reorganization'.
Between 2.0 (hamm) and 2.1 (slink), a number of packages have been
split into two or more packages. The reason for these splits, in
general, is that the original package provided a diverse set of
functionalities, and that few, if any, users used all of these
components. Some packages display a notice warning of the split during
the installation, some mention it in the package description, and some
ignore it.
If you find that a familiar package is lacking some or all of its
functionality, check the list below to see if you need to install more
packages to restore the original functionality. Failing that, check
the changelog for the package, which can be found in
`/usr/doc/<package>/changelog.Debian.gz'.
The following is a list of packages that have been split (this list
may not be complete):
graphics/ivtools-bin_0.6.2-4.deb split into 2 packages:
devel/ivtools-dev
graphics/ivtools-bin
mail/imap_4.2-1.deb split into 2 packages:
mail/imap
mail/ipopd
misc/plan_1.6.1-7.deb split into 2 packages:
misc/netplan
misc/plan
net/netstd_3.07-2.deb split into 10 packages:
mail/vrfy
net/bwnfsd
net/netstd
net/nfs-server
net/rexec
net/talk
net/talkd
net/telnet
net/telnetd
non-free/net/pcnfsd
news/slrn_0.9.4.3-4.deb split into 2 packages:
news/slrn
news/slrnpull
utils/nosql_0.9-0.deb split into 2 packages:
utils/nosql
utils/nosql-fastops
web/apache_1.3.0-2.deb split into 2 packages:
web/apache
web/apache-common
web/php3_3.0-2.deb split into 2 packages:
web/php3
web/php3-cgi
x11/wmaker_0.14.1-7.deb split into 2 packages:
x11/asclock
x11/wmaker
x11/xbase_3.3.2.3-2.deb split into 16 packages:
mail/xmh
x11/rstart
x11/rstartd
x11/twm
x11/xbase
x11/xbase-clients
x11/xdm
x11/xext
x11/xf86setup
x11/xfs
x11/xlib6g-dev
x11/xmodmap
x11/xproxy
x11/xserver-common
x11/xsm
x11/xterm
x11/xserver-vga16_3.3.2.3-2.deb split into 2 packages:
x11/xf86setup
x11/xserver-vga16
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes for Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 (Slink)
Bob Hilliard <hilliard@debian.org>
Adam Di Carlo
$Id: Release-Notes,v 0.31 1999/06/03 19:14:08 bob Exp bob $