A desktop entry for automating yum update

[smfinley]

First create a sudo user. To do this open a terminal as your regular user. Type "su -". Hit enter. Type your root password. Hit enter. Type "visudo". Hit enter. Hit the "insert" key. With the down arrow key scroll down to the blank line just below the line that reads "root ALL=(ALL) ALL". Type the following: "your_user_name ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL". (Of course substitute your user name for "your_user_name" and don't use the quote characters.) Hit the "escape" key. Type ":wq" but don't enter the quote characters. This means "write and quit" in vi, the text editor you are using. Hit enter. (You have just created a sudo user with root privileges and no password required. Note that some consider this a security risk. However I have never had any problems with it.) Hit enter. Type "exit". Hit enter. Type "gedit y.sh". Hit enter. In gedit enter the following:

#!/bin/bash
sudo yum clean all
sudo yum -y update
sudo yum clean all
echo -e "Finished? Press enter to exit the terminal.\c"
read 
exit 0

Be sure to enter a blank line (carriage return) at the end of the file. Hit the "Save" button in gedit and close gedit. Type "chmod +x y.sh". Hit enter. Type "sudo mv y.sh /usr/bin". Hit enter. Type "sudo gedit /usr/share/applications/yum.desktop". Hit enter. In gedit enter the following:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Yum Update
Comment=Yum Update
Exec=y.sh
Icon=/usr/share/icons/Bluecurve/24x24/stock/gtk-add.png
Terminal=true
Type=Application
Categories=Application;Other;

Be sure to enter a blank line (carriage return) at the end of the file. Hit the "Save" button in gedit and close gedit. Your automated yum update button should now appear in "Applications" > "Other" as "Yum Update".

[bob]

Thank you Sir! Saves me a whole 30 sec's a day with that one.
Seriously, works like a charm and long overdue. Of course, the first cracker who writes a virus including 'sudo rm /" will be a problem.....

[Dayguy]

I like to use cron for automatically updating like so...

/etc/cron.daily/yum.cron

#!/bin/sh

if [ -f /var/lock/subsys/yum ]; then
/usr/bin/yum -R 10 -e 0 -d 0 -y update yum
/usr/bin/yum -R 120 -e 0 -d 0 -y update
fi

Just another way.

[smfinley]

Thank you Sir! Saves me a whole 30 sec's a day with that one.
Seriously, works like a charm and long overdue. Of course, the first cracker who writes a virus including 'sudo rm /" will be a problem.....

You're right Bob. There has always been a debate about the wisdom of creating a sudo user with the "NOPASSWD:" option. I fully expect some heated criticism on this one. However I believe there's a fine line between healthy caution and paranoia. As I mentioned, I have personally never had a problem with using sudo this way and it saves me a lot of time for many commands. For the record I always run with SELinux enabled and with a very restrictive firewall.

[bob]

Well, one quick way to appease everyone might be to simply remove the "NOPASSWORD:" so visudo becomes:
"username ALL=(ALL) ALL"
That way, you'd still have to type the password, but that's all.

[codergeek42]

I like to use cron for automatically updating like so...

/etc/cron.daily/yum.cron

#!/bin/sh

if [ -f /var/lock/subsys/yum ]; then
/usr/bin/yum -R 10 -e 0 -d 0 -y update yum
/usr/bin/yum -R 120 -e 0 -d 0 -y update
fi

Just another way.

Alternatively, you can use the nightly cron provided by Yum:

# chkconfig yum on
# service yum start

That's what I do. I only update packages manually if it's a security fix or bugfix that I need. Otherwise I generally let it update on its own while I'm deaming of Tuxes. ^_^

[crypto76]

what about limiting what one can execute with sudo...hmmmm

[smfinley]

Edited y.sh in the original post so that the terminal won't disappear before you have a chance to see what yum did.

[nlkrio]

Mr Stanton Finley excellent work!!!

[sentry]

I know this thread is old but if anyone uses this technique the may want to consider creating an entry in your sudo user file like this:

user_name     ALL= NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/yum

This prevents this user from running any command other than yum using sudo. It also preserves the no password aspect of Stanton's original post.

[jazzjeff]

"yum clean all" - This could potentially be a waste of bandwidth? You should remember that high speed internet is not available for everyone. Those packages in /var/cache/yum/ can also be re-used.

Also as an admin you should not should run automatic overnight updates, if you have other repos enabled you can trash your system and wake up in the morning to pickup the pieces. It is best to do yum update then say 'y or n'

Just my 2 cents

[bob]

Jazzjeff, having a bad day? This is the second thread that I've checked and found negative content. Take a break until your mood changes, please.

[jazzjeff]

Perhaps I put the wording incorrectly

For some of us, downloading a new version of Fedora and burning it to a CD is simple. But for some people, especially those in developing countries, it can be virtually impossible...

Having yum run automatically and clean packages twice each day is not advisable for the following reasons :-

- bandwidth is at a premium
- the chance to roll back to a previous version if the new update does not work.
- Admins are advised to run yum update then see changes made.

Mr Finley gives good advice and has an excellent pages on the web but on this ocassion it would be best to bear in mind the best practices for all.

[smfinley]

If you don't have a high bandwidth connection you can safely remove the "yum clean all" lines from the script. I find that the "yum clean all" command (for me at least with my high bandwidth connection) makes for a cleaner and more reliable update.

[jazzjeff]

What about keeping the old packages in case you need to roll back. In some cases the new kernel/package may mess your system so having a backup is a good idea. There was a guy saying in one of the forums above that he could not get networking to run after updates. In this case he can go back to the working package and have a chance to file a bug report or seek help from the forum.