[CentOS-announce] Release for CentOS-5.2 i386 and x86_64

Karanbir Singh kbsingh at centos.org
Tue Jun 24 12:22:03 UTC 2008


We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of CentOS-5.2 for 
the i386 and x86_64 Architectures.

CentOS-5.2 is based on the upstream release EL 5.2.0, and includes 
packages from all variants including Server and Client. All upstream 
repositories have been combined into one, to make it easier for end 
users to work with. And the option to further enable external 
repositories at install time is now available in the installer. Please 
note that adding non distro repositories might impact system RAM 
requirements at install time. Refer to the CentOS Release Notes for 
CentOS 5.2 for more details.

Further Arch support for PowerPC, IA64 and Sparc are planned and will be 
released soon. These arch's will follow the existing pattern of release 
to Beta first, and then to Final.

Since the netinstall iso was well received and made it easier for new 
users to run network based installs, we have now made the netinstall.iso 
  a standard part of the distro and will be published for all CentOS-5 
releases from now.

In the last few weeks there have been updates released, and we strongly 
recommand everyone does a yum update immediately after installation.

After lots of rumours, talks, elongated and sometimes emotional 
discussions we have decided to not support the upstream Z-series of 
sub-sub-releases. This means that there will be no change to the way we 
do our Version-Release process. If there is enough interest in the 
community for supporting this, we request people to step forward and 
volunteer their time and resources to make this happen. The door is very 
much open. We just dont have the time and resources within the project 
as it stands right now to be able to do the z-series work.

+++++++++++++++++++++++
Updating from CentOS-5.0 and 5.1

If you are already running CentOS-5 ( either 5.0 or 5.1 ), all you need 
to do is run :
"yum upgrade" on your machine, and that will bring in the new packages 
from 5.2 and update your machine. Note that the command required is 
'upgrade' and not the usual 'update'. Refer to the yum man page for 
details on how those two differ in operation.

Should the CentOS-Base.repo file on your existing CentOS-5 install be 
modified, you might need to pay more attention to the output from the 
'yum upgrade' command. If the following command produces no output, your 
CentOS-Base.repo file is intact :
rpm -V centos-release | grep CentOS-Base

+++++++++++++++++++++++
Updating from CentOS-4, CentOS-3 or CentOS-2.1

The only recommended way to update from an earlier version of CentOS ( 
Version < 5 ) is to download and run a fresh install. In some cases, 
running the installer with the 'upgradeany' option might also achieve 
the desired results, however you are strongly recommended to look at the 
CentOS Wiki where hints and notes about potential upgrade paths from 
CentOS-4/3/2.1 to CentOS-5 are provided.

+++++++++++++++++++++++
Verification of downloads and media

We highly recommend that all forms of downloads be verified before use. 
Both md5sum and sha1sum for all isos and torrents released by the CentOS 
project are published at the same location as the isos and torrents 
themselves. md5sum and sha1sum verification tools are available for all 
major platforms. As an added option, but not a replacement to the 
md5sum/sha1sum process, its possible to check media during install time.

All rpms published by the CentOS project are signed with a gpg key, and 
by default we configure yum to verify this signature on package 
download. In order to check that this is operating as normal ensure that 
each repository section includes two lines that look exactly like this :

gpgcheck=1
gpgsignature=http://mirror.centos.org/centos/RPM-GPG-KEY-CentOS-5

Note: 1) url to the gpg key will never point at an external non 
.centos.org machine.
       2) a copy of the gpg key is also provided on the install media, 
and installed as /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-CentOS-5, however do the 
possibility of compromised media we recommend you still verify that key 
with the one hosted on http://mirror.centos.org/

+++++++++++++++++++++++
Download Instructions:

First a request from us : When possible, consider using torrents to run 
the downloads. Not only does it help the community and keeps mirrors 
from running up high bandiwdth bills, in most cases you will find its 
also the fastest means to download the distro.

Via BitTorrent :
Torrents are available for i386 at 
http://isoredirect.centos.org/centos/5/isos/i386/
and for x86_64 at http://isoredirect.centos.org/centos/5/isos/x86_64/

Via direct download:
    Due to bandwidth considerations the CentOS Project does not publish 
ISOS directly from our network machines. However direct downloads are 
available from external mirrors over http, ftp and rsync, and a geoip 
based list is available at http://isoredirect.centos.org/centos/5/isos/ 
to give you the best predictable match ( and only lists mirrors that are 
updated already, so you dont need to go looking for a mirror with all 
the isos you want ! )

    Some mirrors also publish DVD images that can be downloaded 
directly. Refer to the mirrors list page at 
http://www.centos.org/mirrors for more details Mirrors that offer DVD's 
are clearly marked on the page.

-----------------------------------------------
i386 ISOS and their sha1sum's are :

9e8da103db2217f10e07b0387edce09395723cbf  CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-1of6.iso
e9d0a51d638caf1ed3adde834672d0f6a82cfd92  CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-2of6.iso
1c120526624e0dda4800abc5548e88937b12aabb  CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-3of6.iso
d774cf3bf6a28007e94969eea9dda44b95a5c249  CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-4of6.iso
c4a94ebf2636e4868c2f72945dabe4a27c3f8301  CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-5of6.iso
0dc6131171739709722e6c0a53953484f7940aec  CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-6of6.iso
c89db7f5294465d593e7b02c232e0e9070111487  CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-DVD.iso
30e212aacb1980445f2d9e683c1d18ddb02d0974  CentOS-5.2-i386-netinstall.iso

-----------------------------------------------
x86_64 ISOS and their sha1sum's are :

94ca211d953bfafe010e9967d16e0380e0705845  CentOS-5.2-x86_64-bin-1of7.iso
db1c88d5d699e1b65f11b39d830775df51b46a61  CentOS-5.2-x86_64-bin-2of7.iso
4bec7760de0766e4500a2a28a4aa5d0f1b1ee757  CentOS-5.2-x86_64-bin-3of7.iso
8f457db8454bfce9d2313808141f81aae6566294  CentOS-5.2-x86_64-bin-4of7.iso
947ffb4f1828e995111f8d457e0ac7e795cc1080  CentOS-5.2-x86_64-bin-5of7.iso
22155d06cc5a1b13cd52f2f9a19915b1340871df  CentOS-5.2-x86_64-bin-6of7.iso
02fdbc48e789e4a6b7849028402f9ff03a75036c  CentOS-5.2-x86_64-bin-7of7.iso
3e4bfcee28ec1c733e2726f23862910332b5195f  CentOS-5.2-x86_64-bin-DVD.iso
10c0edba48bcd71f52f5941cbb6e50133c158345  CentOS-5.2-x86_64-netinstall.iso


+++++++++++++++++++++++
Release Notes:

The distro release notes are only available online at 
http://wiki.centos.org/Manuals/ReleaseNotes/CentOS5.2/  The release 
notes include important changelog info as well as notes about the 
installer and outcomes from test situations which the centos-qa team 
worked through. Its considered essential reading.

Upstream release notes are available in the NOTES/ directory of the 
install media, as well as online at http://www.centos.org/docs/5/ . 
These include release specific technologies, new features in the distro 
and other misc infomation that can help you better utilise the distro. 
Always something worth reading.

+++++++++++++++++++++++
How to get help with CentOS

The best place to start when looking for help with CentOS is at the wiki 
( http://wiki.centos.org/GettingHelp ) which lists various options and 
communities who might be able to help. If you think there is a bug in 
the system, do report it at http://bugs.centos.org/ - but keep in mind 
that the bugs system is *not* a support mechanism.

Friendly URL's :
   http://wiki.centos.org/
   http://www.centos.org/
   http://bugs.centos.org/
   http://www.centos.org/donate
   http://lists.centos.org/


+++++++++++++++++++++++
And a big thanks to everyone who contributed to the distro, including 
the translation teams, the qa team, the CentOS Developers and all the 
users out there.

Enjoy!

-- 
Karanbir Singh
CentOS Project { http://www.centos.org/ }
irc: z00dax, #centos at irc.freenode.net



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