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!