Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5Driver Update ProgramInstallation Quickstart

RELEASE: 2008/11/13.2

Introduction

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0 introduces a new capability for adding third party device drivers after a system has been installed. These drivers are shipped as regular Red Hat software packages that can be installed just like any other system software. Red Hat also provides support for a feature called a Driver Update Disks, which allows for these drivers to be made available during system installation for those systems that cannot be installed without such a driver. Typically these are only needed for the latest storage adapter cards or network devices that are required to be used during system installation.

This quickstart guide explains how to install and update a system running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 with driver updates, or using a Driver Update Disk.

What is a Driver Update?

Driver Updates add support for new or more recent versions of device drivers that were not ready at the time of release of the version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux that you are installing or have just installed. There are two ways in which a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 system may be updated with new drivers:

1. Using a Driver Update RPM package.2. Using a Driver Update Disk.

A Driver Update RPM package is simply a regular software package which contains updated drivers. Software packages are used to ship everything from text editors, to email programs, web browsers, and databases. Driver Update RPM packages can be installed using regular package installation software and represent the common case for adding driver updates to existing systems.

A Driver Update Disk is a small disk image file that can be burned to a CDROM/DVD or copied onto a USB storage stick. It is used during installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems at a time when regular package installation software is not available. Driver Update Disks typically contain only drivers for essential system devices, such as storage cards and network devices, that must be used by the Red Hat installer in order to successfully install Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Other drivers are typically installed once installation has been completed using Driver Update RPM packages. For example, an enhanced graphics driver is not needed during install, but can be installed later.

How do I know if I need to use a Driver Update?

Most systems are fully supported by an unmodified installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, however sometimes a Driver Update is required in order for certain systems to function normally. In the case that a Driver Update is required, you will be notified by your system vendor or by Red Hat. It is not recommended to install Driver Updates on systems that do not require them. Although this does not cause harm, it complicates support when a driver is used on a system for which it was not intended.

How do I use a Driver Update RPM package?

A Driver Update RPM package will be supplied to you by Red Hat or a trusted third party. The package file name will begin with “kmod” (short for “kernel module”) and have a form similar to this example:

kmod­ipw3945­1.2.0­4.17.el5.i686.rpm

In the example, the Driver Update RPM package supplies an Intel IPW3945 WiFi driver update with version number 1.2.0-4.17 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, on i686 systems. A version of this driver package for systems running a Xen kernel will be similar, but include “xen” in the package name:

kmod­ipw3945­xen­1.2.0­4.17.el5.i686.rpm

To install a Driver Update RPM package onto your system, you should first locate and then double-click on the downloaded RPM package using the system file browser. You may be asked to enter the system's root password, and will then see the following “Installing Packages” box:

Click on the Apply button. After a few moments the installation will be completed.

As an alternative, you may wish to install a driver update manually on the command line:

$ rpm ­ivh kmod­ipw3945­1.2.0­4.17.el5.i686

Whether you use a graphical install, or a command line install, you should now reboot your system in order to ensure your system is using the new driver. Congratulations, installation is now complete.

How do I use a Driver Update Disk?

NOTE: Driver Update Disks should only be used during original system installation. If your system is already installed, follow the instructions in the previous section for installing a “Driver Update RPM package”.

A Driver Update Disk image will be supplied to you by Red Hat or a trusted third party. The disk image is a regular “ISO” CDROM/DVD image file that you can burn to any blank CD or DVD using regular CD or DVD burning software, or you can also copy this image file onto a USB storage stick.

Burning a Driver Update Disk CD/DVD

Locate the Driver Update Disk ISO image file supplied to you by Red Hat or a trusted third party using the Desktop file manager:

Right-click on this file and choose “Open with CD/DVD Creator”. You will see a window similar to the following:

Click on the “Write” button. You may be prompted to insert a blank disk, if you have not already.

NOTE: If you use another software program to burn the Driver Update Disk (for example on a non-Linux computer), be sure that you choose “burn from image” (or similar) when burning the disk so that the disk will contain the contents of the image and not simply the image file itself.

Verifying a Driver Update Disk CD/DVD

After burning a Driver Update Disk CD or DVD, you should be able to verify the disk was created successfully by inserting the disk into your system and browsing to it using the file manager. You should see a list of files similar to the following:

NOTE: If you see only a single file ending in “.iso”, then you have not created the disk correctly and should try again. Please ensure that you choose “burn from image” if using a non-Linux system.

Creating a Driver Update Disk USB stick

You will be supplied with a Driver Update Disk image file as in the case of the CD/DVD image. Copy the Driver Update Disk ISO image file onto a blank USB stick. You may rename the file if you would like (providing that it ends in “.iso”), but this is not required. The following examples assume a file name of “dd.iso”, which you can substitute for the name of your Driver Disk image as appropriate.

The contents of the USB stick should appear similar to the following:

NOTE: There is only a single Driver Update Disk image on the USB stick. This differs from Driver Update Disk CD/DVD images, which contain many files, because the Driver Update Disk image contains all of the files that would normally be on a Driver Update Disk CD or DVD.

Installing with a Driver Update Disk CD or DVD

NOTE: To use a Driver Update Disk image on a USB stick, please see the next section instead.

Now that you have a CDROM or DVD Driver Update Disk prepared, insert your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 installation CD or DVD into your system and reboot. Choose to boot the system from the installation CD or DVD (or use a network boot), but do not press <ENTER> at the first screen:

Type “linux dd” at the prompt and then press <ENTER>. This will instruct the Red Hat Installer to prompt you for a driver update disk (“Do you have a driver disk?”):

Select “Yes” and ensure that the installer disk (if you are using an installer disk and not a network or other type of Red Hat Enterprise Linux install) is ejected. Then, insert the Driver Update Disk CD or DVD that you burned in the previous section. This CD or DVD will be used for driver updates.

NOTE: If you were not prompted to insert a Drive Update Disk, please repeat this section and be sure to type “linux dd” at the boot prompt, following the instructions.

The Red Hat installer will now present you with a list of all detected CD, DVD and USB storage devices within your system (in the unlikely event that the system has only one such device, there will be no list of devices presented and the Red Hat installer will skip this step):

You should select the appropriate device from which to read the Driver Update Disk, according to the layout of your system. If you are unsure which device represents your CD or DVD, and if your vendor did not tell you which device to choose, you can try more than one in order to locate the correct choice. The installer will prompt you if the device contains no media or does not contain a Driver Update Disk.

The Red Hat installer will read the Driver Update Disk from the chosen device, and copy the appropriate update files into a temporary storage area (located in system RAM and not on disk). You may be asked whether you would like to use additional Driver Update Disks, to which you should normally answer “No”. You should now remove the Driver Update Disk and re-insert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 installer disk. The Driver Update Disk is no longer required.

Congratulations, you have now completed the Driver Update process, and can continue your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 installation, following the normal installation instructions.

Installing with a Driver Update Disk USB stick

Now that you have a USB Driver Update Disk prepared, insert your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 installation CD or DVD into your system and reboot. Choose to boot the system from the installation CD or DVD (or use a network boot), but do not press <ENTER> at the first screen:

Type “linux dd” at the prompt and then press <ENTER>. This will instruct the Red Hat Installer to prompt you for a driver update disk (“Do you have a driver disk?”):

Select “Yes”. Next, insert the Driver Update Disk USB stick that you created in the previous section.

NOTE: If you were not prompted to insert a Drive Update Disk, please repeat this section and be sure to type “linux dd” at the boot prompt, following the instructions.

The Red Hat installer will now present you with a list of all detected CD, DVD and USB storage devices within your system:

You should select the appropriate device from which to read the Driver Update Disk image, according to the layout of your system. If you are unsure which device represents your USB stick, and if your vendor did not tell you which device to choose, you can try more than one in order to locate the correct choice. Normally, for USB, this will be the last device listed. The installer will prompt you if the device contains no suitable update media and allow you to make another choice.

The Red Hat installer may present the following message (because most USB storage devices behave just like hard disks and are “partitioned” in the same way as hard disk drives):

There will be only a single partition choice for regular USB sticks. You should simply choose “OK” and continue, unless you reformatted the USB stick or have another (non-standard) USB storage device from which you are attempting to install the Driver Update Disk image.

The Red Hat installer will ask you to specify which file within the USB stick contains a Driver Update Disk image. For example, the Driver Update Disk image “dd.iso” would be specified as follows:

The Red Hat installer will read the Driver Update Disk image file specified, and copy the appropriate update files into a temporary storage area (located in system RAM and not on disk). You may be asked whether you would like to use additional Driver Update Disks, to which you should normally answer “No”. You can now remove the USB stick or leave it inserted, according to your preference. It is no longer required by the Red Hat installer and can be safely re-used for other purposes.

Congratulations, you have now completed the Driver Update process, and can continue your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 installation, following the normal installation instructions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q). Why is Red Hat providing me with a Driver Update Disk or Driver Update RPM package?

A). Certain systems require updated device drivers in order to run Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. You have been provided with a Driver Update Disk or Driver Update RPM package because your system requires an updated driver that will not otherwise be available until the next update release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. By shipping a Driver Update Disk or Driver Update RPM at this time you need not wait for the next update release to install and use Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 on your system.

Q). I found a Driver Update Disk or Driver Update RPM for my system. Should I install it anyway?

A). No. Red Hat does not encourage use of driver updates except on specific systems for which they have been determined to be required. Driver Updates are a means to provide updated drivers prior to the next update release of RHEL5. If your system is already successfully installed then you should wait until the next update release, at which time you will have the updated drivers automatically installed.

Q). What will happen when Red Hat ships an errata update to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 kernel? Do I need to re-install any Driver Updates after this occurs?

A). When an errata update is installed on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 system using Driver Updates, those Driver Updates are automatically preserved and will continue to be used. There is NO need to re-install any Driver Updates following a normal errata update.

Q). What will happen when I upgrade to the next update release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5?

A). Red Hat normally strives to render obsolete the need for a Driver Update in the next release following a Driver Update being issued. In such cases, you do not have to do anything as your system will automatically use the version of the driver supplied directly by Red Hat in the update. In certain cases, it may still be necessary to use a Driver Update or Driver Update Disk. If this is the case, you will be notified by Red Hat or your original third party vendor about the location of those updates.

Q). Why do I need a Driver Update Disk specific to a particular release of RHEL5?

A). Although driver updates are not specific to a release of RHEL5, the Red Hat Installer does have an additional requirement placed upon drivers it will use during installation. Therefore Driver Update Disks are specific to a release – for example Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2.

Q). How can I validate the authenticity of a Driver Update?

A). Driver Update RPM packages are signed packages, and just like all other Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 software packages are automatically validated against the Red Hat Public Key at install time. If you would like to perform this step manually, using the command line, you can type the following:

$ rpm ­­checksig ­v filename.rpm

Where filename.rpm should be replaced with the Driver Update RPM package file name. This will verify the Driver Update Package RPM using the standard Red Hat GPG package signing key that is

already installed on any Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 system. If you need to obtain this key for verification purposes on another system, you can visit the following Red Hat web page:

https://www.redhat.com/security/team/key/

Q). How can I list those Driver Updates that are installed on my system?

A). Open the Red Hat Software Updater by clicking on the “Add/Remove Software” program listed in the “Applications” menu on your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 desktop (you will likely be asked to enter the root password for your system in order to perform this operation). Click on the “Search” tab, and enter the word “kmod-” (notice the final “-”). Now click on the “Search” button.

You will see a list of installed Driver Update RPM packages:

Alternatively, you can use the command line, as follows:

$ rpm ­qa | egrep ^kmod­

Note the “-” on the end of “kmod”. This will list all installed packages that begin with “kmod-”, which should include all Driver Updates that are currently installed on your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 system. Any additional drivers provided by third party update software not using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Driver Update Program and therefore not shipped as standard Red Hat Driver Update RPM packages will not be listed in this output. Contact the third party vendor for details.

Q). Where can I find out more about the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Driver Update Program, about producing my own Driver Updates, or to ask a question not covered by this FAQ document?

A). For further information, please visit http://www.driverupdateprogram.com/