Fedora Release Notes

You can find a tour filled with pictures and videos of this exciting new release at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Tours/Fedora7.

This release includes significant new versions of many key components and technologies. The following sections provide a brief overview of major changes from the last release of Fedora.

Die beabsichtigten Pläne für das nächste Fedora-Release sind unter http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/RoadMap verfügbar.

To provide feedback on Fedora software or other system elements, please refer to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/BugsAndFeatureRequests. A list of commonly reported bugs and known issues for this release is available from http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Bugs/F7Common.

	Rückmeldung nur zu den Releasenotes
	This section concerns feedback on the release notes themselves.

If you feel these release notes could be improved in any way, you can provide your feedback directly to the beat writers. Here are several ways to do so, in order of preference:

Three new kickstart keywords have been added.

repo --name=<repoid> [--baseurl=<url>|--mirrorlist=<url>]

The keyword repo specifies additional package repositories to use for installation. The parameter baseurl specifies the URL for the repository, while mirrorlist specifies a list of mirrors. One and only one of these options may be specified per repository definition.

services [--disabled=<list>] [--enabled=<list>]

The keyword services modifies the default set of services that are started in the default runlevel. The parameters enabled and disabled take comma-separated lists, with enabled services taking priority.

user --name=<username> [--groups=<list>] [--homedir=<homedir>] [--password=<password>] [--iscrypted] [--shell=<shell>] [--uid=<uid>]

The keyword user creates a new user with the specified parameters. The parameter name is required; all other parameters are optional.

More documentation on kickstart is available in the anaconda package. To install it, run the command su -c 'yum install anaconda' and read the /usr/share/doc/anaconda*/kickstart-docs.txt file for more information.

Detaillierte Beschreibungen der empfohlenen Vorgehensweisen für eine Hochrüstung von Fedora finden Sie unter http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DistributionUpgrades

In general, fresh installations are recommended over upgrades, particularly for systems that include software from third-party repositories. Third-party packages remaining from a previous installation may not work as expected on an upgraded Fedora system. If you decide to perform an upgrade anyway, the following information may be helpful:

RPM supports parallel installation of multiple architectures of the same package. A default package listing such as rpm -qa might appear to include duplicate packages, since the architecture is not displayed. Instead, use the repoquery command, part of the yum-utils package in Fedora Extras, which displays architecture by default. To install yum-utils, run the following command:

su -c 'yum install yum-utils'

To list all packages with their architecture using rpm, run the following command:

rpm -qa --queryformat "%{name}-%{version}-%{release}.%{arch}\n"

You can add this to /etc/rpm/macros (for a system wide setting) or ~/.rpmmacros (for a per-user setting). It changes the default query to list the architecture:

%_query_all_fmt      %%{name}-%%{version}-%%{release}.%%{arch}

This section covers specific information about Fedora and the PPC hardware platform.

This section covers specific information about Fedora and the x86 hardware platform.

This section covers specific information about Fedora and the x86_64 hardware platform.

There are three live images available for Fedora 7.

The live images should boot on any machine that supports booting from CD-ROM. Upon booting the CD, you can log in and use the desktop environment as the fedora user. After logging in, if you wish to install the contents of the live image to your hard drive, click on the Install to Hard Drive icon on the desktop.

Another way to use these live images is to put them on a USB stick. To do this, install the livecd-tools package from the development repository. Then, run the livecd-iso-to-stick script:

/usr/bin/livecd-iso-to-stick /path/to/live.iso /dev/sdb1 

Replace /dev/sdb1 with the partition where you want to put the image.

This is not a destructive process; any data you currently have on your USB stick is preserved.

The following items are different from a normal Fedora install with the live images.

The Fedora Project Board initiated a licensing audit to ensure all software included in Fedora is compliant with the package licensing guidelines.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FreeSoftwareAnalysis

Fedora may include additional patches to the kernel for improvements, bug fixes, or additional features. For this reason, the Fedora kernel may not be line-for-line equivalent to the so-called vanilla kernel from the kernel.org web site:

http://www.kernel.org/

Um eine Liste dieser Patche zu erhalten, laden Sie die Quell-RPM-Pakete herunter und führen Sie folgenden Befehl aus:

rpm -qpl kernel-<version>.src.rpm 

Um ein Protokoll der Paketänderungen zu erhalten, führen Sie folgenden Befehl aus:

rpm -q --changelog kernel-<version> 

Wenn Sie eine benutzerfreundliche Version des Changelogs benötigen, lesen Sie http://wiki.kernelnewbies.org/LinuxChanges. Ein kurzer und vollständiger Vergleich der Kernel ist unter http://kernel.org/git verfügbar. Die Fedoraversion des Kernels beasiert auf dem Linus-Tree.

Customizations made for the Fedora version are available from http://cvs.fedoraproject.org.

Fedora 7 includes the following kernel builds:

You may install kernel headers for all kernel flavors at the same time. The files are installed in the /usr/src/kernels/<version>-[PAE|xen|kdump]-<arch>/ tree. Use the following command:

su -c 'yum install kernel-{PAE,xen,kdump}-devel' 

Wählen Sie eine oder mehrere Geschmacksrichtungen, untereinander getrennt durch Kommas und ohne Leerzeichen, wie gewünscht aus. Geben Sie auf Aufforderung das Root-Passwort ein.

	32bit Kernel Includes Kdump
	The 32bit kernel is now relocatable, so kdump functionality is included. 64bit still requires installation of the -kdump kernel.

	Default Kernel Provides SMP
	There is no separate SMP kernel available for Fedora on i386, x86_64, and ppc64. Multiprocessor support is provided by the native kernel.

	Kernelunterstützung für PowerPC
	There is no support for Xen or kdump for the PowerPC architecture in Fedora. 32-bit PowerPC does still have a separate SMP kernel.

Refer to http://kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/lkml/reporting-bugs.html for information on reporting bugs in the Linux kernel. You may also use http://bugzilla.redhat.com for reporting bugs that are specific to Fedora.

Many of the tutorials, examples, and textbooks about Linux kernel development assume the kernel sources are installed under the /usr/src/linux/ directory. If you make a symbolic link, as shown below, you should be able to use those learning materials with the Fedora packages. Install the appropriate kernel sources, as shown earlier, and then run the following command:

su -c 'ln -s /usr/src/kernels/<version>.<release>-<arch> /usr/src/linux' 

Enter the root password when prompted.

Fedora 7 does not include the kernel-source package provided by older versions since only the kernel-devel package is required now to build external modules. Configured sources are available, as described in the kernel flavors section.

	Anleitungen beziehen sich auf den aktuellen Kernel
	To simplify the following directions, we have assumed that you want to configure the kernel sources to match your currently-running kernel. In the steps below, the expression <version> refers to the kernel version shown by the command: uname -r.

Users who require access to Fedora original kernel sources can find them in the kernel .src.rpm package. To create an exploded source tree from this file, perform the following steps:

	Do Not Build Packages as Super-user (root)
	Building packages as the superuser is inherently dangerous and is not required, even for the kernel. These instructions allow you to install the kernel source as a normal user. Many general information sites refer to /usr/src/linux in their kernel instructions. If you use these instructions, simply substitute ~/rpmbuild/BUILD/kernel-<version>/linux-<version>.<arch>."]]

	Building Kernel Binary RPMs
	Normally, kernels for Fedora are built using the rpmbuild utility and a specfile. Your results may vary if you use the kernel's built-in make rpm target.

An exploded source tree is not required to build a kernel module, such as your own device driver, against the currently in-use kernel. Only the kernel-devel package is required to build external modules. If you did not select it during installation, use Pirut to install it (via ApplicationsAdd/Remove Software) or use yum to install it. Run the following command to install the kernel-devel package using yum.

su -c 'yum install kernel-devel' 

For example, to build the foo.ko module, create the following Makefile in the directory containing the foo.c file:

obj-m := foo.o 

KDIR  := /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build
PWD   := $(shell pwd)

default:
    $(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) M=$(PWD) modules

Issue the make command to build the foo.ko module.

This release of Fedora now includes the new common user directory structure, xdg-user-dirs. Features of these new user directories include:

The performance for the yum software management utility has been greatly improved in Fedora 7. The repository metadata parser has now been implemented in C. A new mirror management infrastructure also ensures better mirror selection and, in most cases, faster performance. The Pirut package management tool and the Pup software update utility are based on yum, so their performance is likewise improved.

This release features GNOME 2.18 (http://www.gnome.org/start/2.18/)

The GNOME splash screen has been disabled upstream intentionally. To enable it, use gconf-editor or the following command:

gconftool-2 --set /apps/gnome-session/options/show_splash_screen --type bool true

The lock screen dialog theme is not connected to the selected screensaver in this release. To enable it, use gconf-editor or the following command:

gconftool-2 --set  --type string /apps/gnome-screensaver/lock_dialog_theme  "system"

This release of Fedora includes version 2.0 of the popular Firefox web browser. Refer to http://firefox.com/ for more information about Firefox.

The mail-notification package has been split. The Evolution plugin is now in a separate package called mail-notification-evolution-plugin. When you update the mail-notification package, the plugin is added automatically.

The exim-sa package is deprecated since Fedora Extras 6. It was the original implementation of SpamAssassin integration with Exim, and was functionally similar to sendmail milters or postfix filters. However, that functionality is rather limited, and Exim now has far better support for content checking, fully integrated into its general-purpose Access Control Lists.

Since the sa_exim feature was not enabled in the default configuration, the package can normally be safely uninstalled to allow Exim to be upgraded. Users who have modified their configuration to use sa_exim features should either reconfigure to use Exim's full content scanning abilities or rebuild the package for themselves to include the exim-sa subpackage. For further details on Exim's built-in content scanning, refer to the Exim documentation:

http://www.exim.org/exim-html-4.62/doc/html/spec_html/ch40.html

A general introduction to the many proactive security features in Fedora, current status, and policies is available at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Security.

In addition to the java-gcj-compat free software stack, Fedora lets you install multiple Java implementations and switch between them using the alternatives command line tool. However, every Java system you install must be packaged using the JPackage Project packaging guidelines to take advantage of alternatives. Once these packages are installed properly, the root user may switch between java and javac implementations using the alternatives command:

alternatives --config java  
alternatives --config javac

This release of Fedora includes a preview release of gcjwebplugin, a Firefox plugin for Java applets. gcjwebplugin is not enabled by default because although the security implementation in GNU Classpath is being actively developed, it is not mature enough to run untrusted applets safely. That said, the AWT and Swing implementations in GNU Classpath are now sufficiently mature that they can run many applets deployed on the web. Adventurous users who want to try gcjwebplugin can read /usr/share/doc/libgcj-4.1.2/README.libgcjwebplugin.so, as installed by the libgcj package. The README explains how to enable the plugin and the risks associated with doing so.

Fedora includes many packages derived from the JPackage Project, which provides a Java software repository. These packages are modified in Fedora to remove proprietary software dependencies and to make use of GCJ's ahead-of-time compilation feature. Use the Fedora repositories to update these packages, or use the JPackage repository for packages not provided by Fedora. Refer to the JPackage website at http://jpackage.org for more information on the project and the software it provides.

	Vermischen von Fedora- und JPackage-Paketen.
	Untersuchen Sie die Kompatibilität der Pakete bevor Sie Software aus den Fedora-oder JPackage-Repositories auf ein und demselben System installieren. Durch inkompatible Pakete können komplexe Fehler entstehen.

Refer to the latest release notes pertaining to Eclipse at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Docs/Beats/Devel/Tools/Eclipse.

This release of Fedora includes maven2, a Java project management and project comprehension tool. Maven can be invoked by the mvn and mvn-jpp commands. The former makes Maven behave just like upstream Maven, while the latter calls mvn with additional properties that make off-line building easier.

The maven2 package in Fedora is modified to work in a fully off-line mode. With no additional properties defined (the mvn command), maven2 works exactly like upstream Maven. Users may define additional properties to facilitate off-line builds, or call mvn-jpp, a wrapper that defines the most commonly used properties for off-line building. The properties and their usage details are described in the /usr/share/doc/maven2-2.0.4/maven2-jpp-readme.html file, which comes from the maven2-manual package.

The default installation of Fedora includes Rhythmbox and Totem for media playback. The Fedora repositories include many other popular programs such as the XMMS player and KDE's amaroK. Both GNOME and KDE have a selection of players that can be used with a variety of formats. Third parties may offer additional programs to handle other formats.

Fedora also takes full advantage of the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) sound system. Many programs can play sound simultaneously, which was once difficult on Linux systems. When all multimedia software is configured to use ALSA for sound support, this limitation disappears. For more information about ALSA, visit the project website at http://www.alsa-project.org/. Users may still experience issues when multiple users log into the system. Depending upon hardware and software configurations, multiple users may not be able to use the sound hardware simultaneously.

Fedora includes complete support for the Ogg media container format and the Vorbis audio, Theora video, Speex audio, and FLAC lossless audio formats. These freely-distributable formats are not encumbered by patent or license restrictions. They provide powerful and flexible alternatives to more popular, restricted formats. The Fedora Project encourages the use of open formats in place of restricted ones. For more information on these formats and how to use them, refer to the Xiph.Org Foundation's web site at http://www.xiph.org/.

Fedora software repositories cannot include support for MP3 or DVD video playback or recording. The MP3 formats are patented, and the patent holders have not provided the necessary patent licenses. DVD video formats are patented and equipped with an encryption scheme. The patent holders have not provided the necessary patent licenses, and the code needed to decrypt CSS-encrypted discs may violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a copyright law of the United States. Fedora also excludes other multimedia software due to patent, copyright, or license restrictions, including Adobe's Flash Player and Real Media's Real Player. For more on this subject, please refer to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ForbiddenItems.

While other MP3 options may be available for Fedora, Fluendo now offers a free MP3 plugin for GStreamer that has the necessary patent license for end users. This plugin enables MP3 support in applications that use the GStreamer framework as a backend. Fedora does not include this plugin since we prefer to support and encourage the use of patent unrestricted open formats instead. For more information about the MP3 plugin, visit Fluendo's website at http://www.fluendo.com/.

Fedora software repositories includes a variety of tools for easily mastering and burning CDs and DVDs. GNOME users can burn directly from the Nautilus file manager, choose the gnomebaker or graveman packages from Fedora Extras, or utilize the older xcdroast package from Fedora. KDE users can use the robust k3b package for these tasks. Console tools include cdrecord, readcd, mkisofs, and other popular applications.

You can use Fedora to create and play back screencasts, which are recorded desktop sessions, using open technologies. Fedora Extras software repository includes istanbul, which creates screencasts using the Theora video format. These videos can be played back using one of several players included in Fedora. This is the preferred way to submit screencasts to the Fedora Project for either developer or end-user use. For a more comprehensive how-to, refer to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ScreenCasting.

Most of the media players in Fedora software repositories can use plugins to add support for additional media formats and sound output systems. Some use powerful multimedia frameworks, like the gstreamer package, to handle media format support and sound output. Fedora software repositories offer plugin packages for these backends and for individual applications. Third parties may provide additional plugins to add even greater capabilities.

Fedora 7 includes version 0.5.6 of the Nazghul old-school role playing game engine and its companion game Haxima. This version is not compatible with saved games from previous Nazghul versions, so those with Haxima games in progress need to restart their games after updating to Fedora 7.

Under Fedora using Xen 3.0.4, both paravirtualization and full virtualization can be implemented. Full virtualization requires a VT-capable processor. Paravirtualization does not require special hardware, but does require the guest OS to be modified. To learn more about how to configure and use Xen, refer to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FedoraXenQuickstartFC6.

The Fedora 7 development team has tested Xen with Fedora 7 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 guests. Other guests have not been tested. With paravirtualization, however, users can expect reasonable success running any Linux guest OS that was built for Xen 3.0.4. With full virtualization using VT hardware, users can expect reasonable success with a larger variety of operating systems, including some proprietary operating systems.

The following improvements have been made in the virtualization packages in Fedora 7:

The X.org 7.2 X server has been modified to automatically detect and configure most hardware, eliminating the need for users or administrators to modify the /etc/X11/xorg.conf configuration file. The only hardware configured by default in the xorg.conf file written by anaconda is:

All other hardware, such as monitors (both LCD and CRT), USB mice, and touchpads should be detected and configured automatically.

The X server queries the attached monitor for supported resolution ranges, and attempts to pick the highest resolution available with the correct aspect ratio for the display. Users can set their preferred resolution in SystemPreferencesScreen Resolution, and the default resolution for the system can be changed with SystemAdministrationDisplay.

If the /etc/X11/xorg.conf configuration file is not present, X also automatically detects the appropriate driver, and assumes a 105-key US keyboard layout.

Fedora 7 contains two drivers for Intel integrated graphics controllers:

The i810 driver is limited to resolutions available in the BIOS. If you need support for non-standard resolutions, such as those used in some widescreen displays, you may want to switch to the intel driver. You may switch drivers by using system-config-display, available in the menus under SystemAdministrationDisplay.

We welcome feedback on the experimental intel driver. Please report success in Bugzilla, attaching the full output of lspci -vn for your machine. Given success reports, various chipsets may be switched to use the intel driver by default.

If you intend to use third party video drivers, refer to the Xorg third party drivers page for detailed guidelines:

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Xorg/3rdPartyVideoDrivers

Fedora now provides MySQL 5.0. For a list of the enhancements provided by this version, refer to http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/mysql-5-0-nutshell.html.

For more information on upgrading databases from previous releases of MySQL, refer to the MySQL website at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/upgrade.html.

This release of Fedora includes PostgreSQL 8.2. For more information on this new version, refer to http://www.postgresql.org/docs/whatsnew.

	Upgrading Databases
	Before upgrading an existing Fedora system with a PostgreSQL database, it could be necessary to follow the procedure described at http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.1/interactive/install-upgrading.html. Otherwise the data may be not accessible by the new version of PostgreSQL.

When upgrading from earlier releases of Fedora, it is strongly recommended to install scim-bridge-gtk, which works well with 3rd party C++ applications linked against older versions of libstdc++.

When SCIM is installed, it runs by default for users of all locales. If SCIM is installed but you do not wish to run it on your desktop, disable it using im-chooser.

The following table lists the default trigger hotkeys for different languages:

su -c 'yum groupinstall <language>-support' 

Package m17n-db:

The compat-gcc-34 package has been included for compatibility reasons:

https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2006-August/msg00409.html

... and many more translators. Refer to the Web-updated version of these release notes as we add translators after release:

http://docs.fedoraproject.org/release-notes/

Beat writers produce the release notes directly on the Fedora Project Wiki. They collaborate with other subject matter experts during the test release phase of Fedora to explain important changes and enhancements. The editorial team ensures consistency and quality of the finished beats, and ports the Wiki material to DocBook XML in a revision control repository. At this point, the team of translators produces other language versions of the release notes, and then they become available to the general public as part of Fedora. The publication team also makes them, and subsequent errata, available via the Web.