Book Image

Oracle Linux Cookbook

By : Erik Benner, Erik B. Thomsen, Jonathan Spindel
Book Image

Oracle Linux Cookbook

By: Erik Benner, Erik B. Thomsen, Jonathan Spindel

Overview of this book

Discover the power of Oracle Linux 8, the free and enterprise-grade Linux distribution designed for use in any environment, with this recipe-style book. Starting with instructions on how to obtain Oracle Linux for both X86 and ARM-based platforms, this book walks you through various installation methods, from running it as a Windows service to installing it on a Raspberry Pi. It unravels advanced topics such as system upgrades using Leapp for major version transitions and using a PXE server and kickstart files for more advanced installations. The book then delves into swapping kernels to take advantage of Oracle’s UEK, exploring boot options, managing software with DNF, and achieving high availability. Detailed recipes involving security topics will assist with tasks such as data encryption, both at rest and in motion. For developers, it offers guidance on building RPM files, using Docker and Podman in a containerized environment, working with AppStreams, and more. For large-scale deployments, the book introduces Oracle Linux Automation Manager for enterprise-level Ansible utilization, from setting up the Ansible server to basic playbook writing. Finally, you’ll discover strategies for cloud migration. By the end of this book, you’ll possess a comprehensive toolkit that will elevate your skills as a Linux administrator.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)

Kernel basics – UEK and RHCK

Before we get started with UEK and RHCK, let's understand what is a Linux kernel. A Linux kernel release refers to an updated version of the core component of the Linux operating system. Its main function is to act as a bridge between the hardware and software layers of a computer system. The Linux kernel is a collaborative development effort by a large community of developers worldwide, with Linus Torvalds as the original creator and official maintainer of the mainline kernel. These kernel updates are introduced periodically to provide new features, improvements, bug fixes, security patches, and hardware support.

Linux kernel releases are assigned a version number that consists of three components: major version, minor version, and patch level. For instance, a kernel version is represented as X.Y.Z, where X represents the major version, Y is the minor version, and Z is the patch level. The major version is usually incremented for significant...