Distributing Packages Through the Unbreakable Linux Network

Comparing ULN and Yum Servers

Using ULN has advantages over yum. ULN contains access to extra software that's not available through the public Oracle Linux yum server. Most notably, ULN provides access to Oracle Ksplice software channels so that you can automatically update the system kernel without requiring a reboot, along with several other channels for commercially available software from Oracle. Therefore, you can download useful packages that aren't included in the original distribution.

ULN offers software patches, updates, and fixes for Oracle Linux and Oracle VM, and information about yum, dnf, Ksplice, and support policies. The ULN Alert Notification Tool periodically checks with ULN and alerts you when updates are available.

Accessing ULN

To access ULN, you must be an Oracle Linux Support customer with a valid Customer Supports Identifier (CSI) and a Single Sign-On (SSO) account. Then, you can use the comprehensive resources of ULN at https://linux.oracle.com/. This site provides a web interface where you can review and manage the software channels available to different systems and platforms.

To use dnf with ULN, you must individually register each system with ULN and subscribe the system to one or more ULN channels. When you register a system with ULN, the system automatically chooses the channel that contains the latest version according to the system's architecture and OS release.

About ULN Channels

Channels correspond to the architecture of a system. The Unbreakable Linux Network has hundreds of unique channels. These enable access to the packages for all releases of Oracle Linux and Oracle VM 2.1 and later. ULN channels are available for different platform architectures, such as i386, x86_64, and the 64-bit Arm architectures. ULN channels also exist for MySQL, Oracle VM, Oracle Ksplice, OCFS2, RDMA, and productivity applications. Other channels might also become available, such as unsupported channels for developer preview, or for specific developer content.

ULN channels are of the following types:

Core

Consists of required channels of a specific Oracle Linux release, including the *_latest channel which distributes the latest possible version of any package release. Registered systems are automatically subscribed to appropriate core channels.

Caution:

Unsubscribing from the _latest channel can make the system vulnerable to security-related issues. We recommend that you keep the system subscribed to this channel.

Base and Patch

Extra ULN channels that are available for various OS update levels or revisions.

You can maintain a system at a specific update by unsubscribing from the _latest channel and replacing it with _base and _patch channels. However, this configuration can leave a system vulnerable to security issues because Oracle stops updating the patch channels after releasing a new update level. Also, software in the _appstream channel is always released in line with the latest release. Fixing the system to a particular update level could create dependency issues when Oracle updates the software in the _appstream channel.

Not all channels are available for all architectures. Use the ULN web interface to check what channels are available for a specific system architecture. See How to Manage a System's Channel Subscriptions. See also selected channels for Oracle Linux 9 and Oracle Linux 8 and their respective descriptions.

Main ULN Channels for Oracle Linux 9

The following table lists the primary ULN channels for Oracle Linux 9. Additional channels are available. Check the ULN web interface for a complete list. The equivalent yum repositories are available on https://yum.oracle.com/.

Channel	Description
`ol9_arch_baseos_latest`	Core channel. Provides all the latest versions of the base operating system packages in the current release of the distribution, including any errata. If no vulnerabilities have been found in a package, the package version might be the same as that included in the original distribution. For other packages, the version is set at the highest update level.
`ol9_arch_appstream`	Core channel. Provides all the latest versions of the Application Stream user space packages in the current release of the distribution, including any errata. If no vulnerabilities have been found in a package, the package version might be the same as that included in the original distribution. For other packages, the version is set at the highest update level.
`ol9_arch_addons`	Provides packages released by Oracle in addition to the upstream packages made available in the other channels listed here. These packages are specific to functionality that Oracle provides to improve user experience on Oracle Linux and to provide access to services specific to Oracle.
`ol9_arch_codeready_builder`	Provides the packages released in the upstream `codeready_builder` channel. The packages released in this channel are intended for developers who intend to build binary content from source packages. The packages include compilers, libraries, and source required for package building and other related tasks. Many of the packages in this channel have dependencies on packages in the `ol9_arch_appstream` channel. Support for the `codeready_builder` packages is limited to package installation assistance only.
`ol9_arch_developer`	Provides packages intended for developers to create test and development environments for Oracle Linux 9 and related technologies. Support for the developer packages is limited to package installation assistance only.
`ol9_arch_developer_EPEL`	Provides a mirror of the selected packages that are available on the EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) repository. Support for the EPEL packages is limited to package installation assistance only.

Main ULN Channels for Oracle Linux 8

The following table lists the primary ULN channels for Oracle Linux 8. Additional channels are available. Check the ULN web interface for a complete list. The equivalent yum repositories are available on https://yum.oracle.com/.

Channel	Description
`ol8_arch_baseos_latest`	Core channel Provides all the latest versions of the base operating system packages in the distribution, including any errata. If no vulnerabilities have been found in a package, the package version might be the same as that included in the original distribution. For other packages, the version is set at the highest update level.
`ol8_arch_appstream`	Core channel Provides all the latest versions of the Application Stream user space packages in the distribution, including any errata. If no vulnerabilities have been found in a package, the package version might be the same as that included in the original distribution. For other packages, the version is set at the highest update level.
`ol8_arch_un_baseos_base`	Provides the base versions of the base operating system packages in the distribution when a particular update level is released. The initial release of Oracle Linux 8, n has a value of 0. Errata patches are not provided in this channel. If you want to keep your system up to date and secure, you should also subscribe to the appropriate `_baseos_patch` channel or subscribe to the appropriate `_baseos_latest` channel. If you are subscribed to the `_baseos_latest` channel, you do not need to subscribe to this channel.
`ol8_arch_un_baseos_patch`	Provides the patched versions of the base operating system packages in the distribution when a particular update level is released. As errata patches are made available, the updates are released into this channel. Note that in the case of the initial release of Oracle Linux 8, n has a value of 0. Errata patches are provided in this channel until a new update release is made available. To keep a system updated and secure, subscribe to the appropriate `_baseos_latest` channel. If the system is subscribed to the `_baseos_latest` channel, you don't need to subscribe to a patch channel.
`ol8_arch_addons`	Provides packages released by Oracle in addition to the upstream packages made available in the other channels listed here. These packages are specific to functionality that Oracle provides to improve user experience on Oracle Linux and to provide access to services specific to Oracle.
`ol8_arch_codeready_builder`	Provides the packages released in the upstream `codeready_builder` channel. The packages released in this channel are intended for developers who intend to build binary content from source packages. The packages include compilers, libraries, and source required for package building and other related tasks. Many of the packages in this channel have dependencies on packages in the `ol8_arch_appstream` channel. Support for the `codeready_builder` packages is limited to package installation assistance only.
`ol8_arch_developer`	Provides packages intended for developers to create test and development environments for Oracle Linux 8 and related technologies. Support for the developer packages is limited to package installation assistance only.
`ol8_arch_developer_EPEL`	Provides a mirror of the selected packages that are available on the EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) repository. Support for the EPEL packages is limited to package installation assistance only.