Education/Repositories

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Wherewith do you teach tomorrow?

Select the right Repository

The openSUSE-Education Team has "development" and "stable" repositories.

  • The "stable" repositories are highly recommended for use in production enviroments (like schools).
  • The "development" repositories contain the most up to date packages - but might be broken.

For the stable repositories, we've additional update repositories for each released version and distribution.

Stable Repositories


Currently you can find four different repositories for the available distributions:

URL Distribution Remark
http://www.opensuse-education.org/download/repo/1.0/10.2/ openSUSE 10.2
http://www.opensuse-education.org/download/repo/1.0/10.3/ openSUSE 10.3
http://www.opensuse-education.org/download/repo/1.0/11.0/ openSUSE 11.0
http://www.opensuse-education.org/download/repo/1.0/11.1/ openSUSE 11.1 currently not ready
http://www.opensuse-education.org/download/repo/1.0/SLE10/ SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop/Server 10 currently not ready

These repositories contain at least the official packages listed on the Education Applications page (including LTSP). The packages are compiled for the specific distribution and shouldn't be installed on other systems.

You can also download a ISO image containing the content of the repositories at http://www.opensuse-education.org/download/ISOs/ . These ISOs can be added as "Add on Media"


Development Repositories

Warning
These repositories are recommended for developers and testers only. Packages in these repositories change often and can be broken. So be warned!

We use the openSUSE Build Service for development. So the resulting packages have a different signing (see below) and the repositoriy doesn't have the patterns and additional Metadata like the stable repositories - and it might be broken sometimes.

Please have a look at our main development repository:

and choose the right distribution directory.

We've additional repositories, which are just useful for a handfull of people like

If you click on the "repodata" in the subdirectory, you'll see the content of the repository and the packages. (Have a look at the 11.0 repodata for example). You can choose and download single packages here - or add the full repository as described below.

Update Repositories

The coresponding update repository is added automatically to your installation sources if you install openSUSE-Education in the described way. To avoid problems with hosts behind a firewall (which is often the case for clients in a school), this update repository is not enabled per default.

All what's left to do from your side is

  • start YaST2
  • select the YaST2 -> Software Repositories module
  • select the "openSUSE-Education Updates" repository and click on activate

=> you're ready.

We provide full featured openSUSE Update repositories - this means:

  • We only provide tested applications in these channels.
  • We write "patchinfos" containing a user readable description, why he should update the package.
The openSUSE-Education update repository is fully integrated into the KDE and GNOME update applet on your desktop. The openSUSE-Education updates are presented in the applets like the official openSUSE updates.

As we've no duplicated packages in our openSUSE-Education repository, this is not a problem - but a big feature for endusers!


Add the Repository

This is how to add the Repository to your Computer using YaST -> Add-On Product. The description is taken from a SLED 10 GNOME desktop. So the first points might be different on your host.


Start YaST

finding YaST
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finding YaST
When using the Gnome desktop, Click on the "Computer" button and go to "More Applications", choose the "System" section and scroll down to the bottom.
Login as root
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Login as root
Now click on "YaST" and Login with the "root" password which should bring you to YaST.


Add installation source

choose the software section
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choose the software section
Choose the "Software" section, then click on "Installation Source" which brings up this screen.
Add installation Source
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Add installation Source
Choose the repository type
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Choose the repository type
Choose "Add" and select the repository type "Specify URL"

Click "Next" and add the Education Desktop Repository by pasting this URL in the box (find the other URLs above).

URL Distribution
http://www.opensuse-education.org/download/repo/1.0/10.2/ if you have installed openSUSE 10.2
http://www.opensuse-education.org/download/repo/1.0/10.3/ if you have installed openSUSE 10.3
http://www.opensuse-education.org/download/repo/1.0/11.0/ if you have installed openSUSE 11.0

Accept the license

To avoid problems the openSUSE-Education team has added a simple License dialog which informs you that neither the openSUSE-Education Community nor single members will be liable for any damages arising out of the use of the software. But if you find any bug, it would be nice if you enter it in our bugzilla.

Accept the GPG-Key

As this repositoriy is not an official openSUSE repository, all RPMs are signed with the GPG-Key of the openSUSE-Education Team. This key is normally not known to your system, so YaST asks if you accept it.

The fingerprint and additional informations about this GPG-Key are available at the openSUSE-Education website.

Import GPG-Key

Now you can import the openSUSE-Education key into roots keyring to avoid warnings about the unknown GPG-Key in the future.


Cataloging the Repository
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Cataloging the Repository
Now click "Next" to "Catalog the Repository". "Finish" it and wait for the repository to synchronize with the software management utility.


Select Patterns and Packages

You can change the filter to "installation sources" and browse the applications now available from the "Education Desktop Repository"

choose the "Software Manager"
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choose the "Software Manager"
When it is done it will return you to the YaST screen. You can now add software from the repository by choosing "Software Management".
choose the "Software Manager"
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choose the "Software Manager"
click on the check boxes for software you would like add , Click "Accept" and Have Fun!!! :)

Alternatively, you can filter for "patterns". This should give you at least four "Education" patterns containing all software.

Education Desktop applications This pattern contains general applications and should always be installed.
Kids Education Desktop Software Desktop applications for kids up to 12 years.
Youth Education Desktop Software Applications for teenagers (from 12 up to 18 years)
Education Server Applications Server applications for education users.

Information for Administrators

Syncing the Repositories for local access

We provide a rsync-server for you, so you can sync the openSUSE-Education repositories to a server near by your clients.

Generally, all content in our Download-Area is available via

rsync rsync.opensuse-education.org::download/

So you can just download the content you want (even the ISO images are available) and point your clients to the directory on your server.

Activating the Online-Update-Repository

The openSUSE-Education-release.rpm installs already a file with a preconfigured update repository. But this repository is disabled per default. Please use YaST -> Repositories to activate the repository, or the following commandline to activate the update repository:

root@client# sed -i "s|enabled=0|enabled=1|" /etc/zypp/repos.d/openSUSE-Education-Updates.repo

Configure a local Online-Update-Repository

To switch to your own server providing the update repository, you can also use YaST -> Repositories and exchange the URL - or use the following commandline:

root@client# myurl="http://myserver/updates/11.1"
root@client# sed -i "s|baseurl=http://www.opensuse-education.org/download/updates/1.0/11.1|baseurl=$myurl|" /etc/zypp/repos.d/openSUSE-Education-Updates.repo

Just replace myurl="http://myserver/updates/11.1" above with the path to your local server.

Become an official mirror server

If you want to become an official openSUSE-Education mirror, just follow the description on the Mirror Setup Howto page. Just exchange the rsync-calls for rsync.opensuse.org with the ones for rsync.opensuse-education.org and ask Lars to be added as official mirror.