Factory Distribution

From openSUSE

What is the Factory Distribution?

The Factory Distribution is the current state of the development for the next openSUSE distribution. The Development Releases of openSUSE (like Alpha, Beta or RC releases) are snapshots from this distribution. This means the Factory Distribution can be in any state, while the Development Releases do get some basic testing before the release. Factory News contains a list of changes as they happen in the Factory Distribution.

This is true between two distribution intervals (just after the release of the new distribution) as in the middle of a distribution test. The Factory Distribution is always moving :-).

You should be able to update to the current Factory Distribution from any other openSUSE/SUSE Linux version. A fresh network installation is also possible.

What is it good for?

The Factory Distribution is mainly useful for developers and very brave testers. It is used as an always up-to-date development or testing platform. For the most part, it is also possible only to update a certain package, if you do use the last development release to validate a bug fix. It always provides the latest source code within the src.rpm files.

A fixed and submitted package should be available one day later within the Factory Distribution.

Where can I find it?

You can find it in the Download section.

How can I install it?

See here. You can use and install it exactly like any other openSUSE/SUSE Linux distribution, even from a CD or from the Internet if the necessary boot.iso CD is available.

If this CD is not available at the moment you want to make the installation, look to see if there are instructions (here or in the Factory repository on the Internet).

If you don't find them, try with the most recent ISO available, will it be the Released Version, Alpha, Beta or RC.

How can I update it?

See here for Repo URLs.

How often does it update?

Each of the trees (x86,ia64,ppc,x86_64) is only synced when it is in a consistent state (all builds completed) and that usually happens only once or twice a week.

All trees should be in sync, when a new Development Version of openSUSE is released. Have a look at the Roadmap for the next date.

Bugreports about the Factory Distribution

Bugs discovered by using the Factory Distribution may be caused by an unclean state. This means some of the packages got rebuilt, but depending packages have not yet been built or may not work with the newer packages. In general, it is wise to wait a few days and update again before creating a bugreport. Most issues are very visible and will be solved anyway. In any case, you should always mention that you are using the Factory Distribution in your bugreport. Subscribe to the opensuse-factory mailing list