Using 10.1

From openSUSE

SUSE Linux 10.1 is for the most part an amazing distro - but it has a huge amount of changes compared to previous versions. Some of these changes might be a little confusing for people who are used to SUSE behaving in a certain way and having certain features. Also some very exciting new technologies have been implemented - some of which are perhaps not completely mature yet. The aim of this page is to prepare new users for the most common "issues" people report when running SUSE Linux 10.1 - and give suggestions on how to solve or work around these issues.

Don't be worried, most of this new stuff works very nicely. Install SUSE Linux 10.1 and enjoy :-).

Package Management

A lot of changes have been made to package management both at the backend and at the frontend. These changes include improvement to YaST Software Management as well as the inclusion of two new frontends: Zen (gtk-gui) and Rug (cli).

For more information on the new package management, see:

• Zmd
• Libzypp

For information on using Rug - the new cli interface - see:

• Using rug

Potential problem(s)

In certain setups the new package management system can cause problems. Here's a description of most of the issues:

• Libzypp/Issues

Work around

Other package management systems are also provided via cd/dvd/ftp (yum, apt, smart, y2pmsh...). Especially Smart is greatly appreciated by many. You can use these RPM-frontends together with YaST/Zen/Rug at no risk - since they all use the same RPM database. Install the packages Smart and Smart-gui. The third party repo provided by Guru offers a package called Smart-ksmarttray in addition to patched Smart packages - Ksmarttray will notify you when updates are available. To disable Zmd go to YaST => System => Runlevel Services and disable Novell-Zmd.

Using Smart won't exclude you from getting official security updates and patches. Those are now offered as an installation source (repository) on any ftp.suse.com-mirror, at: ~/suse/update/10.1

Updates

Configuration

Instead of selecting a server everytime you start YOU as before, there is now a different approach. During installation you're offered to configure online updates which basically means that a nearby server - hosting the updates - is selected and added to the package manager. If you do not set this up during installation you can set it up in YaST => Software => Online Update Configuration. Or alternatively you can manually add the repository to the package manager. The repository is available on any ftp.suse.com-mirror at ~/suse/update/10.1.

You can configure automatic updating with YaST => Software => Online Update Setup

Notification

SUSEwatcher has been replaced by a new system tray notifier - Zen Updater. Zen Updater will not only notify you of new official updates but also of available updates on different third party repositories added by the user.

Installation

When new updates are available you can install them using Zen Updater or using the new implementation of YaST => Software => Online Update - the choice is yours!

Drivers

For different reasons some hardware that was supported out-of-box by 10.0 and previous is not supported by 10.1. Mostly this is because it has been decided not to ship binary-only (i.e. closed-source) kernel modules in compliance with the GPL and the wishes of the kernel developers. A new system (KMP, Kernel Module Packages) has been developed to address this issue - but as of yet not many binary-only KMPs are available. Also see:

• Most Annoying Bugs

• The kernel case

Atheros

Because of licensing issues, support for Atheros-based wireless cards is, as of 10.1, no longer available out of the box. To get your card working, you need to install the driver for it.

First of all, you need to add the repository that contains the driver packages, to do so, open up YaST, select Installation Source, click on the Add button and select "Specify URL", now enter "http://madwifi.org/suse" (Without the the quotes) and click OK, now wait a few seconds for it to add the repository, now click on the Finish button, and select Software Management.

If you're using a laptop, the pacakge madwifi is likely to be installed out of the box, if this is the case, you need to update it to the version from the repository you just added, to do this, search for "madwifi", and it should appear, right click on it and select update. If it is not installed, right click on it and select install. You also need to install the kernel module package, now depending on what type of processor you have the one you need can be named differently. If you have a standard single-core CPU, it is named madwifi-kmp-default, if you have a dual-core or multi-processor system, it's called madwifi-kmp-smp. The kernel module packages should appear along with madwifi when you search for "madwifi".

If you prefer to use the commandline for installing stuff, open up a terminal, type su to get root priviliges and run these commands:

  rug sa --type=zypp http://madwifi.org/suse madwifi
  rug sub madwifi
  rug in madwifi

And depending on your CPU, lastly you need you run either:

  rug in madwifi-kmp-default

or

  rug in madwifi-kmp-smp

NetworkManager should now recognize your card, and you should be good to go.

RT2500

If you have a wireless card using this chipset, see:

• For instructions on howto compile it yourself
• For packages by Packman

Nvidia

The famous Nvidia-update is no longer available for the reasons mentioned above. This means installing the official closed source Nvidia driver is a tad more difficult than before - however it's still easier on SUSE than on most distros, here's how to do it:

Log out => Under "System" select Console login => login as root

Put in the command:

# init 3

Then

# tiny-nvidia-installer --update

Follow the instructions, then to configure X.

# sax2 -r -m 0=nvidia

To get back to a graphical session

# init 5

Remember that you now need to recompile the kernel module after every kernel update.

Or alternatively you can download the rpms from ftp://download.nvidia.com/novell/sle10/.

Beagle

This is a very nice desktop search tool - which now also has a KDE frontend (Kerry) - and is part of a standard installation.

Potential problem(s)

In order to be able to deliver fast and reliable search results it has to index - which involves quite a lot of CPU-usage and harddrive activity. This can be a problem for some.

Solution

Disable/don't start Beagle indexing.

NetworkManager

This is a new system for quick and easy switching between networks, without needing root-password etc. It's used by default on laptops.

Potential problem(s)

As mentioned it's new, there are some issues - for example with Ndiswrapper and certain types of encryption.

Solution

If NetworkManager doesn't work for you, the way you'd like it to, you can switch to using the traditional method of configuring your networkinterfaces with YaST => Network Devices => Network Interface Cards in combination with activating / setting up / using Profile Manager, respectively via Yast=>System=>Profile Manager / K Menu=>System=>Configuration=>Profile Management / K Menu=> System=>Desktop Applet=>Profile Chooser .

Xgl/Compiz

SUSE Linux 10.1 is the first installable distro to ship with Xgl/Compiz. This eyecandy is much talked about and a lot of people want to test it and use it. Just keep in mind that it's new technology and might have issues with stability and use of resources.

• Xgl
• Compiz
• Using Xgl on SUSE Linux
• Alternate compiz packages Compiz-Quinn RPM