Removing RPMs

This section describes how to remove RPMs from an existing Exalogic VM image. It contains the following topics:

Note:

Exercise caution when removing RPMs from an existing Exalogic VM image. The Exalogic VM image contains application artifacts and critical files in addition to the operating system.

RPMs That Must Not be Modified or Removed

Do not modify or delete the following RPMs outside of an Exalogic release, a patch set update (PSU), or a patch:

  • compat-dapl

  • compat-dapl-devel

  • dapl

  • dapl-debuginfo

  • dapl-devel

  • dapl-devel-static

  • dapl-utils

  • ib-bonding

  • ib-bonding-debuginfo

  • ibacm

  • ibsim

  • ibsim-debuginfo

  • ibutils

  • infiniband-diags

  • infiniband-diags-guest

  • initscripts

  • kernel

  • kernel-devel

  • kernel-ib

  • kernel-ib-devel

  • kernel-uek

  • kernel-uek-devel

  • kernel-uek-firmware

  • kernel-uek-headers

  • kmod-ovmapi-uek

  • libibcm

  • libibcm-debuginfo

  • libibcm-devel

  • libibmad

  • libibmad-debuginfo

  • libibmad-devel

  • libibmad-static

  • libibumad

  • libibumad-debuginfo

  • libibumad-devel

  • libibumad-static

  • libibverbs

  • libibverbs-debuginfo

  • libibverbs-devel

  • libibverbs-devel-static

  • libibverbs-utils

  • libmlx4

  • libmlx4-debuginfo

  • libmlx4-devel

  • libovmapi

  • librdmacm

  • librdmacm-debuginfo

  • librdmacm-devel

  • librdmacm-utils

  • libsdp

  • libsdp-debuginfo

  • libsdp-devel

  • mpi-selector

  • mpitests_openmpi_gcc

  • mstflint

  • nfs-utils

  • ofed-docs

  • ofed-scripts

  • openmpi_gcc

  • opensm

  • opensm-debuginfo

  • opensm-devel

  • opensm-libs

  • opensm-static

  • ovm-template-config

  • ovm-template-config-authentication

  • ovm-template-config-datetime

  • ovm-template-config-firewall

  • ovm-template-config-network

  • ovm-template-config-ovmm

  • ovm-template-config-selinux

  • ovmd

  • perftest

  • qperf

  • qperf-debuginfo

  • rds-tools

  • sdpnetstat

  • srptools

  • xenstoreprovider

Key RPMs That Are Necessary for vServers to Work

Do not delete the following RPMs, which are necessary for vServers to function in the Exalogic environment. However, you can update these RPMs to latest versions (through yum update, for example) outside of Exalogic releases, PSUs, and patches, to address security or other issues. The following RPMs depend on other RPMs on the system. So exercise caution when removing any RPMs for minimizing or hardening the system.

  • compat-db

  • glibc

  • glibc-common

  • glibc-devel

  • expect

  • glibc-headers

  • keepalived

  • libaio-devel

  • nscd

  • pexpect

  • python-simplejson

  • sysstat

Yum Exclusion List

Use the following exclusion list in /etc/yum.conf for updating the vServer. This exclusion list includes all the RPMs listed in RPMs That Must Not be Modified or Removed.

exclude=compat-dapl* dapl* ib-bonding* ibacm* ibsim* ibutils* infiniband-diags*
initscripts* kernel* kmod-ovmapi-uek* libibcm* libibmad* libibumad* libibverbs*
libmlx4* libovmapi* librdmacm* libsdp* mpi-selector* mpitests_openmpi_gcc*
mstflint* nfs-utils* ofed* openmpi_gcc* opensm* ovm-template-config* ovmd*
perftest* qperf* rds-tools* sdpnetstat* srptools* xenstoreprovider*

Removing RPMs Using modifyjeos

Note:

modifyjeos does not work for LVM-based templates. For such templates, use the manual method described in Removing RPMs Manually.

To remove RPMs by using modifyjeos, complete the following steps:

  1. Add the names of the RPMs (the ones you want to remove) in a list file, such as removerpms.lst. In this file, you must list each RPM in a separate line. Do not add the .rpm extension to the names of the RPMs.
  2. Run the following command to remove the RPMs:

    # modifyjeos -f System.img -e <path_to_removerpms.lst>

    In this command, <path_to_removerpms.lst> is the path to the location of the removerpms.lst file.

Removing RPMs Manually

To remove an RPM manually, complete the following steps:

  1. Ensure that the VM is not running.
  2. Mount the System.img file, as described in Mounting System.img.
  3. Run the following command to remove the RPM from the mounted image:

    # chroot <path_to_mounted_System.img> /bin/bash -c 'rpm -e <rpmname>'

    In this command, <path_to_mounted_System.img> is the path to the mount location, and <rpmname> is the name of the RPM that you want to remove.

  4. Unmount the System.img file, as described in Unmounting System.img.