Oracle also provides all errata and updates for Oracle Linux through the Oracle Linux yum server, which includes updates to the base distribution, but does not include Oracle-specific software. You do not require an Oracle Linux support subscription to use this service. For more information on how to obtain updates from the Oracle Linux yum server, see https://yum.oracle.com.

By default, all new installations of Oracle Linux 6 are automatically configured to use the Oracle Linux yum server. If you subsequently register the system with ULN, any configuration for using the Oracle Linux yum server is automatically disabled.

The configuration files that control access to repositories hosted on the the Oracle Linux yum server are located in /etc/yum.repos.d/.

Oracle revised how repository configuration files for the Oracle Linux yum server are distributed and updated in January 2019. Older implementations may use a consolidated configuration file available in /etc/yum.repos.d/public-yum-ol6.repo. If your system is still configured in this way, consider updating and running the /usr/bin/ol_yum_configure.sh script to complete the transition to use the modular yum configuration files managed through yum itself.

Core repositories such as ol6_latest are enabled by default at installation. These repositories allow you to install base software required to run Oracle Linux 6. They also allow you to install the packages that provide the Oracle Linux yum server repository configurations that enable repositories where other software may be available. You can get a listing of the available repository configuration packages by running:

# yum list *release-el6*

See the Oracle Linux 6 Administrator's Guide for more information.