Bootstrap Yum on a VPS
Network Solutions offers Virtual Private Servers with Linux, for clients that want to have the flexibility of running their own server, without actually owning hardware or a datacenter.
To maximize administration and add value, you should use the yum package management system so you can quickly update services, as well as add new ones. This guide will walk you through using the built in RPM utility, to bootstrap the yum package manager and install a version control system.
The first step is to find out what kind of hardware you’re on.
$ uname -a
Linux netsolvps.com 2.6.9-023stab044.4-smp #1 SMP Thu May 24 17:20:37 MSD 2007 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
The second step is to find out what distribution of Linux you are using, and what version. Looking in the /etc directory for something like fedora-release or gentoo-release, then read that file for the version number will yield this information.
$cat /etc/fedora-release
6
Third step: Since this VPS was minimal install, you’re going to have to work with RPM packages.
man rpm
Step four: Download the RPMs needed
You will need the following packages to satisfy dependencies: python-elementtree python-sqlite rpm-python urlgrabber yum-metadata-parser
Step five: Install the RPMs
Start with the RPMs that yum relies on, then finally install yum.
rpm -i [path-to-package]
The advantage of yum is that instead of having to manually download the packages that a piece of software relies on, yum will automatically retrieve the extra dependencies and install them along with the package.