Introduction
Some new package repositories have been added to Mandriva Linux 2007 recently, so here's an article to recap all the existing ones and explain the new ones.
Repositories Defined
Main - Packages from time of official release
Main Updates - Security and bug fixes for main packages
Main Testing - Release candidate (beta) packages for user testing
Main Backports - Newer packages than those in main but not supported
debug_main_release - Source and debugging symbols needed for use with a debugger
debug_main_updates - Source and debugging symbols needed for use with a debugger
debug_main_testing - Source and debugging symbols needed for use with a debugger
debug_main_backports - Source and debugging symbols needed for use with a debugger
Main Sources - Source packages from time of official release
Main Updates Sources - Source packages for Main Updates
Main Testing Sources - Source packages for Main Testing
Main Backports Sources - Source packages for Main Backports
Contrib - Packages at time of release from contributors/volunteers
Contrib Updates - Updates to contrib packages
Contrib Testing - Release candidate (beta) packages for user testing
Contrib Backports - Newer packages than in contrib but not supported
debug_contrib_release - Source and debugging symbols needed for use with a debugger
debug_contrib_updates - Source and debugging symbols needed for use with a debugger
debug_contrib_testing - Source and debugging symbols needed for use with a debugger
debug_contrib_backports - Source and debugging symbols needed for use with a debugger
Contrib Sources - Source packages at time of release from contrib/volunteers
Contrib Updates Sources - Sources packages for Contrib Updates
Contrib Testing Sources - Source packages for Contrib Testing
Contrib Backports Sources - Source packages for Contrib Backports
PLF Free - Contains package that can't be included in the distro for various legal reasons.
PLF Nonfree - Contains package that can't be included in the distro for various legal reasons(You don't have to pay for this).
PLF Free Backports - Newer packages than those in PLF Free but not supported.
PLF Nonfree Backports - Newer packages than those in PLF Nonfree but not supported.
Non-Free - Packages available only to club members
Basic Information
There are two types of software in Mandriva Linux - free / open source software, and non-free software. All the non-free packages are available to Club members from the 'Club commercial' repository. You can use the new Mirror Finder to help you add this repository for your system, after which you can use rpmdrake or urpmi to install packages from it. To avoid a bug with the download server, after adding this repository, please go to the "Software Management" tab of the Mandriva Control Center, click on "Select from where software packages are downloaded when updating the system", click on "Global Options...", and then change the default downloader from curl to wget.
The free and open source software in Mandriva Linux is available from our public mirrors and is split into two sections: main and contrib. The packages in main are officially supported, which means we guarantee that we will fix security issues and major bugs in these packages. The packages in contrib are not officially supported, which means it's up to the maintainers of these packages (whether they are Mandriva staff or volunteers) to decide whether they wish to provide updates or not.
Each of the two sections contains four separate repositories: release, updates, testing and backports. Of these, testing and backports are new for 2007, and it is also the first time there has been an updates repository for contrib as well as main.
Release Repository
The release repository contains all the packages from that section as they were at the time of Mandriva Linux 2007's release.
Updates Repository
The updates repository contains packages which fix major bugs or security issues found in the initially released packages. In main, the updates packages are tested by our QA team and issued by our security team; in contrib, the updates packages are tested by volunteers and by the maintainer and issued directly by the maintainer.
Testing Repository
The testing repository contains 'release candidate' packages for the updates repository. When a problem is identified that we wish to release an update for, a test package will be built and uploaded to the testing repository, so users who experienced the problem can help test the update.
Backports Repository
The backports repository is for maintainers who wish to provide upgraded packages simply in order to be up to date, or to provide new features demanded by users - rather than packages intended to fix a specific bug or security issue. Please note that packages from /main/backports are not supported like the packages from main/release: we only guarantee security fixes for the packages from main/release. As with packages from contrib, the maintainer who chose to update a package in main/backports may choose to further update it for any security issues or bugs that arise, at his own discretion.
Final Thoughts
You can always use the new Mirror Finder to help you add any of these repositories as a package source for this system. You can also use the software repository configuration tool in Mandriva Linux itself. To do this, run the Software Media Manager: open the Mandriva Control Center, and go to the Software Management tab. Click the link titled 'Select from where software packages are downloaded when updating the system'. Click 'yes' when asked if it is OK to continue. Now click the 'Add...' button on the right hand side of the new screen. When asked whether to add 'Official updates' or 'Distribution sources', click 'Distribution sources'. Click 'Yes' in reply to the question about the mirror list. When the mirror list appears, choose a mirror close to your geographical location. Wait for the process to complete. This will add the release and updates repositories for main and contrib, as these should always be 'safe'. It will not add the backports or testing repositories, as it's possible users may not want to install packages from these repositories.