Package Management Practicals (RHEL 10: DNF & YUM)

🎯 What This Lab Covers

In this session, I practiced real-world package management on RHEL 10 using DNF (the default package manager). I also referenced YUM for compatibility, since many legacy systems and documentation still use yum.

The goal is to understand how to install, inspect, update, and remove software, and what each command actually does on a running Linux system.

⚠️ Important Real-World Note (RHEL 10)

On RHEL 10, most software repositories require system registration:

subscription-manager status

If the system is not registered and attached to a valid subscription, dnf may not find packages such as nginx.

This is a common real-world issue when provisioning new RHEL servers.

You need a RedHat Developer account to be able to register your Red Hat Linux.

✅ Prerequisites

• A Red Hat account (free Developer account works)

👉 https://developers.redhat.com/register

• Internet access on your RHEL VM
• Root or sudo access

🔹 Step 1: Check your RHEL version (optional, for documentation)

cat /etc/redhat-release

Example output:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 10.x

Good to screenshot or note this.

🔹 Step 2: Register the system

Run this as root or with sudo:

sudo subscription-manager register

You’ll be prompted for:

• Red Hat username
• Password

If successful, you’ll see:

The system has been registered with ID: xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx

Registration Successful Output

Installing a Real Service with DNF

For this lab, we will use DNF to install a real-world service called Nginx.

This simulates how administrators install production software such as web servers, application runtimes, and system tools on live servers.

We’ll also show the equivalent YUM commands to understand legacy workflows and documentation.

🌐 What is Nginx and Why Use It?

Nginx is a high-performance web server and reverse proxy commonly used in production environments to:

• Host websites and web applications
• Act as a reverse proxy in front of backend services
• Load-balance traffic across multiple servers
• Serve static files efficiently

It is widely used in enterprise environments, cloud platforms, and container-based architectures. Practicing with Nginx provides hands-on experience with installing and managing real services you would encounter as a system administrator.

1️⃣ Searching for the Package (DNF & YUM)

dnf search nginx

YUM equivalent:

yum search nginx

Explanation:

Searches enabled repositories for packages related to nginx. This helps confirm that the package is available before installation.

Don’t forget; if on normal user use sudo, if on root you do not need sudo

Both dnf and yum will return the same output

DNF & YUM Output

2️⃣ Viewing Package Details

dnf info nginx

Explanation:

Displays metadata such as version, repository source, size, and a description of Nginx. This helps verify what you are about to install and from where.

Output for nginx info

3️⃣ Installing Nginx

sudo dnf install nginx

Explanation:

Downloads and installs Nginx along with all required dependencies. DNF automatically resolves and installs any supporting libraries needed for Nginx to run.

Also it depend on how good your internet is, that is how fast the installation is going to be.

• You can also install nginx by bypassing the installatio questions by using dnf install -y nginx

dnf install nginx output

4️⃣ Verifying Installation

rpm -q nginx

Explanation:

Queries the RPM database to confirm that Nginx is installed and shows the installed version. This verifies the actual state of the system rather than assuming the installation succeeded.

5️⃣ Updating Nginx

sudo dnf upgrade nginx

Explanation:

Upgrades Nginx to the latest available version from the repositories. This is how administrators apply security patches and bug fixes to installed services.

Nothing to do because, the nginx is up to date

6️⃣ Updating All Packages on the System

sudo dnf upgrade

Explanation:

Updates all installed packages to their latest versions. This is typically done during maintenance windows in production environments.

7️⃣ Removing Nginx

sudo dnf remove nginx

Explanation:

Uninstalls Nginx and removes any dependencies that were installed solely for it and are no longer required.

nginx remove output

8️⃣ Listing Installed Packages

dnf list installed

Explanation:

Displays all packages currently installed on the system. Useful for auditing, documentation, and troubleshooting.

9️⃣ Finding Which Package Provides a Command

dnf provides /usr/bin/python3

Explanation:

Identifies which package owns a specific file or command. This is useful when troubleshooting missing commands.

🔟 Viewing Package Transaction History

dnf history

Explanation:

Shows a history of package installations, upgrades, and removals. This is useful for auditing changes and diagnosing issues caused by recent updates.

dnf history output

Day 5 complete.

Practiced real-world package management with DNF and YUM on RHEL 10.