Relink – a package management tool

Example: You have the Linux 2.4.26 kernel source. Fact: You want to install the newest 2.4.xx kernel. Problem: You have GCC-3.4.0 installed. Solution: Temporarily install GCC-3.3.3. Here’s where relink comes in!

jpiszcz@p500:~$ cd /usr/src/linux-2.4.26

jpiszcz@p500:/usr/src/linux-2.4.26$ # needs gcc-3.3.3 or wont compile

jpiszcz@p500:/usr/src/linux-2.4.26$ gcc -v

Reading specs from /a/app/gcc-3.4.0/bin/../lib/gcc/i686-pc-linux-gnu/3.4.0/specs

Configured with: ./configure –prefix=/app/gcc-3.4.0

Thread model: posix

gcc version 3.4.0

jpiszcz@p500:/usr/src/linux-2.4.26$ mv /app/gcc-3.4.0 ~

jpiszcz@p500:/usr/src/linux-2.4.26$ relink

  2480 link(s) removed

jpiszcz@p500:/usr/src/linux-2.4.26$ mv /appc/gcc-3.3.3 /app

jpiszcz@p500:/usr/src/linux-2.4.26$ relink

  2200 link(s) installed

jpiszcz@p500:/usr/src/linux-2.4.26$ gcc -v

Reading specs from /vapp/bin/../lib/gcc-lib/i686-pc-linux-gnu/3.3.3/specs

Configured with: ./configure –prefix=/app/gcc-3.3.3

Thread model: posix

gcc version 3.3.3

jpiszcz@p500:/usr/src/linux-2.4.26$

You can now compile Kernel 2.4.26.

If you are interested in the history, benefits and purpose of using this tool as well as how to set it up and use it, please continue on.

What is relink?

Relink is an undiscovered treasure when it comes to package management.

How so?

With traditional package management, programs are installed all over
the system. For example installing a large application may put files in
/usr/include, /usr/lib, /usr/bin, /usr/sbin and the like. Some people might
say what about /usr/local? Yes, you can install programs into /usr/local, but
then it’s a mess, you do not know what versions of what you have installed!
Then, you have to rely on package management tools to determine what versions
of specific applications you have installed or you have to type the following
./program –version, but what if it is a library? Then you have to check the
headers or look in the *.la files which might help in determining the
version. With relink, all of your program are installed to the
$prefix/program-name-1.0.

What is the intent of relink?

Summarized from the manpage: relink is a utility designed to assist users
in managing packages with the normal application layout directory structure,
such as: application/bin, application/etc, application/lib, application/man.
It can be used to create a single directory path for tens to thousands of
applications.

In other words, you can have the latest and greatest applications in your
$HOME/app, instead of waiting for your system administrator install them
on the system for you!

The motivation for relink was inspired by two primary needs

1] The ability to organize and install software packages easily without
root access.

2] The ability to build applications and interrelated libraries
one time and then to share these between systems easily.
Some applications may take hours to build and install
due to dependencies and libraries required. relink
allows you do this one time for multiple machines.

Relink is probably of most interest to those who constantly want to
use the latest version of tools or applications or individuals
that must support moving applications between many systems.
If you are currently satisfied with your existing package
management system, rpm, pkgadd, depot, etc., relink may not
be of interest. However if you desire non root flexibility
and understanding where every file is without searching
relink may be of value.

Benefits of using relink

1] Full control of all of your packages.

2] Easy to backup.

3] Reduce risk of exploits (if relink user != root, which is recomended).

Explanation: Some source packages have become trojaned in the past and may be able to do further damage if the user running make install as root.

Backing up your applications

A nice thing to do is build all of your applications based upon other
libraries and applications that exist in your /app directory structure.

Why is this?

Because then the applications become portable (as long as glibc) is
the same version or greater on the other machine.
The thing I like most about relink is the ease of use it provides when
backing up all of my programs.
With a traditional package management system, some people might say:

“But oh, you can keep the rpms,tgz,deb.”

Well that may be true, however with relink you keep the entire directory
structure and the preferences you have for each application!

Example: /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/sshd_config

I can untar my a.tar on another machine and setup the paths and voila
I have a complete working system again with all my applications and
tools. Without relink, I would be forced to backup my /usr partition
filled with all sorts of files intermingled with one another, which I
might add is not very useful when attempting to restore one’s system!

So how would I find the version of nmap that is installed using the following package management systems as shown below?

There are many package managers for Linux, some of the most popular
include the following:

1] Debian Package [tool: dpkg]
   ex: program.deb

2] RedHat Package Manager [tool: rpm]
   ex: program.rpm
3] Slackware Package [tool: installpkg/removepkg/etc]
   ex: program.tgz
   For Debian: dpkg -l | grep nmap

   For RedHat: rpm -qa | grep nmap

For Slackware: ls -l /var/log/packages/nmap*

How would I find out which version of nmap was installed if I had used relink?

$ ls -ld /app/nmap-*

drwxr-xr-x  5 jpiszcz wheel 4.0K Jan 19 04:45 /app/nmap-3.50/

Why compile programs from source?

Example: Slackware 9.1 is my favorite distribution. However it has a serious
flaw, I launch gaim and try to connect to MSN, then what happens?
It says GAIM is not linked with the SSL libraries. Due to problems
similar to this I decided to start compiling almost everything I run
in late 1996 and control applications I install with relink.

Example: It has simplified my life and helped me organize the applications
I install. It also makes backups very easy and I will discuss this
in a moment.

Example: Distributions often lag behind when a new version of software is
released, perhaps your distribution does not have a package for
OpenSSL yet and you have to run an OpenSSH server for users, if you
do not want to risk getting compromised by the latest exploit
affecting up to OpenSSL 0.9.7c, then you need to upgrade. Using
relink provides a flexible means of doing this.

Why not use Gentoo/Lunar/Onebase/ROCK/Sorcerer/SourceMage or other source based distribution?

One word, control. Using automated package management might be a good thing
for some people, but I prefer to have complete control of my system and how
I compile each individual application. I also have found no distribution
that does what relink does by installing applications like the following
example: /app/program-1.0/{bin,etc,man,lib,sbin}.

Why use relink?

In my opinion, it is the best package management tool I have ever used.
I have been using it since 1996. It only requires Perl 5.6 on the
target system to run. I have personally tested it on a wide array of
Linux distributions and it has always worked no matter what distro I
was using. It also has been tested on Solaris 2.6 – 2.9.

Opinion #1: What is wrong with dpkg? Not much, however you still do not have

            control over how your programs are created or what features they

            contain.

Opinion #2: What is wrong with rpm? RPM is a complete nightmare as most of us

            know.  Below is an example:
            Say you want to install program.rpm.

            This is what often happens when you try to install an RPM.

            # rpm –install program.rpm

            program.rpm: depends on this.rpm that.rpm other.rpm

            # rpm –install this.rpm that.rpm other.rpm

            other.rpm: depends on this2.rpm that2.rpm more.rpm

            # rpm –install this.rpm this2.rpm that.rpm that2.rpm other.rpm more.rpm

            # rpm –install program.rpm

            # program &

            program: error __symbol_xyz_not_found
            This also made me literally sick of RPM, desperately looking for

            another solution.
Opinion #3: What is wrong with tgz? Not much, however you still do not have

            control over how your programs are created or what features they

            contain.  In addition to that, there is no dependency checking,

            which is a blessing for advanced users but may cause problems

            for novice users.

Ok, so what are the requirements for relink?

The only requirement to run relink is Perl 5.6 or higher.

It looks cool, but how do I install relink?

The man page provides useful information on how to install relink, however
many of us like a tutorial or HOWTO walking us through the install process.

You can install relink in any prefix you desire.
For example: /app, $HOME/app, $HOME/myprograms, $HOME/your_choice

I have a freshly installed Slackware 9.1 system specifically for the purpose
of demonstrating how to install relink.

In my demonstration I will use /app (/a/app) as my prefix for installing
applications and the user jpiszcz as the owner the /a directory.

Step 01: Download relink

root@jpt2:~# wget http://aleron.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/relink/relink-1.71.tar.gz

           => `relink-1.71.tar.gz’

Resolving aleron.dl.sourceforge.net… 204.157.3.229

Connecting to aleron.dl.sourceforge.net[204.157.3.229]:80… connected.

HTTP request sent, awaiting response… 200 OK

Length: 33,925 [application/x-gzip]
100%[====================================>] 33,925        91.77K/s
22:48:11 (91.70 KB/s) – `relink-1.71.tar.gz’ saved [33925/33925]
root@jpt2:~#

Step 02: Decompress the package

root@jpt2:~# tar zxvf relink-1.71.tar.gz

relink/

relink/bin/

relink/bin/conf

relink/bin/relink

relink/doc/

relink/doc/relink.pdf

relink/doc/relink.txt

relink/doc/relink.ps

relink/doc/relink.html

relink/man/

relink/man/man1/

relink/man/man1/relink.1

root@jpt2:~#

Step 03: Setup your directory structure

root@jpt2:~# mkdir /a                  # this is the base directory.

root@jpt2:~# mkdir /a/app              # this is where the programs are stored.

root@jpt2:~# mkdir /a/vapp             # this is where the symlinks are stored

root@jpt2:~# ln -s /a/app /app         # this is for convenience

root@jpt2:~# ln -s /a/vapp /vapp       # this is used for your $PATH variables.

root@jpt2:~# chown jpiszcz:users -R /a

root@jpt2:~#

The last line allows jpiszcz:users to be the owner of /a, this is a good idea
for a single user system and more secure then running make install as root.
For some installations, creating a ‘relink’ user for the sole purpose of
installing and maintaining packages is recomended.

Step 04: Setup your PATHs

You may place the path wherever you choose, however I prefer to put them
in /etc/profile (Slackware) or /etc/bashrc (RedHat).

Add the following entries to the appropriate file.

#########################################################

# UNIX SYSTEM PATHS

#########################################################

# set the path

export PATH=/vapp/bin:/vapp/sbin:$PATH

# set the manpath

export MANPATH=/vapp/man:$MANPATH

# set the library path

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/vapp/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

########################################################

# GCC COMPILER PATHS

########################################################

# set the c_include_path for gcc so when you compile programs

# it will search the headers in /vapp/include

export C_INCLUDE_PATH=/vapp/include:$C_INCLUDE_PATH

# the same but for C++ headers

export CPLUS_INCLUDE_PATH=$C_INCLUDE_PATH

# the same but for libraries

export LIBRARY_PATH=/vapp/lib:$LIBRARY_PATH
########################################################

# The following may be optional or not depending on

# whether or not you use GNOME or wish to install various

# gnome system programs or libraries into /app.

########################################################

export ACLOCAL_FLAGS=”-I /vapp/share/aclocal -I /usr/share/aclocal”

export GNOME_PATH=”/vapp”

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=”/vapp/lib/pkgconfig:/usr/lib/pkgconfig”

export QTDIR=”/app/qt-3.3.1″
########################################################

# The following is highly recommended:

########################################################

To make sure the system knows about the new libraries, you should also add
the following line into /etc/ld.so.conf: /vapp/lib and run /sbin/ldconfig
afterwards. This ensures that the system knows where the libraries are and
in addition, OpenBSD’s OpenSSH secure ftp (sftp) daemon requires that this
step be done or else it will not be able to locate the paths for openssl
if you only have openssl in your /app.

root@jpt2:~# cat /etc/ld.so.conf

/vapp/lib

/usr/local/lib

/usr/X11R6/lib

/usr/i486-slackware-linux/lib

/opt/kde/lib

/usr/lib/qt/lib

/lib

root@jpt2:~# ldconfig

root@jpt2:~#

Step 05: Check your PATHs

After you have added the PATHs into /etc/profile or /etc/bashrc:

root@jpt2:~# grep . /etc/profile | tail -n 25

# set the path

export PATH=/vapp/bin:/vapp/sbin:$PATH

# set the manpath

export MANPATH=/vapp/man:$MANPATH

# set the library path

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/vapp/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

########################################################

# GCC COMPILER PATHS

########################################################

# set the c_include_path for gcc so when you compile programs

# it will search the headers in /vapp/include

export C_INCLUDE_PATH=/vapp/include:$C_INCLUDE_PATH

# the same but for C++ headers

export CPLUS_INCLUDE_PATH=$C_INCLUDE_PATH

# the same but for libraries

export LIBRARY_PATH=/vapp/lib:$LIBRARY_PATH

########################################################

# The following may be optional or not depending on

# whether or not you use GNOME or wish to install various

# gnome system programs or libraries into /app.

########################################################

export ACLOCAL_FLAGS=”-I /vapp/share/aclocal -I /usr/share/aclocal”

export GNOME_PATH=”/vapp”

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=”/vapp/lib/pkgconfig:/usr/lib/pkgconfig”

export QTDIR=”/app/qt-3.3.1″

root@jpt2:~#

Then source the new file your environment is aware of the new paths.

root@jpt2:~# . /etc/profile

To check that your settings worked properly, simply check a PATH.

root@jpt2:~# echo $PATH

/vapp/bin:/vapp/sbin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:

/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin:/usr/games:/opt/www/htdig/bin:/usr/lib/java/bin:

/usr/lib/java/jre/bin:/opt/kde/bin:/usr/lib/qt/bin:/usr/share/texmf/bin

root@jpt2:~#

Step 06: Move relink into /app and set permissions to the user that you will be running relink as

root@jpt2:~# mv relink /app

root@jpt2:~# chown jpiszcz:users -R /a

Step 07: Run relink to set the paths and initialize the database

Note the user change: I am now user ‘jpiszcz’

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ /app/relink/bin/relink

 RELINK_ERROR>> $HOME/.relinkrc does not exist.

 RELINK_ERROR>> try relink –setup
 options, use only one option at a time
 -h|-help|–help       : this menu

 -i|-init|–init       : initialize relink system

 -k|-keep|–keep       : keep files generated in /tmp, for debug

 -s|-setup|–setup     : setup directories

 -v|-verbose|–verbose : verbose output of progress

 -V|-version|–version : output version information
jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ /app/relink/bin/relink -s
Enter Application Directory (e.g. /a/app): /a/app
Run relink again

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ relink

-su: relink: command not found

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ # There is a small bug in the installation as you can see here.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ # To remedy:

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ /app/relink/bin/relink -i

APPDIR: /a/app

RELINK>> Delete all files in current directory

RELINK>> DIRECTORY: /a/vapp
vapp
RELINK>> CTRL-C to abort, ‘Y’ to continue: Y

Removing all vapp symbolic link files

/a/vapp

Removing rdb files
Executing relink: [/a/app/relink/bin/relink]
diff: /a/rdb/rdb.dat: No such file or directory

diff: /a/rdb/rdb.dat: No such file or directory

/bin/cp: cannot stat `./rdb/rdb.dat’: No such file or directory

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ # This is the second and last but during installation.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ # To remedy:

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ /app/relink/bin/relink -i

APPDIR: /a/app

RELINK>> Delete all files in current directory

RELINK>> DIRECTORY: /a/vapp
rdb.dat
RELINK>> CTRL-C to abort, ‘Y’ to continue: Y

Removing all vapp symbolic link files

/a/rdb

rdb.dat

Removing rdb files
Executing relink: [/a/app/relink/bin/relink]
  14 link(s) installed

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$

Congratulations, you have successfully installed relink!

Ok that’s great I have installed relink, now how do I use it?

In the proceeding text I will show three things
1] Install a library into /app.

2] Install a program that depends on the library installed in /app.

2] Remove a program.

3] Upgrade a program.

Example: Install OpenSSH and OpenSSL

Step 01: Download the OpenSSL and OpenSSH source tarballs

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ wget ftp://ftp.openssl.org/source/openssl-0.9.7d.tar.gz

–23:20:12–  ftp://ftp.openssl.org/source/openssl-0.9.7d.tar.gz

           => `openssl-0.9.7d.tar.gz’

Resolving ftp.openssl.org… 195.27.176.155

Connecting to ftp.openssl.org[195.27.176.155]:21… connected.

Logging in as anonymous … Logged in!

==> SYST … done.    ==> PWD … done.

==> TYPE I … done.  ==> CWD /source … done.

==> PORT … done.    ==> RETR openssl-0.9.7d.tar.gz … done.

Length: 2,798,433 (unauthoritative)

100%[====================================>] 2,798,433     90.19K/s    ETA 00:00
23:20:45 (86.64 KB/s) – `openssl-0.9.7d.tar.gz’ saved [2798433]
jpiszcz@jpt2:~$

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ wget ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/OpenSSH/portable/openssh-3.8.1p1.tar.gz
–23:23:05–  ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/OpenSSH/portable/openssh-3.8.1p1.tar.gz

           => `openssh-3.8.1p1.tar.gz’

Resolving ftp.openbsd.org… 129.128.5.191

Connecting to ftp.openbsd.org[129.128.5.191]:21… connected.

Logging in as anonymous … Logged in!

==> SYST … done.    ==> PWD … done.

==> TYPE I … done.  ==> CWD /pub/OpenBSD/OpenSSH/portable … done.

==> PORT … done.    ==> RETR openssh-3.8.1p1.tar.gz … done.

Length: 817,932 (unauthoritative)
100%[====================================>] 817,932       23.20K/s    ETA 00:00
23:23:29 (42.98 KB/s) – `openssh-3.8.1p1.tar.gz’ saved [817932]
jpiszcz@jpt2:~$

Step 02: Decompress the tarballs

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ tar zxf openssl-0.9.7d.tar.gz

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ tar zxf openssh-3.8.1p1.tar.gz

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$

Step 03: Run ./config

For OpenSSL, it has its own ‘config’ script, earlier versions seemed to have
supported a prefix option, but the newest does not.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ cd openssl-0.9.7d

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$ ./config

Operating system: i686-whatever-linux2

Configuring for linux-pentium

.. various tests here ..

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$

Step 03: Edit Makefile

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ cd openssl-0.9.7d

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$ vi Makefile

The part you need to change is here:

# INSTALL_PREFIX is for package builders so that they can configure

# for, say, /usr/ and yet have everything installed to /tmp/somedir/usr/.

# Normally it is left empty.

INSTALL_PREFIX=

INSTALLTOP=/usr/local/ssl

Change INSTALL_PREFIX= to INSTALL_PREFIX=/app

and

INSTALLTOP= to INSTALLTOP=/openssl-0.9.7d
So when done, it should look like this:
# INSTALL_PREFIX is for package builders so that they can configure

# for, say, /usr/ and yet have everything installed to /tmp/somedir/usr/.

# Normally it is left empty.

INSTALL_PREFIX=/app

INSTALLTOP=/openssl-0.9.7d

Step 04: Run make to compile the program

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$ /usr/bin/time make -j2

Some users may be curious to why I used the -j2 option (especially when I only
have a single CPU in my machine), running make with no -j2 option is perfectly
fine. Instead of one thread for compiling, running make with the -j2 (jobs: 2)
option, it runs two jobs simultaneously. Therefore make -j2 usually results
in faster compilation times depending upon what you are compiling.

Some may also be curious as to why this is? Well that has to do with the
Linux process scheduler and that is a topic for another day.

Step 05: Run make install

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$ make install

.. various installer information here ..

make[1]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/openssl-0.9.7d/tools’

make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/openssl-0.9.7d/tools’

installing libcrypto.a

installing libssl.a

cp openssl.pc /app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib/pkgconfig

chmod 644 /app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib/pkgconfig/openssl.pc

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$

Step 06: Shared or Static?

This is a also a discussion for another time, however most programs in Linux
are built using shared libraries as it offers many benefits over building them
statically, please Google search for more information about why this is so.

We want a shared OpenSSL library!
By default, OpenSSL 0.9.7d does not compile or install a shared library.
To remedy this problem:

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$ make build-shared

+ rm -f libcrypto.so.0

+ rm -f libcrypto.so

+ rm -f libcrypto.so.0.9.7

+ rm -f libssl.so.0

+ rm -f libssl.so

+ rm -f libssl.so.0.9.7

libs=’-L. ‘; for i in crypto ssl; do \

if [ “crypto ssl” = “ssl” -a -n “” ]; then \

        libs=” $libs”; \

fi; \

( set -x; gcc  \

        -shared -o lib$i.so.0.9.7 \

        -Wl,-soname=lib$i.so.0.9.7 \

        -Wl,-Bsymbolic \

        -Wl,–whole-archive lib$i.a \

        -Wl,–no-whole-archive $libs -ldl -lc ) || exit 1; \

libs=”-l$i $libs”; \

done

+ gcc -shared -o libcrypto.so.0.9.7 -Wl,-soname=libcrypto.so.0.9.7 -Wl,-Bsymbolic \

 -Wl,–whole-archive libcrypto.a -Wl,–no-whole-archive -L. -ldl -lc

+ gcc -shared -o libssl.so.0.9.7 -Wl,-soname=libssl.so.0.9.7 -Wl,-Bsymbolic -Wl, \

–whole-archive libssl.a -Wl,–no-whole-archive -lcrypto -L. -ldl -lc

+ rm -f libcrypto.so.0

+ ln -s libcrypto.so.0.9.7 libcrypto.so.0

+ rm -f libcrypto.so

+ ln -s libcrypto.so.0 libcrypto.so

+ rm -f libssl.so.0

+ ln -s libssl.so.0.9.7 libssl.so.0

+ rm -f libssl.so

+ ln -s libssl.so.0 libssl.so

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$

Step 07: Install the shared library

If you thought make install will do it, you will be mistaken.
Simply move the libraries to the app/lib directory and relink!

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$ mv *.so* /app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$ relink # I had previously relinked

  6 link(s) installed                 # before moving the libraries.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$        # This only the library

                                      # related files are relinked

                                      # at this time.

Congratulations, you have successfully built and installed OpenSSL
with shared libraries! Now for OpenSSH…

Step 08: Installing OpenSSH

In recent versions, a user (sshd) by default is required by OpenSSH.

Slackware 9.1 by default has this user added, if this user is not
added, you must add it.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$ grep -i sshd /etc/passwd

sshd:x:33:33:sshd:/:

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$

Next, view the available options to compile OpenSSH.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssl-0.9.7d$ cd ~/openssh-3.8.1p1

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssh-3.8.1p1$ ./configure –help

`configure’ configures this package to adapt to many kinds of systems.

Usage: ./configure [OPTION]… [VAR=VALUE]…
To assign environment variables (e.g., CC, CFLAGS…), specify them as

VAR=VALUE.  See below for descriptions of some of the useful variables.
Defaults for the options are specified in brackets.
Configuration:

  -h, –help              display this help and exit

      –help=short        display options specific to this package

      –help=recursive    display the short help of all the included packages

  -V, –version           display version information and exit

  -q, –quiet, –silent   do not print `checking…’ messages

      –cache-file=FILE   cache test results in FILE [disabled]
  -C, –config-cache      alias for `–cache-file=config.cache’

  -n, –no-create         do not create output files

      –srcdir=DIR        find the sources in DIR [configure dir or `..’]
Installation directories:

  –prefix=PREFIX         install architecture-independent files in PREFIX

                          [/usr/local]
  –exec-prefix=EPREFIX   install architecture-dependent files in EPREFIX

                          [PREFIX]
By default, `make install’ will install all the files in

`/usr/local/bin’, `/usr/local/lib’ etc.  You can specify

an installation prefix other than `/usr/local’ using `–prefix’,

for instance `–prefix=$HOME’.
For better control, use the options below.
Fine tuning of the installation directories:

  –bindir=DIR           user executables [EPREFIX/bin]
  –sbindir=DIR          system admin executables [EPREFIX/sbin]
  –libexecdir=DIR       program executables [EPREFIX/libexec]
  –datadir=DIR          read-only architecture-independent data [PREFIX/share]
  –sysconfdir=DIR       read-only single-machine data [PREFIX/etc]
  –sharedstatedir=DIR   modifiable architecture-independent data [PREFIX/com]
  –localstatedir=DIR    modifiable single-machine data [PREFIX/var]
  –libdir=DIR           object code libraries [EPREFIX/lib]
  –includedir=DIR       C header files [PREFIX/include]
  –oldincludedir=DIR    C header files for non-gcc [/usr/include]
  –infodir=DIR          info documentation [PREFIX/info]
  –mandir=DIR           man documentation [PREFIX/man]
System types:

  –build=BUILD     configure for building on BUILD [guessed]
  –host=HOST       build programs to run on HOST [BUILD]
Optional Features:

  –disable-FEATURE       do not include FEATURE (same as –enable-FEATURE=no)

  –enable-FEATURE[=ARG]  include FEATURE [ARG=yes]
  –disable-largefile     omit support for large files

  –disable-strip         Disable calling strip(1) on install

  –disable-etc-default-login       Disable using PATH from /etc/default/login no

  –disable-lastlog       disable use of lastlog even if detected no

  –disable-utmp          disable use of utmp even if detected no

  –disable-utmpx         disable use of utmpx even if detected no

  –disable-wtmp          disable use of wtmp even if detected no

  –disable-wtmpx         disable use of wtmpx even if detected no

  –disable-libutil       disable use of libutil (login() etc.) no

  –disable-pututline     disable use of pututline() etc. (uwtmp) no

  –disable-pututxline    disable use of pututxline() etc. (uwtmpx) no
Optional Packages:

  –with-PACKAGE[=ARG]    use PACKAGE [ARG=yes]
  –without-PACKAGE       do not use PACKAGE (same as –with-PACKAGE=no)

  –without-rpath         Disable auto-added -R linker paths

  –with-osfsia           Enable Digital Unix SIA

  –with-cflags           Specify additional flags to pass to compiler

  –with-cppflags         Specify additional flags to pass to preprocessor

  –with-ldflags          Specify additional flags to pass to linker

  –with-libs             Specify additional libraries to link with

  –with-zlib=PATH        Use zlib in PATH

  –without-zlib-version-check Disable zlib version check

  –with-skey[=PATH]      Enable S/Key support

                            (optionally in PATH)

  –with-tcp-wrappers[=PATH]      Enable tcpwrappers support

                            (optionally in PATH)

  –with-pam              Enable PAM support

  –with-ssl-dir=PATH     Specify path to OpenSSL installation

  –with-rand-helper      Use subprocess to gather strong randomness

  –with-prngd-port=PORT  read entropy from PRNGD/EGD TCP localhost:PORT

  –with-prngd-socket=FILE read entropy from PRNGD/EGD socket FILE (default=/var/run/egd-pool)

  –with-entropy-timeout  Specify entropy gathering command timeout (msec)

  –with-privsep-user=user Specify non-privileged user for privilege separation

  –with-sectok           Enable smartcard support using libsectok

  –with-opensc=PFX       Enable smartcard support using OpenSC

  –with-kerberos5=PATH   Enable Kerberos 5 support

  –with-privsep-path=xxx Path for privilege separation chroot (default=/var/empty)

  –with-xauth=PATH       Specify path to xauth program

  –with-mantype=man|cat|doc  Set man page type

  –with-md5-passwords    Enable use of MD5 passwords

  –without-shadow        Disable shadow password support

  –with-ipaddr-display   Use ip address instead of hostname in \$DISPLAY

  –with-default-path=    Specify default \$PATH environment for server

  –with-superuser-path=  Specify different path for super-user

  –with-4in6             Check for and convert IPv4 in IPv6 mapped addresses

  –with-bsd-auth         Enable BSD auth support

  –with-pid-dir=PATH     Specify location of ssh.pid file

  –with-lastlog=FILE|DIR specify lastlog location common locations
Some influential environment variables:

  CC          C compiler command

  CFLAGS      C compiler flags

  LDFLAGS     linker flags, e.g. -L<lib dir> if you have libraries in a

              nonstandard directory <lib dir>

  CPPFLAGS    C/C++ preprocessor flags, e.g. -I<include dir> if you have

              headers in a nonstandard directory <include dir>

  CPP         C preprocessor
Use these variables to override the choices made by `configure’ or to help

it to find libraries and programs with nonstandard names/locations.
jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssh-3.8.1p1$

Step 09: Configure the OpenSSH build

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssh-3.8.1p1$ ./configure –prefix=/app/openssh-3.8.1p1

.. configure status ..

Important output from configure to pay attention to:

checking OpenSSL header version… 90704f (OpenSSL 0.9.7d 17 Mar 2004)

checking OpenSSL library version… 90704f (OpenSSL 0.9.7d 17 Mar 2004)

checking whether OpenSSL’s headers match the library… yes

checking for crypt in -lcrypt… yes

checking whether OpenSSL’s PRNG is internally seeded… yes

If this does not detect your version of OpenSSL, some programs

may need –with-ssl-dir=PATH     Specify path to OpenSSL installation
Without the –with-ssl-dir option specified, we get:

Preprocessor flags:

      Linker flags:

This shows that it is building off of your distribution’s inclusion
of OpenSSL (somewhere in /usr).

In the previous text, I described the GCC environmental variables, this
allows configure to find 70-90% of your applications in /app without
having to use such an option (–with-ssl-dir). However, for some
applications, it may be necessary to tell them explicitly where the
appropriate application or library is located.

For example: ./configure –prefix=/app/openssh-3.8.1p1 \

                         –with-ssl-dir=/app/openssl-0.9.7d

Therefore the –with-ssl-dir is required for OpenSSH if you want it
to compile off of the version that you have just installed in /app.
Not all programs require this, another solution is to remove all
duplicate software on your system and just keep everything in /app.

The ending (most important output is listed):

configure: creating ./config.status

config.status: creating Makefile

config.status: creating openbsd-compat/Makefile

config.status: creating scard/Makefile

config.status: creating ssh_prng_cmds

config.status: creating config.h

config.status: config.h is unchanged

OpenSSH has been configured with the following options:

                     User binaries: /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/bin

                   System binaries: /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/sbin

               Configuration files: /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc

                   Askpass program: /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/libexec/ssh-askpass

                      Manual pages: /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/man/manX

                          PID file: /var/run

  Privilege separation chroot path: /var/empty

            sshd default user PATH: /usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1/bin

                    Manpage format: doc

                       PAM support: no

                 KerberosV support: no

                 Smartcard support: no

                     S/KEY support: no

              TCP Wrappers support: no

              MD5 password support: no

       IP address in $DISPLAY hack: no

           Translate v4 in v6 hack: yes

                  BSD Auth support: no

              Random number source: OpenSSL internal ONLY
              Host: i686-pc-linux-gnu

          Compiler: gcc

    Compiler flags: -g -O2 -Wall -Wpointer-arith -Wno-uninitialized

Preprocessor flags: -I/app/openssl-0.9.7d/include

      Linker flags: -L/app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib

         Libraries:   -lresolv -lcrypto -lutil -lz -lnsl  -lcrypt
jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssh-3.8.1p1$
As you can now see, it will build off of the correct library.

Step 10 – Install OpenSSH

gcc -o ssh-add ssh-add.o -L. -Lopenbsd-compat/ -L/app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib -lssh -lopenbsd-compat -lresolv -lcrypto -lutil -lz -lnsl -lcrypt
gcc -o ssh-keygen ssh-keygen.o -L. -Lopenbsd-compat/ -L/app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib -lssh -lopenbsd-compat -lresolv -lcrypto -lutil -lz -lnsl -lcrypt
gcc -o ssh-keyscan ssh-keyscan.o -L. -Lopenbsd-compat/ -L/app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib -lssh -lopenbsd-compat -lssh -lresolv -lcrypto -lutil -lz -lnsl -lcrypt
gcc -o ssh-keysign ssh-keysign.o readconf.o -L. -Lopenbsd-compat/ -L/app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib -lssh -lopenbsd-compat -lresolv -lcrypto -lutil -lz -lnsl -lcrypt
gcc -o ssh-agent ssh-agent.o -L. -Lopenbsd-compat/ -L/app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib -lssh -lopenbsd-compat -lresolv -lcrypto -lutil -lz -lnsl -lcrypt
gcc -o scp scp.o progressmeter.o -L. -Lopenbsd-compat/ -L/app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib -lssh -lopenbsd-compat -lresolv -lcrypto -lutil -lz -lnsl -lcrypt
gcc -o ssh-rand-helper ssh-rand-helper.o -L. -Lopenbsd-compat/ -L/app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib -lssh -lopenbsd-compat -lresolv -lcrypto -lutil -lz -lnsl -lcrypt
gcc -o sftp-server sftp-server.o sftp-common.o -L. -Lopenbsd-compat/ -L/app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib -lssh -lopenbsd-compat -lresolv -lcrypto -lutil -lz -lnsl -lcrypt
gcc -o sftp progressmeter.o sftp.o sftp-client.o sftp-common.o sftp-glob.o -L. -Lopenbsd-compat/ -L/app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib -lssh -lopenbsd-compat -lresolv -lcrypto -lutil -lz -lnsl -lcrypt

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssh-3.8.1p1$ make install

.. installer information here ..

mkdir /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc

Generating public/private rsa1 key pair.

Your identification has been saved in /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/ssh_host_key.

Your public key has been saved in /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/ssh_host_key.pub.

The key fingerprint is:

35:57:5e:88:34:9f:96:32:4b:69:21:4a:f2:48:06:be jpiszcz@jpt2

Generating public/private dsa key pair.

Your identification has been saved in /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/ssh_host_dsa_key.

Your public key has been saved in /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/ssh_host_dsa_key.pub.

The key fingerprint is:

28:4f:27:7a:6d:46:6b:18:ef:2a:35:d4:61:6c:4a:94 jpiszcz@jpt2

Generating public/private rsa key pair.

Your identification has been saved in /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/ssh_host_rsa_key.

Your public key has been saved in /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub.

The key fingerprint is:

71:fd:be:27:73:1f:91:fa:f3:a1:f7:a6:9c:5f:e3:b4 jpiszcz@jpt2

/app/openssh-3.8.1p1/sbin/sshd -t -f /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/sshd_config

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssh-3.8.1p1$

You may get an error about /var/empty, if you do, this is how you fix it:

root@jpt2:~# chmod 700 /var/empty

root@jpt2:~# chown root:root /var/empty

NOTE: You *MUST* fix the error about /var/empty if you get one or the ssh daemon
will not work properly.

Step 12 – Run relink!

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssh-3.8.1p1$ relink

  44 link(s) installed

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/openssh-3.8.1p1$

Step 12 – Explore the directory structure

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$ ls bin/

scp*  sftp*  slogin@  ssh*  ssh-add*  ssh-agent*  ssh-keygen*  ssh-keyscan*

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$ ls etc/

moduli            ssh_host_dsa_key.pub  ssh_host_rsa_key

ssh_config        ssh_host_key          ssh_host_rsa_key.pub

ssh_host_dsa_key  ssh_host_key.pub      sshd_config

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$ ls libexec/

sftp-server*  ssh-keysign*

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$ ls man/

man1/  man5/  man8/

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$ ls sbin/

sshd*

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$ ls share/

Ssh.bin

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$ du -sh $PWD

1.4M    /app/openssh-3.8.1p1

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$

Step 13 – Make sure ssh/sshd are using the new library

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$ ldd `which ssh`

        libresolv.so.2 => /lib/libresolv.so.2 (0x4002c000)

*       libcrypto.so.0.9.7 => /vapp/lib/libcrypto.so.0.9.7 (0x4003e000)

        libutil.so.1 => /lib/libutil.so.1 (0x40132000)

        libz.so.1 => /usr/lib/libz.so.1 (0x40135000)

        libnsl.so.1 => /lib/libnsl.so.1 (0x40143000)

        libcrypt.so.1 => /lib/libcrypt.so.1 (0x40158000)

        libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x40185000)

        libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x402b4000)

        /lib/ld-linux.so.2 => /lib/ld-linux.so.2 (0x40000000)

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$ ldd `which sshd`

        libresolv.so.2 => /lib/libresolv.so.2 (0x4002c000)

*       libcrypto.so.0.9.7 => /vapp/lib/libcrypto.so.0.9.7 (0x4003e000)

        libutil.so.1 => /lib/libutil.so.1 (0x40132000)

        libz.so.1 => /usr/lib/libz.so.1 (0x40135000)

        libnsl.so.1 => /lib/libnsl.so.1 (0x40143000)

        libcrypt.so.1 => /lib/libcrypt.so.1 (0x40158000)

        libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x40185000)

        libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x402b4000)

        /lib/ld-linux.so.2 => /lib/ld-linux.so.2 (0x40000000)

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$ ls -l /vapp/lib/libcrypto.so.0.9.7

lrwxrwxrwx  1 jpiszcz users 47 May 27 00:10 /vapp/lib/libcrypto.so.0.9.7 -> \

../../app/openssl-0.9.7d/lib/libcrypto.so.0.9.7*

jpiszcz@jpt2:/app/openssh-3.8.1p1$

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ ssh -V

OpenSSH_3.8.1p1, OpenSSL 0.9.7d 17 Mar 2004

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$

You have successfully installed the latest versions of OpenSSH and OpenSSL (as of 05/27/2004)!

Step 14 – Setting up OpenSSH daemon

I’ve explained the installation of the client so I may as well
describe how to setup the daemon.

As you know, you can use OpenSSH daemon as a standalone daemon
or run from (x)inetd, in my examples I will show all three.

Example 1] Run as daemon.

In a startup script, simply type.

/vapp/bin/sshd &

Example 2:] Run from inetd.

Add the following line to /etc/inetd.conf as root:

ssh         stream  tcp     nowait  root    /vapp/sbin/sshd sshd -i

As root type: killall -HUP inetd

root@jpt2:~# vi /etc/inetd.conf

root@jpt2:~# killall -HUP inetd

root@jpt2:~#

Kill the old version of daemon running (preferably in a telnet session).

root@jpt2:~# killall -9 sshd

Connection to 192.168.0.101 closed by remote host.

Connection to 192.168.0.101 closed.

Please do not ask me why, but after you killall -9 sshd, you have to
killall -HUP inetd once more.

If you do not do this, you will get:

$ ssh -v 192.168.0.101

OpenSSH_3.8.1p1, OpenSSL 0.9.7d 17 Mar 2004

debug1: Reading configuration data /home/war/.ssh/config

debug1: Reading configuration data /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/ssh_config

debug1: Connecting to 192.168.0.101 [192.168.0.101] port 22.

debug1: connect to address 192.168.0.101 port 22: Connection refused

ssh: connect to host 192.168.0.101 port 22: Connection refused

After killall -HUP inetd once more (mentioned above), then it works:

war@p500:~$ ssh -l jpiszcz -v 192.168.0.101

OpenSSH_3.8.1p1, OpenSSL 0.9.7d 17 Mar 2004

debug1: Reading configuration data /home/war/.ssh/config

debug1: Reading configuration data /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/ssh_config

debug1: Connecting to 192.168.0.101 [192.168.0.101] port 22.

debug1: Connection established.

debug1: identity file /home/war/.ssh/identity type -1

debug1: identity file /home/war/.ssh/id_rsa type -1

debug1: identity file /home/war/.ssh/id_dsa type -1

debug1: Remote protocol version 1.99, remote software version OpenSSH_3.8.1p1

debug1: match: OpenSSH_3.8.1p1 pat OpenSSH*

debug1: Enabling compatibility mode for protocol 2.0

debug1: Local version string SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_3.8.1p1

debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT sent

debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT received

debug1: kex: server->client aes128-cbc hmac-md5 zlib

debug1: kex: client->server aes128-cbc hmac-md5 zlib

debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_REQUEST(1024<1024<8192) sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_GROUP
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_INIT sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_REPLY
debug1: Host '192.168.0.101' is known and matches the RSA host key.
debug1: Found key in /home/war/.ssh/known_hosts:1
debug1: ssh_rsa_verify: signature correct
debug1: Enabling compression at level 6.
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS received
debug1: SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_REQUEST sent
debug1: SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_ACCEPT received
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey,password,keyboard-interactive
debug1: Next authentication method: publickey
debug1: Trying private key: /home/war/.ssh/identity
debug1: Trying private key: /home/war/.ssh/id_rsa
debug1: Trying private key: /home/war/.ssh/id_dsa
debug1: Next authentication method: keyboard-interactive
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey,password,keyboard-interactive
debug1: Next authentication method: password
[email protected]'s password:
debug1: Authentication succeeded (password).
debug1: channel 0: new [client-session]
debug1: Entering interactive session.
Linux 2.4.22.
jpiszcz@jpt2:~$

Step 15 – Making sure your sshd uses the latest OpenSSL

There are a few ways of accomplishing this.

1] Most simple, run it as a daemon (make sure to source bashrc/profile
beforehand).

2] Edit your boot scripts to use /vapp first (or source your bashrc/profile)
first before running inetd. Then your entire environment can encompass
/vapp and this will be searched/linked upon before anything else.

3] Remove old versions of OpenSSL on your system.

I personally choose number 3 to be absolutely sure.

root@jpt2:/var/log/packages# removepkg openssl-*

Removing package /var/log/packages/openssl-0.9.7d-i486-1…

Removing files:

.. deleting files ..

Removing package /var/log/packages/openssl-solibs-0.9.7d-i486-1…

Removing files:

.. deleting files ..

Now when I try to login:

$ ssh -l jpiszcz -v 192.168.0.101

OpenSSH_3.8.1p1, OpenSSL 0.9.7d 17 Mar 2004

debug1: Reading configuration data /home/war/.ssh/config

debug1: Reading configuration data /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/ssh_config

debug1: Connecting to 192.168.0.101 [192.168.0.101] port 22.

debug1: Connection established.

debug1: identity file /home/war/.ssh/identity type -1

debug1: identity file /home/war/.ssh/id_rsa type -1

debug1: identity file /home/war/.ssh/id_dsa type -1

debug1: ssh_exchange_identification: sshd: error while loading shared libraries: \

libcrypto.so.0.9.7: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

ssh_exchange_identification: Connection closed by remote host

Ah hah! It was using the older OpenSSL!

To fix this, run ldconfig (update shared library paths) and then login.

jpiszcz@p500:~$ telnet 192.168.0.101

Trying 192.168.0.101…

Connected to 192.168.0.101.

Escape character is ‘^]’.

jpt2 login: jpiszcz

Password:

Linux 2.4.22.

Last login: Thu May 27 00:50:44 -0400 2004 on pts/0 from p500.

No mail.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ su –

Password:

root@jpt2:~# ldconfig

root@jpt2:~# logout

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ logout

Connection closed by foreign host.

jpiszcz@p500:~$ ssh -l jpiszcz -v 192.168.0.101

OpenSSH_3.8.1p1, OpenSSL 0.9.7d 17 Mar 2004

debug1: Reading configuration data /home/jpiszcz/.ssh/config

debug1: Reading configuration data /app/openssh-3.8.1p1/etc/ssh_config

debug1: Connecting to 192.168.0.101 [192.168.0.101] port 22.

debug1: Connection established.

debug1: identity file /home/jpiszcz/.ssh/identity type -1

debug1: identity file /home/jpiszcz/.ssh/id_rsa type -1

debug1: identity file /home/jpiszcz/.ssh/id_dsa type -1

debug1: Remote protocol version 1.99, remote softjpiszcze version OpenSSH_3.8.1p1

debug1: match: OpenSSH_3.8.1p1 pat OpenSSH*

debug1: Enabling compatibility mode for protocol 2.0

debug1: Local version string SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_3.8.1p1

debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT sent

debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT received

debug1: kex: server->client aes128-cbc hmac-md5 zlib

debug1: kex: client->server aes128-cbc hmac-md5 zlib

debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_REQUEST(1024<1024<8192) sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_GROUP
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_INIT sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_REPLY
debug1: Host '192.168.0.101' is known and matches the RSA host key.
debug1: Found key in /home/jpiszcz/.ssh/known_hosts:1
debug1: ssh_rsa_verify: signature correct
debug1: Enabling compression at level 6.
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS received
debug1: SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_REQUEST sent
debug1: SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_ACCEPT received
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey,password,keyboard-interactive
debug1: Next authentication method: publickey
debug1: Trying private key: /home/jpiszcz/.ssh/identity
debug1: Trying private key: /home/jpiszcz/.ssh/id_rsa
debug1: Trying private key: /home/jpiszcz/.ssh/id_dsa
debug1: Next authentication method: keyboard-interactive
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey,password,keyboard-interactive
debug1: Next authentication method: password
[email protected]'s password:
debug1: Authentication succeeded (password).
debug1: channel 0: new [client-session]
debug1: Entering interactive session.
Last login: Thu May 27 00:52:31 2004 from p500
Linux 2.4.22.
jpiszcz@jpt2:~$

Finally we have installed the newest version of OpenSSH with the
newest version of OpenSSL and we are 100% certain it is using the
newest version of OpenSSL as no other versions exist on the
system.

Removing an application

We are now on step two of the following list.

1. Install a library into /app. (DONE)
2. Install a program that depends on the library installed in /app. (DONE)
3. Remove a program.
4. Upgrade a program.

This clearly demonstrates the power of relink.

Say a new version of OpenSSH came out and you want to remove the one you
have installed.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ mv /app/openssh-3.8.1p1 .

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ relink

  44 link(s) removed

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$

Voila! It is uninstalled.

Upgrading a program
As it already may be self-evident, I will demonstrate upgrading a program
using relink as well as how to fix a possible bug if you encounter it.

For my example, I will be installing mtr 0.55 and then upgrade to 0.58.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ ls -l *bz2

-rw-r–r–  1 jpiszcz users 84896 May 27 01:07 mtr-0.55.tar.bz2

-rw-r–r–  1 jpiszcz users 82853 May 27 01:07 mtr-0.58.tar.bz2

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ tar jxf mtr-0.55.tar.bz2 ; tar jxf mtr-0.58.tar.bz2

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$

A nice little script is including with relink called conf, this
sets up your ./configure –prefix=/app/program for you then
makes the program.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.55$ conf

Autoconfigure for /app                       piszcz v1.0

 pkgName: mtr-0.55

  newDir: /app/mtr-0.55

./configure –prefix=/app/mtr-0.55

creating cache ./config.cache

checking for a BSD compatible install… /usr/bin/ginstall -c
.. configure stuff here ..
.. make stuff here ..
gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 \

-I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -c curses.c

gcc  -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include \

-I/usr/X11R6/include  -o mtr gtk.o curses.o mtr.o net.o dns.o \

 raw.o split.o display.o report.o getopt.o getopt1.o select.o  -lresolv -lm -lncurses -ltermcap  \

 -L/usr/lib -L/usr/X11R6/lib -lgtk -lgdk -rdynamic -lgmodule -lglib -ldl -lXext -lX11 -lm

make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55′

make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55′
real    0m21.158s

user    0m18.610s

sys     0m1.040s
 if everything looks good: make install
jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.55$

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.55$ make install

Making install in img

make[1]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55/img’

make[2]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55/img’

make[2]: Nothing to be done for `install-exec-am’.

make[2]: Nothing to be done for `install-data-am’.

make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55/img’

make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55/img’

make[1]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55′

make[2]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55′

/bin/sh ./mkinstalldirs /app/mtr-0.55/sbin

mkdir /app/mtr-0.55/sbin

  /usr/bin/ginstall -c  mtr /app/mtr-0.55/sbin/mtr

chmod u+s /app/mtr-0.55/sbin/mtr

make  install-man8

make[3]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55′

/bin/sh ./mkinstalldirs /app/mtr-0.55/man/man8

mkdir /app/mtr-0.55/man

mkdir /app/mtr-0.55/man/man8

 /usr/bin/ginstall -c -m 644 ./mtr.8 /app/mtr-0.55/man/man8/mtr.8

make[3]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55′

make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55′

make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.55′

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.55$ relink

  6 link(s) installed

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.55$

As you see, mtr 0.55 is now installed.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.55$ mtr

mtr: Unable to get raw socket.  (Executable not suid?)

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.55$ which mtr

/vapp/sbin/mtr

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.55$ readlink `which mtr`

../../app/mtr-0.55/sbin/mtr

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.55$

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.55$ mtr –version

mtr 0.55

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.55$

Now assume you want to upgrade to mtr 0.58 as you may have just seen
a new release announcement on http://freshmeat.net/

There are two ways of upgrading, the right way(1) and the wrong way(2).

The right way:

The right way is to first move the old application out of /app, relink
then continue to configure, make, make install && relink the new
version.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ mv /app/mtr-0.55/ ./mtr-0.55-old

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ relink

  6 link(s) removed

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ cd mtr-0.58 ; conf ; make install ; relink

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ cd mtr-0.58 ; conf ; make install ; relink
Autoconfigure for /app                       piszcz v1.0

 pkgName: mtr-0.58

  newDir: /app/mtr-0.58

./configure –prefix=/app/mtr-0.58

creating cache ./config.cache

checking for a BSD compatible install… /usr/bin/ginstall -c

checking whether build environment is sane… yes

checking whether make sets ${MAKE}… yes

checking for working aclocal… found

checking for working autoconf… found

checking for working automake… found

checking for working autoheader… found

checking for working makeinfo… found

checking for gcc… gcc

checking whether the C compiler (gcc  ) works… yes

checking whether the C compiler (gcc  ) is a cross-compiler… no

checking whether we are using GNU C… yes

checking whether gcc accepts -g… yes

checking size of unsigned char… 1

checking size of unsigned short… 2

checking size of unsigned int… 4

checking size of unsigned long… 4

checking for tgetent in -ltermcap… yes

checking for initscr… no

checking for initscr in -lncurses… yes

checking for attron… yes

checking how to run the C preprocessor… gcc -E

checking for ncurses.h… yes

checking for ncurses/curses.h… yes

checking for curses.h… yes

checking for cursesX.h… no

checking for sys/types.h… yes

checking for sys/xti.h… no

checking for floor in -lm… yes

checking for gtk-config… /usr/bin/gtk-config

checking for GTK – version >= 1.0.0… yes

checking for socket… yes

checking for gethostbyname… yes

checking for seteuid… yes

checking for res_mkquery… no

checking for res_mkquery in -lbind… no

checking for res_mkquery in -lresolv… yes

checking for herror… yes

checking for strerror… yes

checking for C flags to get more warnings… -Wall

updating cache ./config.cache

creating ./config.status

creating Makefile

creating img/Makefile

creating config.h
real    0m16.497s

user    0m10.340s

sys     0m3.540s

make  all-recursive

make[1]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58′

Making all in img

make[2]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58/img’

make[2]: Nothing to be done for `all’.

make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58/img’

make[2]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58′


gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c mtr.c

gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c net.c

gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c dns.c

gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c raw.c

gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c split.c

gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c display.c

gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c report.c

gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c getopt.c

gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c getopt1.c

gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c select.c

gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c gtk.c

gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I. -I.     -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include -I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall -c curses.c
gcc  -g -O2 -I/usr/include/gtk-1.2 -I/usr/include/glib-1.2 -I/usr/lib/glib/include \

-I/usr/X11R6/include -Wall  -o mtr gtk.o curses.o mtr.o net.o dns.o raw.o split.o \

display.o report.o getopt.o getopt1.o select.o  -lresolv -lm -lncurses -ltermcap \

-L/usr/lib -L/usr/X11R6/lib -lgtk -lgdk -rdynamic -lgmodule -lglib -ldl -lXext -lX11 -lm

make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58'

make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58'

real    0m21.299s

user    0m18.870s

sys     0m1.060s
 if everything looks good: make install
Making install in img

make[1]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58/img'

make[2]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58/img'

make[2]: Nothing to be done for `install-exec-am'.

make[2]: Nothing to be done for `install-data-am'.

make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58/img'

make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58/img'

make[1]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58'

make[2]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58'

/bin/sh ./mkinstalldirs /app/mtr-0.58/sbin

mkdir /app/mtr-0.58/sbin

  /usr/bin/ginstall -c  mtr /app/mtr-0.58/sbin/mtr

chmod u+s /app/mtr-0.58/sbin/mtr

make  install-man8

make[3]: Entering directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58'

/bin/sh ./mkinstalldirs /app/mtr-0.58/man/man8

mkdir /app/mtr-0.58/man

mkdir /app/mtr-0.58/man/man8

 /usr/bin/ginstall -c -m 644 ./mtr.8 /app/mtr-0.58/man/man8/mtr.8

make[3]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58'

make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58'

make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/jpiszcz/mtr-0.58'

  6 link(s) installed

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.58$
jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.58$ mtr --version

mtr 0.58

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.58$



You have now successfully upgraded mtr from 0.55 to 0.58!

The wrong way:




jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ ls -ld /app/mtr*

drwxr-xr-x  4 jpiszcz users 96 May 27 01:09 /app/mtr-0.55/

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ cd mtr-0.58

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.58$ make install > /dev/null

mkdir /app/mtr-0.58

mkdir /app/mtr-0.58/sbin

mkdir /app/mtr-0.58/man

mkdir /app/mtr-0.58/man/man8

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.58$ relink

  6 link(s) installed

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.58$ ls -ld /app/mtr*

drwxr-xr-x  4 jpiszcz users 96 May 27 01:09 /app/mtr-0.55/

drwxr-xr-x  4 jpiszcz users 96 May 27 01:15 /app/mtr-0.58/

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.58$ mtr --version

mtr 0.55

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.58$ # The first installed version is used first.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~/mtr-0.58$ cd

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ mv /app/mtr-0.55/ ./mtr-0.55-old

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ relink

  6 link(s) removed

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ mtr --version

-su: /vapp/sbin/mtr: No such file or directory

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ # What? This is another known bug.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ # relink -i to fix it.

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ relink -i

APPDIR: /a/app

RELINK>> Delete all files in current directory

RELINK>> DIRECTORY: /a/vapp

bin  doc  etc  include  lib  libexec  local  man  sbin  share
RELINK>> CTRL-C to abort, 'Y' to continue: Y

Removing all vapp symbolic link files

/a/rdb

rdb.dat  rdb.dat.last

Removing rdb files
Executing relink: [/a/app/relink/bin/relink]
  1148 link(s) installed

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$ mtr --version

mtr 0.58

jpiszcz@jpt2:~$



It is now fixed.


Caveats of relink



Every program has bugs, here are the known bugs with relink:

1] When first installing relink, you must relink -i twice.

2] You cannot install the man program, ie: /app/man-version.

3] If you have two versions of the same program, the program installed first

   will be used, however:

   If you have:



   /app/pine-4.59

   /app/pine-4.60



   And you had installed 4.60 without moving and relinking the old pine first

   then you may get this error when trying to run pine:

   pine: command not found.


   This is a bug, to fix this bug: relink -i (re-initialize database).

Conclusion

Despite a few known caveats of relink, I find it to be the most useful package management tool that I have ever used. I have tried other tools in the past such as epkg, but they do not compare to relink. The reason for trying other package management tools is because I wanted a tool that was written in C/C++ because I thought Perl was inferior to C/C++ which turned out to be a very big mistake! I have learned that Perl is just as powerful as C or C++ for the programs people write! I had tried all of the package management tools I could get my hands on that were the most popular at the time. Every time I tried a different package management program, I could never compete with the ease of use and flexibility of relink; there was always some aspect of deb,rpm,tgz that was either tying me down or made things non-portable. In my opinion, relink has outperformed all other package management systems out there; therefore I will continue to use it until I find or write something better.

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