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1.16 Managing Software Packages and
Updates
The ZENworks® tools serve as graphical front-ends for the ZENworks Management
Daemon (zmd), allowing you to easily install or remove software, apply security updates,
and manage services and catalogs.
1.16.1 Getting Permissions
Managing packages on a Linux system requires root privileges. Software Updater
and rug (a new command line tool for installing and updating packages) have their own
user management system that allows users to install software updates. When a user first
invokes an action that requires special privileges in the ZEN tools, a prompt for the
root password appears. When the password has been verified, Software Updater au-
tomatically adds the user's account to the user management system with update permis-
sions. To review or change these settings, use the rug user management commands.
For more information, see rug User Management
[http://www.novell.com/
documentation/sled10/sled_deployment/data/sec_yast_ncurses
_you2.html] in the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Deployment Guide.
1.16.2 Obtaining and Installing Software
Updates
Software Updater resides in the notification area of your panel as an icon depicting a
globe, which changes color and appearance depending on the availability of a network
link and new updates. Once a day, Software Updater automatically checks whether
updates for your system are available (right-click the application icon and select Refresh
to force an immediate check). The Software Updater applet in the panel changes from
a globe to an exclamation mark on an orange background when new updates are avail-
able.
Left-click the panel icon to open the updater window. A list of patches and new package
versions are display (if available). Each entry has a short description and, if applicable,
a category icon: Security patches are marked with a yellow shield. Optional patches
Getting Started with the GNOME Desktop
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