Checking Distribution Directories and CDs

Checking Distribution Directories and CDs

To verify that a distribution directory or a mounted CD contains the right files, the workstation that contains the distribution must be running IRIX. Change directories to the distribution directory (distdir or CDdir/dist) and list the files with ls. Files in software distributions have these names:

mr
sa
product
product.idb
product.images

The file sa is used for miniroot installations only, so it doesn't need to be present if you are doing an IRIX installation. The file mr may or may not be present; there is no problem if it is missing. More than one product file, product, may be in the directory. Each product requires a file called product.idb (installation database) and one or more product.image files. Examples of product files are eoe and maint_nfs. Common values of images are man and sw.

If a distribution does not have the correct files, the most likely causes are that the distribution directory was not copied correctly, or that the files in the distribution directory were modified after it was created. Use distcp -c to compare the original with the copy (see distcp(1M)) and, if there is a discrepancy, copy the original distribution again.

Copy the distribution directory using cp -r (or rcp -r for a remote copy) and then use distcp -c to compare the original with the copy (see distcp(1M)).

If you suspect that the contents of the files in the distribution directory have been corrupted, try installing from the CD that was used to create the distribution directory.

An additional check is possible for CDs: change directories to CDdir and list the files with ls. One file and at least two directories should be listed:

RELEASE.info
dist
relnotes

RELEASE.info is an ASCII text file that contains release information. dist contains the product files, and relnotes contains the release notes, which describe the exact contents of each CD. Use relnotes to read the release notes (see the relnotes(1) reference page).