Linux Install an RPM File

I'm a new Linux system administrator and wanted to perform software installation and maintenance. I've downloaded a file called awstats.i386.rpm and how do I install it under CentOS / RHEL / Suse / Fedora / Redhat Linux?

RPM is nothing but a a package management system. To install an rpm file, open a terminal and then type the following command:

 
rpm -ivh .rpm.file-name

Please note that you need to log in as root, or use the su command to change to the root user to install the software using rpm command:
$ su -

Install RPM File

To install an rpm file called awstats.i386.rpm, enter:
# rpm -ivh awstats.i386.rpm
Note: you can download the package in rpm format from the official project web pages or public ftp servers.

Upgrade RPM File

Type the following command:
# rpm -Uvh awstats.i386.rpm
If you are upgrading from an earlier version of the software package, use upgrade mode command as described above.

Erase (Delete) RPM File (package)

Type the following command:
# rpm -ev packagename
To find list of all install packages, enter:
# rpm -qa # rpm -qa | less # rpm -qa | grep something
Sample outputs:

comps-extras-11.1-1.1
libattr-2.4.32-1.1
libidn-0.6.5-1.1
grep-2.5.1-55.el5
libxslt-1.1.17-2.el5_2.2
perl-Digest-SHA1-2.11-1.2.1
time-1.7-27.2.2
libdaemon-0.10-5.el5
....
.....
..
mysql-server-5.0.77-4.el5_5.5
mysql-devel-5.0.77-4.el5_5.5
samba-client-3.0.33-3.29.el5_6.2
pcre-6.6-6.el5_6.1
yum-rhn-plugin-0.5.4-17.el5_6.1
libtiff-3.8.2-7.el5_6.7
nash-5.1.19.6-68.el5_6.1
quota-3.13-5.el5
xorg-x11-server-Xorg-1.1.1-48.76.el5_6.4
xorg-x11-server-Xnest-1.1.1-48.76.el5_6.4

To remove samba-client-3.0.33-3.29.el5_6.2, enter:
# rpm -ev samba-client-3.0.33-3.29.el5_6.2
See our rpm command cheat sheet for more information or read the man page:
$ man rpm

A Note About yum Command

The yum command act as an interactive, rpm based, package manager. It can automatically perform system updates and install or remove packages. It is recommended that you use the yum command as described here for package management.