Are 32-bit RPMs compatible with 64-bit RHEL OS?

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I'm starting to upgrade the rpms on our test RHEL servers, which one of them is a RHEL v5.11 64-bit.

I'm noticing a number of the rpms getting upgraded are 32-bit.

Will this matter or are the 32-bit compatible with 64-bit RHEL OS, or could there be a problem in the future? I looked around online first before asking and couldn't find a solid answer.

thanks

CM
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Responses

PS Guru 6494 points
2 June 2015 4:10 AM

Hi Christopher,

In short the answer is yes, they are compatible.

32bit RPMs commonly end up on 64bit servers in situations where they are needed for compatibility or application requirements. The RPMs being upgraded should be 'like for like' ie. 32bit will be upgraded to 32bit.

If you need to get a summary of the packages and their associated architectures on your system, you can run:

rpm -qa --qf "%{arch} %{n}\n" | sort
CM Expert 1105 points
2 June 2015 4:11 PM

Thanks for the info.

Is it safe to say the 64-bit RHEL OS'es can run 32-bit rpms with no problems?

Robert Krátký's picture Red Hat Guru 3240 points
3 June 2015 9:47 AM

Hi Christopher,

No, that isn't the case. 32-bit packages are normally only used for compatibility or dependency purposes as mentioned by PixelDRIFT above. Please, see How to install both 32-bit and 64-bit RPM packages on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 64-bit system for details.

CM Expert 1105 points
3 June 2015 12:55 PM

I read the Solution and I wouldn't think a sys admin or whoever was responsible for a RHEL server, if it was a 64-bit server, would subscribe it to a 32-bit channel. That wouldn't make any sense to me, unless there is some sort of exception.

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