Install one package and you are done: linuxfabrik-release sets up repo.linuxfabrik.ch the way epel-release sets up EPEL. From then on, all our packages come through dnf, zypper or apt, for example the Linuxfabrik Monitoring Plugins, FirewallFabrik and many more. If you still get the Monitoring Plugins from repo.linuxfabrik.ch/monitoring-plugins/, switch by 2026-12-31.
linuxfabrik-release sets up our repository and nothing else. It brings:
/etc/yum.repos.d/linuxfabrik.repo on RHEL and Fedora, /etc/zypp/repos.d/linuxfabrik.repo on SLES and openSUSE Leap, /etc/apt/sources.list.d/linuxfabrik.sources on Debian and UbuntuSigned RPM and DEB packages, for x86_64 and aarch64. On the one hand our own software such as the Linuxfabrik Monitoring Plugins and FirewallFabrik, on the other hand software the distributions do not ship, ship only in a limited form or ship outdated, for example acme.sh, exoscale-cli (exo) and Glances. The automatically updated start page of repo.linuxfabrik.ch shows which packages exist per distribution, and in which version.
Everything is built in public in the GitHub repository Linuxfabrik/packaging, from the upstream sources, in one container per distribution. After the build, each package is tested in a fresh installation of its distribution. When upstream publishes a new version, the pipeline rebuilds the package automatically. The technical basis was the build system of the Monitoring Plugins repository, which has moved as well.
Every new version lands in the testing channel first. After seven days it moves to the release channel automatically, unless we release it earlier or reject it for release.
By default, linuxfabrik-release enables the release channel; testing is configured but disabled. If you want new versions a week earlier, for example on test systems, enable testing as well. The package manager then installs the newest version from either channel.
You find the install command for your distribution and how to enable testing on repo.linuxfabrik.ch.
If you manage your hosts with LFOps, use the role linuxfabrik.lfops.repo_linuxfabrik, which writes the same files as the package.
Before linuxfabrik-release, every product on repo.linuxfabrik.ch needed its own repository file, with its own path and its own instructions. And some software we use did not exist as a package at all, so every update was (automated) manual work.
With linuxfabrik-release there is one repository per distribution, one set of instructions and one key. Everything in it, our own software as well as third-party software, is installed and updated through dnf, zypper or apt. When a package is added, it is ready to install without any further step.
We switch off the location below repo.linuxfabrik.ch/monitoring-plugins/ on 2026-12-31. Until then, we still publish every Monitoring Plugins release in both structures.
Hosts that still point to the old structure after that date get no more Monitoring Plugins updates. On RHEL, every dnf run also fails until the old repository file is removed. To switch, install linuxfabrik-release as described on repo.linuxfabrik.ch, then remove the configuration of the old repository:
$ sudo rm --force /etc/yum.repos.d/linuxfabrik-monitoring-plugins*.repo # RHEL 8, 9 and 10
$ sudo rm --force /etc/zypp/repos.d/linuxfabrik-monitoring-plugins*.repo # SLES, openSUSE Leap
$ sudo rm --force /etc/apt/sources.list.d/linuxfabrik-monitoring-plugins.list # Debian, UbuntuThe installed packages stay, their updates come from the shared repository from then on. Hosts managed with LFOps need no manual step, LFOps switches them to linuxfabrik-release automatically.
Need help with the switch or with running your Icinga environment? Have a look at our Service & Support plans and get in touch.
