Need a 32-bit package on 64-bit RHEL?

If you need to install a 32-bit package on a 64-bit version of RHEL, you simply pass up2date the "-arch=i386" parameter. For example, many Oracle products still depend on the presence of 32-bit libraries on the server. One such package is the "xorg-x11-deprecated-libs" package.

A normal 64-bit RHEL install places the 64-bit libraries for this package in the /usr/X11R6/lib64 directory. However, the Oracle installer looks for the 32-bit version of the packages in the /usr/X11R6/lib directory, and they are absent from the directory. To install these 32-bit versions, use the architecture parameter to up2date, like this:

$ up2date --arch=i386 xorg-x11-deprecated-libs

This will install the 32-bit version of xorg-x11-deprecated-libs and any dependencies.

NOTE: You can also direct a 64-bit package to install with this command: up2date --arch=x86_64 xorg-x11-deprecated-libs