Does anyone know how upgrade-able Fedora is? Say, Fedora 21 -> 22 -> 23? What about skipping a version? Does that work, or must you go through intermediate versions? Or is it best just to re-install each time?
Thanks, Kevin
On 2016-06-01 Kevin McGregor wrote:
Does anyone know how upgrade-able Fedora is? Say, Fedora 21 -> 22 -> 23? What about skipping a version? Does that work, or must you go through intermediate versions? Or is it best just to re-install each time?
Sure, I've done upgrades on some of my boxes from FC3 all the way to F22!
The recommended way is to use "fed up" (ever since ~F20). That requires being onsite and having a head, AFAIK. I never use it.
Instead, I do the yum/dnf distro-sync method, which for yum went like this: yum --releasever=22 distro-sync
The advantage is you don't have to be onsite nor have a head. Take that, Windows!
That'll get you to 22. After 22 we're now dealing with dnf instead of yum. Looks like it'll still work the same, just different syntax.
This is the best page for the 3-5 commands you need to run, with version differences spelled out for each Fedora release: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Upgrading_Fedora_using_package_manager?rd=Upg...
I've created a cheatsheet I use that I update for every new version, that makes sure the process is bulletproof as I update dozens of boxes every 6-12 months. If you're interested I can distill it and email it to you.
As for skipping versions: I never have and I wouldn't if using the yum method. Docs say don't do it as there are version specific things that yum will do that might be skipped if you skip a version. Besides, using yum it costs nothing to do the intermediates except time and bandwidth. With Fed Up I believe you can skip versions, the docs should say.
Lastly, I always stay back 1 version, using the oldest one that is still supported. So right now that's 22 but very soon I'll be forced into 23 when 24 comes out. Kind of like the "wait until Windows Foo SP1 release" thinking. Fedora often breaks things on the initial release, as they tend to be bleeding edge. Only if I need a bleeding feature do I break that rule.
Good luck!
The recommended way is to use "fed up" (ever since ~F20). That
requires being onsite and having a head, AFAIK. I never use it.
Ambiguity. You never use your head, or this Fedora "fed up" facility? :)
Hartmut W Sager - Tel +1-204-339-8331, +1-204-515-1701, +1-204-515-1700
On 2 June 2016 at 00:25, Trevor Cordes trevor@tecnopolis.ca wrote:
On 2016-06-01 Kevin McGregor wrote:
Does anyone know how upgrade-able Fedora is? Say, Fedora 21 -> 22 -> 23? What about skipping a version? Does that work, or must you go through intermediate versions? Or is it best just to re-install each time?
Sure, I've done upgrades on some of my boxes from FC3 all the way to F22!
The recommended way is to use "fed up" (ever since ~F20). That requires being onsite and having a head, AFAIK. I never use it.
Instead, I do the yum/dnf distro-sync method, which for yum went like this: yum --releasever=22 distro-sync
The advantage is you don't have to be onsite nor have a head. Take that, Windows!
That'll get you to 22. After 22 we're now dealing with dnf instead of yum. Looks like it'll still work the same, just different syntax.
This is the best page for the 3-5 commands you need to run, with version differences spelled out for each Fedora release:
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Upgrading_Fedora_using_package_manager?rd=Upg...
I've created a cheatsheet I use that I update for every new version, that makes sure the process is bulletproof as I update dozens of boxes every 6-12 months. If you're interested I can distill it and email it to you.
As for skipping versions: I never have and I wouldn't if using the yum method. Docs say don't do it as there are version specific things that yum will do that might be skipped if you skip a version. Besides, using yum it costs nothing to do the intermediates except time and bandwidth. With Fed Up I believe you can skip versions, the docs should say.
Lastly, I always stay back 1 version, using the oldest one that is still supported. So right now that's 22 but very soon I'll be forced into 23 when 24 comes out. Kind of like the "wait until Windows Foo SP1 release" thinking. Fedora often breaks things on the initial release, as they tend to be bleeding edge. Only if I need a bleeding feature do I break that rule.
Good luck! _______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
"The advantage is you don't have to be onsite nor have a head. Take that, Windows!"
Not to defend Microsoft on a *nix list, but just to clear up a misconception, neither Windows Server or Windows desktop requires you to be on site and/or have a monitor (head) hooked up.
John
On 06/02/2016 10:47 AM, John Lange wrote:
"The advantage is you don't have to be onsite nor have a head. Take that, Windows!"
Not to defend Microsoft on a *nix list, but just to clear up a misconception, neither Windows Server or Windows desktop requires you to be on site and/or have a monitor (head) hooked up.
To install an OS update? We're not talking day to day use here.
I used fedup a couple times, and found it to be appropriately named. It doesn't work unless you have lots of free space on the root and/or /var partitions, and both times I used it I didn't find the whole process particularly smooth.
For the last 2-3 updates, I used yum as John described, and found that to go much quicker, easier, and generally more smoothly. I've never tried skipping a version, and I don't think it would be a good idea to do so. This is a test system, so I tend to upgrade soon after a new release. I gave up on trying to run rawhide, though, after the system got so badly hosed after an update that it needed a reinstall (many years ago, circa F16).
Gilles
"To install an OS update? We're not talking day to day use here."
Correct. There are different ways this can be done but basically if you are using an enterprise management tool like System Center, it's all automated. In fact, you don't _ever_ need a monitor, not even for the initial OS install. Just plug the server into the rack and power it on. The server will auto-discover, install the OS, and become a host (or whatever you want, it's obviously fully configurable).
Microsoft has tens of thousands of hosts in their data centers that get updated all the time so obviously it's not practical to have a guy with a crash cart walking around doing it manually.
The same applies to Windows desktop machines. And with Windows 10 it can all be cloud based (instead of a on-prem System Center implementation). Keep in mind, Windows10 is a massive IoT play for Microsoft and IoT devices rarely have "heads".
This is obviously off-topic for this list so my appologies. If anyone wants more details please feel free to contact me off-list.
John
On 2016-06-02 John Lange wrote:
you are using an enterprise management tool like System Center, it's
[...]
The same applies to Windows desktop machines. And with Windows 10 it
Ah, yes, I should have specified Windows desktop, and I should have also specified for home use. Maybe I also should have specified pre-10! So pre-10, without fancy enterprise tools or a Server domain, on desktop, say Win7... one cannot upgrade OS (say Vista to 7) without a head and someone present onsite.
Would anyone here argue with me that maintaining Linux over major version upgrades is a zillion times easier than Windows (pre-10, especially without an enterprise environment)? Who doesn't dread a new Windows version and all the breakage (and newly obsoleted hardware) that entails. Every new Fedora I upgrade to I know will break 1-2 things *that will be fixable by me or errata'd soon*. Every new Windows and it's a trip to the hardware store to replace unsupported peripherals, and for any broken/missing software features you just sit back and take it. (I speak as one who maintains for decades a constant ~100 Windows and ~20 Linuxen.)
And yes, I did intentionally leave the "head" ambiguous in the original :-) Sounds funny that way, and everyone here will know what I'm talking about anyhow :-)
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Gilles Detillieux -
Hartmut W Sager -
John Lange -
Kevin McGregor -
Trevor Cordes