i have a seriously old ubuntu image, whats the best way to upgrade?
so i have a really old ubuntu image, i want to rebuild, but i don't want to delete my disk.
i have 2 disks,
- ext3 with the unbuntu image
- 720mb of swap.
i have several users on /user.
should i back up all of /user and mysql dbs and taht is all that is needed? or is there a better way to create a new image?
also with the new image should i just create a new /home disk to make upgrading images easier in the future? what are the best practices regarding that?
thanks!!
5 Replies
Rebuilding would destroy whatever data you have on the disk(s). Depending on the OS version, you might need to start with the latest LTS release, rather than trying to upgrade from what you currently have.
What I would do is create a new VM with the latest version of Ubuntu LTS, transfer over your data onto that one, and test it to see what, if any, issues come up first before switching it over to production.
Also, consider that if you have a really old OS version, it's probably EOL and upgrading would help ensure you're getting security updates.
watrick
Linode Staff
To piggyback on what LouWestin said, I'd also suggest spinning up a new Linode in the same data center & transferring data. Once you have it ready for production, you can then swap the IP addresses and all of your DNS settings/user access points should be the same.
I answered this similar question in a previous post here, which provides some more detailed steps:
https://www.linode.com/community/questions/18490/how-do-i-upgrade-my-existing-ubuntu-installation#answer-69408
thanks guys, i should of searched for the question before posting, saw your answer in the other post @watrick. also thanks @louwestin.
@watrick do you suggest creating a separate /home disk so rebuilding in the future is easier?
watrick
Linode Staff
@donnelly that feels like over-engineering to me. I'd recommend a backup service, such as Linode's Backup Service, or setting up your own backups. With our Backups service, you'll be able to click through a restore in Cloud Manager fairly quickly (I've done this myself a couple times). If you have your own backup set up, it may take a little more work, but will still be fairly straight forward.