Upgrading Red Hat AS 3 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

[achhabra]

Hey guys,

We want to upgrade our servers running RHAS v3u9 to RHEL 5.3. What is the best way to do this without losing any information.

Thanks

[matonb]

Backup your data, do a fresh install and then restore your backup.

[devils casper]

I agree with matonb. There is a huge difference between two versions and update might break things. Backup data and go for fresh install.

[Rubberman]

I agree with matonb. There is a huge difference between two versions and update might break things. Backup data and go for fresh install.

I concur. In fact, it is likely that there are enough system and application differences that you should stage this upgrade, and that cannot be done in-situ, so to speak. IE, you really need a second computer to install 5.3, your applications and data, and then only do a final data move (and possibly data transformation/conversion) after you have vetted the system. At the very least, any custom applications will have to be recompiled and tested. This process is necessary for any but the simplest system environments.

That said, the conversion can be done simply if all your users do is general office application tasks such as word-processing, email, etc. and you don't have complex application or database requirements. That you should be so lucky...

As for the backup requirement, beside backing up data to a tarball you can put on an external drive and/or CD/DVD/Tape set, you should create a disc image backup of all your discs so you can restore the system completely if necessary. Also, it helps if your /home directory tree (user data) is on a device other than where your /boot, /, and swap systems exist.