Convert CentOS 5 to Scientific Linux 5?

[Redman]

I'm having an dilemma with the webserver at work. It is running CentOS-5.5. Unfortunately, there are no recent security updates available. The reason for this are the apparent delays/problems within the CentOS team. They are busy with all sort of things (like developing CentOS-5.6 and/or CentOS-6) except releasing recent security updates (as Red Hat did). Details on these problems can be found on the CentOS site (link).

I'm not concerned about the discussion, but the missing updates.
Delaying shouldn't be a problem if it was less than a month.
But it is getting too much for my taste.

Wat would be wise to do right now?
Hang in and wait for updates (probably in the form of CentOS-5.6)?
Or grab the updates elsewhere?

I read an article about converting CentOS-5 to Scientific Linux-5 (details here) which seem to work.
It would allow me to get the server updated with recent packages.

I am tempted to convert our webserver (I can do this remotely). BUT ... it is located in a datacenter not close by. So if it goes wrong, I need to spend a day over there.

Please, I'd like to hear what other admins/geeks/gurus/etc. feel about this.
What would you do in my place?

[Rubberman]

You should be able to move from CentOS 5.x to SL 5.x simply by installing the appropriate SL repo files in /etc/yum.repos.d and running "yum --skip-broken update". To upgrade to SL 6, I think you will need to do, like I did (CentOS 5.5 to SL6) a clean install. I first did this in a virtual machine to discover what details I needed to attend to before I did the actual upgrade. It hasn't been without pain, but I think that on the whole well worth the effort. I ran CentOS 5.x for 3 years, and upgraded early in January to SL6. Some of the advantages of the new OS are better hardware monitoring (thermal sensors for CPU and memory), better hardware support (my bluetooth dongle and headset now work), and better access to new software that would not install, or was a PITA to install, on CentOS 5.x. Just FWIW, with the new thermal sensor support, I found out that one of my memory sticks was running hot under load, causing problems - the OS would map that memory out of use. By moving it to another slot where there was better airflow, I was able to reduce the temperature of that stick by about 20 degrees - enough to eliminate the problem and avoid replacing it altogether. Better disc drive monitoring has enabled me to find failing drives faster than before, saving me a lot of grief and data reparations as well.

[Redman]

Thanks for your thoughts on the matter.

Moving from C5.5 to SL6.0 is no option. Not only because I have to go external for this (server is located a 2 hours drive from work). But also because the server will be replaced at the end of next year. SL5 will get support at least until 02-02-2012. So depending what happens, we might replace it sooner and go for SL6.