[RndTbl] 32->64-bit OS upgrades for Fedora/RHEL systems WORKING!

Trevor Cordes trevor at tecnopolis.ca
Mon Jul 24 02:22:04 CDT 2017


Something I've asked about in the past on this list, and at MUUG meetings, 
as some may remember: How to upgrade an entire system from 32-bit to 
64-bit x86_64 in-place, over a network, off-site.  Specifically for Fedora 
(and RHEL).  And ensuring the resulting system was "clean" without a mess 
everywhere.

Well, I finally developed a method and have successfully upgraded all the 
boxes I'm responsible for.  And for not a single one was I required to go 
on-site!  Yay!

I wasn't sure it was possible, as all Fedora forums said it was hopeless, 
and any instructions out there were for like Fedora 5 or 10 and relied on 
features and workarounds that are no longer present.  Most people are like
"just reinstall from DVD".  Great if you're on-site and your system isn't 
heavily tweaked.  Even then, you're looking at blowing a day (at least) on 
the upgrade.  I couldn't do that for 20+ off-site systems!

So I found new hidden methods and workarounds and tested and honed them to 
come up with a reliable procedure.  And it worked!  I now have boxes that 
have been successfully upgraded, using yum/dnf, from ~FC2 through to F24+ 
and multiple iterations of hardware from P1 to today's Xeon; never with 
any on-site upgrade or reinstall!  And there's no mess & no leftovers!  Try 
that on Windows!!  (Boy, do I love Linux!)

I'm mentioning it here for two reasons: 1) curiosity, as I'm sure at least 
someone wants to hear about the outcome of this loony proposition; and 2) 
I recall at least 2 members telling me they had a similar need (see, it's 
not just me!).

I thought about doing a presentation or something but it would be so 
narrowly-focused that it would bore the 99% of have no need of this.  So 
for now I'm keeping it under wraps and will be selling it as a service to 
those who have the need (gotta keep my computer company in business, after 
all, it is my day job!).  So if you want info, email me privately; special 
uber-discount for MUUGers!

P.S. The only other distro I could find with easy 32->64 instructions was 
Arch.  Other than that it appears hopeless using online resources, though 
I'm pretty sure you could do the upgrade easily on Gentoo also.


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