The Best Way to upgrade to AlmaLinux 8 From Centos7

[khalat]

Hello Everyone,

Please advise me on the best way to upgrade from Centos 7 to AlmaLinux 8.

According to what I read, there are two options:
First: upgrade the current system using cPanel Elevate.
Second: Create a new Server with Almalinux8, then migrate the data from the old server to the new one.

 

[frank7]

Surely the first option is faster, but risky, Second option is safe but require time.

Regarding the second option if I do a System backups of cPanel/WHM and reinstall the OS plus cpanel
can I restore really everything such as the old server including

DNS settings,EXIM settings, Tweak and Service setting, SSL , easyApache configuration

or some extra work is needed ?

I am reading now this

cPanel & WHM does not include an interface to restore system backup files. To restore content from system backup files, you must perform the restoration manually.

this is odd , anyone wrote some guide to restore WHM from cPanel system backup ?

 

[cPRex]

@frank7 - system backups are just that - backups we take of various OS files to help get non-cPanel tools working in the event of a major failure. We have more details on this process here:

System Backups | cPanel & WHM Documentation

This document explains configuration settings, contents, and logs of system backups.

docs.cpanel.net

but restoring those will just be moving them to the correct place, overwriting the existing files.

 

[cPRex]

@khalat - ELevate is a great too - just run the pre-check script and that will let you know about any issues it finds before you attempt the upgrade.

 

[frank7]

" but restoring those will just be moving them to the correct place, overwriting the existing files. "

So if I

- execute backup of system files and backup users with old OS Centos
- install new OS Almalinux and cPanel again , I will not setup cPanel/WHM such as DNS and other stuff , only install it
- restore backup of WHM/cpanel system files in the correct place
- restore user accounts using WHM

Will I have an exact WHM/cPanel clone of old server runing OS Centos but with Almalinux ?
Is it so easy ?

 

[cPRex]

Yes, that is generally how a migration works. You could also use the Transfer Tool to connect to the old system and move the data instead of restoring from the backups.

 

[frank7]

That "generally" make me worried

You could also use the Transfer Tool to connect to the old system and move the data instead of restoring from the backups.

If I am changing OS in the same server as we discussed above (I am not migrating from server A to server B), do you confirm I can do this ?

 

[cPRex]

I personally would never do that, unless you're using ELevate. Taking a server offline to perform the OS update and reloading the accounts is the slowest and riskiest way to perform an update.

 

[frank7]

Personally I can't use elevate as we discussed in another post (no support from cPanel , no support from online.net datacenter too!), however I have seen that the number of Centos 7 admins having the elevate NICs issue is increasing hour after hour , so I'll wait to decide , probably someone will find an easy and safe solution to solve the elevate NICs issue .

 

[khalat]

Thank you for the replies...

ELevate is a great too - just run the pre-check script and that will let you know about any issues it finds before you attempt the upgrade.

For now, Elevate tool is the easiest way to upgrade, but as mentioned in the posts, there is no support from cPanel for it, and it's risky.
I had used the Transfer tool before, and it worked very well, but it needs more time to configure back the server after transferring accounts.

another question is: After upgrading the system there will be a junk file unlike a fresh install which takes a lot of storage, is that true?

 

[cPRex]

there is no support from cPanel for it

I'm not totally sure what this means. If you'd like us to help with the ELevate process, our team would be happy to check a server for you through a ticket.

After upgrading the system there will be a junk file unlike a fresh install which takes a lot of storage, is that true?

No, there is no such leftover file after an ELevate upgrade.