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Centmin Mod EL8+ Roadmap For 2023/2024

Discussion in 'AlmaLinux 8 & Rocky Linux 8 Beta Testing' started by eva2000, Nov 27, 2023.

  1. eva2000

    eva2000 Administrator Staff Member

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    The CentOS 7 operating system's life date is June 30, 2024, when there will be no more updates. So the migration to EL8+ OSes like AlmaLinux 8 or Rocky Linux 8 is the best option.

    This is the tentative outlined roadmap for Centmin Mod that I want to follow (unless real life/paid work gets in the way):
    1. The current stable version is Centmin Mod 124.00stable that only supports CentOS 7.
    2. Currently Centmin Mod 130.00beta01 separate installer public EL8+ beta installer enables hidden flags that allow 130.00beta01 to support EL8+ operating systems like AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux and is listed at place https://community.centminmod.com/th...almalinux-8-rocky-linux-8-beta-testing.24227/ and that is separate from CentOS 7 130.00beta01 installer listed at Centmin Mod LEMP Stack Install Nginx on CentOS which doesn't enable hiddent flags that allow EL8+ support. This allows me to control EL8+ testing to folks who want to test EL8+ specifically, while allowing CentOS 7 users to no worry about EL8+ changes/bugs.
    3. ~December 20, 2023: I want to enable the hidden flags in the regular 130.00beta01 installer listed at Centmin Mod LEMP Stack Install Nginx on CentOS so that anyone installing regular 130.00beta01, can do so on CentOS 7, AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux EL8+ operating systems. This will open up end user testing and bug reporting feedback in general for EL8+ which can still be posted in https://community.centminmod.com/forums/almalinux-8-rocky-linux-8-beta-testing.64/ forum.
    4. ~January 31, 2024 to May 31, 2024 : If the rest of 130.00beta01 EL8+ testing goes well, I plan to promote Centmin Mod 130.00beta01 to 131.00stable for a new Centmin Mod stable release which will support EL8+ operating systems. Then start a new Centmin Mod 140.00beta01 for new beta release. This will give folks ~5 months to look at their data/server migration options for CentOS 7's scheduled June 30, 2024 EOL date. Though technically, CentOS 7 won't stop working after that date, just updates will no longer be available. So you probably have >5 months in reality.
    5. If you're alreadying using Centmin Mod 130.00beta01 on EL8+ OSes, you'll still have same cmupdate method of switching to 131.00stable or 140.00beta01 like outlined for 124.00stable or 130.00beta01 at https://community.centminmod.com/threads/centmin-mod-124-00stable-130-00beta01-releases.22673/ without needing to migrate data. Only CentOS 7 users would need to migrate data to AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux EL8+ based server.
    6. I'll update my Centmin Mod History thread as this progresses at https://community.centminmod.com/threads/history-of-centmin-mod-from-2011.22733/


     
  2. Andy

    Andy Active Member

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    I will need to move away from CentOS 7 at some point. The question is which OS to use: Alma vs Rocky?
    Any experience with issues developing centminmod for either one for the past few months, @eva2000
     
  3. eva2000

    eva2000 Administrator Staff Member

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    Personal preference, for a detailed both sides look, check out discussions at https://community.centminmod.com/th...ol-the-distribution-of-its-source-code.23903/ as how AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux are now developed has divided into 2 different paths ever since Redhat attempted to prevent providing source Git repo access to forks like AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux. So their respective workarounds differ for AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux.

    I generally use AlmaLinux way more than Rocky Linux as personal preference. It's also more available as OS offered by web hosts I use.

    Probably for AlmaLinux vs Rocky Linux discussions, you can start a new thread in https://community.centminmod.com/forums/centos-redhat-oracle-linux-news.31/ or use https://community.centminmod.com/th...ol-the-distribution-of-its-source-code.23903/
     
  4. Andy

    Andy Active Member

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    Thanks George.
    I have used centos the past 10 years or so with centminmod. Thanks to you.
    I haven't looked at the other OS lately. Is this something admin like me can do easily to migrate?
    If not, is this a service you provide?
     
  5. eva2000

    eva2000 Administrator Staff Member

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    I do paid work for server migrations for my everyday consult work and that includes for Centmin Mod, something folks can contact me about.

    For those that what to do migration themselves, I've touched on this in example AlmaLinux 8 install of Centmin Mod 130.00beta01 on DigitalOcean droplet VPS server at https://community.centminmod.com/th...-00beta01-test-installation.24233/#post-97657 where I'm privately testing new centmin.sh menu option 21 https://github.com/centminmod/centm...1/datamanagement/centmin.sh-menu-21.readme.md

     
  6. Andy

    Andy Active Member

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    If I understand this correctly, to use Alma, I need to get a new physical server to migrate it to. My current server is CentOS 7 and there isn't a way to replace the OS?
    Need to find a host that offer Alma?
     
  7. andybond

    andybond Member

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    You are correct. You cannot replace the current OS from CentOS to Alma.

    There is a toolset called ELevate but it doesnt work with centminmod. I tried.

    Easiest to create a new server , install Alma, install the Centminmod stack and migrate away. I have 3 sites and a docker running on my centminmodserver and it took me 3.5hrs in total to migrate.
     
  8. Andy

    Andy Active Member

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    I need to find a new host then. The current one offers Alma OS as well but after several issues with them, I may have to look at an alternative.
     
  9. andybond

    andybond Member

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    I use these guys : https://allhost.io/

    Alma is installable and they have a rebuild option thats rapid if you bodge anything
     
  10. duderuud

    duderuud Premium Member Premium Member

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    Also check out Hetzner. Very happy with their VPS and dedicated servers!
     
  11. MaximilianKohler

    MaximilianKohler Member

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    @brijendrasial used it here successfully. I also tried it and failed though.
     
  12. Andy

    Andy Active Member

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    I'm in the US and I would need a host that has a data center in NYC area.
     
  13. Andy

    Andy Active Member

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    @eva2000 I see some hosts that offer Alma Linux 9 as an option. Do you recommend Alma 9 at the moment or should we stick with Alma 8?
     
  14. eva2000

    eva2000 Administrator Staff Member

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    Stick with EL8 versions as it has been through more testing than EL9 and public Centmin Mod testing of 130.00beta01 is for EL8 only anyway even if I do test both EL8/EL9 in parallel privately.
     
  15. Andy

    Andy Active Member

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    Is there a path to go from Alma 8 to 9 on the same server or we need to get a new server in the future when you support Alma linux 9?
     
  16. duderuud

    duderuud Premium Member Premium Member

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    They recently opened a data center in Ashburn VA.
    https://www.hetzner.com/unternehmen/rechenzentrum?country=gr

    You can upgrade from 8 to 9 without issues.
    But no rush, version 8 is supported till 2029:)
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2023
  17. eva2000

    eva2000 Administrator Staff Member

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    Generally with YUM based OSes, migrating to a new server is always recommended so CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8 to AlmaLinux 9 is 2 server migrations. EL8 is supported until 2029 and EL9 until 2032. With such a vast number of years to go, you'd probably end up migrating servers way before to take advantage of newer server hardware or faster hardware that comes down in price (saving you hosting $$$$).
     
  18. MaximilianKohler

    MaximilianKohler Member

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    So EL9 is not even on the roadmap? I ask because recently I ran into problems with some scripts not working due to CentOS 7's version of systemd being too old. So that made me think it's best to get the newest OS with the latest versions of software. And I'd like to avoid another migration from EL8 to EL9 if possible.
     
  19. eva2000

    eva2000 Administrator Staff Member

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    The focus is on EL8 first to it's eventual promotion as 131.00 stable as outlined in 1st post of this thread. Then most like EL9 will continue it's beta testing and development in next 140.00 beta01 version.
     
  20. eva2000

    eva2000 Administrator Staff Member

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    Done :) The public 130.00beta01 installers outlined at Centmin Mod LEMP Stack Install Nginx on CentOS also now natively have support for EL8+ for AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux (technically supports Oracle Linux 8+ too) :D