5.3 Meeting the Upgrade Requirements

Meet the following requirements before you upgrade and install any OES 2023 components:

5.3.1 Securing Current Data

Before upgrading, secure the current data on the server. For example, make a backup copy of the data so that you can restore the data volumes later if needed.

Save your configuration files. Copy all configuration files to a separate medium, such as a removable hard disk or USB stick, to secure the data. This primarily applies to files stored in /etc as well as some of the directories and files in /var and /opt. You might also want to write the user data in /home (the Home directories) to a backup medium. Back up this data as root.

5.3.2 Ensuring That There Is Adequate Storage Space on the Root Partition

Before starting your upgrade, make note of the root partition and space available.

If you suspect you are running short of disk space, secure your data before updating and repartition your system. There is no general rule regarding how much space each partition should have. Space requirements depend on your particular partitioning profile and the software selected.

The df -h command lists the device name of the root partition. In the following example, the root partition to write down is /dev/sda2 (mounted as /) with 5.8 GB available.

5.3.3 Converting ReiserFS to Btrfs File System

Beginning with SUSE Linux Enterprise 15, ReiserFS support is completely removed from YaST. The installer blocks the upgrade when it detects a ReiserFS file system. For more information, see SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 GA Release Notes.

Before migrating the system to OES 2023, the existing data partitions formatted with ReiserFS must be converted to Btrfs.

5.3.4 Preparing the Server You Are Upgrading

Ensure that the server meets the hardware requirements for OES 2023. See Section 2.2.2, Server Hardware.

Itanium is not a supported platform for OES 2023.

If the server is running supported source version, complete the following steps before upgrading the server:

Run YaST > Software > Online Update to patch the OES source server to the latest patch level.
Ensure that the server and services are still running as desired.
Upgrade to OES 2023 using the instructions in this section, then apply all patches and verify services.

5.3.5 Checking the Server’s DNS Name

Ensure that DNS returns the correct static IP address when you ping the server's full DNS name. For example,

ping myserver.example.com

5.3.6 Ensuring That the Server Has a Server Certificate

IMPORTANT:Most OES servers have either an eDirectory certificate or a third-party certificate installed.

These instructions only apply when that is not the case.

Ensure that the server has a server certificate that has been generated and exported as a Common Server certificate.

To check for or add a certificate:

Launch YaST.
Click Security and Users > CA Management.
If no certificate authorities (CAs) are listed, create one by clicking Create Root CA.

If a CA is listed, you can use it by selecting the CA and clicking Enter CA.
If you are using a listed CA, you must provide the CA password (generally the root password).
Click Certificates > Add.
Fill out the forms required for a server certificate. After the last form is complete, a server certificate is created and listed in the certificate list.
Select the certificate you just created.
Click the Export button, then select Export as Common Server Certificate.

5.3.7 Changing the Mount Options Before an Upgrade

Before starting the upgrade, ensure that the mount options for all the partitions are set to UUID.

If the mount options are incorrect, use the following procedure to select the applicable one:

Log on to the OES server with root privileges.
In the terminal, type yast2 disk.
In the Warning dialog box, click Yes.
In the Expert Partitioner window, select a partition, such as root(/), then click Edit > Fstab Options.
Under Fstab options:, click UUID > OK > Finish.

IMPORTANT:If you plan to clone your hard disks in the future, do not select Device ID as a mount option. The cloning process will fail. For more information, see New default in SLES/SLED 10 SP1: mount by Device ID.
Repeat Step 4 and Step 5 for all the Linux partitions (not for NSS partitions).
After you have changed the mount options, click Next.
In the Expert Partitioner: Summary dialog box, click Finish.

The mount options are successfully changed.

5.3.8 Preparing an Installation Source

Review and complete the instructions for Setting Up a Network Installation Source. We recommend using the network installation option, especially if you are upgrading multiple servers.

5.3.9 Synchronizing the OES Configuration Information before Starting an Upgrade

Ensure that the LDAP servers configured for OES are up and running.

Each of these servers is represented through a file (named after its IP address) in /etc/sysconfig/novell/ldap_servers. There can also be a second file named after the DNS name of the server.

When a server that has been used as an LDAP server for OES is retired these files are left behind and must be removed.
The modifications that you make to an OES server using YaST are stored in the configuration files at /etc/sysconfig/novell. These crucial configuration information is used to upgrade an OES server.
You can also modify an OES server outside of YaST, and those changes are stored as part of the respective service configuration files. In this scenario, if you upgrade the OES server, your latest changes will not be part of the upgrade or the upgrade might fail. This happens because your latest changes are not captured as part of the configuration information at /etc/sysconfig/novell.

To synchronize the latest changes that you have done outside of YaST, use the upgrade check script (/opt/novell/oes-install/util/oes_upgrade_check.pl) that is available with the OES server or download the script from the OES documentation site. This script assumes that the respective OES service configuration information is the latest and updates this configuration information to the /etc/sysconfig/novell/service_release.

For example, if you have modified LUM outside of YaST, LUM configuration information is stored in the LUM configuration file at /etc/nam.conf. When you run the oes_upgrade_check.pl script, the upgrade script compares the LUM configuration information at /etc/sysconfig/novell/lum_oes2018 against /etc/nam.conf. If there is a mismatch, the LUM configuration information from /etc/nam.conf is synchronized with /etc/sysconfig/novell/lum_oes2018.

Syntax: ./oes_upgrade_check.pl <all | OES service name>

OES service names include lum, edir, cifs, iprint, dhcp, ncs, nss, and dsfw.

Examples:

To synchronize all the individual OES service configuration information with /etc/sysconfig/novell, execute the ./oes_upgrade_check.pl all command.
To synchronize any particular OES service configuration information, for example LUM, with /etc/sysconfig/novell/lum_oes2018, execute the ./oes_upgrade_check.pl lum command.