[TriLUG] Upgrade Debian 7 to 8

[Steve Litt via TriLUG]

On Fri, 9 Sep 2016 00:58:56 -0400
Ric Moore via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org> wrote:

> On 09/08/2016 03:56 PM, Ken MacKenzie via TriLUG wrote:
> > Most argue it is safer to take a backup and go with a fresh
> > install.  For a server especially I agree with that.
> > Desktop/workstations, I have edited apt sources and done an upgrade
> > in place plenty of times without much to deal with.  However either
> > way make sure you try a live CD first to make sure there is no
> > hardware issue that might be an issue for your specific computer.  
> 
> Any "upgrade" to Jessie could be a minefield with systemd being 
> introduced in Jessie. I'd install clean with this one. Ric

I'm a big fan of clean installs for major version changes.

Systemd is not a foregone conclusion. Here's one way out:
http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Debian/openrc-conversion.html . There are
others depending on various packagemanager-foo.

And of course, you can install Devuan in order to basically get Debian
without systemd.

I've never understood the reluctance of some folks to clean-install
major versions. First, doing so gives you the opportunity for some
spring cleaning, to get the bit rot dust bunnies out of your system. It
prevents ghosts of versions past. And it's pretty easy.

* Back up output of mount command.
* Back up /etc/fstab
* Back up output of lshw done as root.
* Back up output of lsmod
* Back up output of ip link, ip addr, and ip route
* Back up results of your package manager command to list all packages
  deliberately installed rather than installed to satisfy dependencies.
* Back up /etc/sudoers
* Back up all cron setup info
* Back up all data that doesn't come with the OS (this presupposes
  you've done an adequate split, and I don't think backing
  up /home/yourname suffices, because there's a lot of personal data,
  cache, and old config all mixed up in there.
* Back up your home directory
* Back up your MBR or UEFI or whatever

Does it take some time? Sure it takes time, but this twice a year
activity results in a more robust system overall.

SteveT

Steve Litt 
September 2016 featured book: Twenty Eight Tales of Troubleshooting
http://www.troubleshooters.com/28