The latest release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7 offers a
range of new features, from Linux container virtualization to Logical
Volume Manager (LVM) snapshots. For organizations and end users
committed to enterprise Linux, one appealing change is the in-place
upgrade. In regards to upkeep of RHEL, major maintenance windows
generally occur every three to four years, with minor updates during the
interim. Now with the new in-place upgrade, organizations can
significantly ease the maintenance process.
In the past, all major
upgrades — the whole number versions, for example RHEL 5 to RHEL
6 — required a fresh install. Red Hat recommended full rebuilds and
paying attention to configuration settings along the way. Often, certain
layered products, third-party, or ISV applications would need to be
manually upgraded to ensure proper functioning. Typical problems related
to the occasional version mismatch between the i386 and x86_64
architectures.
Currently, for end users transitioning from RHEL
6.5, a pre-upgrade assistant package defines what can be upgraded
in-place and what must be performed manually. Available via the Red Hat
Customer Portal, the upgrade report lists the pre-modified configuration
files and identifies current user-modified files. It also recommends
files and settings that should be manually checked. These features
enable administrators to examine configuration changes and make final
decisions on completing an upgrade.
With the RHEL 7 in-place
upgrade, administrators gain better insight into overall system
improvements. Moreover, this new capability simplifies configuration and
administration by offering uniform management tools for networking,
storage, file systems, and performance.
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