Distribution Upgrade and Server Migration from 5.0 to 5.2

  • SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.0 must be stopped before the upgrade.

SUSE Multi-Linux Manager server hosts that are hardened for security may restrict execution of files from the /tmp folder. In such cases, as a workaround, export the TMPDIR environment variable to another existing path before running mgradm.

For example:

export TMPDIR=/path/to/other/tmp

In SUSE Multi-Linux Manager updates, tools will be changed to make this workaround unnecessary.

SSL certificates are needed at a later stage. If not using the self-signed generated CA and certificates, ensure you have the following before starting:

  • A certificate authority (CA) SSL public certificate. If you are using a CA chain, all intermediate CAs must also be available.

  • An SSL database private key.

  • An SSL database certificate.

All files must be in PEM format.

The hostname of the SSL server certificate must match the fully qualified hostname of the machine you deploy them on. You can set the hostnames in the X509v3 Subject Alternative Name section of the certificate. You can also list multiple hostnames if your environment requires it. Supported Key types are RSA and EC (Elliptic Curve).

Database SSL certificate requires reportdb and db and the FQDN used to access the report database as Subject Alternative Name.

During a migration the server SSL certificate and CA chain are copied from the source server, meaning that only the database certificates are required

SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.0 peripheral servers are always using third-party SSL certificates. If the hub server has generated the certificates for the peripheral server, it needs to generate the certificate for the peripheral database too.

On the hub server, run the following command for each of the peripheral server to migrate.

mgrctl exec -ti -- rhn-ssl-tool --gen-server --dir="/root/ssl-build" --set-country="COUNTRY" \
  --set-state="STATE" --set-city="CITY" --set-org="ORGANIZATION" \
  --set-org-unit="ORGANIZATION UNIT" --set-email="name@example.com" \
  --set-hostname=<hostname>-reportdb --set-cname="example.com" --set-cname=db --set-cname=reportdb

The files to use will be inside the server container and need to be copied to the new peripheral server host:

  1. /root/ssl-build/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT as the root CA,

  2. /root/ssl-build/<hostname>-reportdb/server.crt as the db certificate and

  3. /root/ssl-build/<hostname>-reportdb/server.key as the db certificate’s key.

1. SLE Micro 5.5 to SL Micro 6.2

This document provides the tested procedure to upgrade a SLE Micro 5.5 host deployed with SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.0 Server to SL Micro 6.2 and migrate to SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.2 Beta 1.

1.1. Prerequisites

  • SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.0 is installed and running on SLE Micro 5.5.

  • System is registered and has active subscriptions with SCC.

1.2. Distribution upgrade and server migration

Procedure: Migration from SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.0 to SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.2 Beta 1

  1. Verify current product status.

    SUSEConnect --status-text

    Confirm:

    • Base OS: SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5

    • Extension: SUSE Manager Server 5.0 Extension

  2. Ensure the system is updated.

    transactional-update patch

    • If patches were applied, stop the server and then reboot the system before proceeding to migration:

      mgradm stop
reboot

    • If no updates were found, you can proceed directly to the migration step.

  3. Start the migration.

    transactional-update migration --auto-agree-with-licenses --gpg-auto-import-keys

    Follow the prompts and select the available migration to SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 and SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Server Extension 5.2 Beta 1.

  4. Stop the server and then reboot to apply changes.

    mgradm stop
reboot

  5. Perform post-reboot checks.

    Verify SUSE Multi-Linux Manager extension and SUSE Multi-Linux Manager version:

    SUSEConnect --status-text
mgradm --version

    Expected output:

    • Extension: SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Server 5.2 Beta 1 Extension

    • Version: referencing 5.2.0 or higher

  6. Verify PostgreSQL database version.

    podman ps

    Expected output:

    • server:5.2.0 or higher

    • server-postgresql:5.2.0 or higher

  7. Verify running containers:

    podman ps

    You should see all the expected server containers are up and running.

1.3. Migration complete

The server host system is now running SL Micro 6.2 with updated SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.2 Beta 1 Server packages.

If you have a SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.0 proxy connected to this server, proceed to the Proxy Migration 5.0 > 5.2 guide to upgrade the proxy host.

Validate your setup before resuming production operations.

1.4. Database Backup Volume

Server migration or upgrade with mgradm migration or mgradm upgrade can create a volume with the database backup.

When the PostgreSQL database version is increased, the old database must be stored in a separate location before running the upgrade. For this purpose mgradm dynamically creates the volume var-pgsql-backup. When the migration or upgrade is done and the user has validated that the new system is working as expected, this volume can be removed safely.

2. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 to 15 SP7

This document provides the procedure to upgrade a SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 host deployed with SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.0 Server to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 and migrate to SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.2 Beta 1.

2.1. Prerequisites

  • SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.0 is installed and running on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6.

  • System is registered and has active subscriptions with SCC.

2.2. Distribution upgrade and server migration

Procedure: Upgrade and Migrate SUSE Multi-Linux Manager on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6

  1. Verify current product status.

    SUSEConnect --status-text

    Confirm:

    • Base OS: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6

    • Extension: SUSE Manager Server 5.0 Extension

  2. Ensure the system is updated.

    zypper patch

    If patches were applied, stop the server and then reboot before proceeding:

    mgradm stop
reboot

  3. Perform the migration to SP7 and SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.2 Beta 1.

    zypper migration

    Select to migrate to:

    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7

    • SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Server Extension 5.2 Beta 1

  4. Stop the server and reboot.

    mgradm stop
reboot

  5. Perform post-reboot checks.

    Verify SUSE Multi-Linux Manager extension:

    SUSEConnect --status-text

    Expected output:

    • Extension: SUSE Multi-Linux Manager Server 5.2 Beta 1 Extension

  6. Verify SUSE Multi-Linux Manager version.

    mgradm --version

    Expected output:

    • Version: referencing 5.2.0 or higher

  7. Verify containers:

    podman ps

    Expected output:

    • server:5.2.0 or higher

    • server-postgresql:5.2.0 or higher

2.3. Migration complete

The server host system is now running SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 with updated SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.2 Beta 1 Server packages.

If you have a SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.0 proxy connected to this server, proceed to the Proxy Migration 5.0 > 5.2 guide to upgrade the proxy host.

Validate your setup before resuming production operations.

2.4. Database Backup Volume

Server migration or upgrade with mgradm migration or mgradm upgrade can create a volume with the database backup.

When the PostgreSQL database version is increased, the old database must be stored in a separate location before running the upgrade. For this purpose mgradm dynamically creates the volume var-pgsql-backup. When the migration or upgrade is done and the user has validated that the new system is working as expected, this volume can be removed safely.