my pc with opensuse 13.2 and many settings to be a file server (six hard disks, sftp with passwordless access using ssh-keygen, web server and other that I don’t remember) seem to have problems, it seems that the hard disk is gone, so it seems that I have to reinstall opensuse, it could be a good occasion to pass to 42.2
I have a backup of /home, /srv, /etc
how can I get back all the settings to pass to 42.2??
manythanks, ciao, pier
…my idea was to reinstall 13.2, copy all the /etc but fstab /home /srv from backup, copy only the part with the other hard disb of fstab, upgrade to 14.2…
could it be a good idea??
Not sure how safe it is with a transition from an older OpenSUSE version, but OpenSUSE Tumbleweed and Leap 42.2 do offer the possibility of importing an existing user as part of the user creation process. What it means is that the /home directory will be used for the new installation and all of the user configurations will be read by the respective programs. That’s how I retained all of my user data when migrating from Arch Linux to OpenSUSE Tumbleweed.
That covers the user settings, though. For database migration (MySQL, etc.) you need /var, correct. Hopefully someone else shall provide more details on that. I unfortunately have fairly limited experience with MySQL and would only expect that the server daemon might be able to read in the database normally. That’s in the realm of speculations, though. The more information on the data to be migrated you can provide us, the better the solution will be :).
EDIT: Forgot to mention. I would recommend a fresh reinstail anyhow.
Not a great idea to use old /etc files they may not meet the specs of the new OS/programs that use them. For sure keep a copy for reference but in general don’t just copy the old files to the new in mass, For mySQL export then import the exported files. Changes in DB structuring can be a terrible thing. Any other data on root like Web sites etc should copy over OK .
Just reinstall though will just bring 13.2 back to day one and there is no point at all to saving that since 42.2 will be in day one state
…my point waas: if I upgrade from 13.2 > 42.1 > 42.2 everything should go fairly, so, if I reinstall 13.2, update to today, copy the /etc (but fstab) /home /srv/ that comes from old 13.2 (backup of 15days ago) in the fresh updated 13.2. then upgrade to > 42.1 and 42.2 should it also go fairly??
manythanks :-), ciao, pier
…yes but I lose all the settings and I suppose a lot of time and cry to set up them again :X
Keep a copy of etc as reference for setting up but avoid just using the files they may not be compatible
13.2 to 42.2 is a huge leap (cough cough) and as such can be hard to do it is much easier to simply install new and re set up keep and thing that you may need to reference
lol!
manythanks, …I supposed that upgrading from 13.2>42.1>42.2 the leap (cough cough) lol! was done by the upgrading process…
You can upgrade but it probably won’t be trouble free
Personally I just upgraded from 13.2 to 42.2 directly without problems.
This is actually even tested, although only with the standard repos of course.
Upgrades can always be problematic if you use a lot of additional repos or an otherwise heavily customized system.
Never had any problems here though (not even with the mysql databases), but mostly I didn’t skip versions (except now).
OTOH, 42.1 was a “downgrade” from 13.2 anyway in certain areas (the parts that come from SLE mostly).
13.2 -> 42.2 is more like a “real” upgrade and should be even less problematic IMHO. It’s not really such a “big leap” as it may seem because 13.2 was entirely based on the latest Factory packages at the time, while SLE, where parts of Leap (the base system in particular) come from, is more conservative (and SLE12, which is the base for Leap 42, is actually older than 13.2).
If you use btrfs, the installer should even create a snapshot from your old 13.2 system before the upgrade which you can still boot afterwards if there may be problems. (I did test that… )
But a real backup (which snapshots are not) is never a bad idea anyway.
PS: config files (e.g. in /etc/) should normally be upwards compatible, or if not adjusted automatically during upgrades.
And in any case, just try to upgrade, you can always install from scratch anyway.
Ok, the original question was actually about a reinstall anyway.
I’d say go with 42.2 directly and copy over your modified /etc/ files and whatever, not the 13.2 and upgrade route.
Again, if things don’t work out, you can still re-install 13.2 and upgrade.
… and the last line of this makes a very valid point. If one way doesn’t work, it is nothing to take the next step.
Thanks for the information provided here, w. It is good to know, including the test you did for BTRFS users – or, especially?