I’ve done an upgrade on my server from OpenSUSE.org 11.1 to 11.2. Prior to starting the upgreade, I performed a backup of the databases, directories, and files already on the newer machine. I had a few problems with the upgrade and the carry over of MySQL databases.
I installed as an upgrade OpenSUSE 11.2 on a newer machine over its 11.1. This approach may be a necessity for many. Rather than a clean install I was thinking it would preserve my prior work. This may not be the best choice for any operating system used today.
The problem was that the upgrade left the old 11.1 GRUB boot items in the boot menu while adding the new 11.2 boot items. Further the upgrade left the 11.1 boot as the default. That caused total havoc when the install attempted to reboot the machine at the end of its process.
Fixing the boot menu is easy. First boot and select the correct OpenSUSE.org 11.2 kernel from the GRUB menu and boot it correctly in my case. Next run yast, I prefer the command line version. Go to system->boot menu and delete the 11.1 boot items, they did not boot on my machine, and set the 11.2 boot as default. Finally reboot to prove all is working as expected.
I found after the upgrade that one Joomla site was missing its navigation menu. I checked the database and all appeared to be there. I hope the Joomla site restore puts things right later today.
Anyone upgrading the OpenSUSE.org 11.2 should, as I did, backup the databases, site files, and directories before the upgrade. When the upgrade is complete and running well, restore the sites and other applications as well.
The problem is that Joomla does not officially support PHP 5.3.0 which openSUSE 11.2 ships with, especially if you have an older version of it installed.
I think 11.2 looks like a great release, but there’s no way I’d trust it for important server applications just yet. My personal desktop is another thing, but that’s where I’d do experiments with mysql, joomla and such for now.
The OS 11.2 Release Notes contain a warning about Boot Loader configuration issues. The need to actually check what it’s doing.
I’m not trying to be mean or spiteful, but there is no way I would try to upgrade a database server to a new OS on the release date. I would fully expect it to be a few weeks before all the packages are updated and all the bugs worked out.
I decided to try a Joomla.org installation on the OpenSUSE 11.2. I used the standard install. The install and site worked immediately. I also did an admin sign-on and that worked as well. I checked the site pages which worked as I browsed the site. The admin pages also seemed to work. The menu manager worked and the menus were populated. While not certified by the Joomla developers it casually seems to work.
I checked through the MySQL upgrade logs(/var/log/mysql) and it appears during the upgrade a database repair and reindexing was run. The new MySQL made some kind of change it appears. That upset the menu item list table and or indexes.
If I knew the underlying database architecture, is there good documentation, I would compare the non-working database with the new working database.
The worst case now will be to export articles and reinstall alternative templates and css files. I expect I’ll finish that process this evening.
I still think this MySQL problem needs more attention for any upgrade not just Joomla.
I would fully expect it to be a few weeks before all the packages are updated and all the bugs worked out.