OS upgrades

OS upgrade is one of the most disruptive for obvious reasons. It needs preparation, testing and planning.

Preparation

1. Mirror the OS locally
2. Create the appropriate kickstart environment
   1. Yum directories links
   2. Yum config files if needed
   3. Tftp directories and files
   4. If needed ask for a certificate and put it in the cvs/cfengine framework
3. Mirror the middleware that goes with the new OS locally
4. Add the new directories for the new OS to CVS
5. Make a list of changes required during the transition
   1. Partition modifications
   2. Third parties packages
   3. Changes suggested OS release notes
   4. Changes suggested in middleware release notes
   5. Changes required by the expriments on their ID cards or elsewhere
   6. Changes suggested by other system administrators who already have gone through it (mailing lists, blogs, google)
   7. ....
6. Modify kickstart to accomodate any changes planned
7. Modify cfengine scripts to accomodate any changes planned
8. Test all the changes on a test machine
   1. Minimum requirement that it installs but test as much functionality as possible considering it is not in production
   2. Each service that requires an upgrade will need to be tested, i.e. testing WN can be installed is not enough if a CE needs to be upgraded as well