Re: "Upgrade" from Redhat -> Debian?
>>>>> "Marc" == Marc Barnett <marc@mtjeff.com> writes:
Marc> Obviously, any new linux servers I plan to install with
Marc> Debian, but the installed server base still exists, and
Marc> aside from several security concerns stemming from not
Marc> upgrading Redhat which I've delt with, I also want to look
Marc> into an changeover of the machines to Debian. Preferably
Marc> in-place, wiping disks isn't really an option.
"In place" is not going to be an easy task. The easiest thing to do
would be to backup local data (such as /home and /usr/local), install
Debian, and then restore that local data.
Another idea, if you have any available partitions, would be to
install Debian (at least temporarily) to another partition, mount your
RedHat partition and manually remove the RedHat system within it, then
superimpose the Debian installation onto the mounted ex-RedHat
partition.
If you are hellbent on the "in place" requirement, you can perhaps
look into installing Debian in a 'chroot' environment at first, and
then later replace the RedHat installation with this one. (That's how
the Debian-ARM project worked for a while: Corel ships RedHat with the
NetWinder, and Debian was initially developed in a 'chroot'
environment).
In the transition process, you will need to either delete or move away
the RedHat system directories (/bin, /etc, /lib, /var, /usr/bin,
/usr/lib, ... basically everything except /home and /usr/local), then
move in place those from your Debian chroot environment. This should
probably be done while you are booting from a floppy (or another
partition). Otherwise, you may be able to play some tricks with
NFS-mounting "localhost:/" to a point inside your Debian environment,
then play around with the system directories from within there.
Maybe a desired area of Debian development would be to automate this
process somewhat.
-tor
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