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Frequently Asked Questions

Migrating Away from Red Hat Enterprise Linux

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Last Updated: April 28, 2015 11:43 AM

Some of the information in this article is advanced material we make available as a courtesy. Please be advised that you are responsible for properly following the procedures below. Customer Support cannot assist with these topics.

As of September 22, 2009, we're discontinuing support of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. You can migrate your server's operating system to Cent OS or independently purchase a software license from Red Hat.

NOTE: If you do nothing, your account will no longer be charged for use of Red Hat, but you cannot update software via the Red Hat Network or call Red Hat for support.

To Migrate from Red Hat 4 to Cent OS 4.7 Using yum

  1. Connect to your server via SSH (more info).
  2. Switch to the root user (more info).
  3. Run the following commands to upgrade to Cent OS 4.7:
    yum clean all
    mkdir ~/centos
    cd ~/centos/

    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/4/os/i386/CentOS/RPMS/centos-release-4-7.i386.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/4/os/i386/CentOS/RPMS/python-elementtree-1.2.6-5.el4.centos.i386.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/4/os/i386/CentOS/RPMS/python-sqlite-1.1.7-1.2.1.i386.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/4/os/i386/CentOS/RPMS/python-urlgrabber-2.9.8-2.noarch.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/4/os/i386/CentOS/RPMS/sqlite-3.3.6-2.i386.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/4/os/i386/CentOS/RPMS/yum-2.4.3-4.el4.centos.noarch.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/4/os/i386/CentOS/RPMS/yum-metadata-parser-1.0-8.el4.centos.i386.rpm

    rpm --import http://mirror.centos.org/centos/4/os/i386/RPM-GPG-KEY-centos4
    rpm -e --nodeps redhat-release
    rpm -Uvh *.rpm

    yum upgrade

To Migrate from Red Hat 5 to Cent OS 5.2 Using the Hosting Control Panel

NOTE: This process reprovisions your server. By completing the instructions above, your original server will no longer be available. We provide an FTP backup for 90 days, but we recommend you complete a system backup before proceeding.

  1. Log in to your Account Manager.
  2. Click Servers.
  3. Next to the server you want to use, click Manage.
  4. In the Support section, select Reprovision Server.
  5. Select CentOS.
  6. Recreate your user name and password.
  7. Click Continue and then click Save Changes.

To Migrate from Red Hat 5 to Cent OS 5.3 Using yum

  1. Connect to your server via SSH (more info).
  2. Switch to the root user (more info).
  3. Run the following commands to upgrade to Cent OS 5.3:
    yum clean all
    mkdir ~/centos
    cd ~/centos/

    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5/os/i386/CentOS/centos-release-5-3.el5.centos.1.i386.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5/os/i386/CentOS/centos-release-notes-5.3-3.i386.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5/os/i386/CentOS/yum-3.2.19-18.el5.centos.noarch.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5/os/i386/CentOS/yum-updatesd-0.9-2.el5.noarch.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5/os/i386/CentOS/yum-metadata-parser-1.1.2-2.el5.i386.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5/os/i386/CentOS/python-iniparse-0.2.3-4.el5.noarch.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5/os/i386/CentOS/yum-fastestmirror-1.1.16-13.el5.centos.noarch.rpm
    wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5/os/i386/CentOS/gamin-python-0.1.7-8.el5.i386.rpm

    rpm --import http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5/os/i386/RPM-GPG-KEY-CentOS-5
    rpm -e --nodeps redhat-release
    rpm -e yum-rhn-plugin
    rpm -Uvh *.rpm

    yum upgrade

To Purchase a New Red Hat Enterprise Linux License and Configure Your Server to Connect to the Red Hat Network

You can purchase Red Hat Enterprise Linux from Red Hat directly on their site.

  1. Log in to the Red Hat Network website or your Satellite server.
  2. Go to the Systems tab in the top navigation bar, then select the name of the old system or duplicated system in the System List.
  3. Click delete system in the top-right corner of the page.
  4. Confirm the removal of the system by selecting the Delete Profile button.
  5. As root at the command line, delete the file (if it exists) /etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid from your system by running the command:
    rm /etc/sysconfig/rhn/systemid
  6. Run the following command to register your system with the update agent:
    rhn_register

    NOTE: For more information on the rhn_register command, see Red Hat's documentation What is the command rhn_register used for?.

  7. When re-registering, enter the license you purchased from Red Hat directly.