Topic: Installing SME 8

[calisun]

I have a server I am willing to test V8 on, but the issue is that I have several contribs  installed on this server (including php5-cgi) and v8 will not install.
But at the same time I have a lot of data on the server that I don't want to loose.

I was thinking of backing up my server to desktop, do a clean install of v8, and do a restore from backup.
My question is, will restore only restore data (that is what I want) or will it bring the server back to v7.5?

[cactus]

I was thinking of backing up my server to desktop, do a clean install of v8, and do a restore from backup.
My question is, will restore only restore data (that is what I want) or will it bring the server back to v7.5?

A restore to desktop is not the best option, choose an other backup option, as that would make restore easier.

[janet]

calisun

Please refer to this thread
http://forums.contribs.org/index.php/topic,46204.msg226182.html#msg226182

While your situation is not exactly the same, my guess is you have similar issues and end requirements ie remove incompatible packages first and perhaps do a clean test install of sme8 from CD first (on another machine) and then do a test install of required contribs.

Once testing has finished and you determine which contribs are OK to use and which are not, then remove the incompatible contribs from your existing server and then do a normal upgrade from CD. It should work OK.

You do not say why SMEv8 will not install or what error messages or problems you have, so explain more.
Upgrades are designed to retain your data, but ALWAYS do a backup first.

[CharlieBrady]

You do not say why SMEv8 will not install or what error messages or problems you have, so explain more.

No, do not explain more here - just report any problems, in detail, via the bug tracker.

[calisun]

Oh well, too much hassle, I don't have time to monkey with this.

What Charlie Brady said in this BUG http://bugs.contribs.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6089 , is so true:

"We should start now. The more things "just work" the more likely people are to
report every problem they see."

[janet]

calisun

If you want the upgrade issues resolved (eg the developers to implement code that will remove incompatible packages) then lodge a bug report.
The devs needs your system details & follow through so they know what the problems are and can discover what the fixes are.

[calisun]

There already is a bug report for exact same issue I have.
It is the bug report I have referenced to before:
http://bugs.contribs.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6089

[janet]

calisun

So what is it that you want from us here ?
 You have the answers in the bug report to make your upgrade go smoothly.
It would be good to add your experience to the bug report and also report on the success or otherwise of the fixes suggested. It gives the devs valuable feedback to verify they are on the right track.

The answer to your backup restore question, is that the system version will be the SME  version you installed. The restore just restores data, config and user information etc, but does not restore system files or contribs (except if they are in ibays).
Read the Backup server config Howto for some general info.

If you have custom templates setup, you may need to assess the compatibility of those too when restoring between major versions.

[jameswilson]

callison.
I too thought of doing a clean sme8 and then restoring a backup.
It should only restore the data. However i assumed (wrongly lol) that an upgrade would be smoother. Its my own issue as i run sme's inside xenserver. Im probably gonna just add a centos vm to do the web bits and use the sme for the db etc.
I dont need to use sme for this, but due to its fantastic backup and restore options (*im ussing affa) i dont want to loose that feature. Plus the web panel etc. As all i need is a fat webserver then maybe sme isnt best for this appication.

[jameswilson]

type fat = fast lol

[calisun]

Another question, I will uninstall php5-cgi since that is not needed any more since V8 included php5.
My question is, what about php5-cgi templates I had to create to make the php5-cgi function in given ibays? Do I need to remove them also?  And if yes, is there an easy way to remove them all at once, since I have several ibays configured for php5-cgi.
Actually I have so many ibays configured for php5-cgi, I don't actually even remember which ones.

[janet]

calisun

Just delete any no longer needed custom templates from /etc/e-smith/templates-custom/???
and then do
signal-event post-upgrade
signal-event reboot

Only you know which custom templates you added re php5, so look !