Topic: Upgrade from 7.5.1 fail

[glashoppah]

Dear SME lords and ladies,

I have an SME server that has run perfectly fine for years and has caused no trouble.  Very recently however I upgraded the hardware and due to user complaints about performance I realize that it's time to move to a 64-bit server OS.  I then dug in and tried to upgrade it to v8.1.

However, since I've not paid attention to it for so long I missed the opportunity to automatically upgrade it easily, and now pretty much every thing I try with an online repository upgrade fails.  I've spent two weekends working on this and following various forum suggestions to no avail.  I have created an 8.1 install DVD and wonder if there is a method to update it using the DVD as the resource rather than any online repository.

Can someone direct me to a method that might work for me?

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

G.

[guest22]

Hi and welcome,

Major upgrades (e.g. 7 >eight can only be done from the DVD, not the on-line repositories. Simply pop in the CD/DVD. While you are at it, please consider to upgrade all the way to SME Server 9.x 64-bit.

guest

[glashoppah]

Thank you for the rapid reply.  Is there a CLI initiation method with the DVD mounted that would work?  I tried booting to it and the server simply sticks in a reboot cycle.

G.

[guest22]

The DVD will recognise an existing install and will offer an upgrade. There were some specifics about from what version 7 you can jumpt to 8.x on the wiki. Give it a search pls.

[glashoppah]

I understand, and thank you for your patience.  However, the DVD will not boot - the server starts the DVD and then reboots, over and over.  I am wondering if there's a method that will work from the booted 7.5.1 server's command line with the 8.x DVD mounted.

G.

[guest22]

1. Just looked it up., you first need to upgrade to 7.6, then pop in the DVD.
2. The reboot is another issue. What does it say on the screen while booting. Does it reach the installer at all?

[glashoppah]

I ended up discovering that same requirement (7.6), but couldn't get it to 7.6 either, again, no online method works and I couldn't find a 7.6 resource.  I am considering just giving up and trying a new server with a restored backup of the old one, but I worry that there may be something I configured at some point that will not transfer and cause me unexpected trouble.  I'm doing a backup now to attempt this method, as soon as it's done I'll try booting the 8.1 DVD again and attempt to screenshot where it reboots.

Thanks again for your assistance.

G.

[guest22]

I ended up discovering that same requirement (7.6), but couldn't get it to 7.6 either, again, no online method works and I couldn't find a 7.6 resource.

That can be found here http://mirror.canada.pialasse.com/releases/obsolete/7.6/iso/x86_64/

I am considering just giving up and trying a new server with a restored backup of the old one, but I worry that there may be something I configured at some point that will not transfer and cause me unexpected trouble.  I'm doing a backup now to attempt this method, as soon as it's done I'll try booting the 8.1 DVD again and attempt to screenshot where it reboots.

Maybe for the best, for you will likely run into trouble when trying to upgrade a 32 bit system to a 64 bit system.


Again, I advise you to install SME9.0 64-bit and restore the backup from your 7.5.1

[glashoppah]

Okey-dokey.... I went the "install new 9.x server and restore" route, and I'm almost there.  I have run into a roadblock and so far searching for answers hasn't turned up much.  It's a simple question:  how can I change a user's home directory?  I'm very old-school unix so I'm used to just modifying control files, but that stuff appears to never work in these new linux distros.    Anyway, I have a special user account and I need to point it to a particular directory for its home - how can I do that?

Thanks again for the assistance.

G.

[guest22]

That depends on protocol and OS client environment used, SMB, FTP, SSH etc ...?

[glashoppah]

I'm speaking of the SSH/Telnet login home directory (the one reflected in the final field of a username entry record in the /etc/passwd file), currently set by default to:

/home/e-smith/files/users/$USERNAME

G.

[guest22]

Maybe these contribs are useful:

http://wiki.contribs.org/Remoteuseraccess
http://wiki.contribs.org/UserManager

[CharlieBrady]

Major upgrades (e.g. 7 >eight can only be done from the DVD, not the on-line repositories. Simply pop in the CD/DVD. While you are at it, please consider to upgrade all the way to SME Server 9.x 64-bit.

AFAIK, it is not possible to upgrade via DVD from 32bit to 64bit.

[CharlieBrady]

Again, I advise you to install SME9.0 64-bit and restore the backup from your 7.5.1

That's what I'd advise too.

[CharlieBrady]

It's a simple question:  how can I change a user's home directory?

Why do you want to? Who knows that you will break if you do that.

[glashoppah]

The command "config setprop" documented at the bottom of the Remote User Access link looks promising - it's close to what I want.  However, I can find no apparently exhaustive list of such possibilities.  The documentation on DB variables I found here:

http://wiki.contribs.org/DB_Variables_Configuration#Console_Mode

does not even list the ftp option, much less a TTY shell option.

This was trivial "back in the day", when one only needed to modify /etc/passwd.  There must be a place to change this for this one user.  I don't care about any defaults for all users, just one of them.

Thanks again.

G.

[glashoppah]

FYI - location of default home is in /etc/cpu.conf, however that conf file is generated elsewhere.  I've been able to modify the /etc/passwd- file and get the behavior I want, but I'd like to get the entry inserted in whatever database needs it so /etc/passwd- doesn't get re-genned and break the user.

G.

[glashoppah]

That's what I'd advise too.

Exactly what I ended up doing. 

G.

[CharlieBrady]

There must be a place to change this for this one user.

There isn't. Why do you want to change that one user?

[glashoppah]

There isn't. Why do you want to change that one user?

So I can have that one user drop into a different home directory than the default upon login?

G.

[glashoppah]

There isn't.

Actually there is:  modifying the final field in the user's entry in /etc/passwd- gave me the effect I wanted.  However, given that pretty much every control file in here has some process which comes along and regenerates it from time to time from a database, I'd like to know if there's a database that governs /etc/passwd- so I can ensure the change is permanent.

G.

[Stefano]

So I can have that one user drop into a different home directory than the default upon login?

G.

you did not answer to Charlie's question: why?

please, explain what you are trying to achieve, not your solution

thank you

[CharlieBrady]

However, given that pretty much every control file in here has some process which comes along and regenerates it from time to time from a database...

/etc/passwd isn't generated from a database.

As you've discovered, usermod can change a user's home directory. If you do that, I'm sure some things will break - e.g. backup/restore, mail, ftp or samba. Just warning you...

[glashoppah]

/etc/passwd isn't generated from a database.

As you've discovered, usermod can change a user's home directory. If you do that, I'm sure some things will break - e.g. backup/restore, mail, ftp or samba. Just warning you...

Cool.  I noticed that manually modding the /etc/passwd file did the trick (also changed the user's shell with it), like in the "good old days", and after over a day it's still there.  Appreciate the warning, no need for any of those services so I'm A-OK. 

Thx again,

G.

[CharlieBrady]

Appreciate the warning, no need for any of those services so I'm A-OK.

You could have just used 'useradd' to create your non-standard user, and ignore the UI. That would have been even more like the "good old days".