CentOS roadmap and schedule with opalstack ?

dragonxi

CentOS Linux 7 ?
• possible to keep ? / through 2024 ?

CentOS Linux 8 ?
• upgrade optional ? / to the end of 2021 ?

CentOS Stream ?
• upgrade mandarory ? / when ?

CentOS fork ?
• which one ? / when ?

klynton

Hi,

CentOS 7 will be available through 2024.

We don't currently support CentOS 8. Since they recently announced the changes you mention (CentOS Stream, multiple forks) we stopped working on the CentOS 8 version of the platform. Once everything gets figured out in the next few months I'll evaluate it again.

dragonxi

Thanks, keep in touch & stay covid-19 safe!

pjrobertson

Hi @klynton - are you able to shed any more light on the upgrade roadmap you guys have? Things seem to have settled down a bit more now, with Alma and Rocky Linux.

Thanks

klynton

Hey @pjrobertson,

RHEL 9 was released a few weeks ago so the alternative distributions (Rocky/Alma) should be updated in the next month or 2 and other software from there. I'm hoping that we'll be ready to start building out the new platform in Q4.

pjrobertson

Thanks Klynton for the response! Q4 sounds like a good target. I assume that would mean end of Q4 or 2023 Q1 for a roll-out at the earliest?

sean

pjrobertson if we're able to start the work in 2022 Q4 then a 2023 Q1 rollout seems reasonable, but we won't really know until we're at that point.

anjanesh

When in 2024 are you replacing new servers with CentOS successor AlmaLinux / Rocky Linux ? Just wondering when I should opt for a new VPS if the need arises.

sean

anjanesh our best estimate right now is some time in 2023.

dragonxi

Will the Fast Process Management (FPM) & PHP be supported by the new Linux OS version whatever you choose ?

sean

dragonxi yes, the new servers will still use PHP-FPM.

anjanesh

Just wondering in which month the major OS update would be in.

nick

Thanks for following!

Unfortunately, we don't have a set date or month yet.

I'm sure it will be announced on all our social media when that becomes more clear.

Please stay tuned 🙂

pjrobertson

Hey Opalstack 🙂

Any clear timeline on upgrades to Centos 8 / Alma / Rocky? Installing modern software/apps on Opalstack is really difficult now (I just came across an issue that g++ 4.9+ is required to build a node module). I may end up having to leave Opalstack if there's no light at the end of this tunnel by mid 2024 🙁

sean

pjrobertson I believe we're on track to have new servers with Rocky 9 some time in Q2.

Note that we most likely will not be upgrading existing servers, but we can migrate customers to new servers with minimal downtime.

Regarding g++, you can use an updated dev stack in your shell by running source scl_source enable devtoolset-11, for example:

[demo@opal14 ~]$ source scl_source enable devtoolset-11
[demo@opal14 ~]$ g++ --version
g++ (GCC) 11.2.1 20220127 (Red Hat 11.2.1-9)
Copyright (C) 2021 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

pjrobertson

Great to here about the Q2 schedule, and thanks for the devtoolset-11 tip 🙂

anjanesh

Will the Rocky servers be ready by this year end ?

sean

anjanesh we're not going to use Rocky, it's going to be AlmaLinux 9. We should have the first new servers ready before the end of the year.

zaps

sean I'm sure that many of us here appreciate how much work it must be, to set up servers with a new platform and new major versions of many crucial software packages. And we're really willing you on to success, knowing how many unforeseeable obstacles are likely turn up, on the path you are treading.

How's it going, there? First AlmaLinux 9 VPS within a month, and first AlmaLinux in Q1 2025, do you think? I guess that we're not going to see new services being offered in the next couple of weeks, are we? No sense in launching such a major change just before a period when you'll all be hoping for a quiet, low-maintenance Christmas & New Year.

Will you be looking for some users to volunteer to beta-test setups and things in the New Year?

sean

zaps we're super-close to being ready and it's still 🤞possible🤞 that we'll have a rollout prior to the end of the year.

If you'd like to volunteer to test then please email our support team and we'll contact you when the time comes. Thanks for volunteering!