Libranet 3 to Sarge w/security updates

[mdevour]

Okay, after several months of using my near-virgin LN3 installation without problems, I have a reason to start learning to do upgrades: vBulletin has released a new version that requires a newer version of PHP than is available with the stock sources list.

It looks to me like my best path is to follow the advice in Joe Potter's "Libranet and updating --- an opinion" thread (http://www.debianquestions.com/ln-archive/viewtopic.php?t=8914&highlight=&sid=3c1aaa2aa3b0ea802a2bdde2a18f5831)...

1) You might stick with "semi-pure" LN3 which is really just Sarge with a few non-Debian touches. In your /etc/apt/sources file you comment out all lines that do not say "sarge" or "stable" and then add backports. Rename the preferences file to preferences.old or something like that. Then upgrade as normal.

Stay with sarge for a year or two years just upgrading though backports or the security repositories. You will be relatively happy as long as you do not have ultra-new equipment that you want to run.


That sounds like exactly what I need to do for now. This machine is anything but cutting edge, I'm not doing anything that requires me to stay ultra up-to-date, and it'd be a relief to at least be able to do security updates to Sarge.

I'd like to post my sources file, before and after I modify it, so you people who actually know what you're doing can critique it with me, make sure I actually understand the instructions given above, and hold my hand as needed as I go through this process for the first time. :smiley4:

I just thought it'd be fair to warn y'all! On to my next post!

Mike D.

[mdevour]

Okay, so here's my present sources list, which I think is unchanged from the initial install except for the addtion of the Marillat repo:

################################################## ##############################
## Libranet APT Configuration
## File: /etc/apt/sources.list
##
## Removing, changing, or re-ordering entries in this file will prevent use of
## the Libranet archive. Un-commenting deb-src entries or adding additional
## mirrors is acceptable.
################################################## ##############################

deb ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/ sarge main contrib non-free
# deb-src ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/ sarge main contrib non-free

deb ftp://non-us.debian.org/debian-non-US/ sarge/non-US main contrib non-free
# deb-src ftp://non-us.debian.org/debian-non-US/ sarge/non-US main contrib non-free

deb ftp://security.debian.org/debian-security/ sarge/updates main contrib non-free
# deb-src ftp://security.debian.org/debian-security/ sarge/updates main contrib non-free

# The Libranet archive entries should come last:
deb http://archive.libranet.com/archive/libranet/ hemlock main
# deb-src http://archive.libranet.com/archive/libranet/ hemlock main

deb http://archive.libranet.com/archive/libranet/ hemlock-updates main
# deb-src http://archive.libranet.com/archive/libranet/ hemlock-updates main

deb http://archive.libranet.com/archive/libranet/ hemlock-security main
# deb-src http://archive.libranet.com/archive/libranet/ hemlock-security main

deb ftp://ftp.nerim.net/debian-marillat/ sarge main



So, is the following something like what I want to do?

################################################## ##############################
## Post-Libranet APT Configuration
## File: /etc/apt/sources.list
##
## Sarge/stable with backports and multimedia
################################################## ##############################

deb ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/ sarge main contrib non-free

deb ftp://non-us.debian.org/debian-non-US/ sarge/non-US main contrib non-free

deb ftp://security.debian.org/debian-security/ sarge/updates main contrib non-free

deb http://www.backports.org/debian sarge-backports main contrib non-free

deb ftp://ftp.nerim.net/debian-marillat/ sarge main



Is that about it?

I have to rename the apt preferences file. I can also replace it with a new one if I want to use any backports or do other pinning. I'll deal with that as needed later. Meanwhile, I have to do the update to Sarge, if this first step is correct.

I thank you for your help.

Mike D.

[Sergio1704]

Mike

I haven't touched Libranet and even less Sarge for quite a while now, so there is quite some guesswork in what I am going to say.

Generally speaking what you want to do should be OK.
You shouldn't need any pinning.
About Debian non-US see here:

http://www.debian.org/mirror/list-non-US

As to debian-marillat the repos have changed, see here:

http://www.debian-multimedia.org/

I don't know about backports, I have never used them.

Removing the Libranet archive from your sources list shouldn't make any difference, as I don't believe they are available any longer.

You might want to add Debian unofficial to your sources.list.
See here:

http://www.debian-unofficial.org/

and here

http://www.debian-unofficial.org/installation.html

Good luck!

[mdevour]

Hello Sergio! Good to talk with you again.


About Debian non-US see here:

http://www.debian.org/mirror/list-non-US


If I read that right, the US munitions export laws have changed so that a non-US repository is no longer needed to keep the hosts from accidentally "exporting" crypto stuff and getting people in trouble. So we don't need to include it at all any more, eh? Cool!


As to debian-marillat the repos have changed, see here:

http://www.debian-multimedia.org/


Okay so the marillat line needs changed to:

deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org sarge main

Thank you! That saved me a few more questions, I imagine!

Removing the Libranet archive from your sources list shouldn't make any difference, as I don't believe they are available any longer.

And whatever was in there that isn't updated away should continue to work until dependencies break them. (Adminmenu, etc...)

You might want to add Debian unofficial to your sources.list.
See here:

http://www.debian-unofficial.org/


That looks good as well.


and here

http://www.debian-unofficial.org/


This is a repeat of the last one. Did you miss something you intended to say?

So here's another attempt:

################################################## ##############################
## Post-Libranet APT Configuration
## File: /etc/apt/sources.list
##
## Sarge/stable with backports and multimedia
################################################## ##############################

deb ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/ sarge main contrib non-free

deb ftp://security.debian.org/debian-security/ sarge/updates main contrib non-free

deb http://www.backports.org/debian sarge-backports main contrib non-free

deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org sarge main

deb http://ftp.debian-unofficial.org/debian sarge main contrib non-free restricted

Let's see if that's better.

Good luck!

Well you have already assured me of better "luck" than I would have had otherwise! Thank you kind sir! :)

Mike D.

[stafio]

Below is how I have my Libranet 3 install set up currently. It's similar to what you've posted. I have added Debian testing and unstable for any packages that may not exist in stable. I also have Debian multimedia and Debian backports for other packages. I have things pinned so that the package will be installed from Debian stable if it's available there. Adminmenu is still up and running with this setup.

Here's my sources.list:


################################################## ##############################
## Libranet APT Configuration
## File: /etc/apt/sources.list
##
## Removing, changing, or re-ordering entries in this file will prevent use of
## the Libranet archive. Un-commenting deb-src entries or adding additional
## mirrors is acceptable.
################################################## ##############################

deb ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/ sarge main contrib non-free

deb ftp://mirror.direct.ca/pub/linux/debian-non-US/ sarge/non-US main contrib non-free

deb ftp://security.debian.org/debian-security sarge/updates main contrib non-free

# DEBIAN TESTING
deb ftp://ftp.no.debian.org/debian/ testing main contrib non-free

# DEBIAN UNSTABLE
deb ftp://ftp.no.debian.org/debian/ unstable main contrib non-free

# MARILLAT NON-FREE
deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org sarge main

# DEBIAN BACKPORTS
deb http://www.backports.org/debian/ sarge-backports main


And here is my preferences file:

Explanation: Libranet APT Configuration
Explanation: File: /etc/apt/preferences
Explanation:
Explanation: Removing or changing entries in this file will prevent use of the
Explanation: Libranet archive.
Explanation:
Package: *
Pin: release o=Debian,a=experimental
Pin-Priority: 1

Package: *
Pin: release o=Debian,a=unstable
Pin-Priority: 50

Package: *
Pin: release o=Debian,a=testing
Pin-Priority: 300

Package: *
Pin: release o=Debian,a=sarge
Pin-Priority: 500

Package: *
Pin: origin debian-multimedia.org
Pin-Priority: 400

Package: *
Pin: release a=sarge-backports
Pin-Priority: 200


You can force something to install from somewhere other than sarge if desired. For example, there is a newer version of KDE available in backports, so you could do apt-get -t sarge-backports install kdebase
I wasn't aware of debian-unofficial. I'll have to check it out.

[mdevour]

Hey Stafio,

Thanks for the look at your configuration. It's comforting to see mine is a modest subset. If I find that I need something that's not in Sarge or backports, then I'll have to do exactly that; pinning and running a mixed system.

Right now I need only a slightly newer version of PHP4 to get back to developing my vBulletin application. That and getting security updates will satisfy my sense of adventure (and security) for the time being. :smiley2: What I learn will make me braver when I'm ready for more.

Looks like I'm close to trying the upgrade.

Thanks!

Mike D.

[Sergio1704]

Mike

My final link should have ben:

http://www.debian-unofficial.org/installation.html

My suggestion: don't use pinning unless you know what you are doing. Especially don't mix stable with testing or unstable now, that is a guaranteed recipe for disaster :) (stable and testing are too far apart at the moment)

[mdevour]

Thank you Sergio. I'm happy to leave pinning and trying to run a mixed system as an exercise for the future. :)

As for other things I can or can't leave 'til later, there is the admonition to "back up your files..."

Which directories or partitions should I backup, and how? I'll do some searching on this next, of course, but if anyone wants to offer some guidance it probably belongs in this thread, if it's going to be tutorial for anybody else.

If I read the old posts right, I'm set up with reiserfs /boot, /, and swap partitions.

There's not a lot on this machine that's not on others, so it'd not be a great tragedy if something wedged. Still, I should know this.

Thanks!

Mike D.

[Sergio1704]

Basically you want to back up only your home directory, everything else can be replaced.
How? Well, it depends. If the size is no more than 4 Gig you can back up everything to DVD with K3B. Else you could use a Dual-Layer DVD.

Also using a separate home partition and/or having back up partitions helps a lot.

[mdevour]

Hi Sergio,

I don't have immediate access to a working DVD burner. We own two; one is on my wife's HP laptop, the other on my son's gaming machine, both running under Windows XP. Altogether my /home, /var and /etc directories would fit, but unless I can use one of those drives over the LAN I'm going to have it tough.

I've been familiarizing myself with the world of Linux backup programs... The high end includes a lot of enterprise stuff. It looks like the bottom of the complexity scale falls to the user poking at the command line.

So, to move along quickly, probably the easiest thing for me to do is turn everything into a tarball and dump it over the network onto my son's hard drive. I don't think being on a Windows box for a while would contaminate it! :smiley14:

If I end up re-installing, I'd just extract stuff from it to restore my user files and settings, right?

So, off to study up on tar and gzip... :smiley13:

Mike D.

[mdevour]

Okay, it looks like I'm about ready.

I've got my entire file system tarballed (4.4gig) and copied over to my son's hard drive. (Yes, overkill, I know.)

I've renamed /etc/apt/preferences to something else, and replaced my /etc/apt/sources file with the one discussed in a previous post.

I'm going to poke around in Synaptic and see if I can confidently do the upgrade. If I have any doubts, I'll bail out of that and follow the well worn instructions for apt-get.

See you on the other side, I hope! :smiley3:

Mike D.

Progress report:

I felt confident using Synaptic to do the upgrade. Just over 800 packages to be updated, only 9 to be removed, one not updated (lilo!) and about 40 to be installed. Inspecting the detailed listing of what it wants to do, everything looks straightforward. <fingers crossed>

It's doing about a 3 hour download at 60 to 80 kb/s via our ADSL connection.

One big download from the multimedia repository timed out, so I'll have to re-do at least that one.

I am comforted to see all the stuff coming in from the security repo...

Time to go read a book! :smiley4:

Mike

[mdevour]

Just as an aside, I had to solve a problem this morning which appears to have been a consequence of running K3B last night while I was checking out various options for backing up my data.

I couldn't get to anything via the ethernet connection. Firefox reported everything as being unreachable. Searching on 'ethernet lost' and similar keywords in the Libranet archive, the following thread seemed relevant...

http://www.debianquestions.com/ln-archive/viewtopic.php?t=9283

I'm also having massive issues with kde 3.5, which I've described in my kde 3.5 post elsewhere. I did a few things in the kde network control panel, as well as cleaned some stuff out of /tmp, did a dpkg-reconfigure on arts, kdenetwork and kdebase, re-did the network settings from adminmenu (they were mysteriously gone), did a restart and guess what? kde is now starting up again, and the network is working. Weird. Very weird. Very very weird.

I was having a similar problem to the one Dave (Morgoth) had. I finally solved it by executing the Network Setup Wizard from Adminmenu and then rebooting the machine.

I'm mentioning this in case it happens to anybody else who's following in my wake! :) It appears the vanilla Libranet install is vulnerable to this side effect from running certain KDE applications.

Be well,

Mike (2 hours to go!) D.

:smiley4:

[mdevour]

Well, 3 hours turned into closer to 5 when the connection speed started to bog down occasionally and a couple more big files failed do download. Had to hit the 'apply' button a couple of extra times to get the rest.

Once I got it all, it took more than an hour and a half for the packages to install. A few minor complaints came up during the install phase but nothing that looked dangerous.

Now, after a re-boot, everything looks the same and I haven't found anything that doesn't work -- yet. In fact, mplayer appears to be doing a better job displaying some embedded videos that were giving it problems before.

Well, tomorrow I'll upgrade php a little more and see if I can start installing the new vBulletin release.

Thank you for the guidance and reassurance, folks. So far so good!

Be well,

Mike D.

[Sergio1704]

Congratulations!!!

Now you can download everything you want from Sarge and from the extra repos.

[mdevour]

Thank you, Sergio! Yes, that's exactly what I wanted.

I've limped along on the original install without any real problems. I'm behind a firewall router so security hasn't been a big worry, and everything functioned pretty well. Finally being able to update "the Debian way" gives me a lot more confidence going foreward. It really is an easy to use system.

Next I need to see about PHP. It turns out the new vBulletin requires a point update to PHP4 just beyond what's in Sarge, so I guess I'll check backports to see what they've got. If nothing else, there's PHP5.

Now I'm more confident that I can handle all this. That's a good way to feel. :)

Be well,

Mike D.