Migrate CentOS to Rocky Linux

This topic explains how to migrate a self-hosted Orchestrator running CentOS to an Orchestrator (version 9.4 and later) running Rocky Linux.

NOTE: Orchestrator release 9.1.10+, 9.2.10+, 9.3.3+, and 9.4.2+ are built on Rocky Linux. Other releases of Orchestrator are built on CentOS. CentOS will no longer receive security updates or patches after June 30, 2024.

To migrate from CentOS to Rocky Linux, you will complete the following steps:

Deploy the Rocky Linux Orchestrator OVA.
Backup the current Orchestrator.
Prepare the new Orchestrator for restore.
Power off the old Orchestrator.
Restore the new Orchestrator.
Reconfigure the network (optional).
Start Orchestrator services on the new Orchestrator.
Validate the migration.

Prerequisites

Download Orchestrator OVA 9.4 or later (Rocky Linux base). See Download the Orchestrator Package for details.
Upgrade your current Orchestrator to the new Orchestrator OVA version you downloaded. For example, 9.4.2_40552.
SSH in to both the old and new Orchestrators and verify that you have admin rights to both VMs.
Determine the IP address, DNS, and NTP configuration for the new Orchestrator.

Best Practices

Perform migration during a maintenance window.
Do not power on the old Orchestrator after migration.
Run a backup immediately before migration.

1. Deploy the Rocky Linux Orchestrator OVA

Deploy the VM with thick provisioning.
Power on the VM and open the virtual console.
Log in using the admin credentials:

The default admin user name is admin.

The default admin password is admin.
Reset the passwords for both admin and root users when prompted.
Run the setup script:
```
orc-setup-c
```
Configure the following settings as prompted:
- Timezone
- NTP
- IP address, mask, and gateway

2. Back Up the Current Orchestrator

In the current (old) Orchestrator, navigate to Orchestrator > Software & Setup > Backup > Backup Now.
Copy the backup file to the new Orchestrator. For example, use scp (from the old Orchestrator):
```
scp -O backup_filename.zip gms@<new_orchestrator_ip>:/home/gms/gms.zip
```
(Omit -O if you are using older Unix versions that don’t support it.)

3. Prepare the New Orchestrator for Restore

SSH in to the new Orchestrator.

Enter the following command to move the file and set permissions:

mv /home/gms/backup_filename.zip /home/gms/gms.zip
chown gms:gms /home/gms/gms.zip

4. Power Off the Old Orchestrator

Power off the old Orchestrator VM.
Do not bring it back online once the new Orchestrator is running.
Appliances will continue to operate during the migration.

5. Restore the New Orchestrator

SSH in to the new Orchestrator.
Enter the following command to confirm you’re logged in as gms:
```
whoami
```
If you are not logged in as gms, enter the following command:
```
sudo su - gms
```
Enter the following command to stop the Orchestrator service:
```
su
service gms stop
```
Run the restore script:
```
./restore.sh
```
The script expects /home/gms/gms.zip as input.

6. Reconfigure the Network (Optional)

If you want to reuse the old Orchestrator IP address, run the setup script:

orc-setup-c

7. Start Orchestrator Services on the New Orchestrator

Enter the following command to start the services:
```
su
service gms start
```
Enter the following command to verify the services:
```
service gms status
```
Log in to the new Orchestrator using your existing credentials.

8. Validate the Migration

In Orchestrator, navigate to Support > Technical Assistance > Partition Management and verify that the Stats Collector table contains sufficient data.
In Orchestrator, navigate to Administration > Orchestrator Reachability to verify that the appliances can communicate with the new Orchestrator.
Update the management IP address if it has changed. Allow time for the Cloud Portal to push the new IP address to the appliances.
Confirm all appliances reconnect and show online.