Subject: [TOOLS-DEVELOPMENT] OpenSuse 42.3 - IETF

From: Glen <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 7 May 2018 10:14:35 -0700

Dear Tools Development Team -

The current version of OpenSuse used by the ISOC ELIST servers, 42.2,
has now reached end of life, and been replaced by a new version, 42.3.
I would like to start the discussion about upgrading the IETF servers
to this version.

In a normal world, this upgrade is essentially a larger version of the
normal system maintenance we perform routinely.  The servers
themselves are generally up and online during the upgrade process - a
process which takes approximately 3 hours to download and install.
Minor interruptions during the process will occur as services restart
- a minute or two here or there.  As things restart, our engineers
check to make sure that all services are running and working, and that
all else is in order.  We end the process with the usual reboot and
final post-reboot check.  I've upgraded 14 servers in various
configurations from 42.2 to 42.3 so far, and there have been zero
problems in all of those cases.

But.... given the large number of moving parts and customized software
packages in operation on the IETF's servers....  we definitely want to
take extra care with this process here.  As you know we have a primary
production server and two hot backup servers, and so our plan would of
course be to upgrade the hot backup servers first, and check those for
any anomalies, before upgrading the production machine in place.

And of course, despite all efforts, some things may still be impacted,
so we would want to do this at a time when all of our engineers are
online and Robert and Henrik can also be online, so that we can all
work together on resolving any last-minute items that may come up.

Can we please start the discussion about this process?  This is not a
fire, but something I do think we should undertake soon, since it does
seem to be less disruptive than updates generally are.  OpenSuse 42.2
was retired from support a few months ago.  OpenSuse 42.3 is expected
to be maintained until January 2019.

Thank you,
Glen
--
Glen Barney
IT Director
AMS (IETF Secretariat)