Re: Migrate running IA32 system to Debian AMD 64?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello, I have a running critical production server, running Debian Sarge 32 Bits version. I would like to migrate to Debian-AMD64 system, how can I do it, without interrupting for more than 5 minutes my services which are running on it? I mounted the ISO debian-31r0a-amd64-binary-1.iso at /mnt but I don't know how to start manually the Debian installation program. How can I start the install program manually? I would like to install the Debian AMD64 distribution to a temporary device (USB key), then I do a chroot, if all works fine I will try to boot on the USB key, and then if all works very well, I will copy the USB key files to the old harddisk partition to complete the migration. Is this possible? My idea: 1. Compile a 64-bit kernel, with 32-bit emulation support. 2. Reboot into that new kernel, without changing any other programs. The new kernel should work fine with the old 32-bit programs. Assuming you have enough disk space, use debootstrap to install a 64-bit installation in a chroot while the system is up and running. (Take care not to start any network sw in the chroot.) Your users will be using the 32-bit software while you work. Note that you can bind-mount directories from the 32-bit system in the 64-bit chroot, so that directories like /home are accessible from both 32-bit land and 64-bit land. 3. Do a gradual update by stopping one 32-bit service, copying stuff over to the installed 64-bit service, and restarting the 64-bit service instead of the 32-bit service. Test that it works well before proceeding to the next service. Downtime on each service will then be short. If something doesn't work, restart the known working 32-bit service before pondering what went wrong. 4. After a while, there is no 32-bit code left running. Wait some days to be sure. 5. Finalize by removing the 32-bit stuff and make the 64-bit root the real root instead of a chroot. (If you later need to run some rare 32-bit only sw, install that in a chroot instead.) I did something like this, but it was only a home machine. Still, family members get upset if they can't check their mail whenever they want to . . . Helge Hafting -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Migrate running IA32 system to Debian AMD 64?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have a running critical production server, running Debian Sarge 32 Bits version. If it is critical then don't touch it. I would like to migrate to Debian-AMD64 system, There is no easy way to change architectures without reinstalling. how can I do it, without interrupting for more than 5 minutes my services which are running on it? You can't do it. I will even go so far as to say you cannot do a fresh installation in five minutes. Changing from one architecture to another would take longer. Is this possible? No. Bob signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Re: Migrate running IA32 system to Debian AMD 64?
On 9/20/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I would like to migrate to Debian-AMD64 system, how can I do it, without interrupting for more than 5 minutes my services which are running on it? Last Saturday, I implemented a process converting data from one of our systems to a new protocol version. My part of that effort was on the database side, and involved about a 1 hour outage, which was added to several hours of sysadmin effort... For that change to involve 1 hour of database outage required that some of us clever folks start planning how to do this about a year ago. You're without hope in this, at least based on the methodology you seem to think you're using. Point #1. You need another server to do this. If you can't get one, you can't have a five minute outage. Point #2. You need to have a REALLY CLEAR inventory of what services you need to migrate. It is entirely likely that there will be some that can be migrated painlessly, possibly even without any evident outage. You need to have a plan for each and every service that is to be migrated. Otherwise the migration will fail. We have one server at work running an ancient (and now totally unmaintainable!) Debian release; a project to shift services off of it in 2003 has still not completed. We got databases off of it, but there is still an Apache instance running a bunch of little CGI apps that haven't been successfully run anywhere else :-(. Planning and intent took place, but it turned out to be just too painful to migrate everything off the box. -- http://www3.sympatico.ca/cbbrowne/linux.html The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. -- Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)
Re: Migrate running IA32 system to Debian AMD 64?
On Wed, 2005-09-21 at 23:14 -0400, Christopher Browne wrote: On 9/20/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [snip] there is still an Apache instance running a bunch of little CGI apps that haven't been successfully run anywhere else :-(. Planning and intent took place, but it turned out to be just too painful to migrate everything off the box. They are either monitoring some ancient bit of undocumented h/w, or are scarily written Perl 4, or both. -- - Ron Johnson, Jr. Temporarily not of Jefferson, LA USA PGP Key ID 8834C06B I prefer encrypted mail. To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost. Gustave Flaubert signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part
Re: Migrate running IA32 system to Debian AMD 64?
you could change to a 64bit kernel i believe but as for swapping out all your software in 5 mins... chances are youll muck something up. so from a system admins point of view i would seriously advise you to get another machine, set it up, copy your data across. then when you are happy, swap that machine out as the live machine. i just dont think a 5 minute downtime would be at all possible. Dean [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello, I have a running critical production server, running Debian Sarge 32 Bits version. I would like to migrate to Debian-AMD64 system, how can I do it, without interrupting for more than 5 minutes my services which are running on it? I mounted the ISO debian-31r0a-amd64-binary-1.iso at /mnt but I don't know how to start manually the Debian installation program. How can I start the install program manually? I would like to install the Debian AMD64 distribution to a temporary device (USB key), then I do a chroot, if all works fine I will try to boot on the USB key, and then if all works very well, I will copy the USB key files to the old harddisk partition to complete the migration. Is this possible? -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
