Question CentOS2Alma conversion: Your expectations and experience?

[Peter Debik]

"Conversion inside containers (like Virtuozzo containers, Docker Containers, etc) are not supported." So I guess, that as long as it remains a container inside a virtualization environment it won't work. If you can convert it to something that behaves as if it was a fully self-sufficient server, e.g. a cloud account or virtual server that can boot from an image of your choice, that will probably work.

 

[Mark_NLD]

I can confirm that the script is looking good. At least we won‘t be able to migrate that soon due to the fact that we still have more than 100 customers using actively PHP 5.3.

Totally understand that the old PHP is out of support for a long time already, but many applications do not run on newer PHP versions and it still will take a long time to recode.

We are looking forward to run this conversion tool on 9 CentOS servers. Currently in the planning stages. We are going to run this tool on cloned servers first.

Unfortunately I do not think we will be running this conversion anytime soon. We have many websites running PHP 7.1 or older and it will take a very long time for this to change.

 

[Mark_NLD]

@Peter Debik Are you aware of any limitations in regards to the amount of logical volumes a CentOS server can have in order for the upgrade script to work? We have VM's with 3 to 9 logical volumes and are running into a bug that seems to be related to the amount of logical volumes a CentOS VPS has.

Because of this bug the upgrade script ran into an issue with the SQLite3 database that could not be found.

Unfortunately we lost the logs related to this bug. I'm hoping that my explanation will give you enough information to debug the issue further.

 

[Peter Debik]

I suggest to file the case in the Plesk Github issue tracker anyway: Issues · plesk/centos2alma
With or withouts. Maybe you can describe what happened in more details. The developer of the script is highly knowledgeable and might be able to derive causes and necessary fixes from a good description.

 

[enerspace]

Can the tool also be used with Cloudlinux?

 

[Peter Debik]

No, it cannot be used with Cloudlinux. This is a tool for CentOS 7.9 users to convert CentOS 7.9 to Alma 8.

 

[IanScott]

Well, I have some white knuckles right now.... tried this on a Linode.... been over an hour since I have seen:

**********
****************************** WARNING *********************************************** ] 10:20 / 22:33
The conversion is ready to begin. The server will be rebooted in 45 seconds.
The conversion process will take approximately 25 minutes. If you wish to prevent the reboot, simply
terminate the centos2alma process. Please note that Plesk functionality is currently unavailable.
**************************************************************************************

[========================>( stage 7 / action pause before reboot ) ] 11:05 / 22:33
**************************************************************************************
The conversion is ready to begin. The server will now be rebooted into the temporary OS distribution.
You cannot connect to the server via SSH during this process. To monitor the process, use a serial port console.
The conversion process will take about 25 minutes. Current server time: 20:17:44.
Once you are able to connect to the server, use one of the following commands to see or monitor the conversion status:
/root/centos2alma --status
or
/root/centos2alma --monitor

****************

Using the Linode Lish consoles, I only have access to grub.

I'll update this later, but I am not confident at this point, considering it's been over an hour now. I cannot connect to the server and everything is down.

 

[Peter Debik]

@IanScott To check what is going on you need your data center to connect a KVM console to your server so that you can see where it hangs in the boot phase. I've observed many times that SELinux relabelling of security contexts of files is causing an extremely long hold-up. This can easily take an hour or even longer, depending on the speed of your cpu, hard disk access and the number of files on the system. Even with /var/www and /home excluded, it'll probably last at least 20 minutes, typically 40 just for the rest of the files. But to really see where the boot phase hangs you need the console. It's a hardware device that the data center attaches to the server that lets you remotely see the screen of the server as if you were in front of it.

 

[Petru]

Any plan for supporting the upgrade inside virutozzo containers? Given that a significant number of users predominantly opt for VPS servers over dedicated ones, this feature would be highly valuable.

 

[Peter Debik]

It is under discussion, but there are no specific plans yet. I'd not count on this to be ready in time.

 

[PieterC23]

Hi there,
I have done a migration a couple of days ago and all seemed to be working correctly except for a Redis server that I had configured outside of Plesk. I was able to get it working again after a reinstall of Redis itself. Then today I found out that all mails from all domains keep getting deferred. I have tried these instructions but to no avail. Any ideas on how to get it working again? Server is on AL8.9, Plesk 18.0.59, running Postfix and Dovecot.

 

[Peter Debik]

@PieterC23 By "migration" you mean not centos2alma conversion, but a migration using Plesk Migrator?
What is the exact error message on deferred mails?
Did you test mails against mail-tester.com? What is mail-tester.com saying about the mails you send?

 

[PieterC23]

@PieterC23 By "migration" you mean not centos2alma conversion, but a migration using Plesk Migrator?
What is the exact error message on deferred mails?
Did you test mails against mail-tester.com? What is mail-tester.com saying about the mails you send?

Hi Peter, sorry I maent centos2alma conversion using the provided script. The error message in mailq was "delivery temporarily suspended: connect to 127.0.0.1[127.0.0.1]:10024: Connection refused". I tried the plesk repair --mail -y, but this also did not solve the problem. Then I noticed that the Plesk Email Security extension mentioned that Amavis and ClamAV were not installed (even though I recall they were installed on CentOS7). I reinstalled those and that got the mail to work again and I was able to requeue all deferred mail using postsuper -r ALL.

 

[Peter Debik]

@PieterC23 Thank you for the details. Maybe it makes sense to describe the case in detail on Issues · plesk/centos2alma as a bug?

 

[maximus99]

Hi All,

In our environment we are using CloudLinux 7.9 as OS and on top of it we have hosted plesk obsidian 18.0.52 . Since EOL is near we would like to migrate it to Almalinux8 or inplace upgrade of CloudLinux8.

When we checked with CloudLinux they said only for Cpanel/no panel for now they have come up the feature of supporting inplace upgrade from CloudLinux 7 to 8 . But for plesk is not supported yet.

Any suggestions of idea how to perform this upgrade or anyone already tried ? Kindly advise

 

[jeffersonbruno]

Hi All,

In our environment we are using CloudLinux 7.9 as OS and on top of it we have hosted plesk obsidian 18.0.52 . Since EOL is near we would like to migrate it to Almalinux8 or inplace upgrade of CloudLinux8.

When we checked with CloudLinux they said only for Cpanel/no panel for now they have come up the feature of supporting inplace upgrade from CloudLinux 7 to 8 . But for plesk is not supported yet.

Any suggestions of idea how to perform this upgrade or anyone already tried ? Kindly advise

Since in-place upgrades for Plesk on CloudLinux 7 to 8 aren't supported, consider setting up a new server with AlmaLinux 8, then use Plesk's Migrator Tool to transfer your data and configurations. Ensure thorough backups before starting and test the migration in a non-production environment first. This approach minimizes risk and ensures a smoother transition.

 

[Huraira112200]

many of you are still using CentOS 7.9. Support for CentOS 7.9 will end June 30th, 2024. Since 2023 Plesk provides a tool to convert a CentOS 7.9 installation to an Alma 8 installation. The conversion tool does pre-upgrade checks, then converts the operating system including repositories and binaries that need to be upgraded, then also upgrades Plesk to the Alma 8 version. The script is available for free at GitHub - plesk/centos2alma: CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8 conversion tool .

I wonder who of you has already used it and what your experiences where? What were your expectations and have these expectations been met? Do you plan a conversion or rather migrate your CentOS 7.9 servers to another operating system using Plesk Migrator?

Many users have utilized the CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8 conversion tool provided by Plesk since its release in 2023. Feedback has generally been positive, with users appreciating the streamlined process and seamless transition to AlmaLinux 8. Expectations of a smooth migration with minimal disruption have largely been met. Some users may still opt to migrate to other operating systems using Plesk Migrator depending on their specific needs and preferences.

 

[LorisMod]

Tried on a decommissioned VPS, but unfortunately I failed miserably, too many errors. I will proceed to migrate to new servers and vps and then dispose of the previous ones.

 

[HHawk]

Yeah the script is not useful for us as these "older" Plesk servers ares still running on Virtuozzo. Furthermore we have a lot of server customers who are still using older PHP-versions. Yeah I know. But customer is king, right? Not at Plesk though...

...now Plesk has come up with a devious plan to use this as a new cash grab by enforcing us to pay for their latest scam called "Extended Lifecycle Support for EOL Operating Systems" program... We have now "suddenly" to have pay extra to keep these servers up-to-date? Really?

We have a contract for Plesk licenses, not for this "invented" program. Though I appreciate the idea, we and our customers are not paying for this. Heck, we even have a few old CentOS 6.x servers running with Plesk. These customers do not want an upgrade. And guess what; even without updates their servers are still running fine! So we really do not need this program.

It's funny that Plesk's/Webrpos' "Sr.Manager, Partner Success" had some "excellent" advice for us; if we do not want to be charged for the "Extended Lifecycle Support for EOL Operating Systems" program, we simply have to upgrade all of our 100+ servers to AlmaLinux 8.x. Hahaha... (I am laughing, but I am actually furious). We cannot simply upgrade these customers, because;

1. The Plesk servers are created in an Virtuozzo environment and therefor it's not possible to upgrade these servers to AlmaLinux 8.x.
   • So the only way is to setup these servers completely new with AlmaLinux 8.x. and migrate them with the Plesk Migration Tool
     • For this we lack the time or resources (every Plesk migration will have it's own issues, as always)
2. The majority of these customers still use an older PHP-version, which will be removed when you upgrade to AlmaLinux 8.x
   • If we force the upgrade upon our customers, their websites will go down (and probably lose income)

Why is Plesk always making life difficult for their long-standing Plesk Partners? Plesk / WebPros / Oakley Capital Investment Group doesn't give anything about their partners at all. They just force new things upon them. E.g. yearly increased pricing of 10% - 14%. It's becoming tiresome. It's like they do not care if it hurts the business of their "valued" partners at all... The only thing in which they are interested in finding new ways to get some extra money from them. Sigh.

I think the idea behind the "Extended Lifecycle Support for EOL Operating Systems" program is good, but poorly executed without thinking. It should be optional, because the majority of our Plesk server owners are already unhappy with the pricing (and price increases every single year the past 6 years or so) and they do not want to be charged extra because of this program. And to be honest; the only one who ends up paying for this, are us, as we have contracts with our customers which does not include "invented" programs like the current "Extended Lifecycle Support for EOL Operating Systems" program. A contract is a contract. That goes for us, that goes for our customers, but it also goes for Plesk in general. They cannot simply make new things up and enforce them upon you and making you pay for it! It's really absurd.

 

[rkbonatto]

Why update from Centos7 to Alma when plesk in Centos receives updates before Alma, and Alma has been presenting problems and instabilities with Plesk?