What is a Fedora Version?

The version of Fedora you’re using tells you a lot about the state of the software that comes with the operating system. That’s because the version number corresponds to the date of release, and not the date of the last update. This means that you can find out when the operating system was first launched by looking at the version number. When you upgrade your Fedora version, you’re taking advantage of the latest software and security fixes. You can also switch to a different release channel, which we look at later in this article. This can be helpful if you’re in an organization where software updates are managed centrally.

Tips Before Upgrading Your Fedora Version

• We recommend that you perform a full backup of your system before you upgrade your Fedora version. This way, you can easily restore your data if something goes wrong with the upgrade. We also recommend that you check the release notes of the new version before you start the upgrade process. These notes will tell you what new features you can expect and any potential issues that you might run into.
• Before you can upgrade your Fedora version, you have to make sure you have enough space on your hard drive. This is because the upgrade process downloads the ISO file for the new version and installs it alongside the version you’re currently using. It then uses some clever technology to make sure you can toggle between the two versions.

You can upgrade to the latest version of Fedora using either the graphical user interface or the command line. We recommend using the graphical user interface method for the Fedora workstation and using the DNF command line upgrade plugin for Fedora servers.

Upgrading Fedora Workstation (GUI)

The Fedora Workstations are recommended to upgrade using the graphical user interface. Once a new Fedora version is available to upgrade, you will get a notification on the screen.

1. Then you should go to the Fedora Software section and open the Updates pane. Here you will find the notification of the latest version. Next click the Download button as shown in below screen:
   

   

2. Once the download is finished, you will get a Restart & Update button. Just click this button to continue the upgrade process. This will reboot your system and complete the Fedora Upgrade.
   

   

Wait for the Fedora upgrade process complete. You can utilize this time with other tasks or have a cup of coffee. Once the upgrade is finished, log in to the Fedora system and check the version.

Upgrade Fedora Using DNF (CLI)

The System upgrade is only officially tested over the 2 previous releases. For example, if the latest Fedora version is 36 then you should upgrade to this version from 35 and 34. If the Fedora version is older than 2 releases, it is recommended to do it in several smaller steps. You can find the current Fedora version with the following commands.

cat /etc/fedora-release 

Fedora release 35 (Thirty Five)

You can visit the official website to find the latest Fedora version details. Then follow the below instructions to upgrade Fedora version:

1. Uprade current packages on your system. To do this open a terminal and type:

   sudo dnf --refresh upgrade 
   

   This will take a long time as per the available packages to upgrade.

2. The dnf-plugin-system-upgrade is a plugin for the DNF package manager. Which is used to upgrade fedora systems quickly.

   sudo dnf install dnf-plugin-system-upgrade --best 
   

3. Once you have installed the plugin. Now download the latest packages of Fedora 36.

   sudo dnf system-upgrade download --refresh --releasever=36 
   

4. This will start the final upgrade process to get Fedora 36 on your system.

   dnf system-upgrade reboot 
   

   This will reboot your Fedora system and start the upgrade process. You will see a process bar like the below screenshot:

   The upgrade process takes time. Have a cup of coffee and be relaxed until the upgrade is complete.

Post Upgrade Tasks (Optional)

Once the system is upgraded successfully to the latest Fedora version. Rebuild the rpm database with the following command.

rpm --rebuilddb 

Also perform the Distro Sync on your latest Fedora version.

dnf distro-sync --setopt=deltarpm=0 

Conclusion

Nowadays, there is nothing better than using Linux because it has many benefits that are not available to users using other operating systems. One of the best things about using Linux is that you can easily upgrade the version of this operating system between different releases. Many users often wonder how they can upgrade the version of their Linux operating system because this process can be done easily. This article explains how you can upgrade the version of your Fedora Linux operating system.

Reference:
https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/dnf-system-upgrade/

The post Upgrade Fedora: A Step-by-Step Guide For Beginners appeared first on TecAdmin.

Why are security updates so important to install?

Your computer’s vulnerabilities are fixed with the help of security updates. These updates protect your system from local and remote threats. When developers found any vulnerability, they try to fix it quickly and then distribute the “quick fix” as a security update for you to install it as soon as possible. As those vulnerabilities become public, permitting the potential attackers to exploit them. This statement declares that an outdated system is vulnerable, but it is also recognized as a vulnerable system for attackers.

Security updates also play a significant role in the Linux environment since they give the administrator complete control over performance expectations. Therefore, it’s usually a good idea to keep your Linux software up to date, especially when we talk about its security. Users should generally install security updates in Linux systems within 30 days of their release date. This post will demonstrate the manual and automatic installation method of security update on your CentOS 8. So let’s head towards this journey!

Manual Installation Method of Security Updates:

Now you will look at the procedure of checking and installing security updates manually. Additionally, this section comprises checking system updates and manually updating a particular package on your system.

1. First of all, open up your terminal and write out the below-given command to note down your current kernel version of CentOS 8.

uname -r 

2. Next, we will check for the security updates on the system. For that, execute the following command:

dnf check-update 

3. To install the available security updates for installed packages on your CentOS 8, utilize this command:

sudo dnf update --security 

4. The output declares that the system doesn’t need any security updates. In other cases, execute the below-given commands:

sudo dnf upgrade --security 

5. You can also verify if there exists any notice related to security updates.

$ sudo dnf updateinfo 

6. To manually a single package, specify the name of the package in the “check-update” command. For instance, we will try to update the “firewalld.noarch” package manually.

sudo dnf check-update firewalld.noarch 

Automatic Installation method of Security Updates:

Although security updates can be checked and installed manually, the automatic way is safer. Unfortunately, sometimes, we may forget about the security updates, making our system vulnerable to inadvertent attacks.

1. In this regard, “dnf-automatic” is utilized to run automatic security updates and regularly using cron tasks and system timers. This also minimizes the need for ongoing engagement by the system administrator.
Write out the following command to install “dnf-automatic” on your CentOS 8.

sudo dnf install dnf-automatic  

Enter “y” for giving permission to the installation process.

2. Execute the below-given command to verify if everything is correctly installed or not.

rpm -qi dnf-automatic  

The output will provide you lots of information about the installed “dnf-automatic” which includes its version, group, size, packager, architecture, etc.

3. Now, we will update the configuration file of dnf-automatic.

sudo nano /etc/dnf/automatic.conf 

On your system, the dnf-configuration file will be edited:

4. In the commands section modify the “upgrade_type” as follows:

upgrade_type = security

5. Also, you have to add your system name in the “emitters” section and set its mode to “motd”.

system_name = CentOS 8

emit_via = motd

6. To begin the execution of the whole procedure, start and enable the “dnf-automatic” on your CentOS 8 system.

sudo systemctl enable --now dnf-automatic.timer 

7. Check the “dnf-automatic” service status.

sudosystemctl list-timers * dnf- * 

You will see the “no timer listed” output if you haven’t created any timer task. Otherwise, the output will let you know the details about the assigned tasks and their specific time.

Conclusion

Always be aware of the procedures to protect your system against threats and vulnerabilities. The first step is to keep your Linux-based system up-to-date. In this post, we have shared the methods of manual and automatic installation of security updates on your CentOS 8.

The post How To Install Security Updates on CentOS 8 (Manual + Automatic) appeared first on TecAdmin.

Check Fedora Version

Use one of following command to check your current Fedora system version. Fedora keeps its version details in /etc/redhat-release and /etc/fedora-release files. You can check any of file to get your current Fedora version.

$ cat /etc/fedora-release

Import Fedora 23 GPG Key

First import GPG key of Fedora 23 to your local system using following command. Its used for verifying packages before install them.

# rpm --import /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-fedora-23-$(uname -i)

Upgrade to Fedora 23

Use the following set of commands to upgrade your Fedora system to 23 to Fedora 22. This process may take long time as per your system configuration and network speed.

# dnf upgrade
# dnf clean all
# dnf --releasever=23 --setopt=deltarpm=false distro-sync --nogpgcheck

Verify Fedora Version

After successfully completing above steps you will find that your fedora system has been upgraded successfully to Fedora 23. During startup you will find startup screen like below. It will show you Fedora 23 boot screen.

After competing boot of system, login to your system and use the following command to check upgraded fedora version.

The post How to Upgrade to Fedora 23 from Fedora 22 using DNF appeared first on TecAdmin.