Preparing Red Hat Enterprise Linux for server upgrade

If your Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation is hosted by IBM® i, complete these steps to upgrade and prepare your Red Hat Enterprise Linux for the upgrade.

1. Ensure that your IBM i is running version 5 release 3 or later.
2. Upgrade to the currently supported level of Red Hat Enterprise Linux before migrating to the target server. To find what levels of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are supported, see IBM Prerequisite . To upgrade to the currently supported level of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, complete the following steps:
   1. Obtain a copy of the currently supported level of Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation CD or DVD.
   2. Vary off the Linux server by completing the following steps:
      1. Type WRKCFGSTS *NWS, and then press Enter.
      2. Type 2 next to the NWSD that you want to shut down, and then press Enter.
   3. Place the first CD or DVD into the optical drive of the IBM i logical partition that is sharing its resources.
   4. Change the NWSD of the Linux server to point to the installation stream file of the CD or DVD by completing the following steps. Write down the information that you currently have for your NWSD.
      1. Enter CHGNWSD
      2. Specify the following information:

         NWSD (servername)
         IPLSRC (*STMF)
         IPLSTMF ('/QOPT/Red_Hat/ppc/iseries/boot.img')
         IPLPARM (*NONE)

   5. Open a virtual console session to your Linux server.
   6. Vary on your NWSD. Complete the following steps to vary on your NWSD:
      1. Type WRKCFGSTS *NWS, and then press Enter.
      2. Type 1 next to the NWSD that you want to start, and then press Enter.
   7. Follow the distribution documentation to complete the steps in the console.
3. After you have upgraded to currently supported level of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, vary off your NWSD by completing the following steps:
   1. Type WRKCFGSTS *NWS, and then press Enter.
   2. Type 2 next to the NWSD that you want to shut down, and then press Enter.
4. Change the NWSD of the Linux server to point to the NWSSTG. Enter in the information that you previously wrote down before you changed the NWSD. Enter CHGNWSD to change the NWSD.
5. Vary on your NWSD. Complete the following steps to vary on your NWSD:
   1. Type WRKCFGSTS *NWS, and then press Enter.
   2. Type 1 next to the NWSD that you want to start, and then press Enter.
6. Locate a Linux distribution kernel that is compatible with a Power Systems™ model.
7. Obtain access to an installation kernel through either of the following methods:
   • Linux installation CDs or DVDs
   • Network-based installation source
8. Mount the CD or DVD by entering the following command:

   mount /dev/iseries/vcda /mnt/cdrom

   Note: Enter the appropriate name for your virtual device in the previous command.
9. Download the latest Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel to the virtual disk of the partition.

   A POWER® Linux kernel is required to ensure the compatibility with the Power Systems model. If you have upgraded the Linux server to the currently supported level (found at IBM Prerequisite), you are still running theIBM i kernel and must obtain the POWER Linux kernel. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux, this kernel might be on the second installation CD or DVD under the /Red_Hat/RPMS directory. The following example shows how to download this kernel. Enter the first command, and then the second command to retrieve the name of your Linux kernel. Enter the last command to copy the kernel.

   cd /media/
   find . -name "kernel*ppc64*"
   cp cdrom/Red_Hat/RPMS/(name of your POWER Linux kernel) /root/

10. Shut down your Linux logical partition.
11. Save the entire server using option 21 of the GO SAVE command. For more information, see the GO SAVE topic. Complete the following steps:
    1. Vary off the network server...*ALL
    2. Unmount file systems..........Y
    Note: Create two copies of the backup media.
12. Using Linux back up tools, save any critical data contained within the virtual disk.