Update FC3 to FC4 via SSH?
 

Hello,

I just had a new box set up with Fedora Core 3 pre-installed.
It's a remote box that I can FTP transfer files to and then control via SSH command line.

Is it possible to update the OS to Fedora Core 4 via FTP and SSH only?
Here's the catch. I'm a complete newbie. I can navigate the command line and enter simple commands but that's about it...so far.

Any help is appreciated.

BoxWrench

I would not recommend it. Here's why ...

To do many parts of an operating-system upgrade, particularly a major upgrade like this one, you need to "put the patient on a heart-lung machine." The operating system whose parts you are replacing is therefore not the one that is running on the machine at the time.

You do this by burning a CD-ROM (or a USB stick, if your machine can boot from that and if the stick is big enough), which contains at least enough software to boot into Linux, identify the hardware on the device, identify the network and so-on.

Now, once you are at that point, then yes, you can arrange to draw the material that you need to install, from some network server.

Red Hat actually provided tools to do that sort of thing, which they called "Kickstart" disks. I haven't been in the Red Hat world for a while so I don't know if they still provide it. Probably, they still do.

remote access to server
 

Thanks for the response sundial, I'm not even sure where to start then if that's the case.

I work in OS X and I am familiar with the concept of starting up and identifing the hardware from an insolated OS in order to install a new one to the hardware. Nice analogy for the "heart lung machine", I'll have to remember that one.

Problem is the remote factor of this dedicated server. I don't even know what state the physical box is in. Customer service isn't really that helpful and only gives me the option to pick an OS from a separate control panel and a script will automate the install of FC2 or FC3. They won't update their scripts to FC4 for a "long time" they said.

I suppose that your saying that the difference between FC3 and FC4 is so much that there is no 'up2date' or 'yum' like options to simply update to a newer verison?

That's coming from the mind of a newbie...sorry if it makes your eyes roll : )