Updating python on Fedora 7
 

Hi there,

I am currently using python 2.5 on Fedora 7. However, I am trying to upgrade to python 2.6. Being new to Fedora I don't really understand how I can do this. I read online that updates can be perrformed with the 'yum' command. When I type 'yum upgrade python' the command returns an error that it can't find anything. I also read about some sort of repositries that this command some how uses. I thought perhaps these might be out of date or not the rights ones, but I'm really guessing as I don't understand the process.

I would be very grateful if someone could help me figure out how to upgrade python to 2.6 using Yum or another method?

Many Thanks,
Tom

You won't get any new software or security updates on Fedora 7. It's way out of date. Please install Fedora 11 or wait a few days until Fedora 12 comes out. The release is scheduled for 17.11.2009.

But if you do continue using Fedora 7, i don't believe yum is installed by default on that version. You will have to download an upgraded version of python and it's dependencies and install them with RPM

Yum has been installed by default since at least FC4.

If you do update keep in mind the Fedora only supports any one version for 13 months, after that no updates of any kind.

When Fedora dropped long term support a lot of us switched to Centos. Centos is RHEL(Red Hat Enterprise Linux) with the logos removed. It is free to download/update(unlike RHEL) and is binary compatible with RHEL. Centos/RHEL5.X was based on FC6(as RHEL4 was based on FC3) so it will feel very familiar. Centos/RHEL5.X will have support until at least 2014 and probably longer due to Fedora's bug issues (which is why RHEL6 is not out yet). Centos/RHEL handles the updates of major packages a little different. They back port newer stuff into older (more stable)versions. This makes it appear that the system is much older than it really is. For example Centos/RHEL runs a 2.6.18 kernel but in reality the current kernel 2.6.18-164 is closer to a vanilla .30 kernel than it is a vanilla .18 kernel. This is done to maximize stability.

Yum is installed on Fedora 7. However, be aware that many critical system utilities depend on Python (many of the Fedora admin utilities are written in it). Upgrading outside of RPM could cause problems with the system. You should take sycamorex's advice and upgrade to supported version of Fedora. Alternatively, you could compile a more recent version of python and install it into /usr/local instead of /usr, so your new version can coexist with the system version.

On a seperate note i didn't know that about CentOS so thanks for that

Thanks for the replies guys.

In summary it looks as though I should be upgrading Fedora to the latest release. Before I do that, I'm keen to know what the benefits of doing so, in addition to the newer python version. In particular, does the newer version have higher hardware demands? At the moment FC7 is running quite happily on a 1.1GHz machine and I would like to avoid any hardware upgrades. For example From XP to Vista I had to replace a machine.

If I do upgrade, how do I go about doing it? Would I have to format and re configurer the entire machine or can it be done via ssh?

Many thanks,
Tom

The hardware requirements have been the same for Fedora for a long time (at least FC3?).

Fedora highly recommends doing a clean install every time. There is limited success (depends a lot on specific hardware) on updating one version at a time (F7->F8->F9->F10->F11-F12(F12 very soon now) via yum but it is much quicker to just do a clean install. Having done a number of clean installs that have been (previously) upgraded this way, the machines almost always perform better after a clean install. While the config files generally do no change in any major way, it does not take very many running just a little slow to really reduce performance. If the process are just running slow (and not actually crashing) it is virtually impossible to find where the problem lies or to even know that there is a problem(without doing a direct comparison with a clean install).

Thanks lazlow that really helpful to know. What do you mean by a clean install? Do I have to actually wipe the system, or does it just install over the top of the existing system.

Surely it is impractical for business to re format and configure each time a version is released every 12 months or so or am i missing something?

Tom

Don't worry about reformatting now. Just make sure you know which partition the existing system is on, insert the installation CD/DVD and follow the instructions. Make sure that you do a new install (as opposed to an upgrade). It might ask you if you want to format the partition, etc. You'll see the installation process should be quite straightforward.
Is F7 the only system that you've got on that computer? If so, you don't need to worry about anything. If you've got eg. windows on some other partition and would like to keep it (crazy idea, I know:) -just joking), then make sure you know which partition your fedora7 is on.
HTH

Yes, a clean install is format/reload. Installing over the top is usually considered an upgrade.
Hardly. Businesses want 24/7 uptime, so having a system go flaky because of two versions of the same library installed, different kernel, etc., doesn't make sense. Scheduling downtime for a reload is the best and cleanest way of going. And most businesses have backups and recovery systems, so if the new install goes wrong, you can roll back.

I see. However, as a start up I don't have the time to really install a fresh system every time a new release is issued. The problem is actually I'm worried I will experience a problem re configuring to the same system previously and spend days/weeks figuring it out and not running my day to day tasks.

Unless there is a way to persist all your settings i.e. config files for samba, svn, smtp, ssh etc?? The thought of having to set these up again worries me!

Thanks again,
Tom

You could back up your samba, etc. config files. Besides, as others suggested, switch to CentOS - they provide long-term support of a release. Fedora is a testing-ground. They release new versions every 6 months.

As sycamorex suggested, back up your configuration files, then you'll be all set.

A couple of suggestions, from someone who's been there (often):

- When you build the system, put your data (i.e. /home, /software, /whatever-you-call-it), on a separate partition from the '/' volume. Why? When you do a fresh install, at build time, just format the '/' partition, and re-mount the other one. That way, you get a fresh OS, and all your data is intact.
- Put ALL your config files on that data partition, and make symbolic links to them, to their correct locations. Example: "ln -s /home/configs/apache2 /etc/apache2", will link the directory (and all the files in it), from your data volume, to the 'right' location. Again, this is a separate location, so it's 'safe' from reloads. This doesn't/can't work with ALL applications, but does with alot of them. If you want to get fancy, you can build a simple shell script, so that the re-linking is done very quickly after a rebuild.
- MAKE BACKUPS...often, weekly at minimum. Use a good 'bare-metal' recovery tool, like mkcdrec, systemimager, or mondoarchive, that can essentially 'snapshot' your system, and make you bootable images. Recovery time is VERY short, even in the event of a total system failure.
- Hard drives are cheap. If you're concerned about a wipe/reload, just pull the hard drive, and shove a new one in. I just bought a 500GB for my laptop, on sale for $79. If the reload doesn't go well, put the old drive back in, and you've lost nothing but a little time. Also, you can then spend an extra $20 or so on an external drive enclosure, so you can plug the old drive into a USB port, and just copy your data over. Again, your original drive is untouched.....

topnotchtom
This is why Fedora IS NOT RECOMMEND for use as a server .Fedora is a FAST development distro , and as such updates DO AND WILL break things ! Upgrading from one one to the next only works about 50% of the time .
The 13 month life cycle is WAY TOO SHORT for a server .

USE RHEL 5.4 or CentOS 5.4