We are running RedHat 8.0 on our Compaq ProLiant DL370 G2 server.

The system has never seen any updates other than Samba 3.0.x.x.
I'm quite unsure what's the best way to update it. Moreover I don't know if Fedora is the right thing to go for - or should i look at RedHat Enterprise linux?

In case you recommend Fedora: Would I have to update to 9.0, then FC1, then FC2, ... or is there a direct way?

Any hints/opinions?

Thanks!!

I don't know all the particulars of your situation but personally I think I would start with a fresh OS and migrate the data and configs from the old server.

thanks for your reply.

If that's the only option we have then we're going to stick with RedHat 8.0.
Is there a way to keep that up to date security-wise?

Red Hat 8.0 hasn't been supported for a few years. You could try taking the .src.rpm files for Centos, RHEL or Fedora and rebuilding them for your system, but I doubt that would work - especially if this is a production environment.

Alternatively, and this could break your system entirely, compile the security updates and program updates from source - of course, any source builds you do won't be visible to your RPM database and that would cause difficulties in that way.

I would have to second the advice that you install a new OS - CentOS is based on RHEL (in fact, it is RHEL with all the RH logos and proprietary software removed) - to eep your system secure and up to date.

Is there any special reason that you cannot do this?

Xavier, thanks for pointing this out!

The reason why it's hard to do is because this would take a lot of time and hassle - and i'm not so sure if this'd really be worth it.

while i've set up samba and cups and some scripts there's an accounting application installed that's the core of our business. i didn't install it by myself and there's hardly any documentation - so i don't know how to move it to a fresh system.

hence i think we have to leave everything as-is.

the server is running in our LAN behind two firewalls. the "only" danger is VPN-tunnelled telnet access that's coming in over the internet.

many thanks for your help!

With this app, is it a purchased app or one developed in house? If it's a third party app, surely they can provide you with the latest version and/or documentation?

If it's in house, well, I feel your pain

I'd say it's something between in-house and third-party. It's a small company that doesn't provide too much documentation but charges a LOT for every minute of telephone support. for setups they send an expert - charging a LOT too. so there must be a really good argument to convince our boss that it'd be worth all that... ;-)

Wow. Seems as though they believe they have you by the ... short hairs If you have a spare box - not necessarily a full blown racked server - could you install, say CentOS and then use it to test whether you can port everything?

If not, then I would strongly suggest either looking for another package that does the same thing, or using your buying power to negotiate more favourable rates from your supplier. The Eighties are long gone and the days of suppliers holding companies ransom should be long gone.

yeah - that company still gives you that 80ies feeling.
unfortunately they almost have the monopoly in that niche and their only competitor isn't any better (you have to buy some kind of shares if you want their software - very strange!).

thanks for the tip with the spare box - i think that's what i'm gonna do!

merry christmas!

And a Merry Christmas to you too. Good luck with the other box and don't forget - we're here to help if you get stuck.