In this tutorial, you will learn how to upgrade your existing CentOS Linux 8 servers to CentOS Stream.
What is CentOS Stream?:
CentOS Linux 8, as a rebuild of RHEL 8, will end at the end of 2021. It is recently announced by Red Hat. CentOS Stream continues after that date, serving as the upstream (development) branch of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Additionally, support for CentOS Linux 8 has been cut short, from May 31, 2029 to December 31, 2021.
When Linux support ends, your best option will be to upgrade CentOS 8 to Stream, which is a small delta and has regular updates like traditional CentOS Linux releases.
Although the Linux Community is not quiet happy with the Red Hat decision. They have initiated a new project named Rocky Linux, that aims to function as a downstream build just as CentOS had done previously, building releases after they have been added to the upstream vendor, not before. There is not currently an ETA for Rocky Linux release. Let's see if it meets the Linux user expectations.
Right now, the best option for CentOS 8 users is to upgrade to CentOS Stream.
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Upgarding CentOS Linux 8 to Stream:
Connect with your Linux server as root user by using a ssh client.
Check the version of your current Linux operating system.
# cat /etc/centos-release
CentOS Linux release 8.3.2011
We are currently using the CentOS 8.3, the output may vary on your Linux server.
Build cache for installed yum repositories.
# dnf makecache
Install centos-release-stream package by using dnf command.
# dnf install -y centos-release-stream
Now, replace the yum repositories of CentOS Linux with the CentOS Stream by executing following command.
# dnf swap -y centos-{linux,stream}-repos
Execute the following dnf command to upgrade and synchronize all software packages with CentOS Stream distro in your Linux server.
# dnf -y distro-sync
Your Linux server has been upgraded to CentOS Stream.
Check the version of your Linux server now.
# cat /etc/centos-release
CentOS Stream release 8
You have successfully upgraded your server from CentOS Linux 8 to Stream along with installed software packages.