Migrate from CentOS Linux to Springdale Linux

In this Linux tutorial, you will learn how to migrate from CentOS Linux to Springdale Linux, which is a free but rarely used CentOS alternative.

 

Table of Contents:

• What is Springdale Linux?
• Environment Specification
• Check your Current Linux Operating System
• Updating your Linux Server
• Remove CentOS Specific Software Packages
• Install Springdale Linux Yum Repositories
• Check your New Linux Operating System
• Conclusion

 

What is Springdale Linux? :

Springdale Open Enterprise Linux (formerly known as PUIAS Linux) is developed by the members of the computing staff of Princeton University and Institute for Advanced Study.

This project was started long before ​CentOS or other projects were available. Although Springdale Linux is not widely used, but it is a stable downstream fork of Red Hat Enterprise Linux thats make it a potential alternative to CentOS 8.

Springdale Linux is a complete operating system for desktops and servers, built by compiling the source packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Besides these upstream packages, the project also provides several other repositories: "Addons" which contains additional packages not included in a stock Red Hat distribution, "Computational" which carries software specific to scientific computing, and "Unsupported" which holds various experimental packages. The distribution is maintained by the Institute for Advanced Study and Princeton University in the USA.

Recommended Book: Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming by Mark Sobell & Matthew Helmke

Recommended Training:1Z0-409 Oracle Linux Fundamentals Certified Practice Exam

 

Environment Specification:

We are using a minimal CentOS 8 virtual machine with following specifications.

• CPU - 3.4 Ghz (2 cores)
• Memory - 2 GB
• Storage - 20 GB
• Operating System - CentOS Linux 8.3
• Hostname – centos-8.centlinux.com
• IP Address - 192.168.116.230 /24

 

Check your Current Linux Operating System:

Connect with centos-8.centlinux.com as root user with the help of a ssh client.

Execute following commands to check the version of your current Linux operating system.

# cat /etc/os-release
NAME="CentOS Linux"
VERSION="8"
ID="centos"
ID_LIKE="rhel fedora"
VERSION_ID="8"
PLATFORM_ID="platform:el8"
PRETTY_NAME="CentOS Linux 8"
ANSI_COLOR="0;31"
CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:centos:centos:8"
HOME_URL="https://centos.org/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.centos.org/"
CENTOS_MANTISBT_PROJECT="CentOS-8"
CENTOS_MANTISBT_PROJECT_VERSION="8"

# cat /etc/centos-release
CentOS Linux release 8.3.2011

Also check the version of your Linux Kernel.

# uname -r
4.18.0-240.1.1.el8_3.x86_64

 

Updating your Linux Server:

Update software packages of your CentOS Linux by using dnf command.

# dnf update -y

The process also update the Linux kernel, therefore, it is a good practice to reboot your operating system with new kernel.

# reboot

 

Remove CentOS Specific Software Packages:

Before migrating to Springdale Linux, you have to remove software packages from your operating system related to CentOS branding and yum repositories.

Execute following command to remove CentOS specific software packages.

# rpm -e --nodeps centos-gpg-keys centos-linux-release centos-linux-repos

If you are migrating from a GUI based CentOS Linux then you must also remove centos-backgrounds, centos-indexhtml and centos-logos packages.

 

Install Springdale Linux Yum Repositories:

To migrate our CentOS 8 operating system to Springdale Linux (SDL), you are required to install SDL yum repositories.

The latest stable release of Springdale Linux is 8.4, therefore we are installing yum repositories for the same.

# rpm -ivh http://springdale.princeton.edu/data/springdale/8.4/x86_64/os/BaseOS/Packages/{springdale-appstream-8-0.sdl8.2.noarch.rpm,springdale-core-8-0.sdl8.2.noarch.rpm,springdale-release-8.4-0.42.el8.x86_64.rpm}
Retrieving http://springdale.princeton.edu/data/springdale/8.4/x86_64/os/BaseOS/Packages/springdale-appstream-8-0.sdl8.2.noarch.rpm
Retrieving http://springdale.princeton.edu/data/springdale/8.4/x86_64/os/BaseOS/Packages/springdale-core-8-0.sdl8.2.noarch.rpm
Retrieving http://springdale.princeton.edu/data/springdale/8.4/x86_64/os/BaseOS/Packages/springdale-release-8.4-0.42.el8.x86_64.rpm
warning: /var/tmp/rpm-tmp.cxDAkl: Header V3 RSA/SHA256 Signature, key ID 41a40948: NOKEY
Verifying...                          ################################# [100%]
Preparing...                          ################################# [100%]
Updating / installing...
   1:springdale-core-8-0.sdl8.2       ################################# [ 33%]
   2:springdale-release-8.4-0.42.el8  ################################# [ 67%]
   3:springdale-appstream-8-0.sdl8.2  ################################# [100%]

Now, execute following dnf command to start migration process.

# dnf distro-sync -y

Reboot your Linux server with newly installed Linux kernel.

# reboot

GRUB menu has a newly entry pertains to Springdale Linux. Press <ENTER> to start your operating system with the new kernel.

After successful startup, you will reach at the Linux commandline (CLI) based login prompt.

Login as root user.

 

Check your New Linux Operating System:

Execute the following commands at Linux bash prompt to check the operating system version and other details.

# cat /etc/os-release
NAME="Springdale Open Enterprise Linux"
VERSION="8.4 (Modena)"
ID="rhel"
ID_LIKE="fedora"
VERSION_ID="8.4"
PLATFORM_ID="platform:el8"
PRETTY_NAME="Springdale Open Enterprise Linux 8.4 (Modena)"
ANSI_COLOR="0;31"
CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:springdale:enterprise_linux:8.4:GA"
HOME_URL="https://springdale.princeton.edu/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://springdale.princeton.edu/bugzilla"

REDHAT_BUGZILLA_PRODUCT="Springdale Open Enterprise Linux 8"
REDHAT_BUGZILLA_PRODUCT_VERSION=8.4
REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT="Springdale Open Enterprise Linux"
REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT_VERSION="8.4"

# cat /etc/springdale-release
Springdale Open Enterprise Linux release 8.4 (Modena)

Also check the version of your new Linux kernel.

# uname -r
4.18.0-305.7.1.el8_4.x86_64

 

Conclusion:

In this Linux tutorial, you have learned how to migrate from CentOS Linux to Springdale Linux. We recommend that, you should further explore this operating system and decide what makes Springdale Linux a good alternative of CentOS Linux?