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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Upgrade vs Reinstall (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago by YourHuckleberry@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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I'm a generalist SysAdmin. I use Linux when necessary or convenient. I find that when I need to upgrade a specific solution it's often easier to just spin up an entirely new instance and start from scratch. Is this normal or am I doing it wrong? For instance, this morning I'm looking at a Linux VM whose only task is to run Acme.sh to update an SSL cert. I'm currently upgrading the release. When this is done I'll need to upgrade acme.sh. I expect some kind of failure that will require several hours to troubleshoot, at which point I'll give up and start from scratch. I'm wondering if this is my ignorance of Linux or common practice?

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[–] kevincox@lemmy.ml 5 points 10 months ago

I think yes. In general if you have good setup instructions (preferably automated) then it will be easier to start from scratch. This is because when starting from scratch you need to worry about the new setup. But when upgrading you need to worry about the new setup as well as any cruft that has been carried over from the previous setup. Basically starting clean has some advantages.

However it is important to make sure that you can go back to the old working state if required. Either via backups or leaving the old machine around working until the new one has been proven to be operational.

I also really like NixOS for this reason. It means that you can upgrade your system with very little cruft carrying over. Basically it behaves like a clean install every update. But it is easier to roll back if you need to.