Chapter 5. Performing the upgrade

Procedure

1. On your RHEL 8 system, start the upgrade process:

   # leapp upgrade --target <_target_os_version_>

   Replace target_os_version with the target OS version, for example 9.6. If no target OS version is defined, Leapp uses the default target OS version specified in the table 1.1 in Supported upgrade paths.

   • If you are using custom repositories from the /etc/yum.repos.d/ directory for the upgrade, enable the selected repositories as follows:

     # leapp upgrade --enablerepo <repository_id1> --enablerepo <repository_id2> ...

   • If you are upgrading without RHSM or using RHUI, add the --no-rhsm option.
   • If you are upgrading by using an ISO image, add the --no-rhsm and --iso <file_path> options. Replace <file_path> with the file path to the saved ISO image, for example /home/rhel9.iso.
   • If you have an Extended Upgrade Support (EUS), Advanced Update Support (AUS), or Update Services for SAP Solutions (E4S) (Red Hat Knowledgebase) subscription, add the --channel channel option. Replace channel with the value you used with the leapp preupgrade command, for example, eus, aus, or e4s. Note that you must use the same value with the --channel option in both the leapp preupgrade and leapp upgrade commands.

   • If you are using RHEL for Real Time or the Real Time for Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) in your Red Hat OpenStack Platform, enable the deployment by using the --enablerepo option. For example:

     # leapp upgrade --enablerepo rhel-9-for-x86_64-rt-rpms

     For more information, see Configuring Real-Time Compute.

   • If you are upgrading with LiveMode, set the LEAPP_UNSUPPORTED=1 environment variable and use the --enable-experimental-feature option with the livemode value. For example:

     # LEAPP_UNSUPPORTED=1 leapp upgrade --enable-experimental-feature livemode

     For more information, see Configuring the upgrade with LiveMode.

     Important

     LiveMode is a Technology Preview feature only. Technology Preview features are not supported with Red Hat production service level agreements (SLAs) and might not be functionally complete. Red Hat does not recommend using them in production. These features provide early access to upcoming product features, enabling customers to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process.

     For more information about the support scope of Red Hat Technology Preview features, see Technology Preview Features Support Scope.

2. At the beginning of the upgrade process, Leapp performs the pre-upgrade phase described in Reviewing the pre-upgrade report.

   • If the system is upgradable, Leapp downloads necessary data and prepares an RPM transaction for the upgrade.
   • If your system does not meet the parameters for a reliable upgrade, Leapp terminates the upgrade process and provides a record describing the issue and a recommended solution in the /var/log/leapp/leapp-report.txt file. For more information, see Troubleshooting.

3. Manually reboot the system:

   # reboot

   The system boots into a RHEL 9-based initial RAM disk image, initramfs. Leapp upgrades all packages and automatically reboots to the RHEL 9 system.

   Alternatively, you can run the leapp upgrade command with the --reboot option and skip this manual step.

   If a failure occurs, investigate logs and known issues as described in Troubleshooting.

4. Log in to the RHEL 9 system and verify its state as described in Verifying the post-upgrade state.
5. Perform all post-upgrade tasks described in the upgrade report and in Performing post-upgrade tasks.