Upgrade nerc-admin01 to meet dependencies of OSP 17 upgrade

[aabaris]

In order to upgrade OpenStack to version 17, VMs running on nerc-admin01 will need to be converted form i440 to q35 chipset in order to support upgrade to RHEL9.

To perform this update we need to: 1) determine strategy for backing up existing system 2) decide upgrade vs clean re-install 3) agree on target OS, currently planning RHEL9 4) decide what hardware to use: a) existing R430 b) decommission R430 from overcloud and migrate to that c) install additional disk to existing R430 in order to have a easy back-out plan 5) downtime a) DHCP outtage? or migrate to backup HW b) When?

[StHeck]

We must first convert nerc-admin01 from CentOS 7.8 to RHEL 7.9: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/8/html/converting_from_an_rpm-based_linux_distribution_to_rhel/index

[StHeck]

Then, we must upgrade it from RHEL 7.9 to RHEL 8.8: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/8/html/upgrading_from_rhel_7_to_rhel_8/index

[StHeck]

Before upgrading nerc-admin01 from RHEL 8.8 to RHEL 9.2, we must modify the VM machines:

Change FW type from pc-i440fx-rhel7.0.0 to pc-i440fx-rhel7.6.0 in all VMs so they will boot when host goes to 9.2. [root@nerc-admin01 ~]# virsh edit From: \hvm</type> To: \hvm</type> We can move them to q35 later. It's a little more involved. Plus, the q35 FW is newer in RHEL 9.2.

Since Red Hat removed support for QXL and SPICE in their virtualization packages due to a H.264 codec licensing issue, it would be easier to change the graphics here using virt-manager then before upgrading to 9.2. Here is their fix using virsh edit: https://access.redhat.com/solutions/6955095

[StHeck]

This is my plan of action:

centos7.9-to-rhel9.2.txt

[StHeck]

nerc-admin01 is now running RHEL9.2.