How to Upgrade from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 using Leapp

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If you would like to upgrade from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8, please bookmark this article as a reference to guide you to documentation, tools, and troubleshooting that you will need to complete the upgrade.

Many organizations are planning an upgrade from RHEL 7 to RHEL 9. Upgrading to RHEL 8 is the first step on the path to RHEL 9.

RHEL 7 Lifecycle

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 reached the end of its maintenance support 2 phase on June 30, 2024. End of Maintenance (EOM) support means that you will lose access to critical and important impact security advisories (RHSAs) and urgent priority bug fix advisories (RHBAs). Although Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 reached end of maintenance on June 30, 2024, it is not reaching End of Life. End of Life (EOL) occurs when a product or service is discontinued.

Start the RHEL Upgrade Process with LEAPP

Leapp is the supported tool for in-place RHEL upgrades. Leapp allows customers to retain the original subscription (that is attached to the system), system configurations, and custom repositories and 3rd party applications and is included with RHEL 7. Leapp is only supported for some upgrade paths.

Red Hat also offers interactive tools to help you evaluate how to begin:

Ensuring continual support while upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

In order to continue to receive support from Red Hat, please review and comply with the RHEL In Place Upgrade Support Policy.

You must have valid and tested backups in place prior to attempting the In-Place Upgrade.

Creating backups is described in documentation about system backup and recovery.

When to consider more help

Red Hat offers additional help for users who are tasked with an upgrade:

  • If you are new to RHEL, please consider making time in your upgrade schedule for training. Red Hat offers training on upgrading and migrating RHEL.
  • If you have a Technical Account Manager, they may be able to help you through the first stages of your upgrade. Please do not hesitate to reach out to them.
  • If you are working on a large, enterprise installation and are under a tight deadline, you may want to consider consulting to help expedite your upgrade.

You can explore Extended Life Support for RHEL 7 if you expect to need Bug Fixes, Security Patches, and RCAs.

Key references during your upgrade

Getting Started

Documentation

Scenarios

Troubleshooting, FAQs, and Other Information

Extended Life Support

Didn't find your error? Try searching the customer portal or start a discussion to chat with other customers.

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