12.04lts upgrade

[joe672]

It was mentioned to me on a older post that i should maybe update to the latest version. 12.04lts has been doing what i need it to, if its not broke why fix it? Its been sometime, i need to do some other stuff so am considering updating the ubuntu version while am there. Is there a dummy guide for wiping, and installing a new version? back ups etc. any tips to make the install/setup easier. anything that should be saved etc

i run a basic vps, it might not have the requirements to run a newer version

[ActionParsnip]

You aren't getting any updates so your browser, kernel and all libraries and application have unpatched security holes. It is technically "broken". Yes the OS will run but you can also install Windows 95 and it will run....not broken..right?

How did you install the OS? What steps did you take? Is this a dual / multiboot system? If so, what other OSes are on the system please?

[joe672]

Id do it via my vps control pannel. but the latest version on there Ubuntu 16.04 64bit Clean install, no other OS. Any advice that will help building it all back up would be handy, ive backed up my website files and databases, anything else that would help?

maybe its not on the list because the sever doesnt meet the requirements

[yancek]

12.04lts has been doing what i need it to, if its not broke why fix it?

I think you may be missing the point about 12.04. I doubt any one would care if you continue to use it as long as that computer is not connected to the internet and if you have a LAN with other computers they are also not connected to the internet. If your insecure 12.04 is hacked, it can be used as a bot to hack other computers which is what we (or at least I) are concerned about.

There could be several options in your case but we would need to know more details on your hardware. 20.04 might not work well on your hardware so post some info on that. You may need a lighter version. How many drives do you have? How large are they? Do you have unallocated space? If so, you may be able to install a new version of Ubuntu/Lubuntu to test and keep the old version until the new is configured and working the way you want.

You should already have backups of all your important data and configuration files, do that on a regular basis and don't wait until you have a problem.

Another option you could use is to download a current Ubuntu/Lubuntu iso and put it on a usb to test it to see which works better or works at all on your hardware.
I don't know how old your hardware is but if it is much older than 10 years, I'd go with Lubuntu or do an online search for Linux on older computers which will give a lot of results.
Good Luck.

I'd also be curious as to where you got that list of ubuntu releases as it is seriously outdated and certainly not from the Ubuntu site.

https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop

[coffeecat]

I doubt any one would care if you continue to use it as long as that computer is not connected to the internet

Not only does it seem to be connected to the internet, but the OP actually specifies that it is a VPS. And, according to their other thread, they appear to be running a website. And have managed to change permissions for everything in public_html to 777. Oh dear!

I'd also be curious as to where you got that list of ubuntu releases as it is seriously outdated and certainly not from the Ubuntu site.

I may have misunderstood, but I think that list is from their hosting company, listing the versions of Ubuntu server that their customers can set up as a VPS.

Oh dear!

@joe672, if my inferences and assumptions are correct, and your hosting company only offers eol versions of Ubuntu server, my only advice would be to find another hosting company. At least then you could set up a fresh VPS with a supported versions of Ubuntu and without damaged permissions.

[joe672]

Coffecat You are correct Ive asked the hosting company if they can add it, what are the system requirements? Ive removed the 777 permission to be safe untill i figure it out. Alot of egg on the face, bare with me

Edit: Company said: Not currently as our OVZ platform as it doesn't support the newer kernel but can be installed on KVM.

[grahammechanical]

Is this Ubuntu server edition or Ubuntu desktop edition? It is the desktop environment that forces the user to have more powerful hardware. When I first installed Ubuntu desktop it was version 7.04 and I am now running 20.04 desktop. In the meantime I have increased the RAM to 4GB from 1GB and upgraded the video adapter to one that has 1GB video memory instead of an adapter that had 256K video memory.

You are told that OVZ platform does not support the newer kernel, I think that means that their support staff are not trained to support the newer kernel. My Internet Service Provider does not support Linux. Their support staff are only trained on Microsoft products and may be Apple products. So, they cannot advise me on setting up an internet connection using Linux. And their information documents make no mention of how to do things in Linux.

I would agree with the earlier suggestion to dual boot to test things out and set everything up. Especially if it is the server edition that you are running.

Regards

[QIII]

Just a tidbit to chew on: 16.04 was mentioned. It is also EOL, so it should not be used in any situation where it is exposed to the web.

[joe672]

what are the system requirements for 20.04 server?

[QIII]

From this, found easily enough by googling "ubuntu server minimum hardware", we get:

The recommended system requirements are:
• CPU: 1 gigahertz or better
• RAM: 1 gigabyte or more
• Disk: a minimum of 2.5 gigabytes

You could potentially get away with less, but I wouldn't try.