Red Hat Enterprise Linux-8-Upgrading From Rhel 7 To Rhel 8-En-Us

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 51

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

Instructions for an in-place upgrade from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 8

Last Updated: 2023-11-08


Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8
Instructions for an in-place upgrade from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Legal Notice
Copyright © 2023 Red Hat, Inc.

The text of and illustrations in this document are licensed by Red Hat under a Creative Commons
Attribution–Share Alike 3.0 Unported license ("CC-BY-SA"). An explanation of CC-BY-SA is
available at
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
. In accordance with CC-BY-SA, if you distribute this document or an adaptation of it, you must
provide the URL for the original version.

Red Hat, as the licensor of this document, waives the right to enforce, and agrees not to assert,
Section 4d of CC-BY-SA to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

Red Hat, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Shadowman logo, the Red Hat logo, JBoss, OpenShift,
Fedora, the Infinity logo, and RHCE are trademarks of Red Hat, Inc., registered in the United States
and other countries.

Linux ® is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States and other countries.

Java ® is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

XFS ® is a trademark of Silicon Graphics International Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States
and/or other countries.

MySQL ® is a registered trademark of MySQL AB in the United States, the European Union and
other countries.

Node.js ® is an official trademark of Joyent. Red Hat is not formally related to or endorsed by the
official Joyent Node.js open source or commercial project.

The OpenStack ® Word Mark and OpenStack logo are either registered trademarks/service marks
or trademarks/service marks of the OpenStack Foundation, in the United States and other
countries and are used with the OpenStack Foundation's permission. We are not affiliated with,
endorsed or sponsored by the OpenStack Foundation, or the OpenStack community.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Abstract
This document provides instructions on how to perform an in-place upgrade from Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 using the Leapp utility. During the in-place
upgrade, the existing RHEL 7 operating system is replaced by a RHEL 8 version.
Table of Contents

Table of Contents
. . . . . . . . . .OPEN
MAKING . . . . . . SOURCE
. . . . . . . . . .MORE
. . . . . . .INCLUSIVE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . FEEDBACK
PROVIDING . . . . . . . . . . . . ON
. . . .RED
. . . . .HAT
. . . . .DOCUMENTATION
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . MIGRATION
KEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . TERMINOLOGY
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . 1.. .SUPPORTED
CHAPTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . .UPGRADE
. . . . . . . . . . .PATHS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . 2.
CHAPTER . . PLANNING
. . . . . . . . . . . . AN
. . . .UPGRADE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. . . . . . . . . . . . .

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 3.
. . PREPARING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .FOR
. . . . .THE
. . . . UPGRADE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
..............
3.1. PREPARING A RHEL 7 SYSTEM FOR THE UPGRADE 10
3.2. PREPARING A SATELLITE-REGISTERED SYSTEM FOR THE UPGRADE 13

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 4.
. . .REVIEWING
. . . . . . . . . . . . THE
. . . . .PRE-UPGRADE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . REPORT
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
..............
4.1. ASSESSING UPGRADABILITY FROM THE COMMAND LINE 16
4.2. ASSESSING UPGRADABILITY AND APPLYING AUTOMATED REMEDIATIONS THROUGH THE WEB
CONSOLE 18

. . . . . . . . . . . 5.
CHAPTER . . PERFORMING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .THE
. . . . UPGRADE
. . . . . . . . . . . FROM
. . . . . . . RHEL
......7
. . TO
. . . .RHEL
. . . . . .8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
..............

. . . . . . . . . . . 6.
CHAPTER . . .VERIFYING
. . . . . . . . . . . .THE
. . . . POST-UPGRADE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STATE
. . . . . . . .OF
. . . THE
. . . . . RHEL
. . . . . .8
. . SYSTEM
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
..............

. . . . . . . . . . . 7.
CHAPTER . . PERFORMING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .POST-UPGRADE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TASKS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
..............

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 8.
. . .APPLYING
. . . . . . . . . . . SECURITY
. . . . . . . . . . . POLICIES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
..............
8.1. CHANGING SELINUX MODE TO ENFORCING 29
8.2. SETTING SYSTEM-WIDE CRYPTOGRAPHIC POLICIES 30
8.3. UPGRADING THE SYSTEM HARDENED TO A SECURITY BASELINE 30

. . . . . . . . . . . 9.
CHAPTER . . .TROUBLESHOOTING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
..............
9.1. TROUBLESHOOTING RESOURCES 33
9.2. TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS 33
9.3. KNOWN ISSUES 35
9.4. KNOWN ISSUES FOR IBM POWER 9 (LITTLE ENDIAN) AND IBM Z (STRUCTURE A) 38
9.5. OBTAINING SUPPORT 39

. . . . . . . . . . . 10.
CHAPTER . . . RELATED
. . . . . . . . . . .INFORMATION
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
..............

. . . . . . . . . . . .A.
APPENDIX . . RHEL
. . . . . . .7. REPOSITORIES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
..............

. . . . . . . . . . . .B.
APPENDIX . . RHEL
. . . . . . .8. .REPOSITORIES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
..............

. . . . . . . . . . . .C.
APPENDIX . . .LOCATIONS
. . . . . . . . . . . . .OF
. . . CRYPTOGRAPHIC
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KEYS
. . . . . .IN
. . RHEL
. . . . . . .8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
..............

1
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

2
MAKING OPEN SOURCE MORE INCLUSIVE

MAKING OPEN SOURCE MORE INCLUSIVE


Red Hat is committed to replacing problematic language in our code, documentation, and web
properties. We are beginning with these four terms: master, slave, blacklist, and whitelist. Because of the
enormity of this endeavor, these changes will be implemented gradually over several upcoming releases.
For more details, see our CTO Chris Wright’s message .

3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON RED HAT DOCUMENTATION


We appreciate your feedback on our documentation. Let us know how we can improve it.

Submitting feedback through Jira (account required)

1. Log in to the Jira website.

2. Click Create in the top navigation bar

3. Enter a descriptive title in the Summary field.

4. Enter your suggestion for improvement in the Description field. Include links to the relevant
parts of the documentation.

5. Click Create at the bottom of the dialogue.

4
KEY MIGRATION TERMINOLOGY

KEY MIGRATION TERMINOLOGY


While the following migration terms are commonly used in the software industry, these definitions are
specific to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

Update

Sometimes called a software patch, an update is an addition to the current version of the application,
operating system, or software that you are running. A software update addresses any issues or bugs to
provide a better experience of working with the technology. In RHEL, an update relates to a minor
release, for example, updating from RHEL 8.1 to 8.2.

Upgrade

An upgrade is when you replace the application, operating system, or software that you are currently
running with a newer version. Typically, you first back up your data according to instructions from Red
Hat. When you upgrade RHEL, you have two options:

In-place upgrade: During an in-place upgrade, you replace the earlier version with the new
version without removing the earlier version first. The installed applications and utilities, along
with the configurations and preferences, are incorporated into the new version.

Clean install: A clean install removes all traces of the previously installed operating system,
system data, configurations, and applications and installs the latest version of the operating
system. A clean install is ideal if you do not need any of the previous data or applications on your
systems or if you are developing a new project that does not rely on prior builds.

Operating system conversion

A conversion is when you convert your operating system from a different Linux distribution to Red Hat
Enterprise Linux. Typically, you first back up your data according to instructions from Red Hat.

Migration

Typically, a migration indicates a change of platform: software or hardware. Moving from Windows to
Linux is a migration. Moving a user from one laptop to another or a company from one server to another
is a migration. However, most migrations also involve upgrades, and sometimes the terms are used
interchangeably.

Migration to RHEL: Conversion of an existing operating system to RHEL

Migration across RHEL: Upgrade from one version of RHEL to another

5
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

CHAPTER 1. SUPPORTED UPGRADE PATHS


The in-place upgrade replaces the RHEL 7 operating system (OS) on your system with a RHEL 8
version.

Currently, it is possible to perform an in-place upgrade from RHEL 7 to the following target RHEL 8
minor versions:

Table 1.1. Supported upgrade paths

Architecture and system Source OS version Target OS version


configuration

64-bit Intel, IBM POWER 8 (little RHEL 7.9 RHEL 8.6


endian), and 64-bit IBM Z
RHEL 8.8 (default)

IBM POWER 9 (little endian) and RHEL 7.6 RHEL 8.4


IBM Z (structure A)

RHEL with SAP HANA RHEL 7.9 RHEL 8.6 (default)

RHEL 8.8

For more information about supported upgrade paths, see Supported in-place upgrade paths for Red
Hat Enterprise Linux.

6
CHAPTER 2. PLANNING AN UPGRADE

CHAPTER 2. PLANNING AN UPGRADE


An in-place upgrade is the recommended and supported way to upgrade your system to the next
major version of RHEL.

Consider the following before upgrading to RHEL 8:

Operating system - The operating system is upgraded by the Leapp utility under the following
conditions:

The latest available RHEL 7 version of the Server variant is installed, which currently is:

RHEL 7.9 on the 64-bit Intel, IBM POWER 8 (little endian), and 64-bit IBM Z
architectures and, when on SAP HANA, on the 64-bit Intel architecture

RHEL 7.6 on architectures that require kernel version 4.14: IBM POWER 9 (little
endian) or 64-bit IBM Z (Structure A)

NOTE

The IBM POWER 9 (little endian) and 64-bit IBM Z (Structure A)


architectures have reached end of life. The final upgrade path for these
architectures is from RHEL 7.6 to RHEL 8.4. Later releases to the in-
place upgrade, including new upgrade paths, features, and bug fixes, will
not include these architectures.

See Supported in-place upgrade paths for Red Hat Enterprise Linux for more
information.

Minimum hardware requirements for RHEL 8 are met.

You have access to up-to-date RHEL 7.9 and the target operating system (OS) version (for
example, RHEL 8.6) content. See Preparing a RHEL 7 system for the upgrade for more
information.

Applications - You can migrate applications installed on your system by using Leapp. However,
in certain cases, you have to create custom actors, which specify actions to be performed by
Leapp during the upgrade, for example, reconfiguring an application or installing a specific
hardware driver. For more information, see Handling the migration of your custom and third-
party applications. Note that Red Hat does not support custom actors.

Security - You should evaluate this aspect before the upgrade and take additional steps when
the upgrade process completes. Consider especially the following:

Before the upgrade, define the security standard your system needs to comply with and
understand the security changes in RHEL 8 .

During the upgrade process, the Leapp utility sets SELinux mode to permissive.

In-place upgrades of systems in Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) mode


cannot be fully automated by Leapp. If your scenario requires upgrading RHEL 7 systems
running in FIPS mode, you must:

IMPORTANT
7
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

IMPORTANT

To ensure that all cryptographic keys conform to the FIPS 140-2 standard,
start a new installation in FIPS mode instead of performing an in-place
upgrade of an already deployed system. Use the following steps only if the
security policy of your company allows this alternative upgrade process and if
you can ensure the regeneration and reevaluation of all cryptographic keys
on the upgraded system.

1. Disable FIPS mode in RHEL 7.

2. Upgrade the system using Leapp. You must follow the pre-upgrade, upgrade, and post-
upgrade instructions as in any other in-place upgrade.

3. Enable FIPS mode in RHEL 8. See Switching the system to FIPS mode in the RHEL 8
Security hardening document for details.

4. Re-generate cryptographic keys on your system. See Appendix C, Locations of


cryptographic keys in RHEL 8 for more information.

After the upgrade is finished, re-evaluate and re-apply your security policies. For
information about applying security policies that have been disabled during the upgrade or
newly introduced in RHEL 8, see Applying security policies .

Storage and file systems- Always back up your system prior to upgrading. For example, you
can use the Relax-and-Recover (ReaR) utility, LVM snapshots, RAID splitting, or a virtual
machine snapshot.

NOTE

File systems formats are intact. As a result, file systems have the same limitations
as when they were originally created.

High Availability - If you are using the High Availability add-on, follow the Recommended
Practices for Applying Software Updates to a RHEL High Availability or Resilient Storage Cluster
Knowledgebase article.

Downtime - The upgrade process can take from several minutes to several hours.

Satellite - If you manage your hosts through Satellite, you can upgrade multiple hosts
simultaneously from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 by using the Satellite web UI. For more information, see
Upgrading Hosts to Next Major Red Hat Enterprise Linux Release .

SAP HANA - If you are using SAP HANA, follow How to in-place upgrade SAP environments
from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 instead. Note that the upgrade path for RHEL with SAP HANA might
differ.

Public clouds - The in-place upgrade is supported for on-demand Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG)
instances on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform with
Red Hat Update Infrastructure (RHUI) . The in-place upgrade is also supported for Bring Your
Own Subscription instances on all public clouds that use Red Hat Subscription Manager (RHSM)
for a RHEL subscription.

Language - All Leapp reports, logs, and other generated documentation are in English,
regardless of the language configuration.

8
CHAPTER 2. PLANNING AN UPGRADE

Boot loader - It is not possible to switch the boot loader from BIOS to UEFI on RHEL 7 or RHEL
8. If your RHEL 7 system uses BIOS and you want your RHEL 8 system to use UEFI, perform a
fresh install of RHEL 8 instead of an in-place upgrade. For more information, see Is it possible to
switch the BIOS boot to UEFI boot on preinstalled Red Hat Enterprise Linux machine?

Known limitations - Notable known limitations of Leapp currently include:

Encryption of the whole disk or a partition, or file-system encryption currently cannot be


used on a system targeted for an in-place upgrade.

No network-based multipath and no kind of network storage mount can be used as a


system partition (for example, iSCSI, or NFS).

The in-place upgrade is currently unsupported for on-demand PAYG instances on the
remaining public clouds (Huawei Cloud, Alibaba Cloud) that use Red Hat Update
Infrastructure but not RHSM for a RHEL subscription.

The in-place upgrade is not supported for systems with any Ansible products, including
Ansible Tower, installed. To use a RHEL 7 Ansible Tower installation on RHEL 8, see the
How do I migrate my Ansible Automation Platform installation from one environment to
another? Knowledgebase solution.

See also Known Issues.

You can use Red Hat Insights to determine which of the systems you have registered to Insights is on a
supported upgrade path to RHEL 8. To do so, go to the respective Advisor recommendation in Insights,
enable the recommendation under the Actions drop-down menu, and inspect the list under the
Affected systems heading. Note that the Advisor recommendation considers only the RHEL 7 minor
version and does not perform a pre-upgrade assessment of the system. See also Advisor-service
recommendations overview.

Additional resources

The best practices and recommendations for performing RHEL Upgrade using Leapp

9
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

CHAPTER 3. PREPARING FOR THE UPGRADE


To prevent issues after the upgrade and to ensure that your system is ready to be upgraded to the next
major version of RHEL, complete all necessary preparation steps before upgrading.

You must perform the preparation steps described in Preparing a RHEL 7 system for the upgrade on all
systems. In addition, on systems that are registered to Satellite Server, you must also perform the
preparation steps described in Preparing a Satellite-registered system for the upgrade .

3.1. PREPARING A RHEL 7 SYSTEM FOR THE UPGRADE


This procedure describes the steps that are necessary before performing an in-place upgrade to RHEL 8
by using the Leapp utility.

If you do not plan to use Red Hat Subscription Manager during the upgrade process, follow instructions
in Upgrading to RHEL 8 without Red Hat Subscription Manager .

Prerequisites

The system meets conditions listed in Planning an upgrade.

Procedure

1. Ensure your system has been successfully registered to the Red Hat Content Delivery Network
(CDN) or Red Hat Satellite by using the Red Hat Subscription Manager.

2. If your system is registered to Satellite Server, complete the steps in Preparing a Satellite-
registered system for the upgrade to ensure that your system meets the requirements for the
upgrade.

3. Verify that the system is subscribed using subscription-manager:

a. If your system is registered by using an account with Simple Content Access (SCA) enabled,
verify that the Content Access Mode is set to Simple Content Access message appears:

# subscription-manager status
+-------------------------------------------+
System Status Details
+-------------------------------------------+
Overall Status: Disabled
Content Access Mode is set to Simple Content Access. This host has access to content,
regardless of subscription status.
System Purpose Status: Disabled

b. If your system is registered by using an account with SCA disabled, verify that the Red Hat
Linux Server subscription is attached, the product name is Server, and the status is
Subscribed:

# subscription-manager list --installed


+-------------------------------------------+
Installed Product Status
+-------------------------------------------+
Product Name: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server
Product ID: 69

10
CHAPTER 3. PREPARING FOR THE UPGRADE

Version: 7.9
Arch: x86_64
Status: Subscribed

4. Ensure you have appropriate repositories enabled. The following commands list repositories for
the 64-bit Intel architecture; for other architectures, see RHEL 7 repositories.

a. Enable the Base repository:

# subscription-manager repos --enable rhel-7-server-rpms

b. Enable the Extras repository where Leapp and its dependencies are available:

# subscription-manager repos --enable rhel-7-server-extras-rpms

NOTE

Optionally, you can enable the Optional (also known as CodeReady Linux
Builder) or Supplementary repositories. For more information about
repository IDs, see the Optional and Supplementary repositories list in RHEL
7 repositories. For more information about the content of these repositories,
see The CodeReady Linux Builder repository and The Supplementary
repository.

5. Set the Red Hat Subscription Manager to use the latest RHEL 7 content:

# subscription-manager release --unset

6. Optional: To use custom repositories, see the Configuring custom repositories Knowledgebase
article.

7. If you use the yum-plugin-versionlock plug-in to lock packages to a specific version, clear the
lock by running:

# yum versionlock clear

See How to restrict yum to install or upgrade a package to a fixed specific package version? for
more information.

8. If you are upgrading using Red Hat Update Infrastructure (RHUI) on a public cloud, enable
required RHUI repositories and install required RHUI packages to ensure your system is ready
for upgrade.

a. For AWS:

# yum-config-manager --enable rhui-client-config-server-7


# yum-config-manager --enable rhel-7-server-rhui-extras-rpms
# yum -y install rh-amazon-rhui-client leapp-rhui-aws

b. For Microsoft Azure:

# yum-config-manager --enable rhui-microsoft-azure-rhel7


# yum -y install rhui-azure-rhel7

11
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

# yum-config-manager --enable rhui-rhel-7-server-rhui-extras-rpms


# yum -y install leapp-rhui-azure

NOTE

If you locked the Azure virtual machine (VM) to a minor release, remove the
version lock. For more information, see Switch a RHEL 7.x VM back to non-
EUS.

c. For Google Cloud Platform, follow the Leapp RHUI packages for Google Cloud Platform
(GCP) Knowledgebase article.

9. If you manage containers in Docker, recreate those containers with the appropriate container
images by using Podman and then attach any in-use volumes. For more information, see How
do I migrate my Docker containers to Podman prior to moving from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8?

10. Update all packages to the latest RHEL 7 version:

# yum update

11. Reboot the system:

# reboot

12. Install the Leapp utility:

# yum install leapp-upgrade

Note that currently you need version 0.15.1 or later of the leapp package and version 0.18.0 or
later of the leapp-repository package, which contains the leapp-upgrade-el7toel8 RPM
package.

NOTE

If your system does not have internet access, download the following packages
from the Red Hat Customer Portal :

leapp

leapp-deps

python2-leapp

leapp-upgrade-el7toel8

leapp-upgrade-el7toel8-deps See the How to install leapp packages on an


offline system for RHEL 7.9 to RHEL 8.X upgrade? Knowledgebase article
for more information.

13. The latest release of the leapp-upgrade-el7toel8 package contains all required data files. If you
have replaced these data files with older versions, remove all JSON files in the /etc/leapp/files
directory and reinstall the leapp-upgrade-el7toel8 package to ensure your data files are up-to-
date.

12
CHAPTER 3. PREPARING FOR THE UPGRADE

IMPORTANT

If you are using RHEL 7.6 for IBM POWER 9 (little endian) or IBM Z (structure A)
architectures, follow the Leapp data snapshots for an in-place upgrade
Knowledgebase article instead.

14. Temporarily disable antivirus software to prevent the upgrade from failing.

15. Ensure that any configuration management system does not interfere with the in-place upgrade
process:

If you use a configuration management system with a client-server architecture, such as


Puppet, Salt, or Chef, disable the system before running the leapp preupgrade command.
Do not enable the configuration management system until after the upgrade is complete to
prevent issues during the upgrade.

If you use a configuration management system with agentless architecture, such as Ansible,
do not execute the configuration and deployment file, such as an Ansible playbook, during
the in-place upgrade as described in Performing the upgrade from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 .
Automation of the pre-upgrade and upgrade process using a configuration management
system is not supported by Red Hat. For more information, see Using configuration
management systems to automate parts of the Leapp pre-upgrade and upgrade process
on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

16. Ensure your system does not use more than one Network Interface Card (NIC) with a name
based on the prefix used by the kernel (eth). For instructions on how to migrate to another
naming scheme before an in-place upgrade to RHEL 8, see How to perform an in-place
upgrade to RHEL 8 when using kernel NIC names on RHEL 7.

17. If you are upgrading using an ISO image, verify that the ISO image contains the target OS
version, for example RHEL 8.8, and is saved to a persistent local mount point to ensure that the
Leapp utility can access the image throughout the upgrade process.

18. Ensure you have a full system backup or a virtual machine snapshot. You should be able to get
your system to the pre-upgrade state if you follow standard disaster recovery procedures within
your environment. For example, you can use the Relax-and-Recover (ReaR) utility. For more
information, see the ReaR documentation and What is Relax and Recover (ReaR) and how can I
use it for disaster recovery?. Alternatively, you can use LVM snapshots, or RAID splitting. In case
of upgrading a virtual machine, you can create a snapshot of the whole VM.

3.2. PREPARING A SATELLITE-REGISTERED SYSTEM FOR THE


UPGRADE
This procedure describes the steps that are necessary to prepare a system that is registered to Satellite
for the upgrade to RHEL 8.

NOTE

Note If you plan to upgrade the Satellite system itself, follow the procedure described in
Upgrading Satellite or Capsule to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 In-Place Using Leapp .

IMPORTANT

Users on Satellite systems must complete the preparatory steps described both in this
procedure and in Preparing a RHEL 7 system for the upgrade .

13
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

Prerequisites

You have administrative privileges for the Satellite Server.

Procedure

1. Verify that Satellite is on a version in full or maintenance support. For more information, see
Red Hat Satellite Product Life Cycle .

2. Import a subscription manifest with RHEL 8 repositories into Satellite Server. For more
information, see the Managing Red Hat Subscriptions chapter in the Managing Content Guide
for the particular version of Red Hat Satellite , for example, for version 6.12.

3. Enable and synchronize all required RHEL 7 and RHEL 8 repositories on the Satellite Server
with the latest updates for RHEL 7.9 and the target OS version, for example RHEL 8.6. Required
repositories must be available in the Content View and enabled in the associated activation key.

NOTE

For RHEL 8 repositories, enable the target OS version of each repository, for
example, 8.6. If you enable only the RHEL 8 version of the repositories, the in-
place upgrade is inhibited.

For example, for the Intel architecture without an Extended Update Support (EUS) subscription,
enable at minimum the following repositories:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Server (RPMs)


rhel-7-server-rpms

x86_64 7Server or x86_64 7.9

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Server - Extras (RPMs)


rhel-7-server-extras-rpms

x86_64

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 for x86_64 - AppStream (RPMs)


rhel-8-for-x86_64-appstream-rpms

x86_64 <target_os_version>

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 for x86_64 - BaseOS (RPMs)


rhel-8-for-x86_64-baseos-rpms

x86_64 <target_os_version>

Replace target_os_version with the target OS version, for example 8.6.

For other architectures, see RHEL 7 repositories and RHEL 8 repositories .

For more information, see the Importing Content chapter in the Managing Content Guide
for the particular version of Red Hat Satellite , for example, for version 6.12.

4. Attach the content host to a Content View containing the required RHEL 7 and RHEL 8
repositories.

For more information, see the Managing Content Views chapter in the Managing Content Guide

14
CHAPTER 3. PREPARING FOR THE UPGRADE

For more information, see the Managing Content Views chapter in the Managing Content Guide
for the particular version of Red Hat Satellite , for example, for version 6.12.

Verification

1. Verify that the correct RHEL 7 and RHEL 8 repositories have been added to the correct
Content View on Satellite Server.

a. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Lifecycle > Content Viewsand click the
name of the Content View.

b. Click the Repositories tab and verify that the repositories appear correctly.

NOTE

You can also verify that the repositories have been added to the Content
View using the following commands:

# hammer repository list --search 'content_label ~ rhel-7' --content-view


<content_view_name> --organization <organization> --lifecycle-
environment <lifecycle_environment>
# hammer repository list --search 'content_label ~ rhel-8' --content-view
<content_view_name> --organization <organization> --lifecycle-
environment <lifecycle_environment>

Replace <content_view_name> with the name of the Content View,


<organization> with the organization, and <lifecycle_environement> with the
name of the lifecycle environment..

2. Verify that the correct RHEL 8 repositories are enabled in the activation key associated with the
Content View:

a. In Satellite web UI navigate to Content > Lifecycle > Activation Keysand click the name of
the activation key.

b. Click the Repository Sets tab and verify that the statuses of the required repositories are
Enabled.

3. Verify that all expected RHEL 7 repositories are enabled in the host. For example:

# subscription-manager repos --list-enabled | grep "^Repo ID"


Repo ID: rhel-7-server-extras-rpms
Repo ID: rhel-7-server-rpm

15
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

CHAPTER 4. REVIEWING THE PRE-UPGRADE REPORT


To assess upgradability of your system, start the pre-upgrade process by using the leapp preupgrade
command. During this phase, the Leapp utility collects data about the system, assesses upgradability,
and generates a pre-upgrade report. The pre-upgrade report summarizes potential problems and
suggests recommended solutions. The report also helps you decide whether it is possible or advisable to
proceed with the upgrade.

IMPORTANT

Always review the entire pre-upgrade report, even when the report finds no inhibitors to
the upgrade. The pre-upgrade report contains recommended actions to complete before
the upgrade to ensure that the upgraded system functions correctly.

Reviewing a pre-upgrade report can also be useful if you want to perform a fresh
installation of a RHEL 8 system instead of the in-place upgrade process.

You can assess upgradability in the pre-upgrade phase using either of the following ways:

Review the pre-upgrade report in the generated leapp-report.txt file and manually resolve
reported problems using the command-line interface.

Use the web console to review the report, apply automated remediations where available, and
fix remaining problems using the suggested remediation hints.

NOTE

You can process the pre-upgrade report by using your own custom scripts, for example,
to compare results from multiple reports across different environments. For more
information, see Automating your Red Hat Enterprise Linux pre-upgrade report workflow .

IMPORTANT

The pre-upgrade report cannot simulate the entire in-place upgrade process and
therefore cannot identify all inhibiting problems with your system. As a result, your in-
place upgrade might still be terminated even after you have reviewed and remediated all
problems in the report. For example, the pre-upgrade report cannot detect issues related
to broken package downloads.

4.1. ASSESSING UPGRADABILITY FROM THE COMMAND LINE


Identify potential upgrade problems during the pre-upgrade phase by using the command-line interface.

Prerequisites

The steps listed in Preparing for the upgrade have been completed.

Procedure

1. On your RHEL 7 system, perform the pre-upgrade phase:

# leapp preupgrade --target <target_os_version>

Replace <target_os_version> with the target OS version, for example 8.6. If no target OS version
16
CHAPTER 4. REVIEWING THE PRE-UPGRADE REPORT

Replace <target_os_version> with the target OS version, for example 8.6. 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 preupgrade --enablerepo <repository_id1> --enablerepo <repository_id2> ...

If you are upgrading without RHSM or using RHUI, add the --no-rhsm option.

If you have an Extended Upgrade Support (EUS), Advanced Update Support (AUS), or
Update Services for SAP Solutions (E4S) subscription, add the --channel <channel>
option. Replace <channel> with the channel name, for example, eus, aus, or e4s. Note that
SAP HANA customers should perform the in-place upgrade using the How to in-place
upgrade SAP environments from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 guide.

2. Examine the report in the /var/log/leapp/leapp-report.txt file and manually resolve all the
reported problems. Some reported problems contain remediation suggestions. Inhibitor
problems prevent you from upgrading until you have resolved them.
The report contains the following risk factor levels:

High
Very likely to result in a deteriorated system state.
Medium
Can impact both the system and applications.
Low
Should not impact the system but can have an impact on applications.
Info
Informational with no expected impact to the system or applications.

3. In certain system configurations, the Leapp utility generates true or false questions that you
must answer manually. If the pre-upgrade report contains a Missing required answers in the
answer file message, complete the following steps:

a. Open the /var/log/leapp/answerfile file and review the true or false questions.

b. Manually edit the /var/log/leapp/answerfile file, uncomment the confirm line of the file by
deleting the # symbol, and confirm your answer as True or False. For more information, see
the Leapp answerfile.

NOTE
17
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

NOTE

Alternatively, you can answer the true or false question by running the
following command:

# leapp answer --section <question_section>.<field_name>=<answer>

For example, to confirm a False response to the question Disable


pam_pkcs11 module in PAM configuration?, execute the following
command:

# leapp answer --section


remove_pam_pkcs11_module_check.confirm=False

4. Repeat the previous steps to rerun the pre-upgrade report to verify that you have resolved all
critical issues.

4.2. ASSESSING UPGRADABILITY AND APPLYING AUTOMATED


REMEDIATIONS THROUGH THE WEB CONSOLE
Identify potential problems in the pre-upgrade phase and apply automated remediations by using the
web console.

Prerequisites

You have completed the steps listed in Preparing for the upgrade.

Procedure

1. Install the cockpit-leapp plug-in:

# dnf install cockpit-leapp

Log in to the web console as root or as a user that has permissions to enter administrative
commands with sudo. See Managing systems using the RHEL web console for more
information about the web console.

2. On your RHEL 7 system, perform the pre-upgrade phase either from the command-line
interface or from the web console terminal:

# leapp preupgrade --target <target_os_version>

Replace <target_os_version> with the target OS version, for example 8.6. 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 preupgrade --enablerepo <repository_id1> --enablerepo <repository_id2> ...

If you are upgrading without RHSM or using RHUI, add the --no-rhsm option.

If you have an Extended Upgrade Support (EUS), Advanced Update Support (AUS), or
18
CHAPTER 4. REVIEWING THE PRE-UPGRADE REPORT

If you have an Extended Upgrade Support (EUS), Advanced Update Support (AUS), or
Update Services for SAP Solutions (E4S) subscription, add the --channel <channel>
option. Replace <channel> with the channel name, for example, eus, aus, or e4s. Note that
SAP HANA customers should perform the in-place upgrade using the How to in-place
upgrade SAP environments from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 Knowledgebase article.

3. In the web console, select Upgrade Report from the navigation menu to review all reported
problems. Inhibitor problems prevent you from upgrading until you have resolved them. To view
a problem in detail, select the row to open the Detail pane.

Figure 4.1. In-place upgrade report in the web console

The report contains the following risk factor levels:

High
Very likely to result in a deteriorated system state.
Medium
Can impact both the system and applications.
Low
Should not impact the system but can have an impact on applications.
Info
Informational with no expected impact to the system or applications.

4. In certain configurations, the Leapp utility generates true or false questions that you must
answer manually. If the Upgrade Report contains a Missing required answers in the answer file
row, complete the following steps:

a. Select the Missing required answers in the answer filerow to open the Detail pane. The
default answer is stated at the end of the remediation command.

b. To confirm the default answer, select Add to Remediation Plan to execute the remediation
later or Run Remediation to execute the remediation immediately.

c. To select the non-default answer instead, execute the leapp answer command in the
terminal, specifying the question you are responding to and your confirmed answer.

19
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

# leapp answer --section <question_section>.<field_name>=<answer>

For example, to confirm a False response to the question Disable pam_pkcs11 module in
PAM configuration?, execute the following command

# leapp answer --section remove_pam_pkcs11_module_check.confirm=False

NOTE

You can also manually edit the /var/log/leapp/answerfile file, uncomment


the confirm line of the file by deleting the # symbol, and confirm your answer
as True or False. For more information, see the Leapp answerfile example .

5. Some problems have remediation commands that you can run to automatically resolve the
problems. You can run remediation commands individually or all together in the remediation
command.

a. To run a single remediation command, open the Detail pane for the problem and click Run
Remediation.

b. To add a remediation command to the remediation plan, open the Detail pane for the
problem and click Add to Remediation Plan.

Figure 4.2. Detail pane


20
CHAPTER 4. REVIEWING THE PRE-UPGRADE REPORT

Figure 4.2. Detail pane

c. To run the remediation plan containing all added remediation commands, click the
Remediation plan link in the top right corner above the report. Click Execute Remediation
Plan to execute all listed commands.

6. After reviewing the report and resolving all reported problems, repeat steps 3-7 to rerun the
report to verify that you have resolved all critical issues.

21
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

CHAPTER 5. PERFORMING THE UPGRADE FROM RHEL 7 TO


RHEL 8
Upgrade to RHEL 8 using the Leapp utility.

Prerequisites

The steps listed in Preparing for the upgrade have been completed, including a full system
backup.

The steps listed in Reviewing the pre-upgrade report have been completed and all reported
issues resolved.

Procedure

1. On your RHEL 7 system, start the upgrade process:

# leapp upgrade --target <target_os_version>

Replace <target_os_version> with the target operating system (OS) version, for example 8.6. If
no target OS version is defined, Leapp uses the default target OS version specified in the table
1.1 in Supported upgrade paths.

NOTE

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/rhel8.iso.

If you have an Extended Upgrade Support (EUS), Advanced Update Support


(AUS), or Update Services for SAP Solutions (E4S) 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.

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.

22
CHAPTER 5. PERFORMING THE UPGRADE FROM RHEL 7 TO RHEL 8

2. Manually restart the system:

# reboot

In this phase, the system boots into a RHEL 8-based initial RAM disk image, initramfs. Leapp
upgrades all packages and automatically reboots to the RHEL 8 system.

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

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

3. Log in to the RHEL 8 system and verify its state as described in Verifying the post-upgrade
state of the RHEL 8 system.

4. Perform all post-upgrade tasks described in the upgrade report and in Performing post-
upgrade tasks. Especially, re-evaluate and re-apply your security policies.

5. In case of upgrading a system that was and will be running in FIPS mode, remove any RHEL 7
kernels. Then, regenerate and otherwise ensure the FIPS compliance of all cryptographic keys.
See Locations of cryptographic keys in RHEL 8 for more information.

23
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

CHAPTER 6. VERIFYING THE POST-UPGRADE STATE OF THE


RHEL 8 SYSTEM
This procedure lists verification steps recommended to perform after an in-place upgrade to RHEL 8.

Prerequisites

The system has been upgraded following the steps described in Performing the upgrade from
RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 and you have been able to log in to RHEL 8.

Procedure
After the upgrade completes, determine whether the system is in the required state, at least:

Verify that the current OS version is Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8:

# cat /etc/redhat-release
Red Hat Enterprise Linux release <target_os_version> (Ootpa)

Replace target_os_version with the target OS version, for example 8.6.

Check the OS kernel version:

# uname -r
4.18.0-305.el<target_os>.x86_64

The target_os should be either 8 or the target OS version, for example 8_6. Note that .el8 is
important and the version should not be earlier than 4.18.0-305.

If you are using the Red Hat Subscription Manager:

Verify that the correct product is installed:

# subscription-manager list --installed


+-----------------------------------------+
Installed Product Status
+-----------------------------------------+
Product Name: Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64
Product ID: 479
Version: <target_os_version>
Arch: x86_64
Status: Subscribed

Replace target_os_version with the target OS version, for example 8.6.

Verify that the release version is set to the target OS version immediately after the
upgrade:

# subscription-manager release
Release: <target_os_version>

Replace target_os_version with the target OS version, for example 8.6.

Verify that network services are operational, for example, try to connect to a server using SSH.

24
CHAPTER 6. VERIFYING THE POST-UPGRADE STATE OF THE RHEL 8 SYSTEM

Check the post-upgrade status of your applications. In some cases, you may need to perform
migration and configuration changes manually. For example, to migrate your databases, follow
instructions in RHEL 8 Database servers documentation .

25
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

CHAPTER 7. PERFORMING POST-UPGRADE TASKS


The following major tasks are recommended after an in-place upgrade to RHEL 8.

Prerequisites

You have upgraded the system following the steps described in Performing the upgrade from
RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 and you have been able to log in to RHEL 8.

You have verified the status of the in-place upgrade following the steps described in Verifying
the post-upgrade status of the RHEL 8 system.

Procedure
After performing the upgrade, complete the following tasks:

1. Remove any remaining Leapp packages from the exclude list in the /etc/dnf/dnf.conf
configuration file, including the snactor package. During the in-place upgrade, Leapp packages
that were installed with the Leapp utility are automatically added to the exclude list to prevent
critical files from being removed or updated. After the in-place upgrade, you must remove these
Leapp packages from the exclude list before they can be removed from the system.

To manually remove packages from the exclude list, edit the /etc/dnf/dnf.conf
configuration file and remove the desired Leapp packages from the exclude list.

To remove all packages from the exclude list:

# yum config-manager --save --setopt exclude=''

2. Remove remaining RHEL 7 packages, including remaining Leapp packages.

a. Determine old kernel versions:

# cd /lib/modules && ls -d *.el7*

b. Remove weak modules from the old kernel. If you have multiple old kernels, repeat the
following step for each kernel:

# [ -x /usr/sbin/weak-modules ] && /usr/sbin/weak-modules --remove-kernel <version>

Replace <version> with the kernel version determined in the previous step, for example:

# [ -x /usr/sbin/weak-modules ] && /usr/sbin/weak-modules --remove-kernel 3.10.0-


1160.25.1.el7.x86_64

NOTE

Ignore the following error message, which is generated if the kernel package
has been previously removed:

/usr/sbin/weak-modules: line 1081: cd: /lib/modules/<version>/weak-


updates: No such file or directory

c. Remove the old kernel from the boot loader entry. If you have multiple old kernels, repeat
26
CHAPTER 7. PERFORMING POST-UPGRADE TASKS

c. Remove the old kernel from the boot loader entry. If you have multiple old kernels, repeat
this step for each kernel:

# /bin/kernel-install remove <version> /lib/modules/<version>/vmlinuz

Replace version with the kernel version determined in the previous step, for example:

# /bin/kernel-install remove 3.10.0-1160.25.1.el7.x86_64 /lib/modules/3.10.0-


1160.25.1.el7.x86_64/vmlinuz

d. Locate remaining RHEL 7 packages:

# rpm -qa | grep -e '\.el[67]' | grep -vE '^(gpg-pubkey|libmodulemd|katello-ca-consumer)' |


sort

e. Remove remaining RHEL 7 packages, including old kernel packages, and the kernel-
workaround package from your RHEL 8 system.

f. Remove remaining Leapp dependency packages:

# yum remove leapp-deps-el8 leapp-repository-deps-el8

g. Remove any remaining empty directories:

# rm -r /lib/modules/*el7*

3. Optional: Remove all remaining upgrade-related data from the system:

# rm -rf /var/log/leapp /root/tmp_leapp_py3 /var/lib/leapp

IMPORTANT

Removing this data might limit Red Hat Support’s ability to investigate and
troubleshoot post-upgrade problems.

4. Disable YUM repositories whose packages cannot be installed or used on RHEL 8. Repositories
managed by RHSM are handled automatically. To disable these repositories:

# yum config-manager --set-disabled <repository_id>

Replace <repository_id> with the repository ID.

5. Replace the old rescue kernel and initial RAM disk with the current kernel and disk:

a. Remove the existing rescue kernel and initial RAM disk:

# rm /boot/vmlinuz-*rescue* /boot/initramfs-*rescue*

b. Reinstall the current kernel to recover the rescue kernel and related initial RAM disk:

# dnf reinstall -y kernel-core-$(uname -r)

NOTE
27
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

NOTE

If your system’s kernel package has a different name, such as on real-time


systems, replace kernel-core with the correct package name.

6. Re-evaluate and re-apply your security policies. Especially, change the SELinux mode to
enforcing. For details, see Applying security policies .

Verification steps

1. Verify that the old kernels have been removed from the bootloader entry:

# grubby --info=ALL | grep "\.el7" || echo "Old kernels are not present in the bootloader."

2. Verify that the previously removed rescue kernel and rescue initial RAM disk files have been
created for the current kernel:

# ls /boot/vmlinuz-*rescue* /boot/initramfs-*rescue*
# lsinitrd /boot/initramfs-*rescue*.img | grep -qm1 "$(uname -r)/kernel/" && echo "OK" || echo
"FAIL"

3. Verify the rescue boot entry refers to the existing rescue files. See the grubby output:

# grubby --info $(ls /boot/vmlinuz-*rescue*)

28
CHAPTER 8. APPLYING SECURITY POLICIES

CHAPTER 8. APPLYING SECURITY POLICIES


During the in-place upgrade process, certain security policies must remain disabled. Furthermore, RHEL
8 introduces a new concept of system-wide cryptographic policies and also security profiles might
contain changes between major releases. This section guides you when securing your upgraded RHEL
systems.

8.1. CHANGING SELINUX MODE TO ENFORCING


During the in-place upgrade process, the Leapp utility sets SELinux mode to permissive. When the
system is successfully upgraded, you have to manually change SELinux mode to enforcing.

Prerequisites

The system has been upgraded and you have performed the verification steps described in
Verifying the post-upgrade state of the RHEL 8 system .

Procedure

1. Ensure that there are no SELinux denials, for example, by using the ausearch utility:

# ausearch -m AVC,USER_AVC -ts boot

Note that the previous step covers only the most common scenario. To check for all possible
SELinux denials, see the Identifying SELinux denials section in the Using SELinux title, which
provides a complete procedure.

2. Open the /etc/selinux/config file in a text editor of your choice, for example:

# vi /etc/selinux/config

3. Configure the SELINUX=enforcing option:

# This file controls the state of SELinux on the system.


# SELINUX= can take one of these three values:
# enforcing - SELinux security policy is enforced.
# permissive - SELinux prints warnings instead of enforcing.
# disabled - No SELinux policy is loaded.
SELINUX=enforcing
# SELINUXTYPE= can take one of these two values:
# targeted - Targeted processes are protected,
# mls - Multi Level Security protection.
SELINUXTYPE=targeted

4. Save the change, and restart the system:

# reboot

Verification

1. After the system restarts, confirm that the getenforce command returns Enforcing:

29
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

$ getenforce
Enforcing

Additional resources

Troubleshooting problems related to SELinux

Changing SELinux states and modes

8.2. SETTING SYSTEM-WIDE CRYPTOGRAPHIC POLICIES


The system-wide cryptographic policies is a system component that configures the core cryptographic
subsystems, covering the TLS, IPSec, SSH, DNSSec, and Kerberos protocols.

After a successful installation or an in-place upgrade process, the system-wide cryptographic policy is
automatically set to DEFAULT. The DEFAULT system-wide cryptographic policy level offers secure
settings for current threat models.

To view or change the current system-wide cryptographic policy, use the update-crypto-policies tool:

$ update-crypto-policies --show
DEFAULT

For example, the following command switches the system-wide crypto policy level to FUTURE, which
should withstand any near-term future attacks:

# update-crypto-policies --set FUTURE


Setting system policy to FUTURE

You can also customize system-wide cryptographic policies. For details, see the Customizing system-
wide cryptographic policies with subpolicies and Creating and setting a custom system-wide
cryptographic policy sections.

Additional resources

Using system-wide cryptographic policies

update-crypto-policies(8) man page.

8.3. UPGRADING THE SYSTEM HARDENED TO A SECURITY BASELINE


To get a fully hardened system after a successful upgrade to RHEL 8, you can use automated
remediation provided by the OpenSCAP suite. OpenSCAP remediations align your system with security
baselines, such as PCI-DSS, OSPP, or ACSC Essential Eight. The configuration compliance
recommendations differ among major versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux due to the evolution of the
security offering.

When upgrading a hardened RHEL 7 system, the Leapp tool does not provide direct means to retain the
full hardening. Depending on the changes in the component configuration, the system might diverge
from the recommendations for the RHEL 8 during the upgrade.

NOTE
30
CHAPTER 8. APPLYING SECURITY POLICIES

NOTE

You cannot use the same SCAP content for scanning RHEL 7 and RHEL 8. Update the
management platforms if the compliance of the system is managed by the tools like Red
Hat Satellite or Red Hat Insights.

As an alternative to automated remediations, you can make the changes manually by following an
OpenSCAP-generated report. For information about generating a compliance report, see Scanning the
system for security compliance and vulnerabilities.

Follow the procedure to automatically harden your system with the PCI-DSS profile.

IMPORTANT

Automated remediations support RHEL systems in the default configuration. Because


the system upgrade has been altered after the installation, running remediation might not
make it fully compliant with the required security profile. You might need to fix some
requirements manually.

Prerequisites

The scap-security-guide package is installed on your RHEL 8 system.

Procedure

1. Find the appropriate security compliance data stream .xml file:

$ ls /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/
ssg-firefox-cpe-dictionary.xml ssg-rhel6-ocil.xml
ssg-firefox-cpe-oval.xml ssg-rhel6-oval.xml
...
ssg-rhel6-ds-1.2.xml ssg-rhel8-oval.xml
ssg-rhel8-ds.xml ssg-rhel8-xccdf.xml
...

For additional information, see section Viewing compliance profiles.

2. Remediate the system according to the selected profile from the appropriate data stream:

# oscap xccdf eval --profile pci-dss --remediate /usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-rhel8-


ds.xml

You can replace the pci-dss value in the --profile argument with the ID of the profile according
to which you want to harden your system. For a full list of profiles supported in RHEL 8, see
SCAP security profiles supported in RHEL .

31
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8


WARNING

If not used carefully, running the system evaluation with the Remediate
option enabled might render the system non-functional. Red Hat does not
provide any automated method to revert changes made by security-
hardening remediations. Remediations are supported on RHEL systems in
the default configuration. If your system has been altered after the
installation, running remediation might not make it compliant with the
required security profile.

3. Restart your system:

# reboot

Verification

1. Verify that the system is compliant with the profile, and save the results in an HTML file:

$ oscap xccdf eval --report pcidss_report.html --profile pci-dss


/usr/share/xml/scap/ssg/content/ssg-rhel8-ds.xml

Additional resources

scap-security-guide(8) and oscap(8)` man pages

Scanning the system for security compliance and vulnerabilities

Red Hat Insights Security Policy documentation

Red Hat Satellite Security Policy documentation

32
CHAPTER 9. TROUBLESHOOTING

CHAPTER 9. TROUBLESHOOTING
You can refer to the following tips to troubleshoot upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8.

9.1. TROUBLESHOOTING RESOURCES


You can refer to the following troubleshooting resources.

Console output

By default, only error and critical log level messages are printed to the console output by the Leapp
utility. To change the log level, use the --verbose or --debug options with the leapp upgrade
command.

In verbose mode, Leapp prints info, warning, error, and critical messages.

In debug mode, Leapp prints debug, info, warning, error, and critical messages.

Logs

The /var/log/leapp/leapp-upgrade.log file lists issues found during the initramfs phase.

The /var/log/leapp/dnf-debugdata/ directory contains transaction debug data. This directory is


present only if the leapp upgrade command is executed with the --debug option.

The /var/log/leapp/answerfile contains questions required to be answered by Leapp.

The journalctl utility provides complete logs.

Reports

The /var/log/leapp/leapp-report.txt file lists issues found during the pre-upgrade phase. The
report is also available in the web console, see Assessing upgradability and applying automated
remediations through the web console.

The /var/log/leapp/leapp-report.json file lists issues found during the pre-upgrade phase in a
machine-readable format, which enables you to process the report using custom scripts. For
more information, see Automating your Red Hat Enterprise Linux pre-upgrade report workflow .

9.2. TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS


You can refer to the following troubleshooting tips.

Pre-upgrade phase

Verify that your system meets all conditions listed in Planning an upgrade.

Make sure you have followed all steps described in Preparing for the upgrade for example, your
system does not use more than one Network Interface Card (NIC) with a name based on the
prefix used by the kernel (eth).

Make sure you have answered all questions required by Leapp in the /var/log/leapp/answerfile
file. If any answers are missing, Leapp inhibits the upgrade. Example questions:

Disable pam_pkcs11 module in PAM configuration?

33
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

Disable pam_krb5 module in PAM configuration?

Configure PAM and nsswitch.conf with the following authselect call?

Make sure you have resolved all problems identified in the pre-upgrade report, located at
/var/log/leapp/leapp-report.txt. To achieve this, you can also use the web console, as described
in Assessing upgradability and applying automated remediations through the web console .

Example 9.1. Leapp answerfile

The following is an example of an unedited /var/log/leapp/answerfile file that has one unanswered
question:

[remove_pam_pkcs11_module_check]
# Title: None
# Reason: Confirmation
# =================== remove_pam_pkcs11_module_check.confirm ==================
# Label: Disable pam_pkcs11 module in PAM configuration? If no, the upgrade process will
be interrupted.
# Description: PAM module pam_pkcs11 is no longer available in RHEL-8 since it was replaced
by SSSD.
# Type: bool
# Default: None
# Available choices: True/False
# Unanswered question. Uncomment the following line with your answer
# confirm =

The Label field specifies the question that requires an answer. In this example, the question is
Disable pam_pkcs11 module in PAM configuration?

To answer the question, uncomment the confirm line and enter an answer of True or False. In this
example, the selected answer is True:

[remove_pam_pkcs11_module_check]
...
# Available choices: True/False
# Unanswered question. Uncomment the following line with your answer
confirm = True

Download phase

If a problem occurs during downloading RPM packages, examine transaction debug data located
in the /var/log/leapp/dnf-debugdata/ directory.

NOTE

The /var/log/leapp/dnf-debugdata/ directory is empty or does not exist if no


transaction debug data was produced. This might occur when the required
repositories are not available.

initramfs phase

During this phase, potential failures redirect you to the Dracut shell. Check the Journal log:

34
CHAPTER 9. TROUBLESHOOTING

# journalctl

Alternatively, restart the system from the Dracut shell using the reboot command and check the
/var/log/leapp/leapp-upgrade.log file.

Post-upgrade phase

If your system seems to be successfully upgraded but booted with the old RHEL 7 kernel, restart
the system and check the kernel version of the default entry in GRUB.

Make sure you have followed the recommended steps in Verifying the post-upgrade state of
the RHEL 8 system.

If your application or a service stops working or behaves incorrectly after you have switched
SELinux to enforcing mode, search for denials using the ausearch, journalctl, or dmesg utilities:

# ausearch -m AVC,USER_AVC -ts boot


# journalctl -t setroubleshoot
# dmesg | grep -i -e selinux -e type=1400

The most common problems are caused by incorrect labeling. See Troubleshooting problems
related to SELinux for more details.

9.3. KNOWN ISSUES


The following are known issues you might encounter when upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8.

Network teaming currently does not work when the in-place upgrade is performed while
Network Manager is disabled or not installed.

If you use an HTTP proxy, Red Hat Subscription Manager must be configured to use such a
proxy, or the subscription-manager command must be executed with the --proxy
<hostname> option. Otherwise, an execution of the subscription-manager command fails. If
you use the --proxy option instead of the configuration change, the upgrade process fails
because Leapp is unable to detect the proxy. To prevent this problem from occurring, manually
edit the rhsm.conf file as described in How to configure HTTP Proxy for Red Hat Subscription
Management. (BZ#1689294)

If your RHEL 7 system uses a device driver that is provided by Red Hat but is not available in
RHEL 8, Leapp inhibits the upgrade. However, if the RHEL 7 system uses a third-party device
driver that Leapp does not have data for in the
/etc/leapp/files/device_driver_deprecation_data.json file, Leapp does not detect such a
driver and proceeds with the upgrade. Consequently, the system might fail to boot after the
upgrade.

You cannot perform an in-place upgrade when the winbind and wins Samba modules are used
in the /etc/nsswitch.conf file. The upgrade transaction fails with the following error messages
and Leapp inhibits the upgrade:

upgrade[469]: STDERR:
upgrade[469]: Error in PREIN scriptlet in rpm package unbound-libs
upgrade[469]: Error: Transaction failed
upgrade[469]: Container el8userspace failed with error code 1.
unbound-libs has a PREIN failure

To work around this problem, configure the system so that it uses only local providers for the
35
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

To work around this problem, configure the system so that it uses only local providers for the
user, groups, and hosts database during the update:

1. Open the system /etc/nsswitch.conf configuration file and search for entries that contain
the winbind or wins strings.

2. If you find such entries, create a backup of /etc/nsswitch.conf.

3. Edit /etc/nsswitch.conf and remove winbind or wins from the entries that contain them.

4. Perform an in-place upgrade.

5. After the upgrade, add the winbind and wins strings to their entries in /etc/nsswitch.conf,
based on your system configuration requirements.
(BZ#1410154)

The Leapp utility does not change customized authentication configuration during the upgrade
process. If you used the deprecated authconfig utility to configure authentication on your
RHEL 7 system, authentication on RHEL 8 might not work correctly. To ensure that your custom
configuration functions properly on the RHEL 8 system, re-configure your RHEL 8 system with
the authselect utility.

IMPORTANT

During the in-place upgrade, the deprecated pam_krb5 or pam_pkcs11


pluggable authentication modules (PAM) are removed. As a result, if the PAM
configuration on your RHEL 7 system contains the pam_krb5 or pam_pkcs11
modules and if these modules have the required or requisite control values, you
might be locked out of the system if you perform the in-place upgrade. To work
around this problem, reconfigure your RHEL 7 system to not use pam_krb5 or
pam_pkcs11 before you start the upgrade process.

If the name of a third-party package (not signed by Red Hat) installed on your system is the
same as the name of a package provided by Red Hat, the in-place upgrade fails. To work around
this problem, select one of the following options prior to upgrading:

a. Remove the third-party package

b. Replace the third-party package with the package provided by Red Hat

For security reasons, support for single-DES (DES) and triple-DES (3DES) encryption types has
been removed from RHEL 8. RHEL 7 Identity Management (IdM), however, still supports 3DES
encryption.
Upgrading IdM clients or migrating the whole IdM environment from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 is
possible because both versions of RHEL prefer stronger AES encryption types by default:

Version of IdM Default encryption types Additional supported


encryption types

RHEL 7 aes256-cts camellia256-cts


aes128-cts camellia128-cts
des3-hmac
arcfour-hmac

36
CHAPTER 9. TROUBLESHOOTING

Version of IdM Default encryption types Additional supported


encryption types

RHEL 8 aes256-cts aes256-sha2


aes128-cts aes128-sha2
camellia256-cts
camellia128-cts
arcfour-hmac [a]

[a] RC4 encryption has been deprecated and disabled by default in RHEL 8 because it is considered less secure
than the newer AES-128 and AES-256 encryption types. For more information about enabling RC4 support for
compatibility with legacy Active Directory environments, see Ensuring support for common encryption types in
AD and RHEL.

If you manually configured a non-IdM Kerberos Distribution Center (KDC), any services, or any
users to only use DES or 3DES encryption, you might experience service interruptions after
updating to the latest Kerberos packages in RHEL 8, such as:

Kerberos authentication errors

unknown enctype encryption errors

KDCs with DES-encrypted Database Master Keys (K/M) fail to start

Red Hat recommends you do not use DES or 3DES encryption in your environment. For more
information about re-keying Kerberos principals to use stronger encryption types, see Retiring
DES from MIT Kerberos Documentation.

The in-place upgrade fails on systems with Software Redundant Array of Independent Disks
(RAID). (BZ#1957192)

Systems with a disabled GRUB boot loader specification, such as systems using Puppet, cannot
create new initramfs for newer kernels. To work around this problem, manually remove packages
and the old kernel from the boot loader entry as described in Chapter 6: Performing post-
upgrade tasks. (BZ#1955099)

The Relax-and-Recover (ReaR) utility is not available on the IBM Z architecture. As a result, IBM
Z systems cannot be completely remediated by the OpenSCAP suite and might not be fully
compliant with security baselines. (BZ#1958939)

During the in-place upgrade, the Leapp utility usually preserves the network interface controller
(NIC) names between RHEL 7 and RHEL 8. However, on some systems, such as systems with
network bonding, the NIC names require updating between RHEL 7 and RHEL 8. On those
systems, perform the following steps:

a. Set the LEAPP_NO_NETWORK_RENAMING=1 environment variable to prevent the


Leapp utility from incorrectly preserving the original RHEL 7 NIC names.

b. Perform the in-place upgrade.

c. Verify that your network is working correctly. If needed, manually update the network
configuration.

37
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

(BZ#1919382)

The in-place upgrade might fail if there is not enough available disk space. The error messages
and logs might contain misleading or invalid information about the problem and resolution. To
resolve this issue, see the leapp fails with "There is not enough space on the file system hosting
/var/lib/leapp directory to extract the packages" Knowledgebase solution. (BZ# 1832730,
BZ#2210300)

If your system boots by using BIOS, the in-place upgrade fails when upgrading the GRUB2
bootloader if the boot disk’s embedding area does not contain enough space for the core image
installation. This results in a broken system, and can occur when the disk has been partitioned
manually, for example using the RHEL 6 fdisk utility. To verify whether this issue affects you,
perform the following steps:

a. Determine which sector starts the first partition on the disk with the installed bootloader:

# fdisk -l

The standard partitioning, which ensures enough space for the core image, starts on sector
2048.

b. Determine whether the starting sector provides enough space. The RHEL 8 core image
requires at least 32 KiB. For example, if the sector size is the standard 512 bytes, then
starting on sector 66 or lower would not provide enough space.

NOTE

The RHEL 8 core image might be larger than 32 KiB and require a higher
starting sector. Always verify how much space the current RHEL 8 core
requires.

c. If the embedding area does not contain enough storage space, perform a fresh installation
of the RHEL 8 system instead of performing an in-place upgrade.
(BZ#2181380)

After the in-place upgrade, SSH keys are no longer auto-generated if the system meets the
following conditions:

The system is on a cloud.

The cloud-init package is installed.

The ssh_genkeytypes configuration is set to ~ in the /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg file, which is the


default.
This issue prevents the system from connecting by using SSH if the original keys have been
removed. To prevent this issue, see the Unable to SSH to new Virtual Machine after
upgrading the template to RHEL 8.7 or 9 Knowledgebase solution. (BZ# 2210012)

9.4. KNOWN ISSUES FOR IBM POWER 9 (LITTLE ENDIAN) AND IBM Z
(STRUCTURE A)
The IBM POWER 9 (little endian) and 64-bit IBM Z (Structure A) architectures have reached end of life.
The final upgrade path for these architectures is from RHEL 7.6 to RHEL 8.4. Later releases to the in-
place upgrade do not include these architectures. As a result, known issues that are resolved in later
releases of the in-place upgrade are not resolved for these architectures.

38
CHAPTER 9. TROUBLESHOOTING

The following known issues affect only IBM POWER 9 (little endian) and 64-bit IBM-Z (Structure A)
architectures:

During an in-place upgrade, the docker package is removed without a warning. If you use
containers in RHEL, migrate to Podman prior to upgrading to RHEL 8. For instructions, see How
do I migrate my Docker containers to Podman prior to moving from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8? (BZ#1858711)

During the pre-upgrade process, users might need to answer true or false questions before they
can proceed with the upgrade. If the pre-upgrade report was run prior to the release of the
latest version of Leapp, the report might have incorrectly reported that all true or false
questions had been answered and that it was safe to proceed with the upgrade. If you ran the
pre-upgrade report prior to November 9, 2021, complete the following steps to prevent serious
issues with the upgrade:

1. Update all Leapp-related packages.

2. Remove the /var/log/leapp/answerfile and /var/log/leapp/answerfile.userchoices files:

# rm -f /var/log/leapp/answerfile /var/log/leapp/answerfile.userchoices

3. Run the leapp preupgrade command and answer any true or false questions again.
(BZ#2014015)

On systems with the NSFD service running on NFS servers, a non-existent NFS partition might
be incorrectly detected during the in-place upgrade, inhibiting the upgrade. To prevent this
issue, stop the NFSD service before running the in-place upgrade:

# systemctl stop /proc/fs/nfsd

(BZ#2036069)

9.5. OBTAINING SUPPORT


To open a support case, select RHEL 7 as the product, and provide a sosreport from your system.

To generate a sosreport on your system, run:

# sosreport

Note that you can leave the case ID empty.

For details on generating a sosreport, see the solution What is an sosreport and how to create one in
Red Hat Enterprise Linux?.

For more information about opening and managing a support case on the Customer Portal, see the
article How do I open and manage a support case on the Customer Portal? .

39
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

CHAPTER 10. RELATED INFORMATION


You can refer to the following instructional materials:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux technology capabilities and limits

Supported in-place upgrade paths for Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Considerations in adopting RHEL 8

Customizing your Red Hat Enterprise Linux in-place upgrade

Automating your Red Hat Enterprise Linux pre-upgrade report workflow

Using configuration management systems to automate parts of the Leapp pre-upgrade and
upgrade process on Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Upgrading from RHEL 6 to RHEL 7

Upgrading from RHEL 6 to RHEL 8

Converting from an RPM-based Linux distribution to RHEL

Upgrading Hosts from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 in Red Hat Satellite

How to in-place upgrade SAP environments from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

Red Hat Insights Documentation

Upgrades-related Knowledgebase articles and solutions

The best practices and recommendations for performing RHEL Upgrade using Leapp

Leapp upgrade FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

40
APPENDIX A. RHEL 7 REPOSITORIES

APPENDIX A. RHEL 7 REPOSITORIES


Before the upgrade, ensure you have appropriate repositories enabled as described in step 4 of the
procedure in Preparing a RHEL 7 system for the upgrade .

If you plan to use Red Hat Subscription Manager during the upgrade, you must enable the following
repositories before the upgrade by using the subscription-manager repos --enable repository_id
command:

Architecture Repository Repository ID

64-bit Intel Base rhel-7-server-rpms

Extras rhel-7-server-extras-rpms

IBM POWER8 (little endian) Base rhel-7-for-power-le-rpms

Extras rhel-7-for-power-le-extras-rpms

IBM POWER9 (little endian) Base rhel-7-for-power-9-rpms

Extras rhel-7-for-power-9-extras-rpms

IBM Z Base rhel-7-for-system-z-rpms

Extras rhel-7-for-system-z-extras-rpms

IBM Z (Structure A) Base rhel-7-for-system-z-a-rpms

Extras rhel-7-for-system-z-a-extras-rpms

You can enable the following repositories before the upgrade by using the subscription-manager
repos --enable repository_id command:

Architecture Repository Repository ID

64-bit Intel Optional rhel-7-server-optional-rpms

Supplementary rhel-7-server-supplementary-rpms

IBM POWER8 (little endian) Optional rhel-7-for-power-le-optional-rpms

Supplementary rhel-7-for-power-le-supplementary-rpms

IBM POWER9 (little endian) Optional rhel-7-for-power-9-optional-rpms

Supplementary rhel-7-for-power-9-supplementary-rpms

41
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

Architecture Repository Repository ID

IBM Z Optional rhel-7-for-system-z-optional-rpms

Supplementary rhel-7-for-system-z-supplementary-rpms

IBM Z (Structure A) Optional rhel-7-for-system-z-a-optional-rpms

Supplementary N/A

NOTE

If you have enabled a RHEL 7 Optional or a RHEL 7 Supplementary repository before an


in-place upgrade, Leapp enables the RHEL 8 CodeReady Linux Builder or RHEL 8
Supplementary repositories, respectively.

If you decide to use custom repositories, enable them per instructions in Configuring custom
repositories.

42
APPENDIX B. RHEL 8 REPOSITORIES

APPENDIX B. RHEL 8 REPOSITORIES


If your system is registered to the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN) using the Red Hat
Subscription Manager (RHSM), RHEL 8 repositories are automatically enabled during the in-place
upgrade. However, on systems registered to Red Hat Satellite using RHSM, you must manually enable
and synchronize both RHEL 7 and RHEL 8 repositories before running the pre-upgrade report.

NOTE

Make sure to enable the target operating system (OS) version of each repository, for
example RHEL 8.6. If you have enabled only the RHEL 8 version of the repositories, the
in-place upgrade is inhibited.

If you plan to use Red Hat Satellite during the upgrade, you must enable and synchronize at least the
following RHEL 8 repositories before the upgrade using either the Satellite web UI or the hammer
repository-set enable and hammer product synchronize commands:

NOTE

Replace <target_os_version> with the target operating system (OS) version, for example
8.6.

Table B.1. RHEL 8 repositories

Architecture Repository Repository ID Repository name Release version

64-bit Intel BaseOS rhel-8-for- Red Hat x86_64


x86_64-baseos- Enterprise Linux 8 <target_os_version
rpms for x86_64 - >
BaseOS (RPMs)

AppStream rhel-8-for- Red Hat x86_64


x86_64- Enterprise Linux 8 <target_os_version
appstream- for x86_64 - >
rpms AppStream
(RPMs)

IBM Power8 (little BaseOS rhel-8-for- Red Hat ppc64le


endian) ppc64le- Enterprise Linux 8 <target_os_version
baseos-rpms for Power, little >
IBM Power9 (little endian - BaseOS
endian) (RPMs)

AppStream rhel-8-for- Red Hat ppc64le


ppc64le- Enterprise Linux 8 <target_os_version
appstream- for Power, little >
rpms endian -
AppStream
(RPMs)

43
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

Architecture Repository Repository ID Repository name Release version

IBM Z BaseOS rhel-8-for- Red Hat s390x


s390x-baseos- Enterprise Linux 8 <target_os_version
IBM Z (Structure rpms for IBM z Systems >
A) - BaseOS (RPMs)

AppStream rhel-8-for- Red Hat s390x


s390x- Enterprise Linux 8 <target_os_version
appstream- for IBM z Systems >
rpms - AppStream
(RPMs)

44
APPENDIX C. LOCATIONS OF CRYPTOGRAPHIC KEYS IN RHEL 8

APPENDIX C. LOCATIONS OF CRYPTOGRAPHIC KEYS IN


RHEL 8
After you upgrade a system that is running in Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) mode,
you must regenerate and otherwise ensure the FIPS compliance of all cryptographic keys. Some well-
known locations for such keys are in the following table. Note that the list is not complete, and you might
check also other locations.

Table C.1. Locations of cryptographic keys in RHEL 8

Application Locations of keys Notes

Apache mod_ssl /etc/pki/tls/private/localhost. The


key /usr/lib/systemd/system/http
d-init.service service runs the
/usr/libexec/httpd-ssl-
gencerts file if the
/etc/pki/tls/private/localhost.
key does not exist.

Bind9 RNDC /etc/rndc.key The named-setup-


rndc.service service runs the
/usr/libexec/generate-rndc-
key.sh script, which generates
the /etc/rndc.key file.

Cyrus IMAPd /etc/pki/cyrus-imapd/cyrus- The cyrus-imapd-init.service


imapd-key.pem service generates the
/etc/pki/cyrus-imapd/cyrus-
imapd-key.pem file on its
startup.

DNSSEC-Trigger /etc/dnssec- The dnssec-triggerd-


trigger/dnssec_trigger_contr keygen.service service
ol.key generates the /etc/dnssec-
trigger/dnssec_trigger_contr
ol.key file.

Dovecot /etc/pki/dovecot/private/dove The dovecot-init.service


cot.pem service generates the
/etc/pki/dovecot/private/dove
cot.pem file on its startup.

OpenPegasus /etc/pki/Pegasus/file.pem The tog-pegasus.service


service generates the
/etc/pki/Pegasus/file.pem
private key file.

45
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8

Application Locations of keys Notes

OpenSSH /etc/ssh/ssh_host*_key Ed25519 and DSA keys are not


FIPS-compliant.

Custom Diffie-Hellman (DH)


parameters are not supported in
FIPS mode. Comment out the
ModuliFile option in the
sshd_config file to ensure
compatibility with FIPS mode.
You can keep the moduli file
(/etc/ssh/moduli by default) in
place.

Postfix /etc/pki/tls/private/postfix.ke The post-installation script


y contained in the postfix package
generates the
/etc/pki/tls/private/postfix.ke
y file.

RHEL web console /etc/cockpit/ws-certs.d/ The web console runs the


/usr/libexec/cockpit-
certificate-ensure –for-
cockpit-tls file, which creates
keys in the /etc/cockpit/ws-
certs.d/ directory.

Sendmail /etc/pki/tls/private/sendmail. The post-installation script


key contained in the sendmail
package generates the
/etc/pki/tls/private/sendmail.
key file.

To ensure the FIPS compliance of cryptographic keys of third-party applications, refer to the
corresponding documentation of the respective applications. Furthermore:

Any service that opens a port might use a TLS certificate.

Not all services generate cryptographic keys automatically, but many services that start up
automatically by default often do so.

Focus also on services that use any cryptographic libraries such as NSS, GnuTLS, OpenSSL, and
libgcrypt.

Check also backup, disk-encryption, file-encryption, and similar applications.

IMPORTANT
46
APPENDIX C. LOCATIONS OF CRYPTOGRAPHIC KEYS IN RHEL 8

IMPORTANT

Because FIPS mode in RHEL 8 restricts DSA keys, DH parameters, RSA keys shorter than
1024 bits, and some other ciphers, old cryptographic keys stop working after the upgrade
from RHEL 7. See the Changes in core cryptographic components section in the
Considerations in adopting RHEL 8 document and the Using system-wide cryptographic
policies chapter in the RHEL 8 Security hardening document for more information.

Additional resources

Switching the system to FIPS mode in the RHEL 8 Security hardening document

update-crypto-policies(8) and fips-mode-setup(8) man pages

47

You might also like