Convert and upgrade your RHEL-like system to RHEL in one go

For years, migrating to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)  meant a 2-step dance: first, you needed to convert the OS to a corresponding RHEL version, then perform an in-place RHEL upgrade. This meant that going from CentOS Stream 9 to RHEL 10 required a conversion from CentOS Stream 9 to RHEL 9 and a subsequent upgrade from RHEL 9 to RHEL 10. Different utilities and thus processes were used for each of those steps: Convert2RHEL for the conversion and Leapp for the upgrade. 

Having distinct utilities and separate processes introduces complexity, and requires  separate automation workflows and careful verification after each step. To simplify the conversion and upgrade path to RHEL, the latest release of the leapp-repository package consolidates both of these steps into a single, unified procedure in many scenarios.

Introducing upgrades and conversions in Leapp

With the 0.24.0 release of leapp-repository, Leapp can now perform an in-place upgrade and conversion simultaneously within a single, integrated process for certain source OSes. Those conversions are now fully integrated into the Leapp upgrade workflow, bypassing the need for Convert2RHEL. There is no intermediary system created as part of the conversion process: in the scenario we described earlier, for example, the CentOS Stream 9 system would be directly converted and upgraded in place to RHEL 10, without a stop at RHEL 9. This saves considerable time, reduces system downtime, and simplifies the planning and execution phases of migrating to RHEL.

The overall procedure is largely consistent with a standard in-place upgrade. Users familiar with Leapp will recognize the established workflow,  including the comprehensive pre-upgrade assessment and familiar interface. 

Because the upgrade is an inherent part of the conversion process, Leapp will in all cases facilitate conversion to the next major version, not simply to the RHEL version corresponding to the version of the current system. This approach naturally aligns with the typical strategy of migrating and upgrading systems approaching their end of life.

While there is currently no official support for the process, we have released a Knowledgebase article that will guide you through the upgrade and conversion journey.

The currently available upgrade paths include CentOS Stream and AlmaLinux as the source OS, the latter being available thanks to a contribution from the AlmaLinux community. The specific upgrade and conversion paths are outlined in Table 1.

Table 1. Currently available upgrade and conversion paths

On CentOS Stream systems, Leapp is available in the appstream repository and receives regular updates during the lifetime of the distribution. After the distribution’s end of life, new versions can be accessed from a new Red Hat Content Delivery Network repository for Leapp packages, which are publicly accessible through a repofile. This same repository also provides access to the Leapp utility on AlmaLinux, and in the future will provide access on other RHEL-like distributions. No subscription is required to access the utility and its updates, but a subscription is required to access the RHEL content necessary for performing the upgrade and conversion.

What does this mean for Convert2RHEL?

While there are currently no plans to add new supported conversion paths to Convert2RHEL, it remains the go-to utility for a supported conversion and is the recommended way to convert to RHEL 7, RHEL 8, and RHEL 9. Convert2RHEL is also the only tool for converting Oracle Linux and Rocky Linux systems, as it’s currently not possible to perform upgrade and conversion on those distributions with Leapp.

For more information about conversion paths supported in Convert2RHEL, see the Red Hat documentation on converting from a Linux distribution to RHEL using the Convert2RHEL utility. As noted, Convert2RHEL will only convert systems to their corresponding RHEL version; read more about upgrading your Red Hat Enterprise Linux infrastructure to learn more about a subsequent upgrade using Leapp .

Future of conversions and upgrades in Leapp

We already have plans for future releases. We would like to extend upgrade and conversion  paths to include other RHEL-like distributions, such as Rocky Linux and Oracle Linux. In the meantime, you can convert such systems with  the traditional 2-step conversion and upgrade process using Convert2RHEL and Leapp.

The Leapp utility provides several options for configuring the source of target RHEL content for standard in-place upgrades. These include Subscription Manager, Red Hat Satellite, ISO images, custom repositories, and Red Hat Update Infrastructure  in cloud environments. However, for in-place upgrades and conversions, the only currently available option is to use custom repositories. To offer greater flexibility, we are considering adding Subscription Manager and ISO images as possible content sources for conversions and upgrades too. 

Wrap-up

Conversions and upgrades using Leapp offer a new, simplified option for modernizing your infrastructure by migrating to the latest and greatest versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The Convert2RHEL utility still remains a useful tool for some conversion paths, and in scenarios where users may want to convert without upgrading.