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Learn how to upgrade CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8+ with Leapp! This guide walks through upgrading CentOS 7 (EOL) to AlmaLinux 8 using the official Elevate/Leapp migration framework. ⚠️ Important Notes Before You Begin CentOS 7 reached End of Life in June 2024. Upgrade is in-place, but not risk-free. Backups are mandatory. Requires: 2GB+ RAM (4GB recommended) 5GB+ free disk space in / Direct root or sudo access No active control panels (cPanel is NOT supported for Leapp upgrades) How to Upgrade CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8+ Using Leapp To upgrade CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8+ using Leapp, follow the steps below: Pre-Upgrade Preparation Update CentOS 7 fully yum clean all yum update -y reboot Verify version: cat /etc/centos-release Should show: CentOS Linux release 7.9.2009 (Core) Remove Unsupported Packages List 3rd-party packages: rpm -qa | grep -E "elrepo|epel|ius|remi" Disable or remove non-essential repos. Check for held packages: yum versionlock list Check Disk Space df -h Ensure / has at least 5GB free. Install Elevate (Leapp Framework) The Elevate project allows migration between Enterprise Linux versions. Install repository: yum install -y https://repo.almalinux.org/elevate/elevate-release-latest-el7.noarch.rpm Install Leapp data for AlmaLinux 8: yum install -y leapp-upgrade leapp-data-almalinux Run Pre-Upgrade Check This step analyzes your system and generates a report. leapp preupgrade Reports are generated at: /var/log/leapp/leapp-report.txt AND /var/log/leapp/leapp-report.json Resolve Inhibitors Common blockers: Firewalld configuration issues Old kernel modules Deprecated authentication methods Removed packages Example: remove deprecated PAM module: yum remove -y pam_pkcs11 After fixing issues: leapp preupgrade Repeat until no inhibitors remain. Start the Upgrade When clean: leapp upgrade This prepares the system and installs the new AlmaLinux 8 packages. Reboot Into Upgrade Environment After completion: reboot GRUB will automatically boot into: Leapp Upgrade Initramfs Upgrade process runs automatically. This may take 10–30 minutes depending on system size. Verify AlmaLinux 8 After reboot: cat /etc/os-release You should see: AlmaLinux 8.x Verify kernel: uname -r Should show: 4.18.x.el8 Post-Upgrade Cleanup Remove old CentOS 7 packages: rpm -qa | grep el7 Remove leftovers: dnf remove -y $(rpm -qa | grep el7) Remove old kernels: dnf remove -y kernel-3.10.* Clean up: dnf autoremove -y dnf clean all Re-enable Repositories Re-enable EPEL (EL8 version): dnf install -y epel-release Reinstall any required services. SELinux Relabel (Recommended) touch /.autorelabel reboot Validate Critical Services Check: systemctl status Verify: Nginx / Apache MariaDB SSH Firewall Custom services (FreeIPA, Keycloak, FRR, etc.) ⚠️ Known Caveats Direct upgrade to AlmaLinux 9 is NOT supported from CentOS 7. Must go: CentOS 7 → AlmaLinux 8 AlmaLinux 8 → AlmaLinux 9 (separate process) Control panels like cPanel are not supported for in-place upgrades. Recommended Production Strategy Safer method for production nodes: Deploy fresh AlmaLinux 8 VPS Migrate services manually Test Switch DNS / IP Decommission CentOS 7 In-place upgrades are acceptable for: Internal nodes Monitoring servers Non-cPanel standalone services Optional: Upgrade AlmaLinux 8 → AlmaLinux 9 After reaching AlmaLinux 8: dnf install -y leapp-upgrade leapp-data-almalinux leapp preupgrade leapp upgrade reboot Final Checklist ✅ Full backup taken ✅ Preupgrade report clean ✅ No inhibitors ✅ Services validated ✅ SELinux relabeled ✅ Old kernels removed Conclusion You now know how to upgrade CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8+ with Leapp.

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