OpenBSD Upgrade Guide: 4.2 to 4.3

[FAQ Index] | [4.1 -> 4.2] | [4.3 -> 4.4]

Note: Upgrades are only supported from one release to the release immediately following it. Do not skip releases.

It is highly recommended that you read through and fully understand this process before attempting it. If you are doing it on a critical or physically remote machine, it is recommended that you test this process on an identical, local system to verify its success before attempting on a critical or remote computer.

Upgrading is a convenient way to bring your OpenBSD system up to the most recent version. However, the results are not intended to precisely match the results of a wipe-and-reload installation. Old library files in particular are not removed in the upgrade process, as they may be required by older applications that may or may not be upgraded at this time. If you REALLY wish to get rid of all these old files, you are probably better off reinstalling from scratch.

Table of Contents:

• Before upgrading
  • libexpat has moved to base43.tgz
  • httpd.conf change
  • hoststated(8) renamed to relayd(8)
  • carp(4) changes
  • xenocara default tree location changed
  • rc.conf
  • Modified kernel
• The upgrade process
• Final steps
  • New and changed Users and Groups
  • Upgrading /etc
  • Checking the kernel
  • Upgrading packages
  • Removing xbase42.tgz

Before upgrading: things to think about and be aware of

• libexpat has been moved to base43.tgz
  For 4.2, libexpat moved from ports to xbase42.tgz, which was highly inconvenient for people who did not have any other reason to install X. For 4.3, libexpat has moved from xbase42.tgz to base43.tgz, so for many applications, there is no longer reason to install xbase43.tgz.

  This can create a small problem if you installed xbase42.tgz to get libexpat on your 4.2 system. Since you installed xbase42.tgz, you should either remove it or upgrade it. If libexpat was the only reason you had xbase42.tgz installed, removing the old files is probably the best solution. Details on removing xbase42.tgz are provided.

  Also note that building ports is still only supported with a full installation, including all X file sets.

• httpd.conf change:
  Packages for httpd(8) modules now install configuration files in /var/www/conf/modules.samples, and direct the user to create symbolic links in /var/www/conf/modules. The following lines should be added to /var/www/conf/httpd.conf after the LoadModule directives (towards the end of section 1):

  #
  # Include extra module configuration files
  #
  Include /var/www/conf/modules/*.conf
  

  This is in the upgrade43.patch file, but may not apply properly to highly customized httpd.conf files. You should make sure these lines end up in your system, otherwise future package additions may not work properly after install.

• hoststated(8) renamed to relayd(8):
  hoststated(8) has been renamed to relayd(8). This will require a renaming of the _hoststated user and group to _relayd, plus changes to your /etc/pf.conf file and a minor rework of your hoststated.conf(5) into a relayd.conf(5) file. The upgrade instructions here will install a new relayd.conf file, you will need to configure it as you need.

• carp(4) changes:
  carp(4) has been changed to make it easier to configure. If you are running carp(4) with ARP or IP balancing your configuration needs to be changed accordingly:
  • Multiple carp(4) interfaces sharing an IP have been replaced with the carpnodes option.
  • The net.inet.carp.arpbalance sysctl(8) has been replaced with balancing mode arp.
  • The link0, link1, and link2 flags used for IP balancing have been replaced with the balancing modes ip, ip-stealth and ip-unicast.

• xenocara default tree location changed:
  The default location of the xenocara (X) source tree is now /usr/xenocara. This is important for those who build X from source. Simply move your xenocara tree:

  # mv /usr/src/xenocara /usr
  

• rc.conf:
  Unlike earlier versions of this process, since 4.1 it is assumed that /etc/rc.conf is not a user-altered file. If you have made changes to your /etc/rc.conf file, merge those changes into /etc/rc.conf.local. If you have NO /etc/rc.conf.local, simply copy your existing /etc/rc.conf file to /etc/rc.conf.local and delete the last line of the script! Otherwise, pull your existing rc.conf into the top of your existing rc.conf.local file and remove the last line before doing the rest of this process.

• Modified kernel:
  Check whether you have made any modifications to your kernel. For example, you might have modified your network device to use a non-default setting using config(8). Note your changes, so you can repeat them for the new 4.3 kernel.

The upgrade process

Upgrading by install kernel

One easy way to boot from the install kernel is to place the 4.3 version of bsd.rd in the root of your boot drive, then instruct the boot loader to boot using this new bsd.rd file. On amd64 and i386, you do this by entering "boot bsd.rd" at the initial boot> prompt.

Upgrading without install kernel

Sometimes, one needs to do an upgrade of a machine when one can't easily use the normal upgrade process. The most common case is when the machine is in a remote location and you don't have easy access to the system console. One can usually do this by carefully following this process:

• Place install files in a "good" location. Make sure you have sufficient space!

• Stop any "insecure" applications from starting at boot: There will be a time when PF will be unlikely to be running during this upgrade process, but your applications may still start and run properly. Any application dependent upon PF for security should be disabled before this happens, and should not be re-enabled until proper PF operation is verified after upgrade. There may be other applications which you wish to keep from running during the upgrade, stop and disable them as well.

• Check the kernel: Although most people can skip this step, if you had a modified kernel in 4.2, it is likely you will need to modify the stock kernel of 4.3. Especially when you are performing the upgrade process remotely, now is the time to make sure the new kernel will work upon rebooting the machine. If any changes must be made to the kernel, the safest thing to do is to make those changes on a local 4.3 system. This can be as simple as modifying a specific device using config(8), or it can involve a recompilation if the option you need is not included in the GENERIC kernel. Please consult FAQ 5 - Building the system from source before considering to recompile your kernel.

• Install new kernel(s)

  export RELEASEPATH=/usr/rel   # where you put the files
  cd ${RELEASEPATH}
  rm /obsd ; ln /bsd /obsd && cp bsd /nbsd && mv /nbsd /bsd
  cp bsd.rd bsd.mp /
  

  Note the extra steps for copying over the primary kernel: those are done to ensure that there is always a valid copy of the kernel on the disk that the system can boot from should there be a really badly timed power outage or system crash.

• Install new /etc/firmware files: Due to the fact that some uploaded "firmware" files may have been updated, you may need to update the files in the /etc/firmware directory. This will impact users of only a few devices, though all users can use this step without harm. To extract the firmware files from base43.tgz, use the following as root:

  cd /
  tar -C / -xzphf ${RELEASEPATH}/base43.tgz ./etc/firmware
  

• Install new /sbin/ifconfig utility: Sometimes the network drivers (especially more complex devices such as pppoe(4)) in the new kernel need an updated ifconfig utility to be configured properly after the reboot in the next step. Again, it's something that all users can do without harm, but if you are performing your remote upgrade over a pppoe(4) connection this step can be crucial. To extract the ifconfig utility from base43.tgz, use the following as root:

  tar -C / -xzphf ${RELEASEPATH}/base43.tgz ./sbin/ifconfig
  

• Reboot on the new kernel: This might be a tempting step to skip, but it should be done now, as usually, the new kernel will run old userland apps (such as the soon to be important reboot!), but often a new userland will NOT work on the old kernel.

• Install new userland applications. Do NOT install etc43.tgz and xetc43.tgz now, because that will overwrite your current configuration files!

  export RELEASEPATH=/usr/rel
  cd ${RELEASEPATH}
  tar -C / -xzphf base43.tgz
  tar -C / -xzphf comp43.tgz
  tar -C / -xzphf game43.tgz
  tar -C / -xzphf man43.tgz
  tar -C / -xzphf misc43.tgz
  tar -C / -xzphf xbase43.tgz
  tar -C / -xzphf xfont43.tgz
  tar -C / -xzphf xserv43.tgz
  tar -C / -xzphf xshare43.tgz
  

  Note: not all file sets will need to be installed for all applications, however if you installed a file set originally, you should certainly upgrade it with the new file set now.

  Note: the files in /etc are handled separately below, so etc43.tgz and xetc43.tgz are NOT unpacked here.

• Upgrade /dev. The new MAKEDEV file will be copied to /dev by the installation of base43.tgz, so you simply need to do the following:

  cd /dev
  ./MAKEDEV all
  

• Upgrade /etc as below.

• Reboot

    Nov 1 12:47:05 puffy sm-mta[16733]: filesys_update failed: No such file or directory, fs=., avail=-1, blocksize=380204

Final steps

1. New and changed Users and Groups

useradd -u90 -g=uid -c"OSPF6 Daemon" -d/var/empty -s/sbin/nologin _ospf6d
useradd -u91 -g=uid -c"SNMP Daemon" -d/var/empty -s/sbin/nologin _snmpd

2. Upgrading /etc

You will want to extract the etc43.tgz files to a temporary location:

tar -C /tmp -xzphf ${RELEASEPATH}/etc43.tgz

etc/mail/README
etc/moduli
etc/mtree/4.4BSD.dist
etc/mtree/BSD.local.dist
etc/mtree/special
etc/netstart
etc/ospf6d.conf
etc/rc
etc/rc.conf
etc/relayd.conf
etc/security
etc/snmpd.conf
var/named/etc/root.hint

cd /tmp/etc
cp moduli netstart ospf6d.conf rc rc.conf relayd.conf security snmpd.conf /etc
cp mtree/* /etc/mtree/
cp mail/README /etc/mail
cp ../var/named/etc/root.hint /var/named/etc

These files likely have local changes, but should be updated for 4.3. IF you have not altered these files, you can copy over the new version, otherwise the changes must be merged with your files:

etc/changelist
etc/chio.conf
etc/ftpusers
etc/mail/aliases
etc/ssh/sshd_config
etc/sudoers
etc/sysctl.conf
var/named/etc/named-dual.conf
var/named/etc/named-simple.conf
var/named/etc/named.conf
var/www/conf/httpd.conf
var/www/conf/mime.types
var/www/htdocs/manual/mod/core.html
var/www/htdocs/manual/server-wide.html

cd /
patch -C -p0 < upgrade43.patch

/etc/ttys has been made more consistent across platforms, but this makes updating more exciting for this file. It is recommended that you copy over this new file, and manually merge any changes back to the new one:

mv /etc/ttys /etc/ttys.orig
cp /tmp/etc/ttys /etc

The following files have had changes which should be looked at, but it is unlikely they should be directly copied or merged (i.e., if you are using pf.conf, look at the suggested change of strategy, and decide if it is appropriate for your use).

/etc/pf.conf

There are a couple files that can be deleted that are no longer used in 4.3:

rm /etc/hoststated.conf /var/named/standard/root.hint

newaliases
mtree -qdef /etc/mtree/4.4BSD.dist -p / -u
chown root:operator /etc/chio.conf
chmod 644 /etc/chio.conf

3. Checking the kernel

If you followed the instructions for the upgrade process without install kernel, you have already completed this step. However, if you used the install kernel, and if you had a modified kernel in 4.2, it is likely you will need to modify the stock kernel of 4.3. This can be as simple as modifying a specific device using config(8), or it can involve a recompilation if the option you need is not included in the GENERIC kernel. Please consult FAQ 5 - Building the system from source before considering to recompile your kernel.

4. Upgrading packages

The package tools support in-place updating using pkg_add -u. For instance, to update all your packages, make sure PKG_PATH is pointing to the 4.3 packages directory on your CD or nearest FTP mirror, and use something like

# pkg_add -ui -F update -F updatedepends

5. Removing xbase42.tgz

If you wish to remove it, you can use the following commands:

# mv /usr/X11R6/lib/libexpat.so.* /usr/lib
# rm -r /usr/X11R6 /etc/X11 /etc/fonts

If you wish to install xbase43.tgz, then you must clean the old libexpat files:

# mv /usr/X11R6/lib/libexpat.so.* /usr/lib
# rm /usr/X11R6/lib/libexpat*
# rm /usr/X11R6/include/expat*

[FAQ Index] | [4.1 -> 4.2] | [4.3 -> 4.4]