Straypenguins-Tips-Inventory

How to Reliably Update RHEL Server

This document describes a safe and reliable procedure for updating a RHEL system within the same major version.

🔧 Phase 1: Preparation and Update

Determine the Target Release
Decide on your target RHEL release number (e.g., 9.6). See RHEL Downloads and look up the appropriate kernel version in, for example, Packages—v9.
Select and Prepare the Kernel Update Script
Choose the correct script (see also Script Table below):
- update-kernel.sh: For systems without kernel-devel, updating within the same release (e.g., 9.5→9.5)
- update-kernel-withdevel.sh: For systems with kernel-devel, updating within the same release
- update-kernel-withrel.sh: For systems without kernel-devel, updating across different releases (e.g., 9.5→9.6)
- update-kernel-withdevel-withrel.sh: For systems with kernel-devel, updating across releases
Edit the releasever= variable (only present in scripts without -withrel) and the newkernelver= variable at the top of the script as appropriate.
Pre-Check: List Current Kernel-Related Packages
Run the update script with the -l option to list current kernel-related packages. For example:
```
./update-kernel-withdevel-withrel.sh -l
```
Clean DNF Cache
```
dnf clean all
rm -rf /var/cache/dnf
```
Recreate DNF Cache (Ignore Excludes)
This ensures all metadata is refreshed:
```
dnf --disableexcludes=main makecache
```
Change Directory to Script Location
For example:
```
cd /work/rhel9
```
Update Kernel-Related Packages
Run the script to update only kernel-related packages:
```
./update-kernel-withdevel-withrel.sh
```
Update Other Packages
```
dnf update
```
If any *.rpmsave or *.rpmnew files are created during update, review and merge changes as needed. To find these files:
```
find / -regex '.*/.*\.rpm\(save\|new\)'
```
Reboot the System
```
systemctl reboot
```
Or use your preferred method.

🔧 Phase 2: Post-Update Checks

Post-Check: Confirm Active Kernel and OS Version
After reboot, verify the running kernel and OS version:
```
uname -a
cat /etc/os-release
# or
cat /etc/redhat-release
```
Post-Check: List Installed Kernel-Related Packages
Use the update script with the -l option again to confirm package versions:
```
./update-kernel-withdevel-withrel.sh -l
```
Retry Update if Necessary
There is a slight chance the updated kernel requires additional package updates. Run:
```
dnf update
```
Check for Broken Dependencies
```
dnf repoquery --unsatisfied
```
Final Review of .rpmsave/.rpmnew Files
Check again for any new config files that may have been created and merge as appropriate.

Script Selection Table

👉 Browse these files on GitHub Web

Use Case	Script Name
No kernel-devel, same release	`update-kernel.sh`
With kernel-devel, same release	`update-kernel-withdevel.sh`
No kernel-devel, across releases	`update-kernel-withrel.sh`
With kernel-devel, across releases	`update-kernel-withdevel-withrel.sh`

This procedure leverages the -l (list-only) script option for before/after verification of kernel package versions, and provides all commands for a consistent, reliable RHEL minor release update.

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