Migration\Upgrade from RHEL v6.7 to New Server RHEL v8.3

How to Use GitLab Upgrade
1

Hello,

Looking for advice on how 1.) to perform a server migration and 2.) what specific version of GitLab I need to install on the new server

Current severs:

  • Server A - Old server is running RHEL v6.7 with Gitlab v8.7.4
  • Server B - New server is running RHEL v8.3. Need advice which GitLab specific version to install, V12.x of GL seems to be the only one with support for RHEL 6 and 8.

Steps I was thinking to do:

  • Upgrade GitLab version v12.x on Server A
  • Install GitLab version v12.x on Server B
  • Backup GitLab repository on Server A
  • Copy backup file from Server A to Server B
  • Restore backup repository file onto Server B
  • Upgrade Gitlab on Server B to the latest version of GitLab

Thanks!

2

Yes, those steps look fine. Both server A and B need to be on the same version, as you have to restore the backup to the same version.

On server B you will need to copy /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb and the gitlab-secrets.json file from server A, and then do:

gitlab-ctl reconfigure
gitlab-ctl restart

since you need to have a working system. Then copy the backup from server A which would be in /var/opt/gitlab/backups/ to the same location on server B. You can then follow the restore procedure here:

https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/raketasks/backup_restore.html#restore-gitlab

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