We are working on a new Asterisk 11 Distro build. Currently we run the following 3 release tracks of the distro
1.8xx.210.58 which is Asterisk 1.8, FreePBX 2.10 and Centos 5.8
1.10xx.210.58 which is Asterisk 10, FreePBX 2.10 and Centos 5.8
1.10xx.210.62 which is Asterisk 10, FreePBX 2.10 and Centos 6.2
Now comes the tough part. I dont think we want to add yet another release track to complicate the 3 tracks we are already running. So I am proposing the following options and need input from the users on which option they want.
OPTION 1- Basically drop the Asterisk 10 branch that is on Centos 5.8 since long term we are not going to be supporting Centos 5.x anymore.
1.8xx.210.58 which is Asterisk 1.8, FreePBX 2.10 and Centos 5.8- Stable
1.10xx.210.62 which is Asterisk 10, FreePBX 2.10 and Centos 6.2- Stable
1.11xx.210.63 which is Asterisk 11, FreePBX 2.10 and Centos 6.3- Beta
OPTION 2- Drop all support for the Centos 5.8 versions and only support the 6.2 and 6.3. The nice part about this is the easy upgrade path between Centos 6.2 and 6.3 so as 6.3 proves stable we can move the Asterisk 1.8 and Asterisk 10 to centos 6.3
1.8xx.210.62 which is Asterisk 1.8, FreePBX 2.10 and Centos 6.2- Stable
1.10xx.210.62 which is Asterisk 10, FreePBX 2.10 and Centos 6.2- Stable
1.11xx.210.63 which is Asterisk 11, FreePBX 2.10 and Centos 6.3- Beta
Actually since 1.8 and 1.11 are the long term releases, why not keep support for them, as they will be supported for a while by Digium, and then pretty much ditch the 1.10 release in the near future once you are comfortable with your roll up of 1.11.
It just seems like sticking with the LT releases are probably best solution wise for business, so we know what will see bug fixes and updates for a few years to come.
As to CentOS 5 or 6, it seems like 6 would be the way to go, again it will be supported longer by the project. You would almost think maybe doing something like supporting 1.8 and 1.11 on CentOS 6 would be the way to go, and they could be the mainstream versions, and if you want to keep a 1.8 on CentOS 5, that could be a lower effort maintenance tree for you, and just provide security updates and bug fixes, with the CentOS 6 versions being the real progression forward.
Anyway they are my ramblings on the issue, as you asked for more input. I have a few running on 1.8 with CentOS 5, and I was working with your 1.10 release with CentOS 6, but when I saw that 1.11 was out and was the new long term platform, I decided to dump the 1.10 release and start working on using 1.11 as my moving forward (yes I know it’s listed as beta) solution, due to it being a LT release…
We just cutover to a asterisk 1.8 CentOS 5.8 distro. I am not a PBX person by trade I would like to get releases on this current system. However if we need to move to a CentOS 6.2 version would it be possible to document the process of moving from a 1.8 CentOS 5.8 distro?
We attempt to be as clear as possible, this thread is a discussion on the subject. Did you read the entire thread before posting or did you find the statement “no migration path for CentOS 5 to CentOS 6” ambiguous?
I am running and trying all distro versions, and none of the are instable or gives me problems.
I tthink option 2 is the best. Especially I believe in the combination Asterisk 1.8.x and CentOS 6.x. Both have proven me stabillity in my billing platform and Asterisk 1.8.x is a LTS and CentOs 6.x isfurther developed.
I hope you think the same, because now I am downgrading asterisk 1.10 to 1.8.x on the 1.10xx.210.62 Distro. Because I like the 1.8.x LongTermSupport Idea in combination with the CentOS development.
I am holding my comments as to not sway the comments one way or another. The only down side with option 2 is anyone on the Centos 5.8 version will be trapped as there is no Centos 5.x to 6.x upgrade path out there.
Factoring in the comfort that Moshi has the last of the bugs out or the backup and restore module I think this bit of pain is worth it to get on the CentOS 6 train.
I have never been an advocate for cutting edge OS’s on PBX’s however the storage and networking driver set for CentOS 5 is starting to be a struggle to support newer hardware.
I see Option 1 as the best solution at the moment.
Keep asterisk 1.8x with Centos 5.x and from asterisk 10 and on have Centos 6.x.
From my point of view, we got 20-30 installation with asterisk 1.8x on Centos 5.X. What will happen to them if you decide to stop support at centos 5.x? As far as I understand there is no upgrade script from Centos 5.x to 6.x. That means all the installation of asterisk 1.8x will not receive security update(at least) if you follow option 2.
Yes you are correct if we go with option 2 there will be no upgrades on the 1.8xx.210.58 track so the Asterisk 1.8.17 that is the latest for that track will be it.
Maybe I am thinking not correctly, correct me if I am wrong.
You can always install/compile a new asterisk version within any freepbx distro.
This is as many work as downloading the distro update scripts.
And the Freepbx updates are alway’s supported also in the GUI.
Again, correct me if I am wrong.
Yes they can always download their own asterisk RPMs and FreePBX updates can always be done from GUI. There just wont be any new upgrade scripts and we wont build RPMs for the Asterisk 1.8 Centos 5 branch anymore if we go with option 2
In that case (following option 2) should come with “final” upgrade script that changes the repos from PBX (if they wont be updated anymore) to Centos 5.X ones.
No as that wont do you any good for asterisk updates or anything else. If we did that and someone did a yum update they would break everything with getting a new kernel and not having a dahdi that is compiled for that kernel
It seems to me that Option 2 is the better one as centos 5.8 with asterisk 1.8 is very stable now and can carry on working quite happily for a good while without the need for updates.
As a test I loaded centos 6.2 with asterisk 10 distro today and then restored the backup from a working (5.8 1.8) system on to it. Everything went across smoothly so I don’t think there is much worry about upgrading when the time comes.
