Using migration instructions to update OS

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1
SYSTEM INFORMATION
OS type and version Ubuntu Linux 22.04.5
Usermin version 2.400
Virtualmin version 7.40.1 Pro
Theme version 25.10
Apache version 2.4.52
Package updates All installed packages are up to date

I have some dumb questions but since I would like no problems I will ask them.

I am once again getting grub errors and efi errors when I run the updater. I have been getting these errors for some time. Last time this happened, I tried to fix it and then the server crashed and I had to reinstall everything.

As mentioned above, I have been getting these errors for around 3 months. Last time I ran it my server crashed but I was able to reboot it manually. So no real problem. The server is running again but I am fearful it will crash.

Rather than wait for disaster, I felt that I should wipe the server and reinstall everything. As long as I was upgrading, I felt I should go for Ubuntu 24.4 LTS instead of using Ubuntu 22.4 LTS.

My plan was to use these instructions to Transfer the server.
Backup using the following commands:

mkdir /root/backups
virtualmin backup-domain --dest /root/backups/ --all-domains --all-features --newformat --all-virtualmin

To create a backup of my system.

Then save these backups on my PC.

Next, I was going to reimage the server to Ubuntu 24.4 LTS

Next reinstall vitrualmin

Then copy the backup back to the server and run the restore

virtualmin restore-domain --source /root/backups/virtualmin.tar.gz --all-virtualmin
virtualmin restore-domain --source /root/backups/ --all-domains --all-features

I believe this will work.

Now my questions:

  1. Will this restore all my IP address mappings–I have 3 IP addresses
  2. Will all my passwords be restored.
  3. Will email be setup correctly?
  4. Anythinig else I need to worry about.

I guess at this point , I would be all setup and could go live.

Before doing this, I would like some reassurance.
Thanks,
Michael

2

I have no idea what this means.

3

I’m not sure. Virtualmin can manage IP addresses, if configured with a range of IP addresses to assign to domains. But, usually, the system is preconfigured with the IP addresses and Virtualmin is simply told which IPs to use for the domains. Having a bunch of IPs is unusual in the modern world, where multiple IPs is never necessary (it used to be necessary if you needed anonymous FTP on multiple domain names, or if you needed mail to use different certs for different domains, and neither of those needs multiple IPs, anymore, and we even hide the virtual FTP feature configuration by default now since it was just confusing for the vast majority of users).

When restoring a domain, you can choose what IP the domain will be assigned in Apache. Any custom IP-related stuff you may have done for other services likely won’t be part of the Virtualmin backup.

Of course. Though if you were using hashed passwords, Virtualmin will continue to not know the passwords (because it never knew them as they were never stored anywhere unhashed). It only knows the hash and can restore that hash when restoring the user.

That depends on what “correctly” means. If you customized the configuration of Postfix or Dovecot (aside from things specific to domains, e.g. in the virtual map), those changes won’t be part of the Virtualmin backups. But, mail should work out of the box on a fresh Virtualmin installation and does for most users, assuming correct DNS configuration and assuming the system hostname is not the same as a name virtually hosted in Virtualmin.

A migration from one major version of Ubuntu to the next major version of Ubuntu should usually be pretty simple. Assuming you didn’t have a bunch of customization of the various services, restoring should get you back up and running pretty quickly. If you did do a bunch of customization, you’ll need to also backup those service configuration files, and you’ll need to deal with any compatibility changes that occurred in whatever changes you made when going from one version to the next (if any).

I usually recommend folks test their backup/restore process on a test system before trying to do it in production. You can find out if you need to worry about other stuff by trying it on a system that is not critical for your production server.

And, if you’re having grub errors and boot problems, I would suspect hardware problems (disk, probably, but memory can also cause that kind of problem), especially if you’ve seen it multiple times. Simply reinstalling on the same hardware may be asking for the same problems to persist or get worse. You should use the smartmontools to check your disk for SMART status, and run the full self-test, etc. to make sure you’re not sitting on a ticking time bomb. Maybe also check memory, though running memtest requires your system to be offline while it runs. It’s possible to run memory tests on a system in use, but it can’t test everything and if there are memory issues it’ll crash the system. THe kernel log will also probably have clues about failing hardware.

grub does not just randomly break in the general case. Though you haven’t give actual errors, it’s impossible to say anything specific, really.

4

Thanks for the response. I did not do any significant customizations.

I did not really expect an answer about the grub and efi error since I had previously had this error which resolved when I reimaged the server. It remained fixed for over 1 year and then I started having this error again. Therefore, I did not describe this error in detail. I had 1.5 years ago when I previously had this error. I have been diligent in backing up my system, so I won’t have the problems I had when it crashed last year.

You answered my main questions; I just want to be prepared for any problems that I might have.

Thanks,
Michael

5

I think it means time to search and get this solved BEFORE installing Virtualmin. This should normally be handled by the installer without problems.