Matt Gerega

Tag: Ubuntu

  • A Quick WSL Swap

    I have been using WSL and Ubuntu 22.04 a lot more in recent weeks. From virtual environments for Python development to the ability to use Podman to run container images, the tooling supports some of the work I do much better than Windows does.

    But Ubuntu 22.04 is old! I love the predictable LTS releases, but two years is an eternity in software, and I was looking forward to the 22.04 release.

    Upgrade or Fresh Start?

    I looked at a few options for upgrading my existing Ubuntu 22.04 WSL instance, but I really did not like what I read. The guidance basically suggested it was a “try at your own risk” scenario.

    I took a quick inventory of what was actually on my WSL image. As it turns out, not too much. Aside from some of my standard profile settings, I only have a few files that were not available in some of my Github repositories. Additionally, since you can have multiple instances of WSL running, the easiest solution I could find was to stand up a new 24.04 image and copy my settings and files over.

    Is that it?

    Shockingly, yes. Installing 24.04 is as simple as opening it in the Microsoft store and downloading it. Once that was done, I ran through the quick provisioning to setup the basics, and then copied my profile and file.

    I was able to utilize scp for most of the copying, although I also realized that I could copy files from Windows using the \\wsl.localhost paths. Either way, it didn’t take very long before I had Ubuntu 24.04 up and running.

    I still have 22.04 installed, and I haven’t deleted that image just yet. I figure I’ll keep it around for another month and, if I don’t have to turn it back on, I probably don’t need anything on it.

  • Moving to Ubuntu 24.04

    I have a small home lab running a few Kubernetes clusters, and a good bit of automation to deal with provisioning servers for the K8 clusters. All of my Linux VMs are based on Ubuntu 22.04. I prefer to stick with LTS for stability and compatibility.

    As April turns into July (missed some time there), I figured Ubuntu’s latest LTS (24.04) has matured to the point that I could start the process of updating my VMs to the new version.

    Easier than Expected

    In my previous move from 20.04 to 22.04, there were some changes to the automated installers for 22.04 that forced me down the path of testing my packer provisioning with the 22.04 ISOs. I expected similar changes with 24.04. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that my existing scripts should work well with the 24.04 ISOs.

    I did spend a little time updating the Azure DevOps pipeline that builds a base image so that it supports building both a 22.04 and 24.04 image. I want to make sure I have the option to use the 22.04 images, should I find a problem with 24.04

    Migrating Cluster Nodes

    With a base image provisioned, I followed my normal process for upgrading cluster nodes on my non-production cluster. There were a few hiccups, mostly around some of my automated scripts that needed to have the appropriate settings to set hostnames correctly.

    Again, other than some script debugging, the process worked with minimal changes to my automation scripts and my provisioning projects.

    Azure DevOps Build Agent?

    Perhaps in a few months. I use the GitHub runner images as a base for my self-hosted agents, but there are some changes that need manual review. I destroy my Azure DevOps build agent weekly and generate a new one, and that’s a process that I need to make sure continues to work through any changes.

    The issue is typically time: the build agents take a few hours to provision because of all the tools that are installed. Testing that takes time, so I have to plan ahead. Plus, well, it is summertime, and I’d much rather be in the pool than behind the desk.