Convert from CentOS Linux with Convert2RHEL

Migrating operating systems can be an intimidating task, which is exactly why Red Hat built an officially supported tool for it. In this walkthrough I introduce Convert2RHEL and demonstrate converting a vanilla CentOS Linux system to fully supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It’s a light-touch process: it inventories your packages, subscribes the system, swaps CentOS-signed RPMs for Red Hat-signed ones, and one reboot later you’re running RHEL.

A few things worth carrying away from this one:

• Convert, don’t rip and replace. With a conversion you don’t redeploy apps, recreate users and home directories, or rebuild config files. That means a much shorter maintenance window than a clean install.
• There’s a safety net. Convert2RHEL uses snapshotting as a recovery mechanism, so if something goes sideways you have a way back.
• You don’t have to go it alone. Red Hat services can help you set goals, write the automation and health checks, and get through the conversion with minimal downtime, but the demo shows how straightforward the solo path is too.

Converting to Red Hat Enterprise Linux really is that easy, and it sets you up for an easier path to the latest RHEL later on.