[Linerva-announce] Linerva upgrade to Debian 6.0 64-bit complete

[Geoffrey Thomas]

We completed the upgrade to Debian 6.0 64-bit this afternoon, and Linerva 
is now available again for use, including web logins at 
https://linerva.mit.edu/.

As part of the upgrade, we have installed 32-bit equivalents of all 64-bit 
libraries currently installed, and configured Linerva to make them 
available to 32-bit programs. As mentioned previously, if you find 
software that no longer runs and that you were depending on Linerva to be 
able to run, please let us know at linerva at mit.edu and we will see what we 
can do.

In addition, I'd like to take this chance to welcome new maintainers Alex 
Chernyakhovsky, Alex Dehnert, and Bethany LaPenta, who will be taking on 
responsibility for this service as the current maintainers graduate, and 
I'd also like to thank the three of them for their work in preparing for 
the transition and in making sure the service has been running smoothly 
today.

As always, we welcome bug reports, comments, complaints, and questions
at linerva at mit.edu. You may contact just the Linerva maintainers at
linerva-root at mit.edu.

-- 
Geoffrey Thomas
SIPB Linerva team
linerva at mit.edu

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012, Geoffrey Thomas wrote:

> Beginning approximately 6 AM this Tuesday, January 24, we will be upgrading 
> Linerva from Debian 5.0 "lenny" 32-bit to Debian 6.0 "squeeze" 64-bit. This 
> upgrade requires reinstalling the server, so it will involve some brief 
> downtime.
>
> We have set up a test server, linerva-test.mit.edu, with the same software 
> and configuration as will be installed on linerva-test.mit.edu. If you are 
> relying on Linerva to run applications that do not work on other Athena 
> workstations or athena.dialup.mit.edu, notably 32-bit-only applications, 
> please test them on linerva-test.mit.edu in advance of the upgrade. Please 
> let us know at linerva at mit.edu if you have applications that no longer run, 
> and we can look into what 32-bit compatibility options are feasible.
>
> linerva-test's SSH RSA fingerprint is
> 2a:fd:62:ff:78:14:86:bc:fc:8a:d0:94:7c:33:a0:f6
>
> Web logins (https://linerva.mit.edu/) are currently not enabled on 
> linerva-test, although they will continue to be enabled on linerva after the 
> upgrade.
>
> Security support for Debian 5.0 ends in early February, which necessitates us 
> upgrading to Debian 6.0 before then. This upgrade also brings newer software 
> that Linerva's users have requested, as well as improved compatibility and 
> parity with Athena cluster workstations. We'll send information about the 
> progress of the upgrade to the Twitter account @sipb, and will send another 
> e-mail once Linerva is available for logins again.
>
> As always, if you have any questions about this upgrade or about Linerva, 
> please feel free to contact us at linerva at mit.edu.
>
> -- 
> Geoffrey Thomas
> SIPB Linerva team
> linerva at mit.edu
>