Upgrade Azure VM with SLES 12 to SLES 15 SP1

Caution

Following the process in this article will cause a disconnection between the data plane and the control plane of the virtual machine (VM). Azure capabilities such as Auto guest patching, Auto OS image upgrades, Hotpatching, and Azure Update Manager won't be available. To utilize these features, it's recommended to create a new VM using your preferred operating system instead of performing an in-place upgrade.

This article provides general steps about how to upgrade SUSE Linux Enterprise server (SLES) 12 to SLES 15 SP1 for an Azure VM. For more information, see Using the SUSE Distribution Migration System and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 Upgrade Guide.

Supported upgrade paths

The current SLES version must be SLES 12 SP4 or 12 SP5 before you can proceed to SLES 15 SP1.

Diagram shows the supported upgrade path. Only SLES 12 SP4 or 12 SP5 can upgrade to SLES 15 SP1.

Note

The steps in this article also apply to upgrading SLES SAP 12 SP4 or 12 SP5 to SLES SAP 15 SP1.

Prerequisites

  • Plan the migration activity as per the approved downtime window. This is because the VM reboots during the migration.
  • Prior to the migration activity, take a complete backup of the VM.
  • If backup is not configured, take a snapshot backup of the OS disk.
  • Check if the VM is generation V1 or generation V2.

Upgrade from SUSE 12 SP4 or SP5 to SUSE 15 SP1

  1. Install the latest package for the VM:

    zypper clean --all
    zypper refresh
    zypper update
    
  2. After the installation is finished, restart the VM.

  3. Verify the kernel and OS version. Make sure that the version is SUSE 12 SP4 or SUSE 12 SP5.

    uname -a
    cat /etc/os-release
    
  4. Install the suse-migration-sle15-activation. When the package suse-migration-sle15-activation gets installed, another package SLES15-Migration will be automatically installed as a dependency package.

    zypper install suse-migration-sle15-activation
    
  5. After the installation is finished, run the reboot command to restart the VM.

  6. Go to the Azure portal, select the VM, and then select Serial console. You will see that the system stops at "reboot: Restarting system". This process should take about 15-45 minutes. For Generation 2 VM, it might be stuck on the "reboot: Restarting system" screen. In this case, wait for 45 minutes. If it still doesn't progress further, go to the Overview page of the VM in the Azure portal, stop the VM, and then restart it.

    Screenshot of the reboot: Restarting system log in the command-line interface of Serial console.

  7. After the system is restarted with new kernel, you will see the following message.

    Screenshot of the messages in the serial console after the system is restarted with the new kernel.

  8. Verify the kernel and OS version to check whether the system is upgraded successfully.

    uname -a
    cat /etc/os-release
    

Check the generation version for a VM

You can use one of the following methods to check the generation version:

  • In the SLES terminal, run the command dmidecode | grep -i hyper. If it's a generation V1 VM, there is no output returned. For the generations V2 VMs, you will see the following output:

    Screenshot shows output of the command for generation 2 V M.

  • In the Azure portal, go to Properties of the VM, and then check the VM generation field.

Contact us for help

If you have questions or need help, create a support request, or ask Azure community support. You can also submit product feedback to Azure feedback community.