The Fastest Way To Upgrade Ubuntu
Every six months Ubuntu Linux users get to enjoy the offering of a major upgrade for their favorite operating system. This time around we are about to go from version 8.04 (Hardy Heron) to 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex). These upgrades often slam the hell out of the distro servers which often results in partially failed upgrades, very slow downloads (we’re talking dial-up-modem slow) and otherwise a lot of time wasted on the part of the user who has sworn to never touch any key until the upgrade is finished (lest he accidentally interrupt upgrade). So, what is there to do about this inconvenience?
Of course, the simplest way to avoid this traffic jam is to do just that: avoid it. Put the upgrade off for a week until the servers aren’t under so much pressure and then use the built-in Upgrade Manager. This is the perfect solution for the laziest of users who stopped reading this before the end of the previous sentence. But for antsy users out there (especially us Americans who are addicted to having immediate satisfaction with everything) there is another way to go and it’s the BEST way to upgrade from here on out if you want to do it right now and avoid the traffic. This is an esspecially useful tactic for people who have multiple computers running Ubuntu who don’t want to wait for each one to download updates, because you can now just go to each one with an upgrade CD and save yourself a lot of time.
What you’ll need:
- A blank CD
- To make sure all current updates for 8.04 have been applied (use the Update Manager to install them)
- An opportunity to walk away from your computer for a couple of hours
Once the upgrade is underway, you will want to leave it running alone and treat the PC like a Crock Pot of stew that will take a couple hours to cook, checking it on occasion but waiting till finished before sipping the flavor.
Here’s What We’re Going To Do
Very, very briefly, here’s the plan:
- Download (from here) the Ubuntu 8.10 Alternate ISO torrent file and open it up with Transmission Bittorrent Client (included with Ubuntu 8.04 by default).
- Use Brasero Disc Burning to burn the downloaded ISO to a blank CD.
- Insert the CD and click “Run Upgrade” when prompted.
Piece of cake.
Downloading Ubuntu 8.10 ALT via BitTorrent
First, visit this web address:
http://releases.ubuntu.com/8.10/
From this page, scroll down until you start to see a listing of file names like this:
Note: The above screenshot shows Release Candidate copies of Ubuntu. The official release will not contain the letters “rc” in the file name.
There are many files listed here, but the ones you need to look for are those ending in .iso.torrent. Choose between the i386 and the amd64 versions of Ubuntu and download the appropriate torrent, selecting “Run with Transmission” when you are asked what you’d like to do with the file once it’s finished downloading. You can see the i386 Release Candidate version of 8.10 that I clicked on above in purple; odds are you will likely want the same file. Don’t download the “desktop” iso files (not shown, but further down the list); otherwise known as the Live CD version of Ubuntu. These ISOs do not provide the ability to upgrade, so be sure you select one of the two alternate iso.torrent’s.
When transmission loads the torrent file, it will ask you where you want to save the iso file it is about to download for you. I would select the desktop just to keep things simple and hit OK, then Transmission will begin downloading the iso file from the swarm of other bittorrent users.
A Word About BitTorrent…
For those of you who are not familiar with BitTorrent, here a little summery of how it works: Instead of having everybody try to download the same thing from a central server, individual users share the overhead by uploading to each other what they’ve already downloaded from others before them and vice versa (everyone is a server AND a client). As you can see from the screenshot above, this can result in very fast download speeds because you are downloading from multiple locations simultaneously. This animation helps illustrate how data is shared between multiple users while keeping the work decentralized.
For the purposes of this guide, it’s not very necessary go further into the technical details, but it should be said that BitTorrent performs best either with a direct Internet connection (i.e., no router between your PC and your modem) or with port-forwarding configured on your router if you have one.
Burning Your Alternate ISO File To CD
Once Transmission is finished downloading the ISO go ahead and close transmission. You’ll now want to burn the ISO file you downloaded onto a blank CD. Right-click on the downloaded ISO file and select Open With>Brasero Disc Burning. A small dialog box will come up asking you for other options, but you can just click on the Burn button to get the ball rolling. Once the CD is burnt, you’re ready to do the upgrade.
Performing The Upgrade With Your Burnt CD
Insert your freshly burnt Ubuntu Alternate CD into your PC while logged into your current Ubuntu installation. Within a few seconds, you should see a popup that looks like this:
Click “Run Upgrade”. You’ll then be presented another popup that asks you if you want to use the Internet to check for updates along-side the CD you just inserted. It’s up to you, but I would select “Yes” to this question. This way you can be sure your system will be as up-to-date as possible without the need to download everything. Selecting “No” will still work, and work even faster, but you will still have additional (non-essential) updates that will need to be downloaded in the future.
At some point it will ask you if you want to remove obsolete packages, which you can answer “yes” to. The computer will generate a summery of everything that is about to take place (what packages will be upgraded, how much data needs to be downloaded, etc.) then you can Start the Upgrade.
And that’s pretty much it. So enjoy your new upgrade!