Another Way to Update Your CL

Even though Calculate Linux is a rolling-release distribution, you can also update from an ISO image, that is, install from within the current system onto another partition. We’ve been using this technique for several years now in Calculate, but here are some more tips and explanations on it, that apply to CL 13.

# CL comes in 7 flavours for both 32bit and 64bit systems each. If needed, you can [[interactive_system_build|change the software set]] before you install on the hard disk. This comes in handy when you make an installation for someone else who may have quite other software preferences.
# The CL installer will [[disk_partioning|suggest]] that you put user(s)’ home directorie(s) on a separate partition as well as provide a reserve system partition, so that you can switch between the two when you update. A secure way to try a new system without risking personal data or settings.
# Whether you should install from a LiveCD or from within your current system is not architecture-dependent: you can choose either way. All you’ve got to do if you prefer the second option is put the new ISO in the /var/calculate/linux directory (or, alternatively, in /var/calculate/remote/linux).
# All current settings such as video, user accounts, locale, timezone, etc. will be used by default to configure the updated system on the other partition.
# All settings configured with Calculate [[calculate_utilities_templates|templates]] will be applied automatically. If you are using custom clt templates, those will be moved from to the new system /etc.
# If you update from an ISO, the path to the previous partition is stored in /etc/calculate/calculate.env (variable os_install_dev_from). Therefore, all you have to do to update is run cl-install without arguments.

To learn more about the advantages of this method, read [[disk_partitioning|this]]. Moreover, it’s good if you want try different CL versions. To make installation even faster (less than a minute in fact), you can use the --build option.

And let me remind you that Portage allows you to create your own binaries! Just use options [[emerge|-bk]], and you’ll be able to deploy all necessary packages on the new system.

Point 2 becomes completely obsolete when using btrfs or zfs or other filesystems over lvm with snapshotting.

But this is not well done and supported under calculate linux.

What a pity, especially in business environments supporting superior filesystems like zfs and making extensively use of snapshotting features automatically while upgrading would make this distro more attractive in the world.

I am using root over zfs since months in sabayone linux and since some weeks in funtoo.