Category: Update
Regarding Gitlab updates
Gitlab will be updated to v17 for the upcoming semester during August. As this is a major update, UI changes and changes in operation are expected. For a full list of major changes/breakages, see the official Gitlab release notes for v17
Subsequent updates to minor versions of 17.x will follow on quiet times during semester. Since the upstream policy of Gitlab maintainers is to support only three newest releases, we will try to keep up with this cycle and stay on [newest-1] as the newest release almost always breaks functionality.
Patches and vulnerability updates are done during office hours on thursdays or fridays, depending on upstream releases. This will usually take less than half an hour and you can see if updates are in progress from the maintenance banner in the Gitlab UI. When update window is active Gitlab is in read-only mode, making sure no data is lost during updates. Keeping personal backups is still highly recommended.
Upcoming server software upgrades
On January 2023 the student server will be upgraded to include newer versions of most commonly used software as their current versions are to be deprecated. The software and versions will be:
- Mariadb 10.5
- PHP 8.2
- Python 3.9
- Postgresql-client 13
These updates will push the support life of the software to at least the year 2025 while maintaining some backwards compatibility. Some issues may occur if you have very old applications or databases. More accurate list of changes/deprecated functionality can be found in the release notes of the aforementioned software and their changelog/documentation pages.
The database servers (mariadb and postgresql.labranet.jamk.fi) will also be upgraded later to the versions mentioned above which might require the use of newer client software if you are using other clients than those supplied on student.labranet.jamk.fi.
EDIT: The packages have now been upgraded. Python 2.7 has been deprecated and is not available anymore. The system default python3 is now python3.9 and python3.6 will be available as an alternative for some time for migration purposes. System-wide packages handled by pip should work as usual but create a helpdesk ticket in case something is still missing.
If you have installed packages for yourself using pip3 install –user before the upgrade, you need to install the packages again
pip3.6 list --user
pip3 install --user <packagenames>
Postgres server added
The new PostgreSQL server is now available (accessible from LabraNet/student/over VPN) at https://postgres.labranet.jamk.fi. The server is running postgres 12.4, and supports TLS but does not enforce it.
Unlike the MariaDB/MySQL servers, you only get one database, but you can create more schemas inside that database as needed.
Student server updated
The server has been updated to Centos 8, with PHP 7.5. User data was migrated over and the web page locations and php configuration were preserved, so the only thing you might immediately notice is that the SSH keys changed. The PHP version changing may also have caused breakage depending on your usage, and configuration differences may cause issues with usage patterns we didn’t explicitly test. If you have a new problem you would like us to look into, please contact the LabraNet helpdesk.
A new sql server (accessible from LabraNet/student/over vpn) is also available: https://mariadb.labranet.jamk.fi , running MariaDB 10.5. The old mysql server at https://mysql.labranet.jamk.fi is still functioning, but will be phased out eventually (probably next summer.) Please use the new one for all your new mysql-type database needs, and if you have anything important to you on the old one, you might want to migrate it over during the starting school year.
A PostgreSQL server is also planned in the short term, but is not available yet.The new postgres server is now available at https://postgres.labranet.jamk.fi, running postgres 12.4.
Covid-19 situation
Covid-19 changes our customer service completely to online mode. If you need to contact LabraNet administration, please use our ticketing system to submit a service request. Our staff monitors new requests actively.
