Daniel Hilst
f421c2b30c
A 2.17 -> 2.18 management-node upgrade installs xCAT-genesis-base 2.18 over the
2.14.5 payload that 2.17 shipped, and aborted in three ways that only surface on
the upgrade path (a fresh EL10 install never hit them):
1. usr/lib/dracut/hooks changed type: 2.14.5 shipped it as a real directory,
modern dracut (EL8+) makes it a symlink to ../../../var/lib/dracut/hooks. RPM
refuses to replace a directory with a symlink across an upgrade ("file ...
conflicts"). The %pretrans removal does not help because rpm computes the
conflict from package metadata, not the live filesystem. Materialize the
symlink back into a real directory (with the hook contents) in %install so the
payload type matches the installed 2.14.5 layout.
2. The %pretrans Lua used table.getn()/unpack(), removed in Lua 5.2+, so on
EL8/EL9 (and any upgrade where the dirs exist) the scriptlet died with
"attempt to call a nil value (field getn)". Use #t / table.unpack.
3. The %post ran "mknb" unconditionally; during a full "dnf update xCAT" xcatd is
stopped, so mknb cannot connect and exited non-zero, failing the whole
transaction. Tolerate the failure and leave the genesis-base-updated marker so
the image is rebuilt once xcatd is back.
xCAT
xCAT is a toolkit for deployment and administration of clusters of all sizes.
The xCAT sunset was only a quick eclipse
Dear xCAT Community,
The xCAT sunset has changed course. VersatusHPC has been invited to join the xCAT Consortium, and future development will move toward direct upstream contributions coordinated with the Consortium and its existing member companies.
That matters most for Enterprise Linux 10 (EL10). EL10 support is coming to xCAT, restoring a future operating-system path for sites that still rely on xCAT. This is an important change from the previous sunset guidance, where the lack of an EL10 path was one of the strongest reasons to move away from xCAT.
The xCAT Consortium continues to recommend Confluent as the long-term successor to xCAT, and that remains the Consortium position. Users planning new cluster-management deployments should evaluate Confluent and its xCAT comparison documentation.
At the same time, xCAT is no longer sunsetted. The Consortium and participating companies will continue updating xCAT while there is community and user demand for it.
In summary:
- xCAT development is continuing upstream through the Consortium and participating companies.
- Enterprise Linux 10 support is coming.
- Confluent remains the Consortium-recommended successor and migration path.
- xCAT updates will continue while there is community and user demand.
We want to thank the xCAT Consortium and community for keeping this project moving. The sun went behind the moon for a moment, but xCAT is still here.
For more information on Confluent and how to get started, please visit the Confluent: Project Page, Documentation or Confluent vs xCAT comparison.
With thanks,
The xCAT Consortium
Documentation
xCAT Documentation is hosted on Read The Docs: https://xcat-docs.readthedocs.io
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