Upgrade to Fedora 27 from Fedora 26

Over the years, Fedora has remained a popular Linux distribution. Even though it has a reputation as one of the harder platforms to deal with for installing new software, it still remains popular due to its impressive implementation of the GNOME desktop environment. It is one of the distributions that has free useful tools installed right out of the box. It has remained true to the open source philosophy by only allowing free software into its repository.

The Linux community is excited about the release of Fedora 27 in November 2017. The Fedora 27 beta has already been released. If you have installed the Beta version, then your system should change to Fedora 27 automatically after the final release. For Fedora 26 users who are curious about the features of the new version and how to upgrade, this guide should help.

New Features and Changes in Fedora 27

The Fedora 27 development process started in February 2017. The release has three editions to cover different use cases: Fedora 27 Workstation, Fedora 27 Server, and Fedora 27 Atomic Host. It’s worth mentioning November will only see the release of Workstation and Atomic Host editions. Fedora 27 Server release has been delayed until mid-December. The following are the notable features and changes for the Fedora 27 release:

Use of GNOME 3.26 in Fedora 27 WorkStation

Fedora 27 Workstation edition features GNOME 3.26. The display, network and setting configuration interfaces have been updated. The interfaces have less clutter while showing more search results. Due to the addition of GNOME 3.26, Fedora 27 will have support for color emoji and folder sharing in Boxes. The Builder IDE tool also has multiple improvements.

Improved Productivity Tools in Fedora 27 Workstation

Fedora 27 has LibreOffice 5.4. Both Writer and Calc in the LibreOffice have feature improvements. The latest version of Fedora Media Writer allows users to create bootable SD cards with Fedora installed. You can use these to boot up a Raspberry Pi devices. Also, support for Windows 7 and screenshot handling has been improved.

Improved Development Tools in Fedora 27

Fedora 27 is upgrading some of the development tools in its suite. Here are some of the honorable mentions:

Java 9 tech preview is part of this release. Java 9 may become default runtime for Java in Fedora 28.
js gets the latest version 8. Fedora 26 was running Node.js version 6. So this is a significant jump.
Golang 1.9 is part of the Fedora 27 release. The Golang package is rebased to 1.9 with the rebuild of all dependent packages.
Perl 5.26 is integrated into the release.
RPM is upgraded to 4.14 release.
GNU C library has been switched to version 2.26.
Ruby on Rails 5.1, the latest version, is part of Fedora 27.

Updates for Fedora 27 Atomic Host

Fedora 27 Atomic Host has atomic 1.19.1, the updated Atomic command-line interface (CLI) and Cockpit 149, the latest version of the system monitoring tool. The Fedora 27 Atomic Host will feature simpler storage setup using OverlayFS, default containerized Kubernetes, flannel and etcd, and improved packaged layerings.

Modular Infrastructure on Fedora 27 Server

Fedora 27 Server release date has been delayed but it is still being considered as part of Fedora 27 release cycle. The Modularity Working Group, Factory 2.0, Base Runtime, and Server Working Group are cooperating to make Fedora Server Edition have a more modular infrastructure. The implementation is based on the feedback from Boltron Modular Server Preview.

No More Alpha Releases

In order to improve the testing and release cycle, Fedora is not going to offer Alpha releases anymore. Removing the Alpha release requirement frees up time for different Fedora teams and allows more flexibility in change management. Fedora will still make Beta releases available.

The Upgrade Process for Fedora 27

You can either use the Fedora 26 Workstations graphical upgrade method or use the command-line method to upgrade. Both methods are described below.

Workstation Method

Launch the GNOME software app from the user interface or the GNOME shell. After the launch, go to the upgrade tab. You should see the message Fedora 27 Now Available. If you don’t see the message, you might have to wait for the servers to let your system know about the upgrade. Once the upgrade is available to your system, use the Download button to get the packages. After the successful completion of the download, restart your system using GNOME software and apply the upgrade. It’s going to take some time for the whole process to complete.

Command-line Method

The command-line upgrade gives you more visibility into the upgrade. The DNF upgrade plugin helps you with the process. It’s a little bit more involved than the Workstation method. Here are the steps:

1. Backup Your System

Backup the important information and system data. Also, if you are using Workstation edition, you can download a Workstation Live Image and test if it works well with your system hardware before you do the actual upgrade. Your graphics card or wireless card might have problems with the new changes. So it’s worth running the checks.

2. Update Current Operating System

Use the following command to ensure that the current version of Fedora 26 is up-to-date:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

3. Install DNF Plugin

Install the DNF upgrade plugin using the following command:

sudo dnf install dnf-plugin-system-upgrade

4. Update Packages

Download the updated packages from the server using the following command:

sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=27

You might run into problems with dependencies. This can happen due to third-party repositories that haven’t been updated yet. You can use the –allowerasing option. But pay careful attention to the output to see which packages are being erased. The removal can cause problems for some of your programs.

5. Start the Upgrade process

You can reboot your system to trigger the upgrade process using the following command:

sudo dnf system-upgrade reboot

6. Let the Process Complete

Wait for the upgrade process to finish. If you run into a problem, you can consult the DNF System Upgrade wiki page or look for answers in the Fedora forum.

For New Installation

For fresh installations, you can download the three editions: Workstation, Server and Atomic Host from the links provided.

Upgrade to Fedora 27