Migration guide

Move Ubuntu 20.04 to Ubuntu 24.04 in one step

Q: How do I show that the Ubuntu 24.04 host matches the old one?

With the parity report. vrtmv verify checks the rebuilt host against the plan, from its package database and the carried configuration paths, and exits non-zero on any parity gap, so cutover can be gated on it. Keep the source inventory, the plan and the report with the change record.

Ubuntu 20.04 left standard support in May 2025; it stays patched only under Ubuntu Pro's Expanded Security Maintenance. do-release-upgrade moves one LTS at a time, so the in-place path to 24.04 goes through 22.04 first: two upgrades, two sets of prompts about changed config files, and two chances to stop half way.

vrtmv reads the 20.04 host and builds a fresh 24.04 host from a plan. Nearly every package keeps its name across these releases; the work is in the versions. PostgreSQL and MariaDB both move up several major versions, and their data has to be moved, not just reinstalled.

Where Ubuntu 20.04 stands

Ubuntu 20.04 left standard support in May 2025; past that it is patched only under an extended-support subscription.

Packages that change name

Of the packages the Index translates for this move, these arrive on Ubuntu 24.04 under another name. vrtmv installs the new name and carries the configuration across; nothing on the old host is renamed by hand.

rng-tools becomes rng-tools5.

Databases on each side

MariaDB: 10.3 by default on Ubuntu 20.04, 10.11 by default on Ubuntu 24.04. The data moves by a dump and restore, with the database stopped.
PostgreSQL: 12 by default on Ubuntu 20.04, 16 by default on Ubuntu 24.04. The data moves by an in-place pg_upgrade or a dump and restore, with the database stopped.

Repositories

The packages come from main, multiverse, restricted and universe, enabled by default. Vendor repositories the source used are named in the plan, not silently enabled.

What needs your decision

vrtmv does not guess at these. Each one is a line on the plan's punch list, for you to settle before the rebuild runs.

Database data. A package upgrade does not move a PostgreSQL or MariaDB data directory between major versions; choose the dump-and-restore or pg_upgrade window before cut-over.

What the parity run showed

vrtmv's conformance run for this pair read the inventory from a real Ubuntu 20.04 disk, planned the move and applied the plan to a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 system. All 46 packages the plan promised were installed on the target, and all 68 carried configuration files landed. Your parity report gives the same accounting for your own hosts.

Should this become a container?

Usually not. A container image runs one command, with no init and no scheduler, on the kernel of the machine it runs on. An Ubuntu 20.04 host that runs one long-lived service, keeps its data in directories you can mount as volumes and reads its config from files is a candidate for one; start the image and test that service before you plan a cutover on it. A host that runs several services, keeps a database on its own disk or runs cron jobs is better rebuilt as an Ubuntu 24.04 machine, which is what vrtmv does by default.

Before you choose, vrtmv assess runs its container feasibility checks on the source (kernel modules, the entrypoint, local state, scheduled jobs and software no package installed) and prints what each one found. The full fit lists, and what breaks after the image runs.

How vrtmv does it

vrtmv reads the Ubuntu 20.04 host without an agent and changes nothing on it. The Index translates its packages, services and settings to Ubuntu 24.04, and the plan lists every change and every decision before anything runs. The new host is built from that plan, and the parity report compares it with the old one, so you can show an auditor what came across.

Questions about this move

Does vrtmv upgrade Ubuntu 20.04 to Ubuntu 24.04 in place?

No. vrtmv reads the Ubuntu 20.04 host without an agent and changes nothing on it. It builds a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 host from the plan, so the old host keeps running until you cut over, and it stays your way back.

Which packages change name on Ubuntu 24.04?

One of the packages the Index translates for this move arrives on Ubuntu 24.04 under another name: rng-tools becomes rng-tools5. vrtmv installs the new name and carries the configuration across, and the plan lists each one.

Does Ubuntu 24.04 need a subscription?

No. The packages come from main, multiverse, restricted and universe, enabled by default.

Is Ubuntu 20.04 still supported?