Created 12/7/2007, updated 3/12/2020
use a screen session in case we lose our connection
screen
# for posterity
uptime
# for comparison with after the upgrade
uname -a
cat /etc/redhat-release
# from here on basically everything has to be done as root
sudo -s
# see what's available
up2date --list
# see what's installed
rpm -qa | grep kernel
# actually install
up2date -uf kernel kernel-doc kernel-source
# confirm that the kernel got installed
ls -laF /boot
# confirm that new kernel is first entry in grub.conf
cat /boot/grub/grub.conf
# check disk usage on /boot partition
df -h
# hold breath and reboot
reboot
# 73 seconds later, after logging in again
uname -a
cat /etc/redhat-release
# check that all desired services are running or active
sudo -s
service --status-all
chkconfig --list
# see if anything else available
up2date --list
# check installed versions of kernel
rpm -qa | grep kernel
# delete oldest versions (but keep previous version as fallback)
rpm -e kernel-2.4.21-51.EL
# review what's still installed
rpm -qa | grep kernel