Do the cluster packages in my RHEL High Availability Cluster need to be updated to the latest available release?

Solution Verified - Updated

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5, 6, or 7 with the High Availability or Resilient Storage Add On

Issue

  • Red Hat Global Support Services told me I should update my cluster packages. Is this necessary?
  • The packages on my cluster are somewhat old, but I'm not sure if I should update them.
  • My organization has certified a specific release of RHEL for our applications, so I just have the cluster packages installed from the installation media for that update.

Resolution

Red Hat strongly recommends that whenever possible, RHEL cluster nodes be kept up-to-date with the latest available package releases so as to take advantage of bug fixes, security enhancements, improved performance, and other benefits. Clusters in which older package releases continue to be used for long times remain susceptible to a growing number of issues that have since been fixed in later releases and could be avoided by updating to those later levels. It is generally encouraged to have a policy of reviewing, testing, and rolling out each new release to all cluster nodes as soon as possible after that release becomes available.

It is, of course, not always possible or desirable to have such a policy that would require a stable environment to update and change frequently with each new release, and so in those cases where a specific update-level of RHEL must be used for longer periods of time, Red Hat recommends taking advantage of all the latest asynchronous errata from within that update level. When an application vendor, hardware vendor, or internal organizational policy requires that a specific Update of RHEL be used in order to maintain support, typically this requirement is flexible and allows for the installation of bug fixes and enhancements released within the same Update, sometimes known as "Z-stream" releases. Red Hat provides these updates to ensure that customers have the ability to take advantage of fixes and enhancements without having to wait for or update to a new release of the product. In High Availability and Resilient Storage clusters, it is especially important that all known-issues be avoided, so as to provide a stable platform for the applications that must maintain maximum uptime.

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