Running apt-get update is failing for my Ubuntu Server
Linode
Linode Staff
I'm running Ubuntu 18.10 and I'm unable to run 'apt-get update'. Any reason why this is the case?
2 Replies
jchism
Linode Staff
Ubuntu 18.10 has reached its end-of-life cycle, which is why you are running into this problem.
There are some options you can consider trying if you want to update your server. Before doing so, I recommend backing up your server before performing any update. You can subscribe to our Backup Service if you aren't manually backing up your server on a daily basis.
Linode Backup Service
Once you've backed up your server, you can try doing an inline upgrade for your server. You can reference the following links for assistance with this option. If you run into any problem with performing the upgrade, you can easily restore your server from a backup.
- https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DiscoUpgrades
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EOLUpgrades
https://www.linode.com/docs/platform/disk-images/linode-backup-service/#restore-to-an-existing-linode
The other option would be to create a new server and deploy an updated Ubuntu image. Once this is done, copy your data from your original server over to the new server. For this option, I recommend creating the new server in the same data center as your original server. From here, you can then swap the IP addresses between the two servers and once everything is working as intended, you can remove the original server from your account.
What @jchism said…
The next LTS (long-term support) release of Ubuntu is 20.04 (Focal Fossa). It's due in April 2020:
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/10/ubuntu-20-04-release-features
You might want save yourself some work and hold off on upgrading to 19.xx and go right to 20.04. LTS releases offer more stability and a longer support life (5 years) than the point releases in between LTS releases.
-- sw