system migration

For many system administrators and DevOps engineers, the process of transitioning workloads between different Linux distributions can be daunting. Each distribution has its preferred package management system, which handles the installation, upgrade, and removal of software packages. If your organization has decided to switch from a Debian-based system (which uses APT) to an openSUSE or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) system (which uses Zypper), you'll need to adapt your package management practices accordingly. In this guide, we’ll explore how to transition your workloads from APT-based systems to Zypper-based systems and cover the basics of using APT, DNF (used by Fedora, CentOS, and RHEL systems), and Zypper package managers.

For many Linux users, switching from an RPM-based distribution such as Fedora, CentOS, or openSUSE to a DEB-based distribution like Ubuntu or Debian can seem like a daunting task. Both types of distributions use different package management systems with unique commands and functionalities. This guide aims to simplify this transition by teaching you the basics of DEB-based systems and comparing their package managers to those you might be familiar with in RPM-based environments. RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) and DEB (Debian Package) are two major formats for distributing software in Linux environments.