Squeeze EOL LTS maintenance

apmuthu

Well-Known Member
Feb 26, 2009
807
8
58
Chennai - India & Singapore
github.com
Since Debian 6 (Squeeze) is now EOL and still gets LTS with the repos placed in archive, maintaining it will need the following in /etc/apt/sources.list:
Code:
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian squeeze main contrib

deb http://archive.debian.org/debian squeeze-proposed-updates main contrib

deb http://archive.debian.org/debian squeeze-lts main contrib

deb http://security.debian.org squeeze/updates main contrib

Since 2016-03-16, we get the following error on apt-get update:
E: Release file expired, ignoring http://archive.debian.org/debian/dists/squeeze-lts/Release (invalid since 1d 2h 11min 7s)
This is mitigated with:
Code:
apt-get -o Acquire::Check-Valid-Until=false update
or placing the parameter permanently with:
Code:
echo 'Acquire::Check-Valid-Until "0";' > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/10no-check-valid-until
 
  • Like
Reactions: PMoxSudo
Last time I've tried a squeeze VM out, I couldn't get apt working.

Debian repo mirrors don't have it anymore and the archive readmes aren't updated yet either.
 
Squeeze is EOL upstream, you should not have production servers still running on that version of Debian!
 
Squeeze is LTS and end users decide on what to do on EOL based on their technical competence and back porting fixes.
My first post's
Code:
/etc/apt/sources.list
mods before an
Code:
apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade
still works.
 
Debian Squeeze is not LTS anymore, because it was EOLed (it WAS the LTS release before that happened). Just because the repositories are still available in archived form does not mean those should be used in a production environment (unless you have a very specific constrained environment or huge resources available for supporting it in house). The move to archive.debian.org happens for several reasons, one of which is to make it clear that the contents of those repositories are not supported any longer after an EOL transition. Just because you CAN still use them after disabling the related security warnings (!!), does not mean you SHOULD. Since there won't be any updates anymore anyway, and you should have been keeping such an old installation current for security reasons anyway, there is nothing to be gained by replacing the sources.list entries and disabling the warnings.
 
There are many use cases where an old OS is desirable. Here are a few.
1. In a protected LAN environment
2. Legacy devices with custom drivers where the developers are no longer available.
3. Learning curve that each new OS brings with it - not to mention the variations that existing binaries sport.
4. Other software / hardware dependencies.
5. Cannot afford to pay wastefully expensive consultants / companies and risk privacy and confidentiality.
6. Cannot afford downtime in production servers where external protection is uptodate.

The ultimate decision of using an old tried and tested OS / system is best left to the end user instead of endless sermonising that "latest is greatest". There have been many instances where the current stable versions have become broken even if for a short while before it gets fixed.

The information in this thread will certainly help those who had forgotten to update their containers / machines to the latest version of the EOLed release. By right, this information should have been put up on the Debian site itself on the EOL page.
 

About

The Proxmox community has been around for many years and offers help and support for Proxmox VE, Proxmox Backup Server, and Proxmox Mail Gateway.
We think our community is one of the best thanks to people like you!

Get your subscription!

The Proxmox team works very hard to make sure you are running the best software and getting stable updates and security enhancements, as well as quick enterprise support. Tens of thousands of happy customers have a Proxmox subscription. Get yours easily in our online shop.

Buy now!