Updating ASL3

All of the software components that make up ASL3 are provided by software packages (Debian .deb files) from an centralized Apt repository. This makes upgrades quick and painless for users.

Standard Debian Upgrades

Whether ASL3 is installed on a standard Debian 12 installation or you are using the Pi Appliance image, updates follow the standard Debian format:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

This will update all ASL3 software as well as the underlying operating system. AllStarLink will never release any update that is a "breaking change" through the apt system that doesn't have either an automated upgrade process or a well-documented manual step-by-step process.

A reboot is only needed when a new Linux kernel has been installed.

Sometimes an update may ask what to do with a configuration file. It is generally best to answer such questions with N meaning, "keep your currently-installed version". Such a question will look like:

Configuration file '/etc/asterisk/rpt.conf'
 ==> Modified (by you or by a script) since installation.
 ==> Package distributor has shipped an updated version.
   What would you like to do about it ?  Your options are:
    Y or I  : install the package maintainer's version
    N or O  : keep your currently-installed version
      D     : show the differences between the versions
      Z     : start a shell to examine the situation
 The default action is to keep your current version.
*** rpt.conf (Y/I/N/O/D/Z) [default=N] ? N

AllStarLink will clearly announce when there is a change that may break existing configurations.

If you want updates to install without any questions being asked specify the DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive variable:

DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive sudo apt update
DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive sudo apt upgrade -y

Using this command will automatically choose N to any question about configuration - i.e. it will always keep your installed version.

Note on DAHDI

In the past, managing the DAHDI kernel module needed by app_rpt had been problematic during kernel upgrades. Previously, the recommendation had been to never upgrade the kernel. This advice is no longer valid and should not be followed for security and practicality reasons.

ASL3 automatically manages and rebuilds the DAHDI kernel modules during software updates using the DKMS system. After an upgrade, rebooting into a new version of the Linux kernel will "just work".

If, for some strange reason, you need to manually rebuild and install the DAHDI kernel modules, try the following:

sudo apt install -y --reinstall dahdi-linux dahdi-dkms