Using Deterministic upgrades through versioned repository on AL2023 - Amazon Linux 2023
Control the updates received from major and minor releasesDifferences between minor and major version upgradesControl the package updates available from the AL2023 repositories
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Using Deterministic upgrades through versioned repository on AL2023

Note

By default, your AL2023 instance doesn't automatically receive additional critical and important security updates at launch. Your instance initially contains the updates that were available in the version of AL2023 and the chosen AMI.

Control the updates received from major and minor releases

With AL2023, you can ensure consistency between package versions and updates across your environment. You can also ensure consistency for multiple instances of the same Amazon Machine Image (AMI). With the deterministic upgrades through versioned repositories feature, which is turned on by default, you can apply updates based on a schedule that meets your specific needs.

Whenever we release new package updates, there's a new version to lock to, and new AMIs that lock to that version.

AL2023 locks to a specific version of your repository. This is supported for both major or minor versions. The AL2023 AMI, exposed through our SSM parameters, is always the latest version. It has the most up-to-date packages and updates, including critical and important security updates.

If you launch an instance from an existing AMI, updates aren't automatically applied. Any additional packages that are installed as part of your provisioning map to the repository version of the existing AMI.

With this feature, you're in charge of ensuring consistency among package versions and updates across your environment. This is particularly the case if you're launching multiple instances from the same AMI. You can apply updates based on a schedule that meets your needs. You can also apply a specific set of updates on launch because these can also be locked to a specific repository version.

Differences between minor and major version upgrades

Major version releases of AL2023 include large-scale updates and might add, delete, or update packages. To ensure compatibility, upgrade your instance to a new major version only after you test your application on that version.

Minor version releases of AL2023 include feature and security updates, but don't include package changes. This ensures that Linux features and the system library API stay available on new versions. Testing your application before updating isn't necessary.

Control the package updates available from the AL2023 repositories

When we publish a new version of the AL2023 repositories, all previous versions are still available. By default, the plugin for managing repository versions locks to the same version that was used to build the AMI. If you want to control package updates, follow these steps.

  1. Discover available repository versions by running the following command.

    $ sudo dnf check-release-update

  2. Select a version by running the following command.

    $ sudo dnf --releasever=version update

This command starts an update using dnf from your current Amazon Linux release version to the release version that's specified in the command line. A list of the package updates is presented by dnf. Before the update is processed, you must confirm the update. After the update is complete, the new release version becomes the default release version that dnf uses for all future activities.

For more information, see Manage package and operating system updates in AL2023.