Hi all,
I just updated my Qos to 4.2 and according to this link Supported releases | Qubes OS, dom0 is based on Fedora 37. I’m currently on Fedora 40. Do I need Fedora 37 for dom0 updates?
I’m new to all this, so just checking if I need to reinstall F37.
Thank you!
You have to separate this. The Fedora for dom0 is version 37 (and will be 41 for QOS 4.2.3.) for (let’s say) security and maintenance reasons and because QubesOS Team is developing it.
Your Fedora Template (and AppVM) is on Fedora 40, because you maintain and working on it and easiely can keep it updated by yourself.
Thank you @TheGardner . I think I get you point; however, do I need to reinstall F37? I upgraded Fedora templates and removed F37 (only keeping F39 as a backup for a week or two…). So the question is: do I need to re-install F37 back or is it somewhere there, in the background, but this is not visible to me?
Thank you!
It’s the second case. Fedora 37 runs in dom0 without any Templates, so you don’t need to think about it.
Correct.
You are conflating Fedora in dom0 with your Fedora template(s). They are two separate things.
You can’t and shouldn’t try to upgrade the version of Fedora in dom0. That gets upgraded automatically when you upgrade Qubes OS as a whole. It’s fine for the version of Fedora in dom0 to be EOL, as explained here: https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/supported-releases/#note-on-dom0-and-eol
Your Fedora template(s) are a different story. You can and should make sure to keep those upgraded in order to avoid EOL, as explained here: https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/how-to-update/#upgrading-to-avoid-eol
No.
No.
No. You can think of dom0 as a very special standalone with control over the whole system. Dom0 is not based on any of your templates. It’s standalone. The OS used in dom0 doesn’t get upgraded, except as part of upgrading Qubes OS as a whole. If you’ve upgraded or uninstalled all of your Fedora 37 templates, then there is no Fedora 37 template anywhere in your system. Assuming you didn’t create any Fedora 37 standalones, the only place Fedora 37 “exists” in your system now is in dom0, but it’s not “hidden” from you. It’s just that it’s not a template, so it doesn’t appear in your list of templates. It’s inside dom0. (Arguably, it is more visible to you than anything else, since dom0 is the primary interface through which you interact with the whole system.)