When setting up a new Linux server, updating the system’s Kernel and other packages to the latest stable release is a recommended practice.

In this article, we will learn how to update CentOS 7, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, or Debian 8.

Prerequisites

• A fresh CentOS 7, Ubuntu 16.04, or Debian 8 Server Instance.
• A sudo user.

On CentOS 7

Setup the EPEL YUM repo:

sudo yum install epel-release -y

Perform the system update and then apply system modifications by restarting the system:

sudo yum update -y && sudo shutdown -r now

On Ubuntu 16.04 or Debian 8

Update the list of packages that can be updated:

sudo apt-get update -y

Then install updates and then apply them by restarting the system:

sudo apt-get upgrade -y && sudo shutdown -r now

That’s it. After the reboot, log in as the same sudo user to continue your work.