16.04 - How to protect mysql-server when upgrading ubuntu?

Straight-forward. How do I block upgrading MySQL Server when upgrading Ubuntu from 15.10 to 16.04.3.

Before starting, I held onto various MySQL-5.6 packages with apt-mark hold . Then, I followed the upgrade instructions from the official notes on a clone of the target server. I can recreate the initial conditions.

However, the upgrade procedure attempted to install mysql-5.7. Looking with dpkg -l | grep mysql I now have

• rc mysql-server-5.6 -> Desired:Remove, Status:Conf-files


• iU mysql-server -> Desired:Install, Status:Unpacked


• iF mysql-server-5.7 -> Desired:Install, Status:halF-conf

and other mysql-*-core-5.7 packages installed (ii).

Instructions I followed

To upgrade on a server system:

• Install the update-manager-core package if it is not already installed.


• Make sure the /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades is set to normal if you are using 15.10, lts if you are using 14.04 LTS.


• Launch the upgrade tool with the command sudo do-release-upgrade.



• Follow the on-screen instructions.

It seems something went wrong on the first couple of simulations. I changed something in my script and it is now holding perfectly.

So for anyone who were to cross this question, apt-mark hold does work as expected