From owner-freebsd-current Tue Feb 21 02:41:48 1995 Return-Path: current-owner Received: (from majordom@localhost) by freefall.cdrom.com (8.6.9/8.6.6) id CAA21131 for current-outgoing; Tue, 21 Feb 1995 02:41:48 -0800 Received: from inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com (inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com [16.1.0.22]) by freefall.cdrom.com (8.6.9/8.6.6) with SMTP id CAA21102 for ; Tue, 21 Feb 1995 02:41:33 -0800 Received: from rks32.pcs.dec.com by inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com (5.65/10Aug94) id AA09284; Tue, 21 Feb 95 02:39:39 -0800 Received: by rks32.pcs.dec.com (Smail3.1.27.1 #16) id m0rgryf-0005PMC; Tue, 21 Feb 95 11:37 MEZ Message-Id: To: current%freebsd.org@inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com In-Reply-To: Message from Bruce Evans of Tue, 21 Feb 95 21:02:13 X. Reply-To: gj@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: ATTENTION Date: Tue, 21 Feb 95 10:37:57 GMT From: "gj%pcs.dec.com@inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com" Sender: current-owner@FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk Bruce Evans gives several good reasons why the compatibility cruft is needed [deleted] I have to agree with Bruce, it's very important in my eyes to make a slow transition to the new slice code until the kernel is 100% stable. If a user makes the full transition running an older kernel and then moves to a new one only to discover that there's some bug which prevents a successful boot, he's pretty much up the creek. His old backup kernel won't understand the new slice stuff in fstab and /dev. If, on the other hand, he uses a new kernel (with the old stuff in fstab and /dev at boot) to do the transition and then somehow the slice code doesn't work, he's just as far up the creek. Of course, there's no reason why the old and new devices can't co-exist in /dev until everything's been shaken out. But this still leaves the fstab problem. A new install using the slice stuff shouldn't be a problem, since everything get's installed from scratch (assuming the new slice code has really been wrung out). I realize this is sort of a chicken and egg problem, since somebody has to test the new code. Since I have two systems I'm more than willing to act as guinea pig. Not to imply that Bruce hasn't thorughly tested the new code. Gary J.