From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Sat Mar 6 13:57:40 2010 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E1F7C106566C for ; Sat, 6 Mar 2010 13:57:40 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from cswiger@mac.com) Received: from asmtpout017.mac.com (asmtpout017.mac.com [17.148.16.92]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C58968FC20 for ; Sat, 6 Mar 2010 13:57:40 +0000 (UTC) MIME-version: 1.0 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes Received: from [192.168.1.8] (pool-96-224-35-192.nycmny.east.verizon.net [96.224.35.192]) by asmtp017.mac.com (Sun Java(tm) System Messaging Server 6.3-8.01 (built Dec 16 2008; 32bit)) with ESMTPSA id <0KYV00EIJ5F4RL00@asmtp017.mac.com> for freebsd-questions@freebsd.org; Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:57:13 -0800 (PST) X-Proofpoint-Spam-Details: rule=notspam policy=default score=0 spamscore=0 ipscore=0 phishscore=0 bulkscore=0 adultscore=0 classifier=spam adjust=0 reason=mlx engine=5.0.0-0908210000 definitions=main-1003060095 Message-id: <12D27C0C-70FE-4640-9B2A-4EA98CC72859@mac.com> From: Chuck Swiger To: Pongthep Kulkrisada In-reply-to: <20100306065736.GA2237@gmail.com> Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2010 08:57:03 -0500 References: <20100305051415.GA1847@gmail.com> <20100305065837.660d3ebd.freebsd@edvax.de> <20100305110049.GA10715@gmail.com> <20100305161210.GA46349@gmail.com> <20100305171233.GB1500@gmail.com> <20100306065736.GA2237@gmail.com> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.936) Cc: freebsd Mailing Subject: -STABLE vs security branches, was: Flash viewer for FBSD X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:57:41 -0000 On Mar 6, 2010, at 1:57 AM, Pongthep Kulkrisada wrote: >> So your system is approx. 4 months old, despite you cvsup-ping? > > I don't know what do you mean. > Normally, FBSD issues new STABLE RELEASE once a year (approx). > Whenever new release or new branch is available, > I shall do either wget iso images, or cvsup/csup and buildworld. > The time between RELEASEs, there are patches. > But FBSD teams stated that those patches are not well tested > comparing to RELEASE. > So I do not update the system until new STABLE RELEASE is available > again. Things going into -CURRENT may not be "well tested", but anything being merged back to -STABLE ought to be. Humans make mistakes, but I can't recall more than two or maybe three significant issues over a decade tracking -STABLE, and these were fixed in a matter of hours. If you do care about this level of precision, you should be building to a test platform and then running sanity checks for whatever your machines do before upgrading production boxes, anyway. Beyond that, however, you ought to consider tracking the security branch, ie, RELENG_8_0, rather than 8-STABLE aka RELENG_8, as the former does include recommended changes like security bugfixes, but avoids merging in anything which has not been "well tested". Regards, -- -Chuck