Date: Sat, 05 Dec 2009 09:49:32 +0000 From: Matthew Seaman <m.seaman@infracaninophile.co.uk> To: freebsd@akruijff.dds.nl Cc: Robin Becker <robin@reportlab.com>, "freebsd-questions@freebsd.org" <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: binary upgrade 6.1 - 7.2/8.0 Message-ID: <4B1A2CAC.30207@infracaninophile.co.uk> In-Reply-To: <20091205020435.GA1495@Alex1.lan> References: <4AE6FD20.7070806@chamonix.reportlab.co.uk> <20091205020435.GA1495@Alex1.lan>
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Alex de Kruijff wrote:
> On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 02:01:04PM +0000, Robin Becker wrote:
>> Is it feasible to upgrade a system from 6.1 to 7.2 or 8.0-RC1 and if y=
es=20
>> what sequence of upgrades should I actually carry out ie is it feasibl=
e to=20
>> do 6.1-6.2 and then 6.2 - 7.2 or should it be done in small steps?
>=20
> I didn't see anyone else responed so I give it a go. I thougth it was
> posible for the base but not the ports. And I thought binairy upgrade
> only works from releses not patches or RCs. I haven't done this my self=
,
> but got this info from the handbook / the list.
Well, another user asked a very similar question about upgrading 6.x -> 8=
=2E0
in one go (using csup and buildworld). In principle it should be possibl=
e to
upgrade from any OS version after about 5.4-RELEASE to the latest, but in=
practice jumping too many versions all at once is painful. As a rule of =
thumb,
updating within the same major version (6.1 -> 6.4) and upgrading to the
next major version (6.1 -> 7.0) should "just work". In fact, upgrading f=
rom
the latest 6.x to the latest 7.x (6.4 -> 7.2) should just work too. Howe=
ver,
there have been reports that going direct from 6.x to 8.0 is problematic,=
and the solution is to do the upgrade in stages (6.1 -> 7.0 -> 8.0).
This is assuming you're upgrading by pulling down the sources using csup =
and
then building world. If you're using freebsd-upgrade, then in principle, =
you
should be able to upgrade to any supported version from any supported ver=
sion.
'Supported versions' do not include release candidates, but they do inclu=
de
security / errata patches, (so while 8.0-rc1 is not possible, 8.0-RELEASE=
-p1
certainly is.) As 6.1 is now out of support that could well cause proble=
ms.=20
I haven't tried doing anything like this with freebsd-upgrade so I can't =
give
a definitive answer, but if you choose to try it, I'd work under the expe=
ctation
that it won't go smoothly and put some forethought into how to extract yo=
urself
from the gum-tree before you start climbing[*]
Don't dismiss the option of upgrading by re-installing. Frequently it's =
the
fastest and least risky route.
Upgrading ports is something that should be considered as a separate task=
to be attended to after you've finished the base system upgrades: if you=
're upgrading
within a major version (6.1 -> 6.4) then you don't need to rebuild all yo=
ur ports,=20
just update the ones that are out of date in the usual way. Updates acro=
ss major
version boundaries are different. Software installed under 6.x will stil=
l work on
8.0 so long as you either keep the 6.x shlibs around or you install the c=
ompat6x
port. However, you should plan on re-installing all of your ports shortl=
y after doing a major version upgrade otherwise your ports will become ef=
fectively=20
unmaintainable. This is the case whether you install binary packages or =
compile
the ports from source.
Cheers,
Matthew
[*] with or without your paddle.
--=20
Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil. 7 Priory Courtyard
Flat 3
PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey Ramsgate
Kent, CT11 9PW
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