From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Dec 2 14:37:40 2005 Return-Path: X-Original-To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7474816A41F for ; Fri, 2 Dec 2005 14:37:40 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from FreeBSD@keyslapper.net) Received: from russian-caravan.cloud9.net (russian-caravan.cloud9.net [168.100.1.4]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B0E5343D60 for ; Fri, 2 Dec 2005 14:37:39 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from FreeBSD@keyslapper.net) Received: from russian-caravan.cloud9.net (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by russian-caravan.cloud9.net (Postfix) with SMTP id 05189172E6 for ; Fri, 2 Dec 2005 09:37:39 -0500 (EST) Received: from keyslapper.net (250-119.customer.cloud9.net [168.100.250.119]) by russian-caravan.cloud9.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9C0A01713F for ; Fri, 2 Dec 2005 09:37:38 -0500 (EST) Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by keyslapper.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8D594114C1 for ; Fri, 2 Dec 2005 09:33:44 -0500 (EST) Received: from keyslapper.net ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (keyslapper.net [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id 64535-08 for ; Fri, 2 Dec 2005 09:33:44 -0500 (EST) Received: from www.keyslapper.net (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by keyslapper.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2EA6911472 for ; Fri, 2 Dec 2005 09:33:44 -0500 (EST) Received: from 38.112.155.126 (SquirrelMail authenticated user leblanc) by www.keyslapper.net with HTTP; Fri, 2 Dec 2005 09:33:44 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <58486.38.112.155.126.1133534024.squirrel@www.keyslapper.net> Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 09:33:44 -0500 (EST) From: "Louis J. LeBlanc" To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org User-Agent: SquirrelMail/1.4.5 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1 X-Priority: 3 (Normal) Importance: Normal X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at keyslapper.net Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-AntiVirus: Checked by Vexira Antivirus v1.5 Cc: Subject: Uptimes, autoreboots, and package upgrades X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list Reply-To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 02 Dec 2005 14:37:40 -0000 Hey folks. This is really just a question about admin practices and procedures. I have a 5.4_RELEASE system that I'll be re-installing (clean, on a new har= d drive) with 6.0 some time in the next few months. Before I do, I'm interested in fine tuning my administrative ideology. I hear a lot of boasting about uptimes and stability, and whatnot, and with these boasts invariably come responses decrying the wisdom of keepin= g a machine up for such a long time without resetting it. Reasons abound, but the one I see most often is related to the fact I keep my system well updated, upgrading ports at least weekly. Some of these ports are libraries that fix stability issues, security issues, etc. and are often used by daemons I keep running at all times - though only those absolutel= y required to be accessible from outside are open through the firewall. Regardless, I've seen some minor wierd behavior because of these upgrades= , and unfortunately, I sometimes see daemons refuse to start afterward.=20 Postfix and Courier are the more important ones (to me, anyway) that have misbehaved in this way. Often it is related to a library or a security package that was updated and required a config tweak with the upgrade (particularly Sasl2). So, I know restarting is important on occasion, but my real questions are= : Does anyone use a crontab reboot to make sure their system(s) get a regular fresh start? If so, how often - weekly, montly, bi-monthly? Does anyone have a list of packages they flag for more cautious upgrade procedures than just whipping them all into portupgrade? What does this process consist of besides reading the release and/or upgrade notes? My list is a bit short so far, with only postfix, courier, and sasl*. I have considered putting SquirrelMail, Apache, and the Apache addons/modules on the list, but I very rarely have trouble with them. Thanks in advance. Lou --=20 Louis LeBlanc FreeBSD@keyslapper.net Fully Funded Hobbyist, KeySlapper Extrordinaire :=FE http://www.keyslapper.net =D4=BF=D4=AC