Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:55:34 -0600
From:      Paul Schmehl <pschmehl_lists@tx.rr.com>
To:        andreas scherrer <ascherrer@gmail.com>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: freebsd-update patches custom /boot/kernel/kernel which it should not
Message-ID:  <DFFB3126BC86145F5BBC43C1@utd71538.campus.ad.utdallas.edu>
In-Reply-To: <A6B0D20B3328291202ED5FF3@utd71538.campus.ad.utdallas.edu>
References:  <50E4724E.9050706@gmail.com> <FE07BE5C4AC64D520798F214@utd71538.campus.ad.utdallas.edu> <50E4880E.8030105@gmail.com> <A6B0D20B3328291202ED5FF3@utd71538.campus.ad.utdallas.edu>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
--On January 2, 2013 1:46:25 PM -0600 Paul Schmehl 
<pschmehl_lists@tx.rr.com> wrote:

> --On January 2, 2013 8:18:38 PM +0100 andreas scherrer
> <ascherrer@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> on 2.1.13 19:15  Paul Schmehl said the following:
>>> --On January 2, 2013 6:45:50 PM +0100 andreas scherrer
>>>> And from experience this is what it will do: replace
>>>> /boot/kernel/kernel which is my custom kernel with a GENERIC kernel.
>>>>
>>>> As it seems that freebsd-update works by comparing a hash of
>>>> /boot/kernel/kernel with the GENERIC kernel's hash I checked the md5
>>>> and sha1 hash of /boot/kernel/kernel and /boot/GENERIC/kernel. They
>>>> differ (see [3]).
>>>>
>>>> So why is freebsd-update going to overwrite my custom kernel? And how
>>>> can I prevent it from doing so?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Read man (5) freebsd-update.conf.  Particularly the COMPONENTS portion
>>> that explains how to update world without changing kernel.
>>
>> Thanks for pointing this out. I might change my freebsd-update.conf to
>> not update the kernel. But still I believe this to be more of a kludge
>> than a solution: in my opinion the handbook suggests that a custom
>> kernel should be detected and left alone. But at the same time a GENERIC
>> kernel in /boot/GENERIC should be patched.
>>
>> http://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/updating-upgrading-freebsdupdate.html
>> -----
>
> That needs to be updated.
>
>> However, freebsd-update will detect and update the GENERIC kernel in
>> /boot/GENERIC (if it exists), even if it is not the current (running)
>> kernel of the system.
>> -----
>>
>> Furthermore if I remove the kernel option from the COMPONENTS in
>> freebsd-update.conf I think I will not get the kernel source patches
>> anymore, right? Which in turn means I have to get them via some other
>> mechanism, no?
>>
>
> See UpdateIfUnmodified in the man page.  You can specify a regex pattern
> that prevents the kernel from being modified but still downloads the
> sources.
>

I wasn't thinking when I wrote this.  Freebsd-update pulls *binary* copies 
of files, so you're not ever going to get the src files to rebuild your 
kernel from freebsd-update.  You need to pull those in using svn.

-- 
Paul Schmehl, Senior Infosec Analyst
As if it wasn't already obvious, my opinions
are my own and not those of my employer.
*******************************************
"It is as useless to argue with those who have
renounced the use of reason as to administer
medication to the dead." Thomas Jefferson
"There are some ideas so wrong that only a very
intelligent person could believe in them." George Orwell




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?DFFB3126BC86145F5BBC43C1>