From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Jul 14 02:26:02 2011 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 9C609106564A for ; Thu, 14 Jul 2011 02:26:02 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from freebsd@edvax.de) Received: from mx01.qsc.de (mx01.qsc.de [213.148.129.14]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5FB5E8FC15 for ; Thu, 14 Jul 2011 02:26:02 +0000 (UTC) Received: from r55.edvax.de (port-92-195-180-180.dynamic.qsc.de [92.195.180.180]) by mx01.qsc.de (Postfix) with ESMTP id DDDD63CEEA; Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:26:00 +0200 (CEST) Received: from r55.edvax.de (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by r55.edvax.de (8.14.2/8.14.2) with SMTP id p6E2Px1e004286; Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:25:59 +0200 (CEST) (envelope-from freebsd@edvax.de) Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:25:59 +0200 From: Polytropon To: freebsd-questions@herveybayaustralia.com.au Message-Id: <20110714042559.217d0d34.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <60375.1310608922@herveybayaustralia.com.au> References: <60375.1310608922@herveybayaustralia.com.au> Organization: EDVAX X-Mailer: Sylpheed 2.4.7 (GTK+ 2.12.1; i386-portbld-freebsd7.0) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: atheros 9285 wifi X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list Reply-To: Polytropon List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 02:26:02 -0000 On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:02:02 +1000, freebsd-questions@herveybayaustralia.com.au wrote: > So are you saying I can't just grab the ath module? Depends. Maybe a newer version of the module requires a more recent version of the kernel, because a new interface or function was added... > I'd rather stick to release, but I guess if I'm having to rebuild the > kernel each update... You _can_ try to just compile (1st step) and load (2nd step) the module with the RELEASE kernel, but it's not guaranteed to work. Both steps may require updates in sources or in the running kernel as illustrated above. > What are the cons to using stable? > I thought > stable was still being worked on and shouldn't be used for production? The FreeBSD release branches in short: HEAD or CURRENT is the branch with active development. It may even happen that CURRENT of _now_ does not compile, but CURRENT of _2 hours later_ will. This is a branch where also experimental changes can be applied, and usually comes with lots of debugging. STABLE is suitable for desktop and production, but you should know what you're doing. This branch contains development that has been agreed about to be in the next release. RELEASE-pX is the security branch of a RELEASE. It contains the patchlevels that correspond to the security updates only. This is often recommended for production. RELEASE is the "finalized" release of a specific "fixed" version. Refer to the FreeBSD Handbook for a more detailed description. > I'm providing services to very green users so I'd like to stay close > to reliable as possible- hence my addiction with the release versions. As I said, STABLE is interesting if you need features that you won't get by following RELEASE-pX. -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...