Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 20:33:24 +0300 From: Giorgos Keramidas <keramida@FreeBSD.org> To: Jeff Frederick <jfrederick@novell.com> Cc: freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Understanding FreeBSD Message-ID: <20020520173324.GE16779@hades.hell.gr> In-Reply-To: <sce8d0ce.069@prv-mail20.provo.novell.com> References: <sce8d0ce.069@prv-mail20.provo.novell.com>
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On 2002-05-20 09:32, Jeff Frederick wrote: > > 1. It seems like FBSD 4.5 supports USB out of the box, that I don't > have to recompile the kernal or anything. Is this correct? Hello Jeff, The installation cdroms include a version of the FreeBSD kernel called GENERIC. This includes a lot of drivers already. It does indeed have USB support compiled into the kernel. You can always use the GENERIC kernel if it seems to meet your needs and requirements. After you have become acquainted with the way FreeBSD works and feel comfortable about it, you might want to build a kernel of your own, which includes all the drivers you want and only those. This is both a useful exercise in getting to know the way everything can be rebuilt from the sources in FreeBSD, and an optimization that you'll probably like (since a smaller kernel that includes only those things you are currently using takes up less memory in your system, and frees a few resources for other things). > 3. CVSup. I want to install the 4.5 release version on my desktop > and then update to all the latest release patches and updates. The FreeBSD Handbook has a section that explains how you can upgrade to the STABLE version of FreeBSD at any given time. Find it at http://www.FreeBSD.org/doc/en/books/handbook/current-stable.html#STABLE > I also then want to update all the ports and packages that come on > the CD's. You don't need to upgrade them all. Packages that are released on the CDROMs are snapshots of the ports directory near the date of the release of that particular version of FreeBSD. You can use the ports infrastructure, installed in /usr/ports during the setup of the machine, to grab and build any program's latest version. > As far as the kernal or core OS, can I just use the > RELENG_4_5_0_RELEASE tag?? You'll probably like RELENG_4_5 better since it includes all the security fixes that have been found since 4.5-RELEASE was out. It is a convenient way to upgrade to the latest and greatest, as far as 4.5-RELEASE is concerned. Look at http://www.FreeBSD.org/security too, for more information on what RELENG_4_5 is all about. Another option is to use the RELENG_4 tag that will bring you smoothly the latest 4.x version any day. This is explained in the #STABLE section of the Handbook linked above. > 5. Release 4.5 vs. 4.6 and X3 vs. X4. I guess 4.6 is going to be > out soon. Will it actually install X4? If so, would it be > recommended to wait the couple of weeks to get that vs. installing > 4.5?? My advice would be to install 4.5 anyway. My first 4-5 installations of FreeBSD were scratched and reinstalled shortly after I was finished. Different partition layouts, differences in the sets of packages installed, or other minor stuff that you need to try and see for yourself are probably worth the trouble of ``testing'' 4.5-RELEASE before you get 4.6-RELEASE and install it for every day use. This doesn't mean that you absolutely `have to' install FreeBSD a dozen times. It just means that as you learn more about the operating system you'll probably want to reinstall later to change something that you don't like about the initial setup. Why miss the chance to test it all now, with 4.5-RELEASE and upgrade to 4.6-RELEASE later when it becomes available? Cheers, -- Giorgos Keramidas - http://www.FreeBSD.org keramida@FreeBSD.org - The Power to Serve To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-newbies" in the body of the message
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