Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 07:59:33 -0800 From: Darren Pilgrim <list_freebsd@bluerosetech.com> To: Robert Fitzpatrick <robert@webtent.org>, FreeBSD <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Upgrading a FreeBSD 7.1 server Message-ID: <54B93565.40506@bluerosetech.com> In-Reply-To: <54B7E910.60206@webtent.org> References: <54B7E910.60206@webtent.org>
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On 1/15/2015 8:21 AM, Robert Fitzpatrick wrote: > Is it possible to upgrade a FreeBSD 7.1 server, perhaps a step up > process to 8.4 first? We have a virtual server that we prefer not to > reinstall all packages. As others have said, technically, yes, you can do this. Upgrade to 8.4, convert to pkg2ng, then make the jump to a current release from there. The problem, though is it's a huge risk for almost no savings. I've done upgrades like this, it sucks. One of the biggest gains with the current releases is that freebsd-update and binary packages works extremely well. pkg with a local repo is much, much better than ports. Converting from a source-upgraded system to a binary-upgraded system is doable, but fragile. You will spend a huge amount of time doing merge edits for the conversion because the merge tool in freebsd-update as smart as mergemaster. You will spend less time on this if you simply backup the VM, wipe it and reinstall 10.1. Copy the old system's base and local files to a small image (a thumbdrive, even) and have it mounted to the VM so you can copy stuff to the new install. You'll also get a fresh filesystem, which really can matter a lot with older installs--UFS does not have bitrot protection.
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