From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG  Fri Jul 15 13:49:41 2011
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Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:49:39 -0400
To: Jaime Kikpole <jkikpole@cairodurham.org>
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Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject: Upgrading very old installation
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Jaime Kikpole writes:

>  I'm running a FreeBSD 6.x server that hasn't been updated in
>  about 1.5 years.
>  
>  atlas:~>uname -mprs
>  FreeBSD 6.4-RELEASE-p8 i386 i386
>  
>  What is the recommended way to upgrade it to something current?
>  Should I upgrade it to the most recent 6.x and then to 7.x and
>  then to 8.x?  Or should I use a more direct route, upgrading it
>  straight to the 8-RELEASE branch?

	There is a strong argument to be made for (re-)installing when
moving across a major version boundary.  Whan crossing more than
one, the case becomes even more formidable.
	And installing to a new disk allows you to use the old one as a
(hardware-enforced) read-only backup.
	The only two reasons I can think of for upgrading in place are
a) you cannot afford or have no access to a new disk or b) you
cannot make a reliable backup (which carries its own set of risks).


					Robert Huff