Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:14:26 +0100 From: Graham Bentley <admin@cpcnw.co.uk> To: Manolis Kiagias <sonicy@otenet.gr> Cc: "freebsd-questions@freebsd.org" <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Starting again from Scratch Message-ID: <20070625181426.3d55f801@3bsd.cpcnw.co.uk> In-Reply-To: <467FF5AC.3020902@otenet.gr> References: <20070625120019.668D416A49A@hub.freebsd.org> <20070625151858.20ee23ad@3bsd.cpcnw.co.uk> <467FF5AC.3020902@otenet.gr>
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On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:04:44 +0300 Manolis Kiagias <sonicy@otenet.gr> wrote: > Graham Bentley wrote: > > OK, I am fairly new to FreeBSD and returning from a long while away. > > > > I am currently working on an install I have performed from the 6.2 > > release discs I downloaded several days ago. > > > > I chose X-Kern-Dev install and have a mixed bag of pkg_add -r > > packages, some programs I have downloaded and compiled from source > > from developers sites (Claws-mail and Xfce4 to name 2) as well as > > apps I cd'ed into into /usr/ports/name and made [nvidia for 1] > > > > Whilst I am aware there are more than serveral ways of doing things > > and for different reasons I am inviting advice on my target install > > which is a 'desktop' for basic office use, based on Xfce4. > > > > I would like to thank Nikola for his advice and also ask what is > > the generally accepted method of installing / keeping updated way > > of getting things done? > > > > I am only aware of the names cvsup, portupgrade, portmanager, > > portsnap, make world etc and am getting this round my neck a > > bit but this is what I have summized ; > > > > 1) Do basic [minimal] install of 6.2 rel from disc 1 > > 2) pkg_add cvsup-without-gui and get the latest ports installed > > 3) Build *everything* from this ports tree [including base/kernel?] > > 4) Find out how to keep updated / informed on updates to packages > > I have installed, and do so where necessary. > > > > If anyone can advise, point me in the direction of tutorials > > or step by steps, on the above It would be greatly appreciated. > > > > I would like to understand why its not so great to just install > > everything from pkg_add, whats the advantages of ports etc > > > > Until then I am enjoying using my i386-unknown-freebsd6.2 > > installation - even if it more by good luck than good management :) > > > > Thanks in advance of time spent in replying ! > > > > > You will hear many different opinions on this one, and I really doubt > there is one true answer (TM) > It all comes down IMHO to what amount of time you really want to spend > on configuring / updating your system, how important it is for you to > have the "latest and greatest" and what you are going to use it for. > I will try to answer some of your questions from my point of view, but > in any case you will probably receive lots of answers which may > contradict and you should examine each of them to decide which suits > your ideas better. > First of all, to save you the trouble of installing cvsup from ports > or packages, bear in mind the base system already has a utlity called > csup, functionality is the same, you do not have to install anything. > The handbook is simply not yet updated on this one. > > - Packages vs ports: Packages tend to be outdated. Most of the time > the packages you get when you do a pkg_add -r something are the ones > that came out during the RELEASE. There is a (rather little) known > env. variable called PACKAGESITE which can be set to another location > for pkg downloads so you get latest packages. > See the important note in > http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/packages-using.html > - Ports: Using ports will allow you to get the "latest and greatest" > software that is available for compiling (assuming you use csup or > cvsup). Bear in mind the big ports like Gnome or Xorg make take hours > (or days...) to compile, and in particular if your hardware is modest > or memory limited, you may run out of patience waiting. In fact > waiting for something like an Xorg upgrade to compile is completely > counter productive if you wish to get a machine to production use > quickly. When you gain more experience in BSD and have a few machines > available you could use them to create ready packages for your other > systems. Ports may become complicated - sometimes they will not > compile, either due to the port itself being faulty at the particular > moment or conflicting with something else you have installed. I > particularly dislike the idea of mixing ports and packages at the > same time on my systems. -Basic installations: If you wish to make a > server with no graphic environment (as almost all servers should be > IMO) you will probably not need any super-big ports to be compiled > and in this case I would go for a complete ports-based system. I > would use custom install and install everything but X, the ports > collection, and no packages. The csup the ports, compile essential > things (like bash for me) and any servers (apache, mysql etc) from > ports . These are not very intensive and you will get your server > running in a reasonable amount of time. Also compile portupgrade (or > portupgrade-devel) to help keep your ports up to date. I also > recommend portaudit which checks for security issues in your > currently installed ports. It will even send you updates about them. > -Compiling the kernel / building the world: There seems to be some > confusion here around many people. Having installed the base system > with full sources you can compile and install your own custom kernel > at any time. See: > http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/kernelconfig-building.html > IF HOWEVER you upgrade the system sources using csup (this does NOT > have to do with ports, you need a different supfile to update system > sources) you will move your system to the -STABLE branch. In this > case you will need to recompile not only the kernel but also the > complete set of base programs and utilities, what people refer to as > building the world. After you build the world, you can rebuild the > kernel as many times as you like assuming you don't change sources > (csup again). For most applications you may find that simply > rebuilding the kernel from the RELEASE sources you already have is > good enough. In fact you may continue using the GENERIC kernel if you > like. I assume quite a few people build their own kernel just for the > experience and the fun in it :) The process is very well documented > and quite "easy". > > There are quite a few other points / ports / programs, but this post > is getting very long anyway. Enjoy your new system and read the > FreeBSD handbook. It is a superb reference and your best friend > (along with this list :)) > > Manolis > Thanks for the reply Manolis. As I mentioned in my first post, this isnt for an important server, its just for 'desktop' use, for my own amusement, a learning platform. I dont actually need the 'latest and greatest' bleeding edge code, more so a reliable system for everyday work, that I dont really want to spend too long tinkering but more time using. As you say, I also wondered whether its worth me updating X or building world, just to send some email and browse the web :) I have in the past built a new kernel and it did seem faster so maybe that was a worthy tweak on a rainy night !!! Best wishes to all !!
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