Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 09:33:44 -0500 (EST) From: "Louis J. LeBlanc" <FreeBSD@keyslapper.net> To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org Subject: Uptimes, autoreboots, and package upgrades Message-ID: <58486.38.112.155.126.1133534024.squirrel@www.keyslapper.net>
next in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Hey folks. This is really just a question about admin practices and procedures. I have a 5.4_RELEASE system that I'll be re-installing (clean, on a new har= d drive) with 6.0 some time in the next few months. Before I do, I'm interested in fine tuning my administrative ideology. I hear a lot of boasting about uptimes and stability, and whatnot, and with these boasts invariably come responses decrying the wisdom of keepin= g a machine up for such a long time without resetting it. Reasons abound, but the one I see most often is related to the fact I keep my system well updated, upgrading ports at least weekly. Some of these ports are libraries that fix stability issues, security issues, etc. and are often used by daemons I keep running at all times - though only those absolutel= y required to be accessible from outside are open through the firewall. Regardless, I've seen some minor wierd behavior because of these upgrades= , and unfortunately, I sometimes see daemons refuse to start afterward.=20 Postfix and Courier are the more important ones (to me, anyway) that have misbehaved in this way. Often it is related to a library or a security package that was updated and required a config tweak with the upgrade (particularly Sasl2). So, I know restarting is important on occasion, but my real questions are= : Does anyone use a crontab reboot to make sure their system(s) get a regular fresh start? If so, how often - weekly, montly, bi-monthly? Does anyone have a list of packages they flag for more cautious upgrade procedures than just whipping them all into portupgrade? What does this process consist of besides reading the release and/or upgrade notes? My list is a bit short so far, with only postfix, courier, and sasl*. I have considered putting SquirrelMail, Apache, and the Apache addons/modules on the list, but I very rarely have trouble with them. Thanks in advance. Lou --=20 Louis LeBlanc FreeBSD@keyslapper.net Fully Funded Hobbyist, KeySlapper Extrordinaire :=FE http://www.keyslapper.net =D4=BF=D4=AC
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?58486.38.112.155.126.1133534024.squirrel>