Hi, Just two quick questions: 1. Would it be possible or difficult to upgrade FreeBSD 4.8 -STABLE to 5.2 -STABLE when it comes out? 2. Which is the best for a production environment, -STABLE or -RELEASE Someone told me they think the latter is better because it doesn't require as much downtime for an upgrade. Thanks Joe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any included attachments are from Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. and are intended only for the addressee(s). The information contained herein may include trade secrets or privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you received this message in error, or have reason to believe you are not authorized to receive it, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender by e-mail with a copy to CSOffice@smed.com. Thank you
:: Just two quick questions: :: :: 1. Would it be possible or difficult to upgrade FreeBSD 4.8 -STABLE to :: 5.2 -STABLE when it comes out? Difficult (without completely rebuilding your system and doing a binary upgrade). Source upgrades, while they will work, will leave a lot of unnecessary remnants of 4.x on your box. :: 2. Which is the best for a production environment, -STABLE or -RELEASE :: Someone told me they think the latter is better because it doesn't :: require as much downtime for an upgrade. Both systems require the same amount of time to upgrade, so that's not the issue. The issue is what sort of changes you want to make to your production box. If you track -STABLE then you'll get bug fixes, new features, etc. If you track one of the Security branches, then you'll only get security fixes with no new features. Check out the Handbook on information about what -STABLE actually means: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/current-stable.html And the definition of all the CVS tags in use today: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/cvs-tags.html Cheers - Erick
On August 8, 2003 09:30 am, Warner Joseph wrote:> 1. Would it be possible or difficult to upgrade FreeBSD 4.8 -STABLE > to 5.2 -STABLE when it comes out?It's possible to do a source upgrade from 4.x to 5.x, but it requires a lot of time and effort to do it right. When upgrading across major versions, it is generally better to backup all important data, reformat, and install from scratch. That way, you can take advantage of new filesystems and other features that require a reformat/reinstall.> 2. Which is the best for a production environment, -STABLE or > -RELEASE Someone told me they think the latter is better because it > doesn't require as much downtime for an upgrade.While the development team makes every effort to keep -STABLE stable and useable, there are frequent periods where it is broken for a short time. Unless you require specific hardware or software support that is only found in -STABLE, it is recommended to run -RELEASE and to track the tag=RELENG_X_Y branch (where X is the major version, Y the minor version, currently 4_8). This is -RELEASE + any important bug fixes and all security fixes. -- Freddie Cash District HelpDesk / Network Admin fcash@sd73.bc.ca helpdesk@sd73.bc.ca (250) 374-0679 ext. 219
-----Original Message----- From: Erick Mechler [mailto:emechler@techometer.net] Sent: Friday, August 08, 2003 10:39 AM To: Warner Joseph Cc: 'freebsd-stable@freebsd.org' Subject: Re: 2 Questions :: Just two quick questions: :: :: 1. Would it be possible or difficult to upgrade FreeBSD 4.8 -STABLE to :: 5.2 -STABLE when it comes out? Difficult (without completely rebuilding your system and doing a binary upgrade). Source upgrades, while they will work, will leave a lot of unnecessary remnants of 4.x on your box. Ok, then a complete format and reinstall I presume? :: 2. Which is the best for a production environment, -STABLE or -RELEASE :: Someone told me they think the latter is better because it doesn't :: require as much downtime for an upgrade. Both systems require the same amount of time to upgrade, so that's not the issue. The issue is what sort of changes you want to make to your production box. If you track -STABLE then you'll get bug fixes, new features, etc. If you track one of the Security branches, then you'll only get security fixes with no new features. I understand now. Thanks for the clarification. Check out the Handbook on information about what -STABLE actually means: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/current-stable.htm l And the definition of all the CVS tags in use today: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/cvs-tags.html Cheers - Erick ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any included attachments are from Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. and are intended only for the addressee(s). The information contained herein may include trade secrets or privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you received this message in error, or have reason to believe you are not authorized to receive it, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender by e-mail with a copy to CSOffice@smed.com. Thank you
-----Original Message----- From: Freddie Cash [mailto:fcash@sd73.bc.ca] Sent: Friday, August 08, 2003 10:34 AM To: Warner Joseph Cc: stable@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 2 Questions On August 8, 2003 09:30 am, Warner Joseph wrote:> 1. Would it be possible or difficult to upgrade FreeBSD 4.8 -STABLE > to 5.2 -STABLE when it comes out?It's possible to do a source upgrade from 4.x to 5.x, but it requires a lot of time and effort to do it right. When upgrading across major versions, it is generally better to backup all important data, reformat, and install from scratch. That way, you can take advantage of new filesystems and other features that require a reformat/reinstall. Understood. How long do you think the 4.x series will be supported?> 2. Which is the best for a production environment, -STABLE or > -RELEASE Someone told me they think the latter is better because it > doesn't require as much downtime for an upgrade.While the development team makes every effort to keep -STABLE stable and useable, there are frequent periods where it is broken for a short time. Unless you require specific hardware or software support that is only found in -STABLE, it is recommended to run -RELEASE and to track the tag=RELENG_X_Y branch (where X is the major version, Y the minor version, currently 4_8). This is -RELEASE + any important bug fixes and all security fixes. Ahh, I see now! Thanks for the clarification and quick response. Joe -- Freddie Cash District HelpDesk / Network Admin fcash@sd73.bc.ca helpdesk@sd73.bc.ca (250) 374-0679 ext. 219 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any included attachments are from Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. and are intended only for the addressee(s). The information contained herein may include trade secrets or privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you received this message in error, or have reason to believe you are not authorized to receive it, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender by e-mail with a copy to CSOffice@smed.com. Thank you
-----Original Message----- From: Freddie Cash [mailto:fcash@sd73.bc.ca] Sent: Friday, August 08, 2003 11:21 AM To: Warner Joseph Cc: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 2 Questions On August 8, 2003 09:55 am, you wrote:> Understood. How long do you think the 4.x series will be supported?>There's a 4.9 scheduled for release later this year / early next year. >4-STABLE will be around until 5.x is deemed ready for everyday, >production use and a 5-STABLE branch is created. This is tentatively >scheduled for 5.2, but may be pushed back to 5.3 is need be. Thus, >there might be a 4.10 and possibly even a 4.11.Really? Wow! For some reason I wasn't thinking it would continue on that far.>There's a nifty timetable of releases available in the Release >Engineering section of the FreeBSD website. Have a gander through that >for more info.This is VERY helpful information, thanks for your courteous response/s. Joe -- Freddie Cash District HelpDesk / Network Admin fcash@sd73.bc.ca helpdesk@sd73.bc.ca (250) 374-0679 ext. 219 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any included attachments are from Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. and are intended only for the addressee(s). The information contained herein may include trade secrets or privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you received this message in error, or have reason to believe you are not authorized to receive it, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender by e-mail with a copy to CSOffice@smed.com. Thank you
> > >> Subject: >> Re: 2 Questions >> From: >> Kresimir Kumericki <kkumer@phy.hr> >> Date: >> Fri, 8 Aug 2003 18:52:59 +0200 >> To: >> stable@freebsd.org >> >> >> While we're at it ... I have this old Pentium 200 MHz with 96MB RAM >> running FreeBSD 4.8-STABLE. How much more system resources (RAM and >> CPU) FreeBSD 5.* needs in comparison to 4.8? I just want to hear some >> educated guess, whether for me it is recomended at all to upgrade at >> some point or am I better off tracking 4-STABLE (at least while it is >> supported by security patches an such). >> >> >>I'm currently running 5.1-RELEASE as a firewall/router/internal DNS server on a P166 with 64MB ram, for an admittedly small home network. I choose 5.1 because I wanted to run the pf port from OpenBSD. I have a 2.4 gig drive with /, /var, /tmp, and /usr, and a 325 meg drive with swap and /home. It typically runs about 98% idle. I did compile a custom kernel to get rid of the drivers and such that my system didn't need (had to anyways, to run pf). I'm very happy with the performance of that system. I had run 4.8-RELEASE on that box before turning it into a router, and I really can't tell any difference between 4.8 and 5.1.
Thanks Bruce, I know everyone involved has worked and continues to work really hard on both branches and as a user I really appreciate that. It's quite evident that there are other vendors who don't even come close to what you guys do! If I could find the time to learn to code I'd definitely pitch in and help. Keep up the great work! Joe -----Original Message----- From: Bruce A. Mah [mailto:bmah@freebsd.org] Sent: Friday, August 08, 2003 1:42 PM To: Warner Joseph Cc: 'fcash@sd73.bc.ca'; freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 2 Questions If memory serves me right, Warner Joseph wrote:> >There's a 4.9 scheduled for release later this year / early next year. > >4-STABLE will be around until 5.x is deemed ready for everyday, > >production use and a 5-STABLE branch is created. This is tentatively > >scheduled for 5.2, but may be pushed back to 5.3 is need be. Thus, > >there might be a 4.10 and possibly even a 4.11. > > Really? Wow! For some reason I wasn't thinking it would continue > on that far.Without committing the release engineering team to anything: One idea is that after 4.9, we might do some maintenence releases, primarily to merge in bugfixes. These would be more along the lines of "4.9.1", "4.9.2", et al. If we do lightweight 4.9.X releases after 4.9, we can concentrate more on building more robust 5.X releases so we can do a 5-STABLE branch. As an aside, doing interleaved releases from the 5.X and 4.X branches is really hard on the RE and portmgr teams. We can cut four releases total in a year, but that's pushing it (three used to be normal). I know that CDROM vendors and many of our fellow users would like us to release more often, but there's just a limit to what we can do while avoiding concurrent releases, major holidays, etc. Bottom line is that there aren't any firm plans at this point, although I assure you it's something we're thinking about. Bruce. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any included attachments are from Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. and are intended only for the addressee(s). The information contained herein may include trade secrets or privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you received this message in error, or have reason to believe you are not authorized to receive it, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender by e-mail with a copy to CSOffice@smed.com. Thank you
Good point, I'll have to give that a shot when I get some time. Regards, Joe -----Original Message----- From: bmah@freebsd.org [mailto:bmah@freebsd.org] Sent: Friday, August 08, 2003 2:41 PM To: Warner Joseph Cc: 'bmah@freebsd.org'; 'fcash@sd73.bc.ca'; freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 2 Questions If memory serves me right, Warner Joseph wrote:> I know everyone involved has worked and continues > to work really hard on both branches and as a > user I really appreciate that. It's quite evident > that there are other vendors who don't even come > close to what you guys do!Thanks, we try. :-)> If I could find the time to learn to code I'd > definitely pitch in and help.There are lots of areas of FreeBSD that don't require any particular coding skills. The doc project is one example. Cheers, Bruce. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any included attachments are from Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. and are intended only for the addressee(s). The information contained herein may include trade secrets or privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you received this message in error, or have reason to believe you are not authorized to receive it, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender by e-mail with a copy to CSOffice@smed.com. Thank you