I created a Wiki page that describes a step-by-step procedure for
upgrading Hadoop to a
newer software version, and outlines enhancements that'd make the
upgrade simple and safe.
This is a result of discussions held on this mailing list (some links
provided).
The upgrade procedure is based on extensive maintenance experience of a
large cluster.
This is the link:
http://wiki.apache.org/lucene-hadoop/Hadoop_Upgrade
Please share your views.
Konstantin