Tobias Weisserth wrote:
Hi everybody,
I am still trying to sort out some of the information on the OpenBSD website
about how to follow a specific branch and what are the benefits of each
method.
I understood what STABLE, CURRENT and RELEASE are and how to follow them.
I still have some difficulties figuring out what the difference between stable
and release+applied errata is:
"Starting with 2.7, OpenBSD provides a source tree that contains important
patches and fixes (i.e. those from the errata plus others which are obvious
and simple, but do not deserve an errata entry) and makes it available via
CVS in addition to the current source."
from http://www.openbsd.org/stable.html
So having a release and applying patches to it is not exactly the same as
following the stable branch. How far are those methods apart?
I have read that mixing up checked out subsystems from CVS like src, ports and
XF4 cannot be done across different branches without breaking the system at
some time. Let's assume I don't want to spend the extra compile time and
bandwidth following stable and I'll stick with the release and apply the
patches. How does that leave me with ports? Is it safe to use a release,
apply the errata and checkout/use the ports from CVS stable? If not, what
alternative do I have?
"Mixing and matching of patching solutions can be done if you understand how
everything works, but new users should pick one method and stick with it."
from http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq10.html#Patches
Is this what I was reffering at?
I guess the "best" solution would be to follow stable but speaking honestly
this seems like a lot of wasted bandwidth and CPU time for a few small
changes at best?
kind regards and thanks,
Tobias W.
On production systems, I'd suggest using the Release version and apply
the errata. If you need a feature or fix that is only in stable, then
use that. If there is a feature or bug that is not fixed in stable,
then choose between new hardware or going with current.
For messing around and having fun with OpenBSD, I'd install from snapshots.
