RStachowiak wrote: > On 18/03/07, J.C. Roberts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> You may want to note that *my* approach of running -STABLE is considered >> by many on this list to be "unnecessarily conservative" and I have to >> admit they are probably right. Unlike other projects, the -CURRENT >> branch of OpenBSD is extremely stable for production use. Over the >> years I've had a lot of people tell me that they just download the >> available snapshots of OpenBSD -CURRENT from FTP to run on their >> production servers. It works. And I've never seen a single horror story >> about problems endured by running OpenBSD -CURRENT in production. >> >> > First, thank you for lengthy explanations, they're very useful for new > OpenBSD users. > > I have two questions, which answers were often mentioned as 'for the brave > and experienced'. > > 1. Let's assume I use -CURRENT, and new release is done (for example coming > 4.1). What is a proper procedure to do at such point? Is simple ;) cvs up, > recompile, install, change configuration file according do upgrade manual, > sufficient?
NO! (at least, not in general...) Re-read faq5.html a few times until it all makes sense... You UPGRADE by installing the closest available binary. Always. Building from source is only to update to a newer -stable, or for making new code. Upgrading by source is only to inflict pain upon yourself if your life is too easy. Don't share the pain, however. HOWEVER, if your goal is to grab a -current and then move to 4.1-release when it comes out, you may well be too late now. Development has now resumed, the developers are working on 4.2 now. If you don't know how to tell, don't. > What I'm looking for is: > a. maybe even incomplete but some description of steps to be taken See the FAQ. When going from -current to a /newer/ release, follow the "upgradeXX.html" instructions. Be aware that the magical "upgradeXX.patch" file assumes going from previous-release to new-release, not previous-current to new-release, so it is going to choke and belch a few places. > b. general information about way to do it (For example list of steps which > I'll later expand to specific detailed items to be done) above. > c. list of potential pitfalls I can expect (but not the 'system will not > work' - this one I'm aware of :) IF you do it right, things Just Work. Unfortunately, itemizing the things you could do incorrectly is not really possible. :) > For example, I expect (however not yet examined) some information to be > found in upgrade script used by new release during upgrade. > > 2. Let's assume I use -STABLE 4.0, and after 4.1 is release I'll do checkout > of STABLE 4.1 - what are the steps to do the upgrade then? Documented in detail above. > I'm perfectly aware that it won't be easy nor supported, but considering > myself experienced UNIX admin (grin :), and having time to spent, and vmware > hosts to broke ;) (with snapshot feature) I'd like to extend my knowledge of > OpenBSD by doing those two 'exercises'. Best way to learn is to screw stuff up. Preferably in a controlled environment. :) Nick.
