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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.mel.connect.com.au!news.mel.aone.net.au!grumpy.fl.net.au!news.webspan.net!news.intersurf.net!www.nntp.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!news.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!katbert.ipa.net!keyhole.west.spy.net!bleu.west.spy.net!dustin From: dustin@bleu.west.spy.net. (Dustin Sallings) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: Why upgrades are not simpler? Date: 7 Jan 1997 00:25:29 GMT Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc. Mountain View, CA Lines: 38 Distribution: world Message-ID: <5as55p$a0l@keyhole.west.spy.net> References: <5akno1$ras$1@news-s01.ca.us.ibm.net> <5as228$37j@uuneo.neosoft.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: bleu.west.spy.net Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:33728 > >> Why is it that upgrading a FreeBSD system can't be done without the user > >> losing configurations or files? Will it always be like this? > On the surface, it seems like it should be a fairly straightforward > procedure, but I suspect there are some hidden pitfalls that I'm not > considering. > > Why not simply upgrade binaries and sources *only*, leaving /etc, /var, > /home, /dev untouched? After all, we *are* talking about an upgrade, not > a brand new install, so it should be safe to assume that a reasonable > configuration already exists. Upgrades shouldn't touch any of the users' files, unless it just wipes out everything. IRIX has the upgrade method, the software manager keeps up with all installed packages, and all the dependencies of those packages, including the configs. If you upgrade (or downgrade) software, it installs the new packages and configs, but after moving the config to config.O (for old, of course). A ``versions changed'' will give you a list of all the instances this took place, allowing you to go and make sure all of the system-wide configuration changes you've made can be remade. It even gives you a nifty boot warning telling you you've changed versions on some stuff, and you need to make sure your configs are the same. If you *only* upgrade the binaries, who's to say it'll still be able to read the configs, or that the program will work properly (or to the fully extent of the software) with parts of the newly configurable features left out? It may not run if you don't create devices for it, or /var/spools, or /etc files. -- IPA.net Sysadmin My girlfriend asked me which one I like better. pub 1024/3CAE01D5 1994/11/03 Dustin Sallings <dustin@spy.net> | Key fingerprint = 87 02 57 08 02 D0 DA D6 C8 0F 3E 65 51 98 D8 BE L_______________________ I hope the answer won't upset her. ____________