Very Computer

At work, I'm running a machine using FreeBSD version 2.2.8, and I'd
like some advice about upgrading to version 3.1. My impression (both
from reading this newsgroup and moving to 3.1 on my machine at
home) is that the transition is not entirely painless. The machine
at work is also a bit unusual, in that we use lots of user-written
and non-standard software. The switch from a.out to ELF binaries
means I'll have to re-compile all of that code. I've been waiting
until I have several days to spare to devote to the switch, at a
time when the users are out of town (or otherwise willing to live
with a few days of down time.) Several days is basically my worst
case estimate of how long it would take, but I want to be pessimistic
about this (rather than saying it will take under a day and needing
more time.) But it looks like that might not happen for another month
or two. In the mean time, I'm running an operating system that isn't
really supported (either in ports or cvs) and the differences between
what I'm running and the latest stable version are probably growing.
Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions/opinions about when I should
move this machine to 3.1?

                                                          Frank Crary
                                                          CU Boulder

I'd be inclined to hang on and wait until 3.2.

Until that time, i'd suggest:
1) if possible, borrow a box on which you could load 2.2.8 (e.g: an old
   486/586 that's otherwise collecting dust in a storeroom) and then
   restore your own add-ons.  Keep it handy as a sort of Q&D secondary
   backup, or rather, fallback (while of course not neglecting the
   primary backup regimen).  Note that i'm not saying _use_ it, but
   it'll be there if you need it.  If both your existing and the
   "temporary" boxes have NICs that work, so much the better.

2) think (real pen-&-paper thinking) about any possible adjustments
   to partition layout/size on the new system, with a view to
   facilitating future upgrades. IOW, if you haven't already done so,
   create separate partitions for  your own temporal, non-base
   locations such as /usr/local or/usr/home. Even if you have, this
   is the best time to consider further alterations.  
   IMHO the more you can isolate your own customizations from the base
   system, the easier it seems to adjust to an upgrade, as well as
   to handle incremental backups.    

   As new Linux apps appear, they seem to make increasing demands on
   resources like swap-space.  I've increased my / from 32M to 64M
   just to have more room in /tmp and i'm still not comfy with it.

3) try and be patient ;) and wait for the cdrom, it's worth it just
   for the live filesystem disc.  It's so much more luxurient than
   the fixit floppy. Using the cdrom set is less teeth-gritting than
   an ftp install.  It's nice to have larger packages local,than
   going through /usr/ports. Save your modem-money for CVS.  You'll
   also have the install-disc at hand should anything go awry with
   subsequent STABLE tracking.

Just my .02.

cheers,
        tom

--
Why not just drop everything and go fishin'?

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Just to clarify, i meant here, things like dropped carrier (which cvsup
should actually recover from) or hardware failure during downloads.

cheers,
       tom

Quote:

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Why not just drop everything and go fishin'?

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