On Fri, 4 Jul 2008, Geoff Galitz wrote:
Just a nit: Most RPM based distros allow in-place upgrades between minor point releases using "yum update" or "yum upgrade" (they follow different rules on how to resolve obsolete packages). However, moving between major releases is still recommended via a CD or other non-in-place media, though there are people that have done it in-place you seriously risk inflicting harm to your system in this manner.
Sure, although I've done it (actually, there are a LOT of people that have done it) and I've never heard of anybody actually screwing everything up. To some extent it depends on how the system was managed and how serious the changes are between major releases. If you installed a "standard" system and used only yum to install and update from a standard set of repos, then you have almost certainly avoided RPM hell and have a very high chance of succeeding with an upgrade, with of course some work likely to be required deciding what to do when packages disappear or major libraries move. That work is required for ANY system -- independent of packaging or manager -- when major libraries change and packages disappear and new tools appear. Installing from scratch simply ensures that the tools that are installed are consistent, but it still leaves one dealing with the your favorite one that has disappeared or the new one that you have to figure out or your favorite personal program that has to be rebuilt and maybe even hacked first to accomodate an new library interface. If, on the other hand, you installed your system, then built eighteen pieces of software on your own and installed them, overwriting libraries and configuration files that were installed from RPM, do a couple of rpm --force's, and manage in the process to move yourself deep into RPM hell, well, what is going to be able to safely upgrade that? I tend to reinstall upgrades most of the time instead of upgrade, but that's only because kickstart makes that so easy that it is actually faster AND safer than screwing around with a local upgrade, and sure, there is the possibility of trouble if you do it otherwise, and who likes trouble (even if you've never heard of anybody who has actually HAD trouble). rgb
Geoff Galitz Blankenheim NRW, Deutschland http://www.galitz.org _____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Gregory Warnes Sent: Mittwoch, 2. Juli 2008 02:50 To: Mark Hahn Cc: Beowulf Subject: Re: [Beowulf] A press release [stuff snipped] Side note, one very nice thing about debian is the ability to upgrade a system in-place from one O/S release to another via apt-get dist-upgrade Much nicer than reinstalling the O/S as seems to be (used to be?) the norm with RPM-based systems -Greg
-- Robert G. Brown Phone(cell): 1-919-280-8443 Duke University Physics Dept, Box 90305 Durham, N.C. 27708-0305 Web: http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb Book of Lilith Website: http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/Lilith/Lilith.php Lulu Bookstore: http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=877977 _______________________________________________ Beowulf mailing list, Beowulf@beowulf.org To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe) visit http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf
