Hi Patrick,
Patrick Smith wrote on Fri, Nov 30, 2007 at 10:50:48AM -0800:
> I'm upgrading a server from OpenBSD 4.1 to 4.2 and there are a number of
> servers that have been done already. 'uname -a' tells me that they are:
>
> OpenBSD hostname 4.2 GENERIC#375 i386
> OpenBSD hostname 4.2 GENERIC#410 i386
> OpenBSD hostname 4.2 GENERIC#468 i386
>
> 375, 410, 468:
> Are these build numbers?
Yes.
But they are build numbers specific to the particular machine
on which these kernels happen to have been built.
So having two kernels with the same number doesn't tell you
these kernels are identical, and a kernel with a larger number
can be older than a kernel with a smaller number - they might
have been built on different machines. And a kernel built
today might still be crap if the sources were too old.
> Or do they mean something else?
> Would they signify security fixes that are important?
No way to know given the information you supply.
If i knew a list of official snapshot build numbers by heart,
i could start guessing - but that would be just that, guesswork.
> Should I be concerned that they are not the same across our different
> servers if our goal is to keep a consistent setup?
Yes!
In particular, you should reconsider your procedures.
If you want to keep your servers up to date, you definitely
want to know who is responsible for installing what to which
server and under which circumstances. And where it ought to
be written down when it has been done.
So if you go to some machine and the kernel it is running
comes as a surprise - put bluntly, it appears you do not know
what you are doing.
By the way, the following command is more useful for your purpose:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] $ sysctl kern.version
kern.version=OpenBSD 4.2-current (GENERIC) #69: Sun Nov 18 22:43:19 CET 2007
[EMAIL PROTECTED]:/usr/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/GENERIC
Here you see whether you are running -release, -stable or -current,
and here the build number also tells you something:
Here you see who (root) built the kernel when (Nov 18),
on which host (athene.usta.de) and in which source tree.
But don't overestimate the importance of having the right kernel
installed: Unless you have documented procedures being actually
followed, finding the correct kernel doesn't tell you whether
userland and packages are also up to date. In fact, finding out
whether userland is up to date is usually more difficult than
finding out whether the kernel is OK. But no less important...
You now have quite a bit of work to do:
Talk to your colleagues, find out what happened,
decide whether you want -stable or -current,
decide who will do this kind of maintenance in the future,
and then upgrade *all* machines using the official upgrade process.
In case you want -stable but some already have -current (which
i suspect), those need to be reinstalled from scratch.
Good luck with your random kernels,-)
Ingo
