-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Aniruddha wrote: > I am trying to learn as much as I can about openSUSE, however there is > one crucial design philosophy I have difficulty to grasp; openSUSE way > of handeling updates. I wonder: > > -Which ways are there to update openSUSE from one stable release to > another? > > -Is it also possible to skip a release when updating? e.g. is it > possible to update 10 to 10.3 or 9 to 10.2? > > - Is there also an incremental stable (not factory) update possibility? > This would mean that when openSUSE 11 is released openSUSE 10.3 users > have already updated to 11 incrementally meaning no need for upgrading. > >
I have used the upgrade route from 9.3 to 10.2. Most issues where config file related (some inconsistency between configuration being retained and configurations being backup up, and a couple being completely pasted). It was some time ago I did this so I cannot remember details. An upgrade between two of the 9.x or 8.x to 9.x versions (I forget which) did create some additional problems in that guid and uid defaults were changed which did create issues with NFS and to a lesser extent samba. The decision to upgrade or install cleanly is far as I am concerned not straight forward, and IMHO the same considerations need to be taking in account whatever version OS is involved. IMHO It depends on the following factors... 1) How complex the current configuration is. In my experience merely backing up /etc and another configuration locations and expecting the machine to work again after copying back onto a clean install just does not work. You need to have a good idea of what configuration files you have changed and restore these configurations on an individual basis on a clean install. An upgrade at least gives a chance that some parts of your configuration are operational and potentially can save you time, by flagging those which need attention. With a machine which has been around for a while one probably is in situation that one cannot remember all changes so this is useful.... 2) If you have a large number of applications installed upgrade does give some benefits over clean install in that it will be quicker to get what you had going provided that you check what is proposed to be installed or removed by YaST. For a clean install part of the preparation will be to list what one have installed so it can be restored. 3) If you are regular user of ssh you can expect your ssh connectivity to the target machine to be initially non functional after a complete install (expect BTW means plan for it, I remember in some circumstance this has not occurred to others). The security certificates will have changed and ssh clients will complain. While this is not a big problem with one or two machines, with a large number of machines it is a potential pain. Also if you have a large number of user accounts or authentication settings it is wise to backup and restore security related info to a clean install. 4) If you have a machine which has largely be installed from the SuSE base repositories and you have few or no components from other sources and you have a a separate home partition, a clean install is probably best option. In other cases it is largely dependant on to what extent one can make verifiable backup of personal and configuration data (with at least two copies). If you cannot do the latter defer until you can either perform that backup or meet the former criteria. 5) If you are in an environment with spare kit whether you find a suitable machine to do a dry run. 6) Have a good plan to get back to what you had before if does not work out. Check if any changes to key software need to be taken into account. While most applications have some backward compatibility, a large jump between OS versions may also imply a significant change to service and application configurations. Planning is the key... merely throwing media into the machine and hitting install is a good way of a torching your machine and your data... - -- ============================================================================== I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone. Bjarne Stroustrup ============================================================================== -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFHIbJRasN0sSnLmgIRAsOjAKDIE4CO9Vu4biyPA6t2I6BVsMk8HwCgyjxC SdPPO4tOoukwS80bJPpxctg= =4SVR -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
