Re: living with freebsd
On Sun, 04 May 2008 22:12:23 -0700
prad [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
i'd like to know how people live with freebsd.
great, thanks for asking! :)
do you use only ports or only packages or a mixture?
mostly build my own packages from ports. Sometimes I would use a package when
either I dont have the time /resources to build ( OOO, but lately i've just
built it myself). Also using packages for those apps that,
do you upgrade from version to version using freebsd tools or do it
manually?
version to version of what? Of kernel and world, in my workhorse laptop, i do
source upgrades and roll my own kernel.
For some servers and VM which are fairly generic and don't need much tweaking,
i just run generic or SMP and use freebsd-update. I've used freebsd-update to
upgrade VMs from 6.x to 7.x works GREAT (thanks Collin!)
do you have a different approach regarding the above depending on
whether it is for a server or a desktop?
it actually depends on how much customisation i need
the handbook tells you what you can do, but i'd like to know what is
actually done and why.
of course :)
have fun!
B
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the sake of a useful cause.
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Re: living with freebsd
prad wrote: i'd like to know how people live with freebsd. It will soon be the ninth anniversary of my union with FreeBSD. I have been pleased of it, all the time. do you use only ports or only packages or a mixture? do you upgrade from version to version using freebsd tools or do it manually? do you have a different approach regarding the above depending on whether it is for a server or a desktop? I use FreeBSD in the `desktop' setting, I do a lot of TeX, programming, and scientific computing. In my own views, I segregate applications in three groups: -- the zombie group, consisting of applications I rarely use, and do not care to keep up to date (almost everything); -- the living group, consisting of applications I use often but moderately care to keep up to date (Emacs and seamonkey); -- the hot group, consisting of applications I am very interested in (e.g. some libraries I use in my programs). I do not care to update the zombie group. I will maybe consider updating ports in the living group, either for security reasons or for some new functionnality I heard of and I really want to have. It is not unlikely I update ports in the hot group every time there is a new major release is available. I do the base install from packages, and use portupgrade for updating my software, after I have read /usr/ports/UPDATING. My primary goal is having a working system for a minimal maintenance cost, the way I do works pretty well for me; but some others may have better ways to deal with this. -- Cheers, Michaël ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: living with freebsd
I use FreeBSD in the `desktop' setting, I do a lot of TeX, programming, and in my view there is no desktop setting or server setting. the only difference is if your display and keyboard are directly connected or not. you simply install programs you need. scientific computing. In my own views, I segregate applications in three groups: -- the zombie group, consisting of applications I rarely use, and do not care to keep up to date (almost everything); -- the living group, consisting of applications I use often but moderately care to keep up to date (Emacs and seamonkey); -- the hot group, consisting of applications I am very interested in (e.g. some libraries I use in my programs). doing similar way. with old rule - if it works, don't touch. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: living with freebsd
prad wrote: do you use only ports or only packages or a mixture? I use ports 99% of the time. If only use the packages if I need something up and running asap. do you upgrade from version to version using freebsd tools or do it manually? manually. do you have a different approach regarding the above depending on whether it is for a server or a desktop? I don't bother with a GUI for a server and I still stick with my 99% ports. For my home desktop I use KDE which I start from the console. It's dual booted with XP atm since I can't make WoW play through FreeBSD. :P -- Gemma Fletcher Burlesque Chic [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: living with freebsd
Hello, doing similar way. with old rule - if it works, don't touch. This got me interested. So basically for a server, you don't do any upgrades unless there are security issues to solve or new features that you need? It seems to me that sometimes if you have waited with an upgrade for too long, it is more difficult to upgrade than it would have been if you had followed all small updates which appeared along the way... Thanks! -- Zbigniew Szalbot www.lc-words.com smime.p7s Description: S/MIME Cryptographic Signature
Re: living with freebsd
Quoting Zbigniew Szalbot [EMAIL PROTECTED]: This got me interested. So basically for a server, you don't do any upgrades unless there are security issues to solve or new features that you need? It seems to me that sometimes if you have waited with an upgrade for too long, it is more difficult to upgrade than it would have been if you had followed all small updates which appeared along the way... I think you have to differentiate between updates and upgrades. I consider an upgrade moving from one release to another (say from 6.2 to 6.3), while security patches are updates. I always run updates, but I don't always follow upgrades. Recently I upgraded one older machine from 5.5 to 6.2 (en even more recent to 6.3). Peter -- http://www.boosten.org ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: living with freebsd
On May 5, 2008, at 12:12 AM, prad wrote: i'd like to know how people live with freebsd. My FreeBSD systems are light weight servers only, so what I do is specific to my circumstances and tastes. do you use only ports or only packages or a mixture? I only use ports, but I suppose that if I had some really large things to install like OOo, I would consider using packages. do you upgrade from version to version using freebsd tools or do it manually? I use csup and will rebuild world and the kernel as needed. I've got a fairly stripped down kernel to improve boot times. But again, I kind of find it cool to compile the whole OS. It may be irrational and non-optimal. That's why I said some of this is a matter of taste as well as circumstances. My choice of when to upgrade the OS really depends on what I need. I don't like to be too far behind. I recently moved one system for 7.0 RELEASE to 7 STABLE because of a specific fix that affected one of my systems. do you have a different approach regarding the above depending on whether it is for a server or a desktop? I suspect that for a desktop, I would be more tempted to keep closer to GENERIC and use packages. But I only have FreeBSD servers on which I don't even run an X11 server. Cheers, -j -- Jeffrey Goldberghttp://www.goldmark.org/jeff/ ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: living with freebsd
* prad [EMAIL PROTECTED] [2008-05-04 22:12:23 -0700]: do you use only ports or only packages or a mixture? Primarily ports. do you upgrade from version to version using freebsd tools or do it manually? I use portmanager. do you have a different approach regarding the above depending on whether it is for a server or a desktop? Only my servers run FreeBSD. the handbook tells you what you can do, but i'd like to know what is actually done and why. Well, that's just a bit too open-ended isn't it? ;-) -- Sahil Tandon [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: living with freebsd
Hello! i'd like to know how people live with freebsd. do you use only ports or only packages or a mixture? Some uses just ports...while others use packages only if they exist in the first place or they cross compiled. Hell, a lot of people use both ports and packages. The reasons vary and it is not restrictive to pick either one. do you upgrade from version to version using freebsd tools or do it manually? Manually is the traditional way. The freebsd tools (if you meant the binary upgrade method) is just a new way. Few are switching over as the time progresses. There are some in the production environment that prefer using binary upgrades as it will provide lower downtimes. do you have a different approach regarding the above depending on whether it is for a server or a desktop? Yes, avoid GUI stuff when using server or vice verse. That's just one example out of millions of examples. the handbook tells you what you can do, but i'd like to know what is actually done and why. The way it should work: You find out what you want your FreeBSD computer to do, you look into the available documentations on how to do it. Not the other way around. Chris -- In friendship, prad ... with you on your journey Towards Freedom http://www.towardsfreedom.com (website) Information, Inspiration, Imagination - truly a site for soaring I's ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: living with freebsd
prad wrote: i'd like to know how people live with freebsd. do you use only ports or only packages or a mixture? do you upgrade from version to version using freebsd tools or do it manually? do you have a different approach regarding the above depending on whether it is for a server or a desktop? the handbook tells you what you can do, but i'd like to know what is actually done and why. You will probably get too many different views - it is a flexible system after all. For example, I rarely mix ports and packages. On my small home server (which also doubles as a workstation for light use) everything is compiled from ports. This includes openoffice.org which took more than a day to download and compile. I doubt I'll ever upgrade it the same way... On this machine I am using the XFCE desktop, which I start manually from the command line when used as a desktop. But on a real dedicated desktop, I would use Gnome (or KDE). As for versions, I always run -RELEASE. I would go to STABLE if I desperately needed a feature not present in RELEASE, but this hasn't happened yet. I am using freebsd-update to get security updates / patches and then recompile my kernel when needed. I also used freebsd-update to get to 7.0-RELEASE from 7.0-RC1. Quite painless. For desktop machines, especially when I need to get them up and running quickly, I use packages. You can either use the stable packages from the site (by setting the PACKAGESITE env variable) or use another machine to compile your own (have a look at http://tinderbox.marcuscom.com/ ). I almost never use the CD packages (except maybe for demonstration purposes) since they get outdated really quickly. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: living with freebsd
do you use only ports or only packages or a mixture? ports do you upgrade from version to version using freebsd tools or do it manually? mixed, and don't upgrade frequently. it's not windows, if it works - don't touch. do you have a different approach regarding the above depending on whether it is for a server or a desktop? no. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
