Making CentOS 6.5 default

[Alexander Leidinger]

On Mon, 22 Sep 2014 16:16:52 +0300
Johannes Meixner <xmj at freebsd.org> wrote:

> Hi there,
> 
> now that CentOS 6.5 base and userland are in, I'd like to use the
> opportunity to spawn a discussion about making it default within the
> next two to four weeks (once things stabilize).
> 
> The ports work necessary for that isn't complicated at all (see patch
> attached). The only "issue" I see is that we'd have to get all users
> to set compat.linux.osrelease=2.6.18
> in /etc/sysctl.conf.

While you tell the kernel to lie about the "features" we support, the
only place this is used in FreeBSD is in the kernel (there's only a
difference if you set it to 2.4.x), and the current value is strictly
speaking a lie too when seen from a linux-program (not all features of
the currently emulated version are really available).

The only port which comes to my mind (which doesn't mean there's not
another port which does something like this) which changes the running
config of a system is postfix (mailer.conf). Before it does this, it
asks the users if he is OK that the config is changed, it's not doing it
silently (by default).

Most of the ports do not automate something like this.

Personally I would not automate it. If you automate it I suggest you
ask the user if it is OK and don't assume it is OK by default.

Info: in the past we didn't do this, first we change the value in the
kernel and then we switched the default on supported FreeBSD versions.
If you want to say that we could see this case differently as in the
past we had to add some kernel code to run a more recent linux userland,
I would not disagree (read: ivory tower perspective = I think we
should change the kernel first; pragmatic point of view = I don't
object changing the default)...

Bye,
Alexander.

-- 
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