Portsnap Update Question

[Armin Pirkovitsch]

Chris wrote:
> I would like to verify whether my active installed ports are updated
> when I run the portsnap fetch update. I've read the handbook and man but
> I don't get a comfortable feeling that the question is answered in
> definitive terms that have meaning to me.
> 
> I'm preparing to apply all the recent updates to the production servers
> I have on 6.1 R P6 tomorrow morning and want to make certain I fully
> update the servers with the window of I have. I'll cvsup, build and
> install world and kernel through the normal process. What I've been
> doing is then running portsnap fetch update to apply patches to the
> ports. In doing so, I've not seen recompilations take place and remained
> somewhat fuzzy as to whether I was merely retrieving snapshots of source
> for whatever is in /usr/ports or if in addition, somehow binary changes
> were being applied to programs I've already installed (e.g., I have
> mysql and rsync installed from ports on every machine, would they be
> updated). Perhaps I should be remaking them?
> 
> Is the process I described, not updating the binaries of installed
> ports? I could have answered this had I compared /usr/local/bin before
> and after, but I have no example systems to play with at the moment. I
> note that portupgrade is far more involved but clearly does
> this.

portsnap only fetches the patches for your ports which means you have to
recompile the programs (best using portupgrade) yourself.
portupgrade -rRa might be useful in your case (and -nrRa to look which
ports will be updated without updating them)
portsnap does not update any binaries installed on your system.

-- 
Armin Pirkovitsch
a.pirko at inode.at