Upgrading a FreeBSD 7.1 server

[Daniel Corbe]

Robert Fitzpatrick <robert at webtent.org> writes:

> Mike Clarke wrote:
>> On Thursday 15 Jan 2015 11:21:36 Robert Fitzpatrick wrote:
>>
>>> Is it possible to upgrade a FreeBSD 7.1 server, perhaps a step up
>>> process to 8.4 first? We have a virtual server that we prefer not to
>>> reinstall all packages.
>>
>> Packages are not compatible between major revision levels of the OS so you'll
>> need to reinstall all your packages anyway whatever upgrade route you take.
>>
>
> Yes, of course, I should rephrase that, we'd like to not have to
> re-setup all software. I'd like to take the standard upgrade path and
> upgrade all packages after each step up and just deal with things that
> have changed with packages since the version we are running now. Since
> it is a VPS, we'll be able snapshot and go back to start over if
> something were to go terribly wrong. So, is it possible to use
> freebsd-update to go to 8.4?

Honestly I don't understand why backing up relevant configuration files and
reinstalling the operating system isn't a viable choice.  I understand
that there are deep dark corners of every network that nobody touches
but a fresh install sounds no more difficult than pulling a crusty
and ancient system up to a supported release.

-Daniel