Fast releases demand binary updates.. (Was: Release schedule for 2006 )

[Daniel O'Connor]

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 08:42, Jo Rhett wrote:
> > Using a build server as a testbed and to generate new packages or even a
> > new kernel + world will reduce the amount of work required, but FreeBSD
> > does require some level of administration and maintenance.
>
> We already have that.  But again, I'm not sure what you are trying to say
> here.  The centralized server makes patching and port upgrades easier.  It
> does _NOTHING_ for core OS upgrades because there is no supported mechanism
> for doing binary upgrades except from the ISO.  Thus, we are finally back
> on topic.

Uhh..
On your central PC..
buildworld once.
builkernel once for each of the different kernels you are using.

On each 'client' PC..
NFS mount /usr/src and /usr/obj
installkernel
reboot
installworld

Sure there are no tools to automagically do this, but I don't believe core 
would say "no, we will never support this".

> I have made suggestions.  Everyone has made suggestions.  Most of us have
> produced code to work around the problem, but the core OS team has always
> refused to support or acknowledge these efforts.

You are putting words in the mouth of core@ - I find it very hard to believe 
that core would suggest someone NOT implement a good framework for doing full 
binary upgrades via the network.

Unless you mean "core@ said they would not support packaging the base" which 
is different.

> For binary upgrades without booting from CD-ROM to be possible, we need
> versioning of some sort at the OS level.  Core OS packages are the most

This is not true - I don't see it as being mandatory to be able to apply 
binary updates. (Case in point - freebsd-update works fine without it)

> popular suggestion, but not the only path.  Every year this topic comes up
> and gets struck down again.

Yes, because a) it isn't necessary, b) it may not solve the problem, c) there 
are no patches to evaluate.

I think the people suggesting it see it as a panacea to fix their problems but 
haven't fully evaluated it.

-- 
Daniel O'Connor software and network engineer
for Genesis Software - http://www.gsoft.com.au
"The nice thing about standards is that there
are so many of them to choose from."
  -- Andrew Tanenbaum
GPG Fingerprint - 5596 B766 97C0 0E94 4347 295E E593 DC20 7B3F CE8C
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