libtool upgrade, entry 20060223 in UPDATING

[Frank Laszlo]

the '-p' argument for portupgrade will build packages on your staging
server, these packages can then be moved over to the production machine
to be installed.
Downtime should be minimal.

__________________________________________________
Frank Laszlo
System Administrator
The VonOstin Group
Email:  laszlof at tvog.net
WWW:    http://www.vonostingroup.com
Mobile: 248-863-7584



Hans Lambermont wrote:
> Frank Laszlo wrote:
>
>   
>> Hans Lambermont wrote:
>>     
>>> The 20060223 entry in UPDATING suggests that the only reliable way of
>>> upgrading a system is to remove all packages and reinstalling from
>>> scratch.
>>>       
> ...
>   
>>> Next to that I'd like to hear from others how to accomplish this
>>> all-ports upgrade on servers where one wants the downtime to be
>>> minimal.
>>>       
>> portupgrade -afp isnt good enough?
>>     
>
> No, I want to have minimal downtime of the server. When using
> 'portupgrade -afp' the system is in flux for almost a week. I want to
> avoid that, and the only way I know how to avoid that is to use a
> staging and build server (at least that's the idea).
>
> Besides, the 20060223 entry in UPDATING mentions :
>
>   Unfortunately, there is no simple upgrade path.  Short of removing
>   all packages and reinstalling from scratch, the only other viable
>   alternative would be careful use of portupgrade.
>
> I assume -afp is not 'careful use of portupgrade'. It follows with :
>
>   Given the large
>   number of different ways in which libtool is used by other ports
>   in the tree, this is a process that is likely to vary considerably
>   from system to system, and as such, folks should be very mindful
>   of running automatic updating software, such as portupgrade, making
>   extensive use of the -n flag (and equivalents for other updaters)
>   to see what will actually be rebuilt, before actually performing
>   the upgrade.
>
> Which makes me wonder what to look for when using '-n', how to decide
> whether to update a port or not ?
>
> -- Hans Lambermont
>