Questions about FreeBSD Versions

[Andrew L. Gould]

On Tuesday 09 September 2003 12:49 pm, Leonard, Harry wrote:
> Hello FreeBSD,

HI Harry,

>
> My name is Harry Leonard and I'm very interested in using FreeBSD.  I work
> in a small shop, outside of Flagstaff, Arizona for the State of Arizona, in
> a half Microsoft, half open source environment.  I'm the resident
> programmer and I've used Perl/PHP/MySQL here for almost four years.  My
> boss has set up servers running OpenBSD and I get to use them creating our
> website and running intranet applications.  My problem now is that my boss
> is in Iraq and we're in need of a new server or two.
>
> I've researched the subject and have found myself getting a little
> squeamish with the thought of installing/tweaking an OpenBSD box.  FreeBSD
> seemed like the next viable option and I did get a thumbs up from my boss. 
> I also saw a segment on TechTv's Screen Savers which gave me the confidence
> that I could pull this off.  I started looking at versions and decided to
> purchase the latest and greatest.

I'm sure the folks at OpenBSD would rather help you than let you walk away 
with the perception that it's too hard.  But as long as you're here......

>
> I bought the four disk set of FreeBSD 5.0 w/ the handbook and thought I was
> on a roll.  Surely, I installed it several times before I got it right and
> then I began to run into problems and loose some confidence.  My problems
> started with the installation of Apache.  I'm going back after it today
> though and I hope that I'll have some success.  Yes, I am a newbie but a
> driven one.  I very much want to have two FreeBSD boxes in-house and I am a
> hard one to quit.  I did quit on FreeBSD 5.0 though and I also think this
> is where my troubles really began.
>
> I figured that I would do some more reading and found that 5.0 might not be
> the best version for newbie's (in cases of trouble).  So, I figured that I
> would go to FreeBSD 5.1.  A newer version shouldn't hurt huh?  Well, I
> think something went awry in the download and I never got this version to
> work correctly for me either.  Well, now I'm figuring that I'll just move
> backwards to FreeBSD 4.8 Stable and this will just alleviate all my
> problems.  This has not worked yet for me either and my confidence is
> further eroding.  But, my tenacity is still in there and I'd rather go down
> in flames than let my office mate turn this office into a full Microsoft
> shop and me running Apache/PHP/MySQL on an IIS box.  My boss expressed his
> dismay of this happening and I told him I would not let him down.  Newbie I
> may be but I'm not a quitter.
>
> This email is about:  Which version of FreeBSD should I be using for
> production?  I need to set up an in-house web server for our website and
> another box for my few intranet applications.  In the near future I might
> have the opportunity to create a firewall box and I really need to get on
> top of things.  Today, I'll go back to FreeBSD 5.0 (which I've had the most
> success with) and read the errata over again and make sure there's nothing
> that I'm missing.  I'd appreciate it if you could give me a stamp of
> approval on which version I can/should use for my small production needs.
> Sorry, if I've gotten a little windy with my explanation but I wanted to
> give you some background.  I also Thank You for reading this email and for
> any help that you can provide me in this matter.  Please let me know what
> you think?
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Harry Leonard
> Information Technology Specialist III
> Camp Navajo
> phone: @ (928) 773-3363
> e-mail: @ Harry.Leonard at az.ngb.army.mil

You're email doesn't really describe the kinds of problems you're 
experiencing.  Please be more descriptive.

My opinion:  Newbies looking for a production box should install FreeBSD 4.8 
and upgrade to 4-STABLE via cvsup before installing a bunch of apps.

General steps follow:

0. Searchable documentation can be found at:

http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/index.html

Use it to learn more about steps >= 2:

1. Find out what version of Apache you're running on OpenBSD (1.* or 2.*).  
You'll need to know this if you want to install the same version on FreeBSD.

2. Install FreeBSD 4.8.  Don't install many apps yet.

3. Read documentation on updating/upgrading the system via cvsup, make world 
and recompiling the kernel.

4. Install the apps you need to make adminstering the system more bearable 
(midnight commander, your favorite editor, etc).  Try to install other apps 
after updating the system.

5. Install cvsupit.  Use cvsup to update the system to STABLE.

6. Update the system using make world and mergemaster.

7. Recompile the kernel.  If you don't have to make any configuration changes, 
this should be a real breeze.

8. Install apache from ports.  There are several versions.  Choose the one 
that meets your needs.  (The same version you're using on OpenBSD would 
probably be a good choice.)

9. Install MySQL from the ports.

10. Install PHP from the ports.  There are ports for PHP under /usr/ports/lang 
and for mod_php under /usr/ports/www.  The PHP ports under /usr/ports/lang 
did a better job of detecting an installed MySQL 4.*.

The list above is not as bad as it seems.  Let us know where you're having 
problems.  Please be specific.

Best of luck,

Andrew Gould