FreeBSD 5.2 vs. 5.2.1

[Henrik W Lund]

Andrew Kilpatrick wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I'm developing an embedded system based on FreeBSD. When I started to build a 
>stripped down version of FreeBSD I was using 5.2 RELEASE. Now I keep finding 
>that 5.2 has vanished from most servers, and only 5.2.1 is available. This is 
>particularly troubling, because I'm worried that I'm targetting my product on 
>a mysterious version of FreeBSD. We might be using whatever version we choose 
>for the next 5 years or more, without change.
>
>So, my questions is.... what happened to 5.2 RELEASE? Is there some reason 
>that it has gone away? Should I be upgrading my embedded distro?
>
>
>Andrew
>  
>
Greetings!

 From what I gather, the 5.2-RELEASE was rather buggy and unstable (for 
a RELEASE anyway), and was quickly replaced by 5.2.1-RELEASE which was a 
considerable improvement.

If you are aiming for an embedded system, I'd wait until 5.3-RELEASE 
(due out sometime this year - maybe even this summer) is built and the 
5-STABLE branch is created. If not wait, then at least be prepared to 
upgrade when the time comes.

This is all my own musings on the matter, though. If someone with more 
hands-on knowledge says otherwise, go with what they say. :-)

You're sparked my curiosity; what kind of embedded system are you 
working on, pray tell?

-Henrik W Lund