Upgrading from 6.0 to 6.1

[Kevin Kinsey]

jeff.cross at averageadmins.com wrote:

> This has possibly been discussed a number of times, and if it has, I 
> apologize.  Here is my situation:
>

Apology accepted ;-)  :-D


> I would like to upgrade my existing 6.0-SECURITY system to 6.1-RELEASE 
> and continue using freebsd-update to keep my system on the up and up.  I 
> read through the upgrade instructions on disk #1 of the 6.1 release CD 
> and wondered if that would be the easiest way to upgrade?
> 

The canonical way is via a cvsup/buildworld procedure as outlined
in the FreeBSD Handbook.

There is also a "binary upgrade" option in sysinstall(8); I've never
used it, never seen it discussed, and don't know how well it works.  I
have to assume it does until proven otherwise, though.

>  From what I read, all of the configuration files for 6.1 would be in 
> the /etc/upgrade folder.  Would they have to stay there?  Would 6.1, 
> from this point forward, always have the /etc folder in /etc/upgrade?  
> Do I copy new pieces back to /etc for the production system?  I read 
> about merging but does it merge from /etc to /etc/upgrade?
> 

mergemaster is the standard for upgrading /etc, though some other
options exist.  mergemaster, in general, takes the new source files
from /usr/src/etc, sets up a temporary /etc/ tree under /var/temproot,
and uses diff(1) to find/display differences between the two files.

Generally, you want to accept new files if you've never changed
the configuration file in question, and merge the old and new
files for those you have modified.  In some cases, the changes
to the new files are trivial, in which case you ignore the new
file or make the trivial changes manually later, if you're a
perfectionist.

IIRC, other tools exist to accomplish this, also.  You might search
the ports tree for "etcmerge", IIRC.

As for /etc/upgrade, it doesn't exist on my system.  Where
did you read about it?  Perhaps it's part of the sysinstall(8)
"binary upgrade" procedure?


> Is another scenario to do the cvsup method and go that route?  If I did, 
> would I be able to use freebsd-update from that point forward or would I 
> be limited to only using the cvsup method?
>

I'm not yet familiar with Colin's fine update tool, but I don't
think that they would in any way conflict (unless you attempted
to use them simultaneously).  Please refer to freebsd-update
documentation for authoritative answers in this regard.

The difference is that freebsd-update is an attempt to replace
system binaries with a standard, secure set of newly-compiled
binaries.  cvsup/buildworld et al is an automated (well,
semi-automated) procedure for rebuilding the system from its
source code.


> I know both require merging config files and what not, which makes me a 
> little nervous, but I would like the easiest method available.  I love 
> using FreeBSD and use it primarily on my laptop so compiling the entire 
> OS on there may take a while so obviously the binary upgrade looks 
> good.  I am just unsure about the /etc/upgrade folder and how I get all 
> of that back to /etc.

Make a backup and go for it!

Kevin Kinsey

-- 
We should have a Vollyballocracy.  We elect a six-pack of presidents.
Each one serves until they screw up, at which point they rotate.
		-- Dennis Miller