Alternate method for fetching source

[doug at safeport.com]

On Fri, 4 Jun 2010, Lars Eighner wrote:

> On Fri, 4 Jun 2010, Ross Penner wrote:
>
>> I'm trying to update my system and when I run cvsup, the connection
>> repeatedly has problems (TreeList failed: Network write failure:
>> Connection closed). I'm wondering if anybody can suggest any other
>> method to grab the current source files?
>
> You are talking about the system source, not the ports, right?
>
> Actually, the advice is not much different.  In either case, cvsup does not
> always work very well for big upgrades (such as across major version
> numbers) and also (though it theoretically should) doesn't work well
> creating a source tree from scratch.  If you install source (or ports) from
> the most recent release below your taget before, cvsup is much less likely
> to crack under pressure.
>
> Also, consider changing your mirror.  Network conditions may be better for
> you with some mirrors than with others.  And finally, make sure cvsup is
> up-to-date with your current system.  It's in ports/net .
>
> (Of course backup what you have before trying any of this.)
>
> You may get a more specific response if you include uname -a for your
> current system and the tags you are trying to use with cvsup.

I have almost exclusively used cvsup and now csup to update complete source 
trees since 1997 and other than having the mirror of my choice not be quite 
up-to-date have never had any issues. I would recommend using csup rather than 
cvsup as csup has the same syntax and is built into the base system. Assuming 
you are not tracking current, or are not updating to get a specific fix, the 
timing of mirror updates is rarely an issue. Another method of updating would be 
to use freebsd-update, see 24.2 in the handbook. If this would work for you, it 
would have the added advantage of having some extra build-in protection against 
network problems.