FreeBSD 10

[Polytropon]

On Mon, 28 Jul 2014 12:00:41 +0200, Jos Chrispijn wrote:
>    Would it be a good idea to use BSD 10 Stable in a commercial
>    environment or should I sitck to BSD 9.3 Stable for two years?

Depends.

Does your environment run applications or services that _require_
constant updates? Maybe updates which aren't available on v9? Then
go with v10. Or maybe your software is not running on v10? Then
you better stay with v9 as long as possible. Does your software
require "the newest features"? Then you'll probably need -STABLE.

Personally, I don't feel _that_ well running -STABLE in a prod
class environment, I mostly tend to use -RELEASE and apply the
security patches. But this is a question regarding the updating
mentality for the OS, and _you_ need to decide:

(a) install RELEASE and keep it running: doubleplusungood when
    security problems arise;

(b) install RELEASE and use freebsd-update to add the security
    patches: higher updating frequency, but usually no need to
    change something at the installed ports;

(c) install RELEASE, update the source tree to -STABLE and keep
    rebuilding world and kernel from source according to your
    schedule (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, ...): maybe
    makes your system a "moving target"

There's no "one answer fits all", and I'm sure you will receive
other replies from the participants of this list. Keep in mind
that _you_ are in charge and have to decide.

However, v10 is relatively new (compared to v9), so some could
see it as "still not mature enough" - 10.0 vs. 9.3 - there's a
difference of 0.4 versions. :-)

For sure, v10 isn't "experimental" anymore, and it introduces
interesting features. Check if you _require_ those, which would
justify the decision for v10. And _then_ decide on what updating
path you want to follow, probably (b) or (c) mentioned before.
And in worst case, if you can afford a "fallback system" or
a little downtime, you can retract from your decision and always
install a different OS version. It's not _that_ complicated
to keep "both tracks open", even though making a decision and
then following it is probably the better solution.

My summary: Depends. :-)


-- 
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...