OK - I'm stumped - where IS stable? Sorry if it seems like a dumb question but I looked in the handbook...

[David Adam]

Mitch,

On Mon, 2 Jan 2006, Mitch (Bitblock) wrote:

> > > From: "Mitch \(Bitblock\)" <mitch at bitblock.com>
> > > Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2006 16:15:57 -0800
> > > Sender: owner-freebsd-stable at freebsd.org
> > >
> > > The handbook
> > > (http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/current-
> > stable.ht
> > > ml#STABLE) references
> > ftp://snapshots.jp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/snapshots/
> > > - which doesn't seem to contain any 6.0 files newer than 2004?
> > >
> > > The main FTP site doesn't contain a "branches" folder for anything past
> > > 4.0-stable.
> > >
> > > Are formal "stable releases" not available for 6.0 yet? Just the current
> > > daily snapshots?
> >
> [Mitch says:] Thanks to both of you for your reply - so basically, it seems
> that what was once documented...
> (http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/current-stable.ht
> ml) is no longer maintained? Should I point this out to someone on a doc
> list or something? Where CURRENT could be buggy and was not yet reviewed /
> fully tested, and STABLE was given an extra level of QA has at some point
> been abandoned then?
>
> Or are the CVS branches still in existence, but there is just no longer an
> ftp'able repository?
>
> My reason for looking at this is that I have some hardware which worked in
> 5.4, but does not in 6.0 RELEASE 0, so I thought I'd try to test bootable
> STABLE snapshots periodically to see if the problem gets fixed.
>
> The handbook seems to specifically state that STABLE branch should be able
> to be downloaded and installed like any normal RELEASE, but what you are
> saying is that I have to patch a 6.0 RELEASE now - does the "stable" code
> branch exist? Or am I likely to find unworkable snapshots?

The handbook document should point to
ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/snapshots/ instead (I think there's a
problem report with a patch under review).

Yes, the -STABLE branch exists. That's how you would patch a 6.0-RELEASE
system: using cvsup(1) to follow the STABLE branch changes. You'll
probably want

ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/snapshots/Dec_2005/6.0-STABLE-SNAP010-i386-disc1.iso

or

ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/snapshots/Dec_2005/6.0-STABLE-SNAP010-i386-bootonly.iso

(long URLs, may wrap).

Generally speaking, the snapshots will work. Yes, you should be able to
just download and install them. However, because they're taken from a
continually-moving branch, and aren't subject to a code freeze and
rigorous review, they might have minor issues. It's unlikely, but if a
snapshot explodes your computer, steals your children and wipes your
credit cards, You Have Been Warned.

I hope you have some luck with the snapshots - what hardware specifically
isn't working? This list or freebsd-questions at freebsd.org may be able to
help you.

Cheers,

David Adam
zanchey at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au
(FreeBSD paradise.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au 6.0-STABLE FreeBSD 6.0-STABLE #5)