On 06/25/2003 11:36 PM, lists1 wrote:
I have a box with suse 8.0 that just failed because I think it lost the partition table, or was hacked and etc was rm'd.
Those should give totally different symptoms, unless you had etc on its own partition.
I also have a backup box with suse 7.3 that was a backup, and is now my main box until I fix the first one. I also had two suse 7.3 servers running.
But we all know that suse recently stopped supporting 7.3.
Not true. They still support 7.3.
I looked at some of the archived posts on usenet/google, and it looks like installing a new distro from scratch is the preferred method of updating.
Sometimes, it is easier to start from scratch than to fix many possible problems, but not always.
Since I need to run a few servers (apache, bind, ntp, and a few others) and don't need re-install headaches, and am not a guru on linux just yet, I planned on switching to debian because of the apt package manager
It is also available for SuSE. Check http://linux01.gwdg.de/apt4rpm/
What is the preferred procedure for updating a box? Let's say I have suse 7.3. Now that suse 8.2 is out, what would be the preferred way to update the 7.3 install? I read that users going from 8.0 to 8.1 sometimes didn't work out, 7.3 to 8.0 or 7.3 to 8.1 the same problems, etc.
There are major differences/upgrades between the two, so from 7.3 I would recommend backup your data and do a fresh install. BTW, I did an upgrade that went very smooth from 7.3 to 8.0, so it is possible, but from 7.3 to 8.2 (even 8.0 to 8.1) there were too many differences to reliably upgrade IMHO.
If I make the investment to install suse 8.2 now, what will be the procedure to move to suse 8.3 or 9.0 in the near future? Wipe everything and reinstall? Or will I be able to apt-get upgrade suse 8.3?
Depends on the differences. Major updates to very important packages, such as gcc, may mean an upgrade would be a piece of cake, or a nightmare, so it really depends on what is changed between the two. It also can depend on how many updates you make on your machine, i.e. how different is it to the original system, and how many packages were done via source/3rd party versus SuSE rpm.
I took a look at the upgrade procedure on suse's site. replacing the base packages first... I looked for the base packages, but it was too hard to figure out. And how do I do it if I can't do it on a running system?
When I upgraded from 7.3 to 8.0, I just installed from the DVD, told Yast to only update installed packages, and in a while I was done and MOSTLY functioning. Just a few tweaks. From 8.0 to 8.2, I did a backup, fresh install, then tweak. Took a bit longer than the upgrade, but along with the tweaks was learning the new system.
I liked my suse 8.0 desktop, and suse 8.2 looks good from the reports. But I can't afford to pay for a full distro every six months. Leaving this aside, what is the preferred method for updating a box? What is the preferred partition setup? Separate /home partition is obvious, what else?
You don't have to upgrade every 6 months. Just keep your system updated. I use YOU, fou4s, and apt/synaptic. They each have their strengths and weaknesses, but will keep you secure, which is more important than having the newest xxx package. But much of what you ask is preferences, which will depend on the individual. -- Joe Morris New Tribes Mission Email Address: Joe_Morris@ntm.org Web Address: http://www.mydestiny.net/~joe_morris Registered Linux user 231871 God said, I AM that I AM. I say, by the grace of God, I am what I am.