Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 14:53:58 +0100 (BST) From: Vince Hoffman <jhary@unsane.co.uk> To: Peter Risdon <peter@circlesquared.com> Cc: FreeBSD Question List <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Wisdom of automating upgrades Message-ID: <20040608144433.D31793@unsane.co.uk> In-Reply-To: <40C5BCAC.6090401@circlesquared.com> References: <40C5BCAC.6090401@circlesquared.com>
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On Tue, 8 Jun 2004, Peter Risdon wrote: > The main cost of having computers for most companies lies not in > software or hardware, but in support. I have been pondering the wisdom > of automating the upgrade process, so that sources are cvsup'ed nightly > and make buildworld buildkernel etc and portupgrade happen overnight > maybe once a week or month - and perhaps every day a security fix is > announced. > > Windows and Mac users are accustomed to automatic software updates on > server products as well as desktops, so there is a competitive issue > here. I've persuaded a number of companies to switch to FreeBSD and want > to ensure the commercial logic of doing so is as complete as possible. > > cvsup'ing overnight is routine and fine. > > The make build/install stuff seems a bit more delicate. I'm happy that I > have figured out how to automate this, but not _whether_ I should do so. > I am of course only considering tracking RELENG_4 at this stage. > > Ports are perhaps more likely to be problematic (though less likely to > be a blocker to remote fixing than a failure to boot). Having said that, > deprecation of versions and ports is fairly rare and keeping track of a > small group in common use is feasible. > > I'd be grateful for any input on this. I can picture waking up to find > that every machine I administrate is simultaneously *#!$%ed one morning. > On the other hand, I like to provide the best value I can for clients > and at the moment I have to charge for my time whenever an upgrade is > necessary. > You may want to have a look at freebsd-update. Its a binary updater, Client/Server config, the server code and info on what it is, is available from http://www.daemonology.net/freebsd-update/ and the client is in ports. Vince > Peter. > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" >
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