9.3 Upgrade

[lostpacket]

I have been given the task of updating 9.3 to current release, originally the kernel was built from source. I've checked the kernel and there isn't anything specific I can see will break, is there any point in compiling the base from source these days as opposed to binary update (base only not ports) or is it recommended to do this from source due to the age of the system?

Also with regards to ports, they would definately have been built from source, so I am guessing it would be best to stick to portmaster or something for upgrading the packages and continue the buildng them from source?

Not had do upgrade a system via source for a while

 

[SirDice]

is there any point in compiling the base from source these days as opposed to binary update (base only not ports)

None. It's really only useful to do a source upgrade if you have modified the base OS (removed stuff, etc).

But as this is a fairly old machine I would recommend just using a second, new, machine to install the new versions. That way you can iron out any issues and switch back and forth between the old and new machine if needed.

Also with regards to ports, they would definately have been built from source, so I am guessing it would be best to stick to portmaster or something for upgrading the packages and continue the buildng them from source?

Depending on the amount of machines you need to manage I would recommend setting up your own package repository. That will allow you to build everything from ports with your own defaults while keeping the ease of management of packages on the production servers.

 

[Uniballer]

Agree that you should definitely consider a fresh install on new(er) hardware. It is likely to be much faster and easier than the multiple upgrade steps you will need to go through to get from 9.3 to, say, 12.1. To say nothing of dealing with required configuration file changes on the way...

Depending on exactly what ports you have been using you might be able to just use packages, but agree that if you need different build options then you will be building from source.