Continuous updating of FreeBSD ISOs and images

[unitrunker]

Thinking out loud here.

Recently I grabbed a copy of the ISO and memory stick images of 14.0-RELEASE which were built back in November. First thing I do after an install is run 'freebsd-update fetch / install' - which replaces a significant number of binaries. As time goes by, this delta will only grow.

Seems like the foundation would benefit from saved bandwidth if the images tracked the current patch levels for base.

 

[richardtoohey2]

Bandwidth probably cheaper/donated than developer/admin time to build & replace ISOs.

 

[unitrunker]

If the foundation can save a dollar in one place - that's a dollar they can spend elsewhere.

Fair point, though. I don't know how automated the release engineering process is today.

 

[covacat]

if the bandwitdh is cheap then the patch based update kind of sucks at least for version upgrade

 

[SirDice]

Sounds like a lot of extra work with little to no gain for anyone. The update patches have to be made in any case, for those that downloaded and used the installer when it was brand new. Systems installed with that particular image would need them. Where would this perceived saving of bandwidth be?

If you really want to "stream" the updates into an installer, that's already possible to do. Just make your own release(7) from an up to date releng/x.x branch.

 

[Cath O'Deray]

Thanks,

… Seems like the foundation would benefit from saved bandwidth if …

<https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/mirrors/> might benefit from a link to <https://freebsdfoundation.org/our-donors/donors/#inkind>.

… 14.0-RELEASE …

Checksums were announced <https://mail-archive.freebsd.org/cgi/mid.cgi?20231120210317.5DB0E473C>, listed at <https://www.freebsd.org/releases/14.0R/>, and may be represented elsewhere … an equally formal approach after each patch level change would be a chore.

if the bandwitdh is cheap then the patch based update kind of sucks at least for version upgrade

pkgbase negates the requirement for those patches.

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Where RELEASE is not a requirement, snapshots are more like continuous.

FreeBSD Snapshot Releases | The FreeBSD Project

STABLE currently at <https://download.freebsd.org/snapshots/ISO-IMAGES/14.0/>, and so on.