On Fri, Jan 11, 2002 at 12:42:20PM +1000, john wrote: > We have come to a point where we would like to use some software that is > currently in woody on a production server that is currently running > potato. > > Now we have a few approaches as I see it: > > 1) We install the packages from upstream source into /usr/local/ I only do this when the debs aren't available or they don't work together nicely (eg vpopmail + courier-imap). Also when I need a compile option that isn't in the deb. Last resort. > > > 2) We upgrade to testing. > We have at least 10 machines running testing in a production environment. Provided you handle things carefully, it is definitely workable. Here's what I recommend: 0. Be conservative. Only upgrade when you absolutely positively have to. 1. Do all your upgrades on a test box first. Very important. If you run them blindly on a production server it feels like diving off a 10 meter platform - you have a moment of concious fear before you hit the water. 2. Keep everything in your /var/cache/apt/archives/. Being able to rollback to an earlier version is important. 3. If you are upgrading or installign a single package and apt gives you a long laundry list of packages. Think real long and hard before choosing Y. In my experience, [ probability of meltdown ] ~= [ number of packages to be upgraded ]^2 4. When you casually ignore recommendations 1-4, and the machine gets into an unworkable state (like the time when dpkg erased the link at /usr/bin/perl) don't panic. Go through your usual troublshooting routine (google, lists.debian.org, man, HOWTO, mailing list, irc, repeat). The answer will come. Hopefully it will come before people start to wake up and log into the machine. 5. Test everything throughly after the upgrade is completed - there may be subtle problems which only affect your custom application of the server and don't show up on the test box. > > 3) We build the Debian packages from testing on stable. > I think this is definitely workable if you have an in-depth knowledge of how debs are made. If you have the time and the knowledge, it might be the best solution. You could also look for unofficial debs which have already been put together by other debian users. my $0.02 g
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