Current-Users archive

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Old Index]

Re: How often to update /boot on i386 updates? Other files?



yancm%sdf.lonestar.org@localhost writes:

> Apparently /usr/mdec gets updated on each distribution install.

Yes, just like /bin.

> Should I be (have been?) updating /boot from /usr/mdec/boot on *each*
> system update?

That's a very good question.  I would lean towards saying yes.

It's not just /boot, but also bootxx_*.

> Is there any substantial risk to updating /boot with/after every
> distribution install?

There's always the risk of trouble, but kernel and /sbin/init could be
trouble too.  /boot does not have a history of being scary.

> Matthias Scheler suggests that:
> "After the 6.0 release most users should have a module aware
> boot loader"
> (see: http://mail-index.netbsd.org/current-users/2009/12/22/msg011788.html)
>
> How does that happen?

Indeed - it usually seems one needs a /boot and maybe bootxx_foo from a
relatively recent system to boot the next one.

> I'm not trying to be needlessly argumentative or unhelpful,
> but as a regular release follower for ~10 years or so
> for my home firewall/NAT box, I simply follow a familiar recipe to
> updating, and unless I had played with --current and the GENERIC kernel,
> I would not have stumbled across the /boot issue vis-a-vis the modular
> kernel changes, and would not have known to update /boot without asking
> for help.

The basic issue is that updating via a binary iso image, booting it and
selecting upgrade, is the primary path according to documentation, but
many people (including me) upgrade from installing sets into a running
system.

> Don't most users perform an update from source or precompiled
> sets?

I don't think we know :-)

> Are there other "gotcha" files like this I should be updating regularly
> that are *not* handled via the standard install scripts via build shell
> and/or the postinstall scripts? (I already know to update /dev - I'm
> pretty sure this is documented.)

I only know of:

  kernel and userland
  merge etc
  update /dev/MAKEDEV and rerun
  update bootxx_foo
  update /boot

Look at pkgsrc/sysutil/etcmanage and INSTALL-NetBSD.  I have been
thinking about adding support for updating bootxx_foo and /boot to
INSTALL-NetBSD.

Attachment: pgpLJI9XX1UYp.pgp
Description: PGP signature



Home | Main Index | Thread Index | Old Index