FC2 to RH9

[Ted Gervais]

On Thu, 2004-06-24 at 11:42, Scot L. Harris wrote:
> On Thu, 2004-06-24 at 10:00, Ted Gervais wrote:
> > Has anyone thought of going back to RH9?  That release had virtually no 
> > problems and while it was the last supported release it still is/was better 
> > than the fedora distributions.  I am thinking of the problems with the 
> > sound, scanners, and other hardware devices and applications.  I would have 
> > thought that after FC1 that FC2 would have had all the current concerns 
> > fixed and it would have been as good as RH9.  Turns out, it is many steps 
> > behind the last RedHat release and makes one wonder about continuing.
> > 
> > Anyway - just wondering if others have had the same thought about going 
> > back to what was better than the current FC2 release??
> > 
> 
> FC1 was pretty much just RH9 with only a few changes.
> 
> FC2 was a major upgrade for the kernel and window manager as well as a
> few other items.  I expect FC3 to be much more what everyone is looking
> for in regards to the various issues that arose with FC2 release.


Yes!   I believe that too.  Maybe FC2 came out too soon.  Possibly a
delay of maybe a month or two might have been a better way to come out
with an upgrade to FC1.
> 
> I personally do not plan on rolling any system back.  I have worked
> through most of the issues and found workarounds or fixes.  I have
> avoided most of the really bad issues by following a few simple rules.
> 
> 1. Don't load new stuff on  critical boxes with out first testing on a
> test box.
> 
> 2. Don't upgrade a box just to be upgrading, particularly if it is a
> critical production box.  If the old OS and applications work just fine
> and there is no compelling reason to upgrade then don't upgrade.
> 
> 3. Plan a back out strategy if things go horribly wrong.  
> 
> 4. Make backups of all critical data.
> 
> 5. Test your backups and make sure you can restore the data from
> tape/CD/disk/paper tape/etc.
> 
> 6. Document your system.  Print out harddrive and file system/partition
> layout, motherboard chip sets, video card information, LAN card specs,
> network configuration info (IP address, DNS, default gateway).
> 
> 7. Allocate additional time to allow for some trouble shooting.  DO NOT
> ASSUME everything will go smoothly, particularly the first time.  Even
> if you executed step 1 several times, actual in the field upgrades can
> and will be somewhat different from the lab.
> 
> 8. Read the release notes and review the various forums and mailing
> lists.  These are good indications of what people are having issues
> with.
> 
> 9. Wait several weeks before loading that brand new OS.  Many issues
> will be found by the early adopters.  Benefit from their experience.  :)
> 
> 10. Always always always put a hardware firewall between you and the
> Internet in addition to using the firewall on the system.
> 
> I realize that many people don't have a spare box laying around to test
> with.  As such follow rules 3, 4, 5, and 6 even more closely.  Make sure
> you have the tools available to restore your system from a complete
> harddrive failure.  That way if an upgrade or new install proves to
> troublesome you simply fall back to what you have loaded previously.  
> 
> And if you have a problem with particular hardware or software then ask
> the question providing as much information as possible.  There are many
> generous people out here that are willing to work through a problem and
> provide information if you ask.  


Thanks for all your input.  Very good advice there.  And yes there are
some good responses to questions out there too.

> 
> 
> -- 
> Scot L. Harris
> webid at cfl.rr.com
> 
> Backed up the system lately? 
-- 
Ted Gervais
Coldbrook, Nova Scotia
Canada.