Can I upgrade an old computer that isn't used that much from 12.1 to 12.3 directly or is skipping point releases not allowed? reddit / freebsd ---------------------------------------------------------------------- kyleW_ne · 2021-12-08 13:30 I have an older machine that I don't use very often, so infrequently in fact that the updating has gotten more than a little behind. I intend to take some time to update it and was wondering if I could go from 12.1 release directly to 12.3 or if I need to stop by 12.2 first? Thanks! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- frenchiephish · 2021-12-08 13:58 If memory serves freebsd-update is smart enough to either do this or throw an error but I can't find a reference for that offhand. A source upgrade is definitely able to do it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- kyleW_ne · 2021-12-08 15:03 Thanks! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- opseceu · 2021-12-08 17:36 freebsd-update -r 12.3-RELEASE upgrade freebsd-update install shutdown -r now freebsd-update install and rebuilding the ports should work fine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- reviewmynotes · 2021-12-09 02:52 I think you'd be okay. I wouldn't skip major versions, though. So if "x" is 2 or more, then a.b to a.b+x is probably fine, but a.b to a+x.b probably isn't. This assumes you're careful with the files in /etc and rebuild compiled ports and reinstall any pre-compiled packages. If you can, I recommend using freebsd-update and following the directions in the FreeBSD Handbook on freebsd.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- kyleW_ne · 2021-12-09 03:13 Thanks! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- incin2b · 2021-12-09 05:37 Rule of thumb: If you wanted to go to 14 from 12, take a stop at 13. I build from src and always take a stop on the version I am jumping over. Going from 12.x to another version of 12 OR 13.0 is perfectly fine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- njunkie · 2021-12-09 10:56 No need to rebuild ports after minor updates as all FreeBSD releases for one major version (e.g. 12.x) have the same abi. Even after major update (e.g. from 12.x to 13.x) is possible to postpone ports rebuild by enable compatibility with previous versions (COMPAT\_XX in kernel config) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- grahamperrin · 2021-12-24 17:37 IIRC there's nothing in the FreeBSD Handbook to caution against skipping major versions, so in theory it would have been OK to go: * from a fully-patched 11.4-RELEASE * to 13.0-RELEASE – **before** 11.4-RELEASE reached its end of life. In practice: there are occasional reports of difficulty. It's not clear whether all such reports are truly indicative of an upgrade bug. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- reviewmynotes · 2021-12-24 17:40 "Officially, there is no precaution against it" isn't necessarily the same as "it's tested and confirmed and everything should work great in the first try." It certainly could be fine, but I personally wouldn't recommend it. I like to limit the amount changed in each increment, so I'm more likely to be able to troubleshoot any unpredicted problems. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- grahamperrin · 2021-12-25 03:00 > I personally wouldn't recommend it. I'd happily recommend it if there's sane use of ZFS boot environments before the upgrade. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- grahamperrin · 2021-12-25 03:10 Recommended reading: * comments at and around – advice from an administrator with vast experience.