Biting the bullet?

M. Fioretti mfioretti at nexaima.net
Mon May 11 09:00:52 UTC 2015


On 2015-05-11 09:04, Ralf Corsepius wrote:
> On 05/11/2015 08:45 AM, M. Fioretti wrote:
>> ...
>> Seriously. Wouldn't it be a much more reliable path, and consume much 
>> less
>> time in the end?
> I don't think, these questions can be answered in "broad generality".

Indeed. That's why I said "in a situation like yours (Rolf)"

Maybe what makes the difference here is not so much whether the
computer is a single-user desktop, or an enterprise server. It is 
whether it
is only ONE version behind, or more.

Personally, I believe (and already saw another subscriber saying similar
things in this thread) that going from F17 to F21, or to RHEL 2 to
whatever is current these days, is likely to be MUCH quicker and less
painful in one "brutal" step, (i.e. just reinstall from scratch, then
reconfigure) than by several upgrades, no matter what the role and
usage of the computer are.

Because doing upgrades FROM F17 TODAY means doing stuff that almost
nobody who may help you still remembers, or can check first hand 
anymore,
etc... you're alone, really.

Whereas installing F21 from scratch and then asking "what else should I
do to make F21 do X?" (or asking right before installing to be prepared,
of course) will get much more current, useable answers, won't it?

But again, of course, there no single answer, and I remain interested
in hearing everybody's thoughts and best practices about this.

Marco




> The decision on whether to upgrade or to reinstall depends on various
> factors, esp. on a system's configurations, customizations and the
> installer's technical skills. Both approaches have pros and cons,
> there is no "black and white".
> 
> In simple, mostly non-customized (single-user desktop) installations
> re-installing often is easy. To "new-comers" and less Linux-skilled
> people it often is "much simpler"
> 
> In complex (multi-user, networked, "enterprize") installations,
> upgrading often is easier, because recreating/restoring your
> configuations can easily take a lot of time.
> 
> That said, I personally almost always upgrade and rarely "re-install".
> 
> Ralf

-- 
http://mfioretti.com


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