Re: Oracle Linux upgrades

From: Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen_at_gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2012 11:39:28 +0000 (UTC)
Message-ID: <pan.2012.07.06.11.39.27_at_gmail.com>



On Thu, 05 Jul 2012 17:50:44 -0700, John Hurley wrote:

> # I typed "yum upgrade" and lo and behold, packages were downloaded from
> the repository. Everything went OK, despite the fact that I don't have
> have a paying license. Good job Oracle!
>
> [root_at_rac1 ~]# yum update
>
> ... So what differences are there ( if any ) between "yum upgrade" (
> which you said you were going to run ) and "yum update"?

This was a typo.

>
> Did this just apply fixes to 5.8 ( not in base release ) or what?

Yes. This just applied fixes. One of the fixes was a new kernel.

>
> We kind of stumble around in this area and get release updates ( like
> 5.8 ) put onto DVD and then use those as a means of upgrading/moving
> forward our linux systems.
>
> What I don't want to do is have a bunch of systems at
> 5.8.Point_1_in_time and others at 5.8.Some_other_point and still others
> at 5.8.Today ... well at least I think I don't want that!

John, I have two toy VM boxes which I use to play with the RAC concepts. I can decide, at any moment, to wipe those two VM's out and install OL 6.2, just for the fun of it. Nobody will suffer, no data will be lost, no damage to anyone.
I doubt that this is a relevant configuration when talking about production machines. For production, the best policy is "don't fix it if it ain't broken" and "test, test, test and then test some more".

So, in your place, I would have a configuration just like me, VMWare, KVM or VirtualBox based RAC that I would use to verify concepts and install patches. If everything works, then promote patches to the development system. After that, QA and UAT systems

>
> The whole area of trying to figure out how to keep your linux systems
> updated/patched while of course staying stable is always ... time
> consuming.

It's the concept of evolution. It never stops and is never easy. Some of the intermediate steps may look like Paris Hilton. Survival of the fittest.

-- 
http://mgogala.byethost5.com
Received on Fri Jul 06 2012 - 06:39:28 CDT

Original text of this message