On Tue, 2002-12-10 at 17:13, Neil Loffhagen wrote: > Eric, > > Be very interested in how it goes. I'm curious as to the upgrade path > in Linux (Redhat, SuSe or whatever). Coming from a Windows background, > where it was kind of as soon as the next version of Windows came out, > wait six months or so and then upgrade. It was a sort of done deal, > that in time you'd upgrade, sooner or later. With Linux I was getting > the impression, but this may be wrong, that if a Server is running fine, > then there is not so much point in upgrading from one version to > another, just need to make sure all the relevant updates are installed? > Or does it also reach a point when updates for an older version of, for > example, Redhat will stop being released? Would it be similar to > Windows now that NT 4.0 is being dropped, there is an expectation to > replace the OS, so far as MS are concerned with 2000 or .NET? > > I ask this question, as I thought that (along with other benefits) > making a switch from Windows to Linux the upgrade path became less > important? Or is this a wrong concept? Here are some other angles to the good answers already posted. With Linux, you can choose to support older versions as long as you like, even after the vendor stops supporting it. With Windows, you can keep running old versions, but you can't update them because you don't have the source. With Linux, you generally are not pressured to upgrade when a new distro version is released. I have chosen to upgrade frequently to get the tons of new valuable features in the latest releases. With Windows, upgrades usually bring only problems and a forced hardware upgrade. With Linux, you can control which features you want to use and which ones you don't. A great example of why I don't upgrade my old NT4 domain controllers to Win2K is that I don't want or need Active Directory. The old domain model works fine for my 400 node network and AD would cause nothing but grief. Even though I can install Win2K servers with AD turned off, I can't remove AD from Win2K. It's hard wired in along with IE, etc. It gets even worse with XP. With Linux, it's pretty easy to change distros or mix and match them on your network with complete interoperability. You are never locked in. Which world would you rather live in? Best Regards, Keith -- LPIC-2, MCSE, N+ We drive on this highway of fire Got spam? Get spastic http://spastic.sourceforge.net -- Psyche-list mailing list Psyche-list@redhat.com https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/psyche-list
