On Thu, Jul 10, 2003 at 08:15:09PM +0200, Stefan Dengscherz wrote: > Sorry i didn't consider RedHat's backporting strategy, but as far as i > can see they are only implementing the security fixes - thus you don't > have e.g. the 'real' 2.0.47 when updating to the latest redhat rpm > releases - but an older version with the adapted new security fixes. That's true and it's by design. If you'll read the backporting document on Red Hat's web site (http://www.redhat.com/advice/speaks_backport.html) you'll see that if Red Hat simply replaced their package with 2.0.47, they would have broken some applications for some customers because some interfaces changed. You might have tried to install a security fix and ended up having to go to 3rd party vendors to make everything work again. Red Hat currently has 2.0.45 in their Rawhide release. In order to get new features, you typically need to upgrade to a new version. Within a current version (eg, RHL 9), you'll get security updates. Providing functionality updates within a release breaks their assurance of binary compatibility. You should always be able to feel safe installing a security update immediately upon release. That's simply not the case with a feature release. -- Ed Wilts, Mounds View, MN, USA mailto:ewilts@xxxxxxxxxx Member #1, Red Hat Community Ambassador Program
