[NCLUG] Debian Question

[Matt Taggart]

> I installed Debian "Testing" on my system here at home. I have got it 
> just the way I want it. Minimal install with fluxbox and a few other 
> apps to make it lean. I also changed the "/etc/apt/sources.list" file to 
> say "testing" everywhere it used to said "lenny."

BTW there are security updates for testing now too. See

  http://secure-testing-master.debian.net/

for more info.

> I typically do an "apt-get update," "apt-get upgrade," "apt-get 
> dist-upgrade," and an "apt-get clean" at least once a week to keep it up 
> to date.

You might like the cron-apt package.

> So my first question is how long will I get away with this? Is it 
> possible to keep my new Debian "testing" system this way? Or is there 
> some time in the future when I will need to re-install to get an updated 
> system?

I did what you are talking about on my main desktop from Nov 1997 to June 
2007 running unstable mostly, testing and stable at times. No reinstalls, 
just upgrading when I felt like it. I didn't have any major issues. Going 
from one unstable version of a package to a newer unstable version might 
sometimes cause a glitch if you are unlucky enough to upgrade that package 
on the wrong day. Even then the bug would usually be fixed the next day or 
in the worst case require removing (but not purging) and reinstalling a 
package or two. I was always able to resolve things using normal dpkg and 
apt commands. Never once did I have to "force" anything like some people 
are used to doing with rpm based systems.

During that time I upgraded the system many times and even the hard drive a 
couple times by just using dd or rsync to copy the existing install to the 
new drive and reinstalling lilo/grub in the mbr.

The only reason I stopped in June 2007 is I got an amd64 system and 
switched to that. I also figured maybe 10 years was old enough, even for a 
Debian system :)

Running testing I expect it would be even easier since the packages are 
more "cooked". There will probably still be glitches, but there shouldn't 
be anything you can't resolve pretty easily.

> The reason I ask this is partly the reason I moved to Debian in the 
> first place. I have used Linux for years now for all my computing needs. 
> But what I hate about Linux is the typical one year or less release 
> cycles that force you to upgrade your system.

Fortunately that mentality seems to remain only with the commercial 
distros. I think Fedora is catching up with Debian with respect to 
upgrading. What it takes is having a rock solid upgrade mechanism and the 
developers getting used to depending on it for a long time.

> upgrade my system every other release cycle of whatever distro I 
> happened to be using. I did this because most of the major distro 
> companies stop supporting their older versions with security updates, or 
> at least, that is what I believed.

Well Debian still stops supporting older releases, but there is usually a 6 
month window where they are supporting two stable releases. With upgrades 
being pretty easy, that should be more than enough time to upgrade. (but 
you are running testing anyway, not stable, so you're already ahead).

> I would prefer to never do another major upgrade that involves a 
> complete re-install, or at least only need to do it every 4 or 5 years 
> if possible.

Should be no problem.

> So, by keeping my sources.list file "testing," does that keep me up to 
> date without a full re-install even after a few years?

Yes. You also have the option of pointing specifically at "lenny" if you 
wanted to receive testing updates until lenny releases and then track it as 
a stable release. I often do that on systems and then when I need something 
newer than stable I point at testing or the next release again.

Good luck,

-- 
Matt Taggart
matt at lackof.org