[clug] Advice request on upgrade to Debian Squeeze local - mirrors?

[Felix Karpfen]

On Sat, 19 Mar 2011 10:31:38 +1100, Scott Ferguson wrote:


>> - my "Windows Manager" is JWM; I never use either Gnome or KDE;
> 
> I suspect you mean gdm/kdm/kwin - you will still find that some of the
> packages from both desktops do not exist in Squeeze.

I do use "gdm" to boot into "jwm"; the (Debian) description of "jwm" 
reads:

 JWM is a window manager for the X11 Window System. JWM is written in C 
and uses only Xlib and (optionally) the shape extension and libXpm. It 
can support some MWM, GNOME, and WM Spec hints. The menu configuration 
files are managed in XML format.

 Compared to other light WM, like Fvwm95, the Jwm consumes about twice 
less memory while providing the same WM functionality.

 
> Given what
> little you tell of your system (servers? architecture? etc) it's hard to
> tell if there *is* an upgrade path - hence the parallel install
> suggestion. 

My current system is just a simple Lenny desktop; the only upgrade path 
pointed to http://security.debian.org/ lenny/updates.  Does the following 
tell you enough:

Version
  Kernel  Linux 2.6.26-2-486 (i686)
  Compiled  #1 Wed Jan 26 23:35:57 UTC 2011
  C Library  GNU C Library version 2.7 (stable)
  Distribution  Debian GNU/Linux 5.0.2

Network Interfaces
  lo  Sent 0.02MiB, received 0.02MiB (127.0.0.1)
  eth0  Sent 1.09MiB, received 4.99MiB (192.168.0.2)
  

> 3. It's highly recommended that if you are currently using grub (now
> grub-legacy) that you upgrade it also - again, not without issues.

One of my many deviations. I use lilo; I find it easier to configure. I 
am hoping that I will have made the correct adjustments to my /etc/
lilo.conf before I reboot.
 
> Note: that I suggest caution because I have several instances where
> upgrading to Squeeze will break what works under Lenny

According to the release notes, that includes the Linux kernel!  Hence I 
am checking at each step on the way.

> I *used* to use DVDs, but they're always out of date, 

Not if you source them from the US.  I have received the DVDs for Debian 
6.0.0 about one week ago; Debian 6.0.1 has been released today.  I 
normally run "security upgrades" every week; I rely on the DVDs for all 
other packages. 

> 8 DVDs... straight forward..? :-)
> The first time you do decide to upgrade/dist-upgrade from the 'net
> you'll lose those lovely apt-cdrom add entries...

That puts the nails in the coffin!
The alternative upgrade option is too frightening to contemplate!

> Please post your experiences.

OK.

So far, I have crashed at Stage 1!

After consulting the "release notes", it appears that their suggested 
size for "Cache-Limit" in "/etc/apt/apt.conf" is too small for Squeeze.  
By trebling that size, I successfully added the 8 DVDs to my 
"sources.list" and had their presence recognised by "apt-get" and 
"aptitude".

Unscrambling this mess kept me entertained for an afternoon; I am now 
catching my breath before starting on the next stage of the "dist-
upgrade".

Felix

-- 
Felix Karpfen
Public Key 72FDF9DF (DH/DSA)