First of all, I am happy that the launch of 13.1 has taken place. I have some queries related with the same. These are as follows:
(i) Installation: Now, I know that I can install it right now. But I just want to confirm that I can go ahead with it? Because right now 12.3 is working very well and would be supported, and installing the latest one won’t have anything unexpected…?
(ii) The New Release: This is the general doubt. Every time the new release comes after a fixed interval of time. Just wanted to know if this cycle is a sort of fashion in free software market? Means, when many things can be patched from YaST, still the newer version come so early, so this is followed because it is in term and condition or this cycle can be made flexible also so that the newer releases can be delayed or the cycle be increased in time…? I know though, the versions like Tumbleweed are there.
On 2013-11-22, happy21 <happy21@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> First of all, I am happy that the launch of 13.1 has taken place. I have
> some queries related with the same. These are as follows:
>
> (i) Installation: Now, I know that I can install it right now. But I
> just want to confirm that I can go ahead with it? Because right now 12.3
> is working very well and would be supported, and installing the latest
> one won’t have anything unexpected…?
Depends on a few things:
Your hardware. The less `specialist’ your hardware, the more likely an upgrade will go smoothly.
Your usage. If the software you use goes much the packages provided in the base installation, or if you have to
compile from source against old libraries, the morely likely you will run into trouble.
Your expectations. With a new upgrade, I expect a lot of things not to work smoothly immediately after release, so
very little is `unexpected.’ My expections were entirely unfounded for openSUSE 12.3, because that installed and ran
flawlessly. If 12.3 is working for you, and you don’t want to contribute the troubleshooting stage, then I suggest you
wait until the wrinkles are ironed out. Give it a fortnight at the very least.
> (ii) The New Release: This is the general doubt. Every time the new
> release comes after a fixed interval of time. Just wanted to know if
> this cycle is a sort of fashion in free software market?
I don’t think many people would put Linux' and fashion’ in the same sentence without the word `not’ somewhere.
> Means, when
> many things can be patched from YaST, still the newer version come so
> early,
I don’t understand what you mean.
> so this is followed because it is in term and condition or this
> cycle can be made flexible also so that the newer releases can be
> delayed or the cycle be increased in time…?
The openSUSE team has (since 12.2) kept very well to their fixed 8-month release cycle.
> I know though, the
> versions like Tumbleweed are there.
Tumbleweed is for experienced users, and not for you if you have apprehensions upgrading your openSUSE version.
Your usage. If the software you use goes much the packages provided in the base installation, or if you have to compile from source against old libraries, the morely likely you will run into trouble.
And the later part you say is not required, we are using openSUSE and not Gentoo!
Your expectations. With a new upgrade, I expect a lot of things not to work smoothly immediately after release, so very little is `unexpected.’ My expections were entirely unfounded for openSUSE 12.3, because that installed and ran flawlessly. If 12.3 is working for you, and you don’t want to contribute the troubleshooting stage, then I suggest you
wait until the wrinkles are ironed out. Give it a fortnight at the very least.
Oh well, that’s nice. Everything works on 12.3 like a charm. I would wait until the wrinkles are faded.
I don’t think many people would put Linux' and fashion’ in the same sentence without the word `not’ somewhere.
What I meant by saying is that release cycle is fixed – eight months. So like as if the fashion has to be changed every eight months…:)-
I don’t understand what you mean.
By saying that I meant that when we update from YaST, we get the required patches untill eight months (means the time we are using a supported version). And if anything is to be rectified also, it can be provided to the users from the update mechanism in the same version. In this way, the newer versions, which are launched every eight months, can be delayed a bit more since the rectifications (if any) have already been dispatched to the end users from YaST, from the update mechanism. This delay can be something like 12 to 14 months, so that at least a period of year is there with each version to be used. However, it is my personal expectation.
The openSUSE team has (since 12.2) kept very well to their fixed 8-month release cycle.
Tumbleweed is for experienced users, and not for you if you have apprehensions upgrading your openSUSE version.
Really? I just though it is a more stable version with a magnificent support period. I wonder is it really true…!
On 2013-11-22, happy21 <happy21@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:
> By saying that I meant that when we update from YaST, we get the
> required patches untill eight months (means the time we are using a
> supported version).
Hang on, this is not correct. Support for 12.3 does not cease just because 13.1 is out. IIRC 12.3 EOL is not until Sept
2014 so you have plenty of time during which to consider your upgrade.
You’ll get updates for a released version for ~18 months, so you don’t have to upgrade every 8 months.
And there’s Evergreen that extends the support period even longer for selected versions (the current Evergreen release is 11.4, the next will be 13.1).
But: you only get security and bug fixes this way by openSUSE’s policy. You won’t get newer (feature) releases of the included software.
That’s why increasing the release cycle would not at all be positive in every aspect.
If you want to have newer versions of the software (say, LibreOffice 4.1 instead of LibreOffice 3.6, KDE 4.11 instead of KDE 4.10, …) you have to upgrade to the next distribution version.
You can also add certain OBS repos of course, to get newer versions of selected software packages.
Have a look at software.opensuse.org: Search .
Well, I see. Get to know the life cycle of openSUSE…Hmm, good…My decision is fine then. I must install 13.1 rather to go with Evergreen unless some especial reason exists. Thanks for letting know about Evergreen. I was really thinking Tumbleweed to be a longer supported version, but its Evergreen…
With Tumbleweed you get the newest versions of most software all the time. It is constantly changing.
It’s also called a “rolling release” as there are no fixed releases.
Evergreen (or the standard distribution) is a more conservative approach.
OpenSUSE stays at the versions of software it is shipped with, only security/bugfix updates are delivered. (there are exceptions of course, Firefox being the most prominent example, as it would be too much work to only backport the security/bug fixes)
Evergreen takes over with updates (for selected openSUSE versions) when the official support has ended, so you can keep your older openSUSE version for a longer period and don’t have to upgrade every 18 months.
>> Tumbleweed is for experienced users, and not for you if you have
>> apprehensions upgrading your openSUSE version.
>
> Really? I just though it is a more stable version with a magnificent
> support period. I wonder is it really true…!
You don’t understand. Tumbleweed is a derivative of factory. You are
continuously upgrading about every week. It is not stable, rather the
contrary. It is more stable than factory, but less than the normal release.
Maybe you are getting confused with Evergreen.
The normal release gets a new version every 8 months, but it is fully
supported for 18 months. You do not /have/ to upgrade till the end of
those 18 months unless you want to. Thus releases overlap: right now we
have 12.2, 12.3 and 13.1 all supported.
At the same time, some of those releases get an extra maintenance period
from the Evergreen project. For instance, 11.4 is still supported, and
13.1 will, up to about 3 years. That’s 3 years of stability and support.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
Exactly this was the case that I was confused between Evergreen and Tumbleweed. But not now as the confusion has been eradicated. When you say, one is not required to upgrade till the end of those 18 months (upto the support period), I guess you are talking that the particular version cannot be upgraded; but when we run the command:
zypper up
specific apps get upgraded, whatever (if) have been put in the repos.
For the time being and until any reason exists, I would definitely prefer to use the openSUSE 12.3 (which is current stable and supported) and by the time all issues are solved with 13.1, I would go with it. Eventually, I don’t guess there would be any other benefit to use Evergreen without particular needs. May be it is used in some organizations.
It’s a fact of life, that software continues to evolve. Most distros are conservative – you won’t get the newest features unless you move to a newer version.
As for what you should do – that’s pretty much your choice. Here are some possibilities:
Install every new version, but wait until 1 month after release, so that any major bugs have been ironed out. When you do install, be sure to run online updates to get those bug fixes.
Install every second version that is released. That way, you only install half as often. And the chances are you will still be sufficiently up-to-date.
Install every third version. You’ll be a bit late, and you will sometimes be running a version beyond its support term. But, by then, most of the bugs are out. And you only install one-third as often as the first choice.
Try to pick evergreen versions. Then run them till the end of evergreen support, which can be several years.
I do it the other way, because I like experimenting. So I test pre-release versions, and install the latest release as soon as it is out. But only people with some experience should do that.
> Exactly this was the case that I was confused between Evergreen and
> Tumbleweed. But not the confusion has been eradicated. When you say, one
> is not required to upgrade till the end of those 18 months (upto the
> support period), I guess you are talking that the version cannot be
> upgraded but we can run the command:
>
> zypper up
>
> so that specific programs get upgraded, whatever have been put in the
> repos.
Right.
> For the time being and until any reason exists, I would definitely
> prefer to use the openSUSE 12.3 (which is current stable and supported)
> and by the time all issues are solved with 13.1, I would go with it.
> Eventually, I don’t guess there would be any other benefit to use
> Evergreen without particular needs. May be it is used in some
> organizations.
The benefit of Evergreen is not having to bother with the hassle of
upgrading the system about once a year, but being able to delay the
operation for a year or two more. Less work to do. I do that on my
laptop. Certainly it is of interest for organizations.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
I’m running 13.1 on two machines now, xfce on both. Flawless, from installation
to desktop usage. I’ve tried a lot, running a bunch of PTS benchmark. Blazing fast.
I second what another member wrote: Depends on Your hardware. Also
how used You are to configure that hardware.
GL in Your choise, 12.3 is a very mature and stable release.
These points are worthy of knowing but since I cannot go for experimentation (due to time constraints), I don’t know I should pick Evergreen or not, but anyways, 1 and 2 true. In the second point above when you say to install every third version, you mean to install it some time after the release so that wrinkles (if any) just fade out.
Well, I guess I might be free at least on one or two of all the Sundays in a half/full year, and thus I would see eight month support openSUSE version. Well, for organizations, Evergreen might be used.
happy21 wrote:
> Well, I guess I might be free at least on one or two of all the Sundays
> in a half/full year, and thus I would see eight month support openSUSE
> version. Well, for organizations, Evergreen might be used.
You don’t need a day for installation.You might need some time to backup
stuff. My installation of openSUSE 13.1 while retaining /home folder
tool less that 10 mins. I was dumbfounded. But it took me couple of
hours to tweak/update 13.1.
Upgraded to 13.1. from 12.3.
I kept the home partition.
The installation process was quick and smooth.
It’s really worth the (not much) time spent. lol!
> These points are worthy of knowing but since I cannot go for
> experimentation (due to time constraints), I don’t know I should pick
> Evergreen or not,
Evergreen is precisely good for people that do not want experiments nor
changes. You install once, configure and finish. Done. No more
experiments for 3 years. The system just works.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
The basic question from the OP remains: is it now the time to upgrade or should he wait some longer? For a more or less hassle free upgrade without loss of time due to unforeseen issues I’d wait. Give it a month, say december 19, and then enjoy that lifetime of 3 years. If not, issues will (probably) be solved but there is a time loss involved.
