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Old 01-08-2011, 06:07 PM   #1
Fred Caro
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oldish o/s


Can you still use a 'distro' that has been knocked off the update tree with security intact, i.e., what are the risks. I ask because I am quite happy with fed 12 but there is a sound problem with my hardware on fed 14.
My idea of extended support is 10 years, nieve I know but a nice thought.

Fred.
 
Old 01-08-2011, 06:35 PM   #2
lazlow
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Centos is RHEL with the proprietaty bit(mostly logos) stripped out. It has a five year(plus) support life. It is free to download and update(unlike RHEL). Since RHEL is based off of Fedora(and thus Centos is based off of Fedora) it will feel very familiar.

Without security updates your system is at risk of being hacked. As older relases have more known security holes, they are a prime target for attack.
 
Old 01-08-2011, 07:05 PM   #3
snowday
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is based on Fedora 12 and will be supported through Nov. 2020:

https://access.redhat.com/support/po...pdates/errata/

CentOS 6 (a free respin of RHEL) should be released pretty soon, if the RHEL price tag is too steep for you.
 
Old 01-08-2011, 08:17 PM   #4
lazlow
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Read that link snowpine gave carefully. It will be sort of supported through 2020. Beyond year 5 support gets a little thin.

Last I head C6 should not be expected before mid Feb(not a firm date).
 
Old 01-09-2011, 06:03 AM   #5
Fred Caro
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updates on old versions of linux

Thanks for those replies. I might wait for Centos 6 as 5 is in its final release, can you update directly from 5 to 6 or is it a reinstall job and how risky is it to stick with an old release, can't be as bad as Windows surly?

Fred.
 
Old 01-09-2011, 08:20 AM   #6
lazlow
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Centos 5.5 is NOT its final release. 5.6 will be released this spring and there will be other minor release versions(5.X) over the next few years(likely up to 5.9). Updating minor releases(say 5.5 to 5.6) is a simple yum update away. Updating major releases(say 5.X to 6.x) requires a clean install. Keep in mind that each major release is supported for 5 years(or longer depending on ones inturpitation) and most people will switch hardware within that time span.
 
Old 01-09-2011, 09:06 AM   #7
salasi
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Caro View Post
My idea of extended support is 10 years, nieve I know but a nice thought.
Well, Fed isn't really the right place for you as Fedora targets users who want the 'bleeding edge' experience.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Caro View Post
Can you still use a 'distro' that has been knocked off the update tree with security intact, i.e., what are the risks.
Well, you can go through every program that you use or installed (and that includes things like libraries), check the security advisories for each one and assess the risks that you see there. This is what I might call 'big work' and most people won't consider it worthwhile, but YMMV, particularly if this is a box not connected to the internet, or you can reduce the problem to one or two big programs that you can, maybe, build from source to ensure that you have a version without 'excess' security problems, but, all-in-all, not going down this route seems like a better option.

Centos does seem like a better option for you, but do bear in mind that you won't get both the 'bleeding edge user experience' and long support horizons/extensive testing at the same time.
 
Old 01-09-2011, 09:34 AM   #8
snowday
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I use CentOS 5.x every day at work, it is fantastic (and super stable) though some users may find certain apps a little outdated. (But of course, you can manually upgrade any individual app you want.)

Last edited by snowday; 01-09-2011 at 09:36 AM.
 
Old 01-10-2011, 12:03 AM   #9
chrism01
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... and here's the full scoop on updates/support lifetimes https://access.redhat.com/support/po...pdates/errata/
 
Old 01-10-2011, 08:36 PM   #10
Fred Caro
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updates on fed 12...

Dear all,
thanks for your responses. I said that centos 5.5 was the final release because that was what reported on reboot on another drive but that drive is not suited to the main 'box'. This seems to contradict the info posted, or was it my misreading, that is, my reading of the reboot info . I would happily overwrite fed 12 with Centos 5.5 if I thought it would last.Both releases suit me and my limited hardware. Not every feature of fedora has, or can be enabled on my hardware, nor would some want it to be.
Thanks again,

Fred.
 
Old 01-10-2011, 08:52 PM   #11
lazlow
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Ok, updates to Centos 5.X(say 5.5 to 5.6) occur via yum update. They are clean, easy, require no special prep work. This is NOT like moving from F12 to F13, which is officially still advised to do a clean install.

The 5.5 final means that it is the full production version of 5.5 (versus a 5.5 beta). When 5.6 comes online and you reboot after yum updating to it, it will say 5.6 final(just as 5.0,5.1,5.2,5.3. and 5.4 said final).
 
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Old 01-11-2011, 01:36 AM   #12
chrism01
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What lazlow said, & read my prev link for the support lifetimes for RHEL & thus Centos.
 
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