Re: [rfc] replacing /boot/kernel.old with a unique directory name

On Sun, Aug 14, 2011 at 12:12:11PM -0700, Julian Elischer wrote:
> On 8/14/11 3:27 AM, Eduardo Morras wrote:
> > At 22:06 13/08/2011, Steven Hartland wrote:
> >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alexander Best" 
> >> <arundel_at_freebsd.org>
> >>
> >>> i just had the following idea: how about instead of copying the 
> >>> current kernel
> >>> to /boot/kernel.old and then installing the new one under 
> >>> /boot/kernel as the
> >>> results of target installkernel, we create a unique directory name 
> >>> for the old
> >>> kernel?
> >>
> >> The default size of / is likely your biggest problem.
> >
> > Don't know how much compresable is /boot/kernel.old but tar with -z 
> > or -j may be a workaround. We can extract on demand and swap current 
> > /boot/kernel  with new /boot/kernel. Other way of do it is link 
> > /boot/kernel  to current kernel and update it, but i don't know 
> > (again) if it would work in single user mode.
> 
> What would make more sense to me for thsi would be a kernel name that 
> was recognised by teh final boot stages as being an exeprimental 
> kernel and moved to the new location only on successful boot..  Once 
> you have successfully booted it, then you delete the kernel[-1] and do 
> the replacement that "make installkernel" now does.
> 

All is fine and dandy  with all of these suggestions but has the root
filesystem space been bumped up at all yet ?

The root filesystem space is merely almost adequte for what we have
now... just barely and until it is none of these are feasable especially
for existing systems.