how do you handle (un)supported linux distributions?

[Gabor Szabo]

On Thu, May 19, 2011 at 11:22 PM, Dotan Cohen <dotancohen at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, May 19, 2011 at 15:46, Gabor Szabo <szabgab at gmail.com> wrote:
>> The version I use on the serve is the LTS (Long Term Support) which
>> is supported for 5 years. We are in mid-term.
>>
>
> So it is a supported OS. Your subject line implied that it is no
> longer receiving [security] updates.

That's case for some of the companies I encounter.
Not for the places where I am in charge.


>> While the upgrades of Ubuntu on my desktop usually went fine
>> here and there I encountered issues. I could live with that as it only
>> affected me. If my server breaks then I am in for rough night and
>> a few hundred other people might not get the service.
>> So I am reducing risk and sticking to use old versions of
>> various applications and libraries.
>>
>
> Agreed, this is prudent. So long as your software works with the
> install library versions, that is. One issue I'm having now is a RHEL
> 3 server with MySQL 4. A non-critical but nice to have application
> (Joomla) needs MySQL 5, and that would mean updating the whole server
> and a slew of running applications that will break in who knows how
> many ways. This leads me to an ambiguity: on one hand, never touch a
> running server! On the other, upgrading from RHEL 3 to 4 to 5 and
> possibly to 6 would have eased the migration path and allow this
> server to still be used for new applications. As it is, it will
> probably be relegated to running only the current legacy apps, even
> though the hardware is more than adequate for the needs of newer
> applications.

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RHEL
RHEL 3 was end-of-life half a year ago. Unless you have the extended support.

There are at least two sides of this coin:
One of them is that if you stick to the vendor supported packages (e.g. MySQL)
then as time goes by you will be more and more limited to put new applications
on your server as they require newer versions of those other packages.

The other one is that every upgrade has its risks. What if the new version
of MySQL (or any other dependency your applications have) made some
changes that break your application? The longer you wait with the upgrade
the bigger these differences can be. The higher the risk for the upgrade.

Of course if you put Joomla (for example) that does not come with your
distribution
on your server then you already put some non-vendor package there.
Why not then replace the MySQL with one that does not come from your OS vendor?
Where do you draw the line between
   "This thing I can install only from my OS vendor"
and
  "This thing I can install from elsewhere. (e.g. source, binary from
the developer, etc.)"

regards
   Gabor