# What is the difference between 6.4 and 7.1



## chaoyzj (Nov 19, 2008)

1.What's the difference between the 7.1 and 6.4
2.When could the 7.1 be released?
Thanks a lot.


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## SirDice (Nov 19, 2008)

chaoyzj said:
			
		

> 1.What's the difference between the 7.1 and 6.4


Look in the release notes.



> 2.When could the 7.1 be released?


Should be RSN (Real Soon Now(tm))


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## Jeff (Nov 19, 2008)

SirDice said:
			
		

> Should be RSN (Real Soon Now(tm))


Yeah, so is Christmas :e


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## danger@ (Nov 19, 2008)

it's pretty possible it will be released sometime about Christmas actually


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## Jeff (Nov 19, 2008)

danger@ said:
			
		

> it's pretty possible it will be released sometime about Christmas actually


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## robertclemens (Nov 19, 2008)

Was a bummer to see the expected dates come and go. But I've been keeping up with the test releases and they seem to work quite well for me. I haven't played with 6.4 versions, only 7.1.

I think we can expect, as usual, a solid and well finalized release hopefully around Christmas. Should make for a great stocking stuffer!

I'm not sure where a relnotes document is for either version but I
have had great luck on changes and issues by browsing the mailing lists appropriately. You should be able to quickly find any relevant info there.

http://docs.freebsd.org/mail/


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## chaoyzj (Nov 20, 2008)

Thanks everyone, it should be a hopefully Christmas.


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## hitest (Nov 20, 2008)

I'm also looking forward to 7.1  I think it will be another stellar release.:beer


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## rocketman (Nov 24, 2008)

I don't remember many details other than the 6.4 is supposed to be the last version for 6 branch. So, if you were to ask which to try to install first, I would suggest the 7.0-PRERELEASE (AKA 7.0-STABLE). Good luck.


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## susanth (Nov 24, 2008)

Hi,

Though not an exact reply; I guess below links can help you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeBSD
http://ivoras.sharanet.org/freebsd/freebsd7.html (very informative)
http://ivoras.sharanet.org/freebsd/freebsd8.html (very informative)
Last 2 links is not accessible now(The time of this post); but you may be able to access in future.
Or just google "what is cooking inside freebsd" and view the cached Pages 

http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=freebsd


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## chrcol (Nov 25, 2008)

heh my predictions may be true then, major branches seem to be getting short and shorter life spans.  I prediced that it decreases by 1 like this.

5.x - 5.5 then EOL
6.x - 6.4 then EOL
7.x - 7.3 then EOL

the last high quality release branch 4.x had 11 minor releases refining it.


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## robertclemens (Dec 17, 2008)

I had to post to this. 

4.XX was an awesome branch. I ran it through it's entire lifespan and even a bit afterward. 

I really don't have a huge problem with the versioning schema but it would be nice to see the standard long-lasting release branches. 

This has come up in conversation over and over again with fellow FreeBSD junkies about how versions are flying through faster and faster and it's nearly impossible to use a major version in production without having to do several major version upgrades to it. *shrug*

Kind of seems like we are on a course of doing a major upgrade once a year. Even high amounts of changes don't require a major change. Any thoughts?


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## ctaranotte (Dec 17, 2008)

4.xx was good to me.
5.x was forgettable.
6.x is fine.
7.x I am looking forward to 7.1


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## trasz@ (Dec 17, 2008)

The primary reason for switching the branch is because of major changes and internal API/ABI compatibility.  It's a FreeBSD policy not to introduce changes that would break compatibility for kernel modules into the branch, and that means some things just cannot be backported from -CURRENT.  Also, some changes are so disruptive they have little chances for being backported either.

Basically, branches are getting shorter, because more people work on adding major features and introducing major changes, while few people are working on release engineering.


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## aragon (Dec 17, 2008)

4.x was the best FreeBSD branch to date for me too.  I still have 2 machines running it.  FreeBSD 7.x, though, is shaping up to be the next best since 4.x.


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## chrcol (Dec 18, 2008)

I agree 7.x is 2nd best behind 4.x and is looking good so far.  7.0 is certianly more stable than 6.0 was.


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