# FreeBSD server uptime



## bcomputerguy (Mar 11, 2017)

Sorry I wasn't exactly sure where to ask this question but here we go.

Let's say you're running a FreeBSD server and want to update the version, buildkernel, buildworld, etc...

What's the typical downtime associated with that? How do FreeBSD hosts keep the server up to date?


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## scottro (Mar 11, 2017)

Assuming nothing goes wrong, the downtime should only be a few minutes during reboot.   Also note that you can use freebsd-update which does a binary upgrade, rather than compiling from source, though it will still require a reboot.  

There are always potential problems--such as a library change breaking a 3rd party program, but usually such  problems are mentioned in UPDATING.


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## ANOKNUSA (Mar 11, 2017)

You can compile the sources for world and kernel while the system is running, so there's no downtime there. Once you've performed a few updates, I would bet you could install the system and use mergemaster(8) to merge your configuration files within a minute or two. Then it's just a matter of rebooting if the kernel was updated.


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## bcomputerguy (Mar 12, 2017)

scottro and ANOKNUSA thanks for the info.


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## SirDice (Mar 13, 2017)

I update (both base and packages) around 20 servers in an afternoon.


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