[CentOS] yum update (first in a long time) - /var/log/dovecot no longer used

Fri May 6 08:13:29 UTC 2016
Gary Stainburn <gary at ringways.co.uk>

On Thursday 05 May 2016 17:16:17 Valeri Galtsev wrote:
> There were several heated discussions on this list, and elsewhere. This is
> not intended to start the new one, but to help someone who missed them to
> define their statute.
>
> People split into two groups:
>
> Opponents of systemd (, firewqalld, etc.) who argue that from formerly
> Unix-like system Linux becomes Unix-unlike (or more MS Windows-like), and
> this is bad.
>
> Proponents of systemd etc. who argue that the life goes on, systems evolve
> and you better keep up with changes.
>
> Therefore, for new person who is about to, let's say, upgrade Linux system
> to the version with systemd, there is a decision that will define that
> person's future maintenance of this new system. And the decision has to be
> made before upgrade. Luckily for those who do decide to go with systemd,
> bugs (that always are present in new software) are being solved. Luckily
> for those who do not accept fundamental changes systemd brings (like
> binary logs or config files infested with XML garbage - sorry if I'm
> missing or misinterpreting something) there are Unix system one can
> migrate machine to.
>
> Either way one has to read and estimate what making that step (upgrading
> to systemd, firewalld based Linux or switching to some flavor of Unix)
> will entail in a long run for that server and the server admin. Either
> way, as in one of Unix handbooks they stress: read carefully the upgrade
> notes!
>
> I hope, this helps someone.
>
> Valeri
>

I understand the arguments for the move to systemd - and I also understand the 
points of those arguments.  Like most arguments, there are some valid and 
positive points and some not so.

There are times - such as the encompassing of the name resolver code - where 
it just seems a case of replacing old, mature code with new untested code for 
no reason.

Either way, I now have to manage both traditional and systemd based systems. 
Okay, it just means learning new toolsets, but it's something else I have to 
learn, and something else I have to cope with for my bespoke systems and 
services.

What I didn't expect, and what really threw me was that this has been 
implemented via a simply 'yum update' of an existing system, not at a major 
release level.