[CentOS] CentOS 6.3 packages updates options without upgrading.

[John R Pierce]

On 11/8/2016 9:28 AM, Dipal Bhatt wrote:
> Unfortunately, that's the constraint it seems hence, there's inquiry of
> other options.  But, looks like, any el6 package should work as long as we
> meet the dependencies?

mixing current 6.8 packages with very old 6.3 packages and libraries is 
a recipe for problems.      these  combinations are simply untested.   
If you're willing to do such testing, go for it.   be sure to regression 
test all the corner cases of the specific packages.     One thing that 
would help significantly would be to uninstall all packages you don't 
actually need for these systems.     I always start with 'minimal', and 
install just the packages my application stack needs.  That is a 
standard policy of security benchmarks such as CIS [1].

how could someone deploy 1000s of computer systems in the field without 
a plan for regular security updates?!?    that would be somewhat 
analogous to buying a fleet of airplanes without any plan or provisions 
for scheduled maintenance.


[1] 
https://benchmarks.cisecurity.org/downloads/show-single/?file=centos6.201

-- 
john r pierce, recycling bits in santa cruz