Upgrade vs Fresh install?

[raylab]

In reading the Release Notes I know there are times when it is required to do a fresh install using a saved configuration. Otherwise you can use the GUI to do an upgrade.

I was wondering if there is any reason to use the Gui upgrade method other than convenience?
Does a fresh install have any advantages over the upgrade method?

In terms of doing either an upgrade or fresh install, are there any guidelines on when to move to a newer release?
I suppose I could watch feedback on each new release and see which ones seem stable. I guess I would like to see something like an indication of which release is the next stable release or maybe they are all considered stable, but that is not clear.

I'm currently running 9.2.0.1 and was thinking of making a move to the next release, 9.3.x, but they no longer appear to be available. So I'm now looking to make the move to one of the 10.2.x releases. Thus my questions on which specific release to use and the best method, which in my case would be a fresh install.

Thanks,
Alan

[zoon01]

In reading the Release Notes I know there are times when it is required to do a fresh install using a saved configuration. Otherwise you can use the GUI to do an upgrade.

I was wondering if there is any reason to use the Gui upgrade method other than convenience?
Does a fresh install have any advantages over the upgrade method?

In terms of doing either an upgrade or fresh install, are there any guidelines on when to move to a newer release?
I suppose I could watch feedback on each new release and see which ones seem stable. I guess I would like to see something like an indication of which release is the next stable release or maybe they are all considered stable, but that is not clear.

I'm currently running 9.2.0.1 and was thinking of making a move to the next release, 9.3.x, but they no longer appear to be available. So I'm now looking to make the move to one of the 10.2.x releases. Thus my questions on which specific release to use and the best method, which in my case would be a fresh install.

Thanks,
Alan

Hello Alan,

Normal a user can upgrade over webgui with embedded installs. However as we have seen in the past this is not always possible when
user wanted to switch from version x to version y.
Most of the time the when a users requires todo a fresh install (install from scratch by livecd/usb) has been because there where major
changes to the boot partition size. An upgrade over webgui does not cover this special case yet when partitions are resized.
System could be behave strange or could crash if a user still does try using am embedded upgrade over webgui than.
In all other cases the embedded uprade over webgui is an huge advantage.

All releases are considered stable unless told otherwise, like we use a beta folder for beta releases etc.
So do we have a Release forum and Beta test forum parts on this forum.

9.3.x, series are indeed taken offline because those are no longer considered safe to be used because of security fixes etc in later versions.
We never advise to use old version, instead we like to see users do upgrade systems more regular.
And final, yes in your case you do need a install from scratch from livecd or liveusb media.

[Olly]

In my opinion, upgrading means just partial improvement. As for installation the new version, it’s better variant, as it provides new opportunities which you can’t get upgrading.