Next installfest?

[cpeppler at pepplersolutions.com (Charlie Peppler)]

Hi folks,

I've been running a RH Linux 6.2 server
for about three years now, and it still
works great. I'm running samba, packet
filtering firewall, Apache/PHP, MySQL.

I recently started trying to install
an application which requires a series
of more recent libraries, and have found
it pretty tough to get running, and figure
I'm about due for a on OS upgrade.

I'ld like to upgrade in a way that leaves
my application configurations in place.

My questions are:
- Is there an installfest coming up
   in the Boston area in the near future?

If not, I have some questions about
what would happen if I got a boxed set of the
most recent RH linux (8.0) and did the
installation myself:

- How stable is RH 8.0?  Does anybody have
   it installed, and have feedback on reliability?
- Does an installation/upgrade process detect
   the previous version, and act accordingly?
- Does the upgrade require a disk
   reformat?
- Does the upgrade automatically upgrade
   rpms, keeping dependencies straight (and
   removing out of date ones)?
- Does the upgrade remove outdated versions
   (libraries/utilities)?
- Does the upgrade leave various .conf files
   in place? (/etc, /var/lib ...)
- Does it detect existing hardware, and either
   upgrade drivers, or leave existing ones in
   place (I have a Mammoth LT tape drive)

Thanks in advance for any assistance you
might provide, or experience with RH 6.2 => 8.0
upgrades.

-- 
Charlie Peppler
cpeppler at pepplersolutions.com
http://www.pepplersolutions.com