Is it recommended to perform a clean installation and restore the latest config backup when installing major updates like this?
thank you
Well, in my experience, I have always upgraded between major releases directly via GUI, and it always went smoothly.
Given the arrival of the new rule interfaces, I was thinking about a clean install for 26.1, but being a couch potato (and not wanting to climb up to the rack cabinet to take the firewall out), I proceeded with a direct upgrade as usual.
It went fine, as usual.
All that being said, everything depends on your specific needs.
Sooner or later, I will perform a clean install, mostly because I want to switch from UFS to ZFS; apart from that, I would probably go with a direct upgrade all the time.