Snort deployment questions

[shashank.joshi () tcs com]

hi 

I have following questions..hope that would help many people out there

where can I get the names and versions of all the software (e.g. libpcap) 
required by snort ?
It is mentioned that snort has a 'very small footprint' what is the size 
of the footprint ?
whether snort RPMs are stable and what are the pros and cons of using RPM 
over compiling from source ?
how to prepare reports from snort logs ?
what is the best method of rules updation ?
how frequently do I need to upgrade snort ?
any suggestions for backup strategy ?

regards,

shashank

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