[Mailman-Users] upgrading from 2.1.9 to 2.1.12

[Troy Campbell]

I'm considering upgrading from a current installation running
2.1.9 to a new server running 2.1.12.
Do I need to upgrade the 2.1.9 version on the existing server first?
I saw this note about 2.1.9 which I think I can safely ignore
but wondering if there are any other upgrade issues:
http://wiki.list.org/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=4030623
My preference is to make a copy of everything on the new
server and try a cutover so I would have the old server to
fall back to in case there are any issues since it's a relatively
important mail server (production like qualities).

Secondly, how do I move the "lists" to the second server?  Is there
a way to export the lists and re-import to another server such
that all the password information is retained or do I have to move or
copy the "var-prefix" directory over and other parts?  I'm
looking for a tool that's a bit more robust than just "list_members". 
I looked at this link but "step 1" did not seem to apply to my
installation..my current configuration is alot more like "step 3":
http://wiki.list.org/display/DOC/How+do+I+move+a+list+to+a+different+server-Mailman+installation.

Appreciate your answering my preliminary and I'm sure basic questions 
while I do some googling to hopefully get some
better questions.

Regards,
Troy