suspend/hibernate in the command line
by Leo
Hi all,
I can't find a simple command to suspend/hibernate the
computer. Sometimes I leave the computer on with music and want it to
go to suspenstion after a certain time. It would be even better if the
command doesn't need root privilege. Many thanks.
Regards,
Leon
18 years
2.6.16-1.2069_FC4smp, i82860_edac module compiled debug?
by Mike Carney
Hi there,
I just upgraded to 2.6.16-1.2069_FC4smp, and noticed the i82860_edac module
appears to be compiled to output debug messages:
messages:Mar 30 12:06:02 lucy kernel: i82860 init one
messages:Mar 30 12:06:02 lucy kernel: EDAC MC0: Giving out device to
"i82860_edac" i82860: PCI 0000:00:00.0
The ring buffer rapidly fills up with:
MC0: drivers/edac/i82860_edac.c: i82860_check()
messages. Bugzilla search showed no bugs. Shall I submit one?
Thanks.
18 years
Re: Double dare ya, Fedora! And your art sucks!
by chasd
On Mar 29, 2006, at 6:18 PM, fedora-devel-list-request(a)redhat.com wrote:
>>
>> NT, Mac OS < X ). Not included is Linux, which is not a depreciated
> ^^^^^^^^^^^
> depreciate v. t.
> To lessen in price or estimated value; to lower the worth of;
> to represent as of little value or claim to esteem; to undervalue.
>
> deprecated adj.
> Said of a program or feature that is considered obsolescent and in
> the process of being phased out, usually in favor of a specified
> replacement.
Thanks for correcting me.
>> platform ( which is good ). That means the Linux Flash Player version
>> 7
>> has the above vulnerability, and a fix will not be available until
>> Player 8.5 is available for Linux.
>
> Thankfully, no.
Our company has a distribution license, so I get installers from a
different URL.
I had looked only at the date in the read me file of the Linux
installer ( January 2006 ) and not specifically at the version number.
Again I stand corrected, thank you.
Charles Dostale
System Admin - Silver Oaks Communications
18 years
rawhide report: 20060330 changes
by Build System
New package xorg-x11-drv-vmmouse
Xorg X11 vmmouse input driver
Updated Packages:
bind-30:9.3.2-14.FC6
--------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Jason Vsa Dias <jvdias(a)redhat.com> - 30:9.3.2-14
- fix bug 186577: remove -L/usr/lib from libbind.pc and more .spec file cleanup
- add '%doc' sample configuration files in /usr/share/doc/bind*/sample
- rebuild with new gcc and glibc
ethereal-0.10.14-4.svn.1
------------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Radek Vokál <rvokal(a)redhat.com> 0.10.14-4.svn.1
- update to latest svn version
- dumpcap
fedora-release-5.89-rawhide
---------------------------
gcc-4.1.0-4
-----------
* Tue Mar 28 2006 Jakub Jelinek <jakub(a)redhat.com> 4.1.0-4
- update from gcc-4_1-branch (-r111697:112431)
- PRs ada/25885, c/26004, fortran/17298, fortran/20935, fortran/20938,
fortran/23092, fortran/24519, fortran/24557, fortran/25045,
fortran/25054, fortran/25075, fortran/25089, fortran/25378,
fortran/25395, fortran/26041, fortran/26054, fortran/26064,
fortran/26107, fortran/26277, fortran/26393, fortran/26716,
fortran/26741, libfortran/21303, libfortran/24903, libgcj/24461,
libgcj/25713, libgcj/26103, libgcj/26688, libgcj/26706,
libgfortran/26499, libgfortran/26509, libgfortran/26554,
libgfortran/26661, libgfortran/26880, libstdc++/26132,
middle-end/18859, middle-end/19543, middle-end/26557,
middle-end/26630, other/26489, target/25917, target/26347,
target/26459, target/26532, target/26607, tree-optimization/26524,
tree-optimization/26587, tree-optimization/26672
- fix visibility and builtins interaction (Jason Merrill,
PR middle-end/20297, #175442)
- merge gomp changes from trunk (-r112022:112023, -r112250:112251,
-r112252:112253, -r112350:112351 and -r112282:112283)
- PRs c++/26691, middle-end/26084, middle-end/26611, c++/26690,
middle-end/25989
- support visibility attribute on namespaces (Jason Merrill, PR c++/21764,
PR c++/19238)
- use hidden visibility for anonymous namespaces by default (Jason Merrill,
PR c++/21581)
gnome-pilot-2.0.13-8
--------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Than Ngo <than(a)redhat.com> 2.0.13-8
- rebuilt against pilot-link-0.11.8
gnome-pilot-conduits-2.0.13-4
-----------------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Than Ngo <than(a)redhat.com> 2.0.13-4
- rebuilt against pilot-link-0.11.8
- don't apply gnome-pilot-conduits-2.0.13-port-to-pilot-link-0.12.patch
iputils-20020927-37
-------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Radek Vokál <rvokal(a)redhat.com> - 20020927-37
- fix ifenslave, shows interface addresses
- add RPM_OPT_FLAGS to ifenslave
* Sun Mar 12 2006 Radek Vokál <rvokal(a)redhat.com> - 20020927-36
- fix ifenslave man page (#185223)
jpilot-0.99.8-4
---------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Than Ngo <than(a)redhat.com> 0.99.8-4
- rebuilt against pilot-link-0.11.8
kernel-2.6.16-1.2104_FC6
------------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Dave Jones <davej(a)redhat.com>
- 2.6.16-git16 & git17
libsepol-1.12.4-1
-----------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Dan Walsh <dwalsh(a)redhat.com> 1.12.4-1
- Upgrade to latest from NSA
* Generalize test for bitmap overflow in ebitmap_set_bit.
logrotate-3.7.3-3
-----------------
* Tue Mar 28 2006 Peter Vrabec <pvrabec(a)redhat.com> 3.7.3-3
- correct man page "extension" option description (#185318)
ncpfs-2.2.6-2
-------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Martin Stransky <stransky(a)redhat.com> 2.2.6-2
- removed opt flags (#186683)
openoffice.org-1:2.0.2-5.7.3
----------------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Caolan McNamara <caolanm(a)redhat.com> - 1:2.0.2-5.7
- rh#186747# TTF conts converted to Type 1 in print to file ps
* Tue Mar 28 2006 Caolan McNamara <caolanm(a)redhat.com> - 1:2.0.2-5.6
- more rh#186215#/ooo#63583# accessibility fixes
- better fallback to english if help is missing
pam_krb5-2.2.8-1
----------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Nalin Dahyabhai <nalin(a)redhat.com> - 2.2.8-1
- don't try to validate creds in a password-changing situation, because the
attempt will always fail unless the matching key is in the keytab, which
should never be the case for the password-changing service (#187303, rbasch)
- if v4 has been disabled completely, go ahead and try to set 2b tokens
because we're going to end up having to do that anyway (#182378)
* Fri Mar 10 2006 Nalin Dahyabhai <nalin(a)redhat.com> - 2.2.7-2
- fixup man page conflicts in %install
* Wed Mar 08 2006 Bill Nottingham <notting(a)redhat.com> - 2.2.6-2.2
- don't use paths in man pages - avoids multilib conflicts
pilot-link-2:0.11.8-14
----------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Than Ngo <than(a)redhat.com> 2:0.11.8-14
- rebuild to get rid of libpisock.so.9
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Than Ngo <than(a)redhat.com> 2:0.11.8-13
- downgrade to stable release 0.11.8
policycoreutils-1.30.4-1
------------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Dan Walsh <dwalsh(a)redhat.com> 1.30.4-1
- Update from upstream
* Merged audit2allow fixes for refpolicy from Dan Walsh.
* Merged fixfiles patch from Dan Walsh.
* Merged restorecond daemon from Dan Walsh.
* Merged semanage non-MLS fixes from Chris PeBenito.
* Merged semanage and semodule man page examples from Thomas Bleher.
* Tue Mar 28 2006 Dan Walsh <dwalsh(a)redhat.com> 1.30.1-4
- Clean up reference policy generation in audit2allow
scim-1.4.4-9.1.fc5
------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Jens Petersen <petersen(a)redhat.com> - 1.4.4-9.1.fc5
- make scim-libs prereq libstdc++so7 to avoid update-gtk-immodules error when
installing on i386 (#186365)
- setup xinput.d for some more locale (as_IN, or_IN, si_LK, vi_VN, and zh_HK)
* Thu Mar 02 2006 Jens Petersen <petersen(a)redhat.com> - 1.4.4-9
- make scim-libs prereq gtk2 > 2.8 to avoid update-gtk-immodules error
when upgrading from FC4 (#183636)
* Wed Mar 01 2006 Jens Petersen <petersen(a)redhat.com> - 1.4.4-8
- add scim-system-default-config.patch
- add Zenkaku_Hankaku as trigger hotkey for Japanese users
- use static XIM event flow so deadkeys work under XIM in off state (#169975)
- add alternatives as prereq for %post and %postun (pknirsch, #182853)
scim-hangul-0.2.2-1.fc6
-----------------------
* Thu Mar 30 2006 Akira TAGOH <tagoh(a)redhat.com> - 0.2.2-1
- New upstream release.
selinux-policy-2.2.28-1
-----------------------
* Mon Mar 27 2006 Dan Walsh <dwalsh(a)redhat.com> 2.2.28-1
- Update to upstream
* Wed Mar 22 2006 Dan Walsh <dwalsh(a)redhat.com> 2.2.27-1
- Update to upstream
* Wed Mar 22 2006 Dan Walsh <dwalsh(a)redhat.com> 2.2.25-3
- Fix policyhelp
squid-7:2.5.STABLE13-3
----------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Martin Stransky <stransky(a)redhat.com> - 7:2.5.STABLE13-3
- improved pre script (#187217) - added group switch
sysreport-1.4.3-5
-----------------
* Tue Mar 28 2006 Than Ngo <than(a)redhat.com> 1.4.3-5
- use LANG=C
* Tue Mar 14 2006 Than Ngo <than(a)redhat.com> 1.4.3-4
- add the correct option to collect iptables information (mangle) #181299
- collect shared memory Segments info #181681
system-config-samba-1.2.35-1
----------------------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Nils Philippsen <nphilipp(a)redhat.com> - 1.2.35
- don't require gnome module (#187200)
- don't wrap text in About dialog
xscreensaver-1:4.24-2
---------------------
* Fri Mar 24 2006 Ray Strode <rstrode(a)redhat.com> - 1:4.24-2
- add patch from jwz to reap zombie processes (bug 185833)
xterm-211-4.FC6
---------------
* Wed Mar 29 2006 Jason Vas Dias <jvdias(a)redhat.com> - 211-4
- fix bug 186935: cursor GCs must be freed with XtReleaseGC
Broken deps for i386
----------------------------------------------------------
GFS-kernel - 2.6.15.1-5.FC5.17.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
GFS-kernel - 2.6.15.1-5.FC5.17.i686 requires kernel = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
GFS-kernel-smp - 2.6.15.1-5.FC5.17.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5smp
GFS-kernel-smp - 2.6.15.1-5.FC5.17.i686 requires kernel-smp = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
GFS-kernel-xen0 - 2.6.15.1-5.FC5.17.i686 requires kernel-xen0 = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
GFS-kernel-xenU - 2.6.15.1-5.FC5.17.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5xenU
GFS-kernel-xenU - 2.6.15.1-5.FC5.17.i686 requires kernel-xenU = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
cman-kernel - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.16.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
cman-kernel - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.16.i686 requires kernel = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
cman-kernel-smp - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.16.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5smp
cman-kernel-smp - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.16.i686 requires kernel-smp = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
cman-kernel-xen0 - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.16.i686 requires kernel-xen0 = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
cman-kernel-xenU - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.16.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5xenU
cman-kernel-xenU - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.16.i686 requires kernel-xenU = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
dlm-kernel - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.14.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
dlm-kernel - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.14.i686 requires kernel = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
dlm-kernel-smp - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.14.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5smp
dlm-kernel-smp - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.14.i686 requires kernel-smp = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
dlm-kernel-xen0 - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.14.i686 requires kernel-xen0 = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
dlm-kernel-xenU - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.14.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5xenU
dlm-kernel-xenU - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.14.i686 requires kernel-xenU = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
evolution - 2.6.0-1.i386 requires libpisock.so.9
gnbd-kernel - 2.6.15-5.FC5.23.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
gnbd-kernel - 2.6.15-5.FC5.23.i686 requires kernel = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
gnbd-kernel-smp - 2.6.15-5.FC5.23.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5smp
gnbd-kernel-smp - 2.6.15-5.FC5.23.i686 requires kernel-smp = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
gnbd-kernel-xen0 - 2.6.15-5.FC5.23.i686 requires kernel-xen0 = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
gnbd-kernel-xenU - 2.6.15-5.FC5.23.i686 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5xenU
gnbd-kernel-xenU - 2.6.15-5.FC5.23.i686 requires kernel-xenU = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
kdepim - 6:3.5.1-1.2.i386 requires libpisock.so.9
Broken deps for ia64
----------------------------------------------------------
evolution - 2.6.0-1.ia64 requires libpisock.so.9()(64bit)
kdepim - 6:3.5.1-1.2.ia64 requires libpisock.so.9()(64bit)
rgmanager - 1.9.31-3.ia64 requires ccs
Broken deps for ppc
----------------------------------------------------------
evolution - 2.6.0-1.ppc requires libpisock.so.9
kdepim - 6:3.5.1-1.2.ppc requires libpisock.so.9
Broken deps for ppc64
----------------------------------------------------------
avalon-logkit - 1.2-3jpp_3fc.noarch requires servletapi5
castor-demo - 0.9.5-1jpp_2fc.noarch requires servletapi5
emacs - 21.4-5.ppc64 requires fonts-xorg-75dpi
evolution - 2.6.0-1.ppc64 requires libpisock.so.9()(64bit)
geronimo-specs - 1.0-0.M2.2jpp_7fc.ppc64 requires servletapi5
hsqldb - 1.80.1-1jpp_8fc.ppc64 requires servletapi5
jakarta-commons-fileupload - 1:1.0-3jpp_5fc.noarch requires servletapi5
jakarta-taglibs-standard - 1.1.1-4jpp_3fc.noarch requires servletapi5 >= 0:5.0.16
kdepim - 6:3.5.1-1.2.ppc64 requires libpisock.so.9()(64bit)
struts - 1.2.8-2jpp_9fc.ppc64 requires servletapi5
struts-webapps-tomcat5 - 1.2.8-2jpp_9fc.ppc64 requires tomcat5
velocity - 1.4-3jpp_4fc.noarch requires servletapi5
xalan-j2-demo - 2.6.0-3jpp_9fc.ppc64 requires servletapi5
Broken deps for s390
----------------------------------------------------------
avalon-logkit - 1.2-3jpp_3fc.noarch requires servletapi5
castor-demo - 0.9.5-1jpp_2fc.noarch requires servletapi5
geronimo-specs - 1.0-0.M2.2jpp_7fc.s390 requires servletapi5
hsqldb - 1.80.1-1jpp_8fc.s390 requires servletapi5
jakarta-commons-fileupload - 1:1.0-3jpp_5fc.noarch requires servletapi5
jakarta-taglibs-standard - 1.1.1-4jpp_3fc.noarch requires servletapi5 >= 0:5.0.16
rhythmbox - 0.8.8-2.s390 requires libgstgconf-0.8.so.0
rhythmbox - 0.8.8-2.s390 requires libgstreamer-0.8.so.1
rhythmbox - 0.8.8-2.s390 requires libgstcontrol-0.8.so.1
struts - 1.2.8-2jpp_9fc.s390 requires servletapi5
struts-webapps-tomcat5 - 1.2.8-2jpp_9fc.s390 requires tomcat5
velocity - 1.4-3jpp_4fc.noarch requires servletapi5
xalan-j2-demo - 2.6.0-3jpp_9fc.s390 requires servletapi5
xmlrpc - 2.0.1-1jpp_6fc.s390 requires servletapi5
Broken deps for s390x
----------------------------------------------------------
avalon-logkit - 1.2-3jpp_3fc.noarch requires servletapi5
castor-demo - 0.9.5-1jpp_2fc.noarch requires servletapi5
geronimo-specs - 1.0-0.M2.2jpp_7fc.s390x requires servletapi5
hsqldb - 1.80.1-1jpp_8fc.s390x requires servletapi5
jakarta-commons-fileupload - 1:1.0-3jpp_5fc.noarch requires servletapi5
jakarta-taglibs-standard - 1.1.1-4jpp_3fc.noarch requires servletapi5 >= 0:5.0.16
rhythmbox - 0.8.8-2.s390x requires libgstcontrol-0.8.so.1()(64bit)
rhythmbox - 0.8.8-2.s390x requires libgstgconf-0.8.so.0()(64bit)
rhythmbox - 0.8.8-2.s390x requires libgstreamer-0.8.so.1()(64bit)
struts - 1.2.8-2jpp_9fc.s390x requires servletapi5
struts-webapps-tomcat5 - 1.2.8-2jpp_9fc.s390x requires tomcat5
velocity - 1.4-3jpp_4fc.noarch requires servletapi5
xalan-j2-demo - 2.6.0-3jpp_9fc.s390x requires servletapi5
Broken deps for x86_64
----------------------------------------------------------
GFS-kernel - 2.6.15.1-5.FC5.17.x86_64 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
GFS-kernel - 2.6.15.1-5.FC5.17.x86_64 requires kernel = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
cman-kernel - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.16.x86_64 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
cman-kernel - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.16.x86_64 requires kernel = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
dlm-kernel - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.14.x86_64 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
dlm-kernel - 2.6.15.1-0.FC5.14.x86_64 requires kernel = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
evolution - 2.6.0-1.x86_64 requires libpisock.so.9()(64bit)
gnbd-kernel - 2.6.15-5.FC5.23.x86_64 requires /lib/modules/2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
gnbd-kernel - 2.6.15-5.FC5.23.x86_64 requires kernel = 0:2.6.15-1.2054_FC5
kdepim - 6:3.5.1-1.2.x86_64 requires libpisock.so.9()(64bit)
18 years
just upgraded from FC4 to FC5: kernel panic
by Jean-Luc Fontaine
After installation and reboot, I get (on my IBM X40):
...
mount: could not find filesystem '/dev/root'
...
and then errors mount /proc, /sys, and finally a kernel panic.
I am using kernel-2.6.16-1.2080_FC5.i686
Please help me: I would like to avoid reinstalling...
Many thanks in advance,
--
Jean-Luc
18 years
Re: The Strengths and Weakness of Fedora/RHEL OS management
by Avi Alkalay
Alan Cox wrote:
> Gconf doesn't need gnome. The reverse is true however. The XML format also lets
Thats true. But the problem is GConf is too many dependencies, and a
design oriented to the desktop only. So the idea is to keep GConf, but
attach to it a backend capable of doing global configurations, as
Elektra.
> you work with prefences using styles and XML XSLT and the like which is very
> powerful when working with a large number of systems. Really nobody has
> scratched the surface of what it can do.
XML is good for external representation of data, but not for storage.
XML storage makes GConf damn slow.
Avi
18 years
Re: Double dare ya, Fedora! And your art sucks!
by chasd
On Mar 28, 2006, at 7:08 AM, Casimiro de Almeida Barreto wrote:
> Flash for Linux literally sucks... it is slow
As someone that has spent a good deal of time benchmarking Flash
performance, this is not true. On the exact same hardware, the Linux
Flash Player 7 plug-in plays as fast as the version 7 plug-in on
Windows.
However, the Flash Player ActiveX control is more highly optimized than
the plug-in, so if you compare Flash performance on Windows in IE to
Flash performance on Linux with Firefox, Windows is faster in that
case. If you use Firefox as the browser on both platforms, the
performance is as close as my measurements could show. Since the
current Flash Player for Windows is version 8, that throws another
issue into the mix. My tests show version 8 to be up to 15% faster than
version 7 using the same configuration. If you compare Flash
performance using a Windows version 8 ActiveX control to a Linux
version 7 plug-in, you are indeed comparing apples and oranges.
> and again there is no support for shockwave. People says that's
> due to the needs of using ActiveX for ShockWave run
Shockwave is available as both an ActiveX control and a plug-in on
Windows. Unlike Flash, both versions have the same performance ( a
plug-in is available for Macintosh too). The Shockwave group within
Adobe is completely separate from the Flash development group. The
usage base and defined goals of the Shockwave group must indicate
little need for a Linux player. I of course disagree with that, but I'm
not the Shockwave development manager ;)
For those hoping for a 64-bit Flash Player for Linux, the indications
for the upcoming Flash Player 8.5 show no support planned for x86_64 on
Windows, so I doubt it will appear on Linux.
Flash users on Linux should be aware that there is no plan for a
version 8 Linux Player. The Flash group is working instead on a version
8.5 Player. This effects Linux users because Adobe recommends upgrading
to the most recent version 8 ( 8.0.24 ) to resolve several security
issues. With the most recent issue ( CVE-2006-0024 ), Adobe is
releasing fixes back-ported to version 7 players for depreciated
platforms ( Win 95, Win NT, Mac OS < X ). Not included is Linux, which
is not a depreciated platform ( which is good ). That means the Linux
Flash Player version 7 has the above vulnerability, and a fix will not
be available until Player 8.5 is available for Linux.
I know many of you won't touch Flash with a ten meter pole, but for
those who do, be careful out there.
Charles Dostale
System Admin - Silver Oaks Communications
http://www.silveroaks.com/
18 years
Assignment of internet keys / media buttons
by Camilo Mesias
Hi,
I'd like to know where to report problems with key mappings.
On my hardware (Dell Inspiron 6000) there are 'media buttons' (mute,
vol+/-, play, next, prev, stop) which are detected as keypresses with an
unmapped keycode.
I can find the keycodes using xev, then I can map them to something
useful using xmodmap, then compatible applications (eg. rhythmbox) do
the right thing when the buttons are pressed.
The first problem is that the keys are initially unmapped; a secondary
problem is that some controls (eg. volume popup) don't respond to the
volume keys when they probably should.
So, where can I tell someone about this mapping? Which package needs
some extra config? I should be able to provide a patch.
-Cam
--
camilo(a)mesias.co.uk <--
18 years
Re: The Strengths and Weakness of Fedora/RHEL OS management
by David Lutterkort
On Tue, 2006-03-28 at 21:29 -0500, sean wrote:
> On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 17:51:14 -0800
> David Lutterkort <dlutter(a)redhat.com> wrote:
>
> > While I agree in theory, the reality of config files with different
> > formats makes it extremely hard to get there. One approach that is being
> > pushed by a number of players to achieve uniform management of configs
> > is CIM/WBEM, an enormous standard that IMHO too much tool-specific
> > knowledge to see wide adoption.
> >
> > A lighter-weight approach seems more promising: encapsulate most of the
> > config-file specific knowledge in simple script wrappers that can be
> > controlled by a declarative description of the configuration you want to
> > achieve and the logical interdependencies between them. This is what
> > puppet does, and why I find it very attractive.
>
> Okay, so your script wrappers do all the config-file specific work etc.
> We talked about making a tool earlier in this conversation that would
> know how to handle all the different config file formats, so i'm with
> you up to there.
The pain of parsing different config file formats is only part of the
problem: the bigger problem are the semantics of all the config entries,
which the user still needs to understand.
> But what is the advantage of building an entire new config language
> around these wrappers? Couldn't they be manipulated just as easily
> with shell or python?
There are lots of advantages of a domain specific language over doing
this with basic scripts:
* It's easy to provide infrastructure for common tasks (like
logging or notification if changes are detected)
* The user expresses what they want to achieve rather than how to
achieve it
* The description represents the config in metadata and can be
processed by other tools. For comparison: since kickstart has a
well-defined file format, it's possible to write UI tools to
manipulate them, which wouldn't be possible if a kickstart file
was a shell script with some supporting utility scripts
* Some things that are hairy to express in scripts can be clearly
expressed in the language, e.g., dependencies between components
(put a custom httpd.conf into place before starting httpd; when
httpd.conf changes, httpd needs to be restarted) and logical
grouping of components for reuse (this is what I mean when I say
'webserver' or 'mailserver')
> Can the administrator make simple ad-hoc command line config file changes?
If you allow ad-hoc changes, you allow systems to deviate from the
predefined configuration; that may or may not be what you want. If it is
what you want, you should use the config mgmt tool only for the initial
setup, and then do your changes as you always would, without using the
tool. But if you are interested in keeping the config of several
machines in sync, you are better off making the changes in the config
mgmt tool's description.
David
18 years
