fai next level WAS: apt-get failures -- blah!

[Geert Stappers]

At 14:06 +0100 11/12/01, Thomas Lange wrote:
>    > I'm thinking about a "next level FAI"
>
>You mean nlfai will not make a first installation but a maintainance
>update of a running machine. I've also thinked about that option, but
>currently it's easier and faster to reinstall a machine (complete
>reinstall with preserving some partitions if desired).

I'm curious if other people have thought about this option also.

>
>You have to pay attention on all operation which are not "reentrant",
>meaning which can't be executed more than once without corrupting
>configuration files. For example if you append a line to a
>configuration without testing if this line already exists. Another
>example: if you write a new lilo.conf but in the meantime you had
>changed lilo.conf by hand. So it will be forbidden to make any changes
>by hand ! But making all changes in the configuration space on the
>install server is good administration habit.
>
>Following command are "reentrant" or save to call them more than once:
>
>- fcopy
>- ftar
>- cfengine (e.g. AppendIfNoSuchLine)
>- calling lilo twice
>- chmod
>- chown
>- ln (will report an error if link already exists)
>
>This list is not complete but I think it's manageble to use FAI as an
>daily maintainance tool. Most tasks in FAI should also work when
>setting FAI_ROOT to /, so not chroot environment will be used. And
>since all default tasks can be redefined using hooks nlfai should be
>easy to implement.

Thanks for this information
But "next level fai" is not on my priority list

>
>But have a closer look at cfengine, which is made for daily
>maintainance and making changes to the system. Maybe you only need to
>write some more cfegine scripts.
>

ConFiguration Engine ( http://www.cfengine.org ) is indeed a nice tool.
I use it already. It is usefull for "regular" system admin tasks.
But it is not the answer on "apt-get problems"

This thread started when Chad Walstrom us told he is willing
to the harden "apt-get stuff" in fai, that is why I told the
list about "fainl".

>--
> Thomas

Geert

P.S.
Carefull readers will have noticed that most apt-get problems
are due a poor network connection.

P.P.S.
Fai documentation advices a local mirror of a Debian site