Changes between Initial Version and Version 1 of Meetings/Workshops/20130306

Timestamp:

Mar 6, 2013, 5:10:48 PM (13 years ago)

Author:

/O=GRID-FR/C=FR/O=CNRS/OU=LAL/CN=Michel Jouvin

Comment:

--

Meetings/Workshops/20130306

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+= 15th Quattor Workshop - Bordeaux - 6-8/3/2013 =
+[[TracNav]]
+
+[[TOC(inline)]]
+
+== Update since last workshop ==
+
+2 releases made: who use them?
+ * Probably no site using them yet...
+ 
+New ncm-spma is production ready: need to be tested
+
+panc v10 released.
+
+QWG
+ * grid templates: continued support, up-to-date with last MW versions
+   * Mostly done by Guillaume and Jerome
+   * Migration to GitHub still to be done
+ * StratusLab templates: available for new versions of the MW but insufficiently sync with GitHub
+   * Discuss with Guillaume (main maintainer) a more regular contribution to GitHub: use branches if necessary
+
+Aquilon
+ * Packaging still in progress: 2 repositories, mainly done at UGent and RAL
+ * RAL is already using it to manage the cloud machines and some other test machines
+   * Still trying to figure out how to migrate the QWG machine types and database related things
+ 
+Dashboard
+ * Still working on it: indexing added
+   * Requires Python 2.7
+ * `datawharehouse` repo on GitHub
+
+Solaris port working at MS
+ * Solaris 11
+ * Based on a fork made 1 year ago
+   * Main changes are in network config and cron
+   * No package management yet: everything installed from AFS before running components
+   * Would like to merge back to the mainstream Quattor
+
+QRD/QRC
+ * New QRD available and used at MS. Hope to publish it in one month.
+   * VMWare (MS specific) and NetApp
+   * Python
+ * Would like to do the NetApp management through QRD this year
+   * Currently, only used at initial installation
+ * Also plans for switches
+
+Quattor FS
+ * A few bug fixes and enhancements
+ 
+JSON profiles
+ * Smaller, no need to escape
+ 
+SCDB
+ * Pb with last scdb-ant-utils: changes related to JSON support?
+ * Try to work on it during the workshop
+ 
+ncm-network
+ * Not part of the release
+ * Need to clarify status/future
+ * Check with Loic the status of the rewrite
+ 
+
+== Pan Compiler Status and Roadmap ==
+
+v10.0 released
+ * Old, deprecated features are all removed
+   * Session-related features removed (used only at CERN)
+ * Streamline, consistent options across CLI, Maven and Ant tasks
+ * Significant parts in clojure
+ * Speed: 13% in real time but 11% faster in CPU...
+   * Probably unoptimal handling of disk I/O: to be investigated
+ * Not a drop-in replacement for 9.x due to the option changes
+   * Need to ocordinate with a new release of SCDB (changes in quattor.build.xml) for SCDB users
+  
+v9.2 and 9.3 in maintenance mode
+ * Only serious bugs will be fixed
+ 
+v10 roadmap
+ * Performance improvements
+ * Internal simplification for maintenance
+ * Flag for turning off escaping: if turned off, escape()/unescape() will be there but do nothing
+   * Coordinate with CCM
+
+Discussion
+ * Other wishes
+   * Rename `nlist` into `dict`: will be first done as an alias
+   * `if_exists` for files to be used with `file_contents`
+   * Print template name as part of debug function
+ * Looking at possibilities for // compile
+   * Cal interested to see new people working on the compiler... but require a minimum amount of time to get used to the compiler
+
+
+== ncm-spma v3 ==
+
+Part of Quattor release since 13.02 but one important bug fixed in 13.03
+ * Do not upgrade if you are not happy with the concept presented!
+ * In production at U-Gent: happy with it
+   * both SL5 and SL6
+ * Tests started at RAL and GRIF
+
+Preserved features
+ * Ability to fix versions
+ * All changes in one transaction
+ * Use of proxies possible
+   * Need to document recommended setting, in particular for repo metadata
+  
+Last AII version only capable of using YUM
+
+SL5 support ready, including initial installation
+ * Requires a YUM upgade: RPMs availabe at U-Gent
+ 
+If not caring about a specific version, a package in the configuration can be just an empty nlist()
+
+Before upgrading
+ * Refactor the repositories to be sure they mirror the upstream repos
+   * Do not throw random RPMs in upstream mirrors else risk of conflict
+ * Use separate repo for local RPMs
+ * Use one repo for each Quattor version
+ 
+Repository hell/nightmare
+ * RPMfore is evil: many conflicting RPMs with SL ones
+ * Same for JPackage
+ * Use `include_pkgs` in the repository definition to restrict the packages that are considered in them
+ 
+Conflicts hell
+ * YUM's obsoletes causing a lot of conflicts if there is an explicit RPM in the profile that is obsoleted.
+   * By default ncm-spma disable YUM obsoletes
+   * Exemple: perl-Compress-Lib required by ccm
+ * Real fix/cleanup is to remove explicit specification of dependencies that are not controlled by Quattor
+ * Another issue arises if a package is not specified with a specific version but one of its subpackage is
+   * Eg. python without an explicit version but python-libs with one: clean up pan description
+ 
+Repo priority hell
+ * If there is an explicit version required which is in a repo with a lower priority than another repo containing another version, YUM will not install the package and SPMA will fails
+ * Advice: do not use priority except for very specific cases
+ 
+Snapshotting the repos is mandatory to avoid unexpected updates
+ * Moving from one snapshot to the other can be done either at the file system level (symlinks) or in the template defining the URL for the repo
+   * URL can be build from a snapshod_id using the format() function
+   
+Future directions
+ * Remove backward compatibility (repository resolution) to improve compile time (30% saving)
+ * Allow for RPM signatures
+ * Support for the YUM fs-snapshot plugin: ability for YUM to do a snapshots of main filesystems before making any modification, allowing easier rollback
+   * No experience yet
+   
+SCDB
+ * needs to reenable the recompile of profile if there is a change in a repo template
+   * Change in the URL as part of the template handling, change in include_pkgs
+ * Improve update.rep.templates to handle properly `include_pkgs`
+ 
+Discussion
+ * Rollback: doesn't guarantee a roll back to the exact previous state as only explicit versions will be rollback
+ * Not clear that when there is a set of explicit package (eg. main package, -lib, -devel...), only specifying the version for one of them is sufficient
+ * `/etc/spma.conf` is not used anymore. Only `userpkgs` is still taken into account by `ncm-spma` if defined in the profile
+ * New quattor releases can be used with the old ncm-spma
+
+== Aquilon ==
+
+Agreement received from MS legal department to release it under an Apache2 license
+ * Need to figure out how to integrate features MS specifics as separate part
+
+Seems that MS should be able to contribute directly to GitHub in the future but not immediately
+
+Working on entitlement: reduce entitlement to change some particular parameters
+ * Declaration of parameters than can be changed from outside: will not protect against misusage/mistake of people with direct access to the templates
+ 
+Integration with Active Directory Kerberos: working at RAL
+ * Just the matter of creating the keytab from AD
+ 
+Test instances outside MS: RAL and U-Gent
+
+Start an aquilon book.
+ * Cal agrees to setup a vanilla book based on pan docs
+   * Docbook (XML): requires an appropriate editor, one free exists
+ * Where to put it as there is no file service in GitHub
+   * Check if we could put it in stratuslab-srv1 and try to automate generation from Maven?
+   * Keep using Source Forge?
+ * Any possibility to generate it in markdown format?
+   * According to Luis a plugin should exist
+
+Packaging: handled by Luis, hope to have an RPM ready by the summer
+
+Web interface (from appliance): works at RAL (with a few mods)
+ * Add it to the Aquilon packages as an optional component
+
+
+