MassMaintenance
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Launchpad Entry: edubuntu-mass-maintenance
Packages affected:
Summary
Edubuntu is often used in situations with large numbers of systems and users; we will provide tools to maintain these large networks.
Release Note
Rationale
Maintaining 10.000 thin clients, 17.000 desktops/laptops, and 80.000 users dispersed over 10.000 square kilometers is very difficult when you only have the Gnome user manager and you have to ssh into every system to do maintenance.
Use Cases
Assumptions
Design
Implementation
UI Changes
Code Changes
Code changes should include an overview of what needs to change, and in some cases even the specific details.
Migration
Include:
- data migration, if any
- redirects from old URLs to new ones, if any
- how users will be pointed to the new way of doing things, if necessary.
Test/Demo Plan
It's important that we are able to test new features, and demonstrate them to users. Use this section to describe a short plan that anybody can follow that demonstrates the feature is working. This can then be used during CD testing, and to show off after release.
This need not be added or completed until the specification is nearing beta.
Outstanding Issues
This should highlight any issues that should be addressed in further specifications, and not problems with the specification itself; since any specification with problems cannot be approved.
BoF agenda and discussion
* User Management
LDAP: We need a bulk import tool, and, even more, the gnome user/group admin tools need ldapification (see https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/edubuntu-user-management)
Open Account Provisioning System (OAPS) tries to do this kind of thing. It's used to automatically create accounts, deactivate them and so on. https://svn.revolutionlinux.com/OpenRevolution/OAPS/
* Box Management
Tools
* General information about management software : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_open_source_configuration_management_software
* Puppet: http://reductivelabs.com/trac/puppet
- good for ensuring a small number of particular users exist locally on a large number of systems
- great for mass BOX management
- can do very well in a remote situation, such as a WAN
* Cfengine * Bcfg2 : http://trac.mcs.anl.gov/projects/bcfg2 This tool models really well a system so it's possible to get a declarative spec, not a procedural one. * webmin (note that we will use ebox by default for web-based maintenance it provides similar functionality)
- has security problems, bad reputation
- has good bulk-import and user management interfaces that even work for Samba/LDAP
* Lanscape (http://www.canonical.com/projects/landscape)
- This is a service from Canonical, and can offer much of this functionality.
- This is not the primary solution for solving these issues in Edubuntu.
* dsh * clusterssh * fanout/fanterm (http://www.stearns.org/fanout/README.html)
- The next sessions should be attended by a person from the server and the landscape team, ogra will care for them to be subscribed.
- Also, moquist has contacted Luke Kanies (puppet project lead) to see if he can attend remotely
- Jorge Castro has put puppet into production as well; would be good to get his input