On May 24, 2006, at 10:39 AM, Dave Miner wrote: > > >> Jumpstart Ideas: >> - I'd like to have more targets for the install. For >> example, instead of SUNWCall or SUNWmin, a few different targets: >> - Server install (services, little desktop) >> - Desktop install (desktop, few services) >> - Security install (for a firewall machine, additional >> security packages and increased default security settings) >> - Laptop install (desktop, focus on portability) >> - A custom install target(s) built from a set of packages >> on an existing machine. >> If the above were available, it would simplify the >> customization of installs. > > We will be attempting to strike a balance between simplicity for > new Solaris users vs. meeting the needs of experienced Solaris > admin's such as you. For the former, there will be fewer choices > on the main path of interactive installation. For the latter, > well, we'll see what choices we provide. Mostly, we want to > provide better support for automation and replication. How much > customization is supportable is a subject of active discussion. >
Sounds good. When I visualize a relative (non-computer) doing a Solaris install, I cringe. I would hope that would be our desired future state. > >> - I'd like to be able to configure the jumpstart to log >> everything to a centralized log server (via syslog). This would >> allow the session to be recorded with minimal effort. > > Centralized collection of logs seems reasonable. WAN installation > offers a form of this already - does it meet the requirement? > I'll have to look into this. I've never entertained the WAN installation, as I've never wanted to load systems across a WAN. >> - I'd much rather boot from a USB device than a CD/DVD. With >> 4gb USB flash devices running ~$130, it should be possible to >> offer that instead of a bunch of CDs/DVD. A process for creating >> the USB device would be very helpful ongoing. I have to think the >> install would be faster with USB instead of DVD. Perhaps even >> removing the DVD from the server build would be practical... > > The Live Media project which we'll be opening here imminently will > be a vehicle for addressing this. I was actually thinking more of using USB as a distribution medium in the future rather than DVD. I don't know that it could completely remove DVD/CD as an image medium. > >> GUI Ideas: >> - I really like some of the latest Linux installs. They're >> easy to understand, and work really well. An example would be >> Ubuntu. I can go into more detail about why or what makes it good >> if there is interest. > > I'd recommend looking at the concept car movie we published with > the strategy, it'll give you a better idea of what we want the new > Solaris user to encounter than I can describe with words. You're > really not the target user for what it covers, but you perhaps can > extrapolate some things from it. > Will do! >> Radical Departure Ideas: >> Here's an idea for a new install process that is completely >> different. If machines switch to using flash memory for their >> system disk (a real possibility, especially for desktop/laptop), >> I'd like to see something like the following: >> - Machine boots prom. >> - Prior to kernel boot, the boot loader checks a particular >> host on the network for OS updates. This would be configurable in >> the boot loader. The host on the network would have a >> certificate that would be loaded on the client to allow for secure >> updates and verification. >> - If the updates exist, an image is downloaded containing a >> diff of the block-level changes to the OS disk. >> - The diffs are applied (rather than patches downloaded and >> installed) >> - The system boots with the new image. >> With the above, a central system image that contains the >> OS for each system type (or even system) would be maintained on >> the 'master' system. These images could be patched and tested >> prior to the patched version being released. >> When the system boots via flash the kernel migrates from flash >> to a combination of ramdisk (read only data) and disk (read-write, >> such as /var and swap). I think this would result in a very fast >> boot time and a very fast system, and open the door to reboot-to- >> update servers. It would even be possible to patch the flash disk >> 'live' as it won't be in use while the system runs. Of course, >> the memory footprint would be larger, but memory is far cheaper >> than it used to be. >> Since the system image is generally less than 8gb (today), the >> idea of using 4-8gb of flash for the OS (even mirrored) would be >> reasonable. Flash is slow to write, but fast to read. >> I think with some work, this would be a VERY impressive >> centralized install/update/reconfigure solution. > > We'll be looking at ideas around how to make things scale better, > but at this stage, I'd have to ask: what is the problem you're > trying to solve with the above architecture? I'm thinking beyond installation in the above example to maintenance and security. Rather than using a monolithic system for patch management, block diffs would allow rolling upgrades, patch management, and secure patch distribution, along with a much lower TCO for Solaris ongoing. It would also make using a laptop with Solaris much simpler for the average joe. I think the above would be a huge sales win. We (sun) can completely track software distribution and OS upgrades from a single server. That's a huge amount of effort (read: cost) in every environment today. > >> I'd like to help make the install processes for Solaris better. >> I'll help any way that I can... > > Keep participating here. It's your most direct path to > contributing, because we'll be running the projects through this > community. > > Thanks for your thoughts! > > Dave I'm glad to help! ----- Gregory Shaw, IT Architect Phone: (303) 673-8273 Fax: (303) 673-8273 ITCTO Group, Sun Microsystems Inc. 1 StorageTek Drive MS 4382 greg.shaw at sun.com (work) Louisville, CO 80028-4382 shaw at fmsoft.com (home) "When Microsoft writes an application for Linux, I've Won." - Linus Torvalds
