> However, the backwards compatibility issues don't go away. Some > proportion of end-users will continue to use (the bitrotting) ifconfig > rather than the new tool - which sometimes leads to subtle problems due > to one tool configuring things slightly differently to the other - > particularly with respect to features whose configuration is more > refined with the newer tool.
Yes, this is an issue. When possible, it's important that there is a common library backing the various tools -- e.g., for Clearview, the new dladm and old ifconfig tunnel operations will both call into a common set of library routines. Yes, this means spending additional resources rewriting parts of the original tool, rather than just abandoning it. > I.e.: A new tool only avoids backward-compatibility problems in the > syntax, but not always in how the system ends up being configured > (unless you remove the old tool completely, or /don't/ abandon it). Right. -- meem _______________________________________________ networking-discuss mailing list [email protected]
