David McBride wrote:
> Graeme A Stewart wrote:
>
>> So if the experiments are going to "ask sites to install software for
>> them" is this going to be done without the site admin running
>> something as root? I'm certainly in favour of this, but what's the
>> mechanism? Tar balls, experiment supplied scripts (!?).
>
>
> Tarballs should do the trick.
As root? If you do that you're really no better off then the experiments
having apt repositories. I mean all these services have to start...
>
>> IMO packages are designed to solve a software distribution problems,
>> so I think that RPMs are a good idea.
>
>
> Packages help automate the software installation process; large numbers
> of libraries and applications can be rapidly deployed in this way.
They also track dependencies, perform mundane auxiliary tasks, all of
which will have to be done by the sysadmins if a tarball is what we get.
I just don't think tar balls scale well or allow for flexible
(re)deployment when services have problems and need to be updated.
>
> However, to use those packages you have to accept that the installation
> policy that they implement is compatible with your site requirements. If
> it is not, you usually have to fall back to some less-automated scheme
> so that you can exercise greater control over the installation and
> configuration process.
>
> In this specific case -- where site policy may well be in flux and vary
> from place to pace, and the packaging would not necessarily be trusted
> -- using a more manual installation procedure would probably be more
> pragmatic.
I really don't see what the packaging has to do with this. Site policy
is site policy - it will determine what we allow at our sites,
irrespective of how it's distributed.
>
> By all means, as confidence in the software and understanding of the
> deployment environment is built up over time, RPM packages may become an
> accepted norm.
I thought that VO boxes were ephemeral? I hoping to see them fade into
the mists of time, not to have confidence built in them.
Anyway, this has probably become too nitty gritty. Lets see what happens
this afternoon!
Cheers
Graeme
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Dr Graeme Stewart http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/~graeme/
GridPP DM Wiki http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/gridpp/datamanagement/
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