Symbolic-Func-Cobbler Integration

[Marco Mornati]

Hello everybody,

we are starting developing a complete integration from this three
technologies: Symbolic, Func and Cobbler, and we want to have any
comments from you, suggestions about our plan of implementation and/or
help for developing! ;)


Here is shown a "use case" to explain our "integration" idea.

Inside Symbolic (so inside you browser) you can create a new "Machine"
that you have just attached to your network. You need to configure
"hardware" on that machine (fence device for example), so you can choose
"hp fence device" and func (with a fence-module) know which is the
command to startup-shotdown machine with "hp fence device".

After this step you have a "cobbler configuration console", that is
something like actual cobbler console, where you can choose cobbler
configuration for you machine: distro, kickstart information, packages
to install ecc. ecc., flag to choose "func installation on machine" and,
in this case, you need to select a certmaster for that machine (who is
the controller for the newest machine).

Submitting all this data I'll start machine (using func-fence module)
and installation will begin (in future we may produce something that
shown on webpage the installation progress).

When all will be ready you will receive on web interface (in symbolic) a
message from certmasterX (the one where you have attached your new func
minion) whith message: "I receive a new certificate from this machine,
do you want to sign this one"... so you can run (from xmlrpc calls from
symbolic to certmaster) you certificate (cartmaster-ca --sign hostname)
and then you could see your machine in symbolic and you can control it.


Another step will be provisioning for "virtual machine" (using koan)
where you need to do something like previous steps but you will see on
your web-browser (via a java applet?) a vnc connection to your virtual
machine installation.

This is the start point for integration... but the final result shoud be
something like: I've many new servers, I configure one with
cobbler/symbolic and then I could create all my network using browser!

Comments?


Bye
Marco

-- 
Dott. Ing. Mornati Marco
Byte-Code s.r.l
via Antonio Cechov, 1
San Giuliano Milanese (MI)
E-Mail: mmornati(a)byte-code.com

[Func-list] Symbolic-Func-Cobbler Integration

[Michael DeHaan]

Marco Mornati wrote:
>  Hello everybody,
>
>  we are starting developing a complete integration from this three
>  technologies: Symbolic, Func and Cobbler, and we want to have any
>  comments from you, suggestions about our plan of implementation and/or
>  help for developing! ;)
>
>
>  Here is shown a "use case" to explain our "integration" idea.
>
>  Inside Symbolic (so inside you browser) you can create a new "Machine"
>  that you have just attached to your network. You need to configure
>  "hardware" on that machine (fence device for example), so you can choose
>  "hp fence device" and func (with a fence-module) know which is the
>  command to startup-shotdown machine with "hp fence device".
>     
Such a fencing module in Func would be highly useful.

I've wanted something like this for use in conjunction with cobbler for 
some time.

Ideally what I want is (server-side) a library that allows me to 
associate a system name with the command
needed to power it on or off so that I could do

"cobbler system edit --name=foo --power=on" and when the edit is applied 
automatically cycle the power
to perform installs.

Ideally this is in a library cobbler can use directly and does not 
require symbolic.

You don't want func doing this because you aren't communicating with the 
node to drive the action, you want to be able to power
cycle a node even if func is not installed.
>  After this step you have a "cobbler configuration console",
> that is
>  something like actual cobbler console, where you can choose cobbler
>  configuration for you machine: distro, kickstart information, packages
>  to install ecc. ecc., flag to choose "func installation on machine" and,
>  in this case, you need to select a certmaster for that machine (who is
>  the controller for the newest machine).
>     
cobbler has some snippets for easier installation/setup of Func in the 
1.3 devel branch

https://fedorahosted.org/cobbler/wiki/FuncIntegration
>  Submitting all this data I'll start machine (using func-fence
> module)
>  and installation will begin (in future we may produce something that
>  shown on webpage the installation progress).
>     
See comments above.  If we create a very simple module that describes 
the power management
in a config file and a python library for access to it, it would allow 
cobbler and/or func and/or other
apps to access this directly.

>  When all will be ready you will receive on web interface (in
> symbolic) a
>  message from certmasterX (the one where you have attached your new func
>  minion) whith message: "I receive a new certificate from this machine,
>  do you want to sign this one"... so you can run (from xmlrpc calls from
>  symbolic to certmaster) you certificate (cartmaster-ca --sign hostname)
>  and then you could see your machine in symbolic and you can control it.
>
>
>  Another step will be provisioning for "virtual machine" (using koan)
>  where you need to do something like previous steps but you will see on
>  your web-browser (via a java applet?) a vnc connection to your virtual
>  machine installation.
>     
Currently there is a "virt" module in func that allows this, though I'd 
like to see a more full fledged
module that also allows actions like "--replace-self" and the new 
"--update-files" 
(https://fedorahosted.org/cobbler/wiki/BuiltinConfigManagement)  in 
Cobbler as well.

Likely this will be a "koan" module and we'll remove the "install"

method from the Func virt module.

>  This is the start point for integration... but the final result shoud
> be
>  something like: I've many new servers, I configure one with
>  cobbler/symbolic and then I could create all my network using browser!
>     
Absolutely.

>  Comments?
>     
I think I made a few above.   Mainly the power management task is 
important, so I would recommend doing it as a sub-project seperate from 
cobbler, func, and symbolic, and then teach the relevant parts how to 
use that tool/library.

This should allow more upstream consumption of those features while 
still making those features available to Symbolic.

>  Bye
>  Marco
>
>    
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[Jeroen van Meeuwen]

Marco Mornati wrote:
>  Comments?
>   
Does puppet fit in here anywhere?

Kind regards,

Jeroen van Meeuwen
-kanarip