[fab] Re: splash page + tracking image example

[Stephen John Smoogen]

On 10/5/06, Rob Garth <rgarth at gmail.com> wrote:
> I agree with Josh. But I agree with Max and Greg we need metrics now.
>
> I have over 500 workstations running Fedora. They all run through a
> proxy, so the IP method would not work. I run my own local yum
> mirrors, and only one of the workstations talk to even my own yum
> servers, and it doesn't look for mirrors, so the yum method would not
> work. But then as most of my machines are built from a single image, a
> firstboot method would not work anyway.
>

In cases like this, the only way that this would work is if the mirror
system reported upstream (e.g. RHN satellite). There will always be
sites like this, the only way I could see getting semi-accurate
numbers on this would be a self-reporting method that would have to be
non-anonymous and have a larger error bar when adding its numbers put
into it.

> I think the discussion of how to report metrics correctly needs to
> wait for another day, and for the moment Fedora needs to use yum, and
> if possible the firefox metric as well.
>

I guess another question management from above AND/OR FAB has to
answer is how correct they need the numbers to be. At the moment the
error range seems to be +/- 2 orders of magnitude, and needs to be
reduced down to a linear function like +/- 10E4 systems. Knowing that
FAB cares only for counts within say 10E4 systems means that you can
use certain tools and not care about say trying to figure out the
serial numbers of every system installed behind a firewall.


-- 
Stephen J Smoogen. -- CSIRT/Linux System Administrator
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed
in a naughty world. = Shakespeare. "The Merchant of Venice"