Thanks to wizard package, installing an apache/postfix/bind server is easy. MCC make setting up a system easy. Now the remaining problem is managing several client from the server, i.e from one computer manage remotely others computers ( packages installation/management, menu, printers/scanner management, mount point + nfs/smb shares, security settings, users management, service management, backup, log ). In other word, use most of actual drakxtools remotely.
Ok, you can use ssh -X, or drakxtools-http ( I wonder if it's still working ? ). But If you want true network management -> no way. This Network Mandrake Control Center ( NMCC ) should have : 1�/ a client part that will respond to commands, send informations/status and a server part that will send commands and display informations/status 2�/ server client communication must be encrypt. For example SSL is a good start. 3�/ you should not have to enter a password in order to have access to a client. We'd better think about something like ssh. On the client you generate a key ( from client configuration panel ), you grab the key and on the server you add a client, specify the key and the group. On the client configuration panel, you enter the IP of the server ( this will configure in fact /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny ) 4�/ you should be able to defined group. Theses groups could share common configuration and you could have the possibility to apply settings simultaneously to all client belonging to this group. 5�/ from server you should be able to see easily : computer basics information ( short host name, IP ). If the computer is down, it should say it ( in fact if the client is not responding you can consider that the computer is down, unless you have network problem, or the client crash ). By clicking on "more info", you should be able to have more details. As you may want to see some informations when the client is down, the server should maintain a cache of client configuration/informations. This cache could be in XML for example. Why XML ? marketing reason for example. "New Network Mandrake Control Center allow you to manage easily your network infrastructure securely thanks to SSL support and use innovative technologie like XML". On top of that you can then use XML/XSL ( http://www.w3.org/Style/XSL/ ) to easily generate the page. 6�/ you should be able also to scan network to see available computer ( for example by pinging broadcast ) and know if you have NMCC client running, or if Windows, or if Linux without NMCC. having the ability to scan computers from server and see open ports could be really useful too. 7�/ the server should be thread if possible, or at least use one process per client, each process the communicating with the core which display informations. 8�/ server interface should be HTML/XHTML. Server can use PHP, or Perl or cgi. Client should be able to use perl drakxtools modules. The interface should be gtk and very simple as you just need to generate the key, enter server address. This tool is part of my reflexion about mandrake usage in big network environment, as prime class server. --- Nos vertus ne sont, le plus souvent, que des vices d�guis�s. -- La Rochefoucauld, Maximes
