Tom Mueller (pkg-discuss) writes: > There are several characteristics that come to mind for applications: > > 1) Often, the person installing the application doesn't have root > permission on the system. > 2) Often, the person doesn't want the application to run with root > permission > 3) Multiple versions of the application may need to run on a single > system (differing at any release level, not just major releases) > 4) The application may be intended for only a single user, e.g., a web > server running only in a webservd account. > > User images in IPS are intended to deal with these characteristics. > Packages can be pre-installed into a user image, and the pre-installed > user image can then be delivered to the system by an installer. Once > installed, IPS is used to maintain the software within the image. The > installer can deal with initial configuration using whatever means > necessary (independent of the packaging system).
I admit that I am having a hard time following this thread; it continues to turn in ever widening circles... :-) I still find it interesting, though. Anyway, it seems that I need to think a bit more about the distinction of a package installation environment versus an "installer". I look at it from a task-oriented angle: My customers (when I have any, hint hint :-) want jumpstart servers plus custom-built packages. And they want them integrated. For example, a certain system is supposed to be a database server with some predefined and preloaded tables and preallocated database user accounts immediately after reboot, no interaction required. So I go and build some SysV database packages and write some clever SysV package scripts that do most of the work. There are some things I just cannot do in the jumpstart environment, so I put all those things into a start/stop script, and drop it into /etc/rcS.d/S99doit (or write an SMF manifest + start method, which is functionally equivalent). The S99doit will remove itself once it is done (or raise an error report somewhere). Is the S99doit an "installer" in terms of the quote above? If not, what is an "installer"? What do you mean by "user image"? It really sounds like a glorified flar delta that I just drop on a Solaris instance. :-) Why should IPS distinguish between this user image, and the normal Solaris environment that is just a set of packages, after all? I am interested in the design philosophy, but first and foremost I need to find The Way(tm) to recreate all that I did with SysV pkg scripts and a start/stop script. The more structure I am given by the framework, the better. For example, if there is a predefined "install" milestone that could be used as a hook for my custom dependencies, fine; I'll use that. Or if there is a special install service and I need to set some properties or register my deployment scripts with that service, so be it. However, like several of my fellow posters, I fear a long row of triangular and square wheels ahead... Regards -- Volker -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Volker A. Brandt Consulting and Support for Sun Solaris Brandt & Brandt Computer GmbH WWW: http://www.bb-c.de/ Am Wiesenpfad 6, 53340 Meckenheim Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Handelsregister: Amtsgericht Bonn, HRB 10513 Schuhgröße: 45 Geschäftsführer: Rainer J. H. Brandt und Volker A. Brandt
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