Hi Dmitry,

I`m not sure I fully understand your proposal or concerns.

1. You are saying that global admins are dangerous because they can get
programming rights and kill everything.

They don`t need programming rights to kill everything if they have global
admin rights :) They just use the UI to delete everything. Also, I don`t
think XWiki`s scope is to protect you from yourself or from your trusted
people. If you assign global admin rights to someone, you`d better do it
carefully. The same goes with every collaborative system.

2. You are describing a usecase where only subwikis/workspaces are launched
in production and that the main wiki is restricted to regular users, in an
attempt to avoid global admins.

Well... sure, but how is this different from you being the only main wiki
admin and the other users to be only subwiki admins (at best)? I`m not sure
it's ok to impose such a usecase to users instead of applying it only when
needed. Workspaces is already designed to fulfil this usecase by not
assigning any main wiki admins. It allows global users to create their own
workspaces (subwikis) and play as they wish inside them, no programming
rights or global admins involved.

3. I`m not sure I understand the proposed "flexible solution".

If by "virtual wiki 2 -> workspaces -> workspaces (probably)" you mean to
allow subwikis to be created inside subwikis, then this, indeed is the "new
feature request" that I was referring to when suggesting that you create a
new jira. The idea is more general than your particular use case and can be
applied to various usecases.

Though I still think that one level of virtualization is enough for XWiki
(as things are working right now), I accept the idea that some people might
need more complex scenarios.

Thanks,
Eduard


On Sat, Jan 28, 2012 at 7:41 PM, Haru Mamburu <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi Eduard,
>
> Thanks for explnation. I'm very happy to issue a "new idea", but idea
> itself is a bit wider and deeper, then described below. I would like to
> point out some reasons and effects to be more clear before "jiraing" it :-)
>
> "Security leak" XE/XEM Usecase
>
> XE/XEM + Workspace Manager. One main Wiki and let's say, hundreds of
> workspaces. To be more real we'd add Wiki Manager and tens of virtual wikis
> running on the same engine (something like XWiki.com running)
>
> As my humble experience shows, nearly never in natural way XWiki would
> have only one User with Admin Rights on the Wiki level.
> It's human to be all the time in a hurry and meanwhile XWiki becomes messy
> inside. It's not the big problem yet. :-)
>
> As an Admin User on wiki level, I can easily gain programming rights. For
> now, it's completely uncontrolled and will run unnoticed.
>
> So, let's imagine that all stars in solar system lined up in a bad way and
> one Admin became an AngryAdmin with a revenge as a primary goal of life.
> Let's make it even worth: AngryAdmin knows XWiki quite good and scripting
> for him is an open book. To make it more real: AngryAdmin doesn't have root
> access to the server. :-)
>
> At this stage he has all necessary knowledge and access rights to ruin ALL
> WIKIs onboard. I didn't dig much in it, but if Workspace Manager has
> appropriate tools, then it's possible: one short script and it's over :-)
>
> I didn't met such occasions before, but heard a lot of similar usecases
> (not with XWiki :-)
>
> Thus, I NEVER run production on MAIN wiki!
>
> It looks dangerous for me. I'd better be paranoic admin rather embarrased
> admin. If somebody will become an "angry-beaver-admin", he would be able to
> ruin only one space (now he has a front-end tool for this :-)) or more, but
> only inside one project and all running wikis will stay alive. Such
> workflow keeps my paranoia quiet :-)
>
> SO, at last "new idea":  escape MAIN WIKI from production completely.
>
> As only global users has programming rights, it looks very logic to leave
> Main Wiki to "Core and instances" management and keep it safe from local
> admins. When U have a lot of users it sounds reasonable for me.
>
> Let's return to our Case 1-3 described below. The most flexible solution
> looks as following:
>
>                              |  virtual wiki 1 -> workspaces
>                              |  virtual wiki 2 -> workspaces -> workspaces
> (probably)
> Main Wiki              |
> ..................................................
>                              |  virtual wiki N - "Solo" - No Workspace
> Manager onboard
> (administration)         (production)
>
> Such a way we can run everything simultaneously on the same server. No
> need to run a lot of instances.
> If someone want's programming rights, he could be isolated locally and
> won't affect other wikis. Looks safe for me.
>
> Bad news:
> - Nobody, besides MySQL users would be happy, XEM is MySQL dependent still
> :-(
>
> So, before I'd "jira" an idea, I'd like to know community opinion to keep
> it comprehensive.
>
> Hope, it would be nice idea for 4.0 roadmap to think over :-)
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Dmitry
>
>
> 28 января 2012, 00:53 от Eduard Moraru <[email protected]>:
>
>
> Hello again,
>
> Please see below...
>
> On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 3:17 PM, Haru Mamburu <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> Thanks a lot for clarification.
>
> It makes sence now from explained point of view, but I still can't get WHY
> as global user on NON-workspace wiki I should see Workspace Manager menus?
>
> As I tried to explain in my previous mail, the idea is that you are a
> global user, coming from a global context (the main wiki). In that global
> context, you have the Workspace application installed and available for you
> to use. This means that, the Workspace
>  application offers you the possibility to create a new workspace, jump to
> the main wiki or view existing workspaces trough the top-menu.
>
> From the Workspace application's point of view, it is only natural to
> allow you to perform these actions, regardless of your current location
> (that means even if you are viewing a non-workspace subwiki). As long as
> the Workspace application is installed, it will perform as designed :)
>
> Anyhow I can't use Workspace Manager INSIDE virtual Wiki. It makes sence
> if you would extend Workspace manager and make it completely independent on
> each and every virtual wiki.
>
> So, the main reason why: it's just useles inside virtual wiki (for now)
>
> Again, the extra menus are not about what you can do on the current wiki,
> but they are about what you can do on the whole XWiki, since this is a
> feature that spans cross wikis and is not restricted to an individual wiki
> (even if it is installed on the main wiki).
>
>
> For me, e.g., ideal workflow looks like:
>
> Case 1. XEM -> virtual wiki isolated, no Workspace Manager on board
>
> This is perfectly doable right now. If you think about the reasons for
> which you are creating a regular subwiki and not a workspace, you`ll notice
> that the main one is that you want local users. But since local users do
> not see any extra menus, you are good to go. Only you, as a global user (or
> admin) will see those menus, but that is just because the main wiki is
> offering you this possibility (since you are its member).
>
> Case 2. XEM -> virtual wiki isolated, WITH Workspace Manager on board.
> Each virtual wiki in this case will be able to produce it's own workspaces
> isolated from each other (like independent projects on the same server).
> Only Local Users can take part in workspace management.
>
> As you might already know, XWiki currently supports only *one level* of
> virtualisation and only one main wiki. You can not currently create a
> subwiki within a subwiki, not even with the WikiManager application. This
> means that you can not do this with Workspaces either.
>
> If you wish to obtain this scenario, you will have to set up multiple
> instances of XWiki.
>
> Having a subwiki within another subwiki might be an interesting new
> feature for the WikiManager application (and for Workspaces too). Please
> feel free to add a new feature request on jira.xwiki.org for the
> WikiManager component.
>
>
> Case 3. XEM -> virtual wiki isolated + Workspace manager on board. Same as
> Case 2, but Local Users can log once in any virtual/workspace wiki they
> allowed AND via this login have access to each and every wiki they
> registered/invited.
>
> If I understand correctly, this usecase would imply that local users
> (created in regular subwikis or, specifically for your case, in subwikis of
> subwikis) have a mechanism that allows them to escape from the isolation of
> the current subwiki of which they are part of and gain access to other
> subwikis or workspaces.
>
> Maybe you could do this by promoting the local user as a global user,
> optionally putting him in a special group to better manage rights. This way
> he/she can create/join workspaces and join other wikis.
>
>
> For current purposes I would prefer Case 1 behaviour. Soon I'd like to use
> Case 2  then 3 scenario, but for now - no way :-(
>
> Hope it would be useful for futher development.
>
> Yes, as I said, having subwikis within subwikis is a good idea that might
> actually be not so hard to implement (as far as Thomas tells me).
>
>  Hope this helped.
>
> Thanks,
> Eduard
>
> Kind Regards,
>
> Dmitry
>
>
>
>
> 27 января 2012, 16:48 от Eduard Moraru <[email protected]>:
>
>
> Oh, I see now.
>
> The way it works now when visiting a normal subwiki (not a workspace) is
> that:
>
> 1) If you are a global user (user of the main wiki), the menus will be
> displayed to you (and you will be thus exposed to the global context of
> which you are part of).
>
> 2) If you are a local user (user of a subwiki that is part of a wiki
> *farm*), you don`t see the menus any more and are isolated inside the wiki
> (and not exposed to the global context).
>
> So, as a conclusion, the menus appear to you based on your user type and
> not on the type of wiki you are currently viewing.
>
> Does that make sense now? Does this fit your usecase? If not, can you
> please elaborate on the reason why you would like global users not to be
> able to see the global context when viewing a regular subwiki?
>
> Thanks,
>  Eduard
>
> On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 1:32 PM, Haru Mamburu <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>  Thank you Eduard,
>
> Sorry, probably I wasn't clear in my questions...
>
> - I want to use WORKSPACE Manager on MAIN Wiki and manage them as designed.
> - BUT, the same time I want to use WIKI Manager to have completely
> independent from main wiki and other workspaces virtual wikis.
>
> So, I set up XEM, installed Workspace manager to play around AND with Wiki
> Manager created virtual Wiki.
> Now I completely stuck how to get rid of all Workspace Manager links in
> wiki farm (!) (not workspaces). I would prefer to keep running Workspace
> Manager on main Wiki AND Wiki farm simultaneously, if possible.
>
> Is there any simple solution?
>
> The only thing I suppose should work is to take *.vm files from XE and
> attach them to the skin file. Looks wierd and unpredictable for me :-(
>
> Kind Regards,
>
> Dmitry
>
>
> 27 января 2012, 14:26 от Eduard Moraru <[email protected]>:
>
>
> Hi Dmitry,
>
> Starting with 3.3, XEM has moved the main usecase for subwikis from farm
> to workspaces. This means that, additionally to the WikiManager application
> [1], now XEM also contains the Workspace Application [2].
>
> The encouraged way of for creating a wiki farm right now (if that is
> really what you need) is to get XE, install WikiManager [1] and create your
> farm.
>
> If you *insist* on using XEM for creating a wiki farm, all you have to do
> is delete the WorkspaceManager space, thus removing the Workspaces
> application and disabling the extra menus that were getting in your way.
> Additionally, you should also remove the
> xwiki-platform-workspace-api-<version>.jar file from the
> /webapps/xwiki/WEB-INF/lib/ folder, since you don`t want to use it anymore
> and you have removed the UI.
>
> However, if your plan is to have global users that work on different
> subwikis (like an intranet with departments mapped to subwikis or a place
> where you work on projects mapped to subwikis, etc.), you might reconsider
> using Workspaces.
>
> In any case, I hope this solves your problem.
>
> Thanks,
> Eduard
>
> -----------------
> References:
> [1]
> http://extensions.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Extension/Wiki+Manager+Application
>  [2]
> http://extensions.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Extension/Workspace+Application
>
> On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 11:57 AM, Haru Mamburu <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> Ooops, wrong solution. The problem is still active: is there a right way
> to get rid of Workspace Manager's links in virtual wikis in 3.4?
>
>
> 27 января 2012, 13:46 от Haru Mamburu <[email protected]>:
> > Hi All,
> >
> > By accident I found a soluion. For me it looks a bit wierd.
> >
> > If you set in xwiki.cfg  xwiki.virtual.usepath to 0, then all menus
> become Workspace Manager links free.
> >
> > For now, if I want to use usepath and don't want to use Workspace
> Manager, there is no an "one click solution" :-(
> >
> > Is it a bug or it's a feature? Should I report it?
> >
> > Kind regards,
> >
> > Dmitry
> >
> > 27 января 2012, 01:34 от Haru Mamburu <[email protected]>:
> > > Hi. all!
> > >
> > > XEM 3.4. Main Wiki works fine.
> > >
> > > I want to set up virtual wiki without Workspace Manager application
> inside and it's links in menu, because as far as I inderstood it is useless
> in virtual wikis.
> > >
> > > What is right way to get rid of Workspace Manager and it's links in
> top menu in virtual wiki?
> > >
> > > Kind regards,
> > >
> > > Dmitry
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