[ On Wed, September 23, 1998 at 13:37:53 (-0700), Curt Sampson wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: Notes and Thoughs on System Packages
>
> On Wed, 23 Sep 1998, Greg A. Woods wrote:
> 
> > An even worse idea is trying to install anything but the "diskless base
> > package" on a diskless client.  Wanting to do do is also, IMNSHO, a
> > bogus requirement.  Even trying to "upgrade" a client from the client is
> > silly -- just do it on the damn server and be done with it.
> 
> So you're saying we have to port pkg_add to every system out there
> that does NFS? Who's going to do the NT port?

Ha ha ha!!!!   ROTFL!  ;-)

Well, seriously, I do agree there might be situations where there's no
unix-like administrative abilities on the file server used for diskless
workstations.  (Indeed an even better example than NT is something like
one of those NFS fileservers that does nothing but NFS.)

On the other hand, what's the process for bootstrapping a diskless
client on such a critter anyway?  I think I could muddle through and get
it to work manually, assuming I had some host that would allow me to
mount a filesystem and a swap file, and of course some host to offer
DHCP and BOOTP, or RARP and RPC.BOOTPARAM, but I don't think there's
anything canned in a script right now, is there?  Will the normal
install.sh work in such a situation?

In any case I didn't totally rule out the possibilty of doing the
install and upgrade from the client.

Not to mention that the general issue here is with supporting installs
onto the "server" from a client so that other clients will see them, and
with doing things like having one commong /usr/share, etc.  If you're
all hot and bothered about such things then I'm going to be forced to
assume that you're smart enough to make your server a real host, and one
that itself will use the same /usr/share.

I'm not trying to say that pkg_* tools should refuse to work on a
diskless client machine, only that there need be no special magic goo to
make them work as if they were running on the server.

-- 
							Greg A. Woods

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