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Fedora Project Considering "Stateless Linux"
Havoc Pennington writes "Red Hat developers have been working on a generic framework covering all cases of sharing a single operating system install between multiple physical or virtual computers. This covers mounting the root filesystem diskless, keeping a read-only copy of it cached on a local disk, or storing it on a live CD, among other cases. Because OS configuration state is shared rather than local, the project is called 'stateless Linux.'
The post to fedora-devel-list is here, and a PDF overview is here."
There are dozens but they do not sit in the normal desktop computer realm. Such an architecture would be well suited for low cost server arrays that could run an app like compler, rendering or seti farms.
Once such a system is set up properly, it could be self maintaining with a significant reduction in hardware and energy and maintenance costs.
It is intended to be a balance between thin and fat clients. So you have applications stored on the server, but copied and executed locally.
Seems like a good idea to me.
Terminals did not have their own CPU to do things. Here everything is kept local, except the OS install which can easily be managed. Since Linux can work without rebooting for driver installs (which is a necesity in this case) you can even run different kind of hardware on a single install. Basically you now have a flexible, cheap network computer.
And since we cannot do without networking anyway, and since storage devices are easy to make high available, this would seem like a blessing to me.
> Isn't this what we blame microsoft for? <
Not quite: we blame them for having to *run* a lot of programs as root to get full functionality. In most *nixes, OTOH, you only need root passwords to *install* programs, while the programs themselves run just fine for regular users.
I dont see anything wrong with having to ask for root passwords for critical changes to any system: its a good practice, and one of the better implementations of it is seen in OS X, which actually has 'Lock/Unlock' icons for settings that need root access.
From the article:
The Free desktop that Just Works
Exactly, this is a lot like windows roaming profiles and network mounted home directories. All the user settings and files move with the user without the drawbacks of terminal servers (of course it also comes with a lot of the drawbacks of disperse workstations). Combine this with network mounted application directories and you have almost as low of a TCO as terminal servers with the power of individual workstations.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
"I want a distro where by default packages install under $HOME so that someone can install their favorite browser without root access."
Take a look at zero install. You can install 0install on many distros (as root) then install apps as a user exactly like you want.
Or buy a mac!
same install image will work on a lot of different hardware i.e a laptop with all the power saving features, IDE hard drives and a P4 M processor that same install image will work on a AMD desktop system with scsi drives...
thats it in a nutshell....
This must be Thursday, I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
If you read the article, you will see that:
1) they don't want users to need root for hardware (but do want users to need the admin to install certain software). This info is in the PDF. They already see that needing root for hardware install or configuration needs to be worked around.
2) the design is a hybrid or amalgamation of thin and fat client, trying to cherry pick the best of both:
applications run on local systems
software and data cached on local disk
central management and configuration of nodes
they call it a cached client technology
3) they have a plan for laptops. Stateless... instantiation, sync... things that sound vague, but they seem to have a plan because this stuff is considered in the howto. There are some notes in the how-to covering the different types of clients:
" diskless clients, which boot directly from a snapshot stored on the server
caching clients, which boot from a copy of a snapshot, cached locally on a hard drive.
Live CD clients, which boot from a copy of a snapshot burned onto a CD
thick clients, which don't use snapshots and must be maintained by another means.
"
The idea has some very cool potential for a business or network situation. I can't imagine this is ready for production, but it could be soon.
-A
If this thin client cluster idea appeals to you, please see ltsp-mosix.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
so here it is for those of you who don't know. From Wiki.
---
In American politics, the term astroturfing is used perjoratively to describe formal public relations projects which deliberately give the impression of spontaneous and populist reactions.
The term is a play on "grassroots" efforts, which are truly spontaneous undertakings. AstroTurf refers to the bright green artificial grass used in some indoor sports stadiums.
A "grassroots" action or campaign is one that is started spontaneously and is largely sustained by private persons, not politicians, corporations or public relations firms. A "grassroots" campaign is perceived to come from the popular feelings of some mass of people and to not be a creation of the powerful.
"Astroturfing", by contrast, is a campaign crafted by politicians or other professionals but carefully designed to appear that it is the result of popular feeling rather than manipulation. The astroturfing campaign attempts to gain legitimacy by appearing to spring forth spontaneously from "the people". If the campaign is well executed, the planners hope that the public at large will believe that "all those independent viewpoints could not have been faked."
Examples of these kinds of practices can be found throughout history, though there is a perception that use of astroturfing is increasing in reaction to the declining credibility of politicians and corporations.
Online backup with Mozy, sounds like Ozzie, but more!
Only if you have had your head stuck in the ground. Freebsd has had this for ages.
The bug was closed as WONTFIX because the reporter was an obnoxious prick. Referring to the developer as a Moron on repeated occasions. The fact is that if you want people to help you, yelling abuse is not a particularly good strategy.
Cheers Koz