Re: [gentoo-dev] maybe it is time to put portage queries into a database.

[Eric Sammer <eric@ineoconcepts.com>]

Someone stated:
>I would say options, tools and the ability to do this sorta stuff should
>be optional. I don't wan't to have to run mysql on my laptop however
>having portage db in a dbfile would be handy. On the other hand i run 8
>machines in my house on Gentoo, and having each machines info and db's
>in my mysql server here would be a great boon ( already using local
>syncing and nfs mounted dist dirs)

Daring to broach the "enterprise" related issues, I would think that 
this would be one of those things that makes deploying and managing a 
medium network (>= 500 servers) difficult. To be the chameleon of an OS 
the average */Linux distro needs to be (netapp, workstation, kiosk, 
"normal" server, cluster node, etc.) these (hold nose here) "enterprise" 
features should be implemented in such a way as to easily switch between 
  these applications (of usage).

Good example of quick changes: nsswitch as it relates to host info (many 
options, simple to change between).

Bad example: switching file system types (many options, but not "flick 
of switch" easy to change).

Maybe, as an option, moving to a directory service (openldap, et al) for 
portage naming and access should be considered. Tools similiar to 
Apple/NeXTSTEP/OpenSTEP 'niload, nicl, nidump' could be used to switch 
between and migrate easily (or at least more so).

Pros:
1. extensible
2. distributed
3. access bindings for most common languages (python, perl, c, c++, 
etc.) which avoid that particular hot-button.
4. easy to replicate (see #1 + #2)
5. opens the option of moving other system services easily into the same 
system (passwd, groups, hosts, email, etc.)

Cons:
1. can be complex for newbies (overcome with nice tools like 
mirrorselect, ufed, emerge, et al)
2. dependencies (see #3 below)
3. potential bloat (arguable and should be considered in relation to the 
"chameleon" introductory and migration paragraph).

The virt host email howto could give the user another option to drop 
mysql for the directory service thus achieving even more use and sharing 
of resources. This also opens the company wide enterprise directory (as 
in addressbook) issue making Gentoo that much more appealing to such 
entities.

Of course, this is something that has probably been kicked around. In 
this instance, the option of making Gentoo more accessible to corporate 
and other (hold nose) "enterprise" environments is available.

I've worked on many similar ideas and systems in the past and would love 
to work on something like this for Gentoo.

(sorry if this is an old suggestion)

Regards...

-- 
Eric Sammer
eric@ineoconcepts.com
http://www.ineoconcepts.com


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