Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 16:51:39 -0500 From: Gerd Knops <gerti@bitart.com> To: Doug Barton <DougB@gorean.org> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Would a 'remote system administration' mailing list make sense? Message-ID: <20000626215140.6627.qmail@camelot.bitart.com> In-Reply-To: <39570FB8.8E9D00B0@gorean.org> References: <20000625212955.7621.qmail@camelot.bitart.com> <39570FB8.8E9D00B0@gorean.org>
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Doug Barton wrote: > Gerd Knops wrote: > > > > Hi Everyone, > > > > I administer about 40 FreeBSD systems remotely, meaning they are > > far away, and the people at the location (if there even are any) > > usually are not experienced at all with Unix. > > > > So naturally I try to address as many administrative issues as > > possible remotely. There are a number of interesting topics, such > > as: > > > > - remote OS upgrade > > - software distribution tactics > > - dealing with file system problems > > - dealing with remote vinum > > - building reliable systems > > etc. pp. > > > > I am pretty sure that there are many others in a similar situation, > > be it the server system in the basement, or the one or two systems > > you co-locate elsewhere, or even a similar setups as mine with a > > whole network of 'remote' systems. > > > > So I wonder if there would be interest in a mailing list that deals > > with such issues, and where people could discuss various > > strategies. > > I have advocated for the needs of "remote" system administration for > all of the time I have been involved in FreeBSD (since 2.1.5). I feel > strongly that these needs are better served by maintaining the > discussion in the established forums. This will help keep the topics > within the sphere of discussion that will be seen by those who might > not work with these types of situations on a day to day basis, and > may not be aware of the special needs inherent in remote > administration. > I see your point, but as others have noted the volume and orientation of 'questions' for instance will cause people interested to overlook the one or other relevant post. Also it seems less suited as a discussion forum, where solutions to relevant problems are discussed. Of cause that list should back-feed results into the 'proper' hierarchy (eg current etc). I for one would like a low volume list where I can bring topics up and discuss it with others in a similar situation. There are many questions I'd like to discuss, that I don't feel they belong into 'questions' as they aren't really relevant to most BSD users. One example would be 'Has anyone dealt with failing fsck on boot and found a way of remotely dealing with those'. If I were to ask that on the ISP list, probably I'd have to deal with a dozend answers that suggest to use a terminal server and hook up a serial connection etc. However in my situation that isn't pratical, nor is it practical to run in a modem and a dedicated phone line etc. I am more thinking along the terms of attempting to bring the network interface up in such a case so I can check in remotely. (And yes, I know with a UPS power outages followed by failing fsck shouldn't happen, but try to get some guy in Timbuktu to get a decent UPS and hook up the serial connection so the system can shut down properly during a power outage). Gerd To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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