Subject: Re: [vserver] webfrontend (was Re: [vserver] Roadmap and Future ...)
From: randall <randall@songshu.org>
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:30:38 +0100

Jon Bendtsen wrote:
>
> On 27/02/2009, at 13.44, randall wrote:
>
>> Jon Bendtsen wrote:
>>> I think the webfrontend deserves it's own thread, and then the money 
>>> could be another thread.
>>>
>>>
>>> Host managers are capable people, systemadministrators who can 
>>> surely use SSH and the console. The console is much more powerfull.
>> true, it would become to complicate to include all possible functions 
>> and features that can be done much more easier on the command line
>>>
>>> The guest managers may be more or less capable, they may be 
>>> systemadministrators, and they may be somewhat technical interrested.
>>>
>>> The guest managers buy a guest from someone, and this someone is a 
>>> Value Added Reseller (host manager). I think a common vserver web 
>>> interface would make very little difference between VARs.
>> i could imagine that a "guest manager" is not allowed to have access 
>> to the host and would have to rely on the reseller for basic 
>> functions like "stop" "start" "restart" "backup??" and maybe some 
>> others. Being able to sell a basic control panel along with a Vserver 
>> guest may be an added value.
>
> Do you really ever need to stop, start, restart and backup?
>
> You only need stop, start and restart when you change the kernel, 
> something which the guest admin can not do.
i had times that it was easier and faster to restart the whole guest 
then to find out which process to restart,  it might be more handy then 
essential unless you are changing the /etc/vservers/guest/fstab and 
other configs.
>
> As for backup... they could just rsync all files to some other place, 
> or rdiff, or ...
if some way of "vserver stop" "snapshot" "vserver start" would be 
possible it would save the trouble of finding out which files are worth 
to backup AND doing a mysqldump, it would also enable the one selling 
the guest to sell an easy backup option. diskspace might be cheaper then 
bandwidth.
>
>
> I only see the need for restoring an image if some apt-get 
> dist-upgrade goes wrong. But i'm pretty sure that happens VERY rarely.
one of the reasons i like vserver is because i can screw up and 
experiment with new setups and then simply start over again, but maybe 
thats just me ;)
>
>
> The only need i see is if you want to do cloud computing and only pay 
> as you go. But i still think this is a rare case, and then the VAR 
> could take that into consideration.
>
>
>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I think it would be a waste of time if you, Herbert, did this 
>>> webfrontend. I think your time is much more valueable used for 
>>> kernel programming.
>>>
>> It might be worth looking into a sort of API so resellers could 
>> implement the control functions in already existing control panels, 
>> this shouldn't be extremely hard to accomplish and would leave room 
>> for other creatives to build an "application" around this.
>
> like webmin?
never knew this was there already ;)
http://www.virtualmin.com/documentation/id,setting_up_a_vservers_host_system/

-- 

www.songshu.org
Just another collection of nuts