Subject: Re: [vserver] Roadmap and Future ...
From: Herbert Poetzl <herbert@13thfloor.at>
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:03:45 +0100

On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 10:38:23AM -0600, Michael S. Zick wrote:
> On Thu February 26 2009, Herbert Poetzl wrote:
> > On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 09:42:46AM -0600, Michael S. Zick wrote:
> > > On Thu February 26 2009, Herbert Poetzl wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > Dear Linux-VServer Community!
> > > > 
> > > > Every now and then I get asked what the Roadmap for
> > > > Linux-VServer is and what Features or Changes can be
> > > > expected in the near (and far) future, so I decided
> > > > to share my thoughts with you on the ML.
> > > > 
> > > > (note that they are not just Roadmap related :)
> > > > 
> > > > First, Linux-VServer is not dead! :)
> > > > 
> > > > Despite the hype (7 and 2 years ago), mainline
> > > > (i.e. kernel.org) is not nearly ready to replace the
> > > > quite complex mechanisms required to build and run 
> > > > an isolated Guest, as Linux-VServer (and similar
> > > > Projects) provide.
> > > > 
> > > > Second, as the number of Linux-VServer kernel
> > > > hackers is still quite small, and a lot of changes
> > > > in mainline require quite some testing to get a new
> > > > Stable Version, I think we need to find a new 
> > > > revenue strain to get that work done.

> > > In part, because Linux-VServer uses a closed repository.

> > first, the 'repository' is open, all the patches
> > are available to anybody

> > > Why not move the repository to a public readable/clonable
> > > SCM at any of the many sites that host such things (for free).

> > second, we have a public git repository 

> And the link to the site page which describes that,
> along with its URL?

http://git.linux-vserver.org/
(not much happened there, so no page discribing it)

and since recently (pasted on the ML)

http://git.pipapo.org/?p=linux-2.6-vserver;a=summary
git://git.pipapo.org/linux-2.6-vserver

best,
Herbert


> Mike
> > (which 
> > is maintained by somebody else than the kernel
> > developers, because it turned out to be more
> > work to maintain and use such a repository than
> > the current 'patch' solution
> > 
> > > Give people a chance to work on it and submit fixes/changes -
> > > then you might get more development help.
> > 
> > haven't seen any contributions on that side
> > (neither from the git repository nor via patches,
> > which is still the way mainline works, btw) for
> > a long time now ...
> > 
> > HTC,
> > Herbert
> > 
> > > Mike
> > > > To complicate things, my wife and I relocated to a
> > > > new, old house, which needs a lot of work, and we
> > > > still need to sell the old one (more to that at the
> > > > end of this posting)
> > > > 
> > > > One proposal I have (which was actually tested over
> > > > the years, and seems to work - at least for me) would
> > > > be that Companies using Linux-VServer get some kind
> > > > of 'Service Contract' with a Developer (which is a
> > > > good thing anyway), ranging between a single hour 
> > > > per month up to a day per week, for, let's say 100 
> > > > EUR per hour, which can be consumed or not, where in
> > > > the latter case, this time will be spent on general
> > > > Linux-VServer development and testing. (if you like
> > > > that idea, please contact me and I'm certain we can
> > > > arrange something)
> > > > 
> > > > The big advantage over occasional donations is that
> > > > the developer can 'somewhat' rely on that income and
> > > > does not need to 'hope' for an upcoming donation.
> > > > 
> > > > Now for the Roadmap: 
> > > > 
> > > > I think what we need most in the near future is a
> > > > new, well tested stable release, which can be adopted
> > > > by distributions and which will be maintained for
> > > > a reasonable amount of time, and that's actually what
> > > > I'm working on whenever time permits.
> > > > 
> > > > New features will mainly include adaptations of 'old'
> > > > features, lost and forgotten over time, and improve-
> > > > ments on the mainline integration (like cgroups and
> > > > such), as well as some virtualizations to simplify
> > > > handling and make it more guest friendly.
> > > > 
> > > > One upcoming mainline feature which I will try to
> > > > integrate as soon as it is available is the check-
> > > > pointing and resume functionality.
> > > > 
> > > > I also plan to do a web frontend to control basic
> > > > functionality and a minimalistic host distribution
> > > > to run Linux-VServer Guests on, but I have no idea 
> > > > when I will find time for that.
> > > > 
> > > > Finally, as usual, input here is welcome, so if you
> > > > have an isolation feature you want to see really soon,
> > > > or further questions, please let me know.
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > thanks in advance,
> > > > Herbert
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > Regarding the old house we are trying to sell:
> > > > 
> > > > I created a web page which will contain all required
> > > > information for a buyer, and I'd like to promote that
> > > > page (especially in and around Austria), so some link
> > > > to that page would probably help a lot for major search
> > > > engines to pick it up, i.e. what I am asking is that
> > > > if you have a site where you can put a link to it, that
> > > > would be really appreciated.
> > > > 
> > > > 	http://www.reihenendhaus.at
> > > > (means end-of-terrace house in german)
> > > > 
> > > > sensible keywords would include:
> > > > Laaben, Reihenhaus, Garten, Siedlung, Verkauf 
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > 
> > 
> > 
>