Topic: New controlled release?

[David Harper]

It's been almost a year since the last controlled release of SARK UCS, and in the meantime we've had heaps of updates to SAIL (617 > 684) as well as a new major SME Server release (7.4).

Are there any plans for a new controlled release from Selintra? I think the extra integration testing and so forth is very valuable. In addition, updating the controlled release to 7.4 is a mess...

• A bunch of errors regarding the kernel module packages are generated
• There are a round of errors that appear to have something to do with the utf8 changeover that happened earlier in the year
• The zaptel kernel module is uninstalled after the update and neither zaptel or zaptel-kmdl-`uname -r` can be installed due to dependency errors

This isn't really an SME Server or an smeserver-asterisk issue, but I'm happy to move this list across into the bug tracker if required.

[SARK devs]

Hi David,

very good point, well made.

7.4 sark.iso is in build/test now

updating the controlled release to 7.4 is a mess...

You're right - it's not great.  However,  we do the update all the time and it goes like this... 

Install sark .iso.  Run yum upgrade.  Do yum remove zaptel-kmdl-`old-kernel` (which effectively removes asterisk), install late sail rpm and then yum install zaptel-kmdl-`uname -r`,(which will install zaptel) followed by a final sweep of what's left (usually the latest asterisk release, libpri and the add-ons). 

At the moment we do this for every system we ship so we are pretty practised at it.  Our Control release has no option but to follow our upstream provider (CentOS and sme server) so we have very little say over when we can release.  7.4 is now stable enough to build the SARK .iso (which if you've ever messed around with Redhat .isos, you will appreciate is a fiddly job).

So...  new .iso very soon.... and we would be delighted with any testing help anyone can give us with it.  SARK is a monster of a product now and it takes a lot of testing.  If you have a spare VM or an old box lying around the place then please download the 7.4 SARK iso when we release it and give it a good old thrashing.


Kind Regards

S


 

[Teviot]

S

How soon will the ISO be released?

Where will the test iso be available for download?

I would be very interested in testing this release ASAP even thou I have had much time to play with the 7.3 release. I'd also be interested in hosting the iso so other can download it too.

I say bring it on.

[David Harper]

I'll be looking forward to it as well, although 3D Realms taught me years ago to appreciate "When It's Done"(tm) over snap releases

While we're on the subject, here's my wish list for the new Controlled Release:

Major:

• Update to the -78.0.8 SME Server kernel build, up from -67.0.1 (I assume this is in progress)
• Fix or disable the annoying v3 signatures warning that comes up when smbd loads and during yum operations
• Move SAIL into a yum repository so it can be updated more easily

Minor:

• A banner displayed on the login page - in 2.2 it's missing
• Support for md5sum testing of the SARK ISO in the installer

Total wishlist:

• Some kind of script to ease future upgrades would be nice

[SARK devs]

Update to the -78.0.8 SME Server kernel build, up from -67.0.1 (I assume this is in progress)

done

Fix or disable the annoying v3 signatures warning that comes up when smbd loads and during yum operations

I believe this was an sme bug in 7.3 - fixed in 7.4

Move SAIL into a yum repository so it can be updated more easily

Maybe - but not for a month or two.

A banner displayed on the login page - in 2.2 it's missing

maybe - depends upon work required

Support for md5sum testing of the SARK ISO in the installer

Not in this one.  Maybe 8.0.

Some kind of script to ease future upgrades would be nice

Not planned.  It will probably continue to be yum/rpm based with a sequential narrative. 

[David Harper]

maybe - depends upon work required

It's just a quick hack of the smeserver-support package.

Line 3 currently reads:

Code: [Select]

BODY {background-image: url(../smeserver_logo.jpg);

But in the controlled release that file is missing from /etc/e-smith/web/common. So just add an appropriately sized logo into your customised smeserver-support RPM for /etc/e-smith/web/common/smeserver_logo.jpg. Problem solved!

[SARK devs]

yeah....

We do use a hack of smeserver-support in the curremt SARK release but we are moving away from it in 7.4.  The problem with it is that we sometimes leave SME in a potentially non-yum-updateable state because we trump any potential smeserver-support updates by giving our hack a very high release number. Unfortunately, s-support is also the glue which binds the rpm hierarchy in sme-server and sometimes it really needs to be updated. Not good.  So....

Instead we will move to a copy management regime driven by migrate.  Migrate will copy our code images and versions over the originals (after saving them so we can regress to vanilla SME).

This will allow us to keep pace with any s-support upgrades simply by issuing a new sail rpm. It;s a little more work than the hack but ultimately more host friendly and less likely to cause issues upstream.


Best

S

[David Harper]

Then the logo issue will solve itself; the missing logo is installed by the vanilla smeserver-support RPM.

[SARK devs]

Yup