[OpenIndiana-discuss] Proposal: OpenIndiana Stable Branch

[Ken Gunderson]

On Tue, 2011-01-25 at 21:52 +0000, Alasdair Lumsden wrote:
> Hi Ken,
> 
> On 25 Jan 2011, at 18:50, Ken Gunderson wrote:
> 
> > 
> > On Fri, 2011-01-14 at 20:36 +0000, Alasdair Lumsden wrote:
> >> Hi All,
> >> 
> >> I believe now would be a really good time for us to create our first stable branch of OpenIndiana, given the timing of some developments within the project.
> > 
> > Was a consensus ever reached on this? 
> 
> Yes, we're going ahead! :-) I'm hoping to target 2010.02 but it might slip to 2010.03, depending on how much work needs to be done to secure all the packages and commit resources to monitoring security lists. We need more volunteers willing to help "adopt" packages they'll look after.
> 
> But I think there has been mass misunderstanding on what we are intending to do, so I'll put it in the simplest possible terms.
> 
> The stable branch will consist of us copying oi_148 from /dev into /release, in its entirety, along with a few bug fixes and a bunch of security fixes. We'll only make available the Text Installer ISO. We will then provide security updates for a limited, defined set of software, for a limited period (6 months, or until the next stable release is put out).
> 
> No minimisation, no replacement of MTAs, no changes.
> 
> Minimising the OS, or yanking out the core MTA, would require a huge amount of work and break compatibility in a big way with the upstream Oracle source we're still building. It's not something we're looking to do right now - there are much more important bits of work needing to be done.
> 
> Down the road in the future, replacing Sendmail with Postfix is something we could do. But minimising the OS doesn't make sense. What's the difference between Ubuntu Server and Ubuntu Desktop? As far as I'm aware, just the package list. It's the same story with OpenIndiana - if you want to run a server, do your install from the Text Installer ISO or the Automated Installer ISO. You get a stripped down package set suitable for servers.
> 
> We would like the Text Installer to be leaner and lighter, and we can potentially achieve this at a later date by refactoring some of the packages, and this is something we'd like to do.
> 
> But for now, things like internationalisation (g11n), Illumos integration, and providing security patches to a stable oi_148 branch are more important.
> 
> You are right though about needing more software in our repos, and this is something we do intend to do via the OIAC project, please see:
> 
> http://wiki.openindiana.org/display/~guido/OI+Extra+Consolidation
> 
> If you'd like to help out with this, we'd love the support. We can provide permanent build zones, help mentor you (or anybody else looking to help) and explain how to do it. It's great to volunteer, you help others and it looks good on the CV, and you get to meet people and make new friends, learn stuff and gain skills.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Alasdair


Thank you for the clarification.  I'd followed the discussion, but was
unsure as to the final result.

As for packages, yes, this is something I would be willing to help out
on, but I am committed heavily to other projects at present and have
minimal spare time.  Given that, and operating on the premise that some
help is better than no help, I'm willing to do what I can.

The consolidation link above is prompting me for a username/pass to
access.

-- 
Ken Gunderson <kgunders at teamcool.net>