Re: [Bobs-devel] my "first time" install notes

[Rene R. <re...@gr...>]

On Mon, 2002-06-10 at 08:28, Joe Zacky wrote:
> I put in many hours on 'bobs' this weekend. I learned much about cvs. 
> I'm learning about using autoconf and automake to generate a Makefile.
> 
> If you start in the root of the bobs directory tree, you can build a 
> Makefile with the following commands. It doesn't actually make anything 
> yet, but it does check for some programs and paths and sets variables in 
> the Makefile that I will use during the install.
>     autoconf
>     automake
>     ./configure
> 
> ===================================================
> Some problems I had while installing and using BOBS the first time
> ===================================================
> Problem #1: Got this error on confirm save setting of new server:
> 
> Warning:
> fopen("/var/www/html/joe/bobs/bobscustom/inc/servers/uranus.local.ini","w") 
> - Permission denied in 
> /var/www/html/joe/bobs/bobscustom/inc/class_config.php on line 204
> 
> Fix: INSTALL needs to be sure directory is writeable by web process.

This should really output a warning instead. And a brief description on
how to fix it.


> 
> -----------------
> Problem #2: other shares disappear from admin.php
> 
> After creating a 2nd share in admin.php, the first one no longer shows 
> in the drop-down list.
> 
> Fix: Exit session and login again.

True. My session handling is not at its best. This is a problem in other
places as well.
Just try to do a refresh/reload screen on when logged in as a user.
A todo list item I guess.


> -----------------
> Problem #3: restore from web browser gets error in cmdloop:
>     "mount: only root can do that"
> 
> Fix:    Oh, cmdloop (or check_loop cron job) must be run by root.
> -----------------
> Bug #4: What is this all about! It shows after selecting to restore:
> 
> In inc/class_restore.php
>     Error:  Unable to proceed
>     Error: Not enough free diskspace on remote server. Please free some 
> and try again.
>     Error: 1000 MB plus the size of the files you wish to restore is 
> needed    
> 
> It's only a 1 gig harddrive!
> 
> Fix:    changed to require only 100 MB free space, plus restore files size.

This should be moved to the configuration files. Its there to prevent
bobs from taking all available diskspace. Other applications might fail
and work could be lost in that case. So my reasoning was to make sure at
least X Mb was free.
It's hardcoded for now but should be trivial to move.


> -----------------
> =======================
> Some suggested enhancements
> =======================
> Fixup admin.php "create server details screen". Include more explanation 
> of what each field is.
> I noted the questions I had the first time I saw the screen to the right 
> of the "<-"
> 
> "Should I create backups from this server" <- this activates the 
> selected backup?

This is the main on/off switch for each server. 

> 
> "Users login name" and "Users password" <- creating them now, or 
> existing unix pwd?

For now only one user per share. This is stored in the config.ini files.
I would like some other ways to do this, like local unix users, ldap and
stuff like that.

> 
> "The servers network name" <- short name "uranus", or long 
> "uranus.zebra.com"?
>     Answer: either works.
> 
> "The path the the nfs share is mounted under" <- too many "the"s.
>         <- misleading, this is actually the remote path, not the local 
> mount path.
> 
> "The name of the smb share" <- what smb share? for future use?

For future use. Not active at the moment.

> 
> "Compress incremental files?" <- advantages/disadvantages? What's 
> recommended?
For future use. Not active at the moment.

> 
> "Which days to backup. ( 0 = monday, 1 = tuesday .. etc)" <- format: 123 
> or 1,2,3?
>     Answer: 123
> 
> "Press the Change button to change the settings",
> "Press the Save button save the settings" <- What's difference between 
> "change" and "save"?
>     Remove "change", only need "save"?

"Change settings" applies the settings you've changed.
"save" saves the settings as the were the last time you applied them.
This was intended to have a "reset to last saved" button. I didn't get
around to implementing that. 
It should be nicer.

> -----------------
> Show session name at top of each screen. Sometimes it shows (in dir 
> trees), but not always.
> -----------------
> In history frame, don't keep clock up-to-date, the refreshes are 
> annoying- they make my screen blink, or refresh once per minute.

The reason I update is not the clock but the cmdloop output. You can't
really work unless the cmdloop is free.
The clock is just there to make it easy to see if the refresh is
working.
The history also shows the status of any searches you do. When they were
started and when they are finished.

> -----------------
> Automate most of the INSTALL instructions. (I'm working on that)
> -----------------
> Admin.php option to delete a server configuration.
> -----------------
> When selecting "Browse Restore" and nothing has been selected to restore,
> change message from "The following has occured: Dir tree was not found"
> to something more explanatory.
> Other tab messages should be changed too when there is nothing to display.

I agree. These were messages I put in as I was debugging and developing.
Not messages suitable for end users.

> -----------------
> 

I hope I can get back to work soon, but it'll proably be a week or so
before my head clears.

Rene