IP address Management / News: Recent posts

Providing clarification to Karen
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karan_poona: what are the push and pull scripts about?
anoop_kumar_p2000: IPMGMT framework will talk to applications throug the XML interface
anoop_kumar_p2000: by giving a generic XML interface , all the applications will have a uniform way to talk to the IPMGMT and viceversa
karan_poona: ok
karan_poona: but that means
karan_poona: that just like in the case of PAM , the applications are PAM aware
anoop_kumar_p2000: At any point of time the XML file (appconf.xml- to be precisely) should have the data equivalent to the application's configuration files
anoop_kumar_p2000: what is PAM ?
karan_poona: so the applications will also need to be ipmgmt aware??
anoop_kumar_p2000: back to the discussion
karan_poona: plugabble authentification modules
karan_poona: ok
anoop_kumar_p2000: well that may be through APIs exposed by static/dynamic libraries right ?
karan_poona: so we need to create a module which will do this for all applicaions?
karan_poona: yes
karan_poona: i am not clear about one thing
anoop_kumar_p2000: here the situation is tricky
anoop_kumar_p2000: we can't change the binaries of any of the applications
karan_poona: the APIs will need to be called by the respective applications?>
anoop_kumar_p2000: we can do that by APIs , but that will need a rewrite of all the applications
karan_poona: yes
anoop_kumar_p2000: so that concept will not sell
karan_poona: yes
anoop_kumar_p2000: none of the applications will change for us ... right ?
anoop_kumar_p2000: so what we do is we soecify applications to give scripts
karan_poona: so how will an application be aware of ipmgmt
karan_poona: ?
karan_poona: yes
karan_poona: ok
anoop_kumar_p2000: Pullcfg will get the data from their local config file and populate the XML file
anoop_kumar_p2000: Pushcfg will change the configuration file from the XML data
anoop_kumar_p2000: Since this is an open source world, we ourselves can do that , and integrate existing applications
karan_poona: ok
karan_poona: i am clearer now
anoop_kumar_p2000: and demonstrate the proof of concept
karan_poona: ok
anoop_kumar_p2000: and later all new applications will see the benefit and they will try to be ip address managemebt enabled if they want the benefit
karan_poona: ok
anoop_kumar_p2000: have u seen the BROWSE - CVS for a ppt of the GUI prototype
anoop_kumar_p2000: that will give u a fair idea of how the entire stuff will be
karan_poona: understood
anoop_kumar_p2000: Now the admins need to go to only one place .. he need not worry about editing each and every files
karan_poona: ok
anoop_kumar_p2000: Please go through that ppt
anoop_kumar_p2000: http://cvs.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.py/ipmgmt/ipmgmt/doc/GUI_Design/
karan_poona: ok

anoop_kumar_p2000: Ther discussion is on how we bundle the different components and interoperate
anoop_kumar_p2000: I will explain my idea of this
anoop_kumar_p2000: Please feel freee to question
anoop_kumar_p2000: there will be 3 modules
anoop_kumar_p2000: 1 - IPMGMT daemon module
anoop_kumar_p2000: 2- UI module
anoop_kumar_p2000: 3 - Install setup module
anoop_kumar_p2000: UI module will be having a dependency on IPMGMT
anoop_kumar_p2000: However IPMGMT will not have a dependency on UI, since IPMGMT should be able to function even with its own CLI
aaneja73: that includes the path settings, share libraries etc
aaneja73: agreed
anoop_kumar_p2000: Yes. I hope so, I need to figure how IPMGMT should expose the API interface , as static/dynamic
anoop_kumar_p2000: whatever it is UI module will access that and use it
Yahoo! Messenger: svellal has joined the conference.
anoop_kumar_p2000: Sainath will decide which approach is better static/dynamic
aaneja73: absolutely
anoop_kumar_p2000: he just joined
svellal: what man ? what approach u talking abt ?
svellal: dynamically linked libraries
anoop_kumar_p2000: IPMGMT will expose an API interface which will be used by UI module
svellal: .so
anoop_kumar_p2000: they are separate components / binaries
svellal: that is what is used by
svellal: most of the applications
svellal: we can use that only
anoop_kumar_p2000: now UI should call some API of IPMGMT
svellal: right ?
anoop_kumar_p2000: now how will we give the API interface ?
anoop_kumar_p2000: static/dynamic ?
svellal: dynamic
svellal: see .. its like this
svellal: take for example gaim ... it has some libraries that it exposes
anoop_kumar_p2000: yes it can be dynamic only
svellal: to access those
svellal: u do a
svellal: dlopen()
svellal: on that
svellal: particular .so
svellal: file
svellal: & u can straightaway call the api functions
svellal: its very handy ... most of the applications do that
anoop_kumar_p2000: Ajay this is what I feel , i will make the framework and make the IPMGMT API interface and test it with some sample code following the approach put by SAI
anoop_kumar_p2000: Ajay can use that , what u feel ?
anoop_kumar_p2000: Ajay u there?
aaneja73: yeah that is simple enough, however,
svellal: yeah ... i can make some test applications using ur APIs
anoop_kumar_p2000: Great
aaneja73: I go back to my question that the configuration of the files etc is it to be assumed or would it have to be taken
aaneja73: out of the system settings
anoop_kumar_p2000: Ajay I come to that
anoop_kumar_p2000: the InstallSetup module is the complicated part
anoop_kumar_p2000: As far as our modules we should go in a specific path irrespective of what all flavours of Linux
aaneja73: ok
anoop_kumar_p2000: But we have a problem where applications reside differently on different flavours
anoop_kumar_p2000: Amit is working on that ,
anoop_kumar_p2000: His main targets
anoop_kumar_p2000: 1. How will we know that which all daemons are installed
anoop_kumar_p2000: 2. Most of them gets loaded from any locations with any configuration files
anoop_kumar_p2000: 3. How will IPMGMT get them and appropriately build the XML... read more

anoop_kumar_p2000: One of my concerns was how to do the user authentication etc for IP address management
anoop_kumar_p2000: root /admin should only be anle to change the configuration from u r gui
anoop_kumar_p2000: So how will we do that ?
aaneja73: it can be configured to run only by root and a password can be prompted in case the user is not root
anoop_kumar_p2000: that can be done ?
aaneja73: the way we run network admin in kde control
anoop_kumar_p2000: root and admin also, so we need to derive some logic to detect the admin user group etc
anoop_kumar_p2000: Yes , if we start YAST , it will ask for password
anoop_kumar_p2000: I like that approach also
aaneja73: The os config of users having group or secondary group as admin can be allowed
anoop_kumar_p2000: Or no password required to see the main data , But password required for other ioerations
anoop_kumar_p2000: you know how to handle that ?
aaneja73: yeah, the latter part is slightly tricky but no sweat

29/04/2004 - 11:00 am
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aaneja73: have seen all the 6 slides do you want to discuss now
anoop_kumar_p2000: yes
anoop_kumar_p2000: I am free
anoop_kumar_p2000: Looking at that did u get an idea ?
aaneja73: yeah a primary get about is there, however some details need to be worked out here
anoop_kumar_p2000: Ok cool
anoop_kumar_p2000: now we will walk through the slide
aaneja73: a. we are looking at a stand alone appln
anoop_kumar_p2000: IPMGMT ships as a daemon
anoop_kumar_p2000: the GUI should be stand alone
aaneja73: the first screen/slide1.jpg is the startup
anoop_kumar_p2000: Yes that is the GUI that everybody sees .
aaneja73: at the slide 5
anoop_kumar_p2000: yes
aaneja73: the conflict detection is at what point ?? is it at the startup of the application (GUI) or when a modification
aaneja73: of an application occurs
anoop_kumar_p2000: WHEN IPMGMT loads it will get all the configuration from all the XML files and works on the data and builds the internal data structure
anoop_kumar_p2000: That will contain 2 apps as conflict
anoop_kumar_p2000: Now when u r GUI starts he calls one API to get the data and that data will have this info
anoop_kumar_p2000: You just plot it
aaneja73: because if the cfg files are such that they cause a confilict the application would never have started
anoop_kumar_p2000: Exactly
aaneja73: ok
anoop_kumar_p2000: In this situation one of the apps will be running
anoop_kumar_p2000: The other might have failed
anoop_kumar_p2000: Now through the GUI I click on one of the APP
anoop_kumar_p2000: it goes to Slide 4 ,
anoop_kumar_p2000: there i can modify the port and apply
anoop_kumar_p2000: Now this apply will rebuild the XML file and call PUSHCFG
anoop_kumar_p2000: and trigger that application restart
anoop_kumar_p2000: Now the applications can start
aaneja73: ok
aaneja73: this was clear
aaneja73: fine
aaneja73: the refresh bit also requires some clarity.
anoop_kumar_p2000: Now did u get a picture of how much benefit customerts get ?
anoop_kumar_p2000: If we show a GUI it will contain the data once the GUI started. It so happens that the configuration changes in between
aaneja73: how and from where would the new data be available a) daemon through a share object etc b) files
anoop_kumar_p2000: and user doesnot know when it changed,
anoop_kumar_p2000: If he restarts he will get the correct info
anoop_kumar_p2000: But if we have a refresh column, this will trigger the info to reload and rebuild thereby getting a more refreshed data
aaneja73: yeah
anoop_kumar_p2000: when u refresh you will again call the API u used initially to repyuild the data
anoop_kumar_p2000: In a web context you are rebuilding the page
aaneja73: anoop just hold for a minute got a call
anoop_kumar_p2000: ok
aaneja73: yeah back now
anoop_kumar_p2000: yes
aaneja73: the screen 4 shows when the apllication shall be restarted
anoop_kumar_p2000: are u aware of the refresh funda ?
aaneja73: so on the main page what is the restart server link
anoop_kumar_p2000: That may not be required
aaneja73: as of now it seems am a bit lost
anoop_kumar_p2000: Since if we resolve conflich we may need to restart the application only
anoop_kumar_p2000: So we may need toi put that funda as Restart Application for the particular application only
anoop_kumar_p2000: That RedLink can be put agaiunst the application row
anoop_kumar_p2000: So once we resolve conflict and the contents are rebuild we will se a restart application only for that app, You can click that , the application restarts anmd we can rebuild the main page contecnts and hence forth there will not be restart server
aaneja73: restart bit cleared: back to refresh now
anoop_kumar_p2000: exactly
anoop_kumar_p2000: I think u are getting a grip
anoop_kumar_p2000: aren't u ?
aaneja73: : restart bit cleared: back to refresh now... read more

The initial set of reading documents are updated. Please go through that and get back to me

The initial set of reading documents are updated. Please go through that and get back to me

This is to announce the Project Kick off, we are in the initial design phase . Please contact me if you need more details. I am planning to come up with an architecture / design doc