Re: [cobalt-security] Slightly off Topic- PKG files

[Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gareth wrote:

> It has been a long while since I have used a Cobalt admin interface, but at
> the time to install updates you needed to go to a Cobalt page, find the link
> to a pkg file, then go to the interface and paste the link and click go.

That may be what you need to do; it's NOT what I need to do at all.

> Wouldn't it make much more sense if the interface could show a list of
> suitable pkg files to download when the admin requests it?

It actually does, but you have to keep track yourself of what you've
already installed.

For the RaQ4 it's at:
"http://www.cobalt.com/support/download/raq4.eng.html";.

While this page tells you to ftp to "ftp.cobalt.com" to find the files,
a little digging shows us that the proper directory (again, for the
RaQ4) is "ftp://ftp.cobalt.com/pub/packages/raq4/eng/";.

I go there using my RaQ's shell interface (as root, via ssh, of course
<smile>), and "get" the packages I need, placing them into
/home/packages.

Once that's done, I exit the shell, and go back to the GUI... There's a
new choice there, called "Loaded".  I use it to install the "Loaded"
packages.  When I'm done I move those packages (again using a shell),
into an unprivileged directory somewhere under /home, to save them in as
an archive and in case I ever need them again, to not have to FTP them
over, or in case for some reason the Cobalt site stops carrying the old
ones.

> This would save
> the problems of admins who have better things to do than check a web-page
> every day? Maybe the cobalt box could actually scan the page and send an
> email to the admin if there is a new pkg file?

Join the cobalt-announce list.  But those of us who've been around a
while know to not upload RaQ packages until they've been around a week
or two; check to see others' experiences, first.

> Comments welcomed, maybe someone at Sun would pass them on as I don't see it
> would be too difficult to implement into a will written system (it is a long
> time since I fiddles with the source code as well).

Lots of people at Cobalt/Sun read this list; some of them are even
"important" people at Sun.  But if you post it on cobalt-developers" it
will definitely get seen by the "right" people <smile>.

Jeff
-- 
Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
nobaloney.net
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