I recently went to PyCon, with the goal of finding out the best way to install
Python-based applications on working systems. I am happy to report the results
of my enquiries: don't. It is next to impossible to install a Python-based
application in a generic working system. Either you are stuck with only
targeting a stable system (Debian Stable, Ubuntu LTS, or Redhat Enterprise
Linux) or throwing huge resources at constantly integrating with the system.
The *current* *best* *practice* is to ship Python-based applications in hosted
environments.
Shipping GroupServer as a entire environment will increase our footprint
considerably, as Postfix, PostgreSQL, nginx, and Redis will have to be deployed
along with a working Python install, Zope, and the GroupServer system itself!
(I personally consider this to be an indictment on modern information
technology.) I am concerned with how much it will actually solve our problem,
as getting the HTTP, and SMTP connections in and out of the hosted environment
will be as problematic as getting the setup right currently.
Also at issue is choosing an environment and system for installing GroupServer:
* Chef and omnibus? <http://docs.opscode.com/>
* Docker? <http://www.docker.com/>
* Puppet? <http://puppetlabs.com/>
* Vagrant? <http://www.vagrantup.com/>
* Something else?
There seems to be little consensus as to the "right" system, so we have a 100%
guarantee of picking the "wrong" system in someone's eyes. I lack experience
with any of the systems, which also means I lack insight and bias in equal
measure. I would appreciate anyone's input.
Ultimately the goal is to have GroupServer picked up and packaged along with
one of the main distributions. However, this requires GroupServer to be
popular, and GroupServer will only be popular once it is packaged.
So what next? I will tackle some of the low-hanging fruit. I hope to get the
system into a state that it can *start* without a functioning Postfix setup. To
this end I have been working on the code that sets up the initial GroupServer
instance, making it less prone to failure
<https://source.iopen.net/groupserver/gs.recipe.setupgs/> Once this is done I
will make a new release of GroupServer.
I hope the release-after-next will be in a hosted environment. Which
environment will be selected based on feedback in this group. So, any ideas?
Python-based applications on working systems. I am happy to report the results
of my enquiries: don't. It is next to impossible to install a Python-based
application in a generic working system. Either you are stuck with only
targeting a stable system (Debian Stable, Ubuntu LTS, or Redhat Enterprise
Linux) or throwing huge resources at constantly integrating with the system.
The *current* *best* *practice* is to ship Python-based applications in hosted
environments.
Shipping GroupServer as a entire environment will increase our footprint
considerably, as Postfix, PostgreSQL, nginx, and Redis will have to be deployed
along with a working Python install, Zope, and the GroupServer system itself!
(I personally consider this to be an indictment on modern information
technology.) I am concerned with how much it will actually solve our problem,
as getting the HTTP, and SMTP connections in and out of the hosted environment
will be as problematic as getting the setup right currently.
Also at issue is choosing an environment and system for installing GroupServer:
* Chef and omnibus? <http://docs.opscode.com/>
* Docker? <http://www.docker.com/>
* Puppet? <http://puppetlabs.com/>
* Vagrant? <http://www.vagrantup.com/>
* Something else?
There seems to be little consensus as to the "right" system, so we have a 100%
guarantee of picking the "wrong" system in someone's eyes. I lack experience
with any of the systems, which also means I lack insight and bias in equal
measure. I would appreciate anyone's input.
Ultimately the goal is to have GroupServer picked up and packaged along with
one of the main distributions. However, this requires GroupServer to be
popular, and GroupServer will only be popular once it is packaged.
So what next? I will tackle some of the low-hanging fruit. I hope to get the
system into a state that it can *start* without a functioning Postfix setup. To
this end I have been working on the code that sets up the initial GroupServer
instance, making it less prone to failure
<https://source.iopen.net/groupserver/gs.recipe.setupgs/> Once this is done I
will make a new release of GroupServer.
I hope the release-after-next will be in a hosted environment. Which
environment will be selected based on feedback in this group. So, any ideas?