[et-mgmt-tools] Cobbler profile behavior when using same ks file name

[Michael DeHaan]

Aaron Lippold wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> While doing some installs this week I noticed a strange quirk in the
> cobbler profile add and or cobbler sync work flow. Here's what
> heepened.
>
> [aaronl at localhost ~]$ rpm -q cobbler
> cobbler-0.8.3-3.el5
>
>  If I add a profile "x" with distro "d" and kickstart "k". Cobbler
> sync. All Good.
>
> Now, if I  test out my install notice some issues and edit my
> kickstart k to k' and keep the file name the same - let;s say
> d600-lab-workstation.ks, then add a new profile X1 with distro "d" and
> kickstart "k'" ( i.e. the modified ks file k' ) a cobbler sync will
> add the new profile and render k' in the ../kickstarts/X1/ks.cfg.
> However, it will also render k and replace ../kickstarts/X/ks.cfg as
> well.
>
>   
Cobbler 0.9.X and later will not render any kickstarts to disk, just FYI...

> I have used this method before with cobbler - its a great way to keep
> a history of your build and tweaks during the refinement of a system -
> but now it seems that the profile object is linked to the ks file by
> path. Ok, I can see how this works given that cobbler sync most likely
> doesn't have an "activity log" on a profile. But I can see issues with
> this. Profile "x" didn't change since I didn't issue any commands to
> profile "x" so cobbler sync shouldn't modify it. At least, that is
> what I would expect. I can see issues with this - I think - if you had
> a distributed or even more than one SA working with profiles. If two
> folks took the baseline ks file for their company, made some changes,
> saved and created a profile, the last one in wins, This could cause
> issues right? Or like me where I really don't want to do a :w myname1
> :w myname2 ... when I am doing quick changes and testing...
>   

I'm not sure I understand the question/problem/use-case/hack, but the 
purposes of those files are to serve for booting /existing/ profiles 
only, not to keep a history of how kickstarts were rendered in the 
past.   In the future, there will be no physical rendered kickstarts at 
all, with these
being dynamically generated by mod python.

If two people are editing a kickstart template, the last one does win, 
because the kickstart template is a file on the filesystem, and this is 
how filesystems work.  However, vim/other should warn that there are 
others editing the file.

> Just thought I would bring it up for discussion.
>
> Yours,
>
> Aaron
>
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