InstantMirror needs a rethink

[Jeffrey Tadlock]

2008/1/27 Nicolas Mailhot <nicolas.mailhot at laposte.net>:
> Most places will have a transparent proxy with no additionnal Linux or
> RH-specific setup. Instantmirror or rsync local mirrors assume the
> infrastructure is designed around Fedora, when in fact Fedora installs
> have often started unofficially bottom up. It is critical for Fedora
> market penetration that those initial stealth installations go well
> without someone bothering the IT teams with them (because their first
> reaction will be to ban anything unofficial that gives them more work).

I can see larger networks having transparent proxies and such setup,
but the home user enthusiast or small business?  I don't think they
would be as likely.  I see InstantMirror of filling a niche for the
small office or home user enthusiast as a low barrier entry into
caching updates locally.  There is a thread on fedora-list now with a
Fedora user looking to setup some form of caching for updates and such
[1].  InstantMirror seems an option to fit these need well.

> Therefore, efforts to create the perfect Fedora-specific mirroring setup
> fall IMHO wide of the mark. A less-than-perfect system that works as-is
> with existing infrastructure without any specific setup is much more
> preferable.

This is more to the point I was trying to make.  Should InstantMirror
be trying to be the perfect Fedora-specific mirroring setup?  I think
it is a good tool for the small office and home user enthusiast niche.
 The ones just looking to cache updates locally with minimal fuss
without the need to maintain a full fledged local mirror or implement
a transparent proxy.  Maintaining as such a tool might be a better
goal for the InstantMirror project than trying to grow it into a tool
that it is not.

Best Regards,
Jeffrey

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-list/2008-January/msg04152.html