extras package that simplifies installation of vmware packages ?

[David Timms]

Thorsten Leemhuis wrote:
> Hi!
> 
> David Timms schrieb:
>> Hi I am thinking of creating a package called vmware-server-prerequisites.
>> This could have requires of the rpms that need to be installed for
>> vmware to be able to run. It could also include the any-any patch
>> {although some people are saying it isn't need with k-2.6.18 / fc6}.
>> Perhaps also a sub package called vmware-server-console-prerequisites,
>> that has any packages that it might need.
>>
>> My understanding is that to be part of fedora-extras, I could not
>> require the vmware package itself, ie I could only require packages in
>> core or extras.
> 
> Correct.
> 
>> Without knowing any details about dkms I would imagine that some
>> trickery could be performed so that a kernel update causes a vmware
>> module recompile.
> 
> No, the vmware modules are not acceptable for extras afaik as they might
> have similar (not directly identical) problems as the nvidia or ati
> drivers -- see the recent ndiswrapper discussion on lkml and/or
> http://lwn.net/Articles/205644/.
Thanks for this direct reference, I'll take a look.

> And I don't know if the vmware license even allows to ship only the
> kernel modules.
I was thinking that the user would still use the normal route to get 
vmware's software, and hence be abiding by their software license. The 
basic problem with vmware's package {vmware-server-1.0.1...} is that it 
doesn't require other packages {and hence force them to be installed} 
that are needed before the kernel modules can be compiled on a 
particular distro such as our foss only fedora.

I can see that after a new kernel and reboot, vmware detects that {I 
believe} it can no longer load it's kernel modules, and warns that the 
user needs to recompile them. I was thinking more of a way in which the 
{prerequisites} package could trigger the running of the supplied config 
script, if it finds it already installed. If the script isn't already 
installed, then it would do nothing.

>> Any thoughts on possibilities and on incorporating such in extras ?
> 
> I don't think it's possible or makes to much sense in Extras. 
Is that because it would give the end user the impression that the 
package is vmware itself ?
Or because it isn't FOSS ? {and xen is coming along nicely}
Or because it doesn't really do anything in itself ? {I vaguely remember 
  someone mentioned that this sort of thing makes more sense to be done 
in groups files within a repo}

> Maybe you have more luck in one of the 3rd party repos.
Good point. Or my,our internal repo.

> CU
> thl
Thanks for your input :)

In reading between the lines, I guess it would make more sense to 
encourage vmware to insert the correct dependencies for compilation, or 
provide a -devel package that requires the bits needed to recompile 
their modules. Having not tried other rpm based distros for a long time, 
is there much common in the way redhat/fedora package compared to say 
suse etc ?

DaveT.