extras package that simplifies installation of vmware packages ?

[Thorsten Leemhuis]

David Timms schrieb:
> Thorsten Leemhuis wrote:
>> David Timms schrieb:
>> 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.

Sounds nice, but I really doubt a bit that Extras is the proper place
for this. Just my 2 cent. The same is true for the answers below:

>>> 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 ?

Well, it will be confusing as you can't even have a a dep on the vmware
rpm. I think that might be acceptable in a 3rd party repo.

> Or because it isn't FOSS ? 

That's part of the reason.

> {and xen is coming along nicely}

/me uses vmware on one machine currently as xen doesn't support cpufreq
yet in Fedora's kernel

> 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}

No, I think that's no problem.

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

The best for everyone would probably: ask vmware to ship the kernel
modules (patches for the latest kernel with any-any) and/or the complete
RPM in 3rd party add-on repos. That would make using the stuff much easier.

> 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 ?

Different package names and layouts for the same/similar packages are
probably the biggest problems. But I might be wrong on that, I have
never packaged much for other dists.

Cu
thl