Hello Anaconda folks,
I'd like to get a conversation going about the Installation Source Spoke
GUI.
If this looks viable, I can do a lot of the non-i18n of the work. But
I'd like to test out the thoughts before diving into the code.
My biggest need is to show users there are other repos they could
activate.
This conversation is really about the UI workflow (inspired by PR#1323).
I've got an addon that does a fair job of showing these to users, but
I'd rather get some of my behavior upstream instead of continuing to
port the SL anaconda addon.
== Background ==
The Spoke GUI is trying to do two actions:
1. Locate the install tree
2. Configure additional repositories
The TUI Spoke is only trying to do (1.) Locate the install tree.
I like the GUI layout of - 1. Locate the install tree.
All of that looks great and works for me and my user base
and is consistent between TUI and GUI.
It is the second one - 2. Configure additional repositories - that I'd
like to reimagine. It is only available within the GUI.
Configure additional repositories is itself divided into two behaviors:
A. Enable/Disable updates.repo
B. Create other repos for use
Behavior A. "Enable/Disable updates.repo" has an obvious use case.
Behavior A. is visible to:
- Fedora
- Scientific Linux
Behavior A. repo can be enabled/disabled via the InstallClass.
Behavior B. "Create other repos for use" is used to add additional repos
such as ELRepo or EPEL (under EL builds) or Addons such as HA.
Behavior B. is visible to:
- Fedora
- RHEL
- CentOS
- Scientific Linux
- Springdale Linux
- Etc
Behavior B. is populated with entries from .treeinfo under:
- RHEL ISO 7 (High Availability, Resilient Storage)
- Scientific Linux 7 (Bugfixs, Extras, Repos)
- Springdale Linux 7 (Computational, Updates, Addons)
The Behavior B. repos are disabled by default. Additional repos
can be seeded by the InstallClass now too.
== Problem ==
P1. If you don't have an install tree specified, when you click
on "Installation Media", there are no extra repos listed.
This means the workflow for enabling the Behavior B. repos for
a netinstall with no set install tree is as follows:
Step 1. Click on "Installation Media" and set the install tree
Step 2. Click done to validate the install tree
Step 3. Click on "Installation Media" again to review additional repos
The User Experience for Step 3 here is unexpected.
P2. Folks who are looking for the Additional repos don't click on
"Installation Media" to look for them. If install media is found and
working, my users don't expect to find them under a "Media" item.
With nothing broken and nothing requiring interaction, they just don't
click it.
. The RHEL7 addons are on the media, but users are unaware
. With the liner install from "old anaconda" users saw these repos
. Fedora could possibly put the Cisco H264 and modularity repo here
. As an SL maintainer I'd like users to see the repose we've added
. I assume the Springdale folks would also like the higher visibility
. The CentOS SIGs could be listed here where folks could see them
P3. Repos imported from .treeinfo/InstallClass have no clear way to be
automatically activated by the InstallClass.
. SL updates are in 'security' and 'fastbugs' repos, not just 'updates'
. CERN folks expect some packages to be loaded from a specific repo
== Existing Solutions ==
anaconda-addon-org_scientificlinux_contexts (Solves P2 and P3)
The lack of clicks on "Installation Media" was a major driver for
creating the Scientific Linux Context Anaconda plugin.
I am the primary maintainer of this addon.
updates.img (Solves P3)
The CERN folks have an updates.img that forces the CERN repo into the
installroot, activates it, and adds a hook in firstboot (locmap) to
tweak settings.
== Proposal ==
=== UI Workflow (Solve P1 and P2) ===
Move Action 2. "Configure additional repositories" into a separate Spoke.
Basically this is just chopping sourceWindow in half and moving the
behavior to another (non-mandatory) Spoke.
(from pyanaconda/ui/gui/spokes/installation_source.glade)
I propose the name "Additional Software".
I'd like to talk about moving "Install Updates" over here as in this
workflow "Updates" becomes yet another repo. Having it activated by
default for Fedora and SL feels like a solvable programming problem.
=== Automatic Activation Workflow (Solve P3) ===
Add a flag for `/proc/cmdline` that can be set multiple times.
Maybe `inst.enable.repo=XXXX` where XXXX is the repo 'id' ?
== Followup Thoughts ==
The User Experience outlined in P1 isn't ideal. You can sorta test it
with the CentOS7-1708 net install media.
pyanaconda/ui/gui/spokes/installation_source.py#414 suggests the code
needs work.
Chopping the size of that task up a bit may simplify this down the road.
Pat
--
Pat Riehecky
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
www.fnal.gov
www.scientificlinux.org
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