Quick Links
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Categories
Archives
XML/RSS Feed
Links
Radmind.org
Secret World of Nerds
Radmind Webmin Module
Mac OS X Labs Deployment Project
afp548.com
University of Utah's Mac OS Documentation
Mike Bombich's OS X Software and Tips
Secret World of Nerds
Radmind Webmin Module
Mac OS X Labs Deployment Project
afp548.com
University of Utah's Mac OS Documentation
Mike Bombich's OS X Software and Tips
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: May 07, 2004 10:47 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: May 07, 2004 10:47 PM
Using radmind to upgrade from 10.2 to 10.3
Using radmind to upgrade a machine from 10.1.5 to
10.2.x worked well. It took a long time, but it worked. Unfortunately (at
least in this context), Apple has made many more under-the-hood changes in
Panther that make using radmind to upgrade a machine from Jaguar to Panther more
difficult.
Here are some of the issues and challenges I've
discovered so far:
• Since so much of the OS is changing out from under itself when radmind is upgrading a machine from 10.2 to 10.3, it impossible to completely automate the process. Even when everything goes perfectly, the machine hangs on reboot, requiring manual intervention.
• Apple's Panther installer does more than install files. It makes other configuration changes to the machine that may not be captured by radmind, depending on what you manage. For example, it makes changes to the NetInfo database - adding several new users and groups needed by processes such as Postfix (the new mail transfer agent, replacing sendmail). If you do not manage the NetInfo database, you'll need to create these users yourself. Fortunately, Apple has provided a script to do just that, and I'll later present my modified version of it.
• Another part of the Postfix transition is a change to the /etc/hostconfig file. Under 10.2 and earlier, it typically had an entry of MAILSERVER=-NO-. It needs to be changed to MAILSERVER=-AUTOMATIC- for Postfix to fire up when there is outgoing mail to be delivered, typically by system processes (I have my main radmind script mail me when there is a problem). Also, Apple's new Fax functionality makes use of Postfix to mail out received faxes. Again, a script can help you with this reconfiguration. I'll present it later.
...more to come.
• Since so much of the OS is changing out from under itself when radmind is upgrading a machine from 10.2 to 10.3, it impossible to completely automate the process. Even when everything goes perfectly, the machine hangs on reboot, requiring manual intervention.
• Apple's Panther installer does more than install files. It makes other configuration changes to the machine that may not be captured by radmind, depending on what you manage. For example, it makes changes to the NetInfo database - adding several new users and groups needed by processes such as Postfix (the new mail transfer agent, replacing sendmail). If you do not manage the NetInfo database, you'll need to create these users yourself. Fortunately, Apple has provided a script to do just that, and I'll later present my modified version of it.
• Another part of the Postfix transition is a change to the /etc/hostconfig file. Under 10.2 and earlier, it typically had an entry of MAILSERVER=-NO-. It needs to be changed to MAILSERVER=-AUTOMATIC- for Postfix to fire up when there is outgoing mail to be delivered, typically by system processes (I have my main radmind script mail me when there is a problem). Also, Apple's new Fax functionality makes use of Postfix to mail out received faxes. Again, a script can help you with this reconfiguration. I'll present it later.
...more to come.
Posted: Mon - November 10, 2003 at 11:17 PM