Docker containers or distro packaging: how to ensure your project won't get used
Summary
In the quest for ease of use for users and independence from – well – dependencies, software developers have in the past been asked by distributions to also become package managers. This was a Good Thing ™ for users: if software requires extra libraries or other applications to work, then this will automagically be installed by the package manager. This came at a price though: the developer turned package manager now finds there are many different package formats to learn (rpm, deb, etc) and dependency resolution comes at a price: sometimes someone elses package upgrade breaks your software. The exact version your software does need can become depreciated and no longer findable. And security updates aren’t always backported to your package.
So Docker images. Iframes for software. You can package the exact version you need of your libraries, extra software, security permissions and settings and control to a large extent what a user can and can’t do to this software. It’s a dream come true! It will work on any OS that supports Docker and deployment from one platform to another is super simple without losing data or settings. Or is it?
This talk is about a technical user’s experience trying to easily install some large and commercially important FOSS projects (Kolab and SuiteCRM) using package management and Docker to show you how wrong even large projects can be in these assumptions.
It basically is a whole new world of abstracted devops pain moved to the plate of the artist formerly known as sysadmin.
We will examine some of the pitfalls made and see what can be done to correct them. We will have a look at what they did right and what you can do to duplicate this.
Type
Talk
Language
English
Speaker
In an entrepreneurial career Robin Edgar has lead many projects for customers ranging from multinational stock exchange listed companies to small and medium sized business.
Currently, Robin Edgar is consulting on organisational structures and strategy as well as IT projects, holding workshops on IT security for upper management as well as writing a book to motivate people to think about their careers. Guiding listed multinationals and smaller or mid-sized organisations, Robin Edgar is able to implement a clear structure and strategy in all levels of an organisation. By doing so, his goal is to increase efficiency, resulting in growth.
With a strong international background, Robin Edgar has been exposed to many different cultures from a very early age. This has affected his views on life and interactions with others, creating a flexible approach to understanding differing points of view and ways of achieving results.
