Installation instructions

"Jonathan S. Shapiro" <[email protected]> Sat, 01 Feb 2003 10:35:33 -0500
Newsgroups gmane.network.up2date.current.devel
Message-ID <[email protected]>
In reading the Current installation instructions, I have a suggestion
and a question.

1. The instructions focus on an SSL install. When testing, it is
probably a good idea to do a non-SSL configuration first. If nothing
else, it lets me know that Current is working before I start wrestling
with the joys of SSL. Provided the RPMs themselves are signed, it is not
clear that running up2date over SSL is actually important, and SSL adds
*impressive* load to a server (we use it in OpenCM, and it's a pain).

If only for testing purposes, I suggest that maybe this should be a
separate phase of the install, accompanied by a cogent discussion of
when/why SSL-based updates are indicated.

I do understand why SSL setup is a good idea -- I'm not arguing about
that.

2. The instructions fail to make clear that I am actually configuring
SSL for my entire apache server -- not just for current. It is
*terrific* that the current install makes this an easy thing to do, but
this needs to be broken out more clearly. I'ld hate to have some
administrator clobber their current SSL config by following the
directions without thinking.

A corollary to this is that I may have already DONE an SSL install for
my apache config, in which case I really don't want to disrupt the keys
I have in place. In that situation, I need instructions on how to
produce RHNS-CS-CERT. Is it merely the CA cert that was used to produce
the server.key/server.crt pair? I'm guessing yes. Can somebody confirm?