[ltp] Switching Between Networks

[Hartmut Meyer]

Hi,

Am Donnerstag, 27. November 2003 03:04 schrieb Rob Smith:

[Questions regarding SUSEs scpm - System Confugration Profile Manager]

> Yes, I have read both the pertinent information from the Administration
> Guide, and also the documentation found under "/usr/share/doc/package/scpm"
> on the machine. As I said, I walked away with more questions than answers.
> Below, I've listed some questions.
>
> The Admin Guide refers to "pre-configured resource sets". Does this mean
> like Home, Work, and Away sets,

No.

> or are they referring to sets as in
> Network, Graphics, Keyboard/Mouse, etc?

Yes.

> There is mention in the Administration Guide that there are differences
> between the YaST version of SCPM and the command line version, but they do
> not list any of those differences.

As far as I know those are only differences in the user interface. The YaST 
profile manager module simply is a frontend to scpm, not a different 
implementation of the same idea.

> For a Linux newbie such as myself, which
> should I turn to?

I'd go with YaST. On the other hand using the command line is not difficult 
either and is quicker. Like saying "scpm switch travel" on the command line 
is a matter of a few seconds while it takes you longer to start YaST select, 
the module and then click through the dialogues.

You can use bth in parallel. Start with YaST because it's probably easier.

> Does one or the other leave important information out?

No. Possibly not all the things that scpm ofers are available through YaST, 
but I can't think of anything right now.

> Is
> one way lead to a more stable platform than the other?

No.

> When setting up the different profiles, do I need to be attached to the
> network whose profile I am configuring?

That depends. Say if you want to configure a network printer: doing that 
without actually being connected to that network could be difficult.

I suggest to start with a plain profile and then to add new profiles on the 
way. One at the time while you're in a new environment (which you want to 
keep in a profile).

> Can I do the configuration for the
> two networks while not attached to either (like at my kitchen table)?

Is that a differnt question from the one above? If so I didn't get it.

> They speak of enabling and disabling SCPM, but there is no mention of when
> this should be done.

Unless for testing purposes, there is no need in disabling scpm.

> Should I disable the Work profile and enable the home
> profile before I shut down my machine for the day at work,

No. That would make no sense.

> or after I arrive at home and boot up.

You could add "PROFILE=home" to the boot prompt (or add it permanently to the 
kernel append line in /boot/grub/menu.lst - if you want to do that, you could 
have one boot menu entry for each profile)

> Does it make a difference? My experience with
> that other OS tells me that pulling NIC cables before shutdown only
> prolongs the event, as Windoze tries to broadcast over a service that is no
> longer connected, and then waits until it times out. Does this hold true
> for Linux?

As I said: that wouldn't make sense.

> The Admin Guide mentions that SCPM cannot survive a System Update.

True.

> That in
> itself strikes me as bizarre, but if so,can the settings be backed up?

No. But it's not difficult to configure.


Greetings from Bremen
hartmut