Debian Bug report logs - #696888
RFA: pconsole -- parallel console shell for administering clusters

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Message #5 received at submit@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Axel Beckert <abe@debian.org>

To: Debian Bug Tracking System <submit@bugs.debian.org>

Subject: RFA: pconsole -- parallel console shell for administering clusters

Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2012 22:30:23 +0100

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist

Hi,

since I switched from FVWM to Awesome as window manager I prefer to use
mssh (orphaned, I know) over pconsole for mass interactive SSH
sessions. So I actually don't use pconsole that much anymore.

So I think it would be better if someone, who is actually using it
regularily, would maintain the package for Debian.

Nevertheless I'll continue to care about it until someone else stands
up. I also still have some ideas how to improve the package's
functionality, actually some improvements are already in the Git repo.

I'm also fine with co-maintaining or sponsoring it, in case someone
would maintain it, but still needs some help. In that case I'd move the
Git repo to alioth and put it under collab-maint.

Here's some information about the package:

Package: pconsole
Binary: pconsole
Version: 1.0-9
Maintainer: Axel Beckert <abe@debian.org>
Build-Depends: debhelper (>= 7), po-debconf, autotools-dev
Architecture: any
Standards-Version: 3.9.2
Format: 3.0 (quilt)
Vcs-Browser: http://git.noone.org/?p=pconsole-debian.git
Vcs-Git: git://git.noone.org/pconsole-debian.git
Homepage: http://www.heiho.net/pconsole/
Package-List: 
 pconsole deb utils optional
Directory: pool/main/p/pconsole
Priority: source
Section: utils

Package: pconsole
Version: 1.0-9
Installed-Size: 89
Maintainer: Axel Beckert <abe@debian.org>
Architecture: amd64
Depends: debconf (>= 0.5) | debconf-2.0, libc6 (>= 2.2.5)
Suggests: xterm | x-terminal-emulator
Description-en: parallel console shell for administering clusters
 pconsole allows you to connect to each node of your cluster simultaneously,
 and you can type your administrative commands in a specialized window that
 'multiplies' the input to each of the connections you have opened.
 pconsole is best run from within X Window, although it is possible to
 employ it without X (in console mode) as well.
 You need to install pconsole on only 1 machine in the cluster, this would
 usually be your central administrative node.
Homepage: http://www.heiho.net/pconsole/
Description-md5: e4361f6ec8e927933b9a5e1f39c429c0
Tag: admin::cluster, admin::login, implemented-in::c, interface::shell,
 role::program, scope::utility, use::login
Section: utils
Priority: optional
Filename: pool/main/p/pconsole/pconsole_1.0-9_amd64.deb
Size: 25368

                Regards, Axel
-- 
 ,''`.  |  Axel Beckert <abe@debian.org>, http://people.debian.org/~abe/
: :' :  |  Debian Developer, ftp.ch.debian.org Admin
`. `'   |  1024D: F067 EA27 26B9 C3FC 1486  202E C09E 1D89 9593 0EDE
  `-    |  4096R: 2517 B724 C5F6 CA99 5329  6E61 2FF9 CD59 6126 16B5

Message #10 received at 696888@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Vincent Danjean <vdanjean.ml@free.fr>

To: Axel Beckert <abe@debian.org>, 696888@bugs.debian.org

Subject: Re: Bug#696888: RFA: pconsole -- parallel console shell for administering clusters

Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2012 23:02:29 +0100

  Hi,

Le 28/12/2012 22:30, Axel Beckert a écrit :
> since I switched from FVWM to Awesome as window manager I prefer to use
> mssh (orphaned, I know) over pconsole for mass interactive SSH
> sessions. So I actually don't use pconsole that much anymore.

  I just discovered with your message these two tools (pconsole and
mssh). For myself, I'm using clusterssh for similar thing (parallel
shell access to a group of machines).
  I think that, before investigating time to maintain several such
tools (unless some are willing to, of course), the first step would
be to list and to compare all such softwares (in Debian or not even not
yet packaged). Then we should choose which one(s) seem the more
maintainable, offer the more features, ... and try to improve it (them)
by fixing bugs, adding features, ... The other can then be orphaned
or a migration path can be created (tools to convert config files, ...)

  Regards,
    Vincent

-- 
Vincent Danjean       GPG key ID 0x9D025E87         vdanjean@debian.org
GPG key fingerprint: FC95 08A6 854D DB48 4B9A  8A94 0BF7 7867 9D02 5E87
Unofficial pkgs: http://moais.imag.fr/membres/vincent.danjean/deb.html
APT repo:  deb http://people.debian.org/~vdanjean/debian unstable main

Message #15 received at 696888@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Axel Beckert <abe@debian.org>

To: Vincent Danjean <vdanjean.ml@free.fr>

Cc: 696888@bugs.debian.org

Subject: Re: Bug#696888: RFA: pconsole -- parallel console shell for administering clusters

Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:39:33 +0100

Hi Vincent,

Vincent Danjean wrote:
> Le 28/12/2012 22:30, Axel Beckert a écrit :
> > since I switched from FVWM to Awesome as window manager I prefer to use
> > mssh (orphaned, I know) over pconsole for mass interactive SSH
> > sessions. So I actually don't use pconsole that much anymore.
> 
>   I just discovered with your message these two tools (pconsole and
> mssh). For myself, I'm using clusterssh for similar thing (parallel
> shell access to a group of machines).

Yeah, I tried clusterssh, too. From my point of view it seems to have
the disadvantages of both, mssh and pconsole.

>   I think that, before investigating time to maintain several such
> tools (unless some are willing to, of course),

Remember, I'm not orphaning this package. (And I've chosen RFA over O
for a reason: I won't let pconsole in Debian die.)

> the first step would be to list and to compare all such softwares
> (in Debian or not even not yet packaged). 

BTDT. All I saw so far seem to have their reason to exist. For me
personally, I use at least three of them, pconsole, mssh and
parallel-ssh (aka pssh). There are also taktuk, mussh, dsh, dish and
those I don't remember anymore.

> Then we should choose which one(s) seem the more maintainable, offer
> the more features, ...

It's not about "more" features, it's about unique features. And the
fact that not all users have the same environment and hence have
different requirements. So the thing which I like with mssh or
pconsole is maybe an annoyance to somebody else. So that person should
be free to use something else.

For me both, pconsole and mssh have unique features which no other
such tool provides:

* pconsole is not only for SSH or remote. You can control arbitrary
  terminals, independent of the program running on them, one could be
  an SSH session, another one could be a root shell gained via sudo
  and another one could be an rsh session or even a session with
  several remote logins in a row like with belier. You have a modal
  user interface where you dynamically can attach and detach
  terminals. And you don't even need X. You can use pconsole on Linux
  virtual console or inside screen, too.

* mssh is the only tool I know which provides all SSH session in the
  same window and splits them with its internal grid-based
  window-manager similar, but simpler than e.g. Terminator. Perfect
  for most tiling window managers (at least from my POV).

And I'm sure you'll find such a unique feature for clusterssh, too.

		Regards, Axel
-- 
 ,''`.  |  Axel Beckert <abe@debian.org>, http://people.debian.org/~abe/
: :' :  |  Debian Developer, ftp.ch.debian.org Admin
`. `'   |  1024D: F067 EA27 26B9 C3FC 1486  202E C09E 1D89 9593 0EDE
  `-    |  4096R: 2517 B724 C5F6 CA99 5329  6E61 2FF9 CD59 6126 16B5

Message #20 received at 696888@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Prach Pongpanich <prachpub@gmail.com>

To: 696888@bugs.debian.org

Subject: Re: RFA: pconsole -- parallel console shell for administering clusters

Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 01:07:38 +0700

Hi Axel,

>I'm also fine with co-maintaining or sponsoring it, in case someone
>would maintain it, but still needs some help. In that case I'd move the
>Git repo to alioth and put it under collab-maint.

I interest help you on this package but I saw you updating pconsole in exp.

Are you still want a co-maintainer ?

Cheers,

Prach

Message #29 received at 696888@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Axel Beckert <abe@debian.org>

To: Prach Pongpanich <prach@debian.org>, 696888@bugs.debian.org

Subject: Re: Bug#696888: RFA: pconsole -- parallel console shell for administering clusters

Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2019 15:07:10 +0100

Hi Prach,

sorry for the _very_ late reply. I seem to have forgotton to subscribe
to the RFA bug report myself and discovered your mail only today and
only more or less by accident.

Prach Pongpanich wrote in 2013:
> I interest help you on this package but I saw you updating pconsole
> in exp.

Yeah, I still feel responsible to still keep the package in an
acceptable state, hence I filed a request for an adopter and didn't
orphan the package. I just think that the package deserves a
maintainer which also uses the package.

> Are you still want a co-maintainer ?

Definitely, even after all these years. :-)

Since you're a DD now, feel free to contribute to
https://salsa.debian.org/debian/pconsole where the packaging git repo
now resides.

I just imported the 1.1 release from August last year into git. Will
probably test and upload it later today.

		Regards, Axel
-- 
 ,''`.  |  Axel Beckert <abe@debian.org>, https://people.debian.org/~abe/
: :' :  |  Debian Developer, ftp.ch.debian.org Admin
`. `'   |  4096R: 2517 B724 C5F6 CA99 5329  6E61 2FF9 CD59 6126 16B5
  `-    |  1024D: F067 EA27 26B9 C3FC 1486  202E C09E 1D89 9593 0EDE

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