Features/MinimalPlatform

Features/MinimalPlatform

Summary

Minimal platform will enable user to perform tiny installation. This installation is later used to create minimalistic server or desktop appliance.

Owner

• Name: Peter Vrabec
• email: pvrabec AT redhat DOT com

Current status

• Targeted release: Fedora 11
• Last updated: (March 17 2009)
• Percentage of completion: 100%

Detailed Description

The goal of the feature is to provide small package set, that will be covered by @core group. Only these packages and its dependencies will be installed by installer if no packages are selected.

Benefit to Fedora

• Security - lower the attack surface by installing only necessary packages
• Performance - faster installation and less running services
• Storage - installation is less than 500MB
• Package dependencies - package dependencies are regularly watched
• Fedora on servers - encourage users to use Fedora on server and support other distributions based on Fedora like Red Hat Enterprise Linux or CentOS

Scope

• Regularly perform installations during Fedora cycle and watch for:
  • disk usage
  • packages dependencies
  • running services
  • SUID/SGID binaries
• Updates requested by FESCo (2009-02-27)
  1. updating the comps group
  2. making the anaconda text mode minimal install match

How To Test

There is no need for special hardware to test this feature.

You can use bare metal or virtual environment for installation. Since there is no anaconda option to deselect all packages you have to do it manually. Another method is to use this kickstart (adjust the kickstart, at least the --baseurl, no package set!!).

What are the expected result?

• Disk usage of "/" mount point is less than 500MB
• Package list is subset of following package list
• List of running services is subset of following list of services
• List of SUID binaries is subset of following list of SUID binaries
• List of SGID binaries is subset of following list of SGID binaries

User Experience

Users will have have several options (anaconda/kickstart) to perform minimal platform installation. Their installations will be finished quickly. There will be minimal number of packages after they are ready with customizations. The whole system will be less vulnerable to attack.

Dependencies

• comps
• dependencies between package

Contingency Plan

This feature is not critical. Even if the criteria in test section are not exactly met we can live with that and improve it later. I don't expect any problems with anaconda and comps, but if there are any, we can abandon this way and provide at least the kickstart file in some other package.

Documentation

There is no other web page for this project. All the details should be provided here.

Filed Bugs

• system-config-firewall-tui - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=525153
• anacoda - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=523709
• anaconda text install https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=488754
• core group change - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=488060
• anaconda option - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=485995
• deps - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=483018
• deps - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=483019
• deps - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=482899
• deps - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=480014

Release Notes

• Minimal platform reflected in core group allow users to perform tiny installation. This installation is later used to create minimalistic server or desktop appliance. There are several benefits of minimal platform: higher security, effective storage and better performance.

Comments and Discussion

• See Talk:Features/MinimalPlatform
• Similar approach SIGs/Server
• Related bug about default MTA in Fedora https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=472710