[csw-users] Blastwave from Solaris 8 to Solaris 10

[Dennis Clarke]

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Subject: Blastwave from Solaris 8 to Solaris 10
From:    "Dennis Clarke" <dclarke at blastwave.org>
Date:    Mon, September 17, 2007 23:17
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> [ from Ken Mays ]
> 1. Blastwave proposed to end the development of
> Solaris 8 packages by Q4 of Y2007. This was something
> discussed by the maintainers and Dennis Clarke can
> further answer that question (i.e. he has the majority
> vote). The Solaris 8 CSW repository was to be archived
> for snapshot purposes and no longer under primary
> support.

Ref : Solaris Operating System Life Cycle
      http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/lifecycle.xml

    : Blastwave Sparc Solaris 8 installs from one mirror site
      http://www.blastwave.org/images/Solaris_8_Sparc_usage_06-07.png

  We are now well past Last Ship Date for Solaris 8 and I can report
  some significant drops in Solaris 8 users since then. The Solaris 8
  x86 users are virtually nonexistent and I would go so far as to say
  that the only users left on the planet are in the Blastwave project.

  However, anything compiled on Solaris 8 regardless of architecture
  will run as expected on Solaris 9 or 10. That is a convenient truth
  that we live with.

  When a user compiles an application on Solaris 8 x86 they are not
  necessarily working without cause nor are they somehow lacking
  common sense.  They are working on an operating system that complies
  with strict standards and it is a UNIX(tm) system.  Once the
  application works we can be assured that it will also work on both
  Solaris 9 and Solaris 10.

  Reality has shown us that a lot of organizations, for policy reasons,
  will not move from Solaris 8.  If we attempt to force these users
  away from Solaris 8, via abandonment, then we risk that they will
  gravitate towards Linux where they *perceive* that they can get
  everything that they need.  We do not need to feed that process.

  Our primary concern is that Blastwave releases many packages that
  are duplications on Solaris 10 and even on Solaris 9.  This concern
  is quite real and it has led to a condition known as "Blastwave
  bloat". A simple install of vim or apache can lead to many hundreds
  of software packages being downloaded and installed. Many of those
  packages are outright duplications on Solaris 10. In our defense I
  would say they are version upgrades to libraries and software found
  in Solaris 10 that otherwise would not get updated.  We need to
  create a software tree that stands on its own and can be updated
  continually without any impact on the core OS. This is a key
  Blastwave feature; software isolation and ease of update.

  Solaris users want and need access to reasonable open source
  software and they have very few options outside of Blastwave.
  These are things that Linux users take for granted and have done
  so for years.   The reality is that we want Solaris reliability
  and durability along with Linux utility.  The most recent
  production release of Solaris 10 8/07 includes a Companion CD
  which contains only 110+ software titles and many are terribly out
  of date.  More important to the market is the fact that these
  software titles are not supported, not updated and only available
  via arcane download processes.

      So we are left with a few options.

  One option that we have on the table is to simply ignore the facts
  in a shifting market.  This is hardly reasonable.  Blastwave was
  created because we, Solaris users, need to create and freely provide
  software one to another.  We have a need and we work together in order
  to ensure that any Solaris user may have access to a wide array of
  open source software options.  My founding dream was to assure the
  Solaris market that open source software would always be freely
  available to them and that it would be maintained and kept up to date.
  It would be current. Most important is that it would be reasonable
  for their needs.  Blastwave started with the best Solaris version
  at the time and that was Solaris 8.  Times have changed and thus, so
  must we.

  The current Solaris market is dominated by Solaris 10.  This is
  a numerical fact.  By the end of 2007 we will be in a safe position
  to make a final snapshot of the Solaris 8 software tree and leave
  it available.  The software packages being built at Blastwave from
  that point onwards should be done with the best Solaris at the time.
  That would be the most recent release of Solaris 10.  The Blastwave
  team will draw up an action plan which triggers a version migration
  by January 1st 2008.

  Blastwave has done an excellent job of building software for the
  Solaris market.  To continue as leaders we now need to look closely
  at Solaris 10 and I ask that we discuss viable plans.

  I want to thank everyone for their incredible work and support over
  the past five years.

Dennis Clarke