Ubuntu Focal Port of LCFG Platform

This project will involve porting the LCFG desktop platform to Ubuntu 20.04. It is a follow on project to https://computing.projects.inf.ed.ac.uk/474/

The project will include those aspects of the LCFG server platform that are required for end-user compute and GPU servers - eg network bonding, RAID support etc.

The project will need to be complete by June 2020 in order to be used for the AY 2020/2021

Requirements

Below is an attempt to capture the requirements for porting the DICE environment to Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa).

Many of these are outwith the scope of this project and will be addressed in other projects (e.g. #547 and #548). They are listed here for completeness and because those high-level requirements may have implications for lower-level requirements which will be dealt with in this project.

Items which are marked with when the work is completed and fully tested.

Installer

• Partitioning
• kdcregister
• Calling component install methods
• installbase packages

Filesystem

• Disk partitioning - MANDATORY
• UEFI and legacy boot - MANDATORY
• nvme / SSD - MANDATORY
• AFS - MANDATORY -
• NFS - MANDATORY -
• autofs - MANDATORY -
• localhome - DESIRABLE -
• Encrypted swap and /tmp - DESIRABLE

In other related projects:

• fuse - DESIRABLE
• ntfs - DESIRABLE
• exfat - OPTIONAL

Authn/Authz

• PAM - MANDATORY
• Kerberos - MANDATORY -
• sssd - MANDATORY -
• LDAP - MANDATORY -
• openssh - MANDATORY -
• ntp - MANDATORY -
• local passwd/group files - MANDATORY

Network

The expectation is that the network configuration will be done through netplan using either systemd-networkd or networkmanager.

We do not expect to need a local DNS server for the initial port although that will be required later on.

• DNS - resolvconf/gaiconf - MANDATORY -
• sysctl settings - MANDATORY
• Bonding - DESIRABLE
• Routing - DESIRABLE
• lldpd - DESIRABLE -
• IPv6 - DESIRABLE -
• Local Firewall - iptables - DESIRABLE
• New EdLAN - OPTIONAL
• 802.1X - OPTIONAL

Common Environment

• Package Lists - MANDATORY
• udev - MANDATORY
• systemd - MANDATORY
• mail / postfix - MANDATORY
• IPMI - MANDATORY

In other related projects:

• bash - MANDATORY
• java - MANDATORY
• texlive - MANDATORY
• cosignego - DESIRABLE

Graphical Environment

• Package Lists - MANDATORY
• login manager - lightdm - MANDATORY
• dice-desktop / switchdesk - DESIRABLE
• xscreensaver - DESIRABLE
• xinit / defenv - DESIRABLE

Compatibility

There are various things that we would like to change on SL7 to improve compatibility with Ubuntu:

• subversion 1.10
• LCFG symlinks to new locations

Development

• python/pip
• build-essential
• -dev packages

Services

• Local mirror of upstream repositories - MANDATORY
• Local package repositories - MANDATORY
• XRDP - MANDATORY

Project Milestones

• Update platform to Focal Fossa - 8th May
• Mirror upstream package repositories - 15th May
• Local package repositories - 22nd May
• Local authn/authz - PAM, local users and groups - 29th May
• Network authn/authz - Kerberos, LDAP, sssd - Already Completed
• Network - routing, bonding, dns
• Installer
• Local Filesystem - Disk partitioning configurable via LCFG
• Remote Filesystem - AFS, NFS, autofs - Already Completed
• Systemd
• Common environment
• Standard Graphical environment
• Alternate Desktops - mate, kde, xfce, cinnamon
• Devel package lists
• Graphical login - lightdm, xscreensaver
• XRDP service

-- StephenQuinney - 22 Apr 2020