Re: [cobalt-users] Features [WAS: administration - web or manual? ]

[Kris Dahl <kris@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Cobalt does improve our products over time, as well as upgrading
> important features in the field.  For example, RaQ1(EJ)-Update-3.0.pkg
> (currently in testing) contains RaQ 2 DNS UI and an upgrade from bind
> 4.9.7 to bind 8.2.2 as well as other bug fixes.
> As Cobalt's customers, we need feedback to tell us what new features
> to included in the UI, and what UI features need improvement.  You can
> email all constructive suggestions to this list (which people at Cobalt
> do read) or wishlist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What I meant by my comment is that I'd like to see UI enhancements on
existing products (specifically the raq2).  The two sections I think can use
the most work are:

1-) The DNS Interface.  This is great if you are hosting like 5 domains, but
it takes forever to add new, standard domains.  9 out of 10 domains that we
setup are the same configuration.  www, mail, ftp go to one address.  MX
record to the mail record.  Done.  That takes like 3-4 (*EACH DOMAIN*!)
minutes to do on the existing interface.  I wrote a perl script that does it
for me by just specifing the ip and the domain and it instantly creates the
record for me.  You should be able to setup a 'standard' domain thru the
interface.  Also, I'd like to see migration tools that help you import zone
files.  When I migrated from a Mice and Men server on the Macintosh, I
manually updated it because the data in the db wasn't that great.  So I
cleaned it up .  But I would have liked to have imported several BIND zone
files from another server.  This would not be hard to implement.  I almost
wrote another script to do this, but didn't have enough time on that
project.

2-) Backup Interface and documentation.  The backup interface is sorry at
best and unusable at worst.  There needs to be a lot more control.  For
example, you should have the ability to do the following:
    -Check off the parts of the filesystem you want backed up.
    -Select multiple user files in a single backup
    -Out of the box support on SCSI Raqs for tape certain tape drives
     and an interface to back up the stuff to the tape.
    -Somewhat more control over the FTPing proccess: i.e. the ability to
     delete all the old backups except for the last one, before ul'ing the
     new one.  This prevents the drive full on remote server snowball
     effect: Because I can't upload the file, the Raq saves it in the temp
     directory, and then backs it up the next day (including the failed
     backup), where the process repeats until you are completely out of hard
     drive space on the Raq.
    -Sending the files over AppleTalk or MS Netowking would be nice as well

Just a few examples.

-k