From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: <9front-bounces@9front.inri.net> X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: from 9front.inri.net (9front.inri.net [168.235.81.73]) by inbox.vuxu.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6E79425C7E for ; Tue, 7 May 2024 23:55:40 +0200 (CEST) Received: from gaff.inri.net ([168.235.71.243]) by 9front; Tue May 7 17:54:43 -0400 2024 Message-ID: Date: Tue, 07 May 2024 17:54:43 -0400 From: sl@stanleylieber.com To: 9front@9front.org In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit List-ID: <9front.9front.org> List-Help: X-Glyph: ➈ X-Bullshit: asynchronous transactional descriptor just-in-time solution Subject: Re: [9front] Enabling a service Reply-To: 9front@9front.org Precedence: bulk plan 9's design is for the disk file server to live in a locked room, with everyone else reyling upon it as the single source of truth. the idea was that the installation should marshal the resources of whatever organization hosted it to move as much of the burden of administration away from the end user as possible, placing it on the shoulders of the "technical staff." rob's stated dream was for computing to be a resource you extract from a wall socket, like electricity. the system is an octopus radiating out from the file server. it can afford to lose limbs, but not it's brain. this confers outsize benefits on hapless users who just want their computer to work. you will read stories of people at the labs just carrying around a floppy disk (or equivalent) with which to boot random computers into plan 9. start up the machine, and all your stuff is there, ready to go. meanwhile, the file server originally ran a completely separate operating system, and mere users were not allowed anywhere near it's console. not much has ever been done to address these original assumptions, that the disk file server is locked up in a room, and that you're not allowed to diddle with it, so stuff gets brittle when you violate the system's fragile self-image. for example, stand alone systems, with their local disks, can muster little self-defense against crashing programs, malicious intruders getting access to the local disk file server via bugs in their crashing programs, etc. conversely, being hostowner on a diskless terminal is worth exactly whatever files that user has access to on the remote file server, and whatever capabilities are active within the scope of that compromise. i realize it's factually true that "nobody' runs diskless terminals, cpu servers, etc., but it makes plan 9 power users whince to see this declared, over and over again, when a lot of the power of the system comes from this very useful modularity that everyone just wants to throw away. the 9front installer used to set $service, but everyone wants something different from their system, even while declaring their choices are obvious and correct. after a while we realized it was useless trying to read the user's mind. there are just too many ways to configure and use the system. in the end, setting these things up is just not that onerous. if you need to be service=cpu, you should be able to figure out how to set it up. if you can't, you may not be ready to offer services to a network. this isn't intended to be snarky. the whole system is intentionally simple and modular enough to make understanding how it works part of the process of using it. you have to start somewhere. sl