The Linux Deployment Iceberg

I'm a Linux user, and proud of it. I do support for fun, help convert those that I can, try to introduce people to Linux when possible (and not to the distro I use either, I dont want to scare them.). I'll write how-to's for problems that vex me, or for questions I see repeatedly when doing support.

This is not the first time 'linux phone home' has been proposed, and it wont be the last. I will however happily gut any phone home protocol out of my systems. It abridges my freedoms. It's not that I dont want Linux and OSS to succeed and prosper, however one of the reasons I use Linux is because I am a unique singular individual, not a metric. The government already has me down as married middle aged white male, I cant change that, but I can fight being anyone else's bean.

Linux needs people like me, TC, Scott, Bob, Ken, Dino, Sander, Gus, TA, pretty much everyone here. Not because we stand up to be counted, but because that comes as naturally to us as breathing. But I for one prefer to be counted as myself, and I cant see anyone here quietly accepting being a bean instead of a voice.

Well said azerthoth. Well said.

Quoting:Each system has a unique identifier and could check in to a repository database every so often to check for yum/apt-get/smart updates

Every Linux system already does this, but without the unique identifier. But then again none of my personal systems actually contacts any remote repository. In every case it's a local repository on my file server, and the packages are updated via wget

Azerthoth:

See, we do agree about some things. :)

I've been registered with the Linux Counter project since way back, but the last thing I want is some automated phone home program on my machine.

'Deployments' itself is an ambiguous term. Would the proposed phonehome cronjob also run on devices such as routers, modems, phones, tv decoders, tivos, gadgets &c &c. Including those devices in the sample would certainly change the picture in terms of total deployments.

Looking around my apartment I count 4 consumer devices that are linux based (and only one of which I can configure to phonehome if i wanted, the rest lock me out). Even if I ran something else on my computers linux would still outnumber the other OS 2:1. In overall numbers, including said devices, linux is on far more equal footing with other systems.

Something that is oft overlooked is that linux is also far more widely available than imagined. I can find a desktop system whilst queueing at the supermarket checkout, I can obtain it at many newsagents and I can even buy it at the 24/7 petrol station down the road. In terms of absolute retail outlets linux dominates the other two by a huge margin. It's simply everywhere, world domination is something that linux attained a number of years ago, all it takes is for more people to realise it.

ABCC

My computer was put on hold.

Hear hear! Azer, and thanks for the compliment. It does come as easily as breathing to me..if it didn't I would stop, breathing that is. ;-)

I'm a bean. I was going to respond as a bean would but then I realized, that would be rude.

My computer is not a wrinkly, odd-shaped extraterrestrial, so I'm not going to worry about it.

My computer hung up.

Let's just put this idea of "phoning home" in the round file - aka spam bucket.

Given that Linux distros actually do phone home, sort of. That is they call a repository on a regular basis. It's trivial to keep a count of how many individual IP addresses hit the server, and it should even be possible to filter for distribution, and maybe with a bit of work determine if there are multiple hits per day for the same updates, thereby adding some determination of how many Linux boxes at a given IP address.

Except that in my case the repository server is my own local file server.

> That is they call a repository on a regular basis.

How many mirrors of the Mandriva updates are there, and how many of them report back to Mandriva?

While Slackware does provide a list of mirrors, I doubt it's comprehensive, and AFIAK none of them report back to Slackware.

My gentoo boxes don't hit the reps regularly, only on the occasion I feel like updating one of them...and I share the portage directory with a few machines.

Quoting:How many mirrors of the Mandriva updates are there,

Lots

Quoting:and how many of them report back to Mandriva?

None, as far as I know.

> None, as far as I know.

So how is Mandriva supposed to track the numbers? Personally, I consider this a good thing, but it does make counting users difficult.

It would actually be in the log files. A simple query of the logs should extract the unique IP address that are hitting the Repository directories via rsync or curl or wget. Just because it's not done doesn't mean it's not possible.

My point is, I see no reason why a special phone home application is required.