apache, mirrors, httpd, etc.. (long..)

[jason andrade <ja...@dstc.edu.au>]

> * Gripe * : On the left side menu : 'Apache Server' still is an absolute URL ( pointing
> to httpd.apache.org ). Someone had earlier suggested a Perl substitution :
> 
> 	perl -pi -e 's/http\:\/\/httpd.apache.org\//httpd.html/g' index.html
> 
> but the httpd.html also seems to be missing. Help needed :-(

this was raised some months ago, when the httpd was removed from the main
apache web pages, and spun into a separate project.  it's affected a lot
of things, which are now quite inconsistent, but it's something that has
to be resolved within the apache group.

e.g  i used to regularly go to my local mirror, go to httpd and use the
documentation.  the documentation has now been moved around - it's still
there, but unless you know where it is, there is no reference to it on
the apache web pages, so people increasing will be using httpd.apache.org
for looking things up - i know i did for a while until i figured out
the documentation was back.


brian's recent response to a mail i sent asking about this was:

> People are busy, and no one wants to shut down the mirrors, it's just a
> matter of finding volunteers to manage the interface as well as help us
> figure out the right server-side strategy to accomodate the multiple
> sites we have.

i believe andrew kenna has volunteered.  it is not a trivial thing to resolve
though i have some issue with the fact the original system was broken without
any notice to mirrors and now it has to be "fixed".   the problem space as i
see it is:

framework for separate subprojects under the apache software group which is
consistent across all projects and can be mirrored including:

 o web pages for each sub project - local structure ? updates by ?

 o dist area for each sub project - local structure ? updates by ?

 o do all the sub projects web/dist areas live on one server ?

 o how are all subprojects addressed ?  currently we have
   httpd.apache.org, perl.apache.org etc.  does this scale for
   mirrors ?   httpd.apache.planetmirror.com ?  it's starting to
   get cumbersome.

 o remote selection of closest mirror - will this apply to all apache
   sub projects ? the main site only ? (as current)

 o scaling - will this scale as more projects are added

 
as it stands now, the main site is only useful as a ftp archive.  there
is nothing on it from a web point of view, except the selector for closest
mirror and some bits and pieces - e.g the "news and status" has a last
update of June 30, 1999.  this is somewhat ironic considering the nature
of apache.

the longer this problem is unaddressed though, the less effective mirroring
becomes - from talking to a number of sysadmins, the more knowledgable ones
realise there is a local dist area and fetch locally.  the newer admins tend
to simply to go httpd.apache.org and download from there, since given a
choice between bouncing between two sites, or one, convenience/simplicity
tends to win over speed/local resources etc.


-jason


P.S  comments are not intended to be inflammatory - yes, i am somewhat
     frustated, but i totally understand the amount of work/thought
     required to do this properly and well, it's just a lot of work.
     apologies in advance for annoyance etc.