Who manages plugin updates? (Syncthing)

[diskdiddler]

Version is 1.18.1 and that came out quite a long time ago.
Is there a simple button to click and it deploys a new version somewhere, or is there more to it than that?

I'd prefer to use my docker server but I'm trying to diagnose some strange behaviour.

 

[danb35]

I'm pretty sure, given some of the comments @Kris Moore has made about plugins being deprecated, the answer is, "nobody."

 

[diskdiddler]

I'm pretty sure, given some of the comments @Kris Moore has made about plugins being deprecated, the answer is, "nobody."

Ok that's probably not a great sign. Glad I figured out a docker solution for the other program I was considering moving back to a jail.

 

[winnielinnie]

You can still manually manage your own jails, rather than use the "official" Plugin method. It's simply a matter of using the pkg tool to install/update the jail's software within.

 

[danb35]

Really, it's been the case for quite some time that the best practice for using plugins is to not use plugins. But Morgan's denials notwithstanding, I suspect CORE's days are numbered.

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

But Morgan's denials notwithstanding, I suspect CORE's days are numbered.

I hope this is not the case. If you manage your own jails, CORE is a rock solid platform. I would rather roll my own jail host than switch to Docker, if that really comes to pass.

 

[diskdiddler]

Really, it's been the case for quite some time that the best practice for using plugins is to not use plugins. But Morgan's denials notwithstanding, I suspect CORE's days are numbered.

Well I started with plugins a long long time ago, got sick of the problems and abandoned them but I'm having issues with docker talking to my NAS nowadays, over SMB it's not working great for file writes. So at least a couple of services I need to put back on the NAS.

 

[diskdiddler]

I hope this is not the case. If you manage your own jails, CORE is a rock solid platform. I would rather roll my own jail host than switch to Docker, if that really comes to pass.

They said it's not the case at iX and considering performance problems with SCALE and maturity, I can't see core going anywhere for at least 3 to 5 years. Netflix use BSD for a reason.

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

The problem with plugins is not a technical one. It's a matter of dedicated manpower. I perfectly understand that iXsystems does not put much continuous effort into keeping the plugins up to date and facilitating updates from the UI.

The main cause of frustration is of course the mere existence of the plugin repository. For the user new to TrueNAS this looks like an integral part of TrueNAS and they expect the same quality and reliability as TN itself has got.

Difficult ... possibly something like TrueCharts - an open source community curated plugin repo could be a solution. What do you think?

 

[danb35]

an open source community curated plugin repo could be a solution

I thought that's what we were supposed to have already.

But you're right about the problem--maintaining these things takes manpower, and it's manpower iX don't have or aren't willing to spend in that way. The easy solution would be to get rid of plugins altogether, but then they couldn't advertise (as they have since 8.x) that they have plugins. So they keep them there, and I guess hope nobody actually uses them. I'm not sure how else to interpret what Kris says here:

using plugins on CORE is a path to sadness. The plugin system is more or less deprecated and as you can tell, somewhat unstable.

and here:

The plugin system on CORE is for all intents and purposes deprecated and in pretty rough shape right now,

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

I thought that's what we were supposed to have already.

I never worked with plugins, sorry. So there is a public repo on github and they take pull requests etc.? And that's what every live TrueNAS uses? In that case ... well. Going to check that. Possibly I can turn my partly ansible managed jails into plugins. I use - of course - VNET and no NAT. Don't know if that could be a problem. Why did they use NAT for the plugins in the first place when they have a full network stack available?

Also, reading Kris' statements - wasn't it obvious to them that once you publish a Nextcloud plugin you need to update that roughly every month? Or at whatever frequency Nextclouders publish their updates. I wonder what the state of the new shiny official collaboration is, now

 

[danb35]

So there is a public repo on github and they take pull requests etc.?

There is a public repo. The one PR I submitted was ignored for six months and then implemented differently, but that's been some time ago. But this might be relevant for you:

Create an unofficial iocage plugin

Jurgen Segaert submitted a new resource: Create an unofficial iocage plugin - This resource will walk you through the process of setting up an iocage plugin Scope This resource will walk you through the process of setting up an iocage plugin. The intent is to familiarize people with the basic...

www.truenas.com

Why did they use NAT for the plugins in the first place when they have a full network stack available?

Because networking has been a PITA for jails since roughly forever; I forget how many iterations of my Nextcloud script were just fixing iocage networking problems that were introduced with new releases. I expect NAT works more predictably.

 

[Dice]

I found the plugins to be more of a hassle than rewarding :/

As soon as I had the possibility to setup a docker hosting ubuntu-VM, I moved all of it from Free/True-NAS.
The moment I stopped relying on updates, or being worried that FN updates would cause havoc for jails, sysadmin life became a whole lot easier. The drama went afk.

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

Because networking has been a PITA for jails since roughly forever;

As someone running a four figures number of jails I disagree. VNET Jail networking is easy and straightforward. The problem is that TrueNAS starts with wrong/unsupported defaults from the beginning.

 

[danb35]

OK, I'll amend my statement to "PITA for Free/TrueNAS jails since roughly forever," as I haven't worked with them in any other context.