Merge pull request #168 from tim-moody/release-5.1

Release 5.1

ReleaseNotes5.1.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+==========================
+Release Notes for XSCE 5.1
+==========================
+
+Release 5.1 pursues two parallel goals, the addition of New Features and Improvements to Existing Features.
+
+New Features
+============
+
+Samba
+-----
+
+In addition to being a web server, XSCE can now operate as a file server.  For this release /library/public is publicly shared by default, but another directory can chosen by changing the variable {{ shared_dir }}.  N.B. that an XO does not have samba-client installed by default.
+
+XOVis
+-----
+
+The XO Visualization package, created by Martin Dluhos, draws graphs that represent XO usage extrapolated from backup files on the server.  There are a number of ansible variables that can customize this package.
+
+vnStat
+------
+
+vnStat is another arrow in the management quiver that allows console-based network traffic monitoring for analysis and trouble-shooting.
+
+Easier Customization and Administration
+---------------------------------------
+
+With 5.1 we begin a framework to make customizing installations easier.
+
+* Introduction of vars/local_vars.yml: variable values in this file will override the values in vars/default_vars.yml.  A new git repo has also been created, https://github.com/XSCE/xsce-local, in which branches can be used to store variable settings for a particular deployment.
+* Conditional Install: we have begun to add install and enable flags for optional features.  Hopefully this will be built out further in the next release.
+* Standard Admin User: Variables are in place to add an administrative user the name and password of which can be customized through local_vars.yml.  There is also provision for a custom authorized_keys file which can be specified for a particular deployment.
+
+Support for Fedora 20
+---------------------
+
+A new rpm repo has been added with rpms for Fedora 20 at http://download.unleashkids.org/xsce/repos/xsce/testing/.
+
+Improvements
+============
+
+Internet-in-a-Box
+-----------------
+
+The version of IIAB has been upgraded to include Full Text Search in the wikipediae and in Open Street Maps.
+
+Squid
+-----
+
+Whitelist filtering and https filtering have been added.
+
+Ansible Structure
+-----------------
+
+Nine aggregate categores have been created to make a clearer delineation of xsce features.  Changes required by ansible 1.6. have also been implemented.
+
+OpenVPN
+-------
+
+OpenVPN was in previous releases, but without sufficient customization to make it easily implemented. This is now greatly improved and includes support for 3g modems.
+
+Portal
+------
+
+More localization and directory-driven content menus have been added.
+
+Testing
+=======
+
+Server Install
+--------------
+
+To get started please install git and ansible and then issue as root:
+
+cd
+
+git clone https://github.com/XSCE/xsce.git --depth 1 -b release-5.1
+
+cd xsce
+
+./runansible
+
+On an XO-4 the machine will reboot and it is necessary to execute ./runansible again.
+
+Some services, such as samba and Authserver, do not become active until a reboot.
+
+Server Tests
+------------
+
+A testing checklist is at https://github.com/XSCE/xsce/blob/master/docs/TESTING.rst.
+
+The first step in automating testing is reflected in https://github.com/XSCE/xsce-tests, which includes scripts that can be loaded onto an XO client to perform basic smoke tests.
+
+Please help test this and file bugs at https://github.com/XSCE/xsce/issues?state=open
+
+Platforms
+=========
+
+* 64 bit Intel: tested on both VBox and physical machines.
+* XO-4: the install works, but it may be necessary to issue ./runansible more than once or use the runtags command to install in smaller steps.
+
+Known Problems
+==============
+
+* Pathagar has a problem at source and is not installed by default.
+* On XO-4 it is sometimes necessary to reboot when network is configured and NetworkManager fails to restart.