[Pkg-nagios-devel] Bug#849915: Bug#849915: provide hints for migrating from nagios3 packages

[Daniel Pocock]

On 02/01/17 09:26, Alexander Wirt wrote:
> On Mon, 02 Jan 2017, Daniel Pocock wrote:
> 
>> Package: icinga2
>> Version: 2.6.0-2
>> Severity: wishlist
>>
>> Now that nagios3 is being removed[1] from the next stable Debian
>> release, more people will potentially try to migrate to icinga2 or other
>> solutions.
>>
>> Could you provide any tips in the README.Debian file specifically for
>> people in that situation, e.g. a nagios3 user on Debian wheezy or jessie
>> who is migrating to icinga2 (either from backports or after upgrade to
>> stretch)?
>>
>> I notice this file in the package already:
>>
>> /usr/share/doc/icinga2/markdown/22-migrating-from-icinga-1x.md.gz
>>
>> and as Icinga1 was a Nagios fork, it appears most of it is also useful
>> to a Nagios user.
>>
>> To make the experience for package users easier, it might be useful to
>> provide some or all of the following:
>>
>> - comments about the way the nagios3 and icinga2 packages exist on a
>> Debian system, for example, the config file locations, related packages
>> like nagios-nrpe-server and their equivalents in the icinga2 world
> Icinga2 has not much in common with Nagios, it is a complete rewrite and you
> can't compare them. 
> 
> 
>>
>> - a list of the pages/sections of documentation that are essential
>> reading for somebody who already has basic Nagios knowledge
>>
>> - if possible, a quickstart procedure for running the migration, with
>> command line examples specific to a Debian system and file locations.
>> Even if there is not really a "quick" way to upgrade, a step by step
>> procedure that would help users who used the original Debian nagios
>> package files without too many changes.
>>
>> - should people migrate their config directly from nagios3 to icinga2,
>> or should they migrate their config to a database and then use some tool
>> to automatically generate icinga2 config files from the database?  Are
>> such tools already in Debian or are there RFP/ITP bugs for them?
> You can't migrate. It is not the same software and configurations can't get
> converted.
> 
> So, beside of upstreams "migration" hints, I don't see anything I can do. But
> you are of course free to write something. 
> 


Maybe you could add a more verbose statement like that to the
README.Debian then?  Then Debian users start with the right information.

E.g. maybe you could use/adapt this text: "While Icinga 1.x was a fork
of Nagios, icinga2 is significantly different from Nagios and the
nagios3 package in Debian.  You (can/can't???) install the icinga2
package onto a host where the nagios3 package is already installed.  The
icinga2 package doesn't interact with the nagios3 package at all and
doesn't attempt to use or import any of the existing configuration
files, nor will it break or interfere with the running Nagios instance.
No tool for migrating the configuration files is included in the
package.  For tips, make sure you install the icinga2-doc package and
see the file
/usr/share/doc/icinga2/markdown/22-migrating-from-icinga-1x.md.gz"

It could also be helpful to add another paragraph for people to help
decide if an icinga2 setup is the right solution for them: if they have
to start over, are there any other monitoring tools packaged in Debian
that they may also want to consider?