what's the deal with the installation code?

[perlhead]

I'm looking into porting Amahi to Debian/ARM, as the project seems promising. For starters, I'm installing the Fedora/386 version on a virtual machine, and I can't help but wonder why Amahi needs an installation code.

A very cursory look at the installation software shows that it's checked against the project's servers, and that the configuration information entered during installation code generation are retrieved from there, but this seems a really extremely roundabout and cumbersome way of configuring the server, requires a connection to the Internet for installation, and some users may object to potential privacy issues. The FAQ does not mention why the installation code is needed.

What's the exact purpose of the installation code?

[cpg]

Hi perlhead,

Per your suggestion we put it in the FAQ.

Amahi is not a conventional distro. Amahi is something new, more like a managed server, with expanding capabilities and services over time. Offline installation and operation are not really a priority like conventional distros.

It started as a way of managing the updates of home servers for friends. And over time the idea caught on.

Hope that helps!

[perlhead]

Hi perlhead,
Per your suggestion we put it in the FAQ.

Nice!

Amahi is not a conventional distro. Amahi is something new, more like a managed server, with expanding capabilities and services over time. Offline installation and operation are not really a priority like conventional distros.

Currently, I must say that I fail to see any advantages to entering my network data in a remote server instead of on the device itself. Maybe in the future that can change due to added services, but it's hard to say now. Right now, it looks too cumbersome to me.

[whetu]

Currently, I must say that I fail to see any advantages to entering my network data in a remote server instead of on the device itself. Maybe in the future that can change due to added services, but it's hard to say now. Right now, it looks too cumbersome to me.

I agree with this, but I can see the advantages of the current system too. I'd personally prefer that the end users get the option of a 'push' update method such as this, or a 'pull' update method (i.e. Auto: a cronjob that updates from a repo or Manual: a one click update button that does the same)

Maybe consider the push method as a recommended default for less-technical users, and the pull method for advanced users. Have it as an option during the install or something easily changed should an advanced user choose to...