[wpkg-users] WPKG uninstalls unmanaged software?

[Kevin Keane]

Hello Falko,

-----Original Message-----
From: Falko Trojahn [mailto:nospam_ft at smi-softmark.de] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2011 2:02 AM
To: wpkg-users at lists.wpkg.org
Cc: Kevin Keane
Subject: Re: [wpkg-users] WPKG uninstalls unmanaged software?

Hello Kevin,

Am 06.06.2011 13:31, Falko Trojahn wrote:


> Included is the requested information. The log file ends  > abruptly because the antivirus removal reboots the computer.
 >
 > No, this computer has definitely never seen WPKG.
 > WPKG client is also not installed.
 >
 > I made a mistake in my problem report. Originally,  > I stated that McAfee was included  > in my profiles "workstation" and "server". That is actually  > not the case.
 > I have a package.xml file McAfee, but it is actually  > currently not used in any profile.

> Well, just had a look at the version of wpkg.js you are using: 1.1.1 At http://wpkg.org/Download you find stable version 1.1.2 from Sep. 2009
- why do you use such an old Wpkg version?

I thought I used 1.1.2 - not sure where the 1.1.1 came from. I'll update that, of course!

I already returned that computer, but will retry it next time.


...
2011-06-06 00:17:49, DEBUG   : WPKG 1.1.1 starting...
...
2011-06-06 00:18:01, DEBUG   : Checking existence of package: McAfee ASAP
2011-06-06 00:18:01, DEBUG   : Reading variables from package McAfee ASAP
...
2011-06-06 00:18:01, DEBUG   : Uninstall entry for McAfee Virus and 
Spyware Protection Service was found: test successful
2011-06-06 00:18:01, DEBUG   : Adding settings node: 'McAfee ASAP' 
(mcafeeasap), Revision 4
...
2011-06-06 00:18:06, DEBUG   : Found installed package 'McAfee ASAP' 
(mcafeeasap).
2011-06-06 00:18:06, DEBUG   : Marking package 'McAfee ASAP' 
(mcafeeasap) for remove
...
2011-06-06 00:18:08, DEBUG   : Removing package 'mcafeeasap'.
2011-06-06 00:18:08, DEBUG   : Package 'McAfee ASAP' (mcafeeasap): Not 
yet processed during this session.
2011-06-06 00:18:08, DEBUG   : Removal of depending packages for 'McAfee 
ASAP' (mcafeeasap) successfully finished.
2011-06-06 00:18:08, INFO    : Removing McAfee ASAP (mcafeeasap)...


> Wpkg detects your McAfee package as installed and removes it, since it is not assigned to your host.

The question is: why does wpkg detect it as installed in the first place? The whole point of the discussion a while ago was that wpkg supposedly does *not* detect installed programs unless they are listed in wpkg.xml.

> It would be nice if you could really reproduce the same situation and use wpkg.js from svn.

> But I think, in this situation, Wpkg does the things not so bad:

One can indeed make the case that this behavior is acceptable. The problem is more that it contradicts something that was explicitly stated. Worse, it appears that in *some* scenarios, software gets removed, and in others it is left untouched. Nothing worse than inconsistent behavior in a tool that is supposed to help make your environment more consistent.

Personally, I think that a new feature would be desirable to control this on the profile level.

In profile.xml, the package tag could be enhanced by adding an attribute:

Today:

        <package package-id="openoffice" />

New:

        <package package-id="openoffice" action="XXX" />

Where XXX is:

- install (same as action= attribute omitted): same behavior as today
- remove (always uninstall if the package already exists, even if it is missing in wpkg.xml)
- skip (don't install or uninstall regardless of whether it is listed in wpkg.xml)
- manage (add to wpkg.xml if found, but don't install if it is missing).
- unmanage (remove from wpkg.xml but do not uninstall)


> I've just made a quick test to reproduce your situation:

I think one possible difference between your scenario and mine is that you *had* a wpkg.xml. In my case, wpkg.xml didn't exist at all. It should theoretically be the same whether you just delete 7zip from the wpkg.xml, or you delete the whole file - but maybe it isn't?

Thank you very much for looking into this!