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authorFabian Affolter <fabian@bernewireless.net>2010-11-09 00:29:52 +0100
committerFabian Affolter <fabian@bernewireless.net>2010-11-09 00:29:52 +0100
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diff --git a/doc/introduction/architecture-overview.txt b/doc/introduction/architecture-overview.txt
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+.. -*- mode: rst -*-
+
+.. _architecture-overview:
+
+Architecture Overview
+=====================
+
+Bcfg2 provides a declarative interface to system configuration. Its
+configuration specifications describe a literal configuration goal
+state for clients. In this architecture, the Bcfg2 client tool is
+responsible for determining what, if any, configuration operations must
+occur and then performing those operations. The client also uploads
+statistics and client configuration state information. The design
+and implementation of the reporting system is described on a separate
+:ref:`page <server-reports-index>`.
+
+A comprehensive description of the Bcfg2 Architecture (and the choices
+behind the design) can be found at :ref:`architecture-index`.
+
+Server
+------
+
+The role of the Bcfg2 server is rendering a client-specific target
+configuration description from a global specification. The specification
+consists of a directory structure containing data for a variety of server
+plugins. The Bcfg2 server has a plugin interface that can be used to
+interpret the configuration specification.
+
+Client
+------
+
+The Bcfg2 client is responsible for determining what operations are
+necessary in order to reach the desired configuration state. Read on
+for more information about :ref:`client-index`.
diff --git a/doc/introduction/index.txt b/doc/introduction/index.txt
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+.. -*- mode: rst -*-
+
+.. _introduction-index:
+
+Introduction
+============
+
+Bcfg2 helps system administrators produce a consistent, reproducible,
+and verifiable description of their environment, and offers
+visualization and reporting tools to aid in day-to-day administrative
+tasks. It is the fifth generation of configuration management tools
+developed in the `Mathematics and Computer Science Division`_ of
+`Argonne National Laboratory`_.
+
+.. _Mathematics and Computer Science Division: http://www.mcs.anl.gov/
+.. _Argonne National Laboratory: http://www.anl.gov/
+
+It is based on an operational model in which the specification can be
+used to validate and optionally change the state of clients, but in a
+feature unique to Bcfg2 the client's response to the specification can
+also be used to assess the completeness of the specification. Using
+this feature, Bcfg2 provides an objective measure of how good a job an
+administrator has done in specifying the configuration of client
+systems. Bcfg2 is therefore built to help administrators construct an
+accurate, comprehensive specification.
+
+Bcfg2 has been designed from the ground up to support gentle
+reconciliation between the specification and current client states. It
+is designed to gracefully cope with manual system modifications.
+
+Finally, due to the rapid pace of updates on modern networks, client
+systems are constantly changing; if required in your environment,
+Bcfg2 can enable the construction of complex change management and
+deployment strategies.
+
+
+.. toctree::
+ :maxdepth: 2
+
+ architecture-overview
+ os-support
diff --git a/doc/introduction/os-support.txt b/doc/introduction/os-support.txt
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+.. -*- mode: rst -*-
+
+.. _os-support:
+
+What Operating Systems Does Bcfg2 Support?
+------------------------------------------
+
+Bcfg2 is fairly portable. It has been successfully run on:
+
+* `AIX`_, `FreeBSD`_, `OpenBSD`_, `Mac OS X`_, `OpenSolaris`_,
+ `Solaris`_.
+
+.. _AIX: http://www.ibm.com/aix
+.. _FreeBSD: http://www.freebsd.org/
+.. _OpenBSD: http://www.openbsd.org/
+.. _Mac OS X: http://www.apple.com/macosx/
+.. _OpenSolaris: http://opensolaris.org/
+.. _Solaris: http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/
+
+* Many `GNU/Linux`_ distributions, including `Archlinux`_, `Blag`_, `CentOS`_,
+ `Debian`_, `Fedora`_, `Gentoo`_, `gNewSense`_, `Mandriva`_,
+ `OpenSUSE`_, `Red Hat/RHEL`_, `Scientific Linux`_, `SuSE/SLES`_, `Trisquel`_,
+ and `Ubuntu`_.
+
+.. _GNU/Linux: http://www.gnu.org/gnu/Linux-and-gnu.html
+.. _Archlinux: http://www.archlinux.org
+.. _Blag: http://www.blagblagblag.org/
+.. _CentOS: http://www.centos.org/
+.. _Debian: http://www.debian.org/
+.. _Fedora: http://www.fedoraproject.org/
+.. _Gentoo: http://www.gentoo.org/
+.. _gNewSense: http://www.gnewsense.org/
+.. _Mandriva: http://www.mandriva.com/
+.. _OpenSUSE: http://opensuse.org/
+.. _Red Hat/RHEL: http://www.redhat.com/rhel/
+.. _Scientific Linux: http://www.scientificlinux.org/
+.. _SuSE/SLES: http://www.novell.com/linux/
+.. _Trisquel: http://trisquel.info/
+.. _Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com/
+
+Bcfg2 should run on any POSIX compatible operating system, however
+direct support for an operating system's package and service formats
+are limited by the currently available :ref:`client-tools-index`
+(new client tools are pretty easy to add). Check the :ref:`FAQ
+<faq-general>` for a more exact list of platforms on which Bcfg2
+works`.