[pca] back and annoyed

[Don O'Malley]

Hi Martin,

Answers inline (prefixed with "DOM>" for non-html mail clients)

Martin Paul wrote:
> Hi Don,
>
>> Works for me...
>
> I can now download the patchdiag.xref file again, both via HTTP and 
> HTTPS. Is it planned to keep HTTP support for that file at least? If 
> possible, I'd prefer to stick to HTTP for the xref file, as it 
> wouldn't force those people who use pca for analysis only to get an 
> SSL-enabled wget, too.
DOM> I don't believe that there are any plans to move the patchdiag.xref 
file to Akamai, but I will try to get confirmation.
>
>> It is worth noting that the patchdiag.xref file is still hosted on 
>> SunSolve and not akamai (which is the case for all patches).
>
> Yes, I noticed that and saw the different redirects.
>
>> I have been trying to gather a list of problems with wget patch 
>> access since the change to using the new download service.
>> http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-9-240066-1 was 
>> updated last Friday to reflect this information.
>
> Thanks for that!
DOM> If you feel that there is anything missing from this document that 
you feel would be useful please let me know and I can get it added.
>
>> My understanding was that the move to the new download service would 
>> be transparent, so I was hoping to confirm that everything was stable 
>> prior to publicizing it.
>> Unfortunately, this is obviously not the case.
>
> As of now I can see two things that changed:
>
> Downloading patches *requires* HTTPS, and therefore an SSL-enabled 
> wget. If this would have been announced earlier, it would have been 
> possible to tell people to get a new version of wget in time, if 
> required. Recent versions of pca already use HTTPS when wget supports 
> it, so the switch is usually transparent (minus possible firewall 
> issues).
DOM> Agreed. This was one thing that slipped through the cracks 
unfortunately. Like I said I wanted to ensure everything was working 
correctly prior to making folks aware of the changes.
DOM> I didn't anticipate the changes being as intrusive as they were. Sorry!
> I assume that HTTP support for patch downloads won't come back?
No, the new download service from getupdates2.sun.com only supports SSL.
>
> Downloading patch READMEs doesn't work anymore, neither with HTTP nor 
> with HTTPS. A URL like:
>
>    https://sunsolve.sun.com/pdownload.do?target=112837-20&method=r
>
> was working fine for years, and now returns a 0-byte text/html file. 
> This completely breaks pca's "--readme=ID" option. Is there an 
> alternate way/URL to access patch READMEs, or is there a chance that 
> the old method will be made to work again?
DOM> This is the first of heard of this one. I'll need to follow up and 
come back to you on this.
>
>> I have confirmed that the download service has been working correctly 
>> for the past hour (though there appears to have been an issue prior 
>> to that affecting some downloads).
>
> I had problems with stuck connections between 7:00 and about 10:00 MET 
> in the morning; now it seems to work as it's supposed, I guess.
DOM> This is the same time period I saw issues too. There has been an 
issue affecting some patch downloads identified and root caused. We are 
working to fix it asap.

Best,
-Don
>
> Martin.
>