[SLING-922] Load modules on startup from an external directory

• Type: New Feature
• Status: Closed
• Priority: Major
• Resolution: Fixed
• Fix Version/s: Launchpad Base 2.1.0
• Component/s: Launchpad
• Assignee: Felix Meschberger
• Reporter: Aaron Zeckoski
• Created: 15/Apr/09 10:47
• Updated: 22/Feb/13 12:18
• Resolved: 22/Feb/13 12:18

Description

Need a way to install and start bundles automatically from an external directory (sling home) on startup. The ideas below are from the list.
----------
> I would like to be able to setup sling to start with a bunch of
> installed bundles when it first is started. It seems like there are a
> couple way to do this that I have found but neither is ideal:
> 1) Rebuild sling from source with the extra bundles in the launcher
> pom (this seems to create a bunch of resources/# folders with bundles
> in them)
> 2) Configure all bundles in the sling.properties file (this requires
> the bundles to be in an accessible obr)
> http://incubator.apache.org/sling/site/provisioning-and-startup.html
>
> I would like to ideally do something in between like so:
> Get a binary copy of the sling jar
> Create a folder with sub-folders like /1 /10 /15
> Put my bundles in the various subfolders
> Configure sling.properties to point to the folder
> Start sling and have all bundles in the sub-folders installed and started

• Aaron Zeckoski
  ===============
  Currently, as you say in (1), the BootstrapInstaller of the Sling
  launchpad looks into its own resources enclosed in the JAR or WAR file
  for bundles to install on startup.

How about extending this mechanism like this:

• Copy all bundles from enclosed resources to
  ${sling.home}/startup. This gives something like
  ${sling.home}/startup/0, /1, /10, /15, ...
  Existing files are only replaced if the files
  enclosed in the Sling launchpad jar/war file are
  newer.
• Scan ${sling.home}/startup for bundles to install
  in the same way as today the enclosed resources
  are scanned directly.

So you could place your bundles in that structure and get them installed
at the requested start level (0 being "default bundle start level").

A nice side effect of this is, that you can quickly see, which bundles
have been installed at all.

• Felix
  =================
  I like this, and agree that this should replace the current mechanism.

How about adding a sling.properties option to completely ignore the
bundles that come from the Sling jar/war file? Might make it easier to
have precise control on what's installed.

-Bertrand
=================
Maybe worth it to make this optional or controllable via a property in the sling properties.

• Aaron Zeckoski

Issue Links

• is related to: SLING-1443 allow bundle loading to be forced