Network home directories

Problems:
Moving files between builders requires copying them to localhost and back (slow) or forwarding your ssh-agent around (poor security). Different amounts of free local storage mean pokybuild has different size constraints on different builders which isn't helpful.

Solution:
Beth and I propose that we mount user home directories from the NAS on the autobuilder stack so that user files are shared across the build infrastructure. We will keep a copy of bare home directories with ssh keys on the filesystem below the network mount so that logins will continue to function even during a NAS outage.

Interruption:
Setting this up requires moving user home directories from /srv and consolidating the data. This wouldn't interrupt the builders but would keep some users from logging in for several minutes.

What we gain:
This offers the benefit of shared files across the builders as well as keeping the local disk free for poky builds. It allows easy tear-down and rebuilding of slave hosts because unique data is separated from local storage.

Does this break anyone's existing workflow? Any other concerns?

Michael Halstead
Yocto Project / Sys Admin