Using Cockpit to manage multiple machines post 322

[autumnwalker]

I have a small fleet of Ubuntu VMs that I want to have a "single pane of glass" to manage - mostly package management, specifically updates.

I thought that Cockpit would be the way to go by using the Multiple Machine / host switcher capability; however, I now see that is deprecated in 322. I see the alternatives / workarounds, but it seems like Cockpit is now more intended to be used as a GUI for individual server management.

Am I missing something?

[Venefilyn]

As you said the host switch is deprecated since 322. However, you can use something like Cockpit Client which will show recently connected hosts. (duplicated localhost in screenshot as an example how it could look with different hosts)

[valterbarreira]

So i have Debian 13 on my desktop, if i want to manage different servers from my computer using cockpit client, i must install cockpit on my computer?

[Venefilyn]

If you're using Cockpit Client you don't need to install Cockpit on your computer

[valterbarreira]

So how do i login on my server that has cockpit installed?

[martinpitt]

Something like "[email protected]"

[martinpitt]

I.e. anything you use with ssh, plus an extra feature to specify a non-default port with host:port

[f1d094]

Can someone clarify for me: Is the multiple-host feature removed as of 322?

I am looking for a specific solution and arrived at Cockpit, only to find out that the specific feature I want is now deprecated. However, it is still listed in the "latest" documentation. I need to know if it is simply no longer favored and disabled by default, or if it is soon to be removed, or if the documentation has it erroneously listed with the latest version and it should no longer be there because it is already gone.

Please assume I know what I am doing and I don't need you to convice me that cockpit client is either sufficient/good for our purposes.

[Venefilyn]

Can someone clarify for me: Is the multiple-host feature removed as of 322?

Mentioned above but yes the host switcher is deprecated and disabled, not removed, since Cockpit 322. Reason being that the functionality of that feature wasn't ideal and had a lot of edge cases. It wasn't a simple list of hosts to connect to from your browser. The blog post for it has more information about why

https://cockpit-project.org/blog/cockpit-322.html

I am looking for a specific solution and arrived at Cockpit, only to find out that the specific feature I want is now deprecated. However, it is still listed in the "latest" documentation. I need to know if it is simply no longer favored and disabled by default, or if it is soon to be removed, or if the documentation has it erroneously listed with the latest version and it should no longer be there because it is already gone.

That is curious. Where in the docs is it mentioned? If you mean https://cockpit-project.org/guide/latest/multi-host then it has a warning at the top saying "This feature is deprecated as of Cockpit 322."

If it's somewhere else let me know and I'll fix it.

Please assume I know what I am doing and I don't need you to convice me that cockpit client is either sufficient/good for our purposes.

Cockpit Client is the only solution we have that offers hosts. We can certainly look into making an app you can host yourself that can serve as a Cockpit Client in the way of showing recent or favorite hosts that you can connect to, but the work needed for that with it being a self-hosted thing makes it not super ideal.

Cockpit Client solves that by being a dedicated app on your PC that doesn't need any hosting, as it is by itself a browser wrapper with a login screen with recent hosts and connect to

[f1d094]

That is curious. Where in the docs is it mentioned? If you mean https://cockpit-project.org/guide/latest/multi-host then it has a warning at the top saying "This feature is deprecated as of Cockpit 322."

If it's somewhere else let me know and I'll fix it.

Notably, it is listed as a feature on the main page:

You mention that it is "deprecated" but it is still listed in the documentation under "latest": https://cockpit-project.org/guide/latest/multi-host.html...the "latest" in the URL implies, to me at least, this is the latest documentation on the latest features that are still supported. Other projects I am familiar with have versioned documentation, and when a feature is no longer supported it stops appearing in the documentation as soon as support is dropped.

DEPRECATED with regards to software, means: a feature, function, or version that is still available but is no longer recommended for use and may be removed in the future.

I don't care if it is recommended for use, I know what I am doing and can assure you that Cockpit Client does not meet our use case. All I care about is this last part. Is support going to be removed entirely and if so, when?

If it is already removed then I will look for another solution.

[Venefilyn]

Notably, it is listed as a feature on the main page:

Thanks!

You mention that it is "deprecated" but it is still listed in the documentation under "latest": cockpit-project.org/guide/latest/multi-host.html...the "latest" in the URL implies, to me at least, this is the latest documentation on the latest features that are still supported. Other projects I am familiar with have versioned documentation, and when a feature is no longer supported it stops appearing in the documentation as soon as support is dropped.

DEPRECATED with regards to software, means: a feature, function, or version that is still available but is no longer recommended for use and may be removed in the future.

I'm not sure if you skipped most of my comments in this thread but I did say it is a deprecated feature that is disabled by default. It is still available and can be enabled following the guide which I linked before too.

We cannot say when it will be disabled. Likely will if there are breaking changes that prevent it from working as it should.