I'm a little confused here. When I make a fresh install of OACS 4 I simply
- Download acs-core and the packages I want from CVS someplace.
- Configure AOLserver
- Start up and let the bootstrap installer load the core
- Reboot as instructed
- Go to the APM and select "install packages"
- Check off those packages I want to install
- Check off more if I've checked off packages dependent on other packages (you might have to go back to CVS and pick up additional packages)
- Let it install
- Reboot AOLserver as instructed on the page.
- Mount the packages using the site map.
At this point the site's functional. There are a bunch of steps involved but none of them are particularly difficult.
Now ... this isn't well-documented at the moment, but keep in mind that our first ALPHA (not BETA) release isn't until next week. We're going to be working on improved installation documentation in the next few weeks. Vinod Kurup has offered to step up and help Roberto Mello get this rolling ASAP. Good installation documentation will help a lot.
As far as an improved "out of the box experience" goes, one of the things we're discussing is offering some pre-configured package options, for instance as with the dotLRN initiative. We also will be providing RPMs that will help RH users, at least, get things up and running in a default configuration more quickly (AOLserver configuration, loading of acs-core, etc).
But such things will augment, not replace, the more general scheme which relies upon the APM and Site Map packages to load and mount packages. It would be nice to have a "mount wizard" that would make it easier to do both in one fell swoop, but the existing process, though a bit tedious, isn't difficult to learn - or won't be, once proper documentation is in place.
At some level, the separation between mounting and loading packages must be maintained, in order to support mounting of packages at multiple mount points (particularly useful with subsites). Subsite support does add some complexity, but also a lot of functionality...
