Boot method: network
Image version: mini.iso with files within of Nov 30 09:49 2020
Date: sometime in Dec 2020

Machine: various
Processor: various
Memory: 8gb
Partitions: basically 2 ext4 parts, / + /home


Base System Installation Checklist:
[O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it

Initial boot:           [O]
Detect network card:    [O]
Configure network:      [O]
Detect CD:              [ ]
Load installer modules: [O]
Detect hard drives:     [O]
Partition hard drives:  [O]
Install base system:    [O]
Clock/timezone setup:   [O]
User/password setup:    [O]
Install tasks:          [O]
Install boot loader:    [O]
Overall install:        [O]

Comments/Problems:

After complete and successful installation, the following files have
these proxy config lines stored in them to be used with apt(titude)
and every application reacting to those environment variables.
Installation network setup was auto-configured while the system was
in a network with proxy-auto-config active.

Expectation:
when choosing auto-configure-network during installation, the
resulting system should be operative in every foreign environment.
(think of notebook in roaming use)

Result:
applications strictly following those hardwired configs can't operate
outside the original installation network, where the given proxy exists,
but nowhere else. PAC results during installation shouldn't be
'hardwired' into the system to last when moving to another network.

I tried to reproduce with WPAD or PAC in dhcp at home, but my knowledge
of those technologies didn't suffice to set it up properly.
If more info/details of the original network environment is required,
then I must ask for permission to reproduce, can take time (school in lockdown).

If the result is intentional for 'local use only', then this is no
defect but feature-request to add another option to choose between
'automatic config for local use' and '... roaming use'.

This is the result of 'fgrep -r proxy-IP /etc'.
------ QUOTE BEGIN ------
/etc/apt/apt.conf:Acquire::http::Proxy "http://10.x.x.x:8080";
/etc/apt/apt.conf:Acquire::ftp::Proxy "http://10.x.x.x:8080";
/etc/environment:http_proxy=http://10.x.x.x:8080
/etc/environment:ftp_proxy=http://10.x.x.x:8080
/etc/environment:https_proxy=http://10.x.x.x:8080
------- QUOTE END -------

Acknowledge on the problem.

Which possible solutions do we see?


Groeten
Geert Stappers

=- Geert Stappers wrote on Fri 30.Apr'21 at 22:04:09 +0200 -=

How about having a boot process check for the network strategy
(fixed or dhcp), and if dhcp, let it discover the proxy by WPAD/PAC
and store it in /var/run, and have general config include it from
there, if it exists, like:

/etc/profile.d/proxy-check:

DYNPROXYCFG=/var/run/proxy-cfg
if [ -s "$DYNPROXYCFG" ]
then
	. "$DYNPROXYCFG"
fi

Everything else not respecting those http_proxy vars would need
similar stuff. APT seems to have its own PAC features, which could/
should be used instead of storing fixed values, or use the same as
above (if APT/itude works with those http_proxy vars).

Rado