Make ModSecurity CRS repositories easier to manage

_Issue originally created by user soufianebenali on date 2019-10-17 15:11:02. Link to original issue: https://github.com/SpiderLabs/owasp-modsecurity-crs/issues/1600._

As discussed by csanders-git and bittner on Slack, and related to #1346 and #1420, we’re proposing to simplify the repository structure and branching model of all repositories related to ModSecurity CRS.

1. SpiderLabs/owasp-modsecurity-crs
2. CRS-support/modsecurity-docker
3. CRS-support/modsecurity-crs-docker

In a nutshell, we propose to:

• flatten the branches in the first 2 repos above into a single branch,
• placing the content of the branches in folders in that main branch, and
• move the maintenance of the owasp/modsecurity-crs Docker image to a dedicated repository.

We also think it’s worth to align the naming/wording with other popular free software projects and common best practices.

1. Refactor owasp-modsecurity-crs

Planned tasks:

• Create a new folder tests in the root folder
• Move util/regression-tests/ -> tests/regression/, and util/integration/ -> tests/integration
• Rename folder documentation/ to docs/
• Create folder examples/ and move crs-setup.conf.example -> examples/crs-setup.conf
• Inside the rules/ folder create a folder for every version of rules, e.g. rules/v3.1/, rules/v3.2/, rules/v3.3/
• Switch from branch-based versioning to folder-based versioning, on a single main branch (e.g. master)

2. Refactor modsecurity-docker

Planned tasks:

• Switch from branch-based versioning to folder-based versioning, on a single main branch (e.g. master)
• Clean up Dockerfile implementations for all supported combinations of ModSecurity and Apache/Nginx versions (inherit from existing, stable images as much as makes sense)
• Automate building images for all supported combinations of ModSecurity and Apache/Nginx versions

3. Refactor modsecurity-crs-docker

Planned tasks:

• Move the Docker setup from owasp-modsecurity-crs to the new modsecurity-crs-docker repository
• Automate building images for all supported CRS versions on the various flavors of the modsecurity-docker images

Final comments

In essence, this is a flattening of the branching model, moving from a version-based branching to a trunk-based branching where the various versions (and technology combinations) are in subdirectories of the repository. The resulting repository structure should make it easier to overview and manage the code base.

A simple example of how this could look like may be appuio/container-oc. Please take a look at the structure and how we try to make updates easy by fully scripting the adaptions across all supported versions.

Please, let us know your thoughts! When we agree on this approach we would attempt doing the refactoring in a very short time frame, so the disruption is minimal and we can avoid any kind of “transition phase”.

[CRS-migration-bot]

User soufianebenali commented on date 2019-10-22 11:56:50:

Hi all,

I can join the Meetup in Bern Wednesday next week.

Thank you and see you there.

[CRS-migration-bot]

User bittner commented on date 2019-10-22 07:55:15:

Absolutely!

1. We’ll create an issue and PRs in CRS-support/modsecurity-docker for the ModSecurity container images.
2. We’ll create an issue and PRs in CRS-support/modsecurity-crs-docker for the CRS container images.
3. We’ll create a PR here, in this repository for the minimal refactoring of the util folder. We’ll probably need some support with adjusting the test setup and CI configuration related to that, but that can certainly happen in the PR.

We are verifying who of us will be able to attend the Meetup. (I already have an appointment for that evening, unfortunately.)