Re: /etc, /usr/etc and bootdisks
Just responding to a few points in this...
On Fri, 4 Jul 1997, Vadim Vygonets wrote:
> > "We eventually decided that /etc should be the only directory that
> > is actually referenced by programs (that is, everything should look
> > for configuration in /etc and not in /usr/etc). [...]
> > [...] Then, specific files (in /etc) on specific machines may or
> > may not be symbolically linked to appropriate configuration files
> > located in /usr/etc."
>
> Pay attention: may or may not. I prefer not. BTW, continuing the
> quote: [... /usr/etc is, then, optional ...]
I think you and I are still getting different readings of this.
As I read it, it says that programs should only look for config
files in /etc. If config files are placed in /usr/etc without
being symlinked from /etc, then programs which only look in
/etc for config files won't find the config files in /usr/etc.
I think the "may or may not" part is trying to say that if
a particular program has its config files in /usr/etc in
the shared /usr filesystem on the server, then individual
machines may either have symlinks to those files in /etc
on their local root partitions, or may not have the symlinks
(and here's what I'm reading into it) but may instead have
local machine-specific config files installed in /etc.
Could one of the debian-devel FSSTND experts please clarify this?
> Ok. If you want to allow them to make system-wide config
> machine-local, use Yann's proposal, then (remember? first search in
> /etc, then in /usr/etc).
Then, it seems to me, that we'd be requiring all software which
runs on debian systems and which uses config files to operate in
a manner other than the linux FSSTND says it should operate.
That's a bad thing, IMHO. We ought to follow the FSSTND.
If there's disagreement with the FSSTND, then those who
disagree with it should urge the FSSTND caretakers to change
it.
> > Also, sopport scripts/programs/procedures need to be put in
> > place which would get changes made in the central machine's
> > root partition (package install/upgrade/removal, manual sysadmin
> > changes, etc.) get propagated to the root filesystems on the
> > networked debian workstations (and that changes which are
> > inappropriate to propagate do not get propagated). [...]
>
> You mean things like upgrading /bin/ed and /etc/resolv.conf?
Yeah. Basically, sysadmin is done on the server, and the
root partition changes which need propagating out to the
workstations get automagically propagated by scripts and
cron jobs. There are probably some tough special cases
lurking there somewhere -- like upgrading a package containing
a root partition program, and where the upgraded package is
somehow incompatable with the old programs (new config file
format maybe). Another special case would be a standby
file server -- it should probably not mount the shared /usr,
but should run audits to be sure its /usr partition stays
in sync with the shared one. Such special cases will hopefully
shake out as we go through a couple of alpha versions of this.
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