Re: device file permissions the debian way

[Antony Gelberg <antony@antgel.co.uk>]

Haines Brown wrote:
> I'm trying to set up a new installation of debian so that user can
> play DVDs. I have debian sarge 2.6.8-2-686, an IDE dvd drive, gxine
> 0.4.1-1, libdvdread3-0.9.4-5. I can play .mp3 files OK with gzine.
>
> I created a dvd symlink:
>
>   $ ls -l /dev/dvd
>   lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root 3 Sep 11 08:25 /dev/dvd -> hdc
>
> I can play a dvd as root, but not as user. To play as user I am forced
> to use a 666 permission for the device file, which is not the debian way: 
>
>   $ ls -l /dev/hdc
>   brw-rw-rw-  1 root disk 22, 0 Jul 31 18:54 /dev/hdc  
>
> To do things the debian way, I should give /dev/hdc 660 permission and
> add the user to the disk group, but it doesn't work.

I'm not sure you should ever add a normal user to the disk group.  I 
also don't think you should add symlinks in /dev, although that is less 
dangerous.  Where is it written that this is TDW?

You may wish to investigate udev.  It should give /dev/hdc the correct 
group of cdrom, and it should be trivial to add a rule to create /dev/dvd.