or just write the process down in a wiki/web page and then copy paste <br>or have a script to do the whole lot.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">2009/8/10 Michael H. Warfield <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mhw@wittsend.com">mhw@wittsend.com</a>></span><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div class="im">On Mon, 2009-08-10 at 19:00 +0100, Jules Field wrote:<br>
> I don't quite see what that would achieve that the<br>
> upgrade_MailScanner_conf doesn't.<br>
> I don't entirely understand your point, sorry.<br>
<br>
</div> The point is that upgrade_MailScanner_conf is a PITA. I typically have<br>
to have two screens up and refer back and forth while I've got the<br>
instructions from one process in one screen and performing the actions<br>
in another.<br>
<br>
The install script tells you to run upgrade_MailScanner_conf, but then<br>
it tells you "if you're running an rpm distro do..."<br>
<br>
cd /etc/MailScanner<br>
upgrade_MailScanner_conf MailScanner.conf MailScanner.conf.rpmnew > MailScanner.new<br>
mv -f MailScanner.conf MailScanner.old<br>
mv -f MailScanner.new MailScanner.conf<br>
<br>
... But then that tells you ...<br>
<br>
then you should do<br>
diff -w MailScanner.conf.rpmnew MailScanner.new<br>
and check for any differences in values you have not changed yourself.<br>
<br>
<br>
Once you have checked that MailScanner.new contains what<br>
you want, you can then save your old one and move the new<br>
one into place, using commands like these:<br>
mv -f MailScanner.conf MailScanner.old<br>
mv -f MailScanner.new MailScanner.conf<br>
<br>
That's a lot of manual steps that have to be performed each time on<br>
each system. Having a site configuration would obviate the need for all<br>
of that. You just update the main file which could be easily handled in<br>
a simple rpm update like all the other packages do.<br>
<br>
Mike<br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
> On 10/08/2009 18:42, Michael H. Warfield wrote:<br>
> > Hey all, Julian,<br>
> ><br>
> > I was just in the process of upgrading MailScanner on several machines<br>
> > and had been doing a few other similar things to some other packages and<br>
> > had a thought regarding the configuration file. Right now, we use the<br>
> > configuration upgrade script and some diffing and what not (I'm on an<br>
> > rpm based system - Fedora 10).<br>
> ><br>
> > Maybe this has been brought up in the past and dismissed and maybe<br>
> > there are good reasons for not doing it or may it can be done, I just<br>
> > don't know how... But... What about a separate, site specific,<br>
> > configuration file? Keep the main file with all the default options but<br>
> > then have the admin put customized options in a separate file and not<br>
> > modify the main file?<br>
> ><br>
> > Several other packages I know do it this way and it makes updating so<br>
> > much easier and less error prone. The main file would then have<br>
> > instructions to put customized values into the site file while it still<br>
> > retains all the possible options and their defaults and the detailed<br>
> > instructions. The admin can make the site file as complex or as simple<br>
> > as he likes. Updates then merely require a check that the main file has<br>
> > not been alter and then a simple replacement. Value checks and warnings<br>
> > could still be applied but then it would be to both the main and site<br>
> > specific file. Maybe make the configuration file(s) a colon separated<br>
> > string, like a PATH, with the last value read from any of them holding<br>
> > precedence.<br>
> ><br>
> > Yes, there is the possibility that the user might have some<br>
> > incompatible option in a site file that could cause a version skew<br>
> > problem. Given the normal tunable parameters, this would seem pretty<br>
> > unlikely and could be caught in the update check for default files.<br>
> ><br>
> > It would certainly make packaging for a distribution much easier and<br>
> > updates much more convenient for the system administrator.<br>
> ><br>
> > Just a thought.<br>
> ><br>
> > Regards,<br>
> > Mike<br>
> ><br>
><br>
> Jules<br>
><br>
> --<br>
> Julian Field MEng CITP CEng<br>
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</div></div><div><div></div><div class="h5">Michael H. Warfield (AI4NB) | (770) 985-6132 | mhw@WittsEnd.com<br>
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