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To: questions@freebsd.org, hackers@freebsd.org
Subject: /usr/local/etc/*.d...
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 22:47:51 -0500
From: "Brian J. McGovern" <mcgovern@spoon.beta.com>
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I was just tinkering around with 2.2-ALPHA, and noticed that some startup
information had been shifted from /etc/rc.local into individual shells
in /usr/local/etc/rc.d (and others, for X11 for instance).

Now, although I think this is a neat idea. I'm not real keen on the location
of the files....

As I run several FreeBSD boxes, I tend to keep one as a "server", and then
a series of clients. The "server" machine is the one with the big disk, and
maintains most of the binaries (ie - /usr/local/bin). The server also runs
most of the services - mail, the web server, anonymous ftp, the databases, etc.

The "client" machines usually only run a small subset of these (most 
notably removed are the Web servers, Samba, FTP, and a few others). 
Unfortunately, when I loaded 2.2-ALPHA on my first workstation, mounted 
/usr/local, /usr/src, /usr/ports, and /usr/X11 from the server, suddenly
a copy of my web server was running. It took me awhile to figure out that
that is where Apache got started from by default.

Now, I'm a little hesitant to conform to this "new standard", as, if I migrate
from using /etc/rc.local to the rc.* directories, these directories will now
be common across all machines (which is bad). 

Wouldn't it make more sense to stick it under /etc somplace, rather than in
/usr/local/etc (which, I know, has always been a rather stupid name for a 
directory you're most likely going to export?), so its not a "common place".
Either that, or change the standard path for user installed binaries to be
something other than /usr/local (perhaps /usr/export - more like the Sun
naming scheme).

In any event, just my two cents worth. I'm surprised more people haven't
commented.
	-Brian