Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 13:38:55 +0500 From: Konstantin Chuguev <joy@urc.ac.ru> To: Brandon Gillespie <brandon@roguetrader.com> Cc: freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: more modular rc/init/uninit system... Message-ID: <36B1739E.1A22A983@urc.ac.ru> References: <19990129001516.A21986@cold.org>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
I don't want to make yet another flame.
IMO the only thing missing in today's FreeBSD rc system is inability to
REconfigure the system by changing variable values in rc.conf[.local].
I prefer to see all variables WITH their values (read "system configuration")
in the one file. It is impossible in SYSV init system - you can see just
various system pieces, not their initialization values. In other words, you
can easily switch any service ON or OFF in SYSV. I'd prefer to customize them
in more details (and again, to see them all).
So, in FreeBSD system of my dream, rc.conf looks exactly the same way as for
now, plus rc.* scripts know somehow about how to reconfigure each of their
part.
For example, it could be implemented in the way vipw works: a sysadmin runs a
script which:
1. reads (includes) the (old) configuration - rc.conf[.local] - and saves
it in shell variables (probably adding "old_" prefix);
2. starts an $EDITOR rc.conf[.local] allowing a sysadmin to change some
variables;
3. reads (includes) the changed config file with new variable values (maybe
adding "new_" prefix);
4. analyzes changes between variables, makes correspondent actions
(switches interfaces up/down, changes/adds/deletes routes, loads/unloads
modules, restarts daemons etc.)
Of course, the key part of this is the last one. I don't think it's very
difficult, but definitely it requires rewriting rc.* scripts.
Probably I should already show you at least draft version of such new
configure scripts. I don't have them, sorry. I wouldn't even try to write
such scripts without guarantee that I won't have to rewrite them again and
again in case they are not in the distribution.
So it's a question of decision of all the FreeBSD community (well, at least
the core team :-) about is this stuff necessary/desired.
Brandon Gillespie wrote:
> This sortof thing has been discussed before, and in the past I have
> felt rather indifferent to the whole issue, but as I an paid to work
> more and more with SYSV style systems (pretty much everything not
> free, anymore) I have come to dislike some of the inadequacies of the
> BSD rc/init system. Specifically:
>
> 1) Have you ever wanted to re-run just a small subset of what is
> contained within /etc/rc or its sub ilk? And instead you ended
> up skimming the code and manually cutting and pasting to get
> the desired effect?
> 2) Have you noticed the growing number of modularized aspects for
> rc? (checkout /etc/rc.*)
> 3) How many times have you wanted to shutdown and/or restart a
> system process, started by these scripts and configured by
> rc.conf? Your only recourse is manually doing so...
> 4) What do you think of the dual standard with /etc/rc* vs
> /usr/local/etc/rc.d?
>
> This has made me reconsider the system, and at one point I thought
> about making a port/package that would frob the default rc system
> to be more of a hybrid SYSV/BSD system. However, the daunting factor
> of keeping it up to date has made me discard this idea. Instead,
> I'll just toss it out for discussion.
>
> To preface, I realize (and personally believe) that the SYSV method
> is overly complex. And largely irrelevant to BSD systems (without run
> levels). With this in mind I've tried to workup a modular _simple_
> system that could easilly work with what we have, and would give much
> benefit and gain (imho, of course :) Also note, it doesn't discard
> current mechanisms, it just enhances them. So while people would need
> to learn the expanded functionality, it is not a complete paradigm
> shift.
>
> Because I am not sure if this is even of interest, I'll just point to
> a page explaining my alternative hybrid idea:
>
> http://www.roguetrader.com/~brandon/rc-alt.html
>
> Frankly, it would not take much work to implement. The most work
> involved would be in updating the ports/packages that currently write
> their own init scripts to conform to a unified standard shared by both
> system rc files and /usr/local rc files. Changing /etc/rc* to the
> suggested system would probably take a day, with a week or so of testing.
>
> -Brandon Gillespie
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Part 1.2Type: application/pgp-signature
--
Konstantin V. Chuguev. System administrator of Southern
http://www.urc.ac.ru/~joy/ Ural Regional Center of FREEnet,
mailto:joy@urc.ac.ru Chelyabinsk, Russia.
To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?36B1739E.1A22A983>