Matthew Rosewarne on 9 Jan 2008 12:02:54 -0800


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Re: [PLUG] relevancy of config files (WAS Sharing an Internet Connection)


On Wednesday 09 January 2008, Jason wrote:
> On 1/8/08, Brent Saner <brent.saner@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey, how about a system-wide binary database for storing all
> configuration data.  Programs can register themselves automatically
> with the database, and start dumping all manner of stuff in there.
> Let's call it a "registry".  Oh wait... :-)

Just because those are the two most common (and most visible) approaches 
doesn't mean they are the *only* ways.  Just as most applications shouldn't 
need to care if its files are stored on a hard disk, USB stick, or NFS share,  
they're also better off not having to deal with the details of how its 
configuration is stored, only that it gets the information it needs.

> File me firmly in the "config file" column.  My server backups consist of:
>
> 1. Various config files
> 2. Volatile data (web sites, db dumps)
>
> I can do a base load of my server os, drop my config files back on,
> bounce a bunch of services (or just reboot), and blammo, I'm restored.
>  Copy back some websites, restore some dbs from the latest dumps, and
> I'm done.  I just recently did this to my production server to
> facilitate a move from RAID-1 to RAID-5.  Too easy.

This can work and often does, provided you know just what files you need to 
copy and are capable/willing to modify them if something goes wrong.  This is 
not something you can do *reliably* in an automated fashion without a 
staggering amount of work.

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