WARNING: sysf is an administration tools which can modify important
system files across an entire network. Configuring or using sysf
without a detailed understanding of how it works can seriously damage
vital files on many hosts at once. Although sysf has been
thoroughly tested
by its author there is no guarantee that it is entirely bug free. It is thus
recommended that every user tests new configurations on dummy files before
deploying them on a real system.
sysf is available as rpm packages (source and binary) as well as
a tared compressed set of source files.
sysf rpm package.
The installation of packages is straightforward: simply execute the command
# rpm -i sysf-2.04-1.i386.rpm
This installs the executable files /etc/sysf.cf.SAMPLE,
/usr/local/sys/config/sysf.conf.SAMPLE and
/usr/local/sys/config/hosts.conf.SAMPLE following the rules used by
rpm to upgrade configuration files when they exist.
The executable files are /sbin/sysf, /sbin/sysfrpm and
/sbin/oeh. Moreover the directory
/usr/local/sys/config/BIN_SAMPLE is also created, containing various
auxiliary command script files. One can then rename the directory
/usr/local/sys/config/BIN or if it exists already, copy any file
into it. rpm also create the following directories in
/usr/local/sys/config :
extra, cron, daemons, etc,
filesys, keys, login, info,
mail, net, nis, rc, root,
printing, security, xinetd and X11.
The documentation is installed as postscript, sgml and html files in the
directory /usr/share/doc/sysf-2.04
sysf does not use any fancy library, but rpm might
complain about some package dependency. If so, the simplest way to fix the
problem is to install the source rpm:
# rpm -i sysf-2.04-1.src.rpm
and to create the rpm file on your system as follow:
# rpm -bb /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/sysf-2.04.spec
The new package file is /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386/sysf-2.04-1.i386.rpm
and it should install on your system without any problem.
If there are any problem during the compilation, uncompress the sources
/usr/src/redhat/SOURCES/sysf-2.04.tar.gz ina directory of your choice
and read the instruction given below. AFter fixing the problem, tar and
compress the file and replace the file
/usr/src/redhat/SOURCES/sysf-2.04.tar.gz with yours before executing
the command
# rpm -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/sysf-2.04.spec
This will create a new binary rpm file as well as a new source rpm file that
includes your modifications.
sysf from the source.
To compile sysf from the source files, uncompress the source
file in a directory of your choice as follow:
# gunzip -c sysf-2.04.tar.gz | tar -xf -
then follow the instruction given in the README.txt file.
After compiling or installing sysf one must perform the following
configuration steps.
config directory which must be on an NFS mounted
directory visible by all hosts on the network. The default is
/usr/local/sys/config. It is actually preferable to do this before
installing sysf./etc/sysf.cf. The path for the
config directory must be set correctly. The sysf rpm file
installs the file /etc/sysf.cf.SAMPLE which is a good starting
point.hosts.conf in the config directory. Define
at least the host group DEAD (which can be empty) and
ALL which must contain all the hosts. The file
hosts.conf.SAMPLE is a good place to start from but it obviously
needs to be customised.sysf.conf in the config directory. Configure
every entry that sysf will maintain. The first time one should start
with a few simple files and add some more progressively. The file
sysf.conf.SAMPLE is a good starting point.config group defined in the file
sysf.conf.config files for every sysf entry and every host.
# sysf -check ALL -h ALL -eh