3. COMMAND

The sysf commands all have a verbose name (like install) and a short abbreviation (like I) . Every command that actually modifies the system or the config files have an upper case abbreviation. Most other command have a lower case abbreviation but some have an upper case one. Both the command name and the abbreviation must be preceded with the - character.

• install

      sysf -install CONFIG
      sysf -I CONFIG
  

  Install the configuration file. The configuration file overwrites the system file.
• first_install

      sysf -first_install CONFIG
      sysf -FI CONFIG
  

  Does the same as -install except that before the system file is overwritten by the config file, sysf makes a backup copy of the system file in the same directory using the same name but with the .DIST extension added to it. The backup copy is created only if it does not exist, making sure the distribution version of the file is always available.
• OS_install

      sysf -OS_install CONFIG
      sysf -OSI CONFIG
  

  This command is intended to perform the initialisation of a new host. All SHARED files are ignored. If the config file exists the system file is installed using the first_install command. If the config file does not exist nothing is done unless the sysf entry has the h flag set. In that case the config file is created using the new command.
• archive

      sysf -archive CONFIG
      sysf -A CONFIG
  

  Archive the system file. The configuration file is overwritten by system file. If the configuration does not exist, if it is a host group, a DEFAULT file or a SHARRED file an error message is displayed. One has to use the -new, -makedef or -makeshared flag instead.
• new

      sysf -new CONFIG
      sysf -N CONFIG
  

  Create a new configuration file (CONFIG.HOST) for the specified CONFIG name. This is used when there is no config file or when one wants to use a host specific file, rather than a group or DEFAULT one for this CONFIG entry. The archive command must be used to update the host specific config file once it exists.
• makedef

      sysf -makedef CONFIG
      sysf -MD CONFIG
  

  Create or update the default configuration file (CONFIG.DEFAULT) for the specified CONFIG name. This copies the system file into the DEFAULT config file. After doing this one should update the system files on all the hosts that use the DEFAULT config file.
• makeshared

      sysf -makeshared CONFIG
      sysf -MS CONFIG
  

  Create or update the shared configuration file (CONFIG.SHARED) for the specified CONFIG name. This copies the system file into the SHARED config file. There is no further update required as the file is shared by all computers.
• makegroup

      sysf -makegroup HOST_GROUP CONFIG
      sysf -MG CONFIG
  

  Create or update the default configuration file for the specified host group (CONFIG.HOST_GROUP) for the specified CONFIG name. This copies the system file into the HOST_GROUP config file. After doing this one should update the system files on all the hosts belonging to that host group.
• uninstall

      sysf -uninstall CONFIG
      sysf -U CONFIG
  

  Execute the BIN/CONFIG_NAME auxiliary command (if it exists) with the -Remove flag. Typically this will remove auxiliary files or symbolic links as in the rc directory. sysf does not do anything itself.
• info

      sysf -info CONFIG
      sysf -i CONFIG
  

  Display some information about the config entry including the last modification date, the size and full pathname of both the config file and the system file. It also tells if the configuration files and the system file are identical and which one of the two was modified last.
• check

      sysf -check CONFIG
      sysf -c CONFIG
  

  Checks that the configuration file and the system file are identical. Nothing is displayed unless the two file differ. This is typically used to check groups of config files and email the result using the MailTo parameter. If the system file does not exist, nothing is displayed, unless the echo option is turned on. One should do this from time to time to ensure that none of the super users have changed the system file without updating the corresponding config file. The diff command can be used to check how the files have been modified.
• is_not_conf

      sysf -is_not_conf CONFIG
      sysf -nc CONFIG
  

  Lists all the sysf entries with either no system or no config files. If neither the config file nor the system file exists, nothing is displayed as it is fair to assume this is intentional. This command is used to check the consistency of the entries defined in the sysf.conf file.
• diff

      sysf -diff CONFIG
      sysf -d CONFIG
  

  Lists the differences between the system file and the configuration file using the diff command. If after checking the consistency between the config files and the system files it appears that there are differences, one can use this command to list what the differences are.
• check_host

      sysf -check_host HOST CONFIG -h HOST2
      sysf -dh CONFIG
  

  List the config files which differ between HOST and HOST2. The sysf entries with the flag h and s set are ignored and produce no output. If a config file does not exist for neither hosts, then this is displayed only if echo is on. This sysf command is used to list the differences between two hosts, setting aside the files that are shared (s flag) or specifically host dependent (h flag). Notice that it is the config files that are compared, not the system files.
• diff_host

      sysf -diff_host HOST CONFIG -h HOST2
      sysf -dh CONFIG
  

  List the differences between the configuration files for HOST and HOST2 using the diff command. The sysf entries with the flag s set are ignored and produce no output. If a config file does not exist for neither hosts, then this is displayed only if echo is on. This sysf command is used to list the differences between two hosts. Notice that, unlike the -check_host command, the entries with the h flag set can be compared. While -check_host is used to list the files that differ between two hosts, this command is used to check what the differences actually are.
• cat

      sysf -cat CONFIG
      sysf -C CONFIG
  

  Displays the config file on the screen using the cat command.
• catsys

      sysf -catsys CONFIG
      sysf -Cs CONFIG
  

  Displays the system file on the screen using the cat command.
• list_groups

      sysf -list_groups
      sysf -lg
  

  List all the config groups.
• list_configs

      sysf -list_configs
      sysf -lc
  

  Lists all the config files by config groups.
• list_1group

      sysf -list_1group GROUP
      sysf -l1g GROUP
  

  Lists all the config files belonging to that groups.
• list_hosts

      sysf -list_hosts
      sysf -lh
  

  Lists the host groups with their members.
• list_hosts_group

      sysf -list_hosts_group HOST_GROUP
      sysf -lhg HOST_GROUP
  

  Lists all the hosts belonging to that groups. The list can be used inside a shell foreach loop to scan a list of hosts:

      foreach host (`sysf -lhg ALL`)
       rsh $host "df -k"
      end
  

  This is used by the oeh command to execute a shell command on a list of hosts.

3.1 HOSTS

The host on which the sysf command is executed is the default host. One can otherwise specify a host or a group of hosts on which to execute the command.

Groups are defined in the sysf.hosts file in the config directory. Group names must start with a Capital letter. The group name ALL should refer to all the known hosts.

For example sysf -h ritchie selects the host ritchie while sysf -h Sol2 selects the list of hosts members of the Sol2 group.

Multiple hosts can be entered in a coma separated list (which must not contain any space). So sysf COM -h kernighan,ritchie,pike executes the command COM on kernighan, ritchie and pike.

3.2 CONFIGS

The configuration names are listed in the sysf.conf file in the Config directory. At least one config file must be specified. They can also be specified by group (the second column in sysf.conf). The name ALL corresponds to all the config files.