In openntpd ebuilds starting with version 20080406-r3, logging was changed from using the default standard syslog to running the daemon in debug mode, logging to stderr, and having start_stop_daemon background the process itself and redirect the output to a log file.
I think this is broken. First of all, this change was made due to complaints about boot delays. A delay at boot *only* occurs if you have added the -s option to set the time immediately at start up. If and only if the -s option is used, openntpd will delay up to 15 seconds trying to reach a time server in order to initially set the time before daemonizing into the background. If the -s option is not used, openntpd will immediately daemonize with no delay. Note that the -s option is *not* the default when the ebuild is installed. If you explicitly add the -s option, you are requesting that the time be set at start up before any other processes are started. It's kind of stupid for somebody to request that ntpd set the time and then complain that there is a delay while it's trying to do so. If somebody does not want a boot delay, the answer is to tell them to remove the -s option, not to Rube Goldberg the startup script and logging. Second, this change actually *breaks* functionality for people who *do* want the time set at start up before other processes are run. With the original behavior, ntpd would set the time before the startup script would return, and any process starting afterwards would be assured of the correct time (unless there was a network failure or ntp outage). With this implementation, ntpd is forked off into the background and the next startup script immediately run, potentially before ntpd has had a chance to actually set the time. Third, -d is "debugging" mode, not "let's just not background and log to stderr" mode. At the very least, -d results in a ton of additional log output that would not normally be generated. Without auditing the code, I don't know what other changes to the normal behavior it might result in, but in general, running a production service in debug mode is not typically a good idea. I opened a bug about these issues (491134), and the latest version does add a new syslog use flag allowing you to use the standard logging rather than running in debug mode (although the implementation is a bit fragile, a hardcoded sed in the ebuild that deletes specific lines from the init script after it is copied in). This version does still unconditionally copy in a logrotate config file that could potentially conflict with somebody's existing configuration. I was unable to come to an agreement with the current maintainer of the ebuild on this design, and would like some general feedback from the larger community of developers on this topic. Thanks much.
