On Tue, Dec 19, 2006 at 05:58:08PM +1100, atstake atstake wrote:
> Not directly OpenBSD related but I thought I'd ask. I'd like to use a
> revision control system to manage files on 25-30 servers but I'm not
> sure whether I'd use a centralized repository or have a separate
> revision control system on each box. It would also be good to know how
> much leverage can a revision control system can give over a
> "make-backup-before-change" policy in the long run and also what files
> and directories should I add to it. Anything else anyone would like to
> add from experience would be much appreciated.
Interesting question. Others have given sensible answers about which
programs to use; I don't have too much to add to them, other than to
mention that rdist works well for a small number of machines.
For a bit of background, I maintain a handful of servers dedicated to
several different jobs, and the below should be read in this context:
I'm sure that very different solutions are called for when maintaining,
say, a grid of a couple hundred identical boxes. Also, I am the sole
admin on these boxes.
I've found that the point of those 'host management' thingies is not so
much to keep versioning information on obscure configuration files that
are only present on a single host; configuration files are usually
simple, change very little, and since you need a good backup system
anyway, having version control for them is not all that necessary
(though I do try to keep them in a versioning system, and the above
shouldn't be taken to mean that it's not a good idea to do so - it's not
really necessary, though).
However, keeping configuration in sync across multiple machines is
*much* more important. For instance, I've been doing quite a bit of work
lately to create one single postfix configuration that can work on all
my boxes [1]; this is rather useful, as Postfix is somewhat complex and
all the different configurations make it difficult to track down
problems. Similarly, all newly installed hosts get some key files and
configuration that allows AMANDA to make backups, me to log in, and
tells SSH not to accept passwords.
Also, daily backups are a must.
Joachim
