ntp drift file in /etc/ntp instead of /var/lib/ntp - suggestion for a patch in Slack

mRgOBLIN · 05-07-2009, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niels.horn

I respect (most) upstream developers, but my idea of open software is that I am in control.
So if I think that non-static files don't belong in /etc, I'll move them to a better place.

Couldn't agree more and I'd never even suggest that it wasn't an option for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by niels.horn

One thing I learned after several decades of working in the IT / support business is not to accept simply what suppliers / upstream developers tell me to do. I question things a lot. And I don't accept answers like "we do it this way because we always did it this way". I am always open for good arguments though.

By the same logic, while we do try to adhere to the FHS we won't blindly follow anything if it does not work for us or we have good reason to do it some other way... the sword has two edges

@bgeddy
Welcome

niels.horn · 05-07-2009, 07:35 PM

I did some checking on desktops running Slackware.
The basic difference between the servers and the desktops is that the servers stay on 24x7 (safe maintenance etc.) and desktops are turned off at night and turned on the next day.

On the desktops I found several files that are changed with each boot:

Code:

/etc/ld.so.cache
/etc/random-seed
/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules (boxes with two NICs)
/etc/motd
/etc/gtk-2.0/gtk.immodules
/etc/printcap (done by CUPS)
/etc/mtab

All of this is done by the normal initialization scripts so this is expected behavior.

On the servers, all of the above-mentioned files are static and do not change during normal operation. /etc/mtab will change of course if you mount / unmount volumes.

I also checked the sequence of services started and saw that rc.ntpd is initialized after (in this order):
- starting rc.pcmcia
- starting udev
- initializing the network hardware
- starting USB/SCSI/IEEE1394/etc devices
- starting network daemons
- mounting the volumes from fstab
So I can put the drift file on /var/lib/ntp even if that is on a volume mounted via NFS on a different server.
So, no excuse to leave it in /etc !