ME revision 43808
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243808SdillonWhen templating, /conf/ME is typically a softlink to
343808Sdillon/conf/<appropriate-machine>.  When doing a diskless boot, /conf/ME is
443808Sdillonretargeted by /etc/rc.diskless1 from pointing to the server to pointing
543808Sdillonto the client's directory, /conf/<ip-address-of-client>.  The retargeting
643808Sdillonis accomplished through an MFS -o union mount.
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843808SdillonWhen templating, this softlink should be different for each machine.
943808SdillonWhen doing a diskless boot, this softlink is typically part of the / NFS
1043808Sdillonmount from the server and points to the server's conf directory, but gets
1143808Sdillonretargeted during the /etc/rc.diskless1 phase.
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1343808SdillonSystem-wide configuration files must generally be targeted through /conf/ME.
1443808SdillonFor example, your /etc/rc.conf.local should become a softlink to
1543808Sdillon/conf/ME/rc.conf.local and your real rc.conf.local should go into the 
1643808Sdillonappropriate /conf/<appropriate-machine> directory.  This is also true of
1743808Sdillon/etc/rc.local, /etc/fstab, /etc/syslog.conf, /etc/ccd.conf, /etc/ipfw.conf,
1843808Sdillon/etc/motd, /etc/resolv.conf, and possibly even /etc/ttys ( if you want
1943808Sdillonto start an X session up on boot on certain of your machines ).
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2143808SdillonWhen templating, you duplicate your / and /usr partitions on each machine's
2243808Sdillonlocal disk from a single master ( assuming /var and /home reside elsewhere ),
2343808SdillonEXCEPT for the /conf/ME softlink.  The /conf/ME softlink is the only thing
2443808Sdillonon / that should be different for each machine.
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2643808SdillonThere are often categories of configuration files.  For example, all of your
2743808Sdillonshell machines may use one resolv.conf while all of your mail proxies may
2843808Sdillonuse another.  Configuration files can be categorized fairly easily through
2943808Sdillon/conf/HT.<category> directories.  You put the actual configuration file in
3043808Sdillon/conf/HT.<category> and make a softlink from
3143808Sdillon/conf/ME/<appropriate-machines>/config-file to "../HT.<category/config-file".
3243808SdillonThis means that access to these files tends to run through more then one
3343808Sdillonsoftlink.  The advantage is that for all the complexity of your /conf
3443808Sdillondirectory hierarchy, most of your common config files exist in only one place
3543808Sdillonin reality.
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