Re: Using subversion to manage system config files

On 2004-06-21 20:58-0700, Steven Brown wrote:

> The safest way is to just use the tried and true RCS approach. "ci
> -l" the file initially, and "ci -l" every time you want to commit a
> change. It'll drop the revision history file right next to the file
> you're working on, which is perfect for things like /etc where each
> file is usually a repository unit, and is highly visible to other
> admins poking around /etc. It's probably the only use remaining for
> RCS, but it fits the niche well.

Well, I have now used SVN over one year to version my /etc and I have
few comments to your statement:

First of all, SVN really shines when you have to commit a logical
change that spans over several config files. You know that you could
always revert your system to the previous state with single command if
something goes wrong. The second case when SVN marvels is when a
package installs new config files: you just run 'svn st' and you will
immediatelly see which files are new in /etc. Did I mention that with
SVN you have automatically a backup of your /etc in another partition?
Or how about sharing configuration between different machines?

I am a co-admin of one system, and there we are using RCS based
version system for /etc. And while RCS is better than nothing, it
isn't even near where SVN is today.

I don't understand how I could have administered my systems in the
before-Subversion-age.

BR, Jani

-- 
Jani Averbach
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: users-unsubscribe@subversion.tigris.org
For additional commands, e-mail: users-help@subversion.tigris.org