URGENT: REDHAT 6.1 STORES SAMBA PRIVATE FILES IN /etc

[Kevin Colby]

Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton wrote:
> 
> IN MY OPINION :)
> 
> - smb.conf file is file in /etc
> 
> - if you are concerned about novice users who may not be aware of the
> risks associated with modifying the file permisions: smbpasswd and *.mac
> are better off in a private directory (we use /usr/local/samba/private)
> where the permissions on the directory are rwx------ to root only.

The directory idea is fine, but I do agree that _all_ config
should be kept together--in /etc somewhere, preferably.
Keeping partial configs in different directory structures is
begging for problems.  Why not have it be /etc/samba/private
instead of /usr/local?

I can understand the desire for source to keep everything
under the /usr/local/samba/ tree, but if that is the case,
then everything--including smb.conf--should be there.

However, this situation can be a timebomb in production
environments.  Configs kept anywhere except /etc are often
misplaced, overwrote, lost, or worse.  /etc provides a little
centralized security too.  When a server goes down or is
scheduled for replacement, why should I have to go poking
through /usr/local/samba piece by piece.  The configs in /etc
should be all the local config I need.  Install new binaries
on a fresh system and simply drop in the old configs.

It needs to be noted that production demands are not the
same as development demands, and steps be taken accordingly.

	- Kevin Colby
	  kevinc at grainsystems.com