[Grml] Brittle init.d scripts - tmpfs ramfs

Mark 27e3kk302 at sneakemail.com
Thu Jan 25 02:46:25 CET 2007


I never thought Linux was so breakable.  We're moving mount points into
RAM for performance ( /var/log /var/run /var/lock etc. ).  Tmpfs or
ramfs can stop disk thrashing and speedup a system.  (Flash USB needs it
even more, to minimize writes.)

Example fstab,

   http://www.debian-administration.org/articles/179

But....brittle /etc/init.d scripts fail without having their private
subdirectories persist across boots, in certain places like /var/log and
/var/run.

If you write or test init.d scripts, please test with tmpfs and ramfs -
do not assume pre-existence of application directories.

(P.S.  Ubuntu Dapper btw already defaults to tmpfs for such directories,
though not /var/log.  Dapper uses old style init, Edgy/Feisty have
something new.)

   M



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