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Re: root's shell
Amos Shapira <amos@gezernet.co.il> writes:
>
> Alexander L. Belikoff wrote:
> > It's exactly the shared libs issue. No matter how badly screwed your
> > system is, root should be able to login and run minimal administration
> > tools.
>
> I'm not sure I follow you - shared libraries can be (and are)
> on the root filesystem. They can be screwed up just like any
> other file on the system, and so is the shell. When any of the
> "important" system utilities can't be used then that's were you
> use the rescue disk (you do have a rescue disk, do you?)
>
> You might say that you don't trust Linux' shared library support,
> but that would be way too paranoid IMHO, and then again you can
> have a copy stashed away somewere else.
>
> > 1. All administration (section 8) tools must be statically linked
> > 2. There should be statically linked copies of most important
> > utilities (ls, rm, (b)ash, cat, vi, (s)ed, etc.) in /sbin
> > 3. Root's shell MUST be statically compiled
>
> What for? It's just a waste of disk space, RAM (and consequentially
> CPU) and makes it harder to upgrade them with better shared libraries.
>
> If you are worried about their usability in case of a disk crash then
> have a copy on a rescue disk or a backup partition.
>
I was talking about general case - not only Linux, where you have a
nice recue disks :-)
However, I still think there should be a list of statically linked
administration utilities. Again, even if you screw up you shared
libraries, these tools must be able to run. The more independent they
are in this sense, the better.
As for the disk space, trust me, they'll fit into 2-3 Meg perfectly
(on Intel systems).
In any case, the ability to achieve a goal in more than one way is
great. And in a system administration it's vital.
--
-Alexander
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Alexander L. Belikoff belikoff@bfr.co.il
Berger Financial Research Ltd.
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