[RFC] /var versus /srv

[seth vidal]

On Fri, 2007-09-21 at 10:42 -0400, Rob Crittenden wrote:
> seth vidal wrote:
> > On Fri, 2007-09-21 at 10:29 -0400, Rob Crittenden wrote:
> >> Matthew Miller wrote:
> >>> On Fri, Sep 21, 2007 at 09:19:43AM -0400, seth vidal wrote:
> >>>> As a sysadmin /srv is a useful thing - it's what most sysadmins do
> >>>> anyway - create a top level path where they mount the large, local disks
> >>>> and put all their data. So they know on every system if they hit /etc
> >>>> and /srv with the backups they'll have what they should be worried
> >>>> about. All admins may not call it /srv but they do something like
> >>>> it: /fs, /local, /data, /srv
> >>>>
> >>>> it's all the same result.
> >>>>
> >>>> so while your argument for not using it in the distro is fine -the
> >>>> reality is that this is what is actually done by sysadmins all over the
> >>>> world.
> >>> +1
> >>>
> >>> Thank you Seth.
> >>>
> >>> /var is transient data. There should be nothing there that needs backups.
> >>> And users shouldn't look there for files they might edit.
> >>>
> >> Transient and not backed up? What about /var/mail, /var/spool/cron and 
> >> /var/log?
> > 
> > - /var/log - shouldn't matter - it's being sent to centralized log hosts
> > which I've always had put files in /srv/logs
> > - /var/mail has no data - all your mail should be in your central mail
> > server and not in /var/mail but in another path /srv/mail or /srv/mqueue
> > often
> > 
> > - /var/spool/cron doesn't have any files in it b/c users are not allowed
> > to add cron jobs except on highly specific systems. Moreover, if you're
> > adding root or system-controlled cron jobs they should go in /etc/cron.d
> > or in the /etc/cron.hourly, /etc/cron.daily, etc directories.
> > 
> > never in /var/spool/cron and NEVER add by such a cumbersome tool as cron
> > -e
> 
> Not everyone in the world sets things up like you do. The FHS explicitly 
>   sets these paths for these purposes.

They may not, but they should. :)

-sv