/etc/host or /etc/sysconfig/networking/profiles/default/host ? SOLVED

[Jeff Boyce]

Thanks for the suggestions Tom.  Here is what I found and how I solved it. 
I first checked the tape backup log file for the Arkiea tape backup software 
as I suspected that this might identify if there was a problem in the hosts 
file as two of our desktops are backed up from the server.  This showed that 
they backed up ok.  I then checked the /etc/aliases file for sendmail to 
verify that it had my current aliases configuration; this was ok.  Then 
checked the /etc/aliases.rpmnew file as you suggested.  This file contained 
a basic alias file that had not been custom configured.  So apparently my 
system updates have not over-written my configuration files.  I ran the 
newaliases macro to be sure that the aliases were recognized.  Re-running 
the newaliases command may, or may not, have been needed, but that did not 
let loose mail from the queue.  Finally I checked what I should have looked 
at from the beginning; sendmail was not running.  I am setup as a file 
server and do not run a mail service, the only mail that transits our server 
is the administrative messages directed to root from various applications. 
I restarted sendmail and it opened the floodgates from the mail queue.

>From this little exercise I have learned that my system is reading my hosts 
file from /etc/hosts and not from 
/etc/sysconfig/networking/profiles/default/hosts.  I think I may synchronize 
these files just in case something changes on my system in the future and it 
looks for hosts in the /sysconfig directory.

Thanks for your assistance.
Jeff


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Callahan, Tom" <CallahanT at tessco.com>
To: "'Jeff Boyce'" <jboyce at meridianenv.com>; "'General Red Hat Linux 
discussion list'" <redhat-list at redhat.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 10:43 AM
Subject: RE: /etc/host or /etc/sysconfig/networking/profiles/default/host ?

> The files in /etc/sysconfig/networking/profiles/default/ should directly
> emulate what is your used configuration, otherwise upon reboot you could
> lose your current settings, as I believe it loads your configs from that
> directory.
>
> I created a script awhile back that syncs up my current networking configs
> to that directory, and it runs every hour, so I won't by accident lose the
> settings if I have a system crash, or such a thing.  Also...
>
> Check your sendmail aliases file. More than likely, you had changed the
> alias root to point to your email address, and during the up2date, it
> updated sendmail and overwrote your aliases file.
>
> If this happened, you old alias file will be /etc/aliases.rpmsave or
> something to that degree.
>
> Thanks,
> Tom Callahan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: redhat-list-bounces at redhat.com
> [mailto:redhat-list-bounces at redhat.com]On Behalf Of Jeff Boyce
> Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 12:44 PM
> To: redhat-list at redhat.com
> Subject: /etc/host or /etc/sysconfig/networking/profiles/default/host ?
>
>
> Greetings -
>
> I upgraded the kernel on my RHEL 3 file server last week and am now at
> 2.4.21-37.ELsmp.  I was previously at the stock 2.4.21-4.ELsmp kernel. 
> The
> results of the up2date process appeared to go well at the time.  Now I 
> have
> noticed that I am not receiving the daily email notifications for Logwatch
> and my tape backup software.  I looked at my /etc/host file and saw that 
> it
> was the same as it was before updating my kernel.  I checked some of my
> reference manuals and one mentioned that it referenced the location of the
> host file in /etc/sysconfig directory.  I found a host file at
> /etc/sysconfig/networking/profiles/default/host.  I don't know if this 
> host
> file was there previous to my kernel upgrade.  This host file is different
> than the one in /etc/host which I had previously configured for our 
> network.
>
> Can anyone tell me which one I should have configured for my network?  Is 
> it
>
> possible that the new kernel looks for the host file under the
> /etc/sysconfig directory whereas the old kernel looked for it under just 
> the
>
> /etc directory?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Jeff Boyce
> www.meridianenv.com
>
> -- 
> redhat-list mailing list
> unsubscribe mailto:redhat-list-request at redhat.com?subject=unsubscribe
> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/redhat-list
>
>