Tips on writing FC3 profiles

General tips

Note the new structure

The new structure is documented in RearrangedHeaders.

Keep it simple

Please keep profiles as short and simple as possible. Resources in an individual machine's profile should be specific to that particular machine; if you need to tweak a set of resources for a group of machines, create a new header file which those machines then include.

Start afresh

When installing a new machine, don't simply copy another machine which you think is vaguely similar, otherwise you may be adding customisation which isn't appropriate for the new machine. Start afresh with one of these TemplateConfigs.

Do not shrink the root partition

Shrinking the root partition is a seriously bad idea as it causes significant hassle when the installed package set grows. This can result in security patches not being installed which increases the risk for everyone. DO NOT DO THIS WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE RELEVANT TEAM LEADER It is much cheaper just to upgrade the disk.

Order of header (include) files

The order of header (include) files is significant. The live headers should always come after the dice level headers.

Inventory tips

Please note the following:

• inv.manager is set to support-team by default - it should only be overriden where the machine's manager is not the support-team
• inv.allocated is set to teachinglab in the studentlabs headers - it should not need to be overriden.
• inv.owner is set to informatics by default to indicate that the machine was purchased off core school funds. It should be set to the relevant institute (eg LFCS, CISA etc) if the machine was bought off research funds.

Upgrading from RH9 tips

Header files

See this page for a list of header files and their status.

When in doubt, comment it out

With a small number of exceptions (e.g. fstab resources), customization can be applied after installation, so if you don't understand a set of resources, or don't know whether they're still required, comment them out before installation and add them back in later if required. But remember the keep it simple comment above!

Do not reference lcfg headers

there should be no reference to LCFG level include files (eg #include <lcfg/hwopts/video_radeon.h>)

-- CarwynEdwards - 22 Jun 2005