[freeside] Configuration files.

[Kristian Hoffmann]

Create the /usr/local/etc/freeside directory to hold you configuration.

The mapsecrets file maps apache users to a secrets file which contains a
db reference, username, and password.  For example, if you had the users
admin, john, and sam and you are using MySQL and a database called
freeside; your mapsecrets field look something like...

admin conf.DBI:mysql:freeside/secrets
john conf.DBI:mysql:freeside/secrets
sam conf.DBI:mysql:freeside/secrets

"conf.DBI:mysql:freeside" is a directory under /usr/local/etc/freeside
that holds the configuration files for that database.  If you were using
PostgreSQL and a database called fs it would be conf.DBI:pgsql:fs.

Next, your secrets file, located under your config directory which is
pointed to by you map secrets file, has three lines; db engine, db
username, and db password.  For this example it would look something
like...

DBI:mysql:freeside
dbusername
dbpassword

The dbusername and dbpassword should reflect what you have set in your
database.

The rest is pretty straight forward.  The documentation explains what each
config file does but there is an example config directory in the freeside
source tree called conf.

Hope that helps,

-Kristian Hoffmann
<khoff at pc-intouch.com>


 On Fri, 12 May 2000, Bryan McClendon wrote:

> I have been going through the Installation instructions and have
> installed all of the Perl modules as well as configured Apache, MySQL,
> and the freeside user. I had no trouble with this as it was all familiar
> material to me, but the configuration files portion is another matter. 
> 
> Basically, it doesn't make any sense. I've reread it over and over and
> what I am supposed to be doing with these configuratoin files is not
> apparent to me.
> 
> For instance, the documentation states that
> "/usr/local/etc/freeside/mapsecrets" is read, and each linein this file
> is a username and a filename seperated by whitespace. Well that file
> doesnt exist (in fact that directory doesnt exist) so I gather that I
> must create it, and when I do I have to put usernames and filenames in
> it. What usernames? Im told these usernames don't come from the local
> system but come from Apache, and by that I suppose they are referenced
> from my /etc/httpd/conf/users file (created with htpasswd). Of coarse my
> apache users file doesnt have anything in it so I dont have any users to
> put on these lines that require usernames and filenames. And even if I
> did, what relationship do these usernames have with these filenames? Do
> I just randomly put usernames next to filenames? I doubt it.
> 
> Next I read "Filenames are located in /usr/local/etc/freeside". They
> are? How so? I just made that directory so I'm certain it's empty. I can
> only assume that this means that Im supposed to put the files that I
> list in this mapsecrets file in this directory. I hope thats right,
> because it certainly isn't clear. 
> 
> Then it says that "The specified filename is parsed..." "Three lines,
> database engine, username, password". Lets ignore the fact that I still
> don't know any usernames or passwords, and try to figure out how I make
> a filename have 3 lines. Especially when the example filename is only 1
> line that only has the database engine listed. I guess this means that
> the specified filename refers to a -file- that contains 3 lines;
> database engine, username, and password. Also the filename itself should
> contain the database engine in it..?
> 
> I could go on, but basically this documentation is only slightly better
> than nothing at all. No doubt it makes sense to the person that wrote
> it, but it isn't making any sense to me. Can I just get an ls -la of a
> dummy config directory, and maybe an example mapsecrets? In fact.. an
> explanation of what things are, as opposed to how they are supposed to
> look might be good too.
> 
> I suppose I could do it the way everyone else has no doubt done it,
> trial and error, but it just burns my ass. I have never had any trouble
> reading any documentation in my career as a network administrator, and
> at this point I kind of take for granted that I can figure something out
> if I just RTFM. I am most definately not the kind of person who likes to
> learn things by screwing them up a few times first.
> 
> Sorry if this comes across as a flame, it isn't inteaded to be one.
> 
> Bryan McClendon
> Parsons Internet Administrator
> jidar at par1.net
>