[cobalt-users] Re: [Cobalt] Advanced Functions

[Scott Prince <saprince@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

on 2000-01-16 13:40, Tony Kenny wrote...
>I am a new users of Cobalt RAQ2 and RAQ3i systems.  Whilst I find them great
>machines I have found the need to perform more advanced function such as
>pointing two domains to the same physical webspace or piping email to an
>executable or even changing the apache or mail conf files myself or with our
>own automated software.  However, some of these changes cannot be done via
>the existing admin interface and other would be overwritten by the admin
>interface.
>
>I understand that the admin system stores the configuration in it's own
>database and then build the conf files.  Does anyone know if this can be
>edited or accessed or if there is a developer program for such enhancements?

I have found a few functions of the admin on the raq2 that are easy to 
overide simply by editing the databases. The dns admin section can be 
troublesome if you need to point to a slave server with the same ip as an 
existing A record. The workaround is to edit the dns database directly 
(all the dns records are kept in one file), click on the "save changes" 
in the admin's dns section to use the admin script to write the 
individual named records from the data file.

The problem with changing the admin interface scripts is that there is 
always the danger that any software upgrades from cobalt will overwrite 
your changes. The admin scripts are in Perl, located in 
/usr/admserv/cgi-bin/.cobalt/, and utilize a number of modules found in 
the usual Perl path.

Personally, I have found that editing the conf files is easier and faster 
than navigating the web based admin interface anyway.


--
Scott