Eesh. This has tended to come up w.r.t mod_dav for over five years now. My point of view is best summarized in this email:
http://mailman.lyra.org/pipermail/dav-dev/2000-November/001746.html
I really don't recommend it. Why do you need to have different owners for the files? Are people going to be logging onto the box and need to interact with the files locally?
Yes.
That has a number of other problems (such as staying in sync with mod_dav w.r.t locking and properties and atomicity of requests, etc).
My POV has been (for a LONG while now): the DAV repository is private to the web server and the mod_dav module. Don't let local users near it.
Currently DAV seems a logical choice for a protocol for a fileserver, over both Samba and NFS (as just too alternatives) because:
- It supports SSL, and therefore has some kind of security concept built into it.
- Unlike Samba (and despite the valiant effort of the Samba authors, who do sterling work, but...), Windows, etc which breaks every time a new OS release comes out, DAV is based on a recognised standard.
- If printing has become an "HTTP like" service via IPP, then it would be good if file sharing could also become an "HTTP like" setrvice like DAV.
But if this proper filesharing concept is to work properly, then at some point the DAV server will have to support some kind of interaction with the filesystem along far better lines than the current "one user owns all".
Regards, Graham --
