Personally, i prefer /etc/crontab. I'd rather have all user/root created cron jobs in one location. That way, when I want to look for it, i know where it should be. On occasion i'll create a script and put it in one of the daily/hourly/monthly dirs, but that's only when the situation is called for. You probably shouldn't have more than a handful of admins any way, and they should all be competent enough to add a crontab entry without you needing to worry about someone mucking things up. I guess, if you have an independent user, she can use the user crontab, but how many of those do you have? At this point, i don't really have any linux boxes that are "user" boxes. Most of them are web/email servers or something similar. bb
On Jan 8, 2008 9:29 PM, Dustin Puryear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > So what do you do when you need to run a job as a non-root user? Do you > just modify /etc/crontab? > > -- > Puryear Information Technology, LLC > Baton Rouge, LA * 225-706-8414 > http://www.puryear-it.com > > Author, "Best Practices for Managing Linux and UNIX Servers" > http://www.puryear-it.com/pubs/linux-unix-best-practices > > Identity Management, LDAP, and Linux Integration > > > > Adam Melancon wrote: > > Never really use the users crontab. > > Put custom timed stuff in /etc/cron.d/ (stuff that runs every 5min like > > MRTG) > > If it's something that runs daily, it always goes in /etc/cron.daily/ > > If it's something that runs hourly, it always goes in /etc/cron.hourly/ > > > > This is what I usually follow. > > > > > > On Jan 8, 2008 8:54 PM, Dustin Puryear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> So, we have an internal debate at Puryear IT about how to best setup > >> cronjobs. First, let's assume Linux here. Every UNIX flavor has some > >> unique trick it likes to use, but Linux is a good example of several > >> ways to do cronjobs. > >> > >> So, with most Linux installs, you have these options: > >> > >> 1. normal use of crontabs > >> 2. creating a crontab-like entry in a file in /etc/cron.d/ > >> 3. creating symlinks to your scripts in /etc/cron.hourly/, > >> /etc/cron.daily/, etc. (I'll just say /etc/cron.daily to be short.) > >> 4. /etc/crontab for the root user being able to run cron jobs as any > >> user, unlike /etc/cron.d/ and /etc/cron.daily/. > >> > >> The question here isn't one of technical correctness (they are all > >> correct), but one of consistency both internally and, potentially, with > >> other people messing with cronjobs on the same box. > >> > >> The debate started when I logged into a server and didn't see our jobs > >> in root's crontab or as symlink under /etc/cron.daily/. They were in > >> /etc/cron.d/. Fine. Except I never do that. I usually use a user's > >> crontab or /etc/cron.daily/. So, immediately, we have a internal > >> consistency issue, which could, conceivably, cause me to create a > >> duplicate cronjob. (Let's ignore documentation and change management.) > >> > >> The problem I have with /etc/cron.d/ is that most people DON'T USE IT. > >> Sure, system scripts that come with the distro often do, but, really, > >> how many sysadmins create their cronjobs there? Not many in my > >> experience. Yet, there is a certain cleanness to /etc/cron.d/. :) > >> > >> /etc/crontab has the unique benefit of letting centralize your cronjobs, > >> but then you have a single file that everyone has to muck with. Yuck. > >> Oh, and trouble.. > >> > >> So, what are your thoughts? How do you handle this? > >> > >> -- > >> Puryear Information Technology, LLC > >> Baton Rouge, LA * 225-706-8414 > >> http://www.puryear-it.com > >> > >> Author, "Best Practices for Managing Linux and UNIX Servers" > >> http://www.puryear-it.com/pubs/linux-unix-best-practices > >> > >> Identity Management, LDAP, and Linux Integration > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> General mailing list > >> [email protected] > >> http://mail.brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net > >> > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > General mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net > -- Have Mercy & Say Yeah _______________________________________________ General mailing list [email protected] http://mail.brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net
