Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!alberta!edm!steve
From: steve@edm.UUCP (Stephen Samuel)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: UNIX RO Filesystems
Summary: what's mostly wanted is a r/o /bin (/usr/{lib,bin}).
Message-ID: <219@edm.UUCP>
Date: 21 Jan 88 05:05:53 GMT
References: <11246@brl-adm.ARPA>
Organization: Unexsys Systems Inc., Edmonton,AB.
Lines: 22


People have been talking about making a r/o  root, but most of the 
read-only stuff is in /bin, and /usr/bin.  These are the prime targets
for romming, since they (theoretically) could be considered stable.
/etc and /lib have lots of r/o type stuff in them too, but both have
enough changable stuff in them that things could start to get messy reall
quick.

No matter what the case, a r/o root is not deadly (as long as /tmp  and parts
of /etc are logically writable).  Mounting onto a filesystem does not require
a write onto the associated directory.. In fact, I sometimes find some really
weird things in places like /tmp (or even /usr)when I unmount the file system
that was on top of it. THE DIRECTORY IS STILL THERE AND UNTOUCHED. 

All that gets stomped on by a mount is some data in an internal system table.
the file system CAN (in theory) remain r/o.

-- 
-------------
 Stephen Samuel 			Disclaimer: You betcha!
  {ihnp4,ubc-vision,seismo!mnetor,vax135}!alberta!edm!steve
  BITNET: USERZXCV@UQV-MTS