[Pkg-exim4-users] Questions about configuring

[Ross Boylan]

On Sun, 2005-05-29 at 08:37 +0200, Marc Haber wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> On Sat, May 28, 2005 at 05:41:15PM -0700, Ross Boylan wrote:
> > Short version:
> > 
> > Using a split config, what is the appropriate way to set or modify
> > variables such as CHECK_RCPT_VERIFY_SENDER, CHECK_RCPT_REVERSE_DNS,  and
> > MAIN_TRUSTED_USERS?  If there are several ways (e.g., with or without
> > debconf), what is the recommended alternative?  I find the documentation
> > confusing.
> 
> Does README.Debian.gz from 4.50-8 help?
A lot!

It has one other problem I omitted from my previous message:
Benefits of the unsplit configuration approach:
   * It is more fragile.
I think you mean "less" fragile :)

Also, it might be worth mentioning that it is more like the usual exim
configuration, and may be easier for some people to grasp.

> 
> > The man page update-exim4.conf.8 says (sorry about the wrapping)
> 
> [snip]
> 
> > Again, this sounds as if it's one or the other.
> 
> Yes, it is.
> 
> > I also have some feedback: I had trouble finding the files mentioned
> > above.
> 
> So you are saying that /etc/exim4/exim4.conf.template,
> /etc/exim4/update-exim4.conf.conf and
> /var/lib/exim4/config.autogenerated do not exist on your system, and
> that /etc/exim4/conf.d doesn't have any files?
No.  Mostly I'm saying I had trouble finding README.Debian.gz because it
was not under /usr/share/exim4-config/doc.  However, that seems to have
changed in 4.50-8.  You're way ahead of me. :)

I also meant that I had trouble
identifying /etc/exim4/exim4.conf.template as being the right place to
make changes.  That's probably OK, since it turned out to be the wrong
place (for me, with a split config).

> 
> > Finally, the pattern in which there are DEBCONF vars, DC vars, and dc
> > vars is also confusing to me, as is the order of which overrides which.
> 
> This is complicated, yes :-(  Any idea how to improve docs?
On close reading, I think the info is all there.  Perhaps a brief
paragraph on how options get in, and what overrides what (including
environment variables, options on the init script, etc).

As I understand it, this is the deal:
Response you give to debconf go to /etc/exim4/update-exim4.conf.conf and
are stored as dc_xyz.  The administrator can edit the values in that
file, and these changes will reset the debconf values (I don't know
enough about the internals of debconf to know if it stores your answers
in some other database; I suspect it does.  You are quite clear that
edits to update-exim4.conf.conf will be permanent, though.)
Finally, when update-exim4.conf runs, it substitutes the value of dc_xyz
for any occurrence of DEBCONFxyxDEBCONF.

It seems there are some dc_ values which govern behavior before
substitution, the split config variable being an example (the only
one?).

> 
> Greetings
> Marc
> 
-- 
Ross Boylan                                      wk:  (415) 502-4031
530 Parnassus Avenue (Library) rm 115-4          ross@biostat.ucsf.edu
Dept of Epidemiology and Biostatistics           fax: (415) 476-9856
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA 94143-0840                     hm:  (415) 550-1062