[Gllug] getting into the linux work scene

[Mark Lowes]

On Tue, 2002-09-03 at 09:51, Tethys wrote:
> 
> Mark Lowes writes:
> 
> >> Sendmail (or another MTA)
> >
> >At least sendmail, but more importantly an understanding of how mail
> >works and what can go wrong and why things go wrong.
> 
> Yes, preferably at the protocol level. The ability to telnet to port 25
> and issue SMTP commands can sometimes prove invaluable in tracking down
> mail problems. This applies to other common protocols as well (HTTP being
> a notable example), but SMTP in particular is worth knowing. Understand
> the difference between the envelope and the headers in the message.

also being able to read headers and bounces (you'd be suprised at the
number of people who can't understand what a bounce message of "no such
user" or "user not recognised" means).

> >Not only that the change from 'oops I broke my home box with a really
> >stupid mistake which is going to take all of today to fix' to 'Oh fuck
> >I've just shafted a core server which the whole company depends on and
> >...ohshitohshitohshit' is interesting.
> 
> Yep. Get into the habit of preparing a backout strategy before you make
> any changes. Often, that'll just be as simple as taking a copy of the
> file you're about to edit, so you can restore it if it all goes tits up.
> Try and avoid the "it's only a trivial change, I don't need a backup"
> mentality. Even a one character change can go wrong if you accidentally
> insert a control character somewhere, and that backup could save your

Been there, changed the first character in /etc/passwd, cursed


-- 
The Flying Hamster <hamster at korenwolf.net>     
http://www.korenwolf.net/
Breeeding on a Durex machine kind of defeats the purpose really...
 - Sand on #afp

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