Chapter 1. File System Structure

21

|  named

|  nis

|  opt

|  preserve

|  run

+  spool

|  anacron

|  at

|  cron

|  fax

|  lpd

|  mail

|  mqueue

|  news

|  rwho

|  samba

|  slrnpull

|  squid

|  up2date

|  uucp

|  uucppublic

|  vbox

|  voice

|  tmp

|  tux

|  www

|  yp

System log files such as

messages

and

lastlog

go in

/var/log

. The

/var/lib/rpm

directory also

contains the RPM system databases. Lock files go in

/var/lock

, usually in directories particular for

the program using the file. The

/var/spool

directory has subdirectories for various systems that

need to store data files.

1.2.2.

/usr/local

in Red Hat Linux

In Red Hat Linux, the intended use for

/usr/local

is slightly different from that specified by the

FHS. The FHS says that

/usr/local

should be where you store software that is to remain safe

from system software upgrades. Since system upgrades from Red Hat are done safely with the

rpm

command and graphical Package Management Tool application, you do not need to protect files by

putting them in

/usr/local

. Instead, we recommend you use

/usr/local

for software that is local

to your machine.

For instance, say you have mounted

/usr

via read only NFS from a host named

jake

. If there is a

package or program you would like to install, but you are not allowed to write to

jake

, you should

install it under

/usr/local

. Later perhaps, if you have managed to convince the system administrator

of

jake

to install the program on

/usr

, you can uninstall it from

/usr/local

.

1.3. Special File Locations

Red Hat extends the FHS structure slightly to accommodate special files used by Red Hat Linux.

Most files pertaining to the Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) are kept in the

/var/lib/rpm/

di 

rectory. For more information on RPM see the chapter titled Package Management with RPM in the

Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide.