# $Id: README,v 8.3 2009/10/15 22:25:53 ksb Exp $

Instck is a member of the install family of sys admin tools.

Instck has 4 main functions:

	1/ cleaning up after aborted or broken installs (wrong link count)

	2/ generating checklist files for install

	3/ processing a checklist to find errors in the current system

	4/ backend for "modecanon"


When install or purge notifies the admin that a link count is wrong she
may run instck (as directed by install).  For example if install tells
you that the link count is wrong for /usr/bin/OLD/cu, one might run:
	instck -iS /usr/bin/OLD

which would prompt with something like:
	instck: linking ../tip to ../cu (cwd=/usr/bin/OLD)
	instck: rm -f ../tip {was link into OLD} [nfhqy] y
	instck: ln ../cu ../tip [nfhqy] y

These commands repair the problem.  Instck can not always find the link, but
when it can't the super user is really trying (mounted file system obscures
the missing link, or doesn't include some part of the file system).


Instck will generate a checklist file for install: try
	instck -SG /bin/ /lib/

retry with combinations of -v, -l, -L and -x if you like.  In places
with mixed binary and text files -x is cool.  Build small files and
chain then together with shell scripts for best results.


Instck checks the currently installed products against install's check
list (/usr/local/lib/install.cf) and reports bad modes/owners/groups.
Instck can be run from crontab as often as purge(1l) is, possibly not
at the same time.  (Instck should take very little time to run.)

The best case here is like "TripWire".  Fix the modes from the vendor
install media (CDROM and patches) then record them with instck and check
them as needed (once a year at least).

Since modecanon is not released yet you can't even guess.  :-)


--
Kevin Braunsdorf, DSPD UNIX Support, install@ksb.npcguild.org