Description of problem: Typing 'rpm -qd hal' one gets /usr/share/doc/hal-0.5.2/conf/storage-non-fixed.fdi /usr/share/doc/hal-0.5.2/conf/storage-policy-examples.fdi /usr/share/doc/hal-0.5.2/conf/storage-skip-all.fdi /usr/share/man/man8/fstab-sync.8.gz and that is it. This manpage claims "By default, the /usr/share/hal/fdi/90defaultpolicy/storage-policy.fdi file specifies the policy". Such file does not exist. This is followed by "Device information files are processed for every hal device object in the /usr/share/hal/fdi/ directory in alphabetical order including directories" and judging from observed results this is really not the case either. There are files in 'information', 'policy' and 'preprobe' subdirectories but how this is processed and which formats are valid is also not that clear. One may try to guess from three examples in /usr/share/doc/hal-0.5.2/conf/ but hard to say if guesses are valid and if one does modifications where they should be located and why. Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): hal-0.5.2-1
I think that replacing /usr/share/hal/fdi/90defaultpolicy/storage-policy.fdi with /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-storage-policy.fdi would fix the problem. I'll make a patch for that to go out with the next release. I do agree with the sentiment that this is too complex to configure (and there are not enough docs), we plan on changing that for FC5 (our original target was FC4 but things got in the way).
Created attachment 114695 [details] Proposed changes Here's the suggested change (please ignore that /usr/local is being as --prefix, that will change when I run it through Rawhide). Michal, does this work better for you?
(btw, you might want to use less(1) to read it instead of using the browser)
Something is not right in locations from an attachment to comment #2. By default, the .B /usr/local/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-storage-policy.fdi file specifies the policy This cannot be correct with this "local" for sure. ... Instead, system- or site-specific rules can be put in the .B /usr/local/etc/hal/fdi/policy/ directory as separate files. Indeed "/usr/local/etc/hal/fdi/policy/"? If yes, then maybe the package should own this directory? My guess was that this actually will be "/usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/20thirdparty" but this is only a guess. And that location: A number of sample policy files for various uses should be available in the .B /usr/local/share/doc/hal-0.5.2/conf directory. is definitely not right too. Effects of an automatic edit while compiling a test package? If you will hardwire a version into that document then you need to make sure that changes will be correctly reflected. Not difficult but it needs some attention.
Oh, what I meant in comment 2 was that you should disregard /usr/local. So, in the final version it will be /usr/local/etc -> /etc /usr/local/share -> /usr/share etc. This is because fstab-sync.8 is generated from fstab-sync.8.in which substitutes $prefix, $datadir, $localstatedir, $sysconfdir as appropriate.
> /usr/local/etc -> /etc There are files in subdirectories of /usr/share/hal/fdi/{policy,information}, at least currently, and none below /etc/hal/fdi/. The best guess is that "local" policies go into /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/20thirdparty/. In an absence of an updated documentation it is really hard to know if this guess can be possibly right. An order in which files from /usr/share/hal/fdi/ and /etc/hal/fdi/ will be used is also far from clear. What for are files in /usr/share/hal/fdi/information/ is a bit of mystery; and the same goes for a 'preprobe' subdirectories.
Experiments while running more "hal friendly" kernel, i.e. 2.6.11-1.1340_FC4, indicate that adding policy files to /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/20thirdparty/ indeed has at least some effects. It would be nice to know which locations are "correct" and in which order they are processed.
Quoting from the fstab-sync man page included in release 0.5.2-2 "By default, the /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-storage-pol- icy.fdi file specifies the policy - this file should never be edited by the system administrator as it might get updated by the OS vendor for security updates. Instead, system- or site-specific rules can be put in the /etc/hal/fdi/policy/ directory as separate files." you're supposed to put these in /etc/hal/fdi/policy. I think that it is implied here that system- and site-specific rules are processed after the ones supplied with the OS.