installing amanda from ports

[Kevin D. Kinsey, DaleCo, S.P.]

Michelle wrote:

> I'm trying to install amanda from the ports collection.  Before 
> running make, the amanda instructions state to run ./configure 
> --with-user=amanda --with-group=backup to change the default 
> configuration.  How do you do this with FreeBSD?  I've tried running 
> ./configure from the /usr/ports/misc/amanda-server directory which 
> does not work.  Do I need to be in a different directory or is there 
> another way to change the options before running make?
>
> Thank you,
> Michelle
>
You may have a "work" dir underneath the
path you stated above.  Check in this dir, and
probably one under it named "amanda-version.number.here"
for a script entitled "configure."  You should be able to
run it from there.  However, you run some risk of
breaking the installation (of Amanda, not FBSD itself...)

Another alternative *might* be to hack the Makefile
(in /usr/ports/misc/amanda-server) to reflect the
config options you want.  Unless you're real
good at shell scripts, you should make a copy
first.  Nope, on second thought, make a copy
first regardless of your 'shellability.'

All that said, it's likely that the version in
the ports tree will run best if you leave it
alone and let it configure itself --- the port
maintainer should have already read all the
instructions you've read (and probably some
others, too...) and has already figured out
the best way to run it on FBSD, and that info
should be in the Makefile.

Finally, many programs allow you to set
the user and group at the command line,
so you might be able to do it there if
the ports sets it up some other way.

(Lots of ways to do stuff in 'Nix....)

*disclaimer:  I've never used Amanda
(that doesn't sound quite right), and I
don't even know her personally (insert
other foot there, ;-)

Kevin Kinsey
DaleCo, S.P.