Found out our config file supports comments (hooray) and added a bunch explaining what all of the settings do. Should have done this long ago but glad to have it!

2 files changed, 137 insertions, 2 deletions

diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 72bba8a..8e01199 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ Cobbler CHANGELOG
 - added 'distro_name', 'profile_name', and 'system_name' to generated template vars
 - it's now possible to undefine a --ksmeta or kopts symbol defined in a parent with "!foo"
 - log errors while rendering kickstarts
+- comments added to the config file, neat!
 
 - Fri May 09 2008 - 0.9.1
 - patch to allow yumopts to override gpgcheck
diff --git a/config/settings b/config/settings
index 2f6b08d..b1f7bd7 100644
--- a/config/settings
+++ b/config/settings
@@ -1,27 +1,72 @@
 ---
+# cobbler settings file
+# run "cobbler sync" after making changes
+# (it's a good idea to make backups too)
+#
+# if 1, cobbler will allow insertions of system records that duplicate
+# the mac address information of other system records.  In general,
+# this is undesirable.
 allow_duplicate_macs: 0
+
+# if 1, cobbler will allow insertions of system records that duplicate
+# the ip address information of other system records.  In general,
+# this is undesirable.
 allow_duplicate_ips: 0
+
+# the path to BIND's executable for this distribution.
 bind_bin: /usr/sbin/named
+
+# where to find various bootloaders on the filesystem
 bootloaders:
     ia64: /var/lib/cobbler/elilo-3.6-ia64.efi
     standard: /usr/lib/syslinux/pxelinux.0
+
+# if no kickstart is specified, use this template (FIXME)
 default_kickstart: /etc/cobbler/default.ks
+
+# for libvirt based installs in koan, if no virt bridge
+# is specified, which bridge do we try?
 default_virt_bridge: xenbr0
-default_virt_type: auto
+
+# if koan is invoked without --virt-type and no virt-type
+# is set on the profile/system, what virtualization type
+# should be assumed?  Values: xenpv, xenfv, qemu, vmware
+default_virt_type: xenpv
+
+# use this as the default disk size for virt guests (GB)
 default_virt_file_size: 5
+
+# use this as the default memory size for virt guests (MB)
 default_virt_ram: 512
+
+# if using the authz_ownership module (see the Wiki), objects
+# created without specifying an owner are assigned to this
+# owner and/or group.  Can be a comma seperated list.
 default_ownership: "admin"
+
+# location for some important binaries and config files 
+# that can vary based on the distribution.
 dhcpd_bin: /usr/sbin/dhcpd
 dhcpd_conf: /etc/dhcpd.conf
 dnsmasq_bin: /usr/sbin/dnsmasq
 dnsmasq_conf: /etc/dnsmasq.conf
 httpd_bin: /usr/sbin/httpd
+
+# change this port if Apache is not running plaintext on port
+# 80.  Most people can leave this alone.
 http_port: 80
-kerberos_realm: 'example.org'
+
+# kernel options that should be present in every cobbler installation.
+# kernel options can also be applied at the distro/profile/system
+# level.
 kernel_options:
     ksdevice: eth0
     lang: ' '
     text: ~
+
+# configuration options if using the authn_ldap module. See the
+# the Wiki for details.  This can be ignored if you are not using
+# LDAP for WebUI/XMLRPC authentication.
 ldap_server: "ldap.example.com"
 ldap_base_dn: "DC=example,DC=com"
 ldap_port: 389
@@ -30,23 +75,112 @@ ldap_anonymous_bind: 1
 ldap_search_bind_dn: ''
 ldap_search_passwd: ''
 ldap_search_prefix: 'uid='
+
+# set to 1 to enable Cobbler's DHCP management features.
+# the choice of DHCP management engine is in /etc/cobbler/modules.conf
 manage_dhcp: 0
+
+# set to 1 to enable Cobbler's DNS management features.
+# the choice of DNS mangement engine is in /etc/cobbler/modules.conf
 manage_dns: 0
+
+# if using cobbler with manage_dhcp, put the IP address
+# of the cobbler server here so that PXE booting guests can find it
 next_server: '127.0.0.1'
+
+# if using cobbler with manage_dhcp and ISC, omapi allows realtime DHCP
+# updates without restarting ISC dhcpd.
 omapi_enabled: 1
 omapi_port: 647
 omshell_bin: /usr/bin/omshell
+
+# if this setting is set to 1, cobbler systems that pxe boot
+# will request at the end of their installation to toggle the 
+# --netboot-enabled record in the cobbler system record.  This eliminates
+# the potential for a PXE boot loop if the system is set to PXE
+# first in it's BIOS order.  Enable this if PXE is first in your BIOS
+# boot order, otherwise leave this disabled.   See the manpage
+# for --netboot-enabled.
 pxe_just_once: 0
+
+# if set to 1, new systems doing profile based installations will
+# contact cobbler to have system records created for them containing
+# the mac address information that they have requested for install.
+# this effectively allows for registration of new hardware via PXE
+# without having to manually enter in all of the mac addresses for
+# every machine on your network
 register_new_installs: 0
+
+# install triggers are scripts in /var/lib/cobbler/triggers/install
+# that are triggered in kickstart pre and post sections.  Any
+# executable script in those directories is run.  They can be used
+# to send email or perform other actions.  They are currently
+# run as root so if you do not need this functionality you can
+# disable it, though this will also disable "cobbler status" which
+# uses a logging trigger to audit install progress.
 run_install_triggers: 1
+
+# this is the address of the cobbler server -- as it is used
+# by systems during the install process, it must be the address
+# or hostname of the system as those systems can see the server.
+# if you have a server that appears differently to different subnets
+# (dual homed, etc), you need to read the --server-override section
+# of the manpage for how that works.
 server: '127.0.0.1'
+
+# this is a directory of files that cobbler uses to make
+# templating easier.  See the Wiki for more information.  Changing
+# this directory should not be required.
 snippetsdir: /var/lib/cobbler/snippets
+
+# by default, installs are set to send syslog traffic on this port
+# and cobblerd will listen on this port.  syslog data (for installs
+# that support it... RHEL 5 and later, etc) is logged in /var/log/cobbler
+# and can be used to help debug problematic installations.  Syslog
+# is UDP and may not be available depending on network/firewall configuration.
 syslog_port: 25150
+
+# locations of the TFTP binary and config file
 tftpd_bin: /usr/sbin/in.tftpd
 tftpd_conf: /etc/xinetd.d/tftp
+
+# cobbler's web directory.  Don't change this setting -- see the
+# Wiki on "relocating your cobbler install" if your /var partition
+# is not large enough.
 webdir: /var/www/cobbler
+
+# cobbler's public XMLRPC listens on this port.  Change this only
+# if absolutely needed, as you'll have to start supplying a new
+# port option to koan if it is not the default.
 xmlrpc_port: 25151
+
+# cobbler's read write XMLRPC is the version of XMLRPC
+# used by the WebUI and some features like system registration.
+# XMLRPC connections here require login information to access.  
+# this feature can be disabled to gain increased security but
+# will disable the WebUI, registration, and potentially other
+# cobbler features.  Most users should leave XMLRPC RW
+# enabled.  The port can be relocated if needed.
 xmlrpc_rw_enabled: 1
 xmlrpc_rw_port: 25152
+
+# "cobbler repo add" commands set cobbler up with repository
+# information that can be used during kickstart and is automatically
+# set up in the cobbler kickstart templates.  By default, these
+# are only available at install time.  To make these repositories
+# usable on installed systems (since cobbler makes a very convient)
+# mirror, set this to 1.  Most users can safely set this to 1.  Users
+# who have a dual homed cobbler server, or are installing laptops that
+# will not always have access to the cobbler server may wish to leave
+# this as 0.  In that case, the cobbler mirrored yum repos are still
+# accessable at http://cobbler.example.org/cblr/repo_mirror and yum
+# configuration can still be done manually.  This is just a shortcut.
 yum_post_install_mirror: 0
+
+# "cobbler repo" support normally uses rsync or reposync.  If --rpm-list
+# is used, it's possible to download only a certain package list, plus
+# dependencies, but --resolve and other flags are not supported in
+# all versions of yumdownloader.  This is a list of what flags
+# to pass to it.  Only change this if you are experiencing problems
+# with "cobbler reposync" and are using --rpm-list.
 yumdownloader_flags: "--resolve"