'updatedb' : is it really mandatory, can I switch it off and how ?!

[Le grand pinguin]

On Sun, Dec 05, 2004 at 12:25:14PM -0500, Eric Dunbar wrote:
> On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 21:50:32 -0500, JohnOfArc <yustabeme at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> > On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 11:45:55 -0500, Eric Dunbar wrote:
> > 
> > > Vince, slocate only runs once a day (which would explain why it seems to
> > > me that locate is usually out-of-date) so it wouldn't be causing disk
> > > chatter (a quick check in WebMin shows that slocate runs at 06:25...
> > > which I should probably change b/c, unless these jobs are run the next
> > > time Ubuntu is activated, they'll never run!)
> > >
> > that's what "anacron" is for; from man anacron:
> > 
> > DESCRIPTION
> > 
> >        Anacron can be used to execute commands periodically, with a
> >        frequency specified in days.  Unlike cron(8), it does not assume
> >        that the machine is running contin- uously.   Hence,  it can be
> >        used on machines that aren't running 24 hours a day, to control
> >        daily, weekly, and monthly jobs that are usually controlled by
> >        cron.
> 
> Thanks for the heads up.
> 
> So why isn't anacron used instead of cron noawadays?
> 
> I realise that *nix got started as a server OS but now it's morphing
> into a desktop OS 

Is it? Most of my boxes _still_ are servers hidden away in some remote
and unaccessable caves .... :-)
But yes, at least tasks such as updatedb and similar tasks _could_ be handled
by a "Desktop challenged" distro like Ubuntu in a more userfriendly way.
But there a certain things to consider: when _would_ you run your updatedb?
The idea behind the early-morning times for updatedb is that it won't bother
any user logged in - when is this condition met on a desktop box?

> and, unless you're running a server, the computer
> ought to go to sleep or be turned off to conserve energy  (I suspect
> that there are now probably more desktop installs than server installs
> of *nix).

??? You _must_ be kiddin' :-0
... or obviously never had the pleasure to visit one of those big internet
service provider centers with thousands of servers running (mostly *nix, i assume).

 Cheers  Ralf Mattes


> 
> Eric.
> 
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