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Subject:ILF... but is it, really? From:Editor in Chief <editorialstandards -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com >> TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 20 Nov 2013 22:09:54 -0500
When I first wrote this, I didn't think twice. The first paragraph
introduced the thought, which was a Caution, in the security-obsessed world
where my company's products live. The second paragraph is ordinary text and
provides an example to illustrate the point.
The third jumps back into another CAUTION, the fourth paragraph is a third
CAUTION, and the last bit is a wrap-up (once again, ordinary text). But
now, two or three years later, I'm second-guessing. I don't think it's bad,
but it has a faint aura of It Looks Funny.
=============== begin =============
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CAUTION: If users have been created since a particular backup was made, and
you restore from that backup, the newer users cease to exist. Similarly,
users that were deleted since the backup are reinstated by the restore
operation, because you are restoring a user database that pre-dates the
deletions and additions.
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For example, last Thursday the system had three named Operator Users,
Agnetha, Bjorn, and Anni, as well as named Administrator User Benny, and
you made a backup on that day. On Saturday, you created two additional
Users Terry and Paula, and you also deleted Administrator "Benny" because
he left the company. Today you restore the user backup from last Thursday.
Operator Users Terry and Paula disappear, and Admin User Benny is
reinstated by the restored backup. This could be inconvenient, because
Terry and Paula find themselves unable to log in to the Product Shell to
perform their duties, and it could be a security problem, because former
employee Benny has access again that he should not have.
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CAUTION: If the named user accounts are not deleted or added by a restore
operation, there can still be an effect on:
- their passwords - if a user has changed her/his password in the interim,
the previous password is reasserted by the restore operation;
- their enabled/disabled status - if a user was disabled after the backup,
the restore operation undoes the "disable" and that user is given "enabled"
status by the restore (similarly, a user who is supposed to be enabled
might be disabled if her/his account had been disabled at the time of the
backup).
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CAUTION: While the "built-in" 'admin', 'operator', and 'monitor' accounts
are not deleted or added by a restore operation (those accounts are
permanent), both their enabled/disabled status and their passwords are
changed to whatever prevailed at the time the backup was originally taken.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In summary, some thought and care must be applied when restoring from
backup, depending upon what administrative actions have occurred between
the time that backup was taken and the time that it is restored.
=============== end =============
Does it rub you the wrong way to have plain text develop a thought that was
first introduced in a NOTE or CAUTION? Does it bother you to see all those
CAUTIONS so close together?
What would you prefer, and why?
--
__o
_`\<,_
(*)/ (*)
Don't go away. We'll be right back.
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