Re: Gnatsweb without root access

[Mark D. Baushke]

Robert Inder <address@hidden> writes:

> I'm trying to port gnats/gnatsweb on to a managed server --
> i.e. one on which I have no root access.
> 
> The gnats DB is only accessed via the web, so I thought of it
> as just a web application --- that gnatsweb was just
> calling the various gnats commands like query-pr.
> 
> Mistake!
> 
> When I came to install gnatsweb on the new server, I noticed that it
> seems to need to have gnatsd running from inetd.  And I don't have
> access to inetd.
> 
> I've noticed a couple of questions about inetd on the help-gnats
> archive, but nobody giving a definitive answer.
> 
> So: is there a known/standard way round this?  An argument to gnatsd to 
> make it listen on the port by itself?  Some kind of utility to fire it
> off? 

There are a number of tools that are able to launch daemons. Not all of
them need to run as root as do the typical inetd or xinetd programs.
In fact, you might be able to write your own config file for xinetd that
uses a non-privileged port for gnatsd.

Some such tools to consider are:

    launchd
    daemontools
    upstart

It should be possible to run your gnatsd on a non-privileged port as
your own userid.

To be honest, I usually find it is easier to setup either a virtual
machine to do the jobs that root needs to do in a 'safe' manner.
Using something like VMware or XEN might do the job for you.

If you are feeling ambitious, writing a program that just listens on a
non-privileged port and forks a copy of gnatsd when a connection is made
to that port is probably as good as any other solution.

        Good luck,
        -- Mark