Special File Locations

In addition to the files pertaining to RPM that reside in /var/lib/rpm (see the RPM chapter in the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide for more information on RPM), there are two other special locations reserved for Red Hat Linux configuration and operation.

The /var/spool/up2date/ directory contains files used by the Red Hat Update Agent including header RPM information. This location may also be used to temporarily store RPMs downloaded while updating your system. For more information on the Red Hat Network, see the Red Hat Network website at the following URL: https://rhn.redhat.com/.

The configuration tools provided with Red Hat Linux install many scripts, bitmap, and text files in /usr/lib/rhs. Since these files are generated by software on your system, you probably will not want to edit any of them by hand.

Another special location is the /etc/sysconfig/ directory. This directory stores a variety of configuration information. Many scripts that run at boot time use the files in this directory. See the Section called Sysconfig Information in Chapter 3.

Finally, one more directory worth noting is the /initrd/ directory. It is empty, but is used as a critical mount point during the boot process.

	Warning
	Do not remove the /initrd/ directory for any reason. Removing this directory will cause your system to fail to boot with a kernel panic error message.