> This page is for version 10. > For other versions, use one of these documentation indexes: > - 11 (default): https://docs.nvidia.com/base-command-manager/product-manuals/11/llms.txt > - 10: https://docs.nvidia.com/base-command-manager/product-manuals/10/llms.txt > For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL. > For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.nvidia.com/base-command-manager/product-manuals/llms.txt. > For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.nvidia.com/base-command-manager/product-manuals/_mcp/server. # Generated Files This appendix contains lists of system configuration files that are managed by CMDaemon, and system configuration files that are managed by node-installer. These are files created or modified on the head nodes (section [A.1](#a1-system-configuration-files-created-or-modified-by-cmdaemon-on-head-nodes)), and on the regular nodes (sections [A.2.3](#a23-files-created-on-regular-nodes-by-the-node-installer) and [A.2.3](#a23-files-created-on-regular-nodes-by-the-node-installer)). These files should not be confused with configuration files that are merely installed (section [A.3](#a3-files-not-generated-but-installed-in-rhel-and-derivatives)). Section [2.6.5](/admin/clustermanagement#265-configuration-file-modification-and-the-frozenfile-directive) describes how system configuration files on all nodes are written out using the Cluster Management Daemon (CMDaemon). CMDaemon is introduced in section [2.6.5](/admin/clustermanagement#265-configuration-file-modification-and-the-frozenfile-directive) and its configuration directives are listed in Appendix [C](/admin/cmdconf). All of these configuration files may be listed as `Frozen Files` in the CMDaemon configuration file to prevent them from being modified further by CMDaemon. The files can be frozen for the head node by setting the directive at `/cm/local/apps/cmd/etc/cmd.conf`. They can also be frozen on the regular nodes by setting the directive in the software image, by default at `/cm/images/default-image/cm/local/apps/cmd/etc/cmd.conf`. A list of CMDaemon- and node-installer-managed files for nodes can be seen by running the command `filewriteinfo` in `device` mode. The command has options to run it for node groupings, as well useful path and sort options. ## A.1 System Configuration Files Created Or Modified By CMDaemon On Head Nodes If the `filewriteinfo` command is run for the head node, then it displays the files that have been written by CMDaemon on the head node. Running the `filewriteinfo` command for the head node might display the following on a fresh installation: ```bash [basecm10->device]% filewriteinfo basecm10 Hostname Path Timestamp Actor Frozen -------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------- ----- ------ basecm10 /cm/images/default-image/etc/mkinitrd_cm.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /cm/images/default-image/etc/modprobe.d/bright-cmdaemon.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /cm/images/default-image/etc/securetty Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/chrony.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/dhcp/dhclient.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/dhcpd.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/exports Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/genders Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/named.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/postfix/canonical Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/postfix/generic Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/postfix/main.cf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/resolv.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/security/pam_bright.d/cm-check-alloc.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/shorewall.staging/interfaces Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/shorewall.staging/netmap Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/shorewall.staging/policy Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/shorewall.staging/snat Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/shorewall.staging/zones Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth1 Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /tftpboot/images/default-image//boot Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /tftpboot/images/default-image/initrd Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /tftpboot/images/default-image/vmlinuz Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /tftpboot/mtu.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/category.default Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/run/cmd.url Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/my.cmd.url Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/my.master.cmd.url Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-chrony.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-dhcp-dhclient.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-dhcpd.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-exports Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-named.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-postfix-canonical Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-postfix-generic Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-postfix-main.cf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-resolv.conf Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-shorewall.staging-interfaces Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-shorewall.staging-netmap Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-shorewall.staging-policy Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-shorewall.staging-snat Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-shorewall.staging-zones Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-sysconfig-network-scripts- ifcfg-eth1 Mon Oct... cmd no basecm10 /var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/tftpboot-mtu.conf Mon Oct... cmd no ``` The `filewriteinfo` command is covered in more detail in section [A.2](#a2-system-configuration-files-created-or-modified-directly-on-the-node). The more important head node files that are managed by CMDaemon are listed here for a plain installation on the various distributions. **Some of the more important files managed automatically on the head node by CMDaemon In RHEL and derivatives, Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, 24.04, SLES15** | **File** | **Part** | **Comment** | | :---------------------------------------- | :--------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `/cm/local/apps/openldap/etc/slapd.conf` | Section | CMDaemon modifies this when edge, cloud or HA are activated | | `/cm/local/apps//var/cm/cm-pbs.conf` | Section | `` can be one of `openpbs` `pbspro` | | `/cm/local/modulefiles/` | Entire directory | `` is a file or directory for a modules environment module (section [2.2.4](/admin/clustermanagement#224-creating-a-modules-environment-module)). For example, `slurm`, which is automatically created and made available for use after the Slurm workload manager is set up with `cm-wlm-setup` (section [7.3](/admin/workloadmanagement#73-installation-of-workload-managers)). | | `/cm/node-installer/etc/sysconfig/clock` | Section | | | `/etc/aliases` | Section | | | `/etc/bind/named.conf` | Entire file | Ubuntu only. For zone additions use `/etc/bind/named.conf.include`¹. For options additions, use `/etc/bind/named.conf.global.options.include`. | | `/etc/chrony.conf` | Section | RHEL8,9 and derivatives only | | `/etc/dhcpd.conf` | Entire file | | | `/etc/dhcp/dhclient.conf` | Section | Not for SLES | | `/etc/dhcpd.internalnet.conf` | Entire file | For internal networks other than `internalnet`, corresponding files are generated if node booting (table [3.1](/admin/configuring#tablenetwork-configuration-settings)) is enabled | | `/etc/exports` | Section | | | `/etc/fstab` | Section | | | `/etc/genders` | Section | | | `/etc/hosts` | Section | | | `/etc/localtime` | Symlink | | | `/etc/logrotate.d/slurm` | Entire file | | | `/etc/logrotate.d/slurmdbd` | Entire file | | | `/etc/named.conf` | Entire file | Non-Ubuntu distributions only (Ubuntu uses `/etc/bind/named.conf`). For zone additions use `/etc/named.conf.include`¹. For options additions, use `/etc/named.conf.global.options.include`. | | `/etc/ntp.conf` | Section | Ubuntu and SUSE only | | `/etc/postfix/canonical` | Section | | | `/etc/postfix/generic` | Section | | | `/etc/postfix/main.cf` | Section | | | `/etc/resolv.conf` | Section | The stub resolver can alternatively be provided by `systemd-resolved` (`man systemd-resolved.8`, [here](/admin/configuring#3123-setting-the-stub-resolver-for-ubuntu-hosts)) | | `/etc/shorewall6.staging/interfaces` | Section | | | `/etc/shorewall6.staging/policy` | Section | | | `/etc/shorewall6.staging/rules` | Section | | | `/etc/shorewall6.staging/snat` | Section | | | `/etc/shorewall6.staging/zones` | Section | | | `/etc/shorewall/interfaces` | Section | | | `/etc/shorewall/netmap` | Section | | | `/etc/shorewall/policy` | Section | | | `/etc/shorewall/rules` | Section | | | `/etc/shorewall/snat` | Section | | | `/etc/shorewall/zones` | Section | | | `/etc/snmp/snmptrapd.conf` | Section | | | `/etc/sysconfig/bmccfg` | Entire file | BMC configuration and BCM configuration | | `/etc/sysconfig/clock` | Section | | | `/etc/sysconfig/dhcpd` | Entire file | | | `/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-*` | Section | | | `/tftpboot/mtu.conf` | Entire file | BCM configuration | | `/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/category.default` | Entire file | BCM configuration | | `/var/lib/named/*.zone`¹,² | Entire file | For SLES distributions only. For custom additions use `/var/lib/named/*.zone.include` | | `/var/named/*.zone`¹,² | Entire file | For RHEL8, RHEL9 distributions only. For custom additions use `/var/named/*.zone.include` | ¹ User-added zone files ending in `*.zone` that are placed for a corresponding zone statement in the include file `/etc/[bind/]named.conf.include` are wiped by CMDaemon activity. Another pattern, eg: `*.myzone`, must therefore be used instead ² For Ubuntu, the zone files are under `/etc/bind/` ## A.2 System Configuration Files Created Or Modified Directly On The Node Files that are created or modified by CMDaemon or the node-installer directly on the node by CMDaemon can be seen with the `filewriteinfo` command. For example, for a particular node, in this case `node002` (some output elided): **Example** ```bash [basecm10->device]% filewriteinfo node002 Hostname Path Timestamp Actor Frozen ----------- --------------------------------------- ------------------------- --------------- ------ node002 /certificates/fa-16-3e-54-bb-a1/cert Thu Jul 14 12:16:00 2022 node-installer no ... node002 /etc/chrony.conf Thu Jul 14 12:17:08 2022 node-installer no ... node002 /etc/exports Thu Jul 14 12:17:58 2022 cmd no ... ``` In the preceding, `/etc/exports` is seen to have been changed by `cmd`, which is listed under the `Actor` column. ### A.2.1 Options To `filewriteinfo` Options to `filewriteinfo` can be viewed with the `help filewwriteinfo` command. Some of the options are: * `-n|--node`: This can be used to specify a node list ([here](/admin/clustermanagement#25510-node-list-syntax)). * `--field`: The `--field` option can be used with, for example, the `mac` field, as follows (some output elided): **Example** ```bash [basecm10->device]% get node002 mac FA:16:3E:54:BB:A1 [basecm10->device]% filewriteinfo --field mac=FA:16:3E:54:BB:A1 Hostname Path Timestamp Actor Frozen ----------- --------------------------------------- ------------------------- --------------- ------ node002 /certificates/fa-16-3e-54-bb-a1/cert Thu Jul 14 12:16:00 2022 node-installer no ... node002 /etc/chrony.conf Thu Jul 14 12:17:08 2022 node-installer no ... node002 /etc/exports Thu Jul 14 12:17:58 2022 cmd no ... ``` The preceding example has the same output as for the session with `filewriteinfo node002` [here](#a2-system-configuration-files-created-or-modified-directly-on-the-node). * A pitfall to avoid is the following: The columns headers of the output of the `filewriteinfo` command, such as `Actor`, are not keys for the `--field` option. **Example** ```bash [basecm10->device]% filewriteinfo node002 --field Actor=cmd #this is incorrect ``` Instead, as is the norm for a `device` mode command, it is the fields of the mode that are the key=value pairs (for keys that are valid for the device concerned). The fields of the `device` mode are displayed when the `format` command ([here](/admin/clustermanagement#2536-working-with-objects-list-format-sort)) is run. * `--sort`: This sorts the `filewriteinfo` output according to column headers (`Actor`, `Timestamp` and so on). * `--path`: This can be used to specify a file. **Example** ```bash [basecm10->device]% filewriteinfo --path /etc/chrony.conf --sort actor Hostname Path Timestamp Actor Frozen ---------------- ----------------- ------------------------- --------------- ------------ basecm10 /etc/chrony.conf Thu Jul 14 12:14:25 2022 cmd no node001 /etc/chrony.conf Thu Jul 14 12:17:08 2022 node-installer no node002 /etc/chrony.conf Thu Jul 14 12:17:08 2022 node-installer no ``` ### A.2.2 Files Created On Regular Nodes By CMDaemon Files on a regular node that are modified by CMDaemon can be seen in the output of `filewriteinfo`. The `filewriteinfo` command displays a list of the last files written by the cluster manager. For a default installation, the list is as shown in the following table: **System configuration files created or modified on a default regular nodes image by CMDaemon** | **File** | **Part** | **Comment** | | :------------------------------------------------------ | :------------------ | :------------------------------------- | | `/etc/aliases` | Section | | | `/etc/fstab` | Section | SLES only | | `/etc/hosts` | Section | | | `/etc/nslcd.conf` | Section | RHEL8 and derivatives, and Ubuntu only | | `/etc/pam.d/sshd` | Section | | | `/etc/postfix/main.cf` | Section | | | `/etc/rsyslog.conf` | Section | RHEL9 and derivatives, and SLES only | | `/etc/security/pam_bright.d/cm-check-alloc.conf` | Entire file | | | `/var/run/cmd.url` | Entire file | | | `/var/spool/cmd/my.cmd.url` | Entire file | | | `/var/spool/cmd/my.master.cmd.url` | Entire file | | | `/var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-aliases` | Entire file Section | | | `/var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-fstab` | Entire file | SLES Only | | `/var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-hosts` | Entire file | | | `/var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-nslcd.conf` | Entire file | RHEL8 and derivatives, and Ubuntu only | | `/var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-pam.d-sshd` | Entire file | | | `/var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-postfix-main.cf` | Entire file | | | `/var/spool/cmd/saved-config-files/etc-rsyslog.conf` | Entire file | RHEL9 and derivatives, and SUSE only | ### A.2.3 Files Created On Regular Nodes By The Node-Installer The list of files on a regular node that are modified by the node-installer during the last installation session can be viewed in the logs at `/var/log/modified-by-node-installer.log` on the node, and in the output of `filewriteinfo`. For a default installation, these are as shown in the following table: **System configuration files created or modified on regular nodes by the node-installer in RHEL8, RHEL9 and derivatives** | **File** | **Part** | **Comment** | | :------------------------------------------- | :---------- | :----------------------------------------------- | | `/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-*` | Entire | Interfaces for RHEL8, RHEL9 and derivatives only | | `/etc/network/interfaces.d/ifcfg-*` | Entire file | Ubuntu only | | `/etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-*` | Entire file | SUSE only, | | `/etc/sysconfig/network` | Section | Only for RHEL8, RHEL9 and derivatives | | `/etc/sysconfig/network/config` | Section | Only for SLES | | `/etc/sysconfig/network/routes` | Section | Only for SLES | | `/etc/resolv.conf` | Entire file | Only for RHEL8, RHEL9 and derivatives | | `/etc/hosts` | Section | | | `/etc/fstab` | Section | Not for SLES. In SLES it is managed by CMDaemon | | `/etc/postfix/main.cf` | Section | | | `/etc/chrony.conf` | Entire file | RHEL8,RHEL9 and derivatives only | | `/etc/ntp.conf` | Entire file | SUSE and Ubuntu only | | `/etc/systemd/resolved.conf` | Entire file | Ubuntu only | | `/etc/hostname` | Section | | | `/cm/local/apps/cmd/etc/cert.key` | Section | | | `/cm/local/apps/cmd/etc/cert.pem` | Section | | | `/cm/local/apps/cmd/etc/cluster.pem` | Section | | | `/cm/local/apps/openldap/etc/certs/ldap.key` | Section | | | `/cm/local/apps/openldap/etc/certs/ldap.pem` | Section | | | `/var/log/modified-by-node-installer.log` | Section | | | `/var/log/node-installer` | Section | | | `/var/log/rsyncd.log` | Section | | | `/var/spool/cmd/disks.xml` | Section | | ## A.3 Files Not Generated, But Installed In RHEL And Derivatives This appendix (Appendix A) is mainly about generated configuration files. This section ([A.3](#a3-files-not-generated-but-installed-in-rhel-and-derivatives)) of the appendix discusses a class of files that is not generated, but may still be confused with generated files. The discussion in this section clarifies the issue, and explains how to check if non-generated installed files differ from the standard distribution installation. A design goal of BCM is that of minimal interference. That is, to stay out of the way of the distributions that it works with as much as is reasonable. Still, there are inevitably cluster manager configuration files that are not generated, but installed from a cluster manager package. A cluster manager configuration file of this kind overwrites the distribution configuration file with its own special settings to get the cluster running, and the file is then not maintained by the node-installer or CMDaemon. Such files are therefore not listed on any of the tables in this chapter. Sometimes the cluster file version may differ unexpectedly from the distribution version. To look into this, the following steps may be followed: **Is the configuration file a BCM version or a distribution version?** A convenient way to check if a particular file is a cluster file version is to grep for it in the packages list for the cluster packages. For example, for `nsswitch.conf`: ```bash [root@basecm10 ~]# repoquery -l $(repoquery -a | grep -F _cm10.0) | grep nsswitch.conf$ ``` The inner `repoquery` displays a list of all the packages. By grepping for the cluster manager version string, for example `_cm10.0` for NVIDIA Base Command Manager 10, the list of cluster manager packages is found. The outer `repoquery` displays the list of files within each package in the list of cluster manager packages. By grepping for `nsswitch.conf$`, any file paths ending in `nsswitch.conf` in the cluster manager packages are displayed. The output is: ```bash /cm/conf/etc/nsswitch.conf ``` Files under `/cm/conf` are placed by BCM packages when updating the head node. From there they are copied over during the post-install section of the RPM to where the distribution version configuration files are located by the cluster manager, but only during the initial installation of the cluster. The distribution version file is overwritten in this way to prevent RPM dependency conflicts of the BCM version with the distribution version. The configuration files are not copied over from `/cm/conf` during subsequent reboots after the initial installation. The `cm/conf` files are however updated when BCM packages are updated. During such a BCM update, a notification is displayed that new configuration files are available. Inverting the cluster manager version string match displays the files not provided by BCM. These are normally the files provided by the distribution: ```bash [root@basecm10 ~]# repoquery -l $(repoquery -a | grep -F -v _cm10.0) | grep nsswitch.conf$ ... /usr/share/factory/etc/nsswitch.conf /usr/share/factory/etc/nsswitch.conf /etc/authselect/nsswitch.conf /etc/authselect/user-nsswitch.conf /usr/share/authselect/default/minimal/nsswitch.conf /usr/share/authselect/default/sssd/nsswitch.conf /usr/share/authselect/default/winbind/nsswitch.conf /var/lib/authselect/nsswitch.conf /etc/authselect/nsswitch.conf /etc/authselect/user-nsswitch.conf /usr/share/authselect/default/minimal/nsswitch.conf /usr/share/authselect/default/sssd/nsswitch.conf /usr/share/authselect/default/winbind/nsswitch.conf /var/lib/authselect/nsswitch.conf /etc/nsswitch.conf /etc/nsswitch.conf /usr/share/authselect/vendor/libnss-mysql/nsswitch.conf /usr/share/rear/skel/default/etc/nsswitch.conf ``` **Which package provides the file in BCM and in the distribution?** The packages that provide these files can be found by running the “`yum whatprovides *`” command on the paths given by the preceding output, for example: ```bash ~# yum whatprovides */cm/conf/etc/nsswitch.conf ... cm-config-ldap-client ``` This reveals that some BCM LDAP packages can provide an `nsswitch.conf` file. The file is a plain file provided by the unpacking and placement that takes place when the package is installed. The file is not generated or maintained periodically after placement, which is the reason why this file is not seen in the tables of sections [A.1](#a1-system-configuration-files-created-or-modified-by-cmdaemon-on-head-nodes) and [A.2.3](#a23-files-created-on-regular-nodes-by-the-node-installer) of this appendix. Similarly, looking through the output for the less specific case: ```bash ~# yum whatprovides */etc/nsswitch.conf ... cm-config-ldap-client* glibc* rear* systemd* ``` shows that `glibc` provides a distribution version of the `nsswitch.conf` file, that the `rear` package from the distribution provides a version of it, and that there is also a systemd version of this file available from the distribution packages. The glob `*` in the output in this manual represents a variety of types and versions. The actual display that is seen on the screen is an expansion of the glob. **Similar Ubuntu queries:** For Ubuntu, a query of the form `dpkg -S` \<*filename*> shows the packages that provide a file with the pattern \<*filename*>. **Example** ```bash root@head:~# dpkg -S "nsswitch.conf" cm-config-ldap-client-master: /cm/conf/etc/nsswitch.conf manpages: /usr/share/man/man5/nsswitch.conf.5.gz libc-bin: /usr/share/libc-bin/nsswitch.conf ``` To work out which Ubuntu package is a distribution package and which is a BCM package, queries similar to the following can be run: **Example** ```bash root@head:~# dpkg-query -W -f='${binary:Package} ${Version}\n' $(dpkg -S "nsswitch.conf" | cut -f1 -d:) |\ grep cm10.0 cm-config-ldap-client-master 10.0-155-cm10.0 root@head:~# dpkg-query -W -f='${binary:Package} ${Version}\n' $(dpkg -S "nsswitch.conf" | cut -f1 -d:) |\ grep -v cm10.0 libc-bin 2.35-0ubuntu3.8 manpages 5.10-1ubuntu1 ``` **What are the differences between the BCM version and the distribution versions of the file?** Sometimes it is helpful to compare a distribution version and cluster version of `nsswitch.conf` to show the differences in configuration. The versions of the RPM packages containing the `nsswitch.conf` can be downloaded, their contents extracted, and their differences compared as follows: ```bash ~# mkdir yumextracted ; cd yumextracted ~# yumdownloader glibc-2.34 ~# rpm2cpio glibc-2.34-100.el9_4.4.x86_64.rpm | cpio -idmv ~# yumdownloader cm-config-ldap-client-master ~# rpm2cpio cm-config-ldap-client-master-10.0-155_cm10.0.noarch.rpm | cpio -idmv ~# diff etc/nsswitch.conf cm/conf/etc/nsswitch.conf ... ``` **What are the configuration files in an RPM package?** An RPM package allows files within it to be marked as configuration files. Files marked as configuration files can be listed with `rpm -qc` \<*package*>. Optionally, piping the list through “`sort -u`” filters out duplicates. **Example** ```bash ~# rpm -qc glibc | sort -u /etc/gai.conf /etc/ld.so.cache /etc/ld.so.conf /etc/nsswitch.conf /etc/rpc /usr/lib64/gconv/gconv-modules /usr/lib/gconv/gconv-modules /var/cache/ldconfig/aux-cache ``` **How does an RPM installation deal with local configuration changes? Are there configuration files or critical files that BCM misses?** Whenever an RPM installation detects a file with local changes, it can treat the local system file as if: 1. the local system file is frozen. The installation does not interfere with the local file, but places the updated file as an .rpmnew file in the same directory. 2. the local system file is not frozen. The installation changes the local file. It copies the local file to an .rpmsave file in the same directory, and installs a new file from the RPM package. **NOTE:** This package manager freezing should not be confused with CMDaemon freezing. With CMDaemon freezing, which is done with the `FrozenFile` directive (Appendix [C.69](/admin/cmdconf#c69-frozenfile-directive)), a file or section of a file that would normally be maintained by CMDaemon before freezing it, is no longer maintained by CMDaemon after freezing it. When building BCM packages, the package builders can specify which of these two methods apply. When dealing with the built package, the system administrator can use an `rpm` query method to determine which of the two methods applies for a particular file in the package. For example, for `glibc`, the following query can be used and grepped: ```bash rpm -q --queryformat '[%{FILENAMES}\t%{FILEFLAGS:fflags}\n]' glibc | egrep '[[:space:]].*(c|n).*$' | sort -u /etc/gai.conf cmng /etc/ld.so.cache cmng /etc/ld.so.conf cn /etc/nsswitch.conf cn /etc/rpc cn /usr/lib64/gconv/gconv-modules cn /usr/lib/gconv/gconv-modules cn /var/cache/ldconfig/aux-cache cmng ``` Here, the second column of the output displayed shows which of the files in the package have a configuration (`c`) flag or a noreplace (`n`) flag. The `c` flag without the `n` flag indicates that an .rpmsave file will be created, while a `c` flag together with an `n` flag indicates that an .rpmnew file will be created. In any case, files that are not marked as configuration files are overwritten during installation. So: * If a file is not marked as a configuration file, and it has been customized by the system administrator, and this file is provided by an RPM package, and the RPM package is updated on the system, then the file is overwritten silently. * If a file is marked as a configuration file, and it has been customized by the system administrator, and this file is provided by an RPM package, and the RPM package is updated on the system, then it is good practice to look for .rpmsave and .rpmnew versions of that file, and run a comparison on detection. BCM should however mark all critical files as configuration files in BCM packages. Sometimes, RPM updates can overwrite a particular file that the administrator has changed locally and then would like to keep frozen. To confirm that this is the problem, the following should be checked: * The `--queryformat` option should be used to check that file can indeed be overwritten by updates. If the file has an `n` flag (regardless of whether it is a configuration file or not) then overwriting due to RPM updates does not happen, and the local file remains frozen. If the file has no `n` flag, then replacement occurs during RPM updates. For files with no `n` flag, but where the administrator would still like to freeze the file during updates, the following can be considered: * The file text content should be checked to see if it is a CMDaemon-maintained file (section [2.6.5](/admin/clustermanagement#265-configuration-file-modification-and-the-frozenfile-directive)), or checked against the list of generated files (Appendix A). This is just to make sure to avoid confusion about how changes are occurring in such a file. * If it is a CMDaemon-maintained file, then configuration changes put in by the administrator will also not persist in the maintained section of the file unless the `FrozenFile` directive (section [C.69](/admin/cmdconf#c69-frozenfile-directive)) is used to freeze the change. * If it is only a section that CMDaemon maintains, then configuration changes can be placed outside of the maintained section. Wherever the changes are placed in such a file, these changes are in any case by default overwritten on RPM updates if the file has no `n` flag. * Some regular node updates can effectively be maintained in a desired state with the help of a finalize script (Appendix [E](/admin/finalize)). * Updates can be excluded from YUM/zypper (section [11.3.2](/admin/softwareimagemanagement#1132-excluding-kernels-and-other-packages-from-updates)), thereby avoiding the overwriting of that file by the excluded package. A request to change the package build flag may be sent to the BCM support team if the preceding suggested options are unworkable.