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Bug 338439: FAQ answers could do with some updating

Patch by Sam Folk-Williams <sam.folkwilliams@gmail.com>; r=LpSolit; r=colin.ogilvie
parent 23bca78e
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docs/xml/faq.xml
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......@@ -172,50 +172,34 @@
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="faq-general-mysql">
<question id="faq-general-db">
<para>
Why MySQL? I'm interested in seeing Bugzilla run on
PostgreSQL/Sybase/Oracle/Msql/MSSQL.
What databases does Bugzilla run on?
</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>
MySQL was originally chosen because it is free, easy to install,
and was available for the hardware Netscape intended to run it on.
MySQL is the default database for Bugzilla. It was originally chosen
because it is free, easy to install, and was available for the hardware
Netscape intended to run it on.
</para>
<para>
Bugzilla 2.20 contains experimental support for PostgreSQL.
Bugzilla 2.22 contains complete, stable support for PostgreSQL.
As of this release, using PostgreSQL with Bugzilla should
be as stable as using MySQL. If you experience any problems
As of Bugzilla 2.22, complete support for PostgreSQL
is included. With this release using PostgreSQL with Bugzilla
should be as stable as using MySQL. If you experience any problems
with PostgreSQL compatibility, they will be taken as
seriously as if you were running MySQL.
</para>
<para>
Red Hat once ran a version of Bugzilla that worked on Oracle,
but that was long, long ago; that version (Bugzilla 2.8) is
now obsolete, insecure, and totally unsupported.
</para>
<para>
In August of 2005, Wim Coekaerts (Director of Linux
Engineering at Oracle Corporation) wrote to Dave Miller
confirming that Oracle intends to implement and support
Bugzilla. Since then, no further information has been
forthcoming. Track progress at
There are plans to include an Oracle driver for Bugzilla 3.1.2.
Track progress at
<ulink url="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=189947">
Bug 189947</ulink>.
</para>
<para>
Sybase support is no longer being worked on. Even if it
eventually happens, it's VERY unlikely to work without
the end-user-company having to stick a few developers on
making several manual changes. Sybase is just NOT very
standards-compliant (despite all the hype), and it turned
out that way too much had to be changed to make it work --
like moving half of the application logic into stored
procedures to get any kind of decent performance out of it.
<ulink url="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=173130">
Bug 173130</ulink> is the relevant bug.
Sybase support was worked on for a time. However, several
complicating factors have prevented Sybase support from
being realized. There are currently no plans to revive it.
</para>
<para>
<ulink url="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=237862">
......@@ -227,28 +211,6 @@
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="faq-general-bonsaitools">
<para>
What is <filename>/usr/bonsaitools/bin/perl</filename>?
</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>
Bugzilla used to have the path to perl on the shebang line set
to <filename>/usr/bonsaitools/bin/perl</filename> because when
Terry first started writing the code for mozilla.org he needed a
version of Perl and other tools that were completely under his
control. This location was abandoned for the 2.18 release in favor
of the more sensible <filename>/usr/bin/perl</filename>. If you
installed an older version of Bugzilla and created the symlink we
suggested, you can remove it now (provided that you don't have
anything else, such as Bonsai, using it and you don't intend to
reinstall an older version of Bugzilla).
</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="faq-general-perlpath">
<para>
My perl is located at <filename>/usr/local/bin/perl</filename>
......@@ -293,7 +255,7 @@ C:\mysql\bin\replace "#!/usr/bin/perl" "#!C:\perl\bin\perl" -- *.cgi *.pl
url="http://www.bugzilla.org/docs/developer.html#testsuite">Developers'
Guide</ulink>.) Having done this, run the test itself:
<programlisting>
perl runtests.pl 2 --verbose
perl runtests.pl 2 --verbose
</programlisting>
to ensure that you've modified all the relevant files.
</para>
......@@ -334,9 +296,16 @@ perl runtests.pl 2 --verbose
</question>
<answer>
<para>
Unfortunately there are no step-by-step instructions,
but the following URL contains hints on how to do it:
<ulink url="http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/selinux-apache-fc3/sn-debugging-and-customizing.html" />
As a web application, Bugzilla simply requires its root
directory to have the httpd context applied for it to work
properly under SELinux. This should happen automatically
on distributions that use SELinux and that package Bugzilla
(if it is installed with the native package management tools).
Information on how to view and change SELinux file contexts
can be found at the
<ulink url="http://docs.fedoraproject.org/selinux-faq-fc5/">
SELinux FAQ</ulink>.
</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
......@@ -375,9 +344,8 @@ perl runtests.pl 2 --verbose
compensate for the change.
</para>
<para>
There is no GUI for adding fields to Bugzilla at this
time. You can follow development of this feature in
<ulink url="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=91037">bug 91037</ulink>
As of Bugzilla 3.0 custom fields can be created via the
"Custom Fields" admin page.
</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
......@@ -425,8 +393,7 @@ perl runtests.pl 2 --verbose
<qandaentry>
<question id="faq-phb-emailapp">
<para>
Do users have to have any particular
type of email application?
Do users have to have any particular type of email application?
</para>
</question>
<answer>
......@@ -531,10 +498,11 @@ perl runtests.pl 2 --verbose
</question>
<answer>
<para>
MySQL, the database back-end for Bugzilla, allows hot-backup
of data. You can find strategies for dealing with backup
considerations at <ulink
url="http://www.mysql.com/doc/B/a/Backup.html"/>.
You should use the backup options supplied by your database platform.
Vendor documentation for backing up a MySQL database can be found at
<ulink url="http://www.mysql.com/doc/B/a/Backup.html"/>.
PostgreSQL backup documentation can be found at
<ulink url="http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.0/static/backup.html"/>.
</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
......@@ -600,9 +568,9 @@ perl runtests.pl 2 --verbose
<para>
No. Bugzilla, Perl, the Template Toolkit, and all other support
software needed to make Bugzilla work can be downloaded for free.
MySQL -- the database used by Bugzilla -- is also open-source, but
they ask that if you find their product valuable, you purchase a
support contract from them that suits your needs.
MySQL and PostgreSQL -- the databases supported by Bugzilla --
are also open-source. MySQL asks that if you find their product
valuable, you purchase a support contract from them that suits your needs.
</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
......@@ -655,13 +623,12 @@ perl runtests.pl 2 --verbose
</question>
<answer>
<para>
Yes, but commits to the database must wait until the tables
are unlocked. Bugzilla databases are typically very small,
and backups routinely take less than a minute. If your database
is larger, you may want to look into alternate backup
techniques, such as database replication, or backing up from
a read-only mirror. (Read up on these in the MySQL docs
on the MySQL site.)
Refer to your database platform documentation for details on how to do hot
backups.
Vendor documentation for backing up a MySQL database can be found at
<ulink url="http://www.mysql.com/doc/B/a/Backup.html"/>.
PostgreSQL backup documentation can be found at
<ulink url="http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.0/static/backup.html"/>.
</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
......@@ -775,35 +742,14 @@ perl runtests.pl 2 --verbose
<answer>
<para>
Use mysqldump to make a backup of the bugs database. For a
typical Bugzilla setup, such a command might look like this:
<programlisting>
/usr/bin/mysqldump -u(username) -p(password) --database bugs > bugzilla-backup.txt
</programlisting>
See the <ulink url="http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/mysqldump.html">
mysqldump documentation</ulink> for more information on using
the tool, including how to restore your copy onto the destination
machine.
Reference your database vendor's documentation for information on
backing up and restoring your Bugzilla database on to a different server.
Vendor documentation for backing up a MySQL database can be found at
<ulink url="http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/mysqldump.html"/>.
PostgreSQL backup documentation can be found at
<ulink url="http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.0/static/backup.html"/>.
</para>
<warning>
<para>
Depending on the size of your database, and the power of your
machine, the mysqldump command could be running long enough
that the password would be visible to someone using the
<command>ps</command> command. If you are on a multi-user
machine, and this is a concern to you, create an entry in
the file <filename>~/.my.cnf</filename> that looks like this:
<programlisting>
[mysqldump]
user=bugs
password=mypassword
</programlisting>
and then leave the 'user' and 'password' params out of the
command line.
</para>
</warning>
<para>
On your new machine, follow the instructions found in <xref
linkend="installing-bugzilla"/> as far as setting up the physical
......@@ -821,7 +767,7 @@ password=mypassword
<note>
<para>
If the location or port number of your SQL server changed
If the hostname or port number of your database server changed
as part of the move, you'll need to update the appropriate
variables in localconfig before taking the next step.
</para>
......@@ -857,7 +803,6 @@ password=mypassword
<qandadiv id="faq-security">
<title>Bugzilla Security</title>
<qandaentry>
<question id="faq-security-mysql">
<para>
......@@ -866,24 +811,18 @@ password=mypassword
section of this guide...)
</para>
</question>
<!-- Should we really even answer this question? -->
<answer>
<para>
Run MySQL like this: <command>mysqld --skip-grant-tables</command>.
Please remember that <emphasis>this makes MySQL as secure as
taping a $100 to the floor of a football stadium bathroom for
safekeeping.</emphasis>
</para>
<warning>
<para>
This can't be stressed enough. Doing this is a bad idea.
Please consult <xref linkend="security-mysql"/> of this guide
and the MySQL documentation for better solutions.
You can run MySQL like this: <command>mysqld --skip-grant-tables</command>.
However, doing so disables all MySQL security. This is a bad idea.
Please consult <xref linkend="security-mysql"/> of this guide
and the MySQL documentation for better solutions.
</para>
</warning>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="faq-security-knownproblems">
<para>
......@@ -1124,19 +1063,16 @@ password=mypassword
There is no facility in Bugzilla itself to do this. It's also
generally not a smart thing to do if you don't know exactly what
you're doing. If you understand SQL, though, you can use the
<command>mysql</command> command line utility to manually insert,
delete and modify table information. There are also more intuitive
GUI clients available. Personal favorites of the Bugzilla team
are <ulink url="http://www.phpmyadmin.net/">phpMyAdmin</ulink>
and <ulink url="http://www.mysql.com/products/mysqlcc/">MySQL
Control Center</ulink>.
<command>mysql</command> or <command>psql</command> command line
utilities to manually insert, delete and modify table information.
There are also more intuitive GUI clients available for both MySQL
and PostgreSQL. For MySQL, we recommend
<ulink url="http://www.phpmyadmin.net/">phpMyAdmin</ulink>.
</para>
<para>
Remember, backups are your friend. Everyone makes mistakes, and
it's nice to have a safety net in case you mess something up.
Consider using <command>mysqldump</command> to make a duplicate
of your database before altering it manually.
</para>
</answer>
......@@ -1163,7 +1099,8 @@ password=mypassword
<para>
Running MySQL with this command line option is very insecure and
should only be done when not connected to the external network
as a troubleshooting step.
as a troubleshooting step. Please do not run your production
database in this mode.
</para>
</warning>
<para>
......@@ -1255,7 +1192,7 @@ password=mypassword
</qandadiv>
<qandadiv id="faq-nt">
<title>Bugzilla and Win32</title>
<title>Can Bugzilla run on a Windows server?</title>
<qandaentry>
<question id="faq-nt-easiest">
......@@ -1265,11 +1202,7 @@ password=mypassword
</question>
<answer>
<para>
Remove Windows. Install Linux. Install Bugzilla.
The boss will never know the difference. B^)
</para>
<para>
Seriously though, making Bugzilla work easily with Windows
Making Bugzilla work easily with Windows
was one of the major goals of the 2.18 milestone. If the
necessary components are in place (perl, a webserver, an MTA, etc.)
then installation of Bugzilla on a Windows box should be no more
......@@ -1349,7 +1282,7 @@ password=mypassword
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Hitting http://www.activestate.com/ActivePerl
Hitting <ulink url="http://www.activestate.com/ActivePerl"/>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
......@@ -1393,10 +1326,10 @@ password=mypassword
</question>
<answer>
<para>
New in 2.16 - you can change it from the Name and Password
section in Preferences. You will be emailed at both addresses for
confirmation. 'Administrative Policies' must have the
'allowemailchange' parameter set to <quote>On</quote>.
You can change your email address from the Name and Password
section in Preferences. You will be emailed at both the old
and new addresses for confirmation. 'Administrative Policies'
must have the 'allowemailchange' parameter set to <quote>On</quote>.
</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
......
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