A one-line addition to httpd.conf : 30 seconds.

Restarting Apache: 30 seconds.

Making sure that the addition was the right thing to do to an old version of Apache and wouldn't kill the server: much longer .

(And of course the much longer doesn't look too much like work, and doesn't entirely feel like work.)

And more of the sysadmin's life:

Accidentally using kill -USR2 instead of kill -USR1 to gracefully restart the Apache server: priceless. Whoops.

Trying to find exactly where Apache gets started on boot, to restart it with the right arguments, and being unable to do so: nerve-wracking.

Discovering that the machine is actually running Solaris 8 instead of Solaris 9: twitch-inducing. (So much for installing the Solaris 9 recommended patch set during this unexpected downtime.)

Discovering that the web server does not in fact get automatically restarted on reboot, nor do a number of other things: bad .

Discovering that the hostname changed on reboot, to 'test': AUGH . (It turns out that in Solaris 8, /etc/nodename is what sets the host's name. /etc/hostname.<interface> is not.)

I think I have well and truly stubbed my toes today. On the flipside, I know somewhat more about magic Apache things now, including useful bits like ' apachectl startssl ' as the magic way of saying 'start Apache with SSL'.

(The management apologizes for this entry being somewhat less coherent than usual. Chris had a little bit of a shock today.)