Overview

Three distinct directory structures come into play as a result of the installation and use of Razor...

1. ...where the Razor product release itself is installed. This is often a "public" area on a server, but it can actually be pretty much anywhere, even under a single user's home directory. We refer to this location as $RAZOR_HOME.

2. ...where information about the licensing of Razor resides. The most significant element of this area is the Licenses file, which is used to control the number of concurrent invocations of Razor allowed. This directory is pointed to by the environment variable $RAZOR_LICENSE_DIR.

3. ...and finally, where the database itself is stored. We refer to this area as the $RAZOR_UNIVERSE_DIR. If your site has multiple databases, then you will have multiple $RAZOR_UNIVERSE_DIRs¹.

The nature and shape of each of the above areas is described elsewhere in this manual. (See "Razor Directory Layouts" on page 251.) What's important to understand at this point is that there are three separate areas, and how they interact.

Razor was designed so that a great deal of the administrative work can be done without having super user privileges. If you wish, you can have the product release, the license directory, and the database directories set up in a single user's home directory BUT WE DON'T RECOMMEND THIS AS A PERMANENT SOLUTION. This is sometimes done during the evaluation phase, as a new site investigates whether Razor is an appropriate fit for their needs.

A more typical situation requires that 3rd party products be formally installed by the system administration department into a public area. The database directory (or directories) are then located in a separate public area for use by the various teams and team members.

When we use the term "Razor Adminstrator" in this manual, we don't mean that someone is going to be burdened with massive administrative tasks. We use that term to refer to the person or group that will implement and maintain the controls required to enforce the site-specific Configuration Management procedures that will be honored by Razor. So don't get scared if someone tapped you on the shoulder and said you are the "Razor Administrator". Razor is designed to grow in capability and control as your requirements demand.

¹ This also implies that you will be changing the value of $RAZOR_UNIVERSE_DIR, most likely by sourcing multiple rz_prep files to access these databases.