Dazuko - FAQ (General)

FAQ: 1 General

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1.1 What is Dazuko?

Dazuko aims to be a cross-platform device driver that allows applications to control file access on a system. By installing the driver, your system will be able to support file access control applications that are based on Dazuko. As this project becomes more popular and more applications choose Dazuko for their file access needs, it is hoped that this driver will become a common component of most systems.

1.2 How do I use Dazuko?

In order to use Dazuko you must first build and insert the kernel module. This then adds a new device to your system (/dev/dazuko). Once you have the Dazuko device, you can run applications that take advantage of the file access control features Dazuko provides.

If you are interested in building your own applications, check out the Dazuko interface specification. You may also want to look at the example program provided with Dazuko for a working reference.

A list of applications known to work with Dazuko can be found on the applications page.

1.3 What operating systems are supported by Dazuko?

The current release of Dazuko supports Linux 2.2-2.6, Linux/RSBAC, and FreeBSD 4.x-6.x kernels. However, it is slowly being expanded to support other operating systems such as MacOS X, Solaris, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Windows. Although all these operating systems have very different control mechanisms, it should still be possible to integrate Dazuko.

1.4 What license is Dazuko under?

In order to allow Dazuko to be used on as many operating systems (both proprietary and free) as possible and in order for all software (both proprietary and free) to be able to incorporate the driver's interface, Dazuko uses a BSD license. However, the Dazuko device driver has "extension modules" to implement platform-specific functionality. These extension modules will fall under the license of the operating system on which they will run, thus forcing the complete device driver to this license as well (at compile-time). Here is a quick summary:

Dazuko Application Interface (on all platforms):	BSD License
Dazuko device driver (Linux):	GPL License
Dazuko device driver (FreeBSD):	BSD License

1.5 Does Dazuko detect file accesses over Samba, Netatalk, and NFS?

Yes, yes, and yes. This allows you to develop software to monitor, regulate, or protect file access on your Samba, Netatalk, or NFS File Server.

Note for Netatalk: In order to work correctly with Dazuko, Netatalk must be compiled using the --with-did=cnid option.

Note for NFS: In order to work correctly with Dazuko, the NFS User Server must be used (not the NFS Kernel Server). The NFS Kernel Server communicates over sockets directly from the kernel, thus bypassing Dazuko.

1.6 I don't know anything about compiling kernels. Can I just download a pre-compiled binary of Dazuko?

One of the greatest advantages of free operating systems is also for many a problem. That is, they can be customized to support exactly the hardware and features you desire thereby maximizing your system performance (and satisfaction). However, since Dazuko must load into the kernel itself, Dazuko must be compiled with exactly the same code that your kernel was compiled with. With so many different kernel configuration possibilities, it is impossible to precompile a binary for each one.

Therefore, the only way you can get a compiled Dazuko is by compiling it yourself. In the future, operating system distributors may offer Dazuko as a pre-compiled binary, which has already been built for their pre-compiled kernel. SuSE Linux is one such system that already provides a pre-compiled Dazuko driver "out-of-the-box". This makes Dazuko much easier for people to use. Hopefully Dazuko can evolve (politically) to the point where this is more common.

1.7 What does Avira GmbH (formerly known as H+BEDV Datentechnik GmbH) have to do with Dazuko?

Avira GmbH is an anti-virus company based in Tettnang, Germany. In order to allow on-access file scanning for the GNU/Linux operating system, they developed Dazuko (called the "AvGuard kernel module" at the time). However, it was felt that releasing the module source code as free software would not only broaden the available user base, but also provide an opportunity to create a common interface for 3rd party file access control. Avira GmbH continues to fund developers to work on the Dazuko project. Although Dazuko is still relatively young, it has become the basis for several products and thus will continue to have development interest from the community.

1.8 Where did the name "Dazuko" come from?

Since Dazuko originated from a german company, it was felt that the name should somehow reflect something german. Dazuko's main function is to provide an interface for "file access control", or in german, "Dateizugriffskontrolle". Alles klar?

1.9 How is "Dazuko" pronounced?

'dah-tsu-ko'

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