Below is the procedure to put linux machines under subversion control
First on the subversion server create a directory
svnadmin create svn/simon-test-vm
All the work now is done on the workstation or server you wish to have under subversion control
First import the initial repository contents
root@simon-test-vm:/# svn import -m "initial import" /etc svn+ssh://quantrill@ood/home/svn/simon-test-vm
Next checkout a copy from the subversion server, makesure you use a different name for the working-directory (simons-test-etc)
root@simon-test-vm:/# svn svn+ssh://quantrill@ood/home/svn/simon-test-vm /simon-test-etc
Now move and copy to allow the subversion controlled directory to become the primary directory on the machine
root@simon-test-vm:/# mv etc etc.old && mv simon-test-etc etc
Check its under svn control
cd /etc svn info
Make sure you can still use sudo!
chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers
Thats it the machine is now under subversion control any changes in the configuration can be tracked, this is the method/process however I am working on a centralised way in which we can track configuration changes.
For any feedback or corrections, please write in to: Simon Quantrill