This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
User Account Management
Historically, Solaris system administrators have preferred to use command line tools for user account management. However, GUI based tools similar to tools in Windows NT, like Admintool, are available for Solaris software.
Solaris User Account Management
This section only describes the Solaris GUI based tools for adding users and groups and contrasts them with Windows NT tools.
NOTE
Admintool must be run as root or someone in the sys group to add or delete users or modify user account information. Like User Manager for Domains in Windows NT, other users can view the information, but cannot modify anything.
Adding Users
FIGURE 2-7 shows the Add User property sheet, invoked by using the Edit Add User property sheet found in Admintool.
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FIGURE 2-7 Solaris Add User Property Sheet
Following are a few of Admintool's characteristics that you should be aware of:
User ID—Admintool will automatically assign the next highest unused ID.
Groups can be entered as a name or as a GID.
Every user must belong to a primary group.
Secondary groups are optional.
The /home/username nomenclature refers to an NFS file system. The directory that /home is mapped to could reside on a system other than the one Admintool is being run from. If it is, the root user running Admintool must have write access rights on that directory.
FIGURE 2-8 shows the Edit Add Group screen in Admintool.
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FIGURE 2-8 Solaris Add Group Property Sheet
Unlike Windows NT, Solaris software requires that a unique GID be assigned to each group. The Members List is primarily used to create secondary group membership for users. Members that have the group listed as its primary group will not automatically appear in the Member List.
Windows NT User Account Management
The tools used to add or delete users and modify user account information in Windows NT is User Manager for Domains. Like Admintool in Solaris software, this tool does not need to be run on the same computer that contains the actual account information, that is, the PDC.
FIGURE 2-9 shows the User Properties screen of User Manager for Domains.
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FIGURE 2-9 Windows NT User Property Sheet
The user account information on the main screen is similar to the user account information found in Solaris software. Tools for specifying the hours that a particular user can log in, the systems the user can access, and whether a dial-in login is permitted, are not part of Admintool.
FIGURE 2-10 shows the New Global Group screen which is invoked from the Groups button.
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FIGURE 2-10 Windows NT New Global Group Property Sheet
Groups in Windows NT can be either Global or Local. Solaris software does not have the notion of Local groups, which are primarily used with Domain Trusts in Windows NT.