stta/stta/help/wk/save/intro.html
2021-10-01 20:35:43 +01:00

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<table bgcolor=#ba9e79 BORDER=1 width=100%> <tr><td><table BORDER=1 width=100%><tr><th bgcolor=#ba9e79>*&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color=#ffffff size="+2">LDAP Users</font>&nbsp;&nbsp;*</th></tr><tr><td bgcolor=#ffe0b0 > <br> </td></tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table>
<h3>Purpose of this module</h3>
<p>
This module was born to provide an easy-to-use frontend to adding,
deleting and modifying Linux users stored on an LDAP directory
(OpenLDAP).
<p>
It is very nice to have users on LDAP, as they can
be searched by standard e-mail tools like Outlook Express. Besides,
you gain the advantages of centralized user administration for all
your Linux servers and workstations, much like NIS.
<p>
You acomplish this by adding pam_ldap and nss_ldap (both found on the
<tt>nss_ldap-*.rpm</tt> package from Red Hat), besides installing and
configuring <tt>openldap-*.rpm</tt>.
<p>
Unfortunately, when you put your users on LDAP you loose all nice tools
like <tt>Linuxconf</tt> and even the Webmin Users and Groups module that makes
easy to add or modify users. Worse yet, there are no standard
command-line tools like <tt>addusers</tt> for the task. You'd have to get
an LDAP browser (like <tt>gq</tt>) and know which attributes to add,
risking to enter an uidnumber already in use by another user, or you'd
have to type long and ugly <tt>ldapadd</tt>/<tt>ldapmodify</tt> command lines.
<p>
So I started to write this module. I hope someone find it usefull,
and thanks to Luca Pescatore &lt;l.pescatore@network.it&gt; which tried to
do something related and gave me inspiration to start this work.
<hr>
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<h3>Introduction to Users</h3>
A Unix user is typically someone who can login to the system, either
remotely via telnet or at the console. Every file is owned by some user,
and every process runs with the rights of some user. Access to files and
processes is determined by the user you are logged in as. <p>
There are really three types of users on a typical Unix system :
<ul>
<li><b>Administrative Users</b><br>
Accounts like <tt>bin</tt>, <tt>lp</tt> and <tt>uccp</tt> own files
such as the standard commands in <tt>/bin</tt>, print spool files and
UUCP data. Actually logging in with one of these accounts is not
normally allowed - they are used only by various system processes.
These users will be created when the operating system is first installed.<p>
<li><b>Real People</b><br>
These are accounts owned by real users, created by the system
administrator. You may allow these users to login remotely, or maybe
let them only to send and receive mail via SMTP and POP3. <p>
<li><b>The <tt>root</tt> User</b><br>
The <tt>root</tt> user has the power to read and write any file
or directory and control any process. This account is typically used
for system administration purposes, and is the account under which
Webmin runs. <p>
</ul>
At the top of the main page of this module is a table of existing users
on your system. You may click on a user to edit it, or click on the link
below the table to create a new user. <p>
<h3>Introduction to Groups</h3>
A group is simply a list of Unix users. Every user has belongs to at least
one group (their primary group), and optionally several others. All files
are owned by some group, and every process runs with the permissions of
a group. <p>
Below the list of users is a table of existing groups. You may click on
a group name to edit it, or click on the link below the table to create
a new group. <p>
<h3>Recorded Logins</h3>
Every time a user logs in by telnet, FTP or at the console the system records
that login and the subsequent logout. At the bottom of the main page is
a small form that allows you to display logins either by everyone, or by
a selected user. <p>
<hr>
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