/etc/passwd consolidation

[Johnny Hamilton]

        title:  password distribution mechanism sought


        QUESTION:
        I would like to locate a utility that would allow users to
        change their password on one machine (in this case a VAX 6310
        running ULTRIX), and have that change automatically propagated
        to all the other department machines on which they have accounts.
        This does not necessarily mean that the user will have an active
        account on the "password server", but will have an entry in
        /etc/passwd for propagation/consistency.

        Optimally, this utility would distribute the encoded password
        so that our programs that search for easy-to-break passwords would
        only have to work on one encryption for each user.

        Our department has a large number and variety of UNIX machines,
        including suns, VAXes, and a Data General.  All but the DG run some
        version of BSD UNIX (ULTRIX, 4.3 Mt. Xinu, SUN/OS), and the DG runs
        DG/UX, a System V/4.2 combination.  The suns have a common user com-
        munity, but each of the other machines has a separate set of users
        and therefore a separate password file.

        While we have the ability to use the yellow pages, the different
        users on each machine make this undesirable.

        I would like to hear from anyone who has installed such a system.

        Thanks in advance.

        Johnny D. Hamilton
        Research Assistant
        University North Carolina at Chapel Hill
        hamilton at cs.unc.edu