A User Database
Adri Verhoef
ccea3 at rivm.UUCP
Wed Dec 7 06:19:17 AEST 1988
A User Database system was to be set up at the Duke University.
Unfortunately, their user database system "has died a slow
agonizing death. A combination of politics, overworked
staff and students, and hardware priorities has left the
project on the back burner, without the burner even turned
on.", so Neil G. Sullivan <cs.duke.edu!ngs> says.
What user services do I want?
A simple system for account maintenance under Unix. The system would
be a database, which keeps track of current users on all machines.
On one machine we would like to have a general user database. This
database should contain all loginnames from all the password files.
The database should contain (for each record):
- the loginname;
- the machinenames on which the loginname exists;
- (probably) the password's age (but not necessary);
- if possible, the machine where the loginname usually will receive mail.
- the user ID (which must be unique with respect to the loginname);
- the full user name (GCOS field);
- the groupname, and
- the group-ID (these last two ones should always be the same).
An alternative would be to keep the group-IDs in a Group Database,
for we would like to know on which machines this groupname exists
as well, in which case this Group Database could contain:
- groupname (Alphanumerical)
- group-ID (Numerical)
- full explanation of the groupname
- on which machines the group exists
Since all UIDs should be unique, the Database system should tell me
which UID and GID I should use, when I want to add a loginname on a
machine.
When a loginname is deleted, the UID should be kept around in the
database until a certain number, say 10000, is reached. After that,
new users will get an unused UID between 100 and that number.
This would be very useful to system managers. Of which I am one.
At the moment we have some programs that handle user accounts and inactive
users at every machine, but we don't have a user database that consists
of all the important information from all the password files throughout
the organization. We have a network that relies on UUCP connections.
Our environment consists currently of about 620 users, and
3x VAX 11/750 8x 3B2 (at least) 1x Altos 986
12x microVAX 2x PDP 11/73 1x M380 i80386
2x VAX-3600
Sincerely,
Adri Verhoef,
mcvax!rivm!a3
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