/etc/logingroup

[Alex Georgiev]

I've been working with UNIX for a number of years now, so I feel kind of stupid asking this questions...

Exactly what is the purpose of the /etc/logingroup file, and how is it different than the /etc/group file?

I did read the group(4) man page, and I'm still trying to "digest" it. :-)

[Patrick Wallek]

Normally you see /etc/logingroup linked to /etc/group. The function of this is to allow a user access to all groups they are a member of upon login.

If they are not linked then the user can only access resources assigned to another group that they are a member of after doing a 'newgrp grpname'.

The basic summary from the logingroup man page is:

If /etc/logingroup and /etc/group are links to the same file, the default access list includes the entire set of groups associated with the user.

[Tim Nelson]

I remember having to do this in HPUX 10.20 but no longer in 11i. I think it is probably an old left over as with 11i all groups are implemented at login with only /etc/group defined. No newgroup execution neccessary.

[Bill Hassell]

For some obscure configurations, a sysadmin might want certain users to have specific alternate groups so /etc/logingroup could provide that. But as you might expect, it requires careful decisions when adding a new user (it´s easy to forget). So a long time ago, the technique would be to use a hard (easy to overlook) or symlink between group and logingroup. To see the effect of logingroup, just type the id command. You´ll see all the alternate groups. If your version does not require logingroup, you can remove the link and id will still report the alternate groups.

[Alex Georgiev]

Thanks guys! Looks like /etc/logingroup is obsolete on 11i. It would be nice if the man page mentioned that.