.rhosts and /etc/hosts.equiv

[Jody L. Czub]

Hi,
We have 2 HPUX servers. Both are running 11.0.

One server is a data warehouse and the other runs the warehousing application. The server running the warehouse app has over 300 users. Currently the data warehouse box does not have all 300+ of the warehouse app users set up.
Is there anyway for the users from the warehouse app box to access the data warehouse box without setting all 300+ users up on the data warehouse box?
I am looking at .rhosts and hosts.equiv, but that sounds like the users need to exist on both boxes.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
jody

[Sanjay_6 · Accepted solution]

Hi Jody,

To use .rhosts and /etc/hosts.equiv the user should exist on both the server. You may look into NIS to address this issue. But that will need a whole lot of configuration. Maybe too much for now but good for future.

http://docs.hp.com/cgi-bin/fsearch/framedisplay?top=/hpux/onlinedocs/B1031-90048/B1031-90048_top.html&con=/hpux/onlinedocs/B1031-90048/00/00/27-con.html&toc=/hpux/onlinedocs/B1031-90048/00/00/27-toc.html&searchterms=nis&queryid=20020614-105224

Hope this helps.

Regds

[Jody L. Czub]

Thanks Sanjay. I think we may have to go that route. The users on the warehouse app box turn over quite frequently and I think maintaining that number of users on both boxes would be an even bigger nightmare. I appreciate your quick response.

[Pete Randall]

Jody,

I believe you're right - the users would need to exist on both servers. At least the password files would need to be the same. You can accomplish this by implementing NIS, or if you use NFS, you can simply copy the password file from one to the other.

HTH,
Pete

[Ameet_HP]

Jody,

NIS is the best way to make it common. In case you need immediate solution, you can copy /etc/password & group files from warehouse server to data warehouse server. Also it will need to copy /tcb/files/auth/* files to get passwords. While copying these files on data warehouse server, please take care of existing logins, do not overwrite, otherwise you will lose them.

Ameet

[Jody L. Czub]

If we go with NIS is there an issue with home directories that any of you are aware of? I would make the warehouse app box the server and the data warehouse box the client. I really wouldn't have a centralized area for home directories on both servers.

[Ameet_HP]

Judy,

Users need to have their own homedirectories in each system from where they login. Create it with same path as defined in NIS's password set up, e.g. /home/user1. If you do not have /home space for all users, make a symbolic link with this path on another hard disk.

Ameet

[Bill Hassell]

Here's another perspective: why do users need to login to the other server? Are they running tools like vi and reading email and writing programs, or are they simply running one program to access their data? By changing the way that in which the users get to their data, you can eliminate logins on all the servers!

The technique involves programming using network sockets and essentially, a server program would validate the user through a special file, then connect to the database. Duplicate the environment on each server and now the only thing to modify is a single user file which is simply copied to each of the servers.

Rule 6 of the sysadmin's survival chart: Never give a user shell access unless absolutely necessary.