Telnet & console pause after login

[Swee Keat]

Hi, I've got this problem on a HP-UX 11.00 box where, when trying to login via telnet or on the console, after supplying correct username & password, there's a long delay before the shell prompt appears. I've tried setting the 'hosts' line in nsswitch.conf to 'files [NOTFOUND=return] dns', but that does not help (in any case, would DNS problem affect console login?). Any other ideas?

[RAC_1]

Is the home directory of this user on NFS mounted directory?

IF yes move HIST file setting to local directory.

Are the quatas enabled for this user?

[Leo Simon]

I don't think this is DNS problem.
It might be NIS setting problem or security password problem.
First check your configuration and disable NIS
if you are not using it.

[Ian Kidd_1 · Accepted solution]

The login process involves several different files. Maybe you can put something like:

echo "start of profile"

at the top of /etc/profile and:

echo "start of .profile" at the top of your profile.

This way we can determine where to start (ie. does the pause happen before /etc/profile or during or during ~/.profile?)

[John Dvorchak]

Just curious is your HISTFILE is rather large and/or on an NFS mount as mentioned earlier. Usually a long pause is while the machine is getting quotas or while it is running a bdf after logon and some mounted file system is slow responding. You didn't mention how long the "long delay" actually is. Just couple of seconds or a minute or two? I prefer to set HISTSIZE to 10000 and I have noticed delays getting the prompt and it increases as the HISTFILE grows. But even at that the delay is only a couple of secons, but I could see how it could take a lot longer if the HISTFILE were on an nfs mounted system.

[Bill Hassell]

Make sure that the machine that is starting telnet is known to the machine where you are logging into. After you are logged in, try this:

nslookup $(who -muR | awk '{print $NF}')

It should report on the name (or IP address). If not, you'll need to add the remote machine's IP into your local /etc/hosts, then test again.

[John Payne_2]

I would do what Ian suggested, but following that, start moving the echo down which ever file is causing the problem until you find the culprit. (Move the echo down, log in, move the echo down log in...) Then once you have found the culprit, fix it.

I guess it's possible that you could have a performance problem on your machine also, but you didn't mention it, so I will assume not.

Hope it helps

John

[John Payne_2]

Oh, and remove the echo from the /etc/profile as soon as possible after finding the problem so that all your end users don't see it and decide to call you to ask what the heck is going on...

John

[Swee Keat]

Thanks Ian & John. I've narrowed the problem down something in the /etc/profile (pause happens after 1st echo, b4 2nd echo). Will debug /etc/profile accordingly. Taking some time, coz this is a remote box I don't have direct access to, so need to work through an operator at the site.