User Management
User Registration Policy The issues of creation and management often clash in distributed organisations Central creation and management Central creation, delegated management Delegated creation and management. The need to provide privileged access is a security weakness No universal standard method of creating or maintaining usernames/passwords
Local and Network Accounts In networked environment user may access many hosts & needs user account on several machines Local user accounts and Networked user accounts may be different things Local accounts are unique to each host. Changes to an account (eg new password) on one host do not effect similar accounts on other hosts A networked account is a single user shared amongst many hosts. Changes globally effect all other hosts NIS and DCE are standard based network user systems
Unix Accounts Local usernames only (except NIS) Unique username, UID# and password Store user details in system password database (/etc/passwd, /etc/group) Create login directory for user (ie home) Specify user initial shell program Setup some standard initialisation files (eg.cshrc,.profile, etc) Often done using adduser command
Windows NT/2000 Accounts Local or Domain users net user username password /ADD /domain Batch user creation with addusers.exe Only a single kind of shell available User directory can be shared. eg H: Domain users may have initialisation scripts and automatic drive mapping
Groups of Users Collections of existing users Used to allocate process or file permissions to groups of users Individual users may be members of several groups
User Account Policy Rules or standards for account management For example…. Standard for username creation Standards for password (prevent weak pwd) Disk quota Logging and accounting Internet protocols and Quota
Login Environment Username/Password, Home directory, Quota, proxy settings, desktop settings, searchlist, etc All expected to work when new user logs in Often carried out by Login scripts Unix -.login,.profile,.cshrc Netware - login script DOS - autoexec.bat Windows – Registry and Setup folder Scripts often copied from default file
User Support HelpDesk Non-privileged users often need support for Hardware/software upgrade Bug/Error resolution and correction Tuition Helpdesk May involves tracking tools (HEAT, Gnats, NetLog) Or remote control software (VNC, PCAnywhere) Support services should suit the enterprise and may need to be tailored to provide required action
Managing User Resources Variety of usage patterns requires balance of demand by passive and active users Disk space quotas CPU usage & Process count limits Garbage collection – deleting temporary and unused files – needs a careful definition! Terminating orphan/run-away processes Moving and removing users
Ethics and Responsibilities Administrators have a responsibility to care for health and well-being of users. Ultimately, happy users will cooperate well Ergonomic standards protect user health Etiquette – Dealing with user politely to minimise offence and maximise harmony Ethics – Power must be wielded wisely or it will be denied (or circumvented!) See SAGE code of ethics at