Chapter 4

Setting Up Password and Group Files

Password and group information

About this chapter

This chapter describes how to set up the passwd and group files on the filer so that the filer can authenticate users.

Who should use this chapter

You should use the information in this chapter if your filer is licensed for the CIFS protocol and does not use a Windows NT domain controller to authenticate users.

If your filer does use a Windows NT domain controller, skip this chapter and continue with Chapter 5, "Configuring Access to CIFS Shares."

Location of the passwd and group files

The setup program created default passwd and group files in the /etc directory of the filer default volume.

How the filer uses the passwd and group files

The filer uses passwd and group files for the following purposes:

To authenticate users for CIFS or (PC)NFS access and to translate user and group names in the /etc/quotas file to UIDs and GIDs
If the filer uses a Windows NT domain controller to authenticate CIFS users, the domain controller verifies the user's login name and password, and the filer verifies that the user has an entry in the passwd file.

If the filer uses the passwd file to authenticate NFS or CIFS users, the filer uses the encrypted password in the passwd file to verify the user's login name and password.
To determine CIFS guest access
For additional information about guest access, see "Enabling guest access" in Chapter 7 of the System Administrator's Guide.
To determine users' rights to access files
For information about how the filer uses the files to determine access rights in an environment with both NFS and CIFS users, refer to "Choosing the method for deciding access rights" in Chapter 7 of the System Administrator's Guide.

Default entry in the passwd file

The following illustration shows the default entry in the passwd file.

The following table describes the fields in an entry.


Field	Description
User name	Contains a user name for the user.
Encrypted password	Contains a password for the user. The filer disregards this field if NIS or a Windows NT domain controller is used to authenticate user names and passwords.
UID	Contains a unique integer that is the UID.
GID	Contains a unique integer that is the user's primary GID.
User's full name	Contains the user's full name. The filer ignores this field.
UNIX home directory	Contains the path of the user's home directory. The filer ignores this field.
Default shell	Contains the path of the user's default shell. The filer ignores this field.

Default entry in the group file

The following illustration shows the default entry in the group file.

The following table describes the fields in an entry.


Field	Description
Group name	Contains a unique group name.
Encrypted password	Contains a password. This field is never used, but should not be left blank is security is important.
GID	Contains a unique integer that is the GID.
User names	Contains a comma-separated list of user names that belong to the group.

Accessing the files from Windows NT and Windows 95 workstations

Complete the following steps to access the files from a Windows NT or Windows 95 workstation.


Step	Action
1	Map a drive to the root of the default filer volume using the following Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path; replace filername with the name of your filer: \\filername\C$ If Windows displays a dialog box asking for a user name and a password Use Administrator as the user name. If you set up the filer to use a Windows NT domain controller to authenticate users, use the domain's administrator password. If you set up the filer to use the passwd file to authenticate users, use the administrator password that you entered when you ran `setup`.
2	Change to the /etc directory.

Accessing the files from UNIX/NFS clients

Complete the following steps to access the files from a UNIX/NFS client.


Step	Action
1	Mount the root of the default filer volume to the client's file system using the following path; replace filername with the name of your filer: filername:/vol/vol0
2	Change to the /etc directory.

Adding entries to the passwd file

The procedure you use to add entries to the /etc/passwd file depends on whether you are using the /etc/passwd file or either a Windows NT domain controller or NIS to authenticate users.

If you are using the /etc/passwd file to authenticate users, follow the instructions in the next section, "Adding entries to the passwd file with passwords."

If you are using either a Windows NT domain controller or NIS to authenticate users, follow the instructions in "Adding entries to the passwd file without passwords."

Adding entries to the passwd file with passwords

In this procedure, you add entries to a passwd file on a UNIX host using a text editor, then transfer the file to the filer. You add entries to the passwd file on a UNIX host because each entry in the file requires an encrypted password and the filer does not have a command for creating passwords. The format for entries in the passwd file is as follows:

username:password:uid:gid:full name:/:default shell

Complete the steps in the following table to add entries to a passwd file.


Step	Action
1	Log in to a UNIX host as the root user.
2	Change to the /etc directory.
3	Make a copy of the existing passwd file under a new name, such as passwd.old.
4	Open the existing passwd file in a text editor.
5	Add an entry for each user who needs access to files. Leave the password and default shell fields empty. You set passwords in Step 8. The filer does not use the default shell field.
6	If you did not purchase a license for the NFS protocol, delete any entries from the passwd file that are for non-CIFS users.
7	Save the file and exit the editor.
8	Set a password for each user by entering the following command: passwd username The `passwd` program prompts you to enter the new password twice.
9	Copy the passwd file from the UNIX host to the /etc directory on the filer.
10	Delete the passwd file from the UNIX host and rename the saved file to passwd.
11	Continue with "Adding entries to the group file"

Adding entries to the passwd file without passwords

In this procedure, you edit the passwd file from a Windows NT or Windows 95 workstation or a UNIX/NFS client using a text editor. The format for entries in the passwd file is as follows:

username:password:gid:uid:full name:default shell

Complete the steps in the following table to add entries to the passwd file.


Step	Action
1	Use a text editor to open the /etc/passwd file.
2	Add an entry for each user who needs to access files. Leave the password and default shell fields empty. The filer does not use them when users are authenticated by a Windows NT domain controller or NIS.
3	Save the file and exit the text editor.
4	Continue with "Adding entries to the group file."

Adding entries to the group file

In this procedure, you edit the group file from either a Windows NT or Windows 95 workstation or a UNIX/NFS client using a text editor. The format for entries in the group file is as follows:

groupname::gid:username,...,username

This procedure assumes that you already connected to the root filer volume using the instructions in one of the following sections:

Complete the steps in the following table to edit the group file.


Step	Action
1	Use a text editor to open the /etc/group file.
2	Add entries to the file for each group.
3	Save the file and exit the text editor.

Results

The passwd and group files on the filer now contain entries for users and groups. The filer can verify users' rights to access the filer.

Part No. 210-02343
File: pwd_grp1.htm
Last updated: 02/25/99 17:35:03