From: mcr@csi.on.ca (Michael Richardson)
Subject: Re: sendmail and NIS managed aliases problem
Organization: Carp Systems International, Kanata, ON
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 15:47:03 GMT

In article <1992Sep3.224850.23646@awdprime.austin.ibm.com> curt@ekhadafi.austin.ibm.com (Curt Finch 903 2F021 curt@aixwiz.austin.ibm.com 512-838-2806) writes:
>If we did this, wouldn't we be nonstandard in the industry?

  It is one thing to be non-standard. It is quite another thing to be
to horibly complex that that I daren't leave its configuration to mere
mortals:

>Isn't that what people bitch about most often with AIX, (for 
>	example qdaemon.)

  and it can't even figure out what kind of file I fed it and do the
appropriate thing. Users don't care if it is postscript or text, or...
they just want it printed.

>So you're advocating we never read root's grouplist?  Or just don't

  It hardly matters does it? Root can access the files anyway. Users
shouldn't be logging in as root anyway --- except to fix the system.
For routine maintenance su would be preferred.
  And while you are looking at NIS and passwd/login: *any* root user's password,
(not just the one named `root') should be valid when changing unknown
passwords. We'd like to do away with the user `root' anyway, we
already have 4 or 5 rootblah accounts for the people that need to have
root access. That way we don't have to share passwords, and when
someone leaves, we don't need to change everyone's root password.
  Also, that /etc/security/login stuff looks rather usefull --- too
bad it can't be NIS'ed (probably in a seperate map)
  These two options, should be just that: options.

>read it when no NIS server can be found? (which means your login
>would hang for 1 minute and then work, and then what would you do
>if the NIS server came back halfway through the login, etc.....)

  Logout and log back in. Please, don't forget to think just because
naive user wouldn't know to do in situation X. The naive user is
screwed if they wind up having to worry about it anyway.
  What if the NIS server isn't coming back because machine has got the
wrong IP address configured? E.g. a new admin person came along, set things
up, did an ifconfig, bashed /etc/hosts, started NIS, and then came
back after a powerfailure? "SMIT? What's that?", they say. 
  What if there is no ethernet card anymore?

>What would YOU do?  How would YOU solve these problems?

  Always let root login on the console. 
  
>>login is if there's not + in /etc/group.

  Having `+' in /etc/group is too usefull to me. Having NIS is too
usefull. 3.1.5 won't let a user login if the group that /etc/passwd
says they belong to doesn't exist or they aren't listed in that group.
3.2 gives a `setgroups' error, which it ignores.

>Exactly.  Industry standard behaviour I believe.

  How about:
    a) interlocked (dialin/dialout) modem ports
    b) real man pages. info belongs on a CD if you've got a player.
    c) a usable (from the admin point of view) / partition under 3.2.
 I shouldn't need /usr mounted. 3.2 was a step backward compared to 3.1.5.
    d) BSD lpr,lpd
    e) normal system daemons --- I'd like to be able to forget about
ODM when dealing with inetd, and friends. I have no idea how ODM's
version of /etc/services and the NIS version interact. I just know
that they complicate my life, not simplify it.

>--
>curt@aixwiz.austin.ibm.com (Curt L. Finch) | AIX NFS/NIS Field Quality 
>My views are unrelated to those of IBM     |        Austin, TX
> FICA doesn't help the poor.  It mostly goes to old people with incomes >$40k.


-- 
  :!mcr!:	    | #include <ansi-std/disclaimer.h>  +1 613 592 5780
Michael Richardson  | WORK: mcr@csi.on.ca  HOME: mcr@sandelman.ocunix.on.ca