# Using a linux User Database in OSX



## PipoCanaja (Jun 25, 2002)

Hi,

We have a Linux Server in the lab with an account for everybody in here. You can imagine it's quite long to do ...

And now we have an iMac running 9.1 as a Scanner Machine. We would like to turn it in OSX. The question is :

Is there a way to use the same user database as the linux box, so the users will be able to log in on the iMac with their account, and see their home directory and so on ...

Thanx

Philippe TEISSIER


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## lethe (Jun 25, 2002)

by user database, i assume you mean the /etc/passwd file.  that is where linux stores all the account information.  you can make OSX use the same file, and you could just copy the file over from the linux box.  then you change lookupd to check for login information in /etc/passwd if it doesn t find it in NetInfo (which is where OSX stores its info by default)

man lookupd for details.

it might also be possible that your linux server stores its account info in NIS, which is convenient if there are lots of linux/UNIX machines and you want to have the same logins in every machine.  in this case, you can also tell lookupd to check NIS for login account infos.


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## PipoCanaja (Jun 25, 2002)

Ok thank you for your answer.

So if I understand well, i need to copy this data from the linux box to OSX, and the configure my iMac to check this (seems that the linux box uses NIS as you said) after netinfo. I'll try to search that way. And if the user logs in with the NIS data, the user groups & user ID will be the same as on the linux box, so we'll be able to mount their home directory as well, using NFS, without any UID GID problems.

Looks nice.

I'll try to find out how to setup lookupd.

I'll let you know if I need anymore help,

Thanx


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## lethe (Jun 25, 2002)

here is an article on integrating OSX into a NIS network.  

i am looking through the lookupd man page.  i think you do something like this:  either make a NetInfo directory /locations/lookupd/users, and put a key in it LookupOrder, with the names of the lookup agents.  important to include NISAgent.  Or, you put a file at /etc/lookupd/users, and put those data in that file. 

the full details are in the man page.

cheers


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## PipoCanaja (Jun 25, 2002)

Ok.

I'll read all that tomorrow, as it's 0:11 AM in France 
Thanx for your help and I'll let you know when we do it.

thanx


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## PipoCanaja (Jun 27, 2002)

Hi,

Seems that the NIS is running md5 encryption, and according to the HowTo, only DES encryption is working with OSX's lookupd ...

Does somebody have a workaround for that ? (like compiling another version of lookupd, taken from a BSD or Linux distrib ?

Thanx


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