RE: How to Backup Users in Redhat

From: Ben Yau (byau_at_cardcommerce.com)
Date: 01/09/04

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    To: <redhat-list@redhat.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 08:36:30 -0800

    > > i recently installed redhat 7.3 and we have 25 users
    > > only but in future going to increase. i want to backup
    > > users so that when ever server get crash and just
    > > reinstall my server and recover this users backup
    > > file. which files do i need backup.? /etc/passwd file
    > > is enough.?
    > >
    > > thanks,
    > > Kumar.
    >
    > /etc/passwd
    > /etc/group
    > /etc/shadow
    > /etc/gshadow
    >
    > Those 4 will get you the user info but you'll still have to recreate home
    > directories etc. You would be best to use a script to recreat
    > user accounts
    > by extracting the usernames etc from these files as opposed to
    > just replacing
    > the existing ones and trying to get the environments and
    > everything in place.
    > The tricky part with that would be to create a unique password
    > for each user
    > and communicate that to them (securely). The shadow file would
    > contain the
    > passwords but unless you have a good understanding of what you're
    > doing in
    > there, you can break things.
    >

    Hi Kumar and Pete

    Pete, why would you not backup the home directories along with the /etc
    files you mentioned? (plus any system wide environment files you have in
    place like /etc/profile or whatever).

    That way after a OS reinstall you just put the /etc files in place, the
    /home dirs, and do not have to recreate passwords, homedirs, and
    environments? Even though you have a good point that unless you have a
    good understanding of wat you're doing in the shadow file, you could break
    things, i think it's easier to understand how to restore files than to
    create scripts to extract user information, recreate users, create new
    passwords, securely transmit to users new passwords , and recreate
    environments.

    Just curious

    Ben Y 

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