4.5 Creating a Home Directory for the linux* Users

The NetStorage exercises in this guide involve users’ home directories and specific files they will copy to those directories. However, neither of the linux* users currently has a home directory.

There are two standard ways to create home directories on Linux servers. The first way is for a user to log in to the server as a local user (or for OES 2, as a LUM-enabled user). For example, opening an SSH session creates a home directory.

Because it is unlikely that you want your users to have direct physical access to a production server, we will use the second way, which is to create the directory manually, assign the user and group to the directory, and then modify access permissions.

  1. As the root user on the server’s desktop, click Computer > Home Folder.

  2. In the left panel, double-click File System, then double-click the home folder.

  3. If you see home directories for only the ncp_* users that were created in iManager on the HOME_NCP volume, continue with Step 4.

    If you see a home directory for one of the linux* users, that means you used it to experiment with SSH access in Step 6, thus creating a home directory for the user. In that case, adjust the steps that follow as required.

  4. Right-click the white space in the right panel and select Create Folder.

  5. Type linux1_lum-edir as the folder name, then right-click the folder and select Properties.

  6. Click the Permissions tab.

  7. Click the File Owner drop-down list, then use the Up-arrow and Down-arrow keys to navigate to and select the linux1_lum-edir user.

    Notice that the users that you created who are not enabled for LUM are not listed.

  8. Click the File Group drop-down list, navigate to and select LUMUsers, then press Enter.

    Neither this group nor the user you selected exist locally. However, because they are LUM-enabled, the server recognizes them as though they do.

    The next three lines (Owner, Group, Others) indicate access permissions for the directory owner (linux1_lum-edir), the assigned group (LUMUsers), and everyone else (others).

    Notice that both Group and Others have permission to Read (open) the contents of the folder and Execute (browse its contents). This is not what NetWare® administrators and users expect because home directories are private on NetWare servers.

  9. Make this directory private by deselecting all of the access permissions for Group and Others.

    For more information about directory privacy and aligning access on Linux servers to match what NetWare administrators are accustomed to, see Aligning NCP and POSIX File Access Rights in the OES 2 SP2: Planning and Implementation Guide.

  10. Click Close.

  11. Right-click the white space in the right panel and select Create Folder.

  12. Type linux2_lum-edir as the folder name, then right-click the folder and select Properties.

  13. Click the Permissions tab.

  14. Change the file owner to linux2_lum-edir and the file group to LUMUsers by using the drop-down lists.

  15. Adjust the permissions for this directory by enabling the Write right for the group. This gives full rights to the user’s home directory for anyone in the LUMUsers group, which is obviously not something you would normally do.

    Later in the guide we will use this to contrast default POSIX file permissions with the Novell File and Directory Security Model.

  16. Click Close.

  17. Continue with Novell CIFS on OES 2.