Add a system user to "Users"

[nRaecheR]

Hi all,

I'm trying to setup the 1.5 version of EBox Platform on my Lucid server and I've been running into a serious problem. The "Users and Groups" module don't allow me to add my system user that I'm using as admin user. When I try to create it I get the error message "Username already exists on the system".

Question : How do I sync the virtual EBox users with the existing system users. Using different user names is not an option.

Cheers,

 nRaecheR

[joeinbend]

Same issue here. I added a user, and it did not show up in the users list. When I tried to add it again, it said "Username already exists on the system". I restarted, all the usual hoops, no luck. I also went to command line and did a "sudo smbldap-userlist", and the user does not show up in there either. I know what I set the password to when I created it the first time, and I am unable to logon with that account. having a hard time tracking down where this username is stuck in limbo. I am running the newest version 1.4

[tekoholic]

Hmm...  I'm seeing that this is a somewhat old (6+ weeks) thread, and yet there's no response, no fix, no discussion (other than confirmation).

I can confirm that this is an issue, on an install of ebox 1.5 / Lucid Server box.  I believe, tho I am not completely sure, that this has been an issue in previous versions as well.  There seems to be NO WAY to sync system users and ebox users, or create ebox users with the same user info as system users that already exist.

I can, as well, confirm that this need, for some of us, does exist.  Might it not be nice, to see an Import function, or some other way to sync system users with ebox users, automatically or manually, so as to not have to create separate user accounts for each (one on system, one on ebox)?

[nerichoward]

Hmm...  I'm seeing that this is a somewhat old (6+ weeks) thread, and yet there's no response, no fix, no discussion (other than confirmation).

I can confirm that this is an issue, on an install of ebox 1.5 / Lucid Server box.  I believe, tho I am not completely sure, that this has been an issue in previous versions as well.  There seems to be NO WAY to sync system users and ebox users, or create ebox users with the same user info as system users that already exist.

I can, as well, confirm that this need, for some of us, does exist.  Might it not be nice, to see an Import function, or some other way to sync system users with ebox users, automatically or manually, so as to not have to create separate user accounts for each (one on system, one on ebox)?

Yea, verily and amen !!

I read in the Linux format magazine that this was the "best" distro...and I love it - right up to the point where I have to add a user.  I'm trying to do crazy things in Linux - like, use mutt, ftp, and write perl scripts, etc. from an ssh terminal ..8-)

So, this is a MAJOR issue - I'm a bit befuddled how this could be an oversight by e-box...

Otherwise - loving the distro....(but please give us a work-around...)

Austin, Texas, USA.

[Svein Wisnaes]

This could be because you might have used a different way of adding users than it was originally designed for.

It could also be a Samba problem.

Here is how I set up my server:

Installed Ubuntu Server 10.04
Installed eBox from repo's
During install I created the server admin.
ALL other users has been added using the eBox interface.

I only use the server admin to log on to the GUI and to log on to SSH.

I have set up ftp and the disabled it to run it unmanaged so I could change the config a bit. It is no problem to add a user that was created through the GUI to the list of users that have access outside of their home folders.

I absolutely see that there can be other usecases. So maybe you guys should try to describe the situations that you experience in a way that it can be used forward as feature requests (unless it is a limitation of Samba).

[LEGOManiac]

Interesting that this topic has been read 565 times and no-one has actually addressed it.

The last poster indicated that they don't have the problem because they set up all their users via ebox/zentyal. That would be with the exception of the admin account that was used to install zentyal in the first place.

That's my problem too: I use the same admin account on all my workstations/servers, but, I can't access a zentyal share properly from a workstation admin account because the username is the same and I can't add that name to the zentyal user's list.

It's very annoying.

My workaround has been to create an alternate account to associate with the share.
Then I log into the share using that username and password.

The BIG problem is that when I store a file on the share, the file ownership reverts to root:1901 instead of my account name. I then have to separately sudo chown the file or directory to access it again.

So, if you move a folder to the share, the folder is created first, but with the root:1901 ownership and you get an error when the first content of the folder is moved.

If you then chown the folder and re-run the command, the first layer of contents get moved into the folder, all with the root:1901 ownership but if there's a sub-folder, the first content of the sub-folder generates an error.

You then have to chown -R to fix everything and move the folder tree again.

The next sub-folder (sub-sub-folder) starts this all over again.

I haven't tried it yet, but I suppose if I create an account on the workstation that corresponds to alternate username I provided in Zentyal, and then moved all my folders to the corresponding account on my workstation, then logged into that account on the workstation and opened the zentyal share, it would probably all transfer in one go, but it should't be that painful.

[jsalamero]

Are you adding the user via the Zentyal webui? Does the user exists in /etc/passwd? And in LDAP? slapcat | grep username...

[dnuzzo]

Hi, are plans to include this feature (the ability to add system users as regular users in Zentyal) in the works? 

I'd definitely like to add my support to this feature, or request it if it isn't already planned.

In our current environment where system administrators have their users added to our servers through automation as part of our provisioning process, it's a pain to have to maintain a separate set of users in Zentyal to provide samba/ldap access and remember to still use our normal usernames when logging into the Zentyal interface (our system users are added to the admin group automatically as well).

I've been trying to find a manual way around this hurdle that I could try and incorporate into our provisioning procedure, but haven't come across anything that works yet.  I did see this thread though, and that it has been moved to beta testing, so I wanted to follow up and see if this is still something planned, or if maybe there is a work around of sorts already that I've missed.

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.