Diskless question

[Bill Tillman]

________________________________
 From: Arthur Chance <freebsd at qeng-ho.org>
To: Bernt Hansson <bah at bananmonarki.se> 
Cc: questions FreeBSD <FreeBSD-questions at freebsd.org> 
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 9:52 AM
Subject: Re: Diskless question
  
On 04/24/13 13:45, Bernt Hansson wrote:
>
>
> 2013-04-24 13:21, Arthur Chance skrev:
>> On 04/24/13 11:55, Bernt Hansson wrote:
>>> 2013-04-24 12:30, Arthur Chance skrev:
>>>> On 04/24/13 09:18, Bernt Hansson wrote:
>>>>> Hello list!
>>>>>
>>>>> I have set up a diskless machine with 8.3-stable and i as a user can
>>>>> log
>>>>> in, but when I try to log in as root it won't work. How to resolv that
>>>>> issue. I have tried with and without password but the computer said
>>>>> no.

>>>>
>>>> How did it say no? What does the entry for root in /etc/passwd say?
>>>
>>> $su
>>> Sorry
>>>
>>> root:*:0:0:Charlie &:/root:/bin/csh
>>
>>
>> That's not logging in directly as root, that's using su as a normal
>> user. Only members of wheel group can use su. Try logging in directly on
>> the console as root. That should work unless you've marked the console
>> as insecure or have an "impossible" password in /etc/master.passwd.
>
> I am a member of the wheel group.

Curious, I would have expected the su to work. Time for a quick look at 
the source.

>> In the long run you need to add your normal user to wheel group so you
>> can use su. Can you edit the diskless machine's /etc/group from the
>> server that's supplying its disk(s)? In the days when I ran diskless
>> systems I usually found it easier to work on the diskless systems'
>> config files via the server.
>>
> I have tried and my own password is easily changed via the server.
>
> if i try, on the diskless,
>
> Login: root
> Password: password or none
>
> Login incorrect

As I mentioned in another post, have you got a valid looking password 
field in /etc/master.passwd or just a '*'? Valid fields tend to look 
something like $2a$04$<XXX> or $6$<XXX> where <XXX> is a lot of base64 
encoded data.

Looking in the source for su there are three places that generate 
"Sorry". They all send messages to syslog. Is there a "BAD SU" entry in 
your /var/log/auth.log or a PAM related error in /var/log/messages 
and/or on the console?

-- 
In the dungeons of Mordor, Sauron bred Orcs with LOLcats to create a
new race of servants. Called Uruk-Oh-Hai in the Black Speech, they
were cruel and delighted in torturing spelling and grammar.

        _Lord of the Rings 2.0, the Web Edition_
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When you're editing the /etc/passwd file make sure it's the one in the partition that you set for your root for the diskless machine. It could be the same one as the server but typically another partition is setup as the root for the diskless machine(s).