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Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!jhunix!barrett
From: barrett@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Dan Barrett)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.ultrix,comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Managing a network of UNIX workstations
Message-ID: <3949@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>
Date: 12 Jan 90 20:51:11 GMT
Followup-To: comp.unix.ultrix
Organization: The Johns Hopkins University - HCF
Lines: 51


	I may be managing a network of DECstation 3100's running Ultrix in
the near future.  I have been managing VAXen for a long time, but never a
network of workstations.  So, I have some questions:

(1)	How do you handle inter-machine superuser privileges?

	I do NOT want to put "root" in /.rhosts -- this is a big security
	risk, right?

(2)	How do you do transparent backups?  I want to pop a tape in ONE
	tape drive and say "Back up ALL files from ALL workstations onto
	this tape."

	Suppose I dedicate one workstation as the "main node", mount all
	other workstation disks on the main node using NFS, and then back it
	up.  This should work...?  But don't I have to worry about
	inter-machine superuser privileges?  After all, we want to back up
	EVERY file from EVERY machine.

(3)	We'd like all users to have accounts on all workstations.  What's
	the best way to maintain an inter-machine password file?  I've
	heard vaguely of "yellow pages" but have never used it.

(4)	We'd like a system where the entire network appears to each user as
	if it were one huge "machine".  A user would log onto this "machine"
	and not care which workstation s/he were actually using.  (Maybe the
	"machine" would automatically log the user onto the workstation with
	the lightest system load.  I've seen this done with VMS systems at
	other schools.)  Can this entire scheme be done?  Transparently?

(5)	Should we put disks on every workstation, or have one fileserver and
	many diskless workstations?  Which is better?  Easier to maintain?

	My idea is to have one or two fileservers, make the other
	workstations use NFS, but put a small disk on each workstation for
	swapping only.  Good?  Bad?  What's better?

(6)	Does anybody make a removable media drive, like the Syquist
	44-megabyte cartridge drive, for the DS3100?

	Thanks very much for your advice!

                                                        Dan

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