Subject: Re: /etc, /usr, /bin, /dev *all* needed for guest users?

From: [email-masked] (Stephen M. Adams)
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 1995 16:27:33 +0000

> Date: Tue, 5 Sep 1995 07:03:11 -0700 (PDT)
> From: "Steve R. Harding" <[email-masked]>

> I am setting up multiple (read: over 100) root directories for guest users.
> To get it working with a single guest user, I followed the install directions
> to duplicate the tree structure, ownership and permissions required in 
> ~ftp/etc, ~ftp/usr, ~ftp/bin and ~ftp/dev.  This worked great.  Then, dismayed
> at the amount of disk space needed to duplicate this over a hundered 
> users, I removed one directory at a time, trying it out each time.  It 
> finally stopped working with my guest user when I removed the ~ftp/dev 
> directory.

> 
> Regards,
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Steve Harding                                      Email: [email-masked]
> TACTech, Inc.                                      Voice: (714) 974-7676 ext.15
> Yorba Linda, CA
> 

In brief:

/etc contains the password and group files to identify the ownership 
of files. 

/usr/bin contains a 'real' ls with associated options. ls -al  will
not work on the cut-down version of your system.

/usr/lib contains the libraries for ls (unless you have a statically
linked copy)

Cutting down on the files in the way you describe is not necessary.
The greatest amount of space is occupied by the libraries required by
ls.  These files, and indeed all others _except_ those in /dev can be
hardlinked to one master copy to save space.

ls and its libraries are good candidates for this, as no user needs to
have ownership of, or write permission to, any of these files.

Hard links do not work across filesystems or course, so you will need
one copy per filesystem. 

Be VERY careful with file permissions if you try this. 

Regards,

Stephen A.
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       Stephen M. Adams         :    [email-masked]
   Systems/Software Engineer    :    Tel: +44 1232 894334
  BT Belfast Engineering Centre :    Fax: +44 1232 894316
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From: "David C. Brown" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 1995 07:54:50 -0400 (EDT)

I"m attempt to setup a named FTP server only (using the GUEST feature in 
WU-FTPD.  I've developed a directory structure that works the way I like.

Now the question.  The users will need to maintain their passwords.  Is 
there a way to let user change their login password (from ftp)  without 
giving them telnet access to the FTP machine?

David C. Brown                                  Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
[email-masked]                          7201 Hamilton Blvd.
                                                Allentown, PA 18195-1501
The opinion expressed are mine, not Air Products'.

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From: [email-masked] (Mark de Raad)
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 1995 11:20:25 +0930 (CST)

You (David C. Brown) wrote.......
> giving them telnet access to the FTP machine?

Without starting a huge debate about security... you could set up a 
WWW Forms (CGI) interface to do this, and there would not be a need for
telnet access....

Let me know if I can help with this...

Cheers.

M
-- 
Mark W. de Raad			    			o
					             _ /-_
University of South Australia                 ......(_)>(_)
Australia

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