User Management in Linux

User Management in Linux

Day 05 part2

User management includes everything from creating a user to deleting a user on your system. User management can be done in three ways on a Linux system.

Understand the /etc/passwd file

User account information is stored in the /etc/passwd file. This information includes the account name, home directory location, and default shell, among other values. Linux sysadmins should be able to recognize these fields.

Each field is separated by a : character, and not all fields must be populated, but you must delineate them.

Here's an example of the /etc/passwd fields:

username:password:UID:GID:comment:home:shell

example:

dgarn:x:1001:1001::/home/dgarn:/bin/bash

Understand the /etc/shadow file

Administrators should recognize each field in /etc/shadow. Several of the fields pertain to password requirements.

Here's an example of /etc/shadow fields:

username:password:last password change:min:max:warning:inactive:expired

Create, modify, and delete user accounts

The process for managing user accounts is very straightforward. Sysadmins either add, modify, or delete users, and the related commands

  • useradd

  • usermod

  • userdel

Task : Create 2 users and just display their Usernames.

use cat /etc/passwd to display their usernames.

Happy Learning !!