lookups in smbpasswd file

[Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton]

as per designs currently sitting in my head, and as per at least one
request already, i'd like password accounts to be abstracted, such that
different systems can be switched in/out.

_one_ system will be the current private/smbpasswd system; another will be
a privately used system by the above-mentioned requestor; another could be
a dbm or other database system; another NIS+; another LDAP etc etc.

luke

On Thu, 5 Mar 1998, Todd Pfaff wrote:

> On Thu, 5 Mar 1998, Jeremy Allison wrote:
> 
> > Gerald W. Carter wrote:
> > > 
> > > If this is a limitation, a possible solution would be to keep the
> > > standard smbpasswd file  but translate it to a DBM hash ( *.dir & *.pag
> > > files ) similiar to NIS maps.  Smbpasswd could be modified to interface
> > > directly iwith the DBM files.  Also add an option to dump the map to a
> > > flat ASCII file.
> > > 
> > 
> > That's a very good idea, and one I've been wanting
> > to do for a while. Issues you will need to consider :
> > 
> > 1). Concurrent updates - as I recall, most dbm hash
> > libraries don't allow record locking for concurrent
> > updates. smbpasswd will need this I think.
> > 
> > 2). Transaction security - losing your password
> > file due to a smbd/smbpasswd crash won't be popular.
> > This may be solvable by keeping a ascii snapshot also
> > but we should have some method of dealing with this.
> > 
> > 3). Setuid security. smbpasswd is a setuid root
> > program - adding dbm libraries to it means that
> > the dbm libraries must also pass the strict
> > security requirements for such a program. Do they ?
> > 
> > These problems are why I haven't done the code
> > work yet, I don't have good answers to them.
> > 
> > Just my 2 cents worth....
> > 
> > Jeremy Allison,
> > Samba Team.
> 
> a quick solution that bypasses some or all of these concerns...
> 
> just use the dbm file for lookups.  the only code that has to be modified
> is function get_smbpwd_entry() in smbpass.c.  it could even be conditional
> on whether or not smbpasswd.dir exists.
> 
> continue applying changes to the text file and rebuild the dbm files
> whenever a change occurs.  this can be accomplished with (under sunos
> anyway): system("makedbm smbpasswd smbpasswd").
> 
> this is similar to how the nis yppasswdd stuff works in sunos.  yppasswd
> receives updates, applies them to passwd file, and then runs a yp make to
> rebuild the passwd map.  mind you, this makedbm can take a long time for
> large passwd files.  but at least it improves the lookup time.
> 
> --
> Todd Pfaff                         \  Email: pfaff at mcmaster.ca
> Computing and Information Services  \ Voice: (905) 525-9140 x22920
> ABB 132                              \  FAX: (905) 528-3773
> McMaster University                   \
> Hamilton, Ontario, Canada  L8S 4M1     \
> 
> 

<a href="mailto:lkcl at samba.anu.edu.au" > Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton  </a>
<a href="http://mailhost.cb1.com/~lkcl"> Samba and Network Development </a>
<a href="http://www.samba.co.uk"       > Samba and Network Consultancy </a>