FunOS

User management is an important aspect of system administration, allowing you to create, configure, and delete users as needed. In this guide, we’ll cover two key tasks:

1. How to create a new user in FunOS
2. How to delete a user in FunOS

Let’s dive into each task in detail.

1. How to Create a User in FunOS

To create a new user in FunOS, we will use the useradd command, which is the standard command-line utility to add users in Linux systems. The command provides several options for customizing the user’s home directory, shell, and group membership.

Syntax to Create a User:

sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash -G group1,group2,... username

Where:

• -m: Ensures that a home directory is created for the user.
• -s /bin/bash: Sets the user’s default shell to /bin/bash.
• -G: Adds the user to specified supplementary groups.
• username: The name of the new user.

Example: Creating a User

Let’s say you want to create a new user named john, assign a home directory, set the shell to bash, and add the user to important groups like sudo, adm, cdrom, etc.

Run the following command:

sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash -G adm,cdrom,sudo,dip,plugdev,users,lpadmin,sambashare john

This command:

• Creates a new user named john.
• Ensures that the home directory /home/john is created.
• Sets bash as the default shell.
• Adds john to several important groups, such as sudo (to grant admin privileges) and lpadmin (for managing printers).

After creating the user, set a password for john with the following command:

sudo passwd john

You’ll be prompted to enter and confirm the password.

Explanation of Groups:

• adm: Grants access to system logs.
• sudo: Grants administrative privileges.
• cdrom: Allows the user to access the CD-ROM drive.
• dip: Provides the ability to dial in/out via modems or VPN.
• plugdev: Allows the user to manage removable devices (USB, etc.).
• users: A default user group for general users.
• lpadmin: Manages printers.
• sambashare: Allows the user to access shared Samba resources.

After the user is created and added to the groups, they will have access to the specified privileges based on their group memberships.

2. How to Delete a User in FunOS

When it comes to deleting a user in FunOS, you need to decide whether to keep the user’s home directory or remove it along with the user account. The userdel command is used for this purpose.

Syntax to Delete a User:

sudo userdel username

This command deletes the specified user but leaves the user’s home directory intact.

Example: Deleting a User Without Removing Home Directory

sudo userdel john

This command removes the john user but keeps the /home/john directory.

Deleting a User and Removing Home Directory

If you want to completely delete the user and remove their home directory and mail spool, use the -r option:

sudo userdel -r john

This command:

• Deletes the john user.
• Removes the /home/john directory and all its contents.
• Removes the user’s mail spool (if any).

Deleting a User While Keeping Home Directory (Backup)

In case you want to delete the user but keep the home directory as a backup, first move the home directory to a backup location before deleting the user:

sudo mv /home/john /backup/john-home-backup
sudo userdel john

Conclusion

Managing users in FunOS is straightforward with the useradd and userdel commands. By using the correct options, you can create users with customized configurations and delete them when they are no longer needed. FunOS, being based on Ubuntu, follows the standard GNU/Linux user management practices, making it easy to handle tasks related to user administration.

• To create a user, you use useradd with the appropriate options to assign a home directory, shell, and group memberships.
• To delete a user, you can use userdel, with or without the -r option depending on whether you want to remove the user’s home directory.

By mastering these commands, you can effectively manage your FunOS system’s users.