How do you manage multiple /etc/passwd files?

[mouse at mcgill-vision.UUCP]

In article <2253 at felix.UUCP>, zemon at felix.UUCP (Art Zemon) writes:
> I just installed my third computer which means that now I have three
> /etc/passwd files.  So now I'm trying to figure out some way to
> relieve my users from the need to update passwords three times when
> they want to change them.  How do you do it?

We run a distributed filesystem (Sun's and Mt. Xinu's NFS
implementations at present) and all but one of them are symbolic links
to the other.  There are backup copies kept in /etc/passwd-, updated
nightly, so that in case something serious keeps the central machine
out for more than a few hours we at worst have to reboot single-user
and copy.  Of course, there's more stuff than just /etc/passwd residing
on the central machine, so if it goes there's not much use logging in.

[ Please, don't tell me about YP, I know about it and we aren't using
  it for what we find are good and sufficent reasons. ]

					der Mouse

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