Setting up a LAN?

[timmn1]

I want to try something that I have never done before, just to see if I can make it work. To this end, I would like to set up a LAN so that all the user passwords are stored in one place, so when I want to change a user password I don't have to go to each computer and change it.

The problem is, that I don't even have any idea where to start, so any suggestions and/or ideas would be welcome.

Thanks.

P.S. I have the hardware, but there is very little money for anything else.

[Welcome]

One solution is to install Openssh-server on each computer.

Note: If you're using a Firewall (maybe using gufw), then you'll need to add a rule to allow SSH. (Rules -> '+' -> type 'ssh' in 'Application Filter' -> Add)

• If the computers are both in the same LAN (same subnet), you should also be able to connect with the name of the remote computer (replace computername with the appropriate name, but keep the '.local' ending):

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  ssh computername.local

• If the remote computer is accessible, but not in the same LAN (same subnet), you'll be able to connect remotely using something like this:

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  ssh 192.168.xxx.yyyy

• You'll need to know the ip address of the remote computer. One way to find the ip address is to type the following in a terminal on the remote computer:

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  ip address

• If your login name is different on the remote computer, use this format (replace username below with the appropriate name):

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  ssh -l username 192.168.xxx.yyy

• With this connection, you should be able to perfrom nearly any command on the remote computer, such as:

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  passwd remote_username

• To exit the remote connection:

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  exit

For more info on these commands, try man ssh and man passwd.

Not exactly what you want, but maybe a start.

P.S. There's a lot more to this, of course, and much more that you'll be able to do. Start with this as a beginning, and maybe try a few remote commands like sensors, top and sudo shutdown +10.

And, if you really don't want to use the command line, there are some alternative GUIs that could be used. Setup is harder, and the interface can be laggy and slow. But some people like it.

[rene]

To this end, I would like to set up a LAN so that all the user passwords are stored in one place, so when I want to change a user password I don't have to go to each computer and change it.

The best direction to point you in is LDAP but that's also a pretty complicated one for a simple home LAN. You'd have one always-on system running the LDAP server and have the other systems authenticate users through it. It seems from a quick glance that this is still current and useful: http://techpubs.spinlocksolutions.com/dklar/ldap.html

It will not be held against you if you decide that's perhaps a bit much. Certainly easier would be e.g. synchronizing /etc/{passwd,group,shadow} from some system considered the master to the others --- although there's pitfalls/details such as these days AccountsService as used by GUIs also needing synchronization of, maybe for example, /var/lib/AccountsService/users/. Who knows what any given desktop D-Bus toy of the day requires this or next week so you'd need to do some experimenting.

A twist on the above would be keeping the to be synchronized configuration files on a central always-on NFS server and symlinking e.g. /etc/passwd and the others on the client systems to the NFS-mounted copies from the server. Lots of potential concurrency issues in that case but it might on a home LAN be fine to just never e.g. edit them at the same time from multiple systems. I wouldn't be fully confident that nothing complains if e.g. /etc/passwd is a symlink, but again, some experimenting to do.

LDAP is more "corporate" than "geeky" I've always found and being latter I never payed it much attention. Have played with it before, and I believe from the very link I gave above, so if it suits your fancy, go for it.