[lug] User Account Migration

[John Hernandez]

Stephen, you will need to suck over /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow to your new box.  Use ssh to do that.  Also, be sure not to clobber your existing entries for root, yourself, etc.  The merge should be at least somewhat of a manual process -- once you get the remote files trimmed down to only regular user accounts, you should be able to append to your existing files.

Consider using IMAP.  It's better (more powerful) in most cases, depending on your server resources like disk space.  Specifically, you can allocate folders for filing messages on the server.  Mail is kept on the server, allowing for more convenient access for road warriors.

Make sure the old Debian box is using md5 passwords.  If not, disable them on the new Redhat system, otherwise logins will be broken.

If you need to move home directories, you can do that over a remote pipeline:

rsh remote 'cd dir; tar cf - .' | tar xf -

Can't think of anything else, really.

-John


Stephen Smith wrote:
> 
> I have recently inherited a Debian box that is
> stuck (forever) in Washington DC.
> The server has approx. 600 user accounts doing
> POP mail only.
> I want to migrate these users to a new RedHat server
> here in my Denver location and was wondering if
> someone
> could point me to a migration HOWTO type document.
> 
> OR
> 
> Maybe let me know a few hints on user migration
> between
> the two Linux distributions.
> 
> Things to remember type of stuff..
> 
> SGS
> 
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