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Obsolete Releases => SME Server 7.x => Topic started by: helin16 on October 02, 2006, 04:21:17 AM

Title: anyway to synchronize the users and password b/w two SMEs?
Post by: helin16 on October 02, 2006, 04:21:17 AM

Is there anyway to synchronize the users and password b/w two SMEs?

anyone experienced that before?

Title: anyway to synchronize the users and password b/w two SMEs?
Post by: calisun on October 02, 2006, 04:30:23 AM

I am not sure about synchronizing, but you can duplicate information from one to another by doing a backup on one and using that backup to for a restore on the second one.

Title: anyway to synchronize the users and password b/w two SMEs?
Post by: helin16 on October 02, 2006, 05:05:42 AM

but I guess the backup is the backing up with everything, isn't it? but I've got a large mount of data on my server around 40G, I think it will took a long time to do it, if I am using the server-manager-->backup ..... do you think so? thank a lot anyway!

Title: Re: anyway to synchronize the users and password b/w two SME
Post by: cactus on October 02, 2006, 10:00:14 AM

Quote from: "helin16"

Is there anyway to synchronize the users and password b/w two SMEs?

anyone experienced that before?

Maybe this will help: HOWTO: RSYNC Server Migration (http://mirror.contribs.org/smeserver/contribs//ptehvand/howtos/rsyncmigrate.html)

Title: anyway to synchronize the users and password b/w two SMEs?
Post by: helin16 on October 04, 2006, 04:01:40 AM

thanks so much....but I am wondering where dose SME keep its password files and userlist...and I just want to synchronize these....

Title: anyway to synchronize the users and password b/w two SMEs?
Post by: raem on October 04, 2006, 10:32:20 AM

helin16

> where dose SME keep its password files and userlist

That information is in a variety of files, some of which (most) are not exclusively users details.
Do a backup to desktop (on a fairly empty system to keep your backup small) and see which files are included in the backup. View the backup file using rar or Winrar.

You will see though that files like the accounts db (/home/e-smith/db/accounts) have more than just user account details.

So it's not easily possible using the existing sme setup to just duplicate users only. You cannot use some files and not others either, as that will break the system.

There is the Lazy Admins Toolkit which you can use to selectively add, delete, users groups etc etc, but again it is not the absolute answer you want.

There was a post long ago (approx 2-3 years) by Charlie Brady answering this same question, where he suggested some programming was required to extract the required information from the various user lists and password files etc. It needed someone to sort out all the issues and do the programming work though, and was probably not such an easy task.

If you were willing to pay someone to do the work (eg Gordon Rowell), then it could probably happen.

Title: Re: anyway to synchronize the users and password b/w two SME
Post by: raem on October 04, 2006, 10:42:44 AM

helin16

> Is there anyway to synchronize the users and password b/w two SMEs?

The closest thing I'm aware of to achieve something like what you want is this.

On the server you want to duplicate:

mv /home/e-smith/files/ibays /tmp
mv /home/e-smith/files/users /tmp

Then perform a Backup to desktop (assuming the resultant file size will be less than 2Gb).
Note that /tmp is not included in the backup.
Verify the backup file to check it is good.

Use that backup file to restore to a freshly installed OS on another server.
Run the admin console & select Configure this server, and make any changes required for the new server
Run server manager and make any changes required eg workgroup settings etc

All your user accounts & ibays will be on the new server but they will be empty.

Delete ibays and users and any other configuration details you don't want on the new server.