<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN"> <html> <head> <title>ACUA FAQ</title> </head> <body background=back.gif bgcolor=White link=Blue vlink=Black alink=Black> <h1><center>ACUA FAQ</center></h1> <hr size=5> <br> <br> Some questions are asked again and again, so I have finally decided to create a FAQ for <b>ACUA</b>. The FAQ's purpose is to provide concise answers to common questions. Unlike the <a href="howto.html">HOWTO</a>, the FAQ does not aim to give detailed explanations of <b>how to</b> accomplish specific objectives with <b>ACUA</b>. Where appropriate, references will be made to the relevant documentation and other sources of information.<br> <br> <b>NOTE:</b> this FAQ will grow over time -- right now it only includes those FAQ's that came immediately to my mind.<br> <br> <hr> <br> <h2>Q.</h2> <b>ACUA</b> doesn't work properly when I have usernames that start with a numeric digit (e.g. "2cool").<br> <br> <h2>A.</h2> Don't have usernames that start with a numeric digit.<br> <br> <hr> <br> <h2>Q.</h2> <b>ACUA</b> doesn't work properly when I have usernames longer than 8 characters.<br> <br> <h2>A.</h2> Don't have usernames longer than 8 characters. <b>ACUA</b> can support long usernames, but Linux really can't support them properly. This might change, but until it does you need to stick to 8-character or shorter usernames.<br> <br> <hr> <br> <h2>Q.</h2> The binary rpm requires libraries I don't have and I don't really want to upgrade libraries. How can I get <b>ACUA</b> installed?<br> <br> <h2>A.</h2> If you don't want to upgrade libraries to get <b>ACUA</b> going, there is another way: rebuild the package from the sources.<br> <br> If you have <b>rpm</b> installed, it's done like this:<br> <ul> <li>rpm -i acua-2.x-1.src.rpm</li> <li>cd /usr/src/redhat/SPECS</li> <li>rpm -bb acua-2.x.spec</li> <li>cd /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386</li> <li>rpm -Uvh acua-2.x.i386.rpm</li> </ul> If you've used a utility to get a .tar.gz of the sources, you could build and install the package like this:<br> <ul> <li>tar xzvf acua-2.x.tar.gz</li> <li>cd acua-2.x</li> <li>make dep</li> <li>make clean</li> <li>make install</li> </ul> If the build fails for some reason, then you'll have to fix it yourself or get help from other users.<br> <br> <hr> <br> <h2>Q.</h2> The supplied programs <b>acua117-200</b> and <b>acua200-202</b> don't seem to work properly. What's the deal?<br> <br> <h2>A.</h2> glibc's uid_t is 32 bits, whereas Linux's uid_t is 16 bits. <b>acua117-200</b> assumes that Linux's uid_t is being used, whereas <b>acua200-202</b> assumes that glibc's uid_t is being used. These assumptions will be true in most cases, but not always. Hopefully everyone will be switched over to glibc soon and this won't be an issue anymore.<br> <br> <hr> <br> <h2>Q.</h2> Can <b>ACUA</b> support the following access policies?<br> <ul> <b><i>// fill in access policies here</i></b> </ul> <h2>A.</h2> I haven't met an access policy yet that <b>ACUA</b> couldn't do. Many common access policies are very simple to implement, whereas some require a better understanding of the package, and maybe even some shell scripting. Read the manuals, then read the <b>HOWTO</b> and ensure you understand the examples it contains. Once you gain an understanding of how <b>ACUA</b> works and what it can do for you, I hope you will find it can be a great help to you. I have tried to ensure <b>ACUA</b> is powerful and flexible enough to enable a great degree of automated access control.<br> <hr> <br> <h2>Q.</h2> <a href="acua_updated.html">acua_updated</a> dies occasionally and I don't know why. Help!<br> <br> <h2>A.</h2> Please do the following:<br> <ul> <li>get the <b>ACUA</b> sources <e.g. from the source RPM)</li> <li>untar the sources</li> <li>build acua_updated:</li> <ul> % make dep ; make acua_updated<br> </ul> <li>pull up a gdb session with the binary you just built:</li> <ul> % gdb ./acua_updated<br> </ul> <li>tell gdb to pass in the <b>-d</b> switch disabling background operation</li> <ul> (gdb) set args -d<br> </ul> <li>tell gdb to run acua_updated</li> <ul> (gdb) run<br> </ul> <li>let acua_updated run until it dies (however long that takes)</li> <li>when it dies, gdb should tell you the source file and line # where it died</li> <li>get gdb to tell you the call stack leading up to the crash</li> <ul> (gdb) trace<br> </ul> <li>e-mail me the information you obtained</li> </ul> <br> <br> <hr size=5> <address><a href="mailto:acua@acua.ebbs.com.au">Robert Davidson</a></address> <!-- Created: Tue Mar 11 14:47:17 CST 1997 --> <!-- hhmts start --> Last modified: Sun Sep 13 19:50:39 CST 1998 <!-- hhmts end --> </body> </html>
