Can I change user-id from 1001 and up to 501 and up on my opensuse 11.1 computers, so that they can communicate with a Raidsonic Icybox IB-4220-B NAS, running an (for me) unknown flavor of Linux), that according to some other post in NAS forums, sets user-ids from 500 and up? and change the user-ids without suffering consequenses in other opensuse processes and aspects?
I have tested change of user id at an opensuse 11.1 box, where I created a user with the user-id 503. This test-user could connect to the NAS and read and write without permission-problems, which has been a major headache in my NFS-Icybox setup.
The other way round - to change the export file on the NAS seems to complicated to me, since there is no easy way to get shell access to the system files on the NAS (as far as I know by searching several forums)
Or use Samba, which doesn’t have the ID issue and provides more flexibility for sharing.
While moving the system/user border from 1000 down to 500 can be done, it’s a retrograde step because many Linux distros moved it to 1000 a while back to make room for more system accounts. But I suppose it’s unlikely that you will run out of system account ids in the lifetime of your NAS box. But then you’d have to carry this change over to any future Linux distros. Currently in /etc/login.defs:
which means 500-999 are still not available to system accounts, while also not available to normal accounts. Obviously this is waiting for the old practice of using accounts from 500 to die out. You would be prolonging that process.
Thanks a lot - I have missed the firmware upgrade or it has become available while posting my first entry - I have checked the NAS-4220 forum for sulutions. I think I will try the NFS way first and the switch to the Samba/CIFS solution if I fail in changing the user-id range on the NAS.For me the NFS way seems safer and according to some post also faster in a homogeneous linux environment.