Page 1 of 4
Multiuser Puppy 4.2.1
Posted: Sun 04 Oct 2009, 21:00
by Pizzasgood
puppy-4.2.1-MULTIUSER-r3.iso - (101 MB)
md5sum - (ff7e5a22b6eecc6db0b5b809278198e4)
MIRROR - courtesy of russoodle
- User: puppy
Password: linux
Older Versions: [list]puppy-4.2.1-MULTIUSER-r2.iso - (101 MB) - md5sum - (ebd729806e1ff65e22293ced8ae168a5)
puppy-4.2.1-MULTIUSER-r1.iso - (101 MB) - md5sum - (9948d79452040c951ac187dd6fea5d3a)
puppy-4.2.1-MULTIUSER.iso - (101 MB) - md5sum - (f9f3b5e31335b9a8d935fc790031dae3)[/list]
Service Packs (apply spN to rN-1 to get rN):
Gory Details + HOWTO instructions
This is a multiuser version of Puppy 4.2.1. Initially, it should work just like a normal 4.2.1 Puppy - you are automatically logged in as root. However, there are a few new wizards in the Setup section of the menu. One for adding new users. One for changing your password. And one for disabling the automatic login. The idea here is that this could be used as a standard Puppy, without impacting the vast majority who like to be root, while still allowing the few who really have good reasons to not be root to do as they choose with minimum effort. Which also means they stop complaining about how they don't like being root. So it's a win for everybody.
There were a great many changes that had to happen under the surface for this to work nicely. See the above link to read the gory details. I'll just list a summary of the features here:
- Wizards for adding new users and configuring the autologin feature.
- Has sudo
- Users in the "disk" group can mount/unmount partitions.
- Users in the "audio" group can use audio devices.
- Users in the "power" group can poweroff and reboot.
- Users can have a personalized xorg.conf file at /etc/X11/$USER/xorg.conf. (This must be created by hand, as the xorgwizard is root-only.)
- The Xvesa video wizard will allow user-specific configuration.
- Has virtual terminals 1-6 configured. X will run on 7.
- Global /etc/bashrc file.
- Includes the real shadow utilities (useradd, gpasswd, etc.).
Note: limited users are not able to run PetGet.
To head off a question I'm sure is at the top of a lot of people's minds: No, I will not upgrade this to newer (or older) versions of Puppy. My only goal was to show that this is possible and to document the process for other people to repeat (see the above link to gory details). It is up to whoever else cares enough to take what I've done and apply it to other versions of Puppy. I will fix bugs, of course, if they are bugs with what I've done. More general Puppy bugs are outside the scope of this project. Fixing those would confuse the changes needed for multiuser with the changes needed to fix generic bugs. The idea here is to show how to do it more than to make a good puplet, so I won't fix generic bugs in this. You are of course free to (and encouraged to) make your own implementation that does fix those bugs.
Have fun!
Last updated 2009-11-08
Posted: Sun 04 Oct 2009, 21:33
by dejan555
Congrats!!! Will download iso tomorrow and posting announce on my blog too.
Posted: Sun 04 Oct 2009, 21:59
by dawg
Awesome! I'll try this out as soon as I'm able. Thanks a bunch, Pizzasgood!
Posted: Sun 04 Oct 2009, 23:59
by cthisbear
Not my bag but as usual you show consideration
for others.
And apply your talents accordingly.
Might even post this in Whirlpool...for the multi user moaners.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/
Regards Chris.
milestone
Posted: Mon 05 Oct 2009, 01:04
by raffy
Another milestone in Puppy Linux, and done by the youngest (but senior!) developer of Puppy Linux. Thanks, PG.
Now in the news:
http://puppylinux.org/news/puplets/puppy421multiuseriso/
Posted: Mon 05 Oct 2009, 16:28
by aarf
this is impressive and does take puppy to a new level.
still not quite sure why multiple encrypted pupsaves was not sufficient to be considered multiuser though.
Posted: Mon 05 Oct 2009, 18:59
by Pizzasgood
Encryption is good for privacy. It does not address permissions. If I let somebody use my computer for a bit, and am relying on separate save files to protect me, nothing would stop the other person from deleting my file, whether by accident or on purpose.
If I instead log out and log back in as a different user who has no permission to access the drives, then it's a completely different situation.
Also, logging out and in is faster than rebooting.
Separate savefiles are best when all users are trusted, because that way every user can have root permissions and his own uniquely configured OS. But when untrusted users are involved, the more conventional user system works better.
Posted: Mon 05 Oct 2009, 19:31
by aarf
Pizzasgood wrote:Encryption is good for privacy. It does not address permissions. If I let somebody use my computer for a bit, and am relying on separate save files to protect me, nothing would stop the other person from deleting my file, whether by accident or on purpose.
If I instead log out and log back in as a different user who has no permission to access the drives, then it's a completely different situation.
Also, logging out and in is faster than rebooting.
Separate savefiles are best when all users are trusted, because that way every user can have root permissions and his own uniquely configured OS. But when untrusted users are involved, the more conventional user system works better.
hmm ok, but there is no need to leave your pupaves on the computer. who hasnt got or doesnt carry their own usb flashdrive in this world? and then if you have the pupsaves on your flash drive why not your own preferred puppy as well on the flashdrive.
my impression was that the opposition was grasping at straws and thats why they leveled this not multiuser accusation at puppy.
Posted: Mon 05 Oct 2009, 19:59
by Pizzasgood
Not everybody uses a computer in the same way. My lifestyle is not compatible with living out of a flash drive. Maybe when a 500 GB flash drive costs $20 and has a speed comparable to a quality SATA drive. But that's still a few years away.
Part of the reason for their argument is just that they don't stop to think about what being root in Puppy really entails. In most distros it's a lot more painful to reinstall the OS than Puppy.
I personally prefer being root, but I do feel that Puppy should at least offer the choice so long as it has no harmful impact on the majority, which it doesn't. There are valid reason to need limited users. Even if it's just one limited user so that you can run a public kiosk with somewhat less risk of it being harmed.
choice
Posted: Tue 06 Oct 2009, 00:05
by raffy
I guess PG already explained it before, that a Puppy with a (fully operational) multi (added) user feature is better than a Puppy without it. After all, additional choice means progress.
This is a feature that is good to learn and apply to one's Puppy.
As to the use of mobile storage devices for OS and programs, to most users, OS/Programs = hardware/PC.
And to most Linux enthusiasts, OS for ordinary user = non-root user. Muliuser Puppy should win their favor now.
Not to encourage the users' old ways, but to win them over (for their own benefit) until they appreciate the difference.
Re: Multiuser Puppy 4.2.1
Posted: Tue 06 Oct 2009, 10:20
by superattilius
Pizzasgood wrote:puppy-4.2.1-MULTIUSER.iso - (101 MB)
md5sum - (f9f3b5e31335b9a8d935fc790031dae3)
Gory Details + HOWTO instructions
This is a multiuser version of Puppy 4.2.1. Initially, it should work just like a normal 4.2.1 Puppy - you are automatically logged in as root. However, there are a few new wizards in the Setup section of the menu. One for adding new users. One for changing your password. And one for disabling the automatic login. The idea here is that this could be used as a standard Puppy, without impacting the vast majority who like to be root, while still allowing the few who really have good reasons to not be root to do as they choose with minimum effort. Which also means they stop complaining about how they don't like being root. So it's a win for everybody.
There were a great many changes that had to happen under the surface for this to work nicely. See the above link to read the gory details. I'll just list a summary of the features here:
- Wizards for adding new users and configuring the autologin feature.
- Users in the "disk" group can mount/unmount partitions.
- Users in the "audio" group can use audio devices.
- Users in the "power" group can poweroff and reboot.
- Users can have a personalized xorg.conf file at /etc/X11/$USER/xorg.conf. (This must be created by hand, as the xorgwizard is root-only.)
- The Xvesa video wizard will allow user-specific configuration.
- Has virtual terminals 1-6 configured. X will run on 7.
- Global /etc/bashrc file.
- Includes the real shadow utilities (useradd, gpasswd, etc.).
Note: Although users in the "disk" group can mount/unmount partitions, they still don't get the desktop icons. However, I have things set up to automatically configure /etc/fstab, which means that you can simply go into /mnt/ and click on the mountpoints you want, and ROX-Filer will automatically mount them for you, and optionally unmount them when you exit. You can of course drag these to the desktop and set their icons and such. So this limitation isn't a big deal.
Also, limited users are not able to run fixmenus and PetGet.
To head of a question I'm sure is at the top of a lot of people's minds: No, I will not upgrade this to newer (or older) versions of Puppy. My only goal was to show that this is possible and to document the process for other people to repeat (see the above link to gory details). It is up to whoever else cares enough to take what I've done and apply it to other versions of Puppy. I will fix bugs, of course, if they are bugs with what I've done. More general Puppy bugs are outside the scope of this project. Fixing those would confuse the changes needed for multiuser with the changes needed to fix generic bugs. The idea here is to show how to do it more than to make a good puplet, so I won't fix generic bugs in this. You are of course free to (and encouraged to) make your own implementation that does fix those bugs.
Have fun!
sorry for my english but the link for download don't work
bye superattilius
Posted: Tue 06 Oct 2009, 11:02
by trapster
I can confirm
http://www.browserloadofcoolness.com is not loading this morning.
Posted: Tue 06 Oct 2009, 11:18
by dejan555
Working now. At least for me. It wasn't few minutes ago though.
Posted: Tue 06 Oct 2009, 21:37
by sneekylinux
just tried multi user puppy,and it does not want to shut down,it just restarts x,even trying from the terminal.
Posted: Tue 06 Oct 2009, 21:44
by Pizzasgood
The link is working for me right now too. Must have been a hiccup.
just tried multi user puppy,and it does not want to shut down,it just restarts x,even trying from the terminal.
Okay. I'll need some more information though:
How are you trying to reboot? As root or as a user?
If a user, is it a member of the "power" group?
Is this the first boot, or have you already created a pup_save.2fs file?
Are you using Xorg or Xvesa?
Posted: Thu 08 Oct 2009, 15:31
by PaulBx1
Bravo Pizzasgood! Excellent work!!!
I love root user, but this is really needed for Puppy to be taken seriously. Soon we will be top dog!
mirror
Posted: Thu 08 Oct 2009, 22:48
by raffy
For hiccups (download link not working), note that there are download mirrors:
CAUTION: NOT YET UPDATED FOR REVISION 1 !!!
mirror1
mirror2
Posted: Fri 09 Oct 2009, 15:28
by dawg
OK, I've installed the thing (frugal) and all seems fine when running as root.
However,
when running as user, none of the disk icons show up and I can't mount anything either.
My /etc/group looks fine, I think:
Code: Select all
root:x:0:
daemon:x:1:
tty:x:2:
ppp:x:200:
users:x:500:
nobody:x:65534:
guest:x:501:
spot:x:502:spot
bin::2:root,bin,daemon
audio::17:user
503:x:503:messagebus
ftp:x:1000:
dip:x:30:
disk:x:6:user
power:x:550:user
user:x:1001:
1. copied the necessary files directly from the iso to a directory on sda1 and adjusted my grub menu accordingly
2. booted into my new Puppy and chose appropriate settings for my machine and country
3. Puppy loads, I click the welcome message, it woofs, etc
4. set-up my network card
5. chose reboot and created a save file (64MB) in the default puppy directory on sda1
6. Puppy reboots and loads again fine (still as root)
7. added a user (all 3 offered permission groups) with a pass
8. disabled autologin as root
9. I reboot and login as user, it loads fine, except there are no drive icons etc. (also Seamonkey only contains its default basic (not root's) bookmarks). Reboots fine.
I may also add that logging in as root now becomes impossible if we hadn't set a root pass previously!
That's about it..
Posted: Sat 10 Oct 2009, 05:14
by Pizzasgood
In the Original Post, Pizzasgood wrote:Note: Although users in the "disk" group can mount/unmount partitions, they still don't get the desktop icons. However, I have things set up to automatically configure /etc/fstab, which means that you can simply go into /mnt/ and click on the mountpoints you want, and ROX-Filer will automatically mount them for you, and optionally unmount them when you exit. You can of course drag these to the desktop and set their icons and such. So this limitation isn't a big deal.
When you say you can't mount anything, what do you mean? Did you try manually mounting with the mount command, or navigating into the mountpoint with ROX-Filer, or using Pmount?
I didn't test Pmount. Mainly because I forgot. So I don't know if that method will work. I'm away from home for the weekend, otherwise I'd try it now. But the other two methods
should work. Note: you cannot specify many (if any) extra mount options as a user. You have to use the options preset in /etc/fstab.
As for root, the default root password is
woofwoof, just like in the official Puppies. In the interest of making the multiuser additions as transparent as possible to the end user, I didn't set it up to force the user to pick a new password.
Posted: Sat 10 Oct 2009, 16:22
by dawg
My bad, I must've overlooked that part, I apologize. I should stop doing this sh*t when I'm sleepy/tired/distracted
And I should also set-up some other machine for this to avoid the rebooting and stuff all the time..
Pmount is the one I went for and that doesn't work, the other 2 methods indeed do work.
Thanks, I didn't know about the password.. I guess I should RTFM? hard work..