System Administration Guide: Security Services

Special System Logins

Two common ways to access a system are by using a conventional user login, or by using the root login. In addition, a number of special system logins enable a user to run administrative commands without using the root account. As system administrator, you assign passwords to these login accounts.

The following table lists some system login accounts and their uses. The system logins perform special functions. Each login has its own group identification number (GID). Each login should have its own password, which should be divulged on a need-to-know basis.

Table 2–2 System Login Accounts and Their Uses


Login Account	GID	Use
`root`	`0`	Has almost no restrictions. Overrides all other logins, protections, and permissions. The `root` account has access to the entire system. The password for the `root` login should be very carefully protected. The `root` account, superuser, owns most of the Solaris commands.
`daemon`	`1`	Controls background processing.
`bin`	`2`	Owns some Solaris commands.
`sys`	`3`	Owns many system files.
`adm`	`4`	Owns certain administrative files.
`lp`	`71`	Owns the object data files and spooled data files for the printer.
`uucp`	`5`	Owns the object data files and spooled data files for UUCP, the UNIX-to-UNIX copy program.
`nuucp`	`9`	Is used by remote systems to log in to the system and start file transfers.