Each user on the network is represented by a user account.
A user account:
When a user logs on to the AdminSuite application, AdminSuite authenticates that person's identity, using his or her user name and password. Part of the authentication process is to determine which AdminSuite applications are available to the user for managing network resources: primary administrators have complete access to all AdminSuite applications; other administrators are limited to being able to manage resources through specific AdminSuite applications; all users can view information, only specific users can change information. See About User Rights.
Add User Wizards
Two wizards are available for adding user accounts. Use the Add User wizard to add one user at a time. Or, use the Add Multiple Users wizard to add many users at one time (possibly hundreds) who share properties (a class of students at the start of the school term, for example).
To simplify creating user accounts, both wizards request only a subset of information about each new user. Additional user properties are maintained as default settings. To view or modify all properties for a specific user, go to User Accounts and double-click the user's name to open a properties dialog box.
The Home Directory
When you add a user, AdminSuite sets up the user's home directory by doing the following:
User Initialization Files
Part of setting up a user's home directory is providing a "user initialization file" whose primary purpose is to define the user's work environment: search path, windowing environment, environment variables, and so forth. The /etc/skel directory contains default initialization files. You can use those files as a starting point and can modify them to provide a work environment common to all users, or different working environments for different types of users.
The three initialization files in the /etc/skel directory are:
Reserved UID Numbers
User ID numbers 0 through 99 are reserved. You can add a user with one of these numbers, but do not use them for regular user accounts.
By definition, root is always UID 0, daemon is UID 1, and pseudo-user bin has UID 2.
Home Directory Not Created - Error
When you are adding a user, AdminSuite may be unable to contact the home directory server you specify. In that case, a message tells you the user was added but the home directory could not be created. See Home Directory Not Created in Troubleshooting.
Windows NT and Solaris Users
You can manage Solaris PC NetLink users with Solaris AdminSuite on a server where both AdminSuite and Solaris PC NetLink are installed and running. You should be familiar with the differences between Windows NT and Solaris user accounts, before beginning to manage both.