root ,sudo !!

shanky · 10-21-2011, 02:01 AM

hiii
what does it mean to login as root or use su;password..
are they both the same or different,if different then in what way is it??..did go through some pages but not clear on this topic..if someone could explain it to me ,would be great!!
thanks

acid_kewpie · 10-21-2011, 02:22 AM

are you asking the difference between sudo and su? su lets you directly change to a different user by entering their password as if logging in from scratch. sudo is a framework where you can allow one user to act as a different user for a specific range of tasks without knowing their password etc, as controlled via /etc/sudoers

shanky · 10-21-2011, 02:31 AM

in theory i get it how su and sudo work ,but how does it work in real..still confused..sry..

acid_kewpie · 10-21-2011, 08:30 AM

in real what?? you do nothing for su, for sudoers you manage /etc/sudoers.

cynwulf · 10-21-2011, 09:29 AM

jlinkels · 10-21-2011, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caravel

"sudo" is an essential program for managing administrator access in linux operating systems. Just like Internet Explorer in Windows 98, sudo is an integral and vital part of the linux kernel and removing sudo will cause the kernel to "panic".

You may read posts here and there about sudo not being necessary, but let me assure you that if you try to remove it you will probably see a BSoD (brown screen of death) error and your computer will need a reformat and reinstall.

Caravel, the OP was asking a serious question. I have seen dumber questions. Answering with downright nonsense and misleading information is not appreciated.

Sudo is a utility so you won't have to know and use the root password to do administrative tasks on a machine. It has pretty fine-grained adjustments as to which privileges a "sodoer" is entitled to.

Not installing sudo does not restrict the functionality of a computer in anyway. Even if it would, reformat/re-install of the whole OS would not be required either. This is not Windows.

Quote:

Originally Posted by caravel

"sudo" is probably most well known from it's association with the "Ubuntu Operating System" a special verson of Mac OSX which runs embedded on espresso machines.

You might not like Ubuntu, neither do I. But please stick to the facts.

jlinkels

MTK358 · 10-21-2011, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caravel

"sudo" is an essential program for managing administrator access in linux operating systems. Just like Internet Explorer in Windows 98, sudo is an integral and vital part of the linux kernel and removing sudo will cause the kernel to "panic".

You may read posts here and there about sudo not being necessary, but let me assure you that if you try to remove it you will probably see a BSoD (brown screen of death) error and your computer will need a reformat and reinstall.

"sudo" is probably most well known from it's association with the "Ubuntu Operating System" a special verson of Mac OSX which runs embedded on espresso machines.

That post is pure misinformation.

sudo is not "essential". It's just another program, no different from any other. Finally, there is no such thing as a BSoD in Linux.

I really hope that post was a joke. And if so, you should have said so, because newbies will probably believe it if not for replies like this one.

cynwulf · 10-21-2011, 01:51 PM

The post was clearly satirical from the start... sadly some people took it seriously including a moderator... oh well.

thezerodragon · 10-21-2011, 02:02 PM

Quote:

"Ubuntu Operating System" a special verson of Mac OSX

Wait, what? Aren't we here to help the OP, not confuse them?

Anyway, in response to your question, shanky,

Quote:

in theory i get it how su and sudo work ,but how does it work in real..still confused..sry..

I like to use mnemonics to remember what each command does. I pretend su is an abbreviation of "switch user", so when you type in

Code:

su -

you are telling the computer switch user to "-", which is interpreted as root. You are then logged in as the root user and can issue all commands that require the authority of the root/superuser.

Code:

[root@example~] yum install yum-plugin-fastestmirror

Then I imagine that sudo stands for "super-user do" because it allows you to issue one command with root/superuser authority, without having to log in as root and is generally considered "safer" because you only have root permission for the one command you issue and are thus prevented from accidentally issuing commands as root that you might regret.

Code:

[normaluser@example~] sudo yum install yum-plugin-fastestmirror

Note that it will ask for the sudo password, which in this case is normaluser's password and not the root password. If you are denied from completeing sudo commands it's because you have to add that username to the /etc/sudoers file. Is that more clear?

thezerodragon · 10-21-2011, 02:06 PM

Quote:

The post was clearly satirical

Sorry, I guess we don't have an appreciation for this sort of satire, because it was not clearly understood by several of us. Maybe it is not appropriate in a help forum where many people are ignorant enough to take it at face value.

acid_kewpie · 10-21-2011, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thezerodragon

I like to use mnemonics to remember what each command does. I pretend su is an abbreviation of "switch user", so when you type in

Code:

su -

you are telling the computer switch user to "-", which is interpreted as root. You are then logged in as the root user and can issue all commands that require the authority of the root/superuser.

no, that's not true, - is equivalent to -l or --login. Root is assumed when no user is provided, these things are not related.

and su stands for "substitute user", no need to invent alternatives.

acid_kewpie · 10-21-2011, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caravel

The post was clearly satirical from the start... sadly some people took it seriously including a moderator... oh well.

satire? pull the other one, it's just unhelpful. I didn't take the post "seriously", I took it as petty trolling, and likely to confuse someone who doesn't realise that you're just being annoying. This is a forum for technical support, not poor quality attempts at jokes.

thezerodragon · 10-21-2011, 02:17 PM

Quote:

no, that's not true, - is equivalent to -l or --login. Root is assumed when no user is provided, these things are not related.

and su stands for "substitute user", no need to invent alternatives.

I knew I didn't have it all the way right. I was trying to remember an article I had read some time ago. Thanks for correcting me.

cynwulf · 10-21-2011, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acid_kewpie

satire? pull the other one, it's just unhelpful. I didn't take the post "seriously", I took it as petty trolling, and likely to confuse someone who doesn't realise that you're just being annoying. This is a forum for technical support, not poor quality attempts at jokes.

After giving it some thought I will withdraw the post to avoid any more confusion here... actually I wasn't "trolling", but let's just leave it at that...

Cultist · 10-21-2011, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acid_kewpie

and su stands for "substitute user", no need to invent alternatives.

um, isn't it short for superuser?