Open System Services Management and Operations Guide (G06.30+, H06.08+, J06.03+)

• User groups can exist independently of user definitions. Therefore:
A user group can be created before any users are added to it.◦
◦ A user group can continue to exist after its last user has been removed from it.
• There can be up to 65,535 user groups, including 256 administrative groups.
• There is no limit on the number of file-sharing members (users) in a user group. An administrative
group can have up to 256 users for user management and administration purposes; an
administrative group can have additional file-sharing members administered through a different
administrative group.
• User groups with group numbers above 255 are file-sharing user groups rather than
administrative user groups.
In the OSS environment, users can have the following additional attributes (which are ignored in
the Guardian environment):
• Initial working directory (if none is defined, the default value is null). Some servers do not use
this attribute value; instead, they provide alternative attributes.
• Initial program (if none is defined, the default value is null). Some servers do not use this
attribute value; instead, they provide alternative attributes.
For detailed information about user groups, user definitions, aliases, the Safeguard subsystem,
and SAFECOM, see the Safeguard Administrator’s Manual and the Safeguard Reference Manual.
For detailed information about the equivalent concepts and facilities in a third-party product, see
the appropriate manual.
Assigning an Initial Working Directory
An initial working directory is the location in the OSS file system where a user is placed upon entry
to the OSS environment. An initial working directory is also known as a home directory.
If you log in, remain in the same directory, and refer to a file without specifically identifying any
directory, Open System Services assumes that the file belongs to the initial working directory. This
concept is similar to the concept of the default volume and subvolume in the Guardian environment.
You should provide each OSS user with an initial working directory in the OSS file system. The
initial working directory can be assigned in several ways:
• You can use the Safeguard subsystem.
• For Telserv indirect users only, you can use a TACLCSTM file.
HP recommends that you use the Safeguard subsystem and its INITIAL-DIRECTORY attribute.
If you do not provide an initial working directory for a user, the effective default initial working
directory for the user depends on how the user gained access to the OSS environment. For example,
assume that a user logs in through a TACL prompt and uses the OSH command when the Safeguard
null default value is in effect for the initial working directory. If OSH cannot find any other definition
of an initial working directory, it uses /G/volume/subvolume as the user’s effective initial
working directory, where volume is the user’s default volume and subvolume is the user’s default
subvolume in the Guardian environment.
The best way to provide a user with an initial working directory is:
1. Create an initial working directory in the OSS environment.
2. Use SAFECOM to add the OSS pathname of the newly created initial working directory to
the user definition as the value for the initial working directory attribute.
Be careful when assigning an initial working directory. Proofread the assignment for typographical
errors and remember to create the initial working directory in the OSS file system. Some server
processes do not give users access to the system if their user definition has an invalid initial working
directory name or if the OSS file system is not running but an initial working directory is defined.
206 Managing Users and Groups