Root Access

[Phil Meyer]

Mike Dwiggins wrote:
> I installed Fedora 11 on a dual-boot machine.  When I booted up on the 
> Fedora partition I went straight to /etc/pam.d/gdm and deleted the 
> line which keeps out root as a login.
> I still cannot login as root!  Did this version hide a block on root 
> somewhere else?
>

Many have answered properly here, but it may not be common knowledge how 
it is done professionally in large shops.

In most big data centers, the root password is not known to anyone, but 
is kept in a sealed envelope in a locked drawer at the operations 
center, which is manned 24x7.  It takes manager approval to open the 
desk, lock-box, envelope, and get the root password.

Consider that, next time you 'think' you need to log in as root.  I 
personally have administered UNIX/Linux systems for years at a time 
without ever typing the root password, or logging in as root.

During automated installs, and all large shops do/should be doing 
automated installs, the root password is set.

Management, and the operations staff can set the root passwords across 
all systems at once, and without notice to me or any other administrator.

In fact, normal users cannot log into most systems, and administrators 
can only log in remotely with ssh keys (no passwords) to the systems 
that they administer.

Just a thought.  It was never intended that casual users ever log in as 
root on any UNIX based system, and should have been less prevalent on 
Linux for many years.

I myself, felt it necessary to log in as root on Linux systems for one 
post install session, up until about Fedora 2.  But not since then.

Good Luck!