Jaroslaw Polok wrote:
> Hi all.
> 
>>
>> File /var/log/lastlog very big 1.3 GB, possible a Bug in SL 4.1 X86_64 
>> Version
>>
> 
> This shall be corrected by this bugfix:
> 
> https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2005-727.html :
> 
> [...]
> Installing the nfs-utils package turned /var/log/lastlog into a large
> sparse file. Subsequently, lastlog took a long time to run because
> nfs-utils used adduser to install the nfsnobody account.
> [...]
> 
> Corrected nfs-utils-1.0.6-65.EL4 shall be available soon
> from SL 4 bugfix area (and integrated in 4.2 I believe)
> 
> Best Regards
> 
> Jarek
> __

Howdy,

Well ... just found out you can't just 'install this rpm and it fixes 
it'.   Here's what I've traced down this far.

What they really fixed was shadow-utils in this bugfix
https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2005-309.html

[...]
There is a new "-l" useradd option in this update. This option causes
useradd not to add new users into lastlog log file.
[...]

So what is the fix in nfs-utils?  For that we have to track down 
nfs-utils install scripts.

Here's the problematic lines from old *broken* preinstall script

/usr/sbin/useradd -c "Anonymous NFS User" -r \
-s /sbin/nologin -u 4294967294 -d /var/lib/nfs nfsnobody 2>/dev/null ||:

Here's the same lines from the new *fixed* preinstall script

/usr/sbin/useradd -l -c "Anonymous NFS User" -r \
-s /sbin/nologin -u 4294967294 -d /var/lib/nfs nfsnobody 2>/dev/null ||:

So we see that their fix was to put in the -l, which now will not add 
that user into the lastlog.

That's fine and dandy for new install's of S.L. 4.2, but what about 
people who already have these huge files.
That ... I'm still looking at to correct way to do.
If someone knows the right way to remove a user from lastlog, I wouldn't 
mind hearing.

Troy

-- 
__________________________________________________
Troy Dawson  [log in to unmask]  (630)840-6468
Fermilab  ComputingDivision/CSS  CSI Group
__________________________________________________