Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Administration Unleashed

216CHAPTER 9Managing Users and GroupsTABLE 9.5Options for Modifying Default Values When Adding a UserCommand-Line Option Directive Default Value Description-g GROUP 100 Default group name or GID for theuser if a user private group is notcreated for the user-d HOME /home Path prefix to use when creating theuser’s home directory unless the -doption is used to specify a differenthome directory-f INACTIVE -1 Number of days after the passwordexpires before the account isdisabled (-1 disables the feature, 0disables the account immediatelyafter the password expires)-e EXPIRE Never expire Date on which the user account isdisabled-s SHELL /bin/bash Default shell to use when creatinguser accountsAdditional default values for creating users and groups are located in the /etc/login.defsfile. This file is documented with comments above each directive, which should be easyto follow if modifications are needed. The following can be modified with options fromthis file:. Mail spool directory. Maximum number of days a password can be used. Minimum number of days between password changes. Minimum password length accepted. Number of days to warn user before password expires. Maximum UID for automatic selection by useradd. Minimum UID for automatic selection by useradd. Maximum GID for automatic selection by groupadd. Minimum GID for automatic selection by groupadd. Whether to remove cron and print jobs owned by user when user is removed. Whether or not to create the home directory by defaultBest PracticesOver time, every administrator develops her own method for managing users and groupsfrom naming conventions to using subdirectories to divide users by departments tocustomized scripts for removing users who are no longer with the company. This sectionbriefly describes a few practices to think about when developing your management style.