Glossary (User Accounts, Printers, and Mail Administration)

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User Accounts, Printers, and Mail Administration

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Solaris 2.4 System Administrator AnswerBook

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Administration Tool: An OpenWindows tool from which you can access Host Manager and Database Manager applications, which are used to administer NIS+ tables and local files in the /etc directory. You can also use these applications to examine the contents of NIS maps.
alert: A message generated by the LP print service to notify the system administrator, or any designated user, of requests by users to mount forms or character sets; a message generated by the LP print service to notify the system administrator, or any designated user, of printer faults.
alias: An alternative name or names assigned to a program or to an electronic mail address.
allow list: A named file containing a list of users, forms, or filters that is used by the LP print service to control access to printers.
Automounter: Software that automatically mounts a directory when a user changes into it, and unmounts the directory when it is no longer in use.
Auto_home database: The database that you use to add home directories to the Automounter. You access the Auto_home database using the Administration Tool.

bang: An exclamation point that acts as a single-character UNIX command or as a separator between the routes of a route-based email address.
banner page: A page printed with each print request that shows the user who submitted the print request, the request ID, and when the request was printed.
daemon: A special type of program that, once activated, starts itself and carries out a specific task without any need for user input. Daemons are typically used to handle jobs that have been queued, like printing, mail, and communication.
Database Manager: An application under Administration Tool that is used to administer NIS+ tables and local files in the /etc directory. You can also use the Database Manager to examine the contents of NIS maps.
deny list: A named file containing a list of users, forms, or filters denied access to printers.
default printer: The printer designated for each system as the destination for print requests when no printer name is used.
domain: A directory structure for electronic mail addressing and network address naming. Within the United States, top-level domains include com for commercial organizations, edu for educational organizations, gov for governments, mil for the military, net for networking organizations, and org for other organizations. Outside of the United States, top-level domains designate the country. Subdomains designate the organization and the individual system.
domain addressing: Using a domain address to specify the destination of an electronic mail message.
download filter: A fast filter that uses PostScript language structured conventions to decide which host-resident fonts to download to the printer for each print request.

downloading fonts: Copying fonts from a font directory on a system to a printer.
electronic mail: A set of programs that transmit mail messages from one system to another, usually over communications lines. Electronic mail is frequently referred to as email.
email: See electronic mail.
envelope: A file that the sendmail program creates when it parses electronic mail addresses that contains information about how to deliver the message.
environment variable: A system- or user-defined variable that provides information about the operating environment to the shell.
fast filter: A filter that quickly prepares a file for printing and requires access to the printer while the filter is processing.
file server: A system that shares its file systems with other systems in a network.
filter: A named file that converts a print request into a format that can be processed by a particular type of printer.
form: (1) A special paper, like letterhead or blank checks. (2) A named file that contains printing characteristics, like page length, page width, number of pages, line pitch, character pitch, character set choice, ribbon color, and alignment pattern. The LP print service uses the lpforms command to administer mounting and printing of forms.
fully qualified domain name: A domain name that contains all of the elements needed to specify where an electronic mail message should be delivered. (See also domain.)
gateway: A system that handles electronic mail traffic between differing communications networks.

GCOS: A field in the /etc/passwd file that is used to store identifying information, like name, office, extension, or home phone.
GID number: The group identification number used by the system to control access to accounts owned by other users.
Group database: The database that you use to create new group accounts or to modify existing group accounts. You access the Group database from Administration Tool.
home directory: The part of the file system allocated to an individual user for private files.
host-resident fonts: Fonts stored on one system that are shared by a group of users of a particular printer. Host-resident fonts are usually different from printer-resident fonts, and are used less frequently.
Hosts database: The database that you use to control network security. You access the Hosts database from the Administration Tool.
initialization files: The "dot" files in a user's home directory that set the path, environment variables, windowing environment, and other characteristics to get users set up and functioning.
leading: The vertical distance between lines of text.
listenBSD: An LP print service daemon that is run on a SunOS 5.x print server to listen for print requests from SunOS 4.1 print clients on the network.
listenS5: An LP print service daemon that is run on a print server to listen for print requests from SunOS 5.x print clients on the network.
login name: The name assigned to an individual user that controls access to a system.

mail address: The name of the recipient and the location to which an electronic mail message is delivered.
mail alias: See alias.
mailbox: A directory on a mail host where mail messages are stored. Usually, the directory is named /var/mail/username and is automatically created the first time the user receives mail.
mail client: A system that does not provide mail spooling for its users. Mail is spooled on a mail server.
mailer: A protocol that specifies the policy and mechanics used by the sendmail program when it delivers mail.
mail host: The main mail system on a network that receives and distributes mail outside of the network or the domain. A mail host can also be a mail server.
mail server: Any system that stores mailboxes in the /var/spool/mail directory. A mail server can also serve as a mail host.
mail services: Services provided by a set of programs and daemons that transmit electronic mail messages between systems and distribute them to individual mail boxes.
mount point: A directory in the file-system hierarchy where another file system is attached to the hierarchy.
None (/etc): In Administration Tool, None (/etc) means user information is in files on a user's local system, as opposed to a network-wide name service, like NIS+.
NIS: The SunOS 4.1 network information service.
NIS+: The SunOS 5.x network information service.

OpenWindows: A windowing system based on the OPEN LOOK^(R) graphical user interface.
parse: To divide a string of characters or a series of words into parts to determine their collective meaning. Virtually every program that accepts command input must do some sort of parsing before the commands can be acted upon. For example, the sendmail program divides an email address into parts to decide where to send the message.
Passwd database: The database that you use to add, modify, or delete user accounts. You access the Passwd database from Administration Tool.
path: The list of directories that are searched to find an executable command.
path name: A list of directory names, separated with slashes (/), that specifies the location of a particular file.
permanently downloaded fonts: Fonts that are copied from a font directory on a system to a printer, and which remain stored in printer memory until the printer is turned off.
port: A physical connection between a peripheral device, like a terminal, printer, or modem, and the device controller.
port monitor: Networking daemons provided by the Service Access Facility that monitor incoming requests from the network to a port and execute the appropriate service. Each type of port has its own listener to handle incoming calls. ttymon and listen are both port monitor daemons that handle different types of requests.
print client: Any system on a network that has printing services provided by a print server.
print server: Any system that has a printer physically connected to it and that users can access over the network for printing services.

printer-resident fonts: Fonts that are stored permanently in memory on a printer.
Printer Manager: A distributed Administration Tool application for setting up printers, used instead of the LP print service's command line interface.
relay host: A system that transmits to and receives mail from outside the network or domain using the same communications protocol.
request ID: The identification number assigned by the LP print service to each print request.
RFC: Request for Comments, specify protocols and standards (for example, TCP/IP). RFCs are submitted to SRI-NIC, where they are assigned numbers and distributed by electronic mail to the Internet community. The most important RFCs (through 1985) are available in a three-volume publication, The DDN Protocol Handbook, which is available from SRI International in Menlo Park, California.
shadow file: The SunOS 5.x file in the /etc directory that contains user passwords.
shell: The command interpreter for a user, specified in the Passwd database; SunOS 5.x supports the Bourne, C, and Korn shells.
slow filter: A filter that takes a relatively long time to prepare a file for printing and does not require access to the printer while the filter is processing.
SMTP: Simple Mail Transport Protocol.
spooling directory: A directory where files are stored until they are processed.
spooling space: The amount of space allocated on a print server for storing requests in the printer queue.

universal address: An address of a type of network, like TCP/IP, in hexadecimal form, that is used to configure the port monitor to listen for print requests from print clients on a network.
UID number: The user identification number assigned to each login name. UID numbers are used by the system to identify, by number, the owners of files and directories.
user account: An account set up for an individual user in the Passwd database that specifies the user's login name, UID, primary GID, login directory, and login shell.
User Account Manager: A distributed Administration Tool application for adding and administering user accounts on a network-wide basis.
user mask: The setting that controls default file permissions assigned when a file or directory is created. The umask command controls the user mask settings.