Setting up file servers (5.0.1) - /usr/bin/X11/xauth error?

[A. Jorge Garcia]

Hi All,

I just got 2 new fast servers to replace some old slow ones. I use these servers for my students to login each day so they can edit and compile *.java files for my AP Computer Science classes. My students use ssh and fish:// to access all their work remotely on campus and from home.

I set both these servers up the exact same way and the server hardware is identical (Pentium IV, 40GB hdd, etc) except one has 1GB and the other has 2GB of RAM. I used the KNOPPIX 5.0.1 CD to install as Debian on the hdd.

I setup
netcardconfig to initailize the ip address on eth0 by DHCP and
update-rc.d ssh default
for a ssh server (sshd) and I added all my users with adduser.

Now, on the 1GB server, the first time a new user logs in, Xauthority is called and all is well. However, the first time a user logs into the 2GB server, an error comes up like

Could not chdir to home directory /home/userid: Permission denied
/usr/bin/X11/xauth: timeout in locking authority file /home/userid/.Xauthority

instead of Xauthority running. The user then gets dumped outside of the /home dir and cannot cd into it or into /home/userid!

Have any of you stalwart linux gurus dealt with anything like this before? If so, please let me know what your solution was! I've never had a problem like this before and I've been setting up servers like this using KNOPPIX for years....

TIA,
AJG

[OErjan]

my first guess is permissions, but as you say they are 100% equal... could it be that the knoppix kernel lack the support formuch ram in the kernel?? sounds odd.

[A. Jorge Garcia]

Well, the only thing I forgot to mention is that I setup these servers last week with only root and one regular user and I think both root and the regular user could login remotely to both servers via
ssh userid@xx.xx.x.x using konsole or
fish://userid@xx.xx.x.x using konqueror.

Today, I just added about 30 new users to each server and that's when the problem began. I don't know what adding users could possibly affect, but that's all I did today and all is well on the 1GB server and noone but root can log into the 2GB server and I cannot chdir to /home unless I'm root!

BTW, I don't think it has anything to do with the size of the RAM, I'm just mentioning the RAM size so I can distinguish one server from the other for our conversation here.

Regards,
AJG

[A. Jorge Garcia]

Oh, and as far as permissions go, the only ones I change are those to the user directories in /home. These default to 755 but I chmod them to 700 so that a user can access his/her own files, but cannot see other users' files....

Like I said, I always do this and have had no problems, but I just thought I should mention it.

Maybe I could create an .Xauthority file for each user myself?

Would a lspci -v dump help you help me?

TIA,
AJG

[A. Jorge Garcia]

False alarm! I just figured out how I FUBARed my own server....

As root, instead of issuing the commandline
chmod 700 /home/*
I issued the commandline
chmod 700 /home

I fixed it and now all is well with the world.

Apparently I did it right on the other server....

Sorry!

MY BAD!!

Never Mind!!!

Thax anyway,
AJG