[X2Go-Dev] Do we really need an x2gouser

[Reinhard Tartler]

Hi Oleksandr,

Thank you very much for your email. I see the confusion. Yes, my site
has a centralized user management in the sense that all users are in
/etc/passwd but distributed via some configuration mechanism. This
means that we do not use LDAP, and the user database is imported from
somewhere else. I hesitate to use postgres because I feel it is quite
complex to setup. Also, we use dedicated VMs for each user, so there
is no need server pooling or the like.

I understand from your email that the sqlite database is used to
figure out what are the free X11 display ports. Is this correct? Would
probing for a free port work as well? If yes, then let's have every
user have its own sqlite.

Please let me know what you think.
Reinhard


On Sat, Dec 14, 2013 at 6:26 PM, Oleksandr Shneyder
<o.shneyder at phoca-gmbh.de> wrote:
> Hello Reinhard,
>
> in central DB different sessions information is stored. For example,
> used display numbers and ports. x2gostartagent look in the DB when
> assigning display and ports for new sessions. Historical x2ho has only
> postgresql support. In postgres version users have access only to his
> own entries in sessions table. sqlite support was developed for small
> one-server installation wheres installing of postgresql is oversized. To
> avoid users modify session data only user "x2gouser" has direct access
> to DB. For complex setups with central user administrations you should
> use postgresql instead of sqlite.
>
> regards
> Alex
>
> Am 14.12.2013 23:26, schrieb Reinhard Tartler:
>> Hi,
>>
>> can someone please remind me again why we need a sqlite database that
>> is shared for all users? It allows users to see what other users are
>> currently having running sessions, which I frankly don't consider very
>> important. It could even be considered a privacy issue.
>>
>> If there isn't a good reason for a shared database, why don't we have
>> x2go users have their own sqlite database in their home directory?
>> This would allow to get rid of the x2go user and all suid/sgid
>> complexity that comes with it.
>>
>> Background, I'm trying to have my new employer deploy x2go, and I'm
>> currently having trouble to explain this point. I understand that the
>> current printing implementation requires the x2goprint user, but
>> that's not an issue right now.
>>
>> Thanks, and greetings from NYC!
>>
>
>
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-- 
regards,
    Reinhard