[Sysadmin] got root?

[David Kaufman]

hey guys!

as Elfur just posted on theForum, the servermatrix box is ready!

now how should we handle root access?  i changed the root password already
since they emailed it to use insecurely :-)  but rather than re-mailing the
new root password around, i guess i should create user accounts, and
configure sudo to let each administrator su to root, no?

i usually generate temporary passwords for new users using this:
http://gigawatt.com/pickpass.cgi and email it to them in 2 pieces.  whadya
think, too paranoid?  should i just post the root pw to sysadmin list? :-)

there is also a support forum/control panel at the host/provider which can
have multiple logins -- its mostly just for creating and escalating support
tickets, but at some point we need to figure out who needs accounts in there
too.

i'll forward the welcome emails with pertinent but non-sensitive info here
forthwith,

this was the order info:


      Server Configuration

      Server: Super Celeron 2.4 GHz - Setup: $299.00 - Monthly Fee: $59.00
      Primary HDD: 80GB Hard Drive
      Secondary HDD: None
      RAM: 1024 MB RAM
      Number of ips: 5 IP Addresses
      Bandwidth: 1200 GB Bandwidth
      Uplink Port Speed: 10 Mbps Uplink
      Web Analytics: None
      Database: None
      Backup Service: None
      Operating System: Debian (stable)
      Server Management Plan: Silver
      Floodguard: None
      Control Panel: None
      Firewall: None
      Hostname: tempest.evolt.org


i picked the hostname out of a hat (80's video game theme) but of course we
can change it if we'd like to,

-dave