UNIX Hints & Hacks
Chapter 9: Users
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9.2 New Users |
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UNIX Hints & Hacks |
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Chapter 9: Users |
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When a new user is brought into the environment, how you handle their arrival is important. You can be assured that human resources or the department head never described the configuration of their account, corporate policy, departmental policy, and the environment in which they are about to be working. When users arrive, they will have a computer put in front of them and be told to go to work. Management will want you to provide any hand holding on the system that new users require, as long as you don't neglect other duties.
The first thing you should try to do is ask the secretaries in each of the departments you support to provide you with a few days of advanced notice that new employees will be starting. This will give you the opportunity to get any paper work that is required ready and time to create accounts on any systems the users will need to access.
The name of the game is to stay proactive and one step ahead of every thing. This will make you look professional and make your department look good. You may not be able to preconfigure everything. For example, you might have to rely on others to process an application form for a new user account, or follow a politically correct set of procedures to get a user added into the system.
If you have the ability to create the account, leave it disabled with an asterisk ( *) in the encrypted password field of the password file and get everything set up so new users can walk right into their jobs. In some environments you must have the users signature on a new user application form before anything can be done. If this is the case in your environment, have the form filled out and in the hands of the secretary to get the employees signature the minute they walk in so you can get the forms back as soon as possible. Tell the secretary to have the users call you when they are settled and ready to log in to the system. By that time, you should have all the necessary paperwork and have begun getting the account set up, if you were unable to do so before.
When the users call, explain the naming convention for user IDs and email addresses. You only have to set a temporary password. Have them log in to the account and talk them through changing their password. Talk to them about passwords and proper password practices. If you run Crack or some other password-cracking tool for security, explain to them that easy words can be cracked and will not be allowed. Before you hang up the phone, arrange a specific time that day or in the next couple of days to explain more about the environment to them.
Make the time to meet with each new user that you will support as soon as possible. The sooner you talk to them, the more likely you are to gain their trust. The more open and honest you are with them, the more they will respect you and understand that you are there to provide them with information and assistance. Discuss the configurations of their account and the system they will be using. Inform them of any corporate policies that are in place and describe the current environment they will be working in.
Discuss the level of support you will provide for them. If you have disk quotes in place, discuss the size limitations that have been set. If you provide any special files, inform new users. In my environment, I provide a base set of login files, .profile, .login, .cshrc, and .logout, that have been written to work best for the environment they will be working in.
Explain the configuration of the system, its abilities, and what can and cannot be achieved with the size of the system they have. You may also want to let them know that the price of the workstation is probably higher than the car they are driving. This sometimes is enough for them to want to respect the system and you for supporting such an expensive system. Normally, we, as UNIX administrators, are responsible for users as they work within UNIX and the execution of the applications that run under UNIX. We are not usually fluent in the use of the applications and need to convey this to the new user. The reality is that we end up supporting the applications when there is no one left to support it. More often though, users work with the application more than we do, so it is only natural that they know more about it.
When new users fill out a new account application form, a copy of the corporate policy regarding computer use within the company is usually attached or is one of the first things the new user receives as email. If neither occurs, it is part of your job to see that they receive this policy (if such a policy actually exists in your company). After seeing that it is about 10-12 pages long, new users typically sign it without reading it, or delete it from email.
You should take it upon yourself to briefly (spend two to three minutes) reviewing the basic corporate policies that will get users into trouble or fired. Let them know that the more severe policies are taken seriously and action is taken in almost every case. Let them know that you want to be honest because you don't want to see them get into any trouble. Again, this will help show new users that you care enough about them.
When finishing up on the short corporate policy lecture, I usually let users know in a friendly way, that if something happens to the system, caused by someone breaking corporate policy, I have to report it. If a user's actions put the system and other users' data at risk, it is usually me, the administrator, who must do the explaining, and I would have to provide in full detail the user's actions.
If your environment is similar to others in large installations, there is a centralized file server that has all the home directories automounted to the various workstations, and all the user account information is served by NIS/YP. In such an environment, users can go to any workstation and be able to do their work. You may want to stress that in many environments, systems move around and users move too. The system they are using is not theirs; it is only theirs to use. If you tell them now they will not get possessive over the system later. Let them know that the system may be moved or upgraded at the discretion of management.
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Note - As workstations move from one user to another, I try to keep the keyboard and mouse with the user and move only the system. It is similar to driving a car; every brake and gas pedal has a unique feel and touch. Users are accustomed to the mouse and keyboard that they have been using regularly. |
Depending on the level of the new users (which you can find out through a series of questions), you may want to provide users a diagram of the layout of the basic environment. They will already have enough to remember and loading them down with the names of all the systems in the first couple days will probably be extremely confusing and it will just go in one ear and out the other. Because they will not be familiar with the environment and aware of what its capabilities are, it is better to show them than let them explore the environment on their own. You don't know what type of user they are or will turn out to be. Make it simple; draw out the workstation the user will be working on, all file servers, DNS server, HTTP servers, proxy servers, and other important systems that they should know about. Show them where they are in relation to the Internet. They always want to know how to get to the Internet.
Here is an important message to convey to new users: In many environments, there is one system per user; there are no spare systems for an administrator to use. When new users start with the company, let them know that in emergencies, UNIX administrators might use the system when they are not around. This will prevent future battles between you and the users. They also need to be aware that administrators have a code of ethics and are not interested in what users have on, in, or near the computer system. Again, depending on the level of UNIX experience, they need to be aware that you have access to their system and account from anywhere in the environment, and you being on the system they are using will not corrupt or change anything that they are working on. It all goes back to the code of ethics.
Most of all, before users get into any bad habits, let them know that they MUST lock the screen or log out of the system during breaks or lunches and when they go home at the end of the day. Get them in the habit in the beginning. After they start working, you will never get them to log out on a regular basis.
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UNIX Hints & Hacks |
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Chapter 9: Users |
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