[ILUG] Usernames starting with numbers?

[Ronan Waide]

On June 6, r.synnott at oceanfree.net said:
> Hi,
> I'm setting up Linux clients on an NT domain, using pam_smb and pam_mount. 
> Unfortunately the usernames on the domain mostly start with a two digit 
> number. Tools like 'useradd' etc. say that usernames starting in numbers are 
> invalid, as are unsernames containing appostrophies. However, when added to 
> /etc/passwd manually, these seem to work fine, as long as the home directory, 
> which is just a  mount point anyway in this case, is a valid name. Can doing 
> this cause any problems?
> Thanks,
> Robert Synnott.

You could always "wash" the name such that useradd & co. are happy
with it, and use the smbusers file to map the Windows name to the
correct washed username.

Cheers,
Waider.
-- 
waider at waider.ie / Yes, it /is/ very personal of me.
AjD says, "if she can handle doing her job in a big crowd of drunks
  she's got all the credentials necessary to be a project manager in a
  programming group."