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Re: [ts-7000] Changing root password on TS-7800 "fastboot" environment

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Subject: Re: [ts-7000] Changing root password on TS-7800 "fastboot" environment
From: Tom Panzarella <>
Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2009 18:06:34 -0500
Hi Ted,

Thanks for the reply. See comments in-line below...

On Jan 5, 2009, at 2:10 PM, Theodore A. Roth wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 5:52 AM, Tom Panzarella
> <> wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I have been working with the TS-7300 for a few years now and we are
>> getting ready to start moving our applications to the TS-7800. When
>> working with the 7800 it follows a similar paradigm as the 7300 in
>> that there is the "fastboot" or "busybox" environment as well as the
>> "full boot" or Debian environment. I am trying to set the root
>> password on the board. When in Debian ("full boot") the UNIX passwd
>> utility works as expected. I now have a root password and can run  
>> sshd
>> to authenticate root using that new password. In the busybox
>> ("fastboot") environment, that does not seem to work. Initially, I
>> expected the authentication process of the fastboot environment to
>> simply reference the new /etc/passwd file (created by setting the  
>> root
>> password via Debian). I still can log in to the board in the
>> "fastboot" environment using telnet (root w/ no password) and sshd
>> will not allow me to log in as root in the fastboot envrionment b/c  
>> it
>> is having trouble with the new password. So, I tried to re-run
>> 'passwd' from fastboot to see if that helped, but the filesystem on
>> which /etc/passwd is located is mounted read-only. So, I remounted it
>> as read-write, ran 'passwd', then remounted as 'read-only'. It seemed
>> to work. After rebooting, sshd would not authenticate root using the
>> new password in the fastboot environemnt and via telnet root could
>> still log in w/o a password. When full booting into Debian, sshd (and
>> telnet) authenticates root with the new password without a problem.
>>
>> With all of the above background being said... does anyone have  
>> advice
>> on how to set a root password on the TS-7800 that will be applied in
>> both the fullboot/Debian environment as well as the fastboot/Busybox
>> environment?
>>
>
> Don't forget that when you are running from the fastboot env you are
> running from ram via a ramdisk. Any changes that you make will be lost
> after reboot. You need to set the password in the on board flash or
> sdcard partition for the initrd. That would be partition 3 on the
> sdcard. Don't remember which partition that would be for the on board
> flash.
>

So, I have done things like customized the /linuxrc-fastboot file and  
persisted it via the busybox `save' command and that all works. Taking  
this same approach with my password problem did not (seem to) work.  
Here is what I did:

1. Since /etc is symlinked to /mnt/root/etc in fastboot and /mnt/root/ 
etc is mounted ro, I remounted it as rw:

# mount -o remount,rw /mnt/root

2. Changed the password:

# passwd
...
...

3. Remounted as ro:

# mount -o remount,ro /mnt/root

4. Tried to persist any changes (didn't think this applied for /etc/ 
passwd, but I was going on your suggestion as I have only just started  
working with the 7800):

# save

5. Then I rebooted. Again, telnet lets root login with no password and  
sshd cannot authenticate root b/c empty passwords are not allowed (in  
my sshd config).

So, I still have the problem of not being able to synchronize my  
Debian fullboot root password with the fastboot root password. Does  
the fastboot environment authenticate by a different means than the  
Debian environment?

Again, thanks for your suggestion Ted. Unless I took the advice the  
wrong way, I don't think it did the trick for me???

Thanks,
Tom.


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