Changing The Firebird Server Run User

SSchangeRunUser.sh Parameters

There are two versions of the changeRunUser.sh script, the one prefixed 'SS' is for Super Server installations and the one prefixed 'CS' is for Classic Server installations. The following describes the Super Server version only.

Note

This script should be run as root.

The SSchangeRunUser.sh script allows the user and group, under which the Super Server runs, to be changed. By default, this is now the firebird user and group, however, in previous versions the Firebird server ran as the root user which is undesirable from a system security point of view and allowed databases to be created all over the file system. With the new firebird user, restrictions can be placed on where databases can be created.

The script changes the owing user and group of a number of files in the Firebird installation directory, the logfile and also the startup script /etc/rc.d.init.d/firebird which is used to start and stop the Firebird server.

SSchangeRunUser.sh Parameters

To run the script, use a commandline similar to the following :

SSchangeRunUser.sh <username> <groupname>

The script takes two parameters on the commandline, both of which are optional as you will be prompted if both are omitted. If you only supply one parameter, it is assumed to be the username and you will be prompted for the groupname.

username

This parameter sets the username under which the Super Server is to run. The supplied value is validated against entries in /etc/passwd.
groupname

This parameter sets the groupname under which the Super Server is to run. The supplied value is validated against entries in /etc/group.

The following example shows the use of SSchangeRunUser.sh to change the owning user and group to firebird. The firebird user and group is actually the default when Firebird is installed so there is no need for you to run the script unless you have changed these details already.

# cd /opt/firebird/bin
# ./SSchangeRunUser.sh firebird firebird
Updating /opt/firebird
Updating startup script
Completed
#