Software Distributor Administrator Guide (September 2010)

12 Nonprivileged SD
This chapter provides general guidelines on how to set up Software Distributor to run
in nonprivileged mode.
Table 12-1 Chapter Topics
Topics:
“Overview” (page 299)
“Setting Up Nonprivileged Mode” (page 300)
“Default Configuration” (page 301)
“Alternative Configuration” (page 302)
12.1 Overview
The nonprivileged mode of SD-UX lets users access application software based on their
file system permissions rather than super-user privilege implemented by SD-UX ACLs.
Nonprivileged mode is honored by almost all SD commands. You can use nonprivileged
mode for all aspects of developing, distributing, and managing applications.
12.1.1 Who Can Benefit?
Nonprivileged SD-UX is primarily intended for administrators of large data centers
who must manage in-house applications without using super-user privilege. You might
not benefit from this feature if you are a casual user wanting to manage your own
applications—unless you are experienced enough at packaging software to take
advantage of nonprivileged mode.
12.1.2 How Does It Work?
In nonprivileged mode, most SD-UX operations are done according to the invoking
user’s uid, gid, and umask. In this mode, logfiles and the installed software catalog
usually found in /var/adm/sw are stored by default in user-specific admin directories
at /var/home/USER_NAME/sw (in which USER_NAME is the user’s log-in name).
Location of the user’s admin directory and installed software catalog can be customized
using default options.
While you are using nonprivileged mode, you can also package and copy applications
that won’t be used for nonprivileged mode. However, you must use the normal mode
of SD-UX (that is with run_as_superuser set to true and permissions granted by
ACLs) to install such applications.
When packaging, file system access on the install target must be considered. See
“Packaging Software for Use in Nonprivileged Mode” (page 300).
12.1 Overview 299