> I have a network problem and only one computer to test.
> I can not use NIS and must generate an entry in the passwd file in two
> different machines. The usr must use the same password in the two
> machines. I have made a little perl script to generate all. The question
> is: can I exec the crypt in a machine and have an acceptable result in
> another when the user login?
Standard crypt() uses DES-like algorithm that uses salt -- 12 bits
from first two characters of the encrypted password to determine how to
process the password, so encrypted password made from the same plaintext
one may differ between invocation of passwd(1) that uses random
characters, although on machines that use the same crypt() algorithm the
result of encryption of the plaintext password using the salt from the
same encrypted password, will produce the same encrypted password thus
making the transfer of password entries possible. Trouble may happen if
two machines use different algorithms -- the one that I have described
here is the "original" and most common one, but, for example, FreeBSD by
default generates encrypted passwords using different algorithm while it's
capable of recognizing and using this one if DES library is installed, so
transferring entries from default-configured FreeBSD box to Linux won't
work unless crypt() implementation will be changed on the Linux box.
-- Alex