You can skip this section if you will not be setting up network passwords. If you are unsure, ask your system administrator for assistance.
Unless you are setting up an NIS password, you will notice that both MD5 and shadow are selected. Using both will make your system as secure as possible.
Enable MD5 Passwords -- allows a long password to be used (up to 256 characters) instead of the standard eight letters or less.
Use Shadow Passwords -- provides a very secure method of retaining passwords for you. The password filed in the /etc/passwd file is replaced by /etc/shadow which is readable only by root.
Enable NIS -- allows you to run a group of computers in the same Network Information Service domain with a common password and group file. There are two options here to choose from:
Note: To configure the NIS option, you must be connected to an NIS network. If you are unsure whether you are connected to an NIS network, please ask your system administrator.
NIS Domain -- this option allows you to specify which domain or group of computers your system will belong to.
NIS Server -- this option causes your computer to use a specific NIS server, rather than "broadcasting" a message to the local area network asking for any available server to host your system.
Enable LDAP -- LDAP consolidates certain types of information within your organization. For example, all of the different lists of users within your organization can be merged into one LDAP directory. For more information about LDAP, refer to the Red Hat Linux Reference Guide. There are three options to choose from here:
LDAP Server -- this option allows you to access a server running the LDAP protocol.
LDAP Base DN -- this option allows you to look up user information by its Distinguished Name (DN).
Use TLS (Transport Layer Security) lookups -- this option allows LDAP to send encrypted user names and passwords to an LDAP server before authentication.
Enable Kerberos -- Kerberos is a secure system for providing network authentication services. For more information about Kerberos, refer to the Red Hat Linux Reference Guide. There are three options to choose from here:
Realm -- this option allows you to access a network that uses Kerberos, composed of one or a few servers (also known as KDCs) and a (potentially very large) number of clients.
KDC -- this option allows you access to the Key Distribution Center (KDC), a machine that issues Kerberos tickets (sometimes called a Ticket Granting Server or TGS).
Admin Server -- this option allows you to access a server running kadmind.