Novell LINUX ENTERPRISE SERVER 10 SP2 - INSTALLATION AND ADMINISTRATION Installation Manual page 55

First, provide a password for the account of the system administrator (the root user).
Configure your Internet access and network connection. With a working Internet con-
nection, you can perform an update of the system as part of the installation. You can
also connect to an authentication server for centralized user administration in a local
network. Finally, configure the hardware devices connected to the machine.
3.14.1 Password for the System
Administrator "root"
root is the name of the superuser, the administrator of the system. Unlike regular
users, who may or may not have permission to do certain things on the system, root
has unlimited power to do anything: change the system configuration, install programs,
and set up new hardware. If users forget their passwords or have other problems with
the system, root can help. The root account should only be used for system admin-
istration, maintenance, and repair. Logging in as root for daily work is rather risky:
a single mistake could lead to irretrievable loss of system files.
For verification purposes, the password for root must be entered twice. Do not forget
the root password. Once entered, this password cannot be retrieved.
When typing passwords, the characters are replaced by dots, so you do not see the string
you are typing. If you are unsure whether you typed the correct string, use the Test
Keyboard Layout field for testing purposes.
SUSE Linux Enterprise can use the DES, MD5, or Blowfish encryption algorithms for
passwords. The default encryption type is Blowfish. To change the encryption type,
click Expert Options > Encryption Type and select the new type.
The root can be changed any time later in the installed system. To do so run YaST
and start Security and Users > User Management.
3.14.2 Hostname and Domain Name
The hostname is the computer's name in the network. The domain name is the name of
the network. A hostname and domain are proposed by default. If your system is part
of a network, the hostname has to be unique in this network whereas the domain name
has to be common to all hosts on the network.
Installation with YaST 37