Here's an example showing how a human user does not require a local unix user of each server: Jack starts Apache on one of the web servers: $ ssh jack@web

Here's an example showing how a human user does not require a local unix user of each server: Jack starts Apache on one of the web servers: $ ssh jack@web4.example.com Password: secret123 [_x_@web4] $ sudo /usr/bin/apachectl start # or similar [_x_@web4] $ logout Now, there are 2 possible values for '_x_': A) 'jack' - because there's a unix user 'jack' (what we have today) B) 'sysadmin' - because there's no unix user 'jack' - only an entry in /etc/sshpasswd B is the same as A as long as you update auditing to trace the Apache start to the jack/secret123 combo. Sidenote: wow this thread blew up!