What is debian-sys-maint used for?
One major thing it is used for is telling the server to roll the logs. It needs at least the reload and shutdown privilege.
See the file /etc/logrotate.d/mysql-server
It is used by the /etc/init.d/mysql script to get the status of the server. It is used to gracefully shutdown/reload the server.
Here is the quote from the README.Debian
* MYSQL WON'T START OR STOP?:
=============================
You may never ever delete the special mysql user "debian-sys-maint". This user
together with the credentials in /etc/mysql/debian.cnf are used by the init
scripts to stop the server as they would require knowledge of the mysql root
users password else.
What is the easiest way to restore it after I've lost it?
The best plan is to simply not lose it. If you really lose the password, reset it, using another account. If you have lost all admin privileges on the mysql server follow the guides to reset the root password, then repair the debian-sys-maint.
You could use a command like this to build a SQL file that you can use later to recreate the account.
mysqldump --complete-insert --extended-insert=0 -u root -p mysql | grep 'debian-sys-maint' > debian_user.sql
Is the password in
/etc/mysql/debian.cnf already hashed
The password is not hashed/encrypted when installed, but new versions of mysql now have a way to encrypt the credentials (see: https://serverfault.com/a/750363).
Add this to ~/.screenrc log out of screen and back in:
shell "/usr/bin/bash"
termcapinfo xterm* ti@:te@
Best Answer
I know your pain... I've supported terminal-based apps on SCO, HPUX and AIX for years.
Is your application an 80x25 console? I find it difficult to get newer thin client devices to do exactly what you're asking. A routine I used to use to would set the console to use the
$TERM=ansior$TERM=ansi25to get SCO ANSI emulation.So you can script that on login, for instance. You would probably need custom
termdefwork to get the keybindings and display right.If you're interested in a hardware terminal that will work out of the box, I strongly recommend the Axel thin client terminals. They handle the colors and keybindings perfectly and have a specific SCO ANSI emulation mode.