2.2. Step 2 - Create System Account

SavaPage runs and installs under a system user account called savapage. This account is fixed, you cannot choose another name. You are free though to pick a location for the application. However, GNU/Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) dictates that the application is installed in the /opt/savapage directory.

Create the system user account at the command prompt by entering:

sudo useradd -r savapage

The syntax for useradd may differ slightly on different versions of GNU/Linux. It may also be called adduser.

Next, create the install directory and set the ownership to the savapage account:

sudo mkdir -p /opt/savapage

… and set the ownership to the savapage account. For Debian and RHEL based systems:

sudo chown savapage:savapage /opt/savapage

… and for openSUSE:

sudo chown savapage:users /opt/savapage

For convenience, set the login shell and login directory:

sudo usermod -s /bin/bash savapage
sudo usermod -d /opt/savapage savapage

Some GNU/Linux distributions impose strict resource usage limits on user accounts (ulimit). The savapage account is a dedicated account used for hosting the SavaPage application and hence should be granted sufficient resource limits such as the ability to open many files. Please consult Linux User Limits on how to change these limits.