will crontab work if diff user logged in?

[cyberant]

I've set up a crontab schedule that backs up my database at 2 in the morning. Everything is working fine, so long as I'm logged as the user who created the crontab schedule, but if not, it doesn't seem to work.

Am I missing something? What would I need to do to have a crontab scheduled but not necessarily be logged on as that user?

 

[fulhamfcboy]

I would run the job as root, but preface the command you want to run with /bin/su uSeRnAmE -c 'command you want to run'
Hope that helps )

 

[nawlej]

well, is the crontab set up in the main /etc/crontab file, or the users crontab??

___________________________________
[morse]--... ...--[/morse], Eric.

 

[cyberant]

I'm not sure. I simply issued the command at the console, while logged in as a particular user. What would the difference between the two options be in terms of allowing me run a different users crontab? Are you saying that if the crontab is issued in the /etc/crontab file then the commands are issued across the user list, regardless of who's logged in?

 

[KenCunningham]

AFAIK, cron runs for whatever user whether logged in or not. You may have environment issues if your job isn't running as expected. Try setting the PATH explicitly within the script.

 

[cyberant]

Where is the best place to set the path? I'm having trouble restarting a service and I assume that it's because I'm not logged in as root. Is there a way to change the restrictions on my account to allow for this, or should I simply change the user in the command input?

 

[KenCunningham]

If you're using the su - <user> -c "command" type of cron entry, set the PATH in the user's .profile. Otherwise (and if possible) set the PATH in the script itself or use a 'wrapper' to set the PATH then execute the script. HTH.