Thanks to the encouragement of some people on this list, I am using rsync to synchronize two servers: one is a backup to the other in case the primary one fails. By hand, I inserted the names of the users on the primary server into the backup server. So, now all works well. /usr/bin/rsync -av -e ssh /home/ 192.168.0.22:/home/ My question is what would happen if the users were not on the backup server? Is there anyway to have the users automatically inserted into passwd and group? Todd -- Ariste Software 2200 D Street Ext Petaluma, CA 94952 (707) 773-4523