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{{Admon/important|Using Superuser PrivilegeAdmin Account|Throughout this course, you may need to execute commands using the privileges of the the administrative user (username "root", also called the "superuser"). To switch from your account to the root account, type the command: <code>su</code> After switching user notice and make note of the change in your shell prompt. Also note the difference in output for the <code>whoami</code> and<code>pwd</code> commands. '''Whenever this is required, make a note of it, and determine why superuser privilege is required.''' When you are finished using the root account type exit to return to your previous account. '''Avoid using the superuser account unless absolutely necessary, because the superuser account has unlimited privilege and a typo can destroy your system.''' In some documentation, you may see the command <code>su -</code> used in place of <code>su</code>. The dash argument causes <code>su</code> to go through the steps that would normally be performed when the root user logs in, including (1) running the startup scripts (such as<code>/etc/profile</code> and <code>/root/.bash_profile</code> and (2) changing to the root user's home directory (<code>/root</code>). Note that the root user's home directory (<code>/root</code>) is ''not'' the same as the root directory of the system (<code>/</code>). It is also in a different directory than the rest of the home directories, which are typically in <code>/home</code> -- the reason for this is that <code>/home</code> is sometimes on a network filesystem shared by another server (as is the case on Matrix), and it's important that the system administrator be able to log in to the system even if the network is not operating normallyx.
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