With LDAP based authentication, why does logging in as a local-user "hang" if the LDAP server is unreachable?

Release Found: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3

Symptom:

When logging in as a local user, i.e. "root". The login hangs or stalls if there are any problems communicating with the remote LDAP server. When this is the case, non-local users will likely also experience login failures.

Solution:

This problem is due to aut...