Managing local user accounts

Reasons for creating local user accounts

There are two primary reasons for creating local user accounts on the filer:

By default, Data ONTAP supports a system account, which is root. You can, however, create optional local user accounts so that other administrators can manage the filer. The accounts you create for this purpose are also called administrative user accounts.
An administrator using an administrative user account can perform the same tasks that the administrator can perform by using the system account. Administrative user accounts add security by allowing accounts to be established for individuals on one or more filers, unlike system accounts, which are created on all filers. This enables the system account password to remain secret.
If a filer running CIFS is a member of a domain or a Windows NT workgroup, you can create local user accounts for authenticating users. For more information about authenticating users using local user accounts, see the section on local user accounts in the CIFS chapter of the Block Access Management Guide.

Tasks for managing local user accounts

The following are tasks you can perform to manage passwords and local user accounts:

Changing the system password

To change the system password, which is also the password for the root user account, complete the following step.

Step

Action

If you are using a...

Then...

Telnet session or the console to administer the filer

Enter the following command:
```
passwd
```
Enter the system account name:
```
root
```
Enter the existing system password.
Enter a new password, and then enter it a second time to confirm it.

Remote Shell connection to administer the filer

Enter the following command:

rsh filer_name passwd old_password 
new_password

Listing local user accounts

To list one or more local users, complete the following step.

Step	Action
1	If you are using a...	Then...
	Telnet session or the console to administer the filer	Enter the following command: *useradmin userlist [username list]* username list is a space-separated list of the login names you want to display.
	Remote Shell connection to administer the filer	Enter the following command: *rsh useradmin userlist [username list]* username list is a space-separated list of the login names you want to display.
	Note If you do not specify any user names, all local users, except root, are listed.

Creating a local user account

You must be logged in as a local user to create a user account.

User account passwords and user names have the following restrictions:

The password must contain at least six characters, including at least two alphabetical characters and one nonalphabetical character.
Passwords must contain no more than 16 characters.
The login name is case-sensitive.
The login name cannot contain any of the following characters:
* \ : , = / > [ < | + ? ] ; space

To create a local user account, complete the following step.

Step

Action

If you are using a...

Then...

Telnet session or the console to administer the filer

Enter the following command:
```
useradmin useradd 

[-c "comments"] login_name
```
comments is an optional opportunity to enter comments about the account, such as a user's full name.

login_name is the new local user login name.
When Data ONTAP prompts you for a password, enter the password associated with the new local user login name.
When Data ONTAP prompts you to reenter the password, enter the password again.

Remote Shell connection to administer the filer

Enter the following command:

rsh filer_name useradmin useradd [-c 
"comments"] login_name password

comments is an optional opportunity to enter comments about the account, such as a user's full name.

login_name is the new local user login name.

password is the password associated with the new user name.

Changing a local user account password

To change a local user account password, complete the following step.

Step

Action

If you are using a...

Then...

Telnet session or the console to administer the filer

Enter the following command:
```
passwd
```
When Data ONTAP prompts you, enter the name of the local user whose password you want to change.
When Data ONTAP prompts you, enter the new password.
Enter the new password again.

Remote Shell connection to administer the filer

Enter the following command:

rsh filer_name passwd 
new_password username

Changing a local user account group or comment

To change a local user account group membership or comment, complete the following step.

Step

Action

If you are using a...

Then...

Telnet session or the console to administer the filer

Enter the following command:

useradmin usermodify [-c 
"comments"] login_name

comments is the new comment that you want to specify for the affected user.

login_name is the local user whose login group membership or comment is being modified.

Remote Shell connection to administer the filer

Enter the following command:

rsh filer_name useradmin 
usermodify [-c "comments"] 
login_name

Deleting a local user account

To delete a local user account, complete the following step.

Caution
Data ONTAP deletes a local user account immediately, without asking you to confirm the deletion.

Step

Action

If you are using a...

Then...

Telnet session or the console to administer the filer

Enter the following command:

useradmin userdel login_name

login_name is the login name of the local user account you want to delete.

Remote Shell connection to administer the filer

Enter the following command:

rsh filer_name useradmin userdel 
login_name

login_name is the login name of the local user account you want to delete.