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Postinstallation Administrative Tasks  



The administrator performs the following tasks from a privileged GCM client:

The following sections and the GCM client help provide more information about these tasks.

Authorizing GCM Users and Defining the Subscription Template  

You can define, authorize, and enable GCM users during the GCM server setup procedure, or at any time from the GCM client (with admin privilege). During a a typical installation, you will define the key users of the system from the setup utility. Additional users can request access to the GCM server association using a subscription process and email request.

As part of the postinstallation setup, the first time the GCM server is started it creates SYS$COMMON:[SYS$CONFIG]GCM_TEMPLATE.XML, a subscription template file. This file contains a template to create a subscription form tailored to your specific site. To customize this template, the administrator must connect to a GCM server from a GCM client, and select Edit Subscription Template on the File menu.

When the default subscription template is displayed, complete the form as needed and press OK to return the official template to all active GCM servers. (You can also manually copy this file to the other instances in the configuration if the GCM servers are not yet running.) The subscription form includes fields that allow a potential user to request a user name, password, and access level. As the administrator, you can choose which authorizations to make visible to users. For example, you can disallow users from requesting the Admin privilege if you prefer to keep a single system administrator account.


NoteGCM user authorization records (user name, password, and so on) are completely independent of any OpenVMS authorization mechanism.

Once the subscription form is initialized, users can discover GCM-capable instances (those running a GCM server) and request a subscription form. A user cannot request a subscription form until the administrator has customized the subscription template. When a user completes the subscription form, it is returned to the GCM server and email is sent to the administrator notifying about a new subscription request. To approve a request, the administrator connects to the association from a GCM client, edits the GCM administration database, and selects options to approve or disapprove of the request. Optionally, the administrator clicks the Email button to bring up an email response to the user advising of the status of the request. As soon as a subscription request is approved and the account is enabled, the updated GCM administration database is automatically propagated to the other GCM servers and the requesting GCM user is allowed access to the GCM servers in the association.

To revoke a GCM user's access privileges, the administrator deletes the client record or simply disables the account. A client that is currently connected is immediately disconnected.

GCM User Privileges

When you authorize a user, you can grant the following privileges:

Privilege Description
Config
Allows the user to modify the configuration of the association.
Command
Allows the user to define commands for self.
User Command
Allows the user to define commands for all clients.
Admin
Allows the user to edit the GCM administration database (GCM$ADMIN.EDB).
Power
Allows the user to power systems and components on and off.

Managing the Library  

The GCM includes a distributed document retrieval system. This system allows you to post documents in directories you specify on individual GCM servers for users to retrieve and view. (To invoke the Library dialog box, select Edit Admin Database on the File menu.) In addition, programs and procedures that run on GCM server systems can produce output files for retrieval and viewing by users.

You can use wildcard characters to search for documents. For example, executing a remote GCM server command procedure may run a performance analysis that generates an Excel spreadsheet output file. Using the GCM, you can invoke this procedure simultaneously on multiple systems in the association. Each system may produce a result file with unique identifying features in its file specification, such as the node name or a timestamp. You can specify the document with wildcards, for example, CFG_*_LOG.CSV. This specification results in a search for matching files on each system. Any matching files are listed in the GCM client's library as documents available for retrieval. Full OpenVMS directory specifications are also allowed.

Whenever a user opens a GCM server library and retrieves a document, a copy of that document is written into the user's GCM client directory. After the user ends GCM client session, these files are still available for viewing in an editor or browser. However, any changes made to the file are not propagated to the library copy on the GCM server. Users must manually delete these outdated files when they no longer need them.

Custom Banners  

You can provide a custom banner image for your company or organization by copying your own JPEG file to SYS$COMMON:[SYS$CONFIG]GCM_BANNER.JPG. This file should be a reasonable size to avoid lengthy download delays. This file is displayed in GCM clients as they connect.

System Notices  

You can post general system notices for GCM clients by editing the SYS$COMMON:[SYS$CONFIG]GCM_NOTICE.HTML file. This file is a simple hypertext document that can contain messages to display when a GCM client connects to the GCM server. Keep edits to this file simple. You can embed links, but do not embed scripts, images, sounds, and so on. The GCM client's built-in browser (the Java default browser) is less sophisticated than most modern browsers and is not intended for general use.

Customizing Commands  

You can customize GCM commands in two ways. A user with user command privilege has access to menu items that allow the user to define and save custom DCL commands. These commands can perform any function supported by OpenVMS and DCL. The GCM server does not currently support interactive commands or command procedures.


NoteWhen authorizing the user command privilege, remember that all commands are executed by the GCM server in system context. GCM makes no attempt to prevent you from executing commands that are detrimental to system performance or operation.

You can also create custom commands with extended ruleset definitions. On each GCM server, an option file (SYS$COMMON:[SYS$CONFIG]GCM_CUSTOM.XML) contains simple menu definition statements in XML format. If this file is present when the GCM server starts up, these additional menu commands will appear in the GCM client for all users with the command privilege. This provides a means for system administrators to define instance-specific commands for their users. A sample file is shipped in the kit and contains instructions for defining additional custom commands. If you do not wish to use this capability, you may delete the custom ruleset file. For more information about using custom commands, see Defining and Using Commands.
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