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SANtricity 11.8

Manage password protection

Contributors netapp-jolieg
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You must configure the storage array with passwords to protect it from unauthorized access.

Set and change passwords

When you start System Manager for the first time, you are prompted to set an administrator password. Any user who has the admin password can make configuration changes to the storage array, such as adding, changing, or removing objects or settings. To set the admin password during initial startup, see Access System Manager.

For security reasons, you can attempt to enter a password only five times before the storage array enters a "lockout" state. In this state, the storage array will reject subsequent password attempts. You must wait 10 minutes for the storage array to reset to a "normal" state before you try to enter a password again.

In addition to the admin password, the storage array includes pre-defined user profiles with one or more roles mapped to them. For more information, see Permissions for mapped roles. The user profiles and mappings cannot be changed. Only passwords can be modified. If you want to change the admin password or other user passwords, see Change passwords.

Re-enter passwords after session timeouts

The system prompts you for the password only once during a single management session. However, a session times out after 30 minutes of inactivity, at which time, you must enter the password again. If another user managing the same storage array from another management client changes the password while your session is in progress, you are prompted for a password the next time you attempt a configuration operation or a view operation.

You can adjust the session timeout or you can disable session timeouts altogether. See Manage session timeouts.

Remove drives or password protection

If you remove password-protected drives or you want to disable password protection, be aware of the following:

  • If you remove drives with password protection — The password is stored on a reserved area of each drive on the storage array. If you remove all drives from a storage array, its password will no longer work. To correct this condition, re-install one of the original drives to the storage array.

  • If you want to remove password protection — If you no longer want to have commands password-protected, enter the current administrator password, and leave the new password text boxes blank.

Caution

Running configuration commands on a storage array can cause serious damage, including data loss. For this reason, you should always set an administrator password for your storage array. Use a long administrator password with at least 15 alphanumeric characters to increase security.