IBM i NetServer security: Guest versus nonguest
Typically you can access IBM® i NetServer by using a user profile. The guest profile will be used when the requested ID (as sent by Windows or Samba) is not found.
The guest user profile allows the file and print sharing by users who otherwise would not require a user profile.
When using IBM i NetServer, normal user profiles and passwords apply. By default, only users with valid user profiles and passwords can access resources on the system. Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 offer the option to select a different user ID. If the passwords do not match, you will see a password window. Windows can optionally be set to remember the password.
A user profile is disabled from using IBM i NetServer when the user has tried to access IBM i NetServer a number of times with an incorrect password. The system value name QMAXSIGN specifies how many unpermitted access attempts disable a user profile. The Windows operating system will try to access IBM i NetServer again when access is denied. So it might appear that the QMAXSIGN limit is reached before the number of times actually tried by the client. If the user profile does become disabled for IBM i NetServer, you can use several methods to re-enable the user profile.