Managing password changes for users

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You can manage user passwords from any node in a cluster.

You can allow specified users to change their password on multiple nodes in the cluster by changing their password on one node.

a PowerHA® SystemMirror® user, that is a user who has an AIX® user account on each node in a cluster, can use the C-SPOC utility to change their own password across nodes in the cluster.

Important: If you manage user accounts with a utility such as Network Information Service (NIS) or Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) Manager, do not use PowerHA SystemMirror user management. Using PowerHA SystemMirror user management in this environment might cause serious system inconsistencies in the database.

Before you authorize users to change their password or change a user's passwords, ensure that:

  • The cluster topology is configured properly.
  • The user's account exists on every cluster node in a specified resource group, and if no resource group is specified, in the entire cluster.
  • The user's account exists on the local node. (The password changes on the local node, even if that node is not in the selected resource group.)
  • All cluster nodes are powered up and accessible.
Note: These conditions should also be met before a user changes their own password. As a user may not have this information, the utility displays messages to a user should their attempt to change their password fail.