Enabling 32 Groups for Selected SPD Server Users

SPD Server versions 4.x and earlier limited SPD Server users to membership in five or fewer SPD Server user groups. SPD Server 5.1 and later supports SPD Server user membership in up to 32 SPD Server groups. The default user limitation remains at five groups per SPD Server user ID, which suits the majority of SPD Server users, but you can grant users the ability to belong to as many as 32 groups. Users requiring the larger group membership ceiling need to convert their SPD Server group password data sets to SPD Server 5.1 password data sets.

Converting SPD Server 4.x Password Tables to SPD Server 5.x Password Tables

SPD Server 5.1 psmgr GROUPMEM Updates

SPD Server 5.1 GROUPMEM Example

Using SPD Server SAS Management Console Plug-in with SPD Server 5.1 Groups

Converting SPD Server 4.x Password Tables to SPD Server 5.x Password Tables

Default SPD Server user account configurations for SPD Server 5.1 have a default limitation of five SPD Server group memberships per user. This ceiling does not affect most SPD Server users. When power SPD Server users to belong to more than five groups, you can raise the ceiling raised to a maximum of 32 memberships to SPD Server user groups.

To raise the maximum to 32 groups per user, you must change the user’s password table data sets. Users that need the higher group membership must use the SPD Server 5.x formatted password table data set.

The SPD Server psmgr utility manages both SPD Server 4.x (and earlier), and SPD Server 5.x password tables. Psmgr independently recognizes both types of table formats and handles all transactions appropriately.

Note: SPD Server 5.x password table data sets are not backward compatible with earlier versions of SPD Server.

To convert an SPD Server 4.x password Table to an SPD Server 5.x password table:

Export existing password table data sets to EXPORT-FILE.
Back up old password table data sets.
Create a new target directory for new password table data sets.
Run the psmgr utility and make the new table an SPD Server Version 5 table by including the -ver 5 switch in the command:
```
psmgr <target-directory-name> -ver 5 
```
Import the old passwords from the export file that you created in Step 1.
Quit the psmgr utility.
Verify that the SPD Server start-up scripts point to the newly created password table data sets.

SPD Server 5.1 psmgr GROUPMEM Updates

SPD Server 5.1 enhancements include changes to the psmgr utility that accommodate greater flexibility in group membership and password management. These updates required the following minor changes in the GROUPMEM command.

In SPD Server 4.x and earlier, if the user specifies fewer than five groups by using the GROUPMEM command, SPD Server prompts the user to supply additional group names until five group names are provided. In SPD Server 5.x, you can specify an exclamation point (!) as a GROUPMEM group name list argument to terminate the group list without further interactive user prompting.
Specify a hyphen (-) as a group list argument to serve as a place holder for a group name that cannot be changed
Specify an empty quoted argument (" ") as a group list argument to clear the group in that position.

SPD Server 5.1 GROUPMEM Example

The following example uses the SPD Server 5.1 GROUPMEM command to change the groups for user dswider such that the user’s previously assigned groups in the first, second, and fourth positions remain the same, the group in the user’s third position is to be deleted, and the fifth group position is assigned to the group fondo. The exclamation mark indicates to psmgr that no additional group memberships are to be declared for this user.

GROUPMEM dswider - - "" -FONDO !

Using SPD Server SAS Management Console Plug-in with SPD Server 5.1 Groups

The SPD Server plug-in for SAS Management Console enables viewing and editing of up to five SPD Server groups, the utility opens an informational window that states this particular user is a member of more than five groups, and that the SPD Server psmgr utility should be used to view and edit SPD Server groups for that user.