Enabling 32 Groups for 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 support user membership in up to 32 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 5.3 password data sets.

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

The psmgr Utility GROUPMEM Updates

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

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

To convert an SPD Server 4.x password table to an SPD Server 5.3 password table, use the psmgr EXPORT and IMPORT commands as follows:

Back up old password table data sets.
Start the SPD Server psmgr utility using your previous SPD Server installation.
Export your SPD Server password table to a file.
Start your new installation of the SPD Server psmgr utility with a new password table. Include the -ver 5 switch in the command:
```
psmgr <target-directory-name> -ver 5 
```
In your new installation of SPD Server, import the file from the previous installation into the new password table.
Verify that the SPD Server start-up scripts point to the newly created password table data sets.

The psmgr Utility GROUPMEM Updates

The SPD Server 5.x psmgr utility provides greater flexibility in managing group memberships than SPD Server 4.x. For example, in SPD Server 4.x, if the user specifies fewer than five groups by using the GROUPMEM command, the utility prompts the user to supply additional group names until five group names are provided.

In SPD Server 5.x, you have more control over the group list:

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.

See documentation for the GROUPMEM Command for an example of how the new arguments are used.

Last updated: February 3, 2017