General Preliminary Notes About Modifying Sponsors Data

IncludeSponsorsDataPreamble

These notes relate to adding users to groups and servers using the Xhiered Accounts packages. This controls access to "xhiered" machines as well as those using the CS Active Directory for accounts management.

IncludeSponsorsDataRequiredAuthorization

Required authorization

• Users who need to update accounts need to be in group "sponsor" and group "accounts" on cs-xh-admin.cs.private.uwaterloo.ca
  • That is, in those groups in the CS-GENERAL AD
• Users who need to manipulate accounts, for example set passwords, in the cs-general region to be in the "accounts" group on cs-general.cs.private. Similarly for any other region.

IncludeSponsorsDataCreatingUserids

Creating Truly New Users (Userids)

Before you can use the sponsors data software to create new accounts for a userid, that userid must be present in the file /software/accounts-userids/data/Userids on the machine cs-xh-admin.cs.private.uwaterloo.ca. Often, but not always, that happens automatically.

If the userinfo command gives results for the userid, then the userid is appropriately present in this file, and you can proceed. (And use the Id Number: indicated by the output as the id number to associate with the userid). If userinfo gives no output for the particular user, more work is needed to get the userid into the file.

The Id Number: will be a student id, employee id, HR id, employee id, or WatIAM "P-number", in that order. In fact, you will see other obscure values listed too. But only the one shown can be used. Users with a lengthy history at UW sometimes have several other values shown as the Other Ids: value; you cannot use any of those values.

In most cases user names and identification numbers already exist, precreated in WatIAM. In other limited cases, the correct thing to do is create a userid which really should, for various reasons, not be put in WatIAM. And occasionally you need to do things to cause the WatIAM account creation.

WatIAM account creation (precreation) is discussed at this link which requires appropriate authentication.

After the WatIAM account has been created, you normally need to wait until the next business day for the new userid to be available for sponsors data. Various technical personnel, including Adrian Pepper, can accelerate that process, however.

If you need to do that yourself, perhaps see Discussion of the Userids File for Experts.

And bear in mind Information about Userids in the Sponsors Data.

IncludeSponsorsDataCreatingUserids

Creating Truly New Groups (gids)

If you are creating a new group to appear in the Active Directory (eg: users_researchgroup), you will need to follow the instructions in CreatingGroupAccounts

IncludeSponsorsDataLocation

Location of Accounts Sponsor files

The accounts files for CS are on the UNIX computer cs-xh-admin.cs.private.uwaterloo.ca

cd /software/accounts-master/data/sponsors

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-- AdrianPepper - 19 Mar 2010

IncludeAdrianReferers

Referers

This topic IncludeSponsorsDataPreamble is referred to by...

• AdministrativeAccounts
• ExGradStudentAccounts
• IncludeSponsorsDataCreatingUserids
• IncludeSponsorsDataLocation
• IncludeSponsorsDataRequiredAuthorization
• ResearchSponsoredAccounts
• ResearchSponsoredAccountsNew
• TemplateSponsorDataAccountsCollapsed