Re: Question about passwords

[Scott Klement <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

James,

NetServer is the IBM software that's used for Windows networking.  When 
someone uses Windows Networking to access the IFS (such as mapping a 
drive letter to an IFS location.)   With NetServer, your IBM i system 
looks like another node on the Windows Network.

There's also QNTC, which allows IBM i to connect to other windows 
machines on the network.  Although this technically isn't NetServer, it 
does share a lot of code with NetServer, and often uses NetServer 
settings (I suspect the password is one of them.)  If all is configured 
properly, you can access a windows server from the IFS under 
/QNTC/servername/sharename/path/to/file.ext

Anyway, since Windows Networking uses a different form of encryption, et 
al, from what IBM uses for it's passwords, when you set/change your 
password, under the covers it will encrypt it according to the NetServer 
style and save it as a "net server password" (in addition to the normal 
encryption and storage used by IBM i itself.)

Certain password levels delete the netserver passwords for security 
purposes.




On 7/3/2014 6:22 PM, James H. H. Lampert wrote:
> Regarding the odd-numbered password levels, something keeps bugging me:
>
> What exactly IS a "NetServer password," how does it differ from a user's
> normal password, and why are there password levels that appear to do
> nothing but get rid of them?
>
> The help text on the QPWDLVL system value bandies the term about as if
> it were common knowledge.
>
> --
> JHHL
> (A bit pleased with myself, having managed to avoid having to ask the
> "Bare Metal" list for help figuring out how to call the V5+ version of
> QSYCHGPW from a program compiled under V4R2)