3.6.1 HP PolyServe Matrix Server Administration Guide (T5392-96018, August 2008)

Chapter 4: Matrix Administration 24
matrix. It can also store the usernames and passwords needed to
access the servers.
• On the command line, the --username and --password options can be
used to provide credentials for an mx command.
• If Matrix Server cannot authenticate a user via the methods above, it
prompts for the username and password.
When the PolyServe Management Console is used, credentials are
processed in this order:
•If a .matrixrc file exists, the user credentials specified in the file for the
selected server are used.
• If there is not a .matrixrc file or the file does not include user
credentials, the credentials provided by single sign-on semantics are
used.
• If single sign-on fails, the user is prompted for a user name and
password.
Authentication Considerations
You should be aware of the following recommendations and guidelines:
• We recommend that single sign-on be used to authenticate users.
When users connect to the PolyServe Management Console, they can
use the “As User” feature to log in as another user if necessary. On the
command line, the Windows runas command can be used to become a
administrative user before running the PolyServe Management
Console or matrix commands.
• By default, the machine local Administrators group has full cluster
rights and can perform all matrix operations. You can use the Role-
Based Security feature to create administrative roles that allow or
deny other users and groups the ability to perform specific matrix
operations.
• If the Management Console or matrix commands will be run from a
machine that is not in the domain (or trusted domain), single sign-on
cannot be used to authenticate the users of that machine. Instead, you
will need to create a .matrixrc file containing the authentication