User Instructions

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(possibly on a
per user basis,
where that
makes sense).
on the
server.
However the
interface the
applets and
applications
see should
be through a
servant.
4.3 Permissions
Access control permissions (or just permissions) in the ENICS
system apply to all applications (including both Java applications and
applets) that may be initiated outside of the server environment.
Applications that are initiated by and run under the control of the ENICS
server environment (such as the network health monitor) do not require
access permissions. Access permissions are assigned out of the available
options on a user by user basis.
Each application has three sets of permissions. The first “set”
determines whether a user is allowed to access the ENICS server while
running a particular application. For example, a user may be granted
permission to run the Interactive Meter Reader, but not the Network
Configuration Manager. This is not a security measure, since the only
way the ENICS server has to know what application is being run is for
the application to tell it. Thus, this sort of permission won’t be able to
deter a cracker who writes his or her own application, but it will give the
system administrator control over who can run applications under
normal circumstances.
The second set controls access to the various database tables in
the system. An application may have read, modify and append
permission for a table. Append is a restricted type of write access that
allows an application to add new records to a table, but not to either
modify or read records that already exist. Modify access implies both
read and append access. For databases that contain information that is
associated with particular users, users may be granted permission to
read or modify data for themselves only or for all users.
The third set of permissions controls access to the
communications network. The first access permission is “network use”.
This allows an application to interact with the communications network.
If it is not set, then the application is not allowed to interact with the
communications server. The second network access permission is IMU
read/modify, which determine which types of messages that can get or
set IMU information are allowed to be sent. The third network access
permission is network read/modify, which determines which messages
can be sent that may read information from or modify gateways and
relays. Please note that even an application that has no explicit network