Using gsec Commands

Go Up to Using gsec to Manage Security

Command	Description
`di[splay]`	Displays all rows of the InterBase security database (`admin.ib` by default)
`di[splay]` `name`	Displays information only for user <name>
`a[dd]` `name` `-pw password` [`option argument`] [`option argument ...`]	Adds user <name> to the security database with password <string>. Each option and corresponding argument specify other data associated with the user, as shown in Adding Entries to the Security Database
`mo[dify]` `name` [`options`]	Like `add`, except that <name> already exists in the security database
`de[lete]` `name`	Deletes user <name> from the security database
alias_add `path name`	Adds a database alias. The path is the location of the database, and <name> is the name given for the alias
alias_del `name`	Deletes database alias <name> from the security database
alias_dis	Displays all database alias
alias_dis `name`	Displays information only for alias <name>
`h[elp]` or `?`	Displays `gsec` commands and syntax
`q[uit]`	Quits the interactive session

Displaying the Security

To see the contents of the InterBase security database, enter the DISPLAY command at the GSEC> prompt. All the rows in the security database are displayed:

GSEC> display
user name uid gid full name
----------------------------------------------
JOHN 123 345 John Doe
JANE 124 345 Jane Doe
RICH 125 345 Richard Roe

Note that passwords are never displayed.

Adding Entries to the Security Database

To add users to the security database, use the add command:

a[dd] name -pw password [options]

followed by a user name, the -pw option followed by a password, and any other options, as shown in the following table. The password is case sensitive. None of the other parameters are case sensitive.

For each option, the initial letter or letters are required, and optional parts are enclosed in brackets. Each option must be followed by a corresponding argument, a string that specifies the data to be entered into the specified column in the InterBase security database (admin.ib by default).

Option	Meaning
-`password` or `-pa` `string`	Password of user who is performing the change
-`user` `string`	User who is performing the change
-`pw` `string`	Target user password
-`uid` `integer`	Target user ID
-`gid` `integer`	Group ID for target user
-`fname` `string`	First Name for target user
-`mname` `string`	Middle Name for target user
-`lname` `string`	Last Name for target user
`-user_database` `string`	Name of user database
`-database` `string`	Name of remote security database

Note:
The -pa switch specifies the root or the SYSDBA account password; -pw specifies the password for the user being added or modified.

For example, to add user “jones” and assign the password “welcome”, enter:

GSEC> add jones -pw welcome

Use display to verify the entry. An unassigned UID or GID defaults to 0:

GSEC> display
user name     uid     gid     full name
----------------------------------------------
JONES         0       0

For example, to add authorization for a user named Cindi Brown with user name “cbrown” and password “coffee2go”, use the following gsec command:

GSEC> add cbrown -pw coffee2go -fname cindi -lname brown

To verify the new entry, display the contents of the security database:

GSEC> display
user name     uid     gid     full name
----------------------------------------------
JONES        0       0
CBROWN       0       0       CINDI BROWN

gsec stores the user name in uppercase regardless of how it is entered.

Modifying the Security Database

To change existing entries in the security database, use the modify command. Supply the user name for the entry to change, followed by the option indicating the items to change and the corresponding values to which to change them.

For example, to set the user ID of user “cbrown” to 8 and change the first name to “Cindy”, enter the following commands:

GSEC> modify cbrown -uid 8 -fname cindy

To verify the changed line, use display followed by the user name:

GSEC> display cbrown
user name    uid    gid    full name
---------------------------------------------
CBROWN       8      0      CINDY BROWN

Note:
To modify a user name, first delete the entry in the security database, then enter the new user name and re-enter the other information.

Deleting Entries from the Security Database

To delete a user’s entry from the security database, use delete and specify the user name:

GSEC> delete cbrown

You can confirm that the entry has been deleted with the display command.

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Using gsec from a Windows Command Prompt