Document revision date: 30 March 2001
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OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual

OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual


April 2001

This document describes reference information for System Management utilities used with the OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS VAX operating systems.

Revision/Update Information: This manual supersedes the OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual,
OpenVMS Version 7.2.

Software Version: OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.3
OpenVMS VAX Version 7.3




Compaq Computer Corporation
Houston, Texas


© 2001 Compaq Computer Corporation

Compaq, VAX, VMS, and the Compaq logo Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

OpenVMS is a trademark of Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P. in the United States and other countries.

Intel, Intel Inside, and Pentium are trademarks of Intel Corporation.

Microsoft, MS-DOS, Visual C++, Windows, and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Motif, OSF/1, and UNIX are trademarks of The Open Group.

Java and all Java-based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.

All other product names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective companies.

Confidential computer software. Valid license from Compaq required for possession, use, or copying. Consistent with FAR 12.211 and 12.212, Commercial Computer Software, Computer Software Documentation, and Technical Data for Commercial Items are licensed to the U.S. Government under vendor's standard commercial license.

Compaq shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. The information in this document is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind and is subject to change without notice. The warranties for Compaq products are set forth in the express limited warranty statements accompanying such products. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty.

ZK6048

The Compaq OpenVMS documentation set is available on CD-ROM.

Contents Index


Preface

The OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual contains reference information about the utilities that are used to manage both the OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha operating systems. This manual describes each system management utility and provides examples for frequently used commands and qualifiers. In addition to system management utilities, a description and usage summary of the AUTOGEN command procedure is presented in this reference manual.

All commands follow the standard rules of grammar as specified in the OpenVMS DCL Dictionary.

For information on how to use these system management utilities and AUTOGEN, please refer to the OpenVMS System Manager's Manual.

Intended Audience

This manual is intended for system managers and users of the system management utilities for the OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha operating systems.

Document Structure

Each part of this manual, with the exception of the section on the AUTOGEN command procedure, provides reference information for a system management utility.

Related Documents

For more information on the system management utilities, refer to the following documents:

For additional information about Compaq OpenVMS products and services, access the Compaq website at the following location:


http://www.openvms.compaq.com/ 

Note

1 This manual has been archived but is available in PostScript and DECW$BOOK (Bookreader) formats on the OpenVMS Documentation CD-ROM. A printed book can be ordered through DECdirect (800-354-4825).

Reader's Comments

Compaq welcomes your comments on this manual. Please send comments to either of the following addresses:
Internet openvmsdoc@compaq.com
Mail Compaq Computer Corporation
OSSG Documentation Group, ZKO3-4/U08
110 Spit Brook Rd.
Nashua, NH 03062-2698

How To Order Additional Documentation

Visit the following World Wide Web address for information about how to order additional documentation:


http://www.openvms.compaq.com/ 

If you need help deciding which documentation best meets your needs, call 800-282-6672.

Conventions

VMScluster systems are now referred to as OpenVMS Cluster systems. Unless otherwise specified, references to OpenVMS Clusters or clusters in this document are synonymous with VMSclusters.

The contents of the display examples for some utility commands described in this manual may differ slightly from the actual output provided by these commands on your system. However, when the behavior of a command differs significantly between OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha, that behavior is described in text and rendered, as appropriate, in separate examples.

The following conventions are also used in this manual:
Ctrl/ x A sequence such as Ctrl/ x indicates that you must hold down the key labeled Ctrl while you press another key or a pointing device button.
PF1 x A sequence such as PF1 x indicates that you must first press and release the key labeled PF1 and then press and release another key or a pointing device button.
[Return] In examples, a key name enclosed in a box indicates that you press a key on the keyboard. (In text, a key name is not enclosed in a box.)

In the HTML version of this document, this convention appears as brackets, rather than a box.

... A horizontal ellipsis points in examples indicate one of the following possibilities:
  • Additional optional arguments in a statement have been omitted.
  • The preceding item or items can be repeated one or more times.
  • Additional parameters, values, or other information can be entered.
.
.
.
A vertical ellipsis points indicate the omission of items from a code example or command format; the items are omitted because they are not important to the topic being discussed.
( ) In command format descriptions, parentheses indicate that, if you choose more than one option, you must enclose the choices in parentheses.
[ ] In command format descriptions, brackets indicate optional elements. You can choose one, none, or all of the options. (Brackets are not optional, however, in the syntax of a directory name in an OpenVMS file specification or in the syntax of a substring specification in an assignment statement.)
{ } In command format descriptions, braces indicate a required choice of options; you must choose one of the options listed.
text style This text style represents the introduction of a new term or the name of an argument, an attribute, or a reason.

In the HTML version of this document, this convention appears as italic text.

italic text Italic text indicates important information, complete titles of manuals, or variables. Variables include information that varies in system messages (Internal error number), in command lines (/PRODUCER= name), and in command parameters in text (where dd represents the predefined code for the device type).
UPPERCASE TEXT Uppercase text indicates a command, the name of a routine, the name of a file, or the abbreviation for a system privilege.
Monospace type Monospace type indicates code examples and interactive screen displays.

In the C programming language, monospace type identifies the following elements: keywords, the names of independently compiled external functions and files, syntax summaries, and references to variables or identifiers introduced in an example.

- A hyphen at the end of a command format description, command line, or code line indicates that the command or statement continues on the following line.
numbers All numbers in text are assumed to be decimal unless otherwise noted. Nondecimal radixes---binary, octal, or hexadecimal---are explicitly indicated.


Chapter 1
Access Control List Editor

1.1 ACL Editor Description

The access control list editor (ACL editor) is a screen-oriented editor used to create and maintain access control lists (ACLs). An ACL is a collection of access control entries (ACEs) that grant or deny access for specific users or groups of users of an object. (For a description of the entry and display format for ACEs, see Section 1.3.) ACLs enable you to control access more closely than you can by using the default user identification code (UIC) based protection.

The system does not limit the number of ACEs that an ACL can contain or the number of characters in an ACE. However, long ACLs increase the amount of time necessary to gain access to an object. In practice, memory constraints can limit the size of an ACL.

The order of ACEs in an ACL is important. ACEs granting or denying access to an object for specific users must appear before ACEs identifying broader classes of users. For example, to grant user SMITH read access to a system object and to deny all other interactive users all types of access to the object, place the ACE for user SMITH before the ACE identifying all interactive users on the system.

You can place ACLs on the following object classes:

Capability
Common event flag cluster
Device
File
Group global section
Logical name table
Queue
Resource domain
Security class
System global section
Volume

1.2 ACL Editor Usage Summary

The access control list editor (ACL editor) creates or modifies an access control list (ACL) for a specified object.


Format

EDIT/ACL object-spec


Parameter

object-spec

Specifies the object whose access control list is to be created or edited. If an access control list does not exist, it is created.

You can specify an object from any of the following object classes:

Capability
Common event flag cluster
Device
File
Group global section
Logical name table
Queue
Resource domain
Security class
System global section
Volume

The default object class is a file. A file must be a disk file on a Files-11 On-Disk Structure Level 2 or 5 formatted volume. For any object other than a file, you must specify the object class with the /CLASS qualifier.

Note that the ACL editor does not provide a default file type for files. To prevent the ACL editor from using a null file type, specify the file type on the command line. If the object is a directory, specify the .DIR file type.

Do not include wildcard characters in the object specification.


Description

You can invoke the ACL editor to create or modify an ACL for an object that you own, have control access to, or can gain access to by a privilege such as BYPASS, GRPPRV, or SYSPRV. To invoke the ACL editor, enter the DCL command EDIT/ACL. In the command line, specify the name of the object whose ACL you want to edit. For example, to create an ACL for the file INVENTORY.DAT, enter the following command:


$ EDIT/ACL INVENTORY.DAT

You can use either the EDIT/ACL command or the SET SECURITY/EDIT command to invoke the ACL editor. For more information about the SET SECURITY command, refer to the OpenVMS DCL Dictionary and the OpenVMS Guide to System Security.

By default, the ACL editor creates and modifies ACLs for files. To create an ACL for an object other than a file (for example, to create an ACL for a queue), you must specify the object class when you invoke the ACL editor. For example, the following command invokes the ACL editor to create an ACL for the disk DAPR:


$ EDIT/ACL/CLASS=DEVICE DAPR

If an ACL for the object you specify already exists, the ACL editor displays the ACL. You can then use keypad editing commands to add, replace, or delete one or more ACEs in the ACL (see Section A.1). To exit from a completed editing session, press Ctrl/Z. To end an editing session without incorporating any of your edits, press the GOLD key (PF1) and then press Ctrl/Z.

For a description of keypad editing commands supplied by the ACL editor, see Appendix A. For information about how to modify the ACL editor by modifying ACL section files, see Appendix B.

Note

In addition to invoking the ACL editor directly or by entering commands at the DCL prompt ($), you can modify an ACL by using the callable interface to the ACL editor (the ACLEDIT$EDIT routine). For information about how to use the ACLEDIT$EDIT routine, refer to the OpenVMS Utility Routines Manual.

1.3 ACE Formats

This section describes the entry and display format for the following access control entries (ACEs):

The OpenVMS Guide to System Security describes how to use each of these ACEs. You can also use other types of ACEs. For example, applications can use an Application ACE to store application-specific information associated with a file. For a description of the internal format used to store an ACE, refer to the OpenVMS Programming Concepts Manual.

Alarm ACE

Specifies the access criteria that cause an alarm message to be sent to all security operator terminals.

ACL alarms are enabled by default; however, alarms are not written to the system security audit log file. If you have existing files or resources protected by Alarm ACEs and you want messages to be recorded in the log file, replace the Alarm ACEs with Audit ACEs.


Format

(ALARM=SECURITY [,OPTIONS=attributes], ACCESS=access-type[+access-type...])


Parameters

options

Specify any of the following attributes:
Default Indicates that an ACE is to be included in the ACL of any files created within a directory. When the entry is propagated, the Default attribute is removed from the ACE of the created file. This attribute is valid for directory files only.
Hidden Indicates that this ACE should be changed only by the application that adds it. Although the Hidden attribute is valid for any ACE type, its intended use is to hide Application ACEs. To delete or modify a hidden ACE, you must use the SET SECURITY command.

Users need the SECURITY privilege to display a hidden ACE with the DCL commands SHOW SECURITY or DIRECTORY/SECURITY. SECURITY privilege is also required to modify or delete a hidden ACE with the DCL command SET SECURITY. The ACL editor displays the ACE only to show its relative position within the ACL, not to facilitate editing of the ACE. To create a hidden ACE, an application can invoke the $SET_SECURITY system service.

Protected Protects the ACE against casual deletion. Protected ACEs can be deleted only in the following ways:
  • By using the ACL editor
  • By specifying the ACE explicitly when deleting it

    Use the command SET SECURITY/ACL=(ace)/DELETE to specify and delete an ACE.

  • By deleting all ACEs, both protected and unprotected

    Use the command SET SECURITY/ACL/DELETE=ALL to delete all ACEs.

The following commands do not delete protected ACEs:

SET SECURITY/ACL/DELETE
SET SECURITY/LIKE
SET SECURITY/DEFAULT
Nopropagate Indicates that the ACE cannot be copied by operations that usually propagate ACEs. For example, the ACE cannot be copied by the SET SECURITY/LIKE or SET SECURITY/DEFAULT commands.
None Indicates that no attributes apply to an entry. Although you can create an ACL entry with OPTIONS=None, the attribute is not displayed. Whenever you specify additional attributes with the None attribute, the other attributes take precedence. The None attribute is equivalent to omitting the field.

access

Specify any access that is valid for the object class. refer to the OpenVMS Guide to System Security for a listing of valid access types. For an Alarm ACE to have any effect, you must include the keywords SUCCESS, FAILURE, or both with the access types. For example, if the auditing criterion is a failure to obtain write access to an object, specify the following Alarm ACE:


(ALARM=SECURITY, ACCESS=WRITE+FAILURE) 

Audit ACE

Specifies the access criteria that cause an audit message to be written to the system security audit log file. A message is recorded by default. A message is recorded only if ACL audits are enabled with the DCL command SET AUDIT/AUDIT/ENABLE=ACL.

Format

(AUDIT=SECURITY [,OPTIONS=attributes], ACCESS=access-type[+access-type...])


Parameters

options

Specify one of the following attributes:
Default Indicates that an ACE is to be included in the ACL of any files created within a directory. When the entry is propagated, the Default attribute is removed from the ACE of the created file. This attribute is valid for directory files only.
Hidden Indicates that this ACE should be changed only by the application that adds it. Although the Hidden attribute is valid for any ACE type, its intended use is to hide Application ACEs. To delete or modify a hidden ACE, you must use the SET SECURITY command.

Users need the SECURITY privilege to display a hidden ACE with the DCL commands SHOW SECURITY or DIRECTORY/SECURITY. SECURITY privilege is also required to modify or delete a hidden ACE with the DCL command SET SECURITY. The ACL editor displays the ACE only to show its relative position within the ACL, not to facilitate editing of the ACE. To create a hidden ACE, an application can invoke the $SET_SECURITY system service.

Protected Protects the ACE against casual deletion. Protected ACEs can be deleted only in the following ways:
  • By using the ACL editor
  • By specifying the ACE explicitly when deleting it

    Use the command SET SECURITY/ACL=(ace)/DELETE to specify and delete an ACE.

  • By deleting all ACEs, both protected and unprotected

    Use the command SET SECURITY/ACL/DELETE=ALL to delete all ACEs.

The following commands do not delete protected ACEs:

SET SECURITY/ACL/DELETE
SET SECURITY/LIKE
SET SECURITY/DEFAULT
Nopropagate Indicates that the ACE cannot be copied by operations that usually propagate ACEs. For example, the ACE cannot be copied by the SET SECURITY/LIKE or SET SECURITY/DEFAULT commands.
None Indicates that no attributes apply to an entry. Although you can create an ACL entry with OPTIONS=None, the attribute is not displayed. Whenever you specify additional attributes with the None attribute, the other attributes take precedence. The None attribute is equivalent to omitting the field.

access

Specify any access that is valid for the object class. Refer to the OpenVMS Guide to System Security for a listing of valid access types. For an Audit ACE to have any effect, you must include the keywords SUCCESS, FAILURE, or both with the access types. For example, if the auditing criterion is a failure to obtain write access to an object, specify the following Audit ACE:


(AUDIT=SECURITY,ACCESS=WRITE+FAILURE) 


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