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Licensing users
When creating users, you must assign a license type to each user. The type of license a user has determines the users ability to access AR System objects and to perform tasks.

License types
There are four license types for accessing the AR System server:
Table 3-1: License types (Sheet 1 of 2) License type Read Description Enables users to search for and display requests within their assigned permissions. Administrators can configure the AR System server to enable users with Read licenses to submit requests and to modify requests that they submit. (See Special submitter mode on page 60.) Enables users to search for and display requests within their assigned permissions. Administrators can configure the AR System server to enable users with Restricted Read licenses to submit requests. But users with Restricted Read licenses cannot modify any requests, including their own. It does, however, allow the same login account to access AR System from multiple IP addresses simultaneously, such as when browsing a knowledge base or completing online surveys. Fixed Includes all the capabilities of a Read license, and also enables users (based on the permissions of the groups to which they belong) to modify and save requests that they did not submit. AR System administrators and subadministrators must have a Fixed license. Other AR System users who consistently need to modify requests must also have Fixed licenses. A Fixed license is associated with a user name and is always reserved for that user. Users who have a Fixed license can access the AR System server at any time. A user cannot be assigned the same Fixed license more than three times in one week. If this limitation is exceeded, the user must wait one week from the first assignment of the Fixed license before it can be assigned again.

Restricted Read

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Viewing user information

Table 3-1: License types (Sheet 2 of 2) License type Floating Description Includes all the capabilities of a Read license, and also enables users to modify and save data for requests that they did not submit based on the groups to which they belong. Multiple users can use the same Floating licenses, one user at a time: they are available on a first-come, first-served basis. This type of license is designed for users who occasionally need to modify and save requests. A user with a Floating license is temporarily logged in to AR System with a Read license. When a search, modify, or submit is performed, AR System checks for an available Floating license. If a license is available, the user is granted write access to requests. If no licenses are available, the user is notified and continues to use the Read license until a license becomes available. Generally, Floating licenses are shared by all AR System users. You can, however, define license pools to reserve a set of Floating licenses for a group of users. This enables you to prioritize the availability of Floating licenses. For example, you can allocate a number of licenses to department managers to make sure that they can immediately approve essential requests. Users who do not belong to this group cannot acquire any of the reserved licenses.

With the exception of Restricted Read licenses, users can access AR System from only one computer at a time. AR System uses a globally unique identifier (GUID) to identify the computer, so users do not need to log in again if their IP address changes during a session. After a user logs out of one machine, the user might need to wait a short time to make sure the status is cleared before using the same login name to access another machine. A user who is blocked from access can perform a license take-over through a message dialog box. This can be helpful if someone forgets to log out of a client at a different location. Only one license take-over is allowed every fifteen minutes for all users on the system.

Viewing user information

The Manage User Licenses form displays information about the registered and current users on the selected server. The registered user information is the information submitted for each user in the User form. See Adding and modifying user information on page 52 for more information.

X To display user license information

1 In a browser or BMC Remedy User, open the AR System Administration Console,

and click System > Application > Users/Groups/Roles > License Review. The Manage User Licenses form appears.

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Figure 3-1: License information

2 From the Users Category list, select one of the following options:

Server - Current Users Displays the following information for each user currently connected to AR System through an AR System license:

The name of the user The type of AR System license assigned The connect time during the current session The time that the user last accessed the server during this session The floating license pool

Server - Registered UsersDisplays the following information for all users known to AR System with an AR System license:

The name of the user The type of AR System license assigned The default notification mechanism The email address

Server - Invalid UsersDisplays the number of users who are locked out of BMC Remedy User because of too many bad password attempts. To reset an invalid account, reset the users password. To set a maximum number of bad passwords, enter the number in the Max Number of Password Attempts field in the AR System Administration: Server Information form (Configuration tab). To turn the feature off (unlimited number of bad passwords allowed), set the number to 0 (the default). You can also check for invalid users by using the driver program with the glu command. For more information about the driver program, see the C API Reference.

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Application - Current UsersDisplays the following information for each user currently connected to AR System through an Integration System Vendor (ISV) license:

The name of the user The type of AR System license assigned The connect time during the current session The time that the user last accessed the server during this session The floating license pool

Application - Registered UsersDisplays the following information for all users known to AR System with an Integration System Vendor (ISV) license:

The name of the user The type of AR System license assigned The default notification mechanism The email address

3 From the License Type list, select the license type for the category of users you

want to view. The Write License Pool column shows the name of the current group (pool) from which the users Floating license has been acquired. At another time, if a license has been acquired from a different pool to which the user belongs, that pool name is displayed.
4 Click Close.

Releasing floating licenses

Users who work with a floating license are subject to a time-out interval, which determines the amount of time before the floating license is released automatically when the user does not perform any actions against the server. Administrators can terminate a users session only one time in a 24-hour period.

X To release a floating license

1 In a browser or BMC Remedy User, open the AR System Administration Console,

and click System > Application > Users/Groups/Roles > License Review. The Manage User Licenses form appears.
2 From the Category option list, select Current Licenses. 3 From the License Type list, select Floating.

A list of users with the selected license type appears.

4 From the list of active users, select the appropriate user.

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5 Click Release User.

The license held by that user is released. Another user can take the license and start working. If the original user returns, the user cannot get back into the system if no licenses are available.

NOTE
If you release a Fixed or Read license, this procedure removes the user from the list of current users; there is no effect on the users ability to connect to the server. The next time the user accesses the server, the users license information reappears.
6 Click Close.

License pools
A license pool consists of a number of floating licenses reserved for a group, subject to the number of floating licenses available in the database. When a member of a group logs in, a license from the license pool for that group is granted. When the user has finished with the license, it is released back into the pool. If no licenses are available in the pool, a check is made to see if the user is a member of any other group that has a license pool. If no licenses are available in any pool the user is a member of, a check is made for floating licenses not associated with any pool. A user is never granted a floating license from a pool of which the user is not a member. License pools allow you to give priority to a group that needs licenses more urgently. The group with the smallest group ID has the highest priority. When a non-reserved floating license becomes available, it is granted to the next user who needs it, regardless of the priority of that users access to the system. You specify the number of licenses reserved for a group in the Group form in BMC Remedy User. For more information about User groups, see the following Adding and modifying user information section and the Form and Application Objects Guide.

Adding and modifying user information

IMPORTANT
If you use AR Systembased applications, set up users in each applications People form, not in the AR System User form. For more information, see the application documentation. In AR System, you can have registered users and guest users. Each type of user has different privileges within the system, as discussed in the following sections.

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