Password Management in a GDS Environment

To change the GSMCATUSER password in GDS, perform SQL*Plus ALTER USER, and then GDSCTL modify catalog update.

Use this example to see how to change the GSMCATUSER password:

Example 4-7 Changing the GSMCATUSER Password

Run the following command in SQL*Plus while connected to the GDS catalog:
```
ALTER USER gsmcatuser IDENTIFIED BY ****
```
Then in GDSCTL run the following command, where oldpassword is the old password, and newpassword is the new password:
```
GDSCTL> modify catalog -oldpwd oldpassword -newpwd newpassword
```
In GDSCTL, run the following command, where connect_id is the connection ID, and newpassword is the new password:
```
GDSCTL>modify gsm -gsm gsm_name -catalog connect_id -pwd newpassword
```

The GSMUSR passwords are stored the GDS catalog in an encrypted form using the PKCS 1 encryption/decryption schema. You can encrypt GSMUSR passwords stored in the GDS catalog with a newly generated keys by executing the modify catalog command. For example:

GDSCTL> modify catalog -newkeys

GSMCATUSER and GSMUSER accounts are shared by all global service managers in the Global Data Services framework and used for all management operations performed by global service managers, including automatic operations such as service failover. Human users should never connect to databases using these accounts.

In addition to the GSMCATUSER and GSMUSER accounts, the GSMADMIN_INTERNAL account is also used in a GDS configurations, both in the catalog and pool databases. This account's only purpose is to own the tables, packages, and other objects needed to support a GDS installation. It should never be unlocked, assigned a password, or used for interactive logins.

In a sharded invironment it is important to manage password rotation for the GSMUSER, GSMCATUSER, and GSMROOTUSER users. For a detailed instructions on performing this management task, see "How to Accomplish the Password Rotation for GSMUSER, GSMCATUSER, GSMROOTUSER", Knowledge Base KB782475 /My Oracle Support Doc ID 3052933.1.