HP Insight Cluster Management Utility manual Advanced topics, Accessing the GUI for non-root users

7 Advanced topics

7.1 Accessing the GUI for non-root users

HP Insight CMU allows non-root users to log into the GUI and access some or all of the privileged HP Insight CMU functionality available through the GUI. The GUI supports non-root user accounts that exist either as local accounts or as NIS accounts on the HP Insight CMU management node.

The high-level operational goal of this support is to make the HP Insight CMU GUI a graphical extension of logging into the head node. When a non-root user logs into the head node, sudo permission is necessary to perform many HP Insight CMU functions on the command line. Ideally, the GUI should be no different. Thus for example, if user jsmith has sudo permission on the HP Insight CMU head node to run /opt/cmu/bin/cmu_backup on the command line, then he can also log into the GUI and operate the same backup feature. Similarly, if user jsmith does not have sudo permission to run /opt/cmu/bin/cmu_clone, then he cannot run the cloning feature from the GUI.

The /opt/cmu/etc/admins file controls which accounts are allowed to log into the HP Insight CMU GUI. The user accounts granted access to the HP Insight CMU GUI must be listed one per line in this file.

User accounts configured in the /opt/cmu/etc/admins file have all functionality "ungreyed" and accessible in the HP Insight CMU GUI, but only a subset of this functionality works by default. Some of the HP Insight CMU GUI functionality operates as the user who logged in, and some of it operates as the root account. The remainder of the functionality operates successfully only if the user has sudo privileges for each feature. Configuring sudo privileges for the remaining features is descibed below.

Table 3 (page 112) describes which HP Insight CMU features are available by default to a non-root user logged into the GUI. This table also describes which features operate in privileged mode, and which features require sudo privileges.

Table 3 Operational HP Insight CMU GUI features available by default for non-root users

HP Insight CMU feature (top menu bar)	Operational mode
Monitoring→Start Monitoring Engine	root
Monitoring→Stop Monitoring Engine	root
All operations under Cluster Administration	root
HP Insight CMU Feature (right-click node selection)	Operational mode
ssh to CMU Mgmt Node/ssh Connection	user
Management Card Connection	user (requires sudo)
Shutdown	user (requires sudo)
Power Off	user (requires sudo)
Boot	user (requires sudo)
Reboot	user (requires sudo)
Multiple Window Broadcast (ssh)	user
Multiple Window Broadcast (Mgt Card)	user (requires sudo)
Single Window pdsh (cmudiff)	user
pdcp (distributed copy)	root
Backup (Capture Image)	user (requires sudo)

112 Advanced topics