Re: user password replicated?

From: Mark Bole <makbo_at_pacbell.net>
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 17:58:01 GMT
Message-ID: <IAF2d.16860$QJ3.5846@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com>

Michaele James wrote:
> We do not dictate to our clients what they can and can't use as far as the
> type of replication and/or the platform. We give no administrative support
> beyond what is necessary to run our software which is not much beyond
> security and view set up.
>
> I can tell you they must be on 8.1.x or higher.
>
> I would think any of them that are using replication would be using advanced
> replication. I thought I was asking a generic yes/no question, but I can
> see it is not that simple.
>
> Our enhancement request is to allow users to change their own password and
> have that password also replicate to any replicated servers. Our software
> uses a SQL Server or Oracle database. SQL does not on it's own replicate
> the users and so it certainly doesn't relicate the passwords. We know that
> in SQL we will have to programatically change the password on each database
> and were trying to determine if we had to do the same in Oracle or if it
> would handle it as part of the replication.
>
> Thank You for your time.
> Michaele James
>
> "Mark Bole" <makbo_at_pacbell.net> wrote in message
> news:F3M1d.15691$QJ3.13615_at_newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...
>

>>Michaele James wrote:
>>
>>
>>>We are investigating a software enhancement request and need to know if a 
>>>database is replicated to a different Server and the password is changed 
>>>for a user on database A that is also a user on database B will that 
>>>password "replicate" over to database B or does it need to be changed on 
>>>database B as well.
>>>
>>>Thanks
>>
>>Replication in what sense?   Streams, Data Guard, export/import, RMAN 
>>clone, Advanced Replication?
>>
>>Version, platform, any other details would also help elicit a good reply. 
>>Testing your case should be pretty simple.
>>
>>--Mark Bole
>>

>
>
>

"Replication" as you seem to be using it is a generic term, while in Oracle there are a variety of ways to copy some or all of a database to another database on a regular basis.

Passwords are stored in tables, the Oracle login password is stored in a system (dictionary) table DBA_USERS. So the question becomes, is that system table "replicated"?

Advanced Replication (an Oracle technology that, while supported, is destined to be supplanted by Streams) is applied to tables you create and choose, not dictionary tables (I wouldn't even think to try it). So the password would not be replicated in this case. Physical backups, such as RMAN or Data Guard physical standby, will be an exact image of the source, so they *will* copy the password. The other methods (Streams, logical standby, exp/imp) may or many not update DBA_USERS, depending on how you've configured them.

However, since you're trying to come up with something portable across SQL Server and Oracle, and you already have to programmatically change a user's login password in the former, then I'd recommend just doing it the same way in Oracle too and avoid supporting two different ways to do the same thing.

--Mark Bole Received on Fri Sep 17 2004 - 12:58:01 CDT