User Name Alias introduction

A User Name Alias is a secondary account name associated with a user and is used only for authentication purposes. The user's primary account name (the login name entered into the User Name field of the Login dialog box of BMC Remedy AR System clients) is used for all other purposes. If a User Name Alias is defined, the BMC Remedy AR System server uses it to authenticate the user and password.

The User Name Alias is applicable in the following situations:

• When you want the user's full name to be used as the BMC Remedy AR System login instead of the user's computer account name. The system uses the alias when authenticating the user.

• When a user's name changes, the user can use the new name to log in to BMC Remedy AR System but continue to use the same computer account name for authentication purposes.

• When a user's computer account or domain name is subject to changes. Leveraging an alias enables the user to continue using the same user name to log in throughout the changes

Configuring the User Name Alias

To configure a User Name Alias, add a character field to the User form in BMC Remedy Developer Studio and name it Authentication Login Name. Set the field's properties as follows:

You can set any permissions, including whether the values are optional or required. You can also create workflow to populate and validate the values in this field.

The information in the Authentication Login Name field is accessed when the user logs in to a BMC Remedy AR System client and the following conditions apply:

• Cross-Reference Blank Password is configured on the BMC Remedy AR System server (see Cross-referencing blank passwords).
• The Password field on the User form is empty.
• One of the following external authentication methods is used:
  • An AREA plug-in
  • A Windows Domain server (when the BMC Remedy AR System server is running on a Windows platform)
  • A UNIX password resolution (when the BMC Remedy AR System server is running on a UNIX platform)
• The Authentication Login Name field on the User form interacts with the User Namefield in the Login dialog box according to the following rules:
  • If the Authentication Login Name field is present on the User form, the value contained in this field is used for authentication instead of the name entered in the User Name field in the Login dialog box.

  • For backwards compatibility, if the Authentication Login Name field is not present on the User form or the value in this field is NULL, the user is authenticated with the information entered in the User Name field in the Login dialog box.

    Note

    • On the LDAP server, the values in the  Authentication Alias Name field and the User Login Name field must be the same.
    • To log in to Remedy AR System;
      • you must use the value of the Login Name field on the User form.
      • you must use the password that you have set for the Authentication Alias Name field on the LDAP server.

These rules apply to all BMC Remedy AR System clients, including those accessing a BMC Remedy AR System server by using C or Java APIs.