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1=head1 NAME
2
3kas - Introduction to the kas command suite
4
5=head1 DESCRIPTION
6
7The commands in the B<kas> command suite are the administrative interface
8to the Authentication Server, an obsolete AFS server process that
9maintains the Authentication Database and provides the authentication
10tickets that client applications must present to AFS servers in order to
11obtain access to AFS data and other services. It is used only for cells
12still running the Authentication Server until they can migrate to a
13Kerberos version 5 KDC.
14
15There are several categories of commands in the B<kas> command suite:
16
17=over 4
18
19=item *
20
21Commands to create, modify, examine and delete entries in the
22Authentication Database, including passwords:
23L<B<kas create>|kas_create(8)>,
24L<B<kas delete>|kas_delete(8)>,
25L<B<kas examine>|kas_examine(8)>,
26L<B<kas list>|kas_list(8)>,
27L<B<kas setfields>|kas_setfields(8)>,
28L<B<kas setkey>|kas_setkey(8)>,
29L<B<kas setpassword>|kas_setpassword(8)>,
30and L<B<kas unlock>|kas_unlock(8)>.
31
32=item *
33
34Commands to create, delete, and examine tokens and server tickets:
35L<B<kas forgetticket>|kas_forgetticket(8)>,
36L<B<kas listtickets>|kas_listtickets(8)>,
37L<B<kas noauthentication>|kas_noauthentication(8)>,
38and L<B<kas stringtokey>|kas_stringtokey(8)>.
39
40=item *
41
42A command to enter interactive mode:
43L<B<kas interactive>|kas_interactive(8)>.
44
45=item *
46
47A command to trace Authentication Server operations:
48L<B<kas statistics>|kas_statistics(8)>.
49
50=item *
51
52Commands to obtain help:
53L<B<kas apropos>|kas_apropos(8)>
54and L<B<kas help>|kas_help(8)>.
55
56=item *
57
58A command to display the OpenAFS command suite version: B<kas version>.
59
60=back
61
62Because of the sensitivity of information in the Authentication Database,
63the Authentication Server authenticates issuers of B<kas> commands
64directly, rather than accepting the standard token generated by the Ticket
65Granting Service. Any B<kas> command that requires administrative
66privilege prompts the issuer for a password. The resulting ticket is valid
67for six hours unless the maximum ticket lifetime for the issuer or the
68Authentication Server's Ticket Granting Service is shorter.
69
70To avoid having to provide a password repeatedly when issuing a sequence
71of B<kas> commands, enter I<interactive mode> by issuing the B<kas
72interactive> command, typing B<kas> without any operation code, or typing
73B<kas> followed by a user and cell name, separated by an at-sign (C<@>; an
74example is C<kas smith.admin@example.com>). After prompting once for a
75password, the Authentication Server accepts the resulting token for every
76command issued during the interactive session. See L<kas_interactive(8)>
77for a discussion of when to use each method for entering interactive mode
78and of the effects of entering a session.
79
80The Authentication Server maintains two databases on the local disk of the
81machine where it runs:
82
83=over 4
84
85=item *
86
87The Authentication Database (F</usr/afs/db/kaserver.DB0>) stores the
88information used to provide AFS authentication services to users and
89servers, including the password scrambled as an encryption key. The
90reference page for the B<kas examine> command describes the information in
91a database entry.
92
93=item *
94
95An auxiliary file (F</usr/afs/local/kaauxdb> by default) that tracks how
96often the user has provided an incorrect password to the local
97Authentication Server. The reference page for the B<kas setfields> command
98describes how the Authentication Server uses this file to enforce the
99limit on consecutive authentication failures. To designate an alternate
100directory for the file, use the B<kaserver> command's B<-localfiles>
101argument.
102
103=back
104
105=head1 CAUTIONS
106
107The B<kas> command suite is provided only for administration of the
108obsolete Authentication Server for cells that have not yet migrated to a
109Kerberos version 5 KDC. New deployments should not use the Authentication
110Server, and it and the B<kas> command suite will be removed in a future
111version of OpenAFS.
112
113=head1 OPTIONS
114
115The following arguments and flags are available on many commands in the
116B<kas> suite. (Some of them are unavailable on commands entered in
117interactive mode, because the information they specify is established when
118entering interactive mode and cannot be changed except by leaving
119interactive mode.) The reference page for each command also lists them,
120but they are described here in greater detail.
121
122=over 4
123
124=item B<-admin_username> <I<user name>>
125
126Specifies the user identity under which to authenticate with the
127Authentication Server for execution of the command. If this argument is
128omitted, the B<kas> command interpreter requests authentication for the
129identity under which the issuer is logged onto the local machine. Do not
130combine this argument with the B<-noauth> flag.
131
132=item B<-cell> <I<cell name>>
133
134Names the cell in which to run the command. It is acceptable to abbreviate
135the cell name to the shortest form that distinguishes it from the other
136entries in the F</usr/vice/etc/CellServDB> file on the local machine. If
137the B<-cell> argument is omitted, the command interpreter determines the
138name of the local cell by reading the following in order:
139
140=over 4
141
142=item *
143
144The value of the AFSCELL environment variable.
145
146=item *
147
148The local F</usr/vice/etc/ThisCell> file.
149
150=back
151
152The B<-cell> argument is not available on commands issued in interactive
153mode. The cell defined when the B<kas> command interpreter enters
154interactive mode applies to all commands issued during the interactive
155session.
156
157=item B<-help>
158
159Prints a command's online help message on the standard output stream. Do
160not combine this flag with any of the command's other options; when it is
161provided, the command interpreter ignores all other options, and only
162prints the help message.
163
164=item B<-noauth>
165
166Establishes an unauthenticated connection to the Authentication Server, in
167which the Authentication Server treats the issuer as the unprivileged user
168C<anonymous>. It is useful only when authorization checking is disabled on
169the server machine (during the installation of a server machine or when
170the B<bos setauth> command has been used during other unusual
171circumstances). In normal circumstances, the Authentication Server allows
172only privileged users to issue most B<kas> commands, and refuses to
173perform such an action even if the B<-noauth> flag is provided. Do not
174combine this flag with the B<-admin_username> and B<-password_for_admin>
175arguments.
176
177=item B<-password_for_admin> <I<password>>
178
179Specifies the password of the command's issuer. It is best to omit this
180argument, which echoes the password visibly in the command shell, instead
181enter the password at the prompt. Do not combine this argument with the
182B<-noauth> flag.
183
184=item B<-servers> <I<machine name>>+
185
186Establishes a connection with the Authentication Server running on each
187specified database server machine, instead of on each machine listed in
188the local F</usr/vice/etc/CellServDB> file. In either case, the B<kas>
189command interpreter then chooses one of the machines at random to contact
190for execution of each subsequent command. The issuer can abbreviate the
191machine name to the shortest form that allows the local name service to
192identify it uniquely.
193
194=back
195
196=head1 PRIVILEGE REQUIRED
197
198To issue most kas commands, the issuer must have the C<ADMIN> flag set in
199his or her Authentication Database entry (use the B<kas setfields> command
200to turn the flag on).
201
202=head1 SEE ALSO
203
204L<CellServDB(5)>,
205L<kaserver.DB0(5)>,
206L<kaserverauxdb(5)>,
207L<kas_apropos(8)>,
208L<kas_create(8)>,
209L<kas_delete(8)>,
210L<kas_examine(8)>,
211L<kas_forgetticket(8)>,
212L<kas_help(8)>,
213L<kas_interactive(8)>,
214L<kas_list(8)>,
215L<kas_listtickets(8)>,
216L<kas_noauthentication(8)>,
217L<kas_quit(8)>,
218L<kas_setfields(8)>,
219L<kas_setpassword(8)>,
220L<kas_statistics(8)>,
221L<kas_stringtokey(8)>,
222L<kas_unlock(8)>,
223L<kaserver(8)>
224
225=head1 COPYRIGHT
226
227IBM Corporation 2000. <http://www.ibm.com/> All Rights Reserved.
228
229This documentation is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0. It was
230converted from HTML to POD by software written by Chas Williams and Russ
231Allbery, based on work by Alf Wachsmann and Elizabeth Cassell.