How to set "authentication phrase"?

[-AC-]

Hi,

I have a "Network Management Card 3" (AP9641) that I'm trying to configure with PowerChute Network Shutdown.

Each server configured with PCNS expects an "Authentication phrase" to be specified. The only place I can find to set this is in the management card's Configuration > Shutdown page. The authentication phrase text box on that page is currently empty, which according to the manual it should be by default. If I enter a new phrase in there, I see an error stating that the phrase has been entered incorrectly and that it needs to be set before I can enable HTTPS. So it seems like a phrase is already set, despite the manual stating it should be unset by default.

This is a brand new management card and UPS. So what am I doing wrong? The manual is very unclear.

Thanks.

[-AC-]

I think I've figured out the issue. The authentication phrase is supposed to be between 15 and 32 characters. If you try to use below 15, the management card web interface just tells you the phrase is incorrect, rather than actually telling you that the phrase is too short. That's really bad.

I then discovered that the password set on the local user that you use with PCNS must contain at lease one special character. The management card web interface allows you to set a password without any special characters. So that allows you to create a user that's incompatible. Again, that's very bad.

So the management card web interface and associated manual are poorly written. The PCNS web interface and manual are much better.

Hopefully this helps someone else in the future.

[LarryK]

@-AC-thanks for mentioning that.  I ran into this problem a few weeks ago and didn't think to document it.

You might want to mark your response as the solution to really help others!

[BillP]

@-AC- 

Sorry for the delayed reply. We have FAQ FA159659 that discusses the authentication phrase, along with username and password requirements. The same information is also found in the PowerChute User's Guide. 

NOTE: There used to be a default authentication phrase of admin user phrase; however, that has been discontinued for security.