The and files contain authentication information about the client and the broker respectively.

By default, the clientConnect.conf and brokerConnect.conf files are located in the BASEDIR/smarts/conf directory. The sm_edit utility saves changes to the file in BASEDIR/smarts/local/conf and does not modify the original version of the file.

Note: The Broker only uses brokerConnect.conf to send authentication to other processes so that it can ping them.

Format of a record in clientConnect.conf or brokerConnect.conf

<login user>:<target>:<ITOps username>:<password>

Field description of parameters in clientConnect.conf and brokerConnect.conf

Table 1. Field descriptions for clientConnect.conf
Field Definition Value
<login user> System login name of the person or process attempting a connection. Can be a matching pattern with wildcards.
<target> Name of the server to which the client is trying to connect.

Can be a matching pattern with wildcards or one of the following special values:

  • <BROKER> indicates that this record applies only to the Broker.
  • ~<BROKER> indicates this record applies to all servers except the Broker.
<Smart Assurance username> Username that is sent to the server for authentication.

Can be a username or one of the following special values:

  • <USERNAME> indicates that the username under which the current process is logged in, is sent as the Smart Assurance username.
  • <PROMPT> indicates that the client program asks the user to provide an Smart Assurance username.
  • <AUTO> is provided for site-specific credentials.
  • <DEFAULT> mimics legacy client authentication.
<password> Password that is sent to the server for authentication.

Can be a password or one of the following special values:

  • <PROMPT> indicates that the client program asks the user to provide a password.
  • <AUTO> is provided for site-specific credentials.
  • <DEFAULT> mimics legacy client authentication.
Note: A Smart Assurance program runs under the login name of the user who started it. This can have the following implications:
  • A user account must provide sufficient privileges for the program to function properly. For example, a Manager may need to run with root privileges because it sends ICMP pings or receives SNMP traps.
  • The Smart Assurance Broker listens on port 426 by default.
    Note: A process, without being root, can connect to a process listening on a port below 1024.
  • A user’s system login name must correspond to an Smart Assurance username in the clientConnect.conf file or an Smart Assurance username and password will not be sent to a server for authentication. In the clientConnect.conf record, a user’s login name and Smart Assurance username do not have to be identical.