1.0 Overview
2. Enterprise
Concepts
2.1
Domain
Administrator
2.2
Global
Complex Objects
2.3
Level
2 Security
2.4
Vault
Control
3. Using
the Enterprise Edition
3.1
The
Vault
3.2
The
Administration Window
3.3
Group
Attributes
3.3.1 Files
3.3.2 Policies
3.4 User
Attributes
Intended
Audience
This document is intended
for use by licensed customers of Alpha Software Express' ExpressDesigner.
It contains information required for creating and using the Enterprise
Edition. Users must be licensed to use the Enterprise Edition of the product.
This document also assumes the reader is familiar with the general concepts
of ExpressDesigner and has read
the Basic User's Guide, Guide
to Complex Objects and the Guide to Security.
© 2002, 2003
Alpha Software Express, LLC - San Rafael, CA USA
Send any questions or comments
to: aex@alphase.com
ExpressDesigner refers to this product1.0 Overview
BDI refers to the Basic Designer Interface
CDI refers to the Complex Designer Interface
Text in This Type refers to on screen buttons
Text in This Type refers to top level menu items
Text in This Type refers to specific menu selections, or input field labels
Text in This Type refers to file names
Text in This Type refers to data entered into the user's CLI
The Domain Administrator should also understand the basic protections afforded by the platforms' underlying file system. One reason for this is that the user/token administration file, is actually a set of two related files; a public one and a private one. The private one, referred to as the Name File, maintains users and passwords. The public file, known as the Admin File, contains encrypted information, but must be readable by all the users in the domain. In addition to the protection scheme implemented by ExpressDesigner, documents in the vault may be further restricted by assigning protections in the platform's native file system.
2.2 Global
Complex Objects
Global COs are intended to define
those special objects that are used by many departments across an enterprise.
There can be up to 16,712,702 objects defined as enterprise-wide, or Global.
The only restriction is they must all stem from the same Lineage File,
which must be accessible from all the platforms within the domain. See
Advanced Features for information on
how to alter the Global Lineage File.
2.3 Level
2 Security
Like Level 1, Level 2 security uses
tokens to assign specific privileges to both users and objects. Also
like Level 1, files are encrypted and can only be read by a valid user
from within ExpressDesigner.
Unlike Level 1 files, however, these secured files are not portable. All
the user and token assignments used within the domain are contained in
2 independent files controlled by the Domain
Administrator.
In addition, Level 2 security implements a set default privileges assignable for each user. These privileges are designed to restrict the user regardless of the other privileges granted by the tokens assigned to him/her. For example, if a given user - say Bart - is assigned several tokens, that together give him Vault Delete privilege on a specific document, he will still not be granted it, unless it is also checked on his Default Privilege List. In this way you can restrict a suspect user without having to change the set of existing tokens, or create and assign a new set to the suspect user.
2.4
Vault Control
The Domain
Administrator declares a vault
by specifying a top level directory, and optionally sub-directories, under
which all of the drawings reside in their checked-in state. When checked-in
under this directory, they can only be read by a valid domain user. Other
users who may have have read permission on the domain's platform can, of
course, see the files and try read them with other text editing tools,
but they can never understand its contents.
Drawings in this vault can be checked-out
by one, and only one, suitably privileged user at a time. During this checked-out
period, other users will be limited to a view only version of the original
document. Table 2-1 describes the vault privileges.
Privilege | Function |
Move | Allows the vaulted document to be moved outside the vault |
Insert | Allows the un-vaulted document to be inserted into the vault |
Delete | Allows the document to be removed from the vault |
ReSecure | Allows the vaulted document to be moved to a different vault |
3. Using
the Enterprise Edition
3.1 The
Vault
The Domain
Administrator should begin by
creating a top level directory to hold all the documents within the domain.
Sub directories may also be created and used freely according to the Domain
Administrator's plan for document
control. This top level directory must also be accessible by all the users
that will be assigned to the domain. Next he/she should create, or modify,
a separate directory so it is accessible by no one else. This is
where the Name File should reside. Name and Admin files can only be modified
by the Domain Administrator.
In order for a given user to check out a document from the vault, the Domain Administrator must have first created a sub directory directly under the domain's top level directory for that specific user's use. Therefore, the user must also have read/write access to it in the platform's underlying file system. The user must also have both the View and Update Document privilege on the document being checked out. When a document is checked out, the file is copied to the user's sub directory with a different document ID. The original document's ID is also changed and all its objects are given only View permissions, so other users cannot change anything.
When a user has finished making changes to a checked-out document, it can be checked back in from the file menu of the BDI or CDI.
3.2 The
Administration Window
Once you've decided on a top level
directory and location for the Name File, access the administration window,
via:
java
com.alphase.aex.Admin
The Enterprise Administration window, shown in figure 3-1, is fairly complex, but note that it is broken into two sections: Group Attributes and User Attributes. To avoid confusion, in the event a Domain Administrator has of multiple domains, the colors for each section can be changed independently via the Options menu.
Next, go to the Security menu and select the Login... option. Notice this log in window is simpler than the others in ExpressDesigner. That's because there are no security level choices or administration file to be entered here. Just enter the administrator's Username and Password.
3.3 Group
Attributes
3.3.1 Files
At this point only the Name
File: input field and Load and Browse...
buttons are enabled. If your accessing an existing name/admin file pair,
just enter a Name File in the input field and click on the Load
button, or click on the Browse... button to find your Name
File.
If your creating a new domain, select New... under the File menu and all the required functions will be enabled for input.
Assuming a new file, the next step is to enter, or Browse... to find, a Top Level Directory and an Admin File. Although the Admin File can be located anywhere, it is recommended that you create it within the Top Level Directory to avoid future confusion.
3.3.2 Policies
The bottom two rows of the top section
(figure 3-2) allow the administrator to modify
policies that can be applied to the domain.
The first row describes how Hard Doc Privileges will be interpreted within the domain - see table 3-1. You must choose one of the four options shown.
Option | Description |
Ignore | Do not consider Hard Document Privileges at all |
Override All | Use Hard Document Privileges only. Do not consider tokens. |
Minimize | Only grant those privileges that are specified by both the Hard Document Privilege and the user / object token combination. This is the default. |
Maximize | Grant privileges that are specified by either the Hard Document Privilege or the user / object token combination. |
The second row contains miscellaneous policies, which are all optional - see table 3-2.
Option | Description |
Allow Checkout | If selected, allow all
the users in the domain, the ability to check out documents even if they
were not otherwise granted that privilege.
If not selected, checkout ability is determined by the user's granted privileges. |
Grant File Owner | If selected, allow the
users in the domain, to add all privileges to the Hard Doc Priv list, regardless
of whether or not the user was assigned such privileges in the first place.
If not selected, users cannot specify hard doc privileges that were not already assigned to them. |
Grant Object Ownership | If selected, change
the ownership of any copied object to the current user.
If not selected, the owner of the copied object is the same as the original owner. |
Import Ownership | If selected, alter the
owner of any imported objects to the importer.
If not selected, imported object ownership remains unchanged. |
3.4 User
Attributes
The adding of users and tokens,
and assignment thereof, works exactly as it does in the Level 1 security
model (see Drawing Security). The only exception
is that these will be set for the entire domain, not just for a single
file.
In the Enterprise Edition you can also assign default privileges for each user. These are OR'ed with the other privileges to allow yet another degree of flexibility.
© 2002, 2003 Alpha
Software Express, LLC.
All rights reserved.