User accounts are used in the CommCell to perform various operations, for example, backup, network security, and protecting media. By default, user accounts and passwords are established during the initial installation or configuration of the respective CommCell component.
Commvault software uses two types of user accounts:
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CommCell User Accounts: The software utilizes the SHA-256 one-way hashing algorithm to secure the passwords for these accounts and stores only the hashed versions. However, the software does not store the passwords of Active Directory users.
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Application User Accounts: The software uses AES-256 to encrypt the passwords of these accounts. Optionally, you can use a key management server including passphrase key management server to protect the encryption key used for encrypting passwords. For instructions to configure a key management server, see Configuring a Key Management Server to Secure the Passwords of Application User Accounts.
These user accounts are easily managed from the CommCell Console. This is useful in the following scenarios:
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If you have an aging policy for passwords, you can change the password for an existing user.
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If you need to update the user accounts of a former user for a new user (for example, a new administrator using the accounts of a former administrator).