Expiring Password for AS400 User Profiles

For customers who utilize m-Power over an AS/400 database, mrc recommends utilizing a JDBC username that is set to have a password that does not expire. However, certain organizations do not permit this option.

When a password is nearing its expiration date, the AS/400 is designed to prompt the user to update his or her password. However, the AS/400, by default, is unaware if a user is connecting via a terminal connection or via a JDBC connection. The issue is that a JDBC connection is unmonitored and does not support prompted interaction.

m-Power will attempt to run an application (whether that is a run-time application or the m-Power interface), and while it is trying to connect to the database, the AS/400 is awaiting a response for your updated password credentials. In the end, it appears that your system is simply unresponsive and has hung.

However, there is a JDBC connection property that will solve the problem.  This property is called “prompt” and setting it to false will bypass these expire issues.  To do so, add “property=false” to your JDBC connection property string.

When sign-on security is enabled for generated apps, if the app is authenticated by the AS400 user profile, modify the correct JDBC connection in this file:
/m-power/mrcjava/WEB-INF/classes/mrc-spring-context.xml
to append the property:

;prompt=false

When logging onto the m-Power interface, set this file:
/m-power/proddata/conf/db2_toolbox_driver.properties
with:

connection_properties=translate binary\=true;naming\=system;prompt\=false

If your main m-Power user’s password expires, then also change file:
/m-power/mrcwebgui/WEB-INF/classes/mrc-spring-context.xml
to append the property:

;prompt=false

Note: It is strongly recommended to set your main m-Power user’s password to never expire.