mvBase System Security

Administrators often implement computer and network security in layers that entail both physical and electronic controls. Such layers might include:

Physical security, in which physical access to computers and networks is controlled with locked doors, locked computer systems, etc.
Firewalls, which control, authenticate and route traffic on the network.
System-level security, in which electronic access to system resources is controlled, user authentication is maintained, and allowable user actions are defined within specific systems on the network.
Application-level security, in which additional security tools or strategies might be available via features within a specific application.

This section describes certain methods that you can use to implement system-level and application-level security both from Windows and from mvBase.

Windows Security Functions

Windows performs these security-related tasks:

Defines initial electronic (virtual) access on the network according to user logon IDs and passwords on domains that recognize both.
Defines user rights (allowable actions) once the user is logged onto the network. Such rights may be associated with individuals or groups of users.
Establishes permissions associated with objects on the network (such as files, directories and printers).

MultiValue Security Functions

The mvBase/MultiValue environment performs these security-related tasks:

Allows the creation of accounts that hold logically-related data.
Allows for the creation and use of passwords in addition to those implemented with Windows.
Defines the allowable tasks for user accounts.
Offers reports or files that allow for tracking of user account activity.

Implementing and managing these combined Windows and MultiValue security methods is one of the jobs of the system administrator.

This section provides general guidelines and considerations when configuring security when mvBase is installed on Windows. Note that the administrator should see their Microsoft (or other third party) documentation for detailed description and understanding of the Windows Operating Systems and their security methods.

In order to elaborate upon these Windows and MultiValue security functions, and to assist you in implementing one or more of them, this section covers the following topics:

mvBase on the Windows Network	Describes mvBase security on the Windows network.
Implementing Windows Security	Describes those considerations or tasks that are available from within Windows when implementing mvBase security.
Implementing MultiValue Security	Describes options from within the MultiValue environment that help you to use account definition items, account passwords and other tools available within the MultiValue environment.