WinCC Flex Password - Urgent!!

Hi everyone,

I've a MP277 10" touch installed, most of the fields can only be changed by an Administrator user, the thing is that when I downloaded the program to the MP everything worked fine, I was able to enter, log-in an modify everything, but since yesterday I'm not able, as if someone changed the password, only that that's not possible since I'm the only one who knows how to do it, an I'm the only one with the WinCCFlex software.

I already checked the Users, Users Group, etc. and everything is fine, what could be happening???



Juan

Someone messed with the panel when you were away.
3 failed attempts at logging in kills that user ! For good !
If you dont have an additional administrator password, then you have to download the project to the panel again. Or restore it from a backup on a flash card.

Apart from that, heed this when using passwords with WinCC Flexible:
1. Create at least one administrator only for the customer, in addition to the fixed ADMIN.
2. Create at least one normal user for the customer.
3. Never tell the customer your ADMIN password.
4. Add two buttons for importing and exporting the passwords to a flashcard. The button for importing must not be password protected (!), but it can be activated with hide/show from another button so you can get a confirm/esc functionality. There must be a flashcard in the panel ! Dont use the backup_to_flashcard function without there being a flashcard in the panel, as it will mess up the registry on the panel !
5. Backup the entire panel to a the flashcard (and leave it in the panel !). If all else fails, the customer can then read in the entire project again.

Thanks a lot Jesper.

I'll take all that stuff in consideration.


Juan

Hey, and is there any way of disabling that function that kills the user??, or at least to increment the fails before it kills the user??


Juan

No and no.
It is a stupid decision by Siemens that it shall work this way.
I think it has been put in the wish list for WinCC Flexible.

I saw an action for a button "Export/Import User Administration", as I understand an Import can averwrite all users.

So I was thinking on letting the users with "user log in" (also with password) the ability to change the fields, and that the administrator user can be able to click on that "import user administration" button and restore all users when one of them goes dead.

I assume that's possible but how does the "export/import user administration" works if I don't have a sorage card mmc???


Juan

[..]that the administrator user can be able to click on that "import user administration" button and restore all users when one of them goes dead.

Click to expand...

If the adminsitrator is one of the dead users, how can you then login to restore the users ? That is a catch-22. Look what I wrote before.

I assume that's possible but how does the "export/import user administration" works if I don't have a sorage card mmc???

Click to expand...

Like I wrote before, you MUST have a flashcard in the panel.

What I'll do is create a screen that only administration users can enter, and on that screen put a User View, where I can restore Users accounts without having to transfer the whole proyect to the panel again.

Thanks for everything.


Juan

PD - Still thinking how to have an "historical" of a text list, without having a MMC card, maybe treating it like alarms or something....

juanmdx said:

What I'll do is create a screen that only administration users can enter, and on that screen put a User View, where I can restore Users accounts without having to transfer the whole proyect to the panel again.

Click to expand...

It seems that I am not getting through with the message. Oh well.

juanmdx said:

Still thinking how to have an "historical" of a text list, without having a MMC card, maybe treating it like alarms or something....

Click to expand...

The alarm log will stay remanent (because of supercap I think). Any other kind of remanent logging will require an MMC card. Why bother to save an MMC card ??

I did get the message that I need an MMC storage device to be able to import the users and stuff when the kill them, but they don't want to buy the card (even it's not expensive), so I modified all the fields, before only Admin users were able to modified them, now all logged users can, so nobodie but me and a supervisor have Administrator User, so I think that with the User View screen would do..., of course that whenever someonen kills my user or the supervisors one I should go and transfer the whole proyect again...

But thanks a lot, I will also keep pushing them to buy an MMC

I had TP 170B touch panel minus flash......

The password on the project was lost after three unsuccessful attempt. Customer pulled off the 24 DC power of panel and then re plugged in.
Then on entering right password he was able to access password protected screens.
I gave a try to this myself and found it to be true.

Just tested it on a PC RT.
After 3 failed logons and blocked user, the user is still blocked after restart.
Will check again on a panel when I get the chance.

juanmdx said:

I did get the message that I need an MMC storage device to be able to import the users and stuff when the kill them, but they don't want to buy the card (even it's not expensive), so I modified all the fields, before only Admin users were able to modified them, now all logged users can, so nobodie but me and a supervisor have Administrator User, so I think that with the User View screen would do..., of course that whenever someonen kills my user or the supervisors one I should go and transfer the whole proyect again...

But thanks a lot, I will also keep pushing them to buy an MMC

Click to expand...

You can create different user levels and use these levels to prevent people from from tampering with the settings.
We only use the Admin user for access to the UserView and to stop the RT. After logging in as the Admin I usually log in with other login. This because when the authorisation pop-up appears it holds the name of the last login. For the operators this makes it very easy to kill the user.

manmeetvirdi said:

I had TP 170B touch panel minus flash......

The password on the project was lost after three unsuccessful attempt. Customer pulled off the 24 DC power of panel and then re plugged in.
Then on entering right password he was able to access password protected screens.
I gave a try to this myself and found it to be true.

Click to expand...

You can try this on many panels, and on many it'll work, but not on all of them. Have panels on which it never worked, have panels on which it worked the first few times, have panels on which it still works. (btw all our panels are OP270)
But just to be save, all panels now have a user view.

Now I have done a test on an OP177B.
And on this one, the blocked user becomes unblocked after a restart.
So there is a significant difference between a PC RT and a panel (at least OP177B).

What puzzles me is that I have repeatedly had to reenable users on other OP177B panels. Maybe there is a difference with the version of the RT. Siemens hasnt stated anything about this. If they had I would have made a note about it.