MobiLink Synchronization User's Guide
Authenticating MobiLink Users
Ordinarily, each MobiLink client must provide a valid MobiLink user name and password to connect to a MobiLink synchronization server.
Setting the -zu+ option when you start the MobiLink synchronization server allows the MobiLink synchronization server to automatically add new user names to the ml_user table according to the following rules.
In effect, this option permits new users to create their own MobiLink accounts, easing administration of new users. This arrangement can be convenient when the server and clients all operate within a firewall.
If a MobiLink client synchronizes with a user name that is not in the current ml_user table, MobiLink, by default, takes the following actions:
New user, no password If the user supplied no password, then by default the user name is added to the ml_user table with a NULL password. This behavior provides compatibility with earlier releases of MobiLink that did not allow user authentication.
For more information, see -zu option.
New user, password If the user supplies a password, then the user name and password are both added to the ml_user table and the new user name becomes a recognized name in your MobiLink system.
New user, new password A new user may provide information in the new password field, instead of or as well as in the password field. In either case, the new password setting overrides the password setting, and the new user is added to the MobiLink system using the new password.
You can change the default behavior by starting the MobiLink synchronization server using the -zu option. In this case, the MobiLink synchronization server rejects any attempt to synchronize from a user name that is not present in the ml_user table.
This setting provides two benefits. First, it reduces the risk of unauthorized access to the MobiLink synchronization server. Second, it prevents authorized users from accidentally connecting using an incorrect or misspelled user name. Such accidents should be avoided because they can cause the MobiLink system to behave in unpredictable ways.