February 2, 2004

Account Coordinators—Did You Create "Non-MVS" Initials on the Old South System?

If you are an account official for an NIH account who used Web Sponsor before the South System was decommissioned on January 12, 2004, you may have created a set of "non-MVS" initials. Non-MVS initials were used solely for acquiring Helix, ALW, Parachute, or VPN accounts. They began with a digit rather than a letter and could not be used to access any OS/390 service. Since January 12, initials—including non-MVS initials—are no longer used on Titan (OS/390) or in Web Sponsor.

By January 12, all South System account/initials had been converted to 7 character USERids of the format aaaaiii (where aaaa = account and iii = initials). During this conversion, non-MVS initials became "restricted" Titan USERids of the form aaaaiii (e.g., initials 3AI and account AAAA became restricted USERid AAAA3AI). The USERids are restricted in that a valid password has not been set, and they cannot access Interactive TSO on Titan.

How to Allow Access for These USERids

As a sponsor you can now allow the owners of these USERids to access services such as SILK, the ADB, and the Data Warehouse by using Web Sponsor to reset passwords. If you also wish the USERid to have access to Interactive TSO—in Web Sponsor under "Security," use the "Change Password Expiration" link, and choose "Expire After 180 days." This will establish the necessary security and data-set environment for the specified USERid. If the password is not reset, the USERid will be unusable for Titan services.

If you have questions, please call TASC at 301-594-6248, and ask to speak to a Titan consultant.