How do we reset the platform administrator's password if it is lost or forgotten ?

If the platform administrator's password is lost, the following procedure can be used to clear the password.

1. Reboot the System Controller (SC). You won't be able to do this by logging into the platform shell. You'll need to hit the reset button on the SC to do this.

2. The normal sequence of a System Controller rebooting is for SCPOST to run, then ScApp. You'll need to wait for ScApp to start loading, then hit Control-A to spawn a vxWorks shell. SCPOST is done running when you see the message 'POST Complete'. At this point, ScApp will begin to load. When you see the copyright message 'Copyright 2001 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.', Hit CONTROL-A. You should see the following:

Task not found

spawning new shell.

->

This last line is the vxWorks prompt. Keep in mind, that ScApp will still continue to load all the way to the point of giving you the menu to enter the platform/domain shells. To make it less confusing, wait for the ScApp menu to display on your screen, then hit return. You should see the vxWorks prompt -> again.

3. Make a note of the current boot flags settings. This will be used to restore the boot flags to the original value.

-> getBootFlags()

value = 48 = 0xC = '0'

* Save the 0x number for # 7 below.

4. Change the boot flags to disable autoboot.

-> setBootFlags (0x10)

5. Reboot the System Controller. Once reset, it will stop at the -> prompt.

Use CONTROL-X or the reboot command to do this.

6. Enter the following commands at the -> prompt.

-> kernelTimeSlice 5

-> javaConfig

-> javaClassPathSet "/sc/flash/lib/scapp.jar:/sc/flash/lib/jdmkrt.jar"

-> javaLoadLibraryPathSet "/sc/flash"

-> java "-Djava.compiler=NONE -Dline.separator=\r\n sun.serengeti.cli.Password"

Wait for the following System Controller messages to display. Your prompt will come back right away, but it'll take about 10 seconds for these messages to show up:

Clearing SC Platform password...

Done. Reboot System Controller.

7. After the above messages are displayed, restore the bootflags to the original value using the setBootFlags() command.

-> setBootFlags (0xC)

* Use the value returned from #3 above.

8. Reboot the System Controller using CONTROL-X or the reboot command. Once rebooted, the platform administrator's password will be cleared.

This procedure works with firmware version 5.11.3 and higher.

Author: William King/John Cecere