NetWorker: How to reset the Administrator password

Summary: This article provides an overview of how to reset the NetWorker Administrator account password.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
Check out other resources

Instructions

The Administrator password is configured in the NetWorker authentication database. The authentication (authc) server is usually the same as the NetWorker server, but it can manage multiple NetWorker servers from a single host.

Identify the NetWorker server whose authc server NMC uses for authentication if one NMC server manages multiple NetWorker servers. On the NMC server, check the gstd.conf file for the authsvc_hostname.

[root@nmcserver ~]# cat /opt/lgtonmc/etc/gstd.conf | grep hostname
    string authsvc_hostname = "nwserver-a1.amer.lan";
WARNING: Since this procedure resets the central and generic Administrator account for at least one datazone, administrators should avoid its use. AuthC ensures true authentication after NetWorker setup. Configure user accounts or integrate AD/LDAP for traceable NetWorker activities. The Additional Info field on this KB contains links to knowledge resources for integrating AD or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) with NetWorker.

Resetting the administrator password

NOTE: The below process can be used when the existing Administrator password is expired or not known. If the current Administrator password is known and a change is wanted, see: NetWorker: Change Password for Admin or Local User Account.

To reset the administrator password, create a JSON file on the NetWorker server that contains the new password in a Base64 encoded format. This process differs on Linux and Windows operating systems, follow only the procedure for your authentication server's operating system.
Expand the OS-specific instructions regarding your AuthC server's operating system:

Windows Authentication Server: 

How to reset the administrator password when the NetWorker server is on Windows:

This video is also available on YouTube This hyperlink is taking you to a website outside of Dell Technologies..

 

  1. On the authentication server, create a text file and specify the password value in clear text, on one line. For example, create a file that is called mypassword_in.txt. The contents of this file are 1.Password
NOTE: This is the temporary password. This value can be changed from the NetWorker Management Console once the password is set.
WARNING: If you have followed this process previously and used the example password shown in this article (1.Password), the process may fail due to PasswordHistoryCount requirements. If you are not sure, use a different temporary password from the one shown in the article. The Additional Info section contains an article for disabling PasswordHistoryCount, if desired.
  1. Open an admin command prompt in the directory the mypassword_in.txt file was created.
  2. Use the certutil.exe command to create a Base64 encoded password for the password value that is defined in the mypassword_in.txt file. For example:
certutil.exe -encode mypassword_in.txt mypassword_out.txt
  1. The contents of the mypassword_out.txt file should be created containing the base64 encoded value for 1.Password. e.g:
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
MS5QYXNzd29yZA==
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
  1. Create a copy of the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\authc-server\scripts\authc-local-config.json.template file. If NetWorker was installed in another location/drive; adjust the file path accordingly to your install.
  2. In the authc-local-config.json.template.copy file, perform the following steps:

    a. Replace the username variable with Administrator. 
    b. Replace the encoded_password variable with the base64 encoded password value. For example:

    {
"local_users": [
{
"user name": "administrator",
"password": "MS5QYXNzd29yZA=="
}]
}
  3. Rename the authc-local-config.json.template.copy file to authc-local-config.json.
  4. Copy the authc-local-config.json file to the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\authc-server\tomcat\conf\ folder. Again, if NetWorker was installed in another location, you must use your active install path.
  5. From an Administrative command prompt, run the following commands to restart NetWorker.
net stop nsrd
net start nsrd

Linux Authentication Server: 

How to reset the administrator password when the NetWorker server is on Linux:


This video is also available on YouTube This hyperlink is taking you to a website outside of Dell Technologies..

 

  1. On the authentication server, run the following command:
echo -n '1.Password' | base64
NOTE: This is the temporary password. This value can be changed from the NetWorker Management Console once the password is set. Single-quote must be used for encasing the password; if no quotes are used special characters may be invalid. 
WARNING: If you have followed this process previously and used the example password shown in this article (1.Password), the process may fail due to PasswordHistoryCount requirements. If you are not sure, use a different temporary password from the one shown in the article. The Additional Info section contains an article for disabling PasswordHistoryCount, if desired.
 
The command returns the base64 encoded value for the plain text password. For example:
MS5QYXNzd29yZA==
  1. Create a copy of the /opt/nsr/authc-server/scripts/authc-local-config.json.template file.
cp /opt/nsr/authc-server/scripts/authc-local-config.json.template /opt/nsr/authc-server/scripts/authc-local-config.json.template.copy
  1. In the authc-local-config.json.template.copy file, perform the following steps:
vi /opt/nsr/authc-server/scripts/authc-local-config.json.template.copy

 

    1. Replace the username variable with Administrator.
    2. Replace the password variable with the base64 encoded password value. For example:
{
"local_users": [
{
"user name": "administrator",
"password": "MS5QYXNzd29yZA=="
}]
}
  1. Copy the authc-local-config.json.template.copy file to the Tomcat conf folder as authc-local-config.json. Then set permissions on the file.
cp /opt/nsr/authc-server/scripts/authc-local-config.json.template.copy /nsr/authc/conf/authc-local-config.json
chmod 755 /nsr/authc/conf/authc-local-config.json
  1. Restart NetWorker services:
nsr_shutdown
systemctl start networker

    After Resetting The Password and Restarting Services:

    1. When the NetWorker Authentication Service starts, the startup process checks for the authc-local-config.json. If the file exists and the password adheres to the password policy requirements defined for a password, the NetWorker Authentication Service resets the password. Review the authc-server.log file located:

    Windows (Default): C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\authc-server\tomcat\logs
    Linux: /nsr/authc/logs

    NOTE: The password requirements are documented in the NetWorker Security Configuration Guide: https://www.dell.com/support/product-details/product/networker/docs The startup process automatically deletes the authc-local-config.json file to ensure that the password is not reset on the next startup of the NetWorker Authentication Service. 
    1. Use the authc_mgmt command on the authc server to verify that authentication with the new password succeeds:
    authc_mgmt -u administrator -p "1.Password" -e find-all-users

    For example:

    authc_mgmt -u administrator -p "1.Password" -e find-all-users
The query returns 2 records.
User Id User Name
1000 administrator
1001 svc_nmc_networker
    1. Log in to the NetWorker Management Console (NMC) or NetWorker Web User Interface (NWUI) using the temporary password you used when creating the mypassword_in.txt file. After logging in, you can change the Administrator password from the UI:
      1. NMC: Go to Setup -> Users and Roles -> Users -> Administrator. Change the Password.
      2. NWUI: Go to Authentication Server -> Users -> Administrator. Change the password.

    Additional Information

    External Authentication Resources:

    Affected Products

    NetWorker, NetWorker Management Console

    Products

    NetWorker Management Console
    Article Properties
    Article Number: 000014714
    Article Type: How To
    Last Modified: 21 Sep 2026
    Version:  14
    Find answers to your questions from other Dell users
    Support Services
    Check if your device is covered by Support Services.