Defining connection credentials

When you connect to a system, your credentials, that is, your user ID and password or pass phrase, are sent to the system for authentication. After you define a credential, you can use it on all systems that share the credential without reentering the details every time. You must have at least one credential before you can connect to a system.

1. On the main menu for the workbench, click Window > Manage Connections. The Host Connections view opens. The available categories in the Host Connections view depend on the plug-ins that are installed in the z/OS® Explorer.
2. Click Add in the Credentials section to add a new credential. The New Credentials window opens.
3. Create your credential. You can create credentials in any of the following ways:
   • Select Username and Password from the drop-down box and enter the credentials name, user ID, and the password or passphrase. If you do not type a name, then the default name that is used is the same as the User ID. Select the Save Password check box to save the password.
     Note: You might have a single user ID, but use different passwords for different systems. In this case, you can define multiple credentials, each one having the same user ID but with a different credential name and password or pass phrase. Alternatively you can choose to define one credential, but not to save the password or pass phrase, in which case you are required to enter them when you connect to a system.
   • Select Certificate from Keystore from the drop-down box, choose a certificate, and enter the appropriate user ID. The keystore contains client certificates that identify the machine to others. To define a keystore file, go to Window > Preferences > Explorer > Certificate management. In the Keystore details field, to use the same file for both keystore and truststore, select the Use same details as for truststore check box. To use a different file, leave the check box cleared and enter the path and file name of the keystore, and the passphrase.
   • Insert a smart card and then select Certificate from Smart card from the drop-down box, choose a certificate, and enter the appropriate user ID. A smart card is a hardware device that requires a software driver. To configure smart card support system, go to Window > Preferences > Explorer > Certificate management. In the Smart card details field, select Use Windows cryptography services for the Windows operating system, which uses the standard Windows cryptography mechanism. To use a PKCS11 driver (mandatory on Mac OS and Linux operating systems), select Use PKCS11 driver and specify the driver path and PIN.
   Note: You can use certificate credentials for SSL-secured connections on supported connection types.
   
4. Click OK to save the credential or Cancel to cancel the process and close the window without saving the credential.