About user accounts

As many software applications do, WhatsUp Gold utilizes user accounts. These user accounts are a crucial part of the application as they help define a person's role on the network, and manage how they move throughout the application.

Default user accounts

There are two default WhatsUp Gold user accounts:

1. The WhatsUp Gold Administrator account. The most important user account in WhatsUp Gold is the Administrator account. Typically, this account is given to the network administrator, as he or she is in charge of the daily workings of the network. By default, the Administrator account is given all of the WhatsUp Gold User Rights, including "Manage Users," the right to create new user accounts and edit these accounts at will. Also by default, the Administrator is given all Group Access Rights, so that when enabled, this account will be able to view and edit devices in all network groups.
2. The WhatsUp Gold Guest account. The Guest account allows persons new to the application to look around, without the liability of accidentally breaking something and hindering network monitoring. By default, the Guest account has all User Rights and all Group Access Rights disabled. This limits the account to only seeing a very limited number of things in the application, and the ability to edit only its account preferences (Go > Configure > Preferences). If the WhatsUp Gold Administrator wants to increase the capabilities of the Guest account, he or she can easily do so by editing it in the Manage Users dialog.

Additional user accounts

As needed, the WhatsUp Gold Administrator can create additional user accounts. There is no limit to the number of WhatsUp Gold user accounts allowed on the system, though there may be an added amount of maintenance to a larger number of user accounts. For example, as the network changes, and group permissions need altering, the Administrator needs to check each user account to make sure it is viewing and editing only what is should be.

Administrators should think carefully of the User Rights they enable for each user account. He or she should also consider whether they allow other users to create additional user accounts by enabling the Manage Users right. If multiple user accounts are given permission to create and delete user accounts, confusion could surface as a results. Open communication between all user accounts with the Manage Users right is crucial to a smooth network monitoring operation.