SoftwareCentral · Active Directory

Create an Active Directory Group

Create the group that gives top-level administrators full access to SoftwareCentral.

SWC_ADMIN_GROUP Full access Choose role page

1 Overview

SoftwareCentral uses Security Roles to manage access to the application. SoftwareCentral requires one predefined Active Directory Group for top-level administrators of SoftwareCentral.

Members of this group have full access to SoftwareCentral. For other users, you define access with security roles in the SoftwareCentral interface.

2 Create the group

Create a group named SWC_ADMIN_GROUP in Active Directory.

FieldWhat to enter
Group nameSWC_ADMIN_GROUP
Group scopeGlobal, as shown in the picture.
Group typeSecurity, as shown in the picture.
New Object - Group dialog in Active Directory Users and Computers with the group name SWC_ADMIN_GROUP, group scope Global and group type Security selected.
Active Directory Users and Computers (external product, from an earlier Windows Server version): the New Object - Group dialog with Group name set to SWC_ADMIN_GROUP, Global scope and Security type. The domain in this picture is masked.

3 Add the users

At this time you should already add users to this group who will have full access to SoftwareCentral. Do not add users who should be limited in the use of SoftwareCentral. You will be able to define access for those users directly in the SoftwareCentral interface.

Add yourself as well. The configuration step in section 4 only accepts a group that you are a member of.

4 Choose the group in SoftwareCentral

On a new installation, SoftwareCentral asks for the administrator group on its first page.

  1. Open SoftwareCentral and sign in.
  2. On the page that says Please select an Administrator AD-Group, choose the domain in the first list.
  3. Choose SWC_ADMIN_GROUP in the group list.
  4. Click Save.

SoftwareCentral saves the group as DOMAIN\SWC_ADMIN_GROUP, with the domain name in front of the group name. The page shows the group list only while no administrator group has been saved.

For the next steps of the configuration, see Preparing the SCCM.

5 Best practice

  • Add yourself before you configure SoftwareCentral. SoftwareCentral checks that the signed-in user is a member of the group you choose, and refuses the choice otherwise.
  • Use a security group. SoftwareCentral checks the membership of the signed-in user in the role check. A distribution group does not work for this check.
  • Keep the group small. Put only the people who need full access in it. Give everyone else a security role with only the permissions they need.
  • Sign in again after you change membership. The new membership is picked up at the next sign-in.

6 Troubleshooting

SymptomCauseWhat to do
“You are not a member of the selected AD-Group. You must be a member of the administrator group to proceed with the configuration of SoftwareCentral. The selected group has not been saved.”The signed-in account is not a member of the group you chose.Add your account to SWC_ADMIN_GROUP, sign in again, and click Save again.