Is it possible to change the PME Windows Users (IONUser, IONMaintanace) passwords?

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Issue
As of ION Enterprise 6.0, a Windows user account is used to operate the reporting functionality. The default username and password for this account are IONUser and IONisgreat!, respectively. This article describes the required actions to change the IONUser password (IONUser and IONMaintanace share the same passwords.)

Product Line
ION Enterprise 6.0
Struxureware Power Monitoring (SPM) 7.0.xPower Monitoring Expert 8.2
Power Monitoring Expert 9.0
Power Monitoring Expert 2020 (9.1)
Power Monitoring Expert 2021
Power Monitoring Expert 2022
Power Monitoring Expert 2023

Resolution
ION Enterprise 6.0
Struxureware Power Monitoring (SPM) 7.0.x
Power Monitoring Expert (PME) 7.2.x, 8.0, 8.1

WARNING: This direct modification of the database is potentially harmful to your system and can result in system being inoperative and/or loss of data if below instructions are followed improperly. Always use extreme caution before executing such actions and make sure to backup the databases before you start.

The IONUser account is used to authenticate the report server. To properly change the password of the IONUser, the password must be updated in the following three places:

Open either Server Manager or Computer Management and navigate to Local Users and Groups > Users. Locate the IONUser user and apply the new password.
Note: For 6.0 and 7.0 systems only. Open SQL Server Management Studio > Security > Logins. Right-click on IONUser and select Properties. Update the password and press OK.
Use one of the following methods to update the ION_Network database:

Method 1: Manually changing the CFG_ItemValue table

In SQL Server Management Studio, navigate to the ION_Network database > CFG_ItemValue table. The password can be changed directly in the table but it is not trivial which row corresponds to IONUser as there is only a reference to ItemID.

From CFG_Item table find the row with 'subscriptionDeliveryPassword' under 'ItemName' column. Make a note of the ItemID value.
- In IONE 6.0 and SPM 7.0.1, the itemID = 33
- In PME 7.2.2, the itemID =42
- For PME 8.0, the Item ID =33
- In PME8.1, the itemID = 43
Edit the CFG_ItemValue table to contain the new password at the row specified by the ItemID.

Method 2: Running SQL script to change the CFG_ItemValue table

Open SQL Server Management Studio
Open a new query editor window
Run the following query against ION_Network. Replace in the query below by the actual password. Make sure to keep the single quotes.

UPDATE CFG_ItemValue SET [Value] =''
WHERE ItemID in(
SELECT ItemID
FROM CFG_Item
WHERE ItemName IN ('reportServerPassword','subscriptionDeliveryPassword'))

Verify the password has been changed properly by running this query:

SELECT i.ItemName, i.Description, iv.Value, iv.DefaultValue
FROM CFG_Item i INNER JOIN
CFG_ItemValue iv ON
i.itemID = iv.itemID
WHERE i.ItemName IN ('reportServerPassword','subscriptionDeliveryPassword')

The IONUser credentials are cached. You will also have to restart the following services for the changes to take effect:

ION Report Subscription Service
World Wide Web Publishing Service
Report Server Service (only SPM 7.0.1 and below)

The Database Manager retrieves the username and password from the same place as the reporting platform. Restart Database Manager if it was left open during the password update for changes to take effect.

Power Monitoring Expert (PME 8.2, PME 9.0, PME 2020, PME 2021, PME 2022, PME 2023)

PME uses two Windows accounts for its operation, IONMaintenance, and IONUser. The same password is used for both accounts.
To change these Windows accounts password:

Open Programs and Features from the Control Panel, click Power Monitoring Expert and then click Change at the top of the list of programs.
Select Reset Account…

Click Next on the Supervisor Account page to go to the Windows Account page.
Click Change Password on the Windows Account page and type your new password in the password fields.
- You need to type a strong password that meets Windows password requirements. The password should include at least 6 characters in a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols such as @, #, $, %.

Click Next to go to the Database Account page and click Next again to start the reset accounts process.
Click Close when the process completes.

NOTE: If you did not provide sysadmin level SQL credentials, you will see an error at the Update Login Credentials step. Ignore the message and skip this unsuccessful step. The password reset will still be successful.