The Ganymede client can be launched from a web browser which supports JavaScript and Java 6 or later, either as an applet or as a privileged application with Java Web Start.

Once the Ganymede client is downloaded and started, a friendly login box pops up in a separate window.

End users can log into Ganymede with their standard user passwords (the same one used for network services administered by Ganymede), but an additional password must be provided to act with elevated privileges within Ganymede.

Once logged in with administrative privileges, a wide variety of objects in the database may be manipulated. The icon in the bottom left corner of the client is animated, and shows that the second phase of a network build is being performed by the Ganymede server. An indefinite number of users may be connected to the Ganymede server simultaneously, each manipulating objects in the server and committing transactions to the network.

This screenshot shows a user object in the server being edited. Some fields, such as the UID field, are not editable with the privilege level assigned to the 'broccol:GASH Admin' admin persona, but most are. Note that the icon in the bottom left corner of the client is back to idle, as the server is not busy processing a transaction from another user at the moment.

Objects in the Ganymede server can be linked to each other using reference fields. The list of available objects for linking in a reference field can be automatically generated by the Ganymede server using the database definition and the user's available permissions, or it may be custom-generated by plug-in logic. Right-clicking on an object in a list brings up a pop-up menu that can allow that object to be viewed or edited.

In this screenshot, we see a second editing window open, this time for a group that is linked to the user object. The 'commit' button in the bottom right corner is greyed out because no actual changes have yet been made to either object. The cancel button is highlighted because both the user and the group have been checked out of the database for exclusive editing access. The commit button will commit all objects affected by the user back into the database as a coherent transaction, while the cancel button will undo any changes made by the user since they last hit commit.

The server maintains a log file of everything that happens in the Ganymede server. The server tags each line in the file with a list of object identifiers for any objects affected by that log entry. The client can be used to examine a complete history of changes made to objects in the database.

The gasharl schema kit includes support for DNS and IP address management. This screenshot shows a system being edited.

System being edited, part 2. This screen shot demonstrates Ganymede's ability to embed objects inside other objects to support vectors of composite objects. The gasharl schema kit maps each room to a list of networks available in that room. Choosing a room causes a list of networks to appear in the interface objects. Choosing a network causes a free IP address from that network to be placed in the interface's I.P. Address field.

This picture shows one of the administrative objects that the server uses to track permissions. This picture is showing the privileges and objects associated with user broccol's gashadmin persona. The client's toolbar has been disabled in this shot, to leave more space for data fields in the persona object.

Roles define what admins of that type can do to objects in the database. This screen shot shows the permissions editor in the Ganymede client.

The Ganymede server provides a convenient query mechanism that allows users to search through the database for objects of a given type matching complex criteria.

The user can choose what fields they are interested in getting back from the server when a query is performed.

As with most places in the Ganymede client, users can right-click on a row in a query report and jump right to that object for viewing or editing.

The Ganymede distribution includes an administrative console that may be used to monitor the server's status. Administrators with sufficiently high privileges can use the admin console to force dead or idle users off of the system. Normally this is not necessary, as the Ganymede server has automatic timeout and dead client detection to avoid hanging clients, but an admin in too much of a hurry to wait for the ten minute dead client time out may find this useful.

The admin console may also be used to monitor and even trigger cron-like plug-in tasks loaded into the server.

The Ganymede admin console includes a graphical schema editor that may be used to create new types of data to be stored in the Ganymede server. Custom java plug-in classes may be associated with these object types, making it possible to integrate custom management logic into the Ganymede server. With the right plug-in classes, the Ganymede server can manage the object editing process one field at a time, if necessary.

The Ganymede client editing a system on Mac OS X with Apple's Aqua look and feel.

The Ganymede client's query box on Mac OS X with Apple's Aqua look and feel.