# OpenAM Administration Guide
Chapter 2. Defining Authentication Services

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## 2.6. Configuring Account Lockout

OpenAM supports two different approaches to account lockout, where OpenAM locks an account after repeated authentication failures. Lockout works with modules for which users can enter a password incorrectly.

- Memory lockout locks the user account, keeping track of the locked state only in memory, and then unlocking the account after a specified delay. Memory lockout is also released when OpenAM restarts.

- Persistent (physical) lockout sets the user account status to `inactive` in the user profile. For persistent lockout, OpenAM tracks failed authentication attempts by writing to the user repository.

  Persistent account lockout works independently of account lockout mechanisms in the underlying directory server that serves as the user data store.

You configure account lockout by editing settings for the core authentication module. Access the settings in OpenAM console under Access Control > `Realm Name` > Authentication > All Core Settings..., and then scroll down to the Account Lockout section. The inline help explains the settings in detail.

- Enable lockout by checking Login Failure Lockout Mode, setting the number of attempts, and setting the lockout interval and duration.

  You can also opt to warn users after several consecutive failures, or to multiply the lockout duration on each successive lockout.

- You can set up email notification upon lockout to an administrator if OpenAM is configured to send mail. (Configuration > Servers and Sites > Default Server Settings > General > Mail Server.)

- For persistent lockout, OpenAM sets the value of the user's `inetuserstatus` profile attribute to `inactive`. You can also specify another attribute to update on lockout. You can further set a non-default attribute on which to store the number of failed authentication attempts. When you do store the number of failed attempts in the data store, other OpenAM servers accessing the user data store can also see the number.

If you need to unlock a user's account, find the user under Access Control > `Realm Name` > Subjects > User, set the user's User Status to Active, and click Save.