Authentication options

Built-in authentication

Using built-in authentication, you create users, set passwords, assign users to groups and manage groups using the CLC Server web administrative interface or a CLC Workbench. All the user information is stored on the CLC Server and is not accessible from other systems.

LDAP directory

Using the LDAP directory option, information needed during authentication and group memberships is retrieved from the specified LDAP directory. Encryption options are available ("Forced Start TLS" and "ldaps://"). See figure 4.3.

Image userauthentication-ldap
Figure 4.3: LDAP settings panel

Configuration information

Encryption Specify whether communication should be encrypted. The options are "Plain text" (no encryption, the default), "Forced Start TLS" (use StartTLS) and "ldaps://" (use LDAPS).

With encryption enabled, the SSL certificate of the LDAP/AD server must be trusted by the CLC Server. If the certificate is signed by a trusted CA then no further steps are necessary. If the certificate is signed by an internal CA or is self-signed, the internal CA certificate or the self-signed certificate must be added to the truststore. Information about adding a certificate to the truststore is provided in the Certificates section below. To skip the certificate check, enable the Disable SSL certificate check option.

Admin group name Provide the name of the admin group. This setting is case sensitive.

Groups DN Provide the relative path for an OU in the domain to act as the root used by the CLC Server. The groups available for selection when setting permissions are limited to those in or below that OU.

Using OU=bioinformatics, OU=researchers as an example, the list of groups available when setting permissions would be limited to those contained in the OU bioinformatics, which is in the OU researchers, which is in the root of the domain. If the Groups DN field is left empty, all groups in the AD will be available for selection when setting group level permissions.

See Controlling group access to CLC Server data and Controlling access to the server, server tasks and external data for further information about restricting access based on group membership.

Bind DN Specify a DN to use for the initial lookup to obtain a User DN (based on the username). The DN to use for subsequent lookups is specified in the "DN to use for lookups" option, described below. Leave this field empty to use an anonymous bind for the initial lookup and the user bind for subsequent lookups.

DN to use for lookups Specify whether to use the Bind DN or the User DN for read and search operations. This option is enabled if the Bind DN and Bind password fields have been filled in.

User object class Specify a user object class. If this field is empty, "posixAccount" is used.

Group object class Specify a group object class. If this field is empty, "posixGroup" is used.

Kerberos/GSSAPI Authentication Enable the LDAP integration to use Kerberos/GSSAPI.

Certificates

If encryption has been enabled and the LDAP server uses a certificate signed by an internal CA or a self-signed certificate, that certificate must be added to the the CLC Server truststore, which is located under the CLC Server installation folder at jre/lib/security/cacerts.

This can be done using the Java keytool shipped with the CLC Server, with a command taking this form: 

	CLC_SERVER_BASE/jre/bin/keytool -import -alias \
	ldap_certificate -file LDAP_CERTIFICATE.cer -keystore \
	CLC_SERVER_BASE/jre/lib/security/cacerts -storepass changeit

In the command above, replace the generic information with information relevant for your setup. Specifically:

For setups with nodes, the following must also be done:

Caution:

Active Directory

When using the Active Directory option, information needed during authentication and group memberships is retrieved from the specified Active Directory. Encryption options are available ("Forced Start TLS" and ldaps://) . See figure 4.4.

Image userauthentication-ad
Figure 4.4: Active Directory settings panel

Hostname We recommend entering a Global Catalog in the hostname field. This avoids the CLC Server being redirected to several different Domain Controllers to obtain information about users and groups, and can thereby speed up the response time considerably in complex network environments. When a Global Catalog is specified, the port number must be configured to either:

Please see the notes in the LDAP section for other recommendations and configuration details.