Cloud Servers Authentication

When a user interacts with Sunstone, the server authenticates the request and then forwards the requested operation to the OpenNebula daemon.

The forwarded requests between the server and the core daemon include the original user name and are signed with the credentials of a special server user.

In the current guide this request forwarding mechanism is explained, and how it is secured with a symmetric-key algorithm is also detailed.

Server Users

The Sunstone server communicates with the core using a server user. OpenNebula creates the serveradmin account at bootstrap with the authentication driver server_cipher (symmetric key).

This server user uses a special authentication mechanism that allows the servers to perform an operation on behalf of another user.

Please note that you can have as many users with a server_* driver as you need.

Configure

You must update the configuration files in /var/lib/one/.one if you change the serveradmin’s password, or create a different user with the server_cipher driver.

$ ls -1 /var/lib/one/.one
sunstone_auth

$ cat /var/lib/one/.one/sunstone_auth
serveradmin:1612b78a4843647a4b541346f678f9e1b43bbcf9

Tuning & Extending

Files

You can find the drivers in these paths:

  • /var/lib/one/remotes/auth/server_cipher/authenticate
  • /var/lib/one/remotes/auth/server_server/authenticate

Authentication Session String

OpenNebula users with the server_cipher driver use a special authentication session string (the first parameter of the XML-RPC calls). A regular authentication token is in the form:

username:secret

whereas a user with the server_cipher* driver must use this token format:

username:target_username:secret

The core daemon understands a request with this authentication session token as “perform this operation on behalf of target_user”. The secret part of the token is signed with the mechanism explained before.

Two Factor Authentication

To use 2FA in FireEdge see the following link