Active Directory (User & Provider Management in the VAST Management System)

This video from VAST Data Customer Education delves into the advanced configuration and security aspects of Active Directory (AD) integration within the VAST Management System (VMS). Designed for storage administrators and operators, this guide explores critical settings beyond the basic AD join, enhancing network security, identity management, and operational flexibility for your VAST clusters. The demonstration covers essential security configurations, beginning with encryption:

• The importance of enabling Start TLS or LDAPS for secure communication, shifting from the default unencrypted state.

• Understanding the automatic port changes to 636 or 389 based on the chosen encryption method.

A new feature starting with VAST 5.2, machine account password renewal, is explained. This option allows for the automatic rotation and refresh of the Kerberos-related machine account password, distinct from the service account, addressing specific security compliance requirements in enterprise environments. The video then explores several advanced options under the AD configuration:

• Trusted Domains and Other Forests: Learn how to enable or disable the system’s ability to search and authenticate/authorize users from domains within a forest trust (one-way or two-way trusts), supporting complex Active Directory topologies.

• NTLM Authentication Control: The ability to explicitly enable or disable NTLM authentication, allowing environments to enforce strict Kerberos-only authentication policies.

• POSIX Attribute Source (Query Group Mode): A crucial setting for managing RFC 2307 attributes (like UID number and GID number) from Active Directory. This feature enables precise control over where VAST looks up these attributes (e.g., joined domain, global forest, specific domains) to avoid potential UID/GID collisions in environments where uniqueness is not enforced across all AD domains.

Finally, the video concludes with practical steps for post-join validation and modification of the AD connection, including:

• Viewing all discovered Active Directory domains and domain controllers (DCs) within the forest, including their health status and site awareness.

• Understanding what an “unknown” DC state signifies (not necessarily an error).

• Identifying available Global Catalogs (GCs) for troubleshooting purposes.

This comprehensive tutorial equips VAST Data operators with the in-depth knowledge to fine-tune their Active Directory integration, ensuring secure, compliant, and highly performant data access across their storage networking infrastructure.