Provider Selection in Multi-Tenancy (User & Provider Management in the VAST Management System)

This video from VAST Data Customer Education focuses on identity provider selection within a multi-tenancy configuration in the VAST Management System (VMS). For storage administrators overseeing shared VAST clusters, understanding how to assign pre-configured Active Directory, OpenLDAP, and NIS providers to specific tenants is crucial for effective user identity management and data access control. We reiterate that identity providers are initially defined at the cluster level. For environments not utilizing multi-tenancy, the first configured AD or OpenLDAP provider is automatically associated with the default tenant. However, in multi-tenant deployments, explicit assignment is required for each additional tenant. The demonstration guides you through the process via the VMS GUI, showing how to select specific identity providers for a given tenant using intuitive drop-down menus. Key aspects of provider assignment include:

• Selecting the dedicated Active Directory, OpenLDAP, and NIS providers for each tenant.

• Designating a provider to serve as the login name information source, often leveraging a User Principal Name (UPN) from AD or LDAP.

• Explaining the role of the POSIX primary provider: In scenarios where POSIX attributes (like UID numbers) for the same user might exist in multiple providers (e.g., both OpenLDAP and Active Directory), the POSIX primary provider is designated as the "source of truth" to resolve any potential conflicts or disagreements, ensuring consistent user attributes.

This tutorial provides VAST Data operators with the technical steps and conceptual clarity required to correctly configure identity provider associations in a multi-tenant VAST environment, optimizing user authentication, authorization, and overall storage networking.