1 [[chapter_user_management]]
10 pveum - Proxmox VE User Manager
16 include::pveum.1-synopsis.adoc[]
28 // Copied from pve wiki: Revision as of 16:10, 27 October 2015
30 {pve} supports multiple authentication sources, for example Linux PAM,
31 an integrated Proxmox VE authentication server, LDAP, Microsoft Active
32 Directory and OpenID Connect.
34 By using role-based user and permission management for all objects (VMs,
35 Storage, nodes, etc.), granular access can be defined.
42 {pve} stores user attributes in `/etc/pve/user.cfg`.
43 Passwords are not stored here; users are instead associated with the
44 <<pveum_authentication_realms,authentication realms>> described below.
45 Therefore, a user is often internally identified by their username and
46 realm in the form `<userid>@<realm>`.
48 Each user entry in this file contains the following information:
54 * An optional expiration date
55 * A comment or note about this user
56 * Whether this user is enabled or disabled
57 * Optional two-factor authentication keys
59 CAUTION: When you disable or delete a user, or if the expiry date set is
60 in the past, this user will not be able to log in to new sessions or start new
61 tasks. All tasks which have already been started by this user (for example,
62 terminal sessions) will **not** be terminated automatically by any such event.
68 The system's root user can always log in via the Linux PAM realm and is an
69 unconfined administrator. This user cannot be deleted, but attributes can
70 still be changed. System mails will be sent to the email address
71 assigned to this user.
78 Each user can be a member of several groups. Groups are the preferred
79 way to organize access permissions. You should always grant permissions
80 to groups instead of individual users. That way you will get a
81 much more maintainable access control list.
87 API tokens allow stateless access to most parts of the REST API from another
88 system, software or API client. Tokens can be generated for individual users
89 and can be given separate permissions and expiration dates to limit the scope
90 and duration of the access. Should the API token get compromised, it can be
91 revoked without disabling the user itself.
93 API tokens come in two basic types:
95 * Separated privileges: The token needs to be given explicit access with ACLs.
96 Its effective permissions are calculated by intersecting user and token
98 * Full privileges: The token's permissions are identical to that of the
101 CAUTION: The token value is only displayed/returned once when the token is
102 generated. It cannot be retrieved again over the API at a later time!
104 To use an API token, set the HTTP header 'Authorization' to the displayed value
105 of the form `PVEAPIToken=USER@REALM!TOKENID=UUID` when making API requests, or
106 refer to your API client's documentation.
108 [[pveum_resource_pools]]
112 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-pool-window.png"]
114 A resource pool is a set of virtual machines, containers, and storage
115 devices. It is useful for permission handling in cases where certain users
116 should have controlled access to a specific set of resources, as it allows for a
117 single permission to be applied to a set of elements, rather than having to
118 manage this on a per-resource basis. Resource pools are often used in tandem
119 with groups, so that the members of a group have permissions on a set of
120 machines and storage.
122 [[pveum_authentication_realms]]
123 Authentication Realms
124 ---------------------
126 As {pve} users are just counterparts for users existing on some external
127 realm, the realms have to be configured in `/etc/pve/domains.cfg`.
128 The following realms (authentication methods) are available:
130 Linux PAM Standard Authentication::
132 Linux PAM is a framework for system-wide user authentication. These users are
133 created on the host system with commands such as `adduser`. If PAM users exist
134 on the {pve} host system, corresponding entries can be added to {pve}, to allow
135 these users to log in via their system username and password.
137 {pve} Authentication Server::
139 This is a Unix-like password store, which stores hashed passwords in
140 `/etc/pve/priv/shadow.cfg`. Passwords are hashed using the SHA-256 hashing
141 algorithm. This is the most convenient realm for small-scale (or even
142 mid-scale) installations, where users do not need access to anything outside of
143 {pve}. In this case, users are fully managed by {pve} and are able to change
144 their own passwords via the GUI.
148 LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is an open, cross-platform protocol
149 for authentication using directory services. OpenLDAP is a popular open-source
150 implementations of the LDAP protocol.
152 Microsoft Active Directory (AD)::
154 Microsoft Active Directory (AD) is a directory service for Windows domain
155 networks and is supported as an authentication realm for {pve}. It supports LDAP
156 as an authentication protocol.
160 OpenID Connect is implemented as an identity layer on top of the OATH 2.0
161 protocol. It allows clients to verify the identity of the user, based on
162 authentication performed by an external authorization server.
164 Linux PAM Standard Authentication
165 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
167 As Linux PAM corresponds to host system users, a system user must exist on each
168 node which the user is allowed to log in on. The user authenticates with their
169 usual system password. This realm is added by default and can't be removed. In
170 terms of configurability, an administrator can choose to require two-factor
171 authentication with logins from the realm and to set the realm as the default
172 authentication realm.
175 {pve} Authentication Server
176 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
178 The {pve} authentication server realm is a simple Unix-like password store.
179 The realm is created by default, and as with Linux PAM, the only configuration
180 items available are the ability to require two-factor authentication for users
181 of the realm, and to set it as the default realm for login.
183 Unlike the other {pve} realm types, users are created and authenticated entirely
184 through {pve}, rather than authenticating against another system. Hence, you are
185 required to set a password for this type of user upon creation.
191 You can also use an external LDAP server for user authentication (for examle,
192 OpenLDAP). In this realm type, users are searched under a 'Base Domain Name'
193 (`base_dn`), using the username attribute specified in the 'User Attribute Name'
196 A server and optional fallback server can be configured, and the connection can
197 be encrypted via SSL. Furthermore, filters can be configured for directories and
198 groups. Filters allow you to further limit the scope of the realm.
200 For instance, if a user is represented via the following LDIF dataset:
203 # user1 of People at ldap-test.com
204 dn: uid=user1,ou=People,dc=ldap-test,dc=com
207 objectClass: organizationalPerson
208 objectClass: inetOrgPerson
212 description: This is the first test user.
215 The 'Base Domain Name' would be `ou=People,dc=ldap-test,dc=com` and the user
216 attribute would be `uid`.
218 If {pve} needs to authenticate (bind) to the LDAP server before being
219 able to query and authenticate users, a bind domain name can be
220 configured via the `bind_dn` property in `/etc/pve/domains.cfg`. Its
221 password then has to be stored in `/etc/pve/priv/ldap/<realmname>.pw`
222 (for example, `/etc/pve/priv/ldap/my-ldap.pw`). This file should contain a
223 single line with the raw password.
225 To verify certificates, you need to set `capath`. You can set it either
226 directly to the CA certificate of your LDAP server, or to the system path
227 containing all trusted CA certificates (`/etc/ssl/certs`).
228 Additionally, you need to set the `verify` option, which can also be done over
231 The main configuration options for an LDAP server realm are as follows:
233 * `Realm` (`realm`): The realm identifier for {pve} users
235 * `Base Domain Name` (`base_dn`): The directory which users are searched under
237 * `User Attribute Name` (`user_attr`): The LDAP attribute containing the
238 username that users will log in with
240 * `Server` (`server1`): The server hosting the LDAP directory
242 * `Fallback Server` (`server2`): An optional fallback server address, in case
243 the primary server is unreachable
245 * `Port` (`port`): The port that the LDAP server listens on
247 NOTE: In order to allow a particular user to authenticate using the LDAP server,
248 you must also add them as a user of that realm from the {pve} server. This can
249 be carried out automatically with <<pveum_ldap_sync, syncing>>.
252 Microsoft Active Directory (AD)
253 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
255 To set up Microsoft AD as a realm, a server address and authentication domain
256 need to be specified. Active Directory supports most of the same properties as
257 LDAP, such as an optional fallback server, port, and SSL encryption.
258 Furthermore, users can be added to {pve} automatically via
259 <<pveum_ldap_sync, sync>> operations, after configuration.
261 As with LDAP, if {pve} needs to authenticate before it binds to the AD server,
262 you must configure the 'Bind User' (`bind_dn`) property. This property is
263 typically required by default for Microsoft AD.
265 The main configuration settings for Microsoft Active Directory are:
267 * `Realm` (`realm`): The realm identifier for {pve} users
269 * `Domain` (`domain`): The AD domain of the server
271 * `Server` (`server1`): The FQDN or IP address of the server
273 * `Fallback Server` (`server2`): An optional fallback server address, in case
274 the primary server is unreachable
276 * `Port` (`port`): The port that the Microsoft AD server listens on
279 Syncing LDAP-Based Realms
280 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
282 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-realm-add-ldap.png"]
284 It's possible to automatically sync users and groups for LDAP-based realms (LDAP
285 & Microsoft Active Directory), rather than having to add them to {pve} manually.
286 You can access the sync options from the Add/Edit window of the web interface's
287 `Authentication` panel or via the `pveum realm add/modify` commands. You can
288 then carry out the sync operation from the `Authentication` panel of the GUI or
289 using the following command:
292 pveum realm sync <realm>
295 Users and groups are synced to the cluster-wide configuration file,
302 The configuration options for syncing LDAP-based realms can be found in the
303 `Sync Options` tab of the Add/Edit window.
305 The configuration options are as follows:
307 * `Bind User` (`bind_dn`): Refers to the LDAP account used to query users
308 and groups. This account needs access to all desired entries. If it's set, the
309 search will be carried out via binding; otherwise, the search will be carried
310 out anonymously. The user must be a complete LDAP formatted distinguished name
311 (DN), for example, `cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com`.
313 * Groupname attr. (group_name_attr): Represents the
314 users' groups. Only entries which adhere to the usual character limitations of
315 the `user.cfg` are synced. Groups are synced with `-$realm` attached to the
316 name, in order to avoid naming conflicts. Please ensure that a sync does not
317 overwrite manually created groups.
319 * `User classes` (`user_classes`): Objects classes associated with users.
321 * `Group classes` (`group_classes`): Objects classes associated with groups.
323 * `E-Mail attribute`: If the LDAP-based server specifies user email addresses,
324 these can also be included in the sync by setting the associated attribute
325 here. From the command line, this is achievable through the
326 `--sync_attributes` parameter.
328 * `User Filter` (`filter`): For further filter options to target specific users.
330 * `Group Filter` (`group_filter`): For further filter options to target specific
333 NOTE: Filters allow you to create a set of additional match criteria, to narrow
334 down the scope of a sync. Information on available LDAP filter types and their
335 usage can be found at https://ldap.com/ldap-filters/[ldap.com].
338 [[pveum_ldap_sync_options]]
342 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-realm-add-ldap-sync-options.png"]
344 In addition to the options specified in the previous section, you can also
345 configure further options that describe the behavior of the sync operation.
347 These options are either set as parameters before the sync, or as defaults via
348 the realm option `sync-defaults-options`.
350 The main options for syncing are:
352 * `Scope` (`scope`): The scope of what to sync. It can be either `users`,
355 * `Enable new` (`enable-new`): If set, the newly synced users are enabled and
356 can log in. The default is `true`.
358 * `Full` (`full`): If set, the sync uses the LDAP directory as a source of
359 truth, overwriting information set manually in the `user.cfg` and deleting
360 users and groups which are not present in the LDAP directory. If not set, only
361 new data is written to the configuration, and no stale users are deleted.
363 * `Purge ACLs` (`purge`): If set, sync removes all corresponding ACLs when
364 removing users and groups. This is only useful with the option `full`.
366 * `Preview` (`dry-run`): No data is written to the config. This is useful if you
367 want to see which users and groups would get synced to the `user.cfg`.
374 The main OpenID Connect configuration options are:
376 * `Issuer URL` (`issuer-url`): This is the URL of the authorization server.
377 Proxmox uses the OpenID Connect Discovery protocol to automatically configure
380 While it is possible to use unencrypted `http://` URLs, we strongly recommend to
381 use encrypted `https://` connections.
383 * `Realm` (`realm`): The realm identifier for {pve} users
385 * `Client ID` (`client-id`): OpenID Client ID.
387 * `Client Key` (`client-key`): Optional OpenID Client Key.
389 * `Autocreate Users` (`autocreate`): Automatically create users if they do not
390 exist. While authentication is done at the OpenID server, all users still need
391 an entry in the {pve} user configuration. You can either add them manually, or
392 use the `autocreate` option to automatically add new users.
394 * `Username Claim` (`username-claim`): OpenID claim used to generate the unique
395 username (`subject`, `username` or `email`).
400 The OpenID Connect specification defines a single unique attribute
401 ('claim' in OpenID terms) named `subject`. By default, we use the
402 value of this attribute to generate {pve} usernames, by simple adding
403 `@` and the realm name: `${subject}@${realm}`.
405 Unfortunately, most OpenID servers use random strings for `subject`, like
406 `DGH76OKH34BNG3245SB`, so a typical username would look like
407 `DGH76OKH34BNG3245SB@yourrealm`. While unique, it is difficult for
408 humans to remember such random strings, making it quite impossible to
409 associate real users with this.
411 The `username-claim` setting allows you to use other attributes for
412 the username mapping. Setting it to `username` is preferred if the
413 OpenID Connect server provides that attribute and guarantees its
416 Another option is to use `email`, which also yields human readable
417 usernames. Again, only use this setting if the server guarantees the
418 uniqueness of this attribute.
423 Here is an example of creating an OpenID realm using Google. You need to
424 replace `--client-id` and `--client-key` with the values
425 from your Google OpenID settings.
428 pveum realm add myrealm1 --type openid --issuer-url https://accounts.google.com --client-id XXXX --client-key YYYY --username-claim email
431 The above command uses `--username-claim email`, so that the usernames on the
432 {pve} side look like `example.user@google.com@myrealm1`.
434 Keycloak (https://www.keycloak.org/) is a popular open source Identity
435 and Access Management tool, which supports OpenID Connect. In the following
436 example, you need to replace the `--issuer-url` and `--client-id` with
440 pveum realm add myrealm2 --type openid --issuer-url https://your.server:8080/auth/realms/your-realm --client-id XXX --username-claim username
443 Using `--username-claim username` enables simple usernames on the
444 {pve} side, like `example.user@myrealm2`.
446 WARNING: You need to ensure that the user is not allowed to edit
447 the username setting themselves (on the Keycloak server).
451 Two-Factor Authentication
452 -------------------------
454 There are two ways to use two-factor authentication:
456 It can be required by the authentication realm, either via 'TOTP'
457 (Time-based One-Time Password) or 'YubiKey OTP'. In this case, a newly
458 created user needs to have their keys added immediately, as there is no way to
459 log in without the second factor. In the case of 'TOTP', users can
460 also change the 'TOTP' later on, provided they can log in first.
462 Alternatively, users can choose to opt-in to two-factor authentication
463 later on, even if the realm does not enforce it.
465 Available Second Factors
466 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
468 You can set up multiple second factors, in order to avoid a situation in
469 which losing your smartphone or security key locks you out of your
472 The following two-factor authentication methods are available in
473 addition to realm-enforced TOTP and YubiKey OTP:
475 * User configured TOTP
476 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-based_One-Time_Password[Time-based One-Time Password]).
477 A short code derived from a shared secret and the current time, it changes
479 * WebAuthn (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebAuthn[Web Authentication]).
480 A general standard for authentication. It is implemented by various
481 security devices, like hardware keys or trusted platform modules (TPM)
482 from a computer or smart phone.
483 * Single use Recovery Keys. A list of keys which should either be
484 printed out and locked in a secure place or saved digitally in an
485 electronic vault. Each key can be used only once. These are perfect for
486 ensuring that you are not locked out, even if all of your other second
487 factors are lost or corrupt.
489 Before WebAuthn was supported, U2F could be setup by the user. Existing
490 U2F factors can still be used, but it is recommended to switch to
491 WebAuthn, once it is configured on the server.
493 Realm Enforced Two-Factor Authentication
494 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
496 This can be done by selecting one of the available methods via the
497 'TFA' dropdown box when adding or editing an Authentication Realm.
498 When a realm has TFA enabled, it becomes a requirement, and only users
499 with configured TFA will be able to log in.
501 Currently there are two methods available:
503 Time-based OATH (TOTP):: This uses the standard HMAC-SHA1 algorithm,
504 where the current time is hashed with the user's configured key. The
505 time step and password length parameters are configurable.
507 A user can have multiple keys configured (separated by spaces), and the keys
508 can be specified in Base32 (RFC3548) or hexadecimal notation.
510 {pve} provides a key generation tool (`oathkeygen`) which prints out a random
511 key in Base32 notation, that can be used directly with various OTP tools, such
512 as the `oathtool` command line tool, or on Android Google Authenticator,
513 FreeOTP, andOTP or similar applications.
516 For authenticating via a YubiKey a Yubico API ID, API KEY and validation
517 server URL must be configured, and users must have a YubiKey available. In
518 order to get the key ID from a YubiKey, you can trigger the YubiKey once
519 after connecting it via USB, and copy the first 12 characters of the typed
520 password into the user's 'Key IDs' field.
522 Please refer to the https://developers.yubico.com/OTP/[YubiKey OTP]
523 documentation for how to use the
524 https://www.yubico.com/products/services-software/yubicloud/[YubiCloud] or
525 https://developers.yubico.com/Software_Projects/Yubico_OTP/YubiCloud_Validation_Servers/[host your own verification server].
527 [[pveum_user_configured_totp]]
528 User Configured TOTP Authentication
529 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
531 Users can choose to enable 'TOTP' or 'WebAuthn' as a second factor on login, via
532 the 'TFA' button in the user list (unless the realm enforces 'YubiKey OTP').
534 Users can always add and use one time 'Recovery Keys'.
536 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-two-factor.png"]
538 After opening the 'TFA' window, the user is presented with a dialog to set up
539 'TOTP' authentication. The 'Secret' field contains the key, which can be
540 randomly generated via the 'Randomize' button. An optional 'Issuer Name' can be
541 added to provide information to the 'TOTP' app about what the key belongs to.
542 Most 'TOTP' apps will show the issuer name together with the corresponding
543 'OTP' values. The username is also included in the QR code for the 'TOTP' app.
545 After generating a key, a QR code will be displayed, which can be used with most
546 OTP apps such as FreeOTP. The user then needs to verify the current user
547 password (unless logged in as 'root'), as well as the ability to correctly use
548 the 'TOTP' key, by typing the current 'OTP' value into the 'Verification Code'
549 field and pressing the 'Apply' button.
551 [[user_tfa_setup_totp]]
554 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-gui-tfa-add-totp.png"]
556 There is no server setup required. Simply install a TOTP app on your
557 smartphone (for example, https://freeotp.github.io/[FreeOTP]) and use
558 the Proxmox Backup Server web-interface to add a TOTP factor.
560 [[user_tfa_setup_webauthn]]
563 For WebAuthn to work, you need to have two things:
565 * A trusted HTTPS certificate (for example, by using
566 https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Certificate_Management[Let's Encrypt]).
567 While it probably works with an untrusted certificate, some browsers may
568 warn or refuse WebAuthn operations if it is not trusted.
569 * Setup the WebAuthn configuration (see *Datacenter -> Options ->
570 WebAuthn Settings* in the Proxmox VE web interface). This can be
571 auto-filled in most setups.
573 Once you have fulfilled both of these requirements, you can add a WebAuthn
574 configuration in the *Two Factor* panel under *Datacenter -> Permissions -> Two
577 [[user_tfa_setup_recovery_keys]]
580 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-gui-tfa-add-recovery-keys.png"]
582 Recovery key codes do not need any preparation; you can simply create a
583 set of recovery keys in the *Two Factor* panel under *Datacenter -> Permissions
586 NOTE: There can only be one set of single-use recovery keys per user at any
590 // FIXME: move webauthn to actual, separate section once there!
591 [[pveum_configure_webauthn]]
592 Server Side Webauthn Configuration
593 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
595 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-webauthn-edit.png"]
597 To allow users to use 'WebAuthn' authentication, it is necessaary to use a valid
598 domain with a valid SSL certificate, otherwise some browsers may warn or refuse
599 to authenticate altogether.
601 NOTE: Changing the 'WebAuthn' configuration may render all existing 'WebAuthn'
602 registrations unusable!
604 This is done via `/etc/pve/datacenter.cfg`. For instance:
608 rp=mypve.example.com,origin=https://mypve.example.com:8006,id=mypve.example.com
611 [[pveum_configure_u2f]]
612 Server Side U2F Configuration
613 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
615 NOTE: It is recommended to use WebAuthn instead.
617 To allow users to use 'U2F' authentication, it may be necessary to use a valid
618 domain with a valid SSL certificate, otherwise, some browsers may print
619 a warning or reject U2F usage altogether. Initially, an 'AppId'
620 footnote:[AppId https://developers.yubico.com/U2F/App_ID.html]
621 needs to be configured.
623 NOTE: Changing the 'AppId' will render all existing 'U2F' registrations
626 This is done via `/etc/pve/datacenter.cfg`. For instance:
629 u2f: appid=https://mypve.example.com:8006
632 For a single node, the 'AppId' can simply be the address of the web-interface,
633 exactly as it is used in the browser, including the 'https://' and the port, as
634 shown above. Please note that some browsers may be more strict than others when
637 When using multiple nodes, it is best to have a separate `https` server
638 providing an `appid.json`
639 footnote:[Multi-facet apps: https://developers.yubico.com/U2F/App_ID.html]
640 file, as it seems to be compatible with most
641 browsers. If all nodes use subdomains of the same top level domain, it may be
642 enough to use the TLD as 'AppId'. It should however be noted that some browsers
645 NOTE: A bad 'AppId' will usually produce an error, but we have encountered
646 situations when this does not happen, particularly when using a top level domain
647 'AppId' for a node that is accessed via a subdomain in Chromium. For this reason
648 it is recommended to test the configuration with multiple browsers, as changing
649 the 'AppId' later will render existing 'U2F' registrations unusable.
651 [[pveum_user_configured_u2f]]
652 Activating U2F as a User
653 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
655 To enable 'U2F' authentication, open the 'TFA' window's 'U2F' tab, type in the
656 current password (unless logged in as root), and press the 'Register' button.
657 If the server is set up correctly and the browser accepts the server's provided
658 'AppId', a message will appear prompting the user to press the button on the
659 'U2F' device (if it is a 'YubiKey', the button light should be toggling on and
660 off steadily, roughly twice per second).
662 Firefox users may need to enable 'security.webauth.u2f' via 'about:config'
663 before they can use a 'U2F' token.
665 [[pveum_permission_management]]
666 Permission Management
667 ---------------------
669 In order for a user to perform an action (such as listing, modifying or
670 deleting parts of a VM's configuration), the user needs to have the
671 appropriate permissions.
673 {pve} uses a role and path based permission management system. An entry in
674 the permissions table allows a user, group or token to take on a specific role
675 when accessing an 'object' or 'path'. This means that such an access rule can
676 be represented as a triple of '(path, user, role)', '(path, group,
677 role)' or '(path, token, role)', with the role containing a set of allowed
678 actions, and the path representing the target of these actions.
685 A role is simply a list of privileges. Proxmox VE comes with a number
686 of predefined roles, which satisfy most requirements.
688 * `Administrator`: has full privileges
689 * `NoAccess`: has no privileges (used to forbid access)
690 * `PVEAdmin`: can do most tasks, but has no rights to modify system settings (`Sys.PowerMgmt`, `Sys.Modify`, `Realm.Allocate`)
691 * `PVEAuditor`: has read only access
692 * `PVEDatastoreAdmin`: create and allocate backup space and templates
693 * `PVEDatastoreUser`: allocate backup space and view storage
694 * `PVEPoolAdmin`: allocate pools
695 * `PVESysAdmin`: User ACLs, audit, system console and system logs
696 * `PVETemplateUser`: view and clone templates
697 * `PVEUserAdmin`: manage users
698 * `PVEVMAdmin`: fully administer VMs
699 * `PVEVMUser`: view, backup, configure CD-ROM, VM console, VM power management
701 You can see the whole set of predefined roles in the GUI.
703 You can add new roles via the GUI or the command line.
705 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-role-add.png"]
706 From the GUI, navigate to the 'Permissions -> Roles' tab from 'Datacenter' and
707 click on the 'Create' button. There you can set a role name and select any
708 desired privileges from the 'Privileges' drop-down menu.
710 To add a role through the command line, you can use the 'pveum' CLI tool, for
714 pveum role add PVE_Power-only --privs "VM.PowerMgmt VM.Console"
715 pveum role add Sys_Power-only --privs "Sys.PowerMgmt Sys.Console"
722 A privilege is the right to perform a specific action. To simplify
723 management, lists of privileges are grouped into roles, which can then
724 be used in the permission table. Note that privileges cannot be directly
725 assigned to users and paths without being part of a role.
727 We currently support the following privileges:
729 Node / System related privileges::
731 * `Permissions.Modify`: modify access permissions
732 * `Sys.PowerMgmt`: node power management (start, stop, reset, shutdown, ...)
733 * `Sys.Console`: console access to node
734 * `Sys.Syslog`: view syslog
735 * `Sys.Audit`: view node status/config, Corosync cluster config, and HA config
736 * `Sys.Modify`: create/modify/remove node network parameters
737 * `Group.Allocate`: create/modify/remove groups
738 * `Pool.Allocate`: create/modify/remove a pool
739 * `Pool.Audit`: view a pool
740 * `Realm.Allocate`: create/modify/remove authentication realms
741 * `Realm.AllocateUser`: assign user to a realm
742 * `User.Modify`: create/modify/remove user access and details.
744 Virtual machine related privileges::
746 * `VM.Allocate`: create/remove VM on a server
747 * `VM.Migrate`: migrate VM to alternate server on cluster
748 * `VM.PowerMgmt`: power management (start, stop, reset, shutdown, ...)
749 * `VM.Console`: console access to VM
750 * `VM.Monitor`: access to VM monitor (kvm)
751 * `VM.Backup`: backup/restore VMs
752 * `VM.Audit`: view VM config
753 * `VM.Clone`: clone/copy a VM
754 * `VM.Config.Disk`: add/modify/remove disks
755 * `VM.Config.CDROM`: eject/change CD-ROM
756 * `VM.Config.CPU`: modify CPU settings
757 * `VM.Config.Memory`: modify memory settings
758 * `VM.Config.Network`: add/modify/remove network devices
759 * `VM.Config.HWType`: modify emulated hardware types
760 * `VM.Config.Options`: modify any other VM configuration
761 * `VM.Snapshot`: create/delete VM snapshots
763 Storage related privileges::
765 * `Datastore.Allocate`: create/modify/remove a datastore and delete volumes
766 * `Datastore.AllocateSpace`: allocate space on a datastore
767 * `Datastore.AllocateTemplate`: allocate/upload templates and ISO images
768 * `Datastore.Audit`: view/browse a datastore
774 Access permissions are assigned to objects, such as virtual machines,
775 storages or resource pools.
776 We use file system like paths to address these objects. These paths form a
777 natural tree, and permissions of higher levels (shorter paths) can
778 optionally be propagated down within this hierarchy.
780 [[pveum_templated_paths]]
781 Paths can be templated. When an API call requires permissions on a
782 templated path, the path may contain references to parameters of the API
783 call. These references are specified in curly braces. Some parameters are
784 implicitly taken from the API call's URI. For instance, the permission path
785 `/nodes/{node}` when calling '/nodes/mynode/status' requires permissions on
786 `/nodes/mynode`, while the path `{path}` in a PUT request to `/access/acl`
787 refers to the method's `path` parameter.
791 * `/nodes/{node}`: Access to {pve} server machines
792 * `/vms`: Covers all VMs
793 * `/vms/{vmid}`: Access to specific VMs
794 * `/storage/{storeid}`: Access to a specific storage
795 * `/pool/{poolname}`: Access to resources contained in a specific <<pveum_pools,pool>>
796 * `/access/groups`: Group administration
797 * `/access/realms/{realmid}`: Administrative access to realms
803 As mentioned earlier, object paths form a file system like tree, and
804 permissions can be inherited by objects down that tree (the propagate flag is
805 set by default). We use the following inheritance rules:
807 * Permissions for individual users always replace group permissions.
808 * Permissions for groups apply when the user is member of that group.
809 * Permissions on deeper levels replace those inherited from an upper level.
811 Additionally, privilege separated tokens can never have permissions on any
812 given path that their associated user does not have.
818 Pools can be used to group a set of virtual machines and datastores. You can
819 then simply set permissions on pools (`/pool/{poolid}`), which are inherited by
820 all pool members. This is a great way to simplify access control.
823 Which Permissions Do I Need?
824 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
826 The required API permissions are documented for each individual
827 method, and can be found at https://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/api-viewer/.
829 The permissions are specified as a list, which can be interpreted as a
830 tree of logic and access-check functions:
832 `["and", <subtests>...]` and `["or", <subtests>...]`::
833 Each(`and`) or any(`or`) further element in the current list has to be true.
835 `["perm", <path>, [ <privileges>... ], <options>...]`::
836 The `path` is a templated parameter (see
837 <<pveum_templated_paths,Objects and Paths>>). All (or, if the `any`
838 option is used, any) of the listed
839 privileges must be allowed on the specified path. If a `require-param`
840 option is specified, then its specified parameter is required even if the
841 API call's schema otherwise lists it as being optional.
843 `["userid-group", [ <privileges>... ], <options>...]`::
844 The caller must have any of the listed privileges on `/access/groups`. In
845 addition, there are two possible checks, depending on whether the
846 `groups_param` option is set:
848 * `groups_param` is set: The API call has a non-optional `groups` parameter
849 and the caller must have any of the listed privileges on all of the listed
851 * `groups_param` is not set: The user passed via the `userid` parameter
852 must exist and be part of a group on which the caller has any of the listed
853 privileges (via the `/access/groups/<group>` path).
855 `["userid-param", "self"]`::
856 The value provided for the API call's `userid` parameter must refer to the
857 user performing the action (usually in conjunction with `or`, to allow
858 users to perform an action on themselves, even if they don't have elevated
861 `["userid-param", "Realm.AllocateUser"]`::
862 The user needs `Realm.AllocateUser` access to `/access/realm/<realm>`, with
863 `<realm>` referring to the realm of the user passed via the `userid`
864 parameter. Note that the user does not need to exist in order to be
865 associated with a realm, since user IDs are passed in the form of
866 `<username>@<realm>`.
868 `["perm-modify", <path>]`::
869 The `path` is a templated parameter (see
870 <<pveum_templated_paths,Objects and Paths>>). The user needs either the
871 `Permissions.Modify` privilege or,
872 depending on the path, the following privileges as a possible substitute:
874 * `/storage/...`: additionally requires 'Datastore.Allocate`
875 * `/vms/...`: additionally requires 'VM.Allocate`
876 * `/pool/...`: additionally requires 'Pool.Allocate`
878 If the path is empty, `Permission.Modify` on `/access` is required.
883 Most users will simply use the GUI to manage users. But there is also
884 a fully featured command line tool called `pveum` (short for ``**P**roxmox
885 **VE** **U**ser **M**anager''). Please note that all Proxmox VE command
886 line tools are wrappers around the API, so you can also access those
887 functions through the REST API.
889 Here are some simple usage examples. To show help, type:
894 or (to show detailed help about a specific command)
902 pveum user add testuser@pve -comment "Just a test"
904 Set or change the password (not all realms support this):
907 pveum passwd testuser@pve
912 pveum user modify testuser@pve -enable 0
917 pveum group add testgroup
922 pveum role add PVE_Power-only -privs "VM.PowerMgmt VM.Console"
932 It is possible that an administrator would want to create a group of users with
933 full administrator rights (without using the root account).
935 To do this, first define the group:
938 pveum group add admin -comment "System Administrators"
940 Then assign the role:
943 pveum acl modify / -group admin -role Administrator
945 Finally, you can add users to the new 'admin' group:
948 pveum user modify testuser@pve -group admin
954 You can give read only access to users by assigning the `PVEAuditor`
955 role to users or groups.
957 Example 1: Allow user `joe@pve` to see everything
960 pveum acl modify / -user joe@pve -role PVEAuditor
962 Example 2: Allow user `joe@pve` to see all virtual machines
965 pveum acl modify /vms -user joe@pve -role PVEAuditor
968 Delegate User Management
969 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
971 If you want to delegate user management to user `joe@pve`, you can do
975 pveum acl modify /access -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
977 User `joe@pve` can now add and remove users, and change other user attributes,
978 such as passwords. This is a very powerful role, and you most
979 likely want to limit it to selected realms and groups. The following
980 example allows `joe@pve` to modify users within the realm `pve`, if they
981 are members of group `customers`:
984 pveum acl modify /access/realm/pve -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
985 pveum acl modify /access/groups/customers -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
987 NOTE: The user is able to add other users, but only if they are
988 members of the group `customers` and within the realm `pve`.
990 Limited API Token for Monitoring
991 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
993 Permissions on API tokens are always a subset of those of their corresponding
994 user, meaning that an API token can't be used to carry out a task that the
995 backing user has no permission to do. This section will demonstrate how you can
996 use an API token with separate privileges, to limit the token owner's
999 Give the user `joe@pve` the role PVEVMAdmin on all VMs:
1002 pveum acl modify /vms -user joe@pve -role PVEVMAdmin
1004 Add a new API token with separate privileges, which is only allowed to view VM
1005 information (for example, for monitoring purposes):
1008 pveum user token add joe@pve monitoring -privsep 1
1009 pveum acl modify /vms -token 'joe@pve!monitoring' -role PVEAuditor
1011 Verify the permissions of the user and token:
1014 pveum user permissions joe@pve
1015 pveum user token permissions joe@pve monitoring
1020 An enterprise is usually structured into several smaller departments, and it is
1021 common that you want to assign resources and delegate management tasks to each
1022 of these. Let's assume that you want to set up a pool for a software development
1023 department. First, create a group:
1026 pveum group add developers -comment "Our software developers"
1028 Now we create a new user which is a member of that group:
1031 pveum user add developer1@pve -group developers -password
1033 NOTE: The "-password" parameter will prompt you for a password
1035 Then we create a resource pool for our development department to use:
1038 pveum pool add dev-pool --comment "IT development pool"
1040 Finally, we can assign permissions to that pool:
1043 pveum acl modify /pool/dev-pool/ -group developers -role PVEAdmin
1045 Our software developers can now administer the resources assigned to
1050 include::pve-copyright.adoc[]