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9 pveum - Proxmox VE User Manager
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25 include::attributes.txt[]
28 // Copied from pve wiki: Revision as of 16:10, 27 October 2015
30 Proxmox VE supports multiple authentication sources, e.g. Microsoft
31 Active Directory, LDAP, Linux PAM or the integrated Proxmox VE
32 authentication server.
34 By using the role based user- and permission management for all
35 objects (VM´s, storages, nodes, etc.) granular access can be defined.
40 Proxmox VE stores all user attributes in '/etc/pve/user.cfg'. So there
41 must be an entry for each user in that file. The password is not
42 stored, instead you can use configure several realms to verify
45 Microsoft Active Directory::
49 Linux PAM standard authentication::
51 You need to create the system users first with 'adduser'
52 (e.g. adduser heinz) and possibly the group as well. After that you
53 can create the user on the GUI!
60 usermod -a -G watchman heinz
63 Proxmox VE authentication server::
65 This is a unix like password store
66 ('/etc/pve/priv/shadow.cfg'). Password are encrypted using the SHA-256
67 hash method. Users are allowed to change passwords.
75 A Proxmox VE user name consists of two parts: `<userid>@<realm>`. The
76 login screen on the GUI shows them a separate items, but it is
77 internally used as single string.
79 We store the following attribute for users ('/etc/pve/user.cfg'):
85 * flag to enable/disable account
91 The traditional unix superuser account is called 'root@pam'. All
92 system mails are forwarded to the email assigned to that account.
97 Each user can be member of several groups. Groups are the preferred
98 way to organize access permissions. You should always grant permission
99 to groups instead of using individual users. That way you will get a
100 much shorter access control list which is easier to handle.
105 Access permissions are assigned to objects, such as a virtual machines
106 ('/vms/\{vmid\}') or a storage ('/storage/\{storeid\}') or a pool of
107 resources ('/pool/\{poolname\}'). We use filesystem like paths to
108 address those objects. Those paths form a natural tree, and
109 permissions can be inherited down that hierarchy.
114 A privilege is the right to perform a specific action. To simplify
115 management, lists of privileges are grouped into roles, which can then
116 be uses to set permissions.
118 We currently use the following privileges:
120 Node / System related privileges::
122 * `Permissions.Modify`: modify access permissions
123 * `Sys.PowerMgmt`: Node power management (start, stop, reset, shutdown, ...)
124 * `Sys.Console`: console access to Node
125 * `Sys.Syslog`: view Syslog
126 * `Sys.Audit`: view node status/config
127 * `Sys.Modify`: create/remove/modify node network parameters
128 * `Group.Allocate`: create/remove/modify groups
129 * `Pool.Allocate`: create/remove/modify a pool
130 * `Realm.Allocate`: create/remove/modify authentication realms
131 * `Realm.AllocateUser`: assign user to a realm
132 * `User.Modify`: create/remove/modify user access and details.
134 Virtual machine related privileges::
136 * `VM.Allocate`: create/remove new VM to server inventory
137 * `VM.Migrate`: migrate VM to alternate server on cluster
138 * `VM.PowerMgmt`: power management (start, stop, reset, shutdown, ...)
139 * `VM.Console`: console access to VM
140 * `VM.Monitor`: access to VM monitor (kvm)
141 * `VM.Backup`: backup/restore VMs
142 * `VM.Audit`: view VM config
143 * `VM.Clone`: clone/copy a VM
144 * `VM.Config.Disk`: add/modify/delete Disks
145 * `VM.Config.CDROM`: eject/change CDROM
146 * `VM.Config.CPU`: modify CPU settings
147 * `VM.Config.Memory`: modify Memory settings
148 * `VM.Config.Network`: add/modify/delete Network devices
149 * `VM.Config.HWType`: modify emulated HW type
150 * `VM.Config.Options`: modify any other VM configuration
151 * `VM.Snapshot`: create/remove VM snapshots
153 Storage related privileges::
155 * `Datastore.Allocate`: create/remove/modify a data store, delete volumes
156 * `Datastore.AllocateSpace`: allocate space on a datastore
157 * `Datastore.AllocateTemplate`: allocate/upload templates and iso images
158 * `Datastore.Audit`: view/browse a datastore
163 A role is simply a list of privileges. Proxmox VE comes with a number
164 of predefined roles which satisfies most needs.
166 * `Administrator`: has all privileges
167 * `NoAccess`: has no privileges (used to forbid access)
168 * `PVEAdmin`: can do most things, but miss rights to modify system settings (`Sys.PowerMgmt`, `Sys.Modify`, `Realm.Allocate`).
169 * `PVEAuditor`: read only access
170 * `PVEDatastoreAdmin`: create and allocate backup space and templates
171 * `PVEDatastoreUser`: allocate backup space and view storage
172 * `PVEPoolAdmin`: allocate pools
173 * `PVESysAdmin`: User ACLs, audit, system console and system logs
174 * `PVETemplateUser`: view and clone templates
175 * `PVEUserAdmin`: user administration
176 * `PVEVMAdmin`: fully administer VMs
177 * `PVEVMUser`: view, backup, config CDROM, VM console, VM power management
179 You can see the whole set of predefined roles on the GUI.
181 Adding new roles using the CLI:
185 pveum roleadd PVE_Power-only -privs "VM.PowerMgmt VM.Console"
186 pveum roleadd Sys_Power-only -privs "Sys.PowerMgmt Sys.Console"
193 Permissions are the way we control access to objects. In technical
194 terms they are simply a triple containing `<path,user,role>`. This
195 concept is also known as access control lists. Each permission
196 specifies a subject (user or group) and a role (set of privileges) on
199 When a subject requests an action on an object, the framework looks up
200 the roles assigned to that subject (using the object path). The set of
201 roles defines the granted privileges.
206 As mentioned earlier, object paths forms a filesystem like tree, and
207 permissions can be inherited down that tree (the propagate flag is set
208 by default). We use the following inheritance rules:
210 * permission for individual users always overwrite group permission.
211 * permission for groups apply when the user is member of that group.
212 * permission set at higher level always overwrites inherited permissions.
214 What permission do I need?
215 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
217 The required API permissions are documented for each individual
218 method, and can be found at http://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/api-viewer/
223 Pools can be used to group a set of virtual machines and data
224 stores. You can then simply set permissions on pools ('/pool/\{poolid\}'),
225 which are inherited to all pool members. This is a great way simplify
231 Most users will simply use the GUI to manage users. But there is also
232 a full featured command line tool called 'pveum' (short for 'Proxmox
233 VE User Manager'). I will use that tool in the following
234 examples. Please note that all Proxmox VE command line tools are
235 wrappers around the API, so you can also access those function through
238 Here are some simple usage examples. To show help type:
243 or (to show detailed help about a specific command)
251 pveum useradd testuser@pve -comment "Just a test"
253 Set or Change the password (not all realms support that):
256 pveum passwd testuser@pve
261 pveum usermod testuser@pve -enable 0
266 pveum groupadd testgroup
271 pveum roleadd PVE_Power-only -privs "VM.PowerMgmt VM.Console"
280 One of the most wanted features was the ability to define a group of
281 users with full administartor rights (without using the root account).
286 pveum groupadd admin -comment "System Administrators"
288 Then add the permission:
291 pveum aclmod / -group admin -role Administrator
293 You can finally add users to the new 'admin' group:
296 pveum usermod testuser@pve -group admin
302 You can give read only access to users by assigning the `PVEAuditor`
303 role to users or groups.
305 Example1: Allow user 'joe@pve' to see everything
308 pveum aclmod / -user joe@pve -role PVEAuditor
310 Example1: Allow user 'joe@pve' to see all virtual machines
313 pveum aclmod /vms -user joe@pve -role PVEAuditor
315 Delegate User Management
316 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
318 If you want to delegate user managenent to user 'joe@pve' you can do
322 pveum aclmod /access -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
324 User 'joe@pve' can now add and remove users, change passwords and
325 other user attributes. This is a very powerful role, and you most
326 likely want to limit that to selected realms and groups. The following
327 example allows 'joe@pve' to modify users within realm 'pve' if they
328 are members of group 'customers':
331 pveum aclmod /access/realm/pve -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
332 pveum aclmod /access/groups/customers -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
334 NOTE: The user is able to add other users, but only if they are
335 members of group 'customers' and within realm 'pve'.
340 An enterprise is usually structured into several smaller departments,
341 and it is common that you want to assign resources to them and
342 delegate management tasks. A pool is simply a set of virtual machines
343 and data stores. You can create pools on the GUI. After that you can
344 add resources to the pool (VMs, Storage).
346 You can also assign permissions to the pool. Those permissions are
347 inherited to all pool members.
349 Lets assume you have a software development department, so we first
353 pveum groupadd developers -comment "Our software developers"
355 Now we create a new user which is a member of that group
358 pveum useradd developer1@pve -group developers -password
360 NOTE: The -password parameter will prompt you for a password
362 I assume we already created a pool called 'dev-pool' on the GUI. So we can now assign permission to that pool:
365 pveum aclmod /pool/dev-pool/ -group developers -role PVEAdmin
367 Our software developers can now administrate the resources assigned to
372 include::pve-copyright.adoc[]